Jacob Finley has owned the eclectic Old Town Scottsdale tavern Karsen’s Grill for a decade, and has worked around the entertainment and dining district since 1999. Earlier this year, he was contemplating how to expand Karsen’s. Then, he learned that the longtime home of Frank & Lupe’s Old Mexico would be available.
The stalwart New Mexican and Mexican restaurant was a staple in Old Town for 30 years until it quietly closed. Finley quickly joined about a dozen other restaurateurs eager to take over the iconic space on Marshall Way and Indian School Road.
“You can’t find a better location than that,” Finley says.
Frank & Lupe's was a staple for Finley, who patronized the restaurant throughout its three decades of business. He regularly went there to meet friends and savor a bit of comfort. It was a go-to any time his niece was in town as it became her favorite spot to eat.
“Frank & Lupe’s was a landing spot for me for the past 25 years,” Finley says. Taking over the restaurant and its expansive patio “was an opportunity for me to perpetuate Frank & Lupe’s legacy.”
Finley will launch a new restaurant in that space called The Ponderosa House. He anticipates opening the “Arizona-born” eatery by February 2026.
“They’re big shoes to fill,” Finley says. “If we do it right, and we treat the community the right way, and I can mimic the success of Karsen’s, then The Ponderosa House will hopefully become that staple.”
“It was not in my playbook to run a restaurant of this size,” Finley says.
He’s brought on two familiar Old Town faces to help him. Chef Pedro Felix, who has worked at chef Matt Carter’s upscale Mexican restaurant The Mission and the resort L'Auberge, will helm the kitchen. Finley has coaxed Dale Jodin, a former general manager and president of the Scottsdale cocktail bar AZ/88, out of retirement to help with operations and the bar menu.
While the menu for the restaurant is still “wildly in development,” the owner says it will pay homage to the Mexican staples served at Frank & Lupe’s while adding Southwestern ingredients to comforting American dishes. That means tacos on homemade tortillas or a red chile beef shepherd’s pie, as well as burgers, steaks and a fish of the day.
Longtime customers of the Mexican eatery have already begun asking if he’ll keep their favorite plates, referring to them by their number on the Frank & Lupe’s menu – “are you going to keep No. 8? No. 6?” Finley has a copy of the Mexican restaurant’s menu and says it's something his team is researching now.
Imbibers can expect a strong selection of agave spirits, particularly tequila, mezcal and sotol. Cocktails will hew heavily towards classics adored by these old-school barmen, including martinis and margaritas. Local beers and wine, along with a reserved list, will round out the drinks selection.
Finley and his team are also changing up the look and feel of the space to be more “modern-rustic,” Finley says. He has kept old signs from Frank & Lupe’s and has reached out to the Bernal family for photos. Finley plans to carve out space to display those pieces in honor of the family who ran Frank & Lupe’s.
As part of the renovation, the former main dining area that overlooks Marshall Way will become a cantina with bar seating and high-top tables. In addition to the full Ponderosa House menu, the cantina will have its own unique “beer-and-taco kind of specials,” Finley says.
Behind the cantina lies the restaurant’s patio. It was a vibrant part of Frank & Lupe’s that Finley didn’t realize existed until years after his first visit, when a friend told him to meet him here.
“I saw that patio and it was like Shangri-La in the middle of Old Town. One of the greatest moments of my life was finding out that Frank & Lupe’s had a patio bar,” Finley says.
To update the beloved space, Finley will convert the small house, which was built in 1922, into a dining area with larger tables and an accordion door that opens to the outdoor space. That patio will have more seating and greenery, including ponderosa pines.
The Ponderosa House doesn’t get its name solely from the distinctive trees with long, billowing needles and rust-colored bark. It’s also an homage to the western show, “Bonanza,” and its fictional ranch.
It’s a little bit of that “Old West” charm that Finley doesn’t want Old Town to lose as it evolves.
“What I’m hoping to do is carry that on. We want to be a staple of Old Town,” Finley says. “We want to be an old-school restaurant with a new style of food and a new flair to it, but we want to be a comfortable place that everybody can come in and get the feel of what Old Town actually is.”
4121 N. Marshall Way, Scottsdale
The stalwart New Mexican and Mexican restaurant was a staple in Old Town for 30 years until it quietly closed. Finley quickly joined about a dozen other restaurateurs eager to take over the iconic space on Marshall Way and Indian School Road.
“You can’t find a better location than that,” Finley says.
Frank & Lupe's was a staple for Finley, who patronized the restaurant throughout its three decades of business. He regularly went there to meet friends and savor a bit of comfort. It was a go-to any time his niece was in town as it became her favorite spot to eat.
“Frank & Lupe’s was a landing spot for me for the past 25 years,” Finley says. Taking over the restaurant and its expansive patio “was an opportunity for me to perpetuate Frank & Lupe’s legacy.”
Finley will launch a new restaurant in that space called The Ponderosa House. He anticipates opening the “Arizona-born” eatery by February 2026.
“They’re big shoes to fill,” Finley says. “If we do it right, and we treat the community the right way, and I can mimic the success of Karsen’s, then The Ponderosa House will hopefully become that staple.”
'An old-school restaurant with a new style of food'
With a restaurant and patio space that spans 6,000 square feet, it’s an ambitious endeavor.“It was not in my playbook to run a restaurant of this size,” Finley says.
He’s brought on two familiar Old Town faces to help him. Chef Pedro Felix, who has worked at chef Matt Carter’s upscale Mexican restaurant The Mission and the resort L'Auberge, will helm the kitchen. Finley has coaxed Dale Jodin, a former general manager and president of the Scottsdale cocktail bar AZ/88, out of retirement to help with operations and the bar menu.
While the menu for the restaurant is still “wildly in development,” the owner says it will pay homage to the Mexican staples served at Frank & Lupe’s while adding Southwestern ingredients to comforting American dishes. That means tacos on homemade tortillas or a red chile beef shepherd’s pie, as well as burgers, steaks and a fish of the day.
Longtime customers of the Mexican eatery have already begun asking if he’ll keep their favorite plates, referring to them by their number on the Frank & Lupe’s menu – “are you going to keep No. 8? No. 6?” Finley has a copy of the Mexican restaurant’s menu and says it's something his team is researching now.
Imbibers can expect a strong selection of agave spirits, particularly tequila, mezcal and sotol. Cocktails will hew heavily towards classics adored by these old-school barmen, including martinis and margaritas. Local beers and wine, along with a reserved list, will round out the drinks selection.
Finley and his team are also changing up the look and feel of the space to be more “modern-rustic,” Finley says. He has kept old signs from Frank & Lupe’s and has reached out to the Bernal family for photos. Finley plans to carve out space to display those pieces in honor of the family who ran Frank & Lupe’s.
As part of the renovation, the former main dining area that overlooks Marshall Way will become a cantina with bar seating and high-top tables. In addition to the full Ponderosa House menu, the cantina will have its own unique “beer-and-taco kind of specials,” Finley says.
Behind the cantina lies the restaurant’s patio. It was a vibrant part of Frank & Lupe’s that Finley didn’t realize existed until years after his first visit, when a friend told him to meet him here.
“I saw that patio and it was like Shangri-La in the middle of Old Town. One of the greatest moments of my life was finding out that Frank & Lupe’s had a patio bar,” Finley says.
To update the beloved space, Finley will convert the small house, which was built in 1922, into a dining area with larger tables and an accordion door that opens to the outdoor space. That patio will have more seating and greenery, including ponderosa pines.
The Ponderosa House doesn’t get its name solely from the distinctive trees with long, billowing needles and rust-colored bark. It’s also an homage to the western show, “Bonanza,” and its fictional ranch.
It’s a little bit of that “Old West” charm that Finley doesn’t want Old Town to lose as it evolves.
“What I’m hoping to do is carry that on. We want to be a staple of Old Town,” Finley says. “We want to be an old-school restaurant with a new style of food and a new flair to it, but we want to be a comfortable place that everybody can come in and get the feel of what Old Town actually is.”
The Ponderosa House
Opens in February4121 N. Marshall Way, Scottsdale
