By Linda Kor The Holbrook City Council met for a brief meeting on Aug. 27. Aside from the consent agenda the only other item was a request for a Series 12 restaurant license for Ofelia Lange and Jerry Stark for Bienvenidos Restaurant, which will be located in the old Jerry’s Restaurant building at 2600 Navajo Blvd. on the north end of town. The offerings will include a large breakfast menu, hamburgers and other sandwiches, along with a hearty dinner menu that includes country fried steak, grilled pork chops, crispy battered fish and hand cut New York Strip streak. The application was unanimously approved by the council, with Lange stating, “Thank you for accepting me. It’s hard to be in business these days and even more right now with the coronavirus.” When asked when the restaurant would be opening, she stated that it may be at the end of October or November if everything goes smooth. A public hearing was held with no response from the public. Lange has already invested a great deal in the City of Holbrook, as well as in Sun Valley. She is the owner of Knife City Outlet in Sun Valley and Holbrook Mercantile at the intersection of Hopi Drive and Navajo Blvd. In addition, her operations have expanded to include a convenience store in Sun Valley and two renovated garages that are attached to it that will house what was previously noted as “fine art” for sale. Lange also owns a food truck, Ofelia’s Authentic Mexican Food, which is already up and running and operates on the Sun Valley property. It was noted by members of the council that the restaurant will provide 20 new jobs. Lange concurred stated, “That’s what we like to see. Helping the community and creating jobs. It’s what we need right now in our town.” Mayor Merrill Young noted that Governor Doug Ducey has announced the state is in the “moderate range” for business openings, allowing restaurants to provide dine-in services while following the guidelines implemented by the Arizona Department of Health Services. Young also noted, “I’d like to pray for our country, the unrest that’s going on right now. It’s very disheartening when you turn on the TV and you see what’s going on. I pray for peaceful solutions for everything that we’ve got going on.” City Manager Ted Soltis reported that brush and tree cleanup has been completed at the Holbrook Police Department. To complete the project Soltis said, “We have new gutters and flashing that will soon be installed.” He noted that new fencing will be installed at the Holbrook Animal Shelter. “The new fencing will be paid for with a $10,000 grant. That will give the animals some exercise room outside.” Soltis also stated that receipts will be provided for anyone using the transfer station. Currently credit cards are not able to be accepted due to technical issues that are being addressed. “Soon we will have that all straightened out.” In addition, he noted that the remodeling of the Matchusak Recreation Center is now complete. The next meeting of the Holbrook City Council will take place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10.
