"We wanted to be more in sync on that corner," Ray Flores told the Arizona Daily Star early this year. He was explaining why his family's restaurant group took over the empty space at 6960 E. Sunrise Drive.
"That corner" is the intersection of East Sunrise Drive and North Kolb Road. For anyone living in Ventana Canyon Country Club, it's the nearest place to sit down for a meal without a reservation at the resort. Flores is president of Flores Concepts/Si Charro, the family group behind El Charro Café, Charro Steak & del Rey and The Monica. The family already ran El Charro Ventana at 6910 E. Sunrise, on the same intersection. When the space next door opened up, they took it too.
That changes how the corner works. For most of the past sixteen years, the restaurant at 6960 E. Sunrise has been an independent concept that came and went. Now it shares an owner with its neighbor across the intersection, and its menu, prices and hours were planned with that neighbor in mind.
Sixteen Years, Three Tenants
According to the Star, the corner has been a restaurant site since 2010:
- The Abbey moved in in 2010 and stayed four years.
- Commoner & Co., the upscale sister to Nathan Ares's breakfast and brunch spot Prep & Pastry, opened in 2015. The Star reports Ares had hinted for months about moving the restaurant before he relocated it to Gilbert last July.
- The Hills took over the 3,500-square-foot space this spring. Tucson Foodie described it as a neighborhood café serving brunch, lunch and dinner.
Flores called it "one of the best looking corners" in the Tucson market. The Star reported the restaurant would seat 140 between the dining room and a patio facing the Santa Catalina Mountains.
A Price Range, Stated Before Opening
Flores named his price point before the doors opened. "We're not trying to be high end," he told the Star. "We want to be in that $20 to $30 plate range if not even less for lunch and brunch." He described the goal as giving "the neighborhood a cafe that serves a wide variety of fare that is approachable, economical." The menu draws on some of the most successful recipes from The Monica, the downtown restaurant that honors El Charro founder Monica Flin.
Half a year in, the menu is a fair test of that promise. The current all-day menu was posted at the start of October, and the PDF on The Hills' menu page carries a 10.1.26 date. Here's how a few dishes compare with the target Flores named:
| Dish on the October all-day menu | What it is | Price | Against the $20 to $30 target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prickly pear meatballs | Four meatballs, prickly pear BBQ, queso, cilantro | $14 | A shareable, well under the range |
| Tucson beefsteak dip | Shaved New York strip, housemade baguette, provolone, horseradish mayo, au jus | $22 | Lower end of the range |
| Short rib on Sunrise | Braised short rib, red wine reduction, mashed potatoes, butter-roasted carrots, Monica's sourdough focaccia | $29 | Top of the range |
The short rib, named for the street out front, comes in at $29, at the top of the range Flores gave for lunch and brunch plates. All three dishes here are $30 or less.
Hours Built for the Neighborhood
The hours show the same planning. Commoner & Co. was an upscale dinner room. The Hills runs from morning coffee to dinner, and its weekend opens three hours before the weekday:
- Monday through Friday: all-day menu, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Saturday and Sunday: brunch menu, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., then the all-day menu, 3 to 9 p.m.
- Brick-oven pizzetas: after 3 p.m. only
- Select brunch dishes: until 3 p.m.
Phone and hours are on The Hills' contact page: (520) 470-1922.
The 3 p.m. switchover is also when the weekday happy hour starts. From 3 to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, The Hills takes $3 off shareables, well cocktails, its custom cocktails and mocktails, sangrias, beers on tap, and wines and bubbles by the glass. That brings the meatballs from the table above down to $11. On Wine Wednesdays, select bottles of wine and bubbles are half off.
The Hills is also open Mondays. The new wine bar farther west on Sunrise, covered in the next section, lists hours starting Tuesday. For a Monday dinner close to the Ventana Canyon gate, The Hills is an option.
Thursday Night Goes West on Sunrise
The corner at Kolb is built for regular meals. Live music this week is a few minutes west, at Sunrise Village, 4772 E. Sunrise Drive.
Turquoise Wine Bar held its ribbon cutting and grand opening last Thursday, October 15. The Chamber hosted the 11 a.m. ribbon cutting, and acoustic performer Chris Alone played opening night. The Arizona Daily Star reported that this is the wine bar's first Tucson location, in a 1,500-square-foot lease, and that owner Heather Chaykowski said she looks forward "to building relationships with local residents, businesses, and community leaders for years to come." The menu covers a monthly rotation of wines, plus sangrias, spritzes, nonalcoholic drinks, appetizers, sandwiches, salads and pizza.
Its October calendar picks up right where opening week left off:
| Date | Event at Turquoise, Sunrise Village | Listed price |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, October 22 (tonight) | Live music with Gary Roberts, vocals and guitar | Not listed |
| Thursday, October 29 | Wine and Halloween candy pairing | $25 per person |
| Friday, October 30 | Chris Alone, acoustic '90s rock | Not listed |
Reservations for each event go through the links on the venue's page. Posted hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tonight's music night falls inside a regular Thursday service, so dinner at Sunrise and Kolb and a glass of wine at Sunrise Village can both fit in one evening.
Sunday Has a Resort Option Up the Road
The resort side of the neighborhood still offers the bigger Sunday out. Loews Ventana Canyon Resort hosts its Blues, Brews & BBQ Brunch at The Canyon Club every Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with live music, BBQ and local beer. It costs $64 for adults and $32 for kids ages 6 to 12.
Setting that $64 brunch against the $29 short rib shows how the corner fits in. Weekend brunch at The Hills starts at 8 a.m., three hours before The Canyon Club opens, and pays off Flores's "if not even less for lunch and brunch" line. Loews runs a later, longer Sunday with a band. The two cover different parts of a Sunday, about a short drive apart.
Back at Sunrise and Kolb, the space that turned over twice in sixteen years now belongs to the family that owns the restaurant across the intersection. The Hills serves weekend brunch from 8 a.m. and a weekday happy hour from 3 to 6 p.m., and the October dishes listed above run from $14 to $29.
When you're curious how the Sunrise and Kolb corner, and the places around it, figure into what a home inside Ventana Canyon is worth, Judy Smedes & Kate Herk would be glad to sit down with you. We'll walk you through the neighborhood the way the two of us know it and put together a complimentary valuation for your home.
