After opening over two decades ago, this eclectic Patagonia restaurant is still standing despite relocation, renovations and economic downturns.
Eddie McArthur Special to the Arizona Daily Star In tiny Patagonia, sits a most unusual space, perhaps better suited to a more cosmopolitan location, but thriving here. Walk through the front doors and you will be greeted by a massive carving of the Archangel Michael, complete with sword and slaying a demon.
As a widow, San Miguel was looking for a fresh start in this unlikely town of maybe 800 at the time. She became friends with a handful of like-minded folks and the small group decided to open an organic bakery. After buying a small building San Miguel launched a major renovation there, then saw her cohorts drop out one by one. Left with a disheveled structure and absolutely no food industry experience, she moved forward on blind faith.
The journey from there to the current fantasy happened in steps during those decades. The historic building that eventually morphed into today's Velvet Elvis sits on McKeown Avenue in Patagonia and has known many lives since it was built in 1915 as a private residence. In those days, when copper and cattle dominated Arizona and life was much rougher, the building sported a small space that served as a bath house for miners laboring in the area.
A year later, the mortgage holder’s family approached San Miguel to assess her interest in the place. After first wondering “why would I do that,” San Miguel bought the building and went to work. Crumbling in places, with one wall tipping outward and pulling the roof with it, the old adobe underwent a complete restoration. When the old roof was removed, San Miguel thought “What have I done? All I have is three walls and a liquor license.
From 2008 to 2022, La Mision was on and off the market. No one knew what to do with it. In 2016, San Miguel sold her home and downsized to a small apartment she created in the space of the old bath house, while the rest of the building sat empty. She continued to operate the original Velvet Elvis, but problems there plagued her. In 2022, her workers paid a visit to the old building on McKeown, looked around at the larger space and pushed San Miguel to move to that location.
While the menu remains similar to the original Velvet Elvis, the new Velvet Elvis at La Mision is a dream come true for San Miguel and her many patrons.
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