After three years at its current location in Greentree Village Shopping Center along Milton Road, Kachina Kitchen posted on its Facebook page that it would be closing.
Citing inflation and Flagstaff鈥檚 minimum wage that currently sits at $17.40 per hour as of Jan. 1, 2024, the restaurant's ownership added that it has been difficult to keep up in recent years. Kachina Kitchen opened at 1800 S. Milton Road in Greentree Village in August of 2021 after shifting from its longtime location in downtown Flagstaff along Route 66 -- where it was known as Kachina Downtown.
Family-owned for three generations, the restaurant worked through the COVID-19 pandemic in downtown before shifting to its current location with an updated menu and offering patio seating.
While the restaurant traces its roots back to the early 1950s, Frank and Frances Garcia took over the business in 1982 after Frank originally helped found La Fonda Mexican Restaurant alongside his family. Then known as Kachina Restaurant on the eastside, the family added Kachina Downtown in 1986 as the Garcias opened a new restaurant at a larger location.
The family celebrated its 30th anniversary with the business in 2012 as Frank and Frances Garcia鈥檚 children and grandchildren carried on the family-owned business for decades.
No specific closing date was provided in the post on Kachina Kitchen鈥檚 Facebook page.