For half a century, The Horny Toad Restaurant & Saloon has been passed from one family to the next, with the Lattoufs now helming the Cave Creek landmark.
That continuity is the quiet force behind the longevity of the Western saloon, which began as a quirky mustache‑cup bar in the mid‑’70s and grew — literally and figuratively — into what it is now.
The Horny Toad is marking its 50th anniversary with parties throughout September. Festivities begin Friday, Sept. 11, with 25% off for active‑duty military, veterans and first responders.
MORE NEWS: Arizona earns 19 Michelin Guide selections in inaugural Southwest Guide
Two full weekends follow — Saturday, Sept. 12, and Sunday, Sept. 13, and Friday, Sept. 18, to Sunday, Sept. 20 — featuring live music, anniversary drink specials, and half‑off pricing on the restaurant’s signature dishes.
“The fried chicken has kept us in business since 1976,” said Spencer Lattouf, the restaurant’s operations director. He grew up in Goodyear and spent his childhood watching his father run bars across Arizona.
The 50%-off applies to fried chicken, smoked wings, liver and onions, chicken fried steak, pulled pork sandwich, barbecue chicken, fried zucchini, strawberry shortcake and peach cobbler. On the alcohol side, margaritas, Horny Toad golden ale, Nutrl seltzers, Budweiser and well vodka, whiskey, tequila and gin are discounted.
The anniversary weekends will feature live music from TG Live and Rod & Kathy, giveaways, merchandise and brownie handouts. “Who doesn’t like brownies?” Lattouf said with a grin. A raffle may return as well, offering gift cards and other prizes.
The Horny Toad is known for its chicken, sure, but its specials are a hit as well, he said.
“We do meatloaf — just a classic American staple — on Mondays,” he said. “We’re closed on Wednesdays, currently. But when we’re open, we do pot roast. Liver and onions is probably one of our signature items as well. I don’t even know another restaurant that sells that.
“We have an older demographic and people appreciate that nostalgia.”
Cave Creek history
The Horny Toad was originally a homestead, built in 1931 with peach and plum orchards on 10 acres. Parts of the home, the feed and tack rooms still support The Horny Toad and Shops.
In the 1970s, the population frequented Harold’s, Maverick (now the Buffalo Chip), the Treehouse Café, which was torn down, and Dirty Will’s Mustache Cup saloon. The tiny bar was sold to Ed Chilleen in 1972. He named it The Horny Toad.
Veteran Glenn Price and his wife, Marian, bought the Horny Toad in the mid-1980s, and ran it with their son, Jeff. The Prices sold it to the Lattoufs in 2017.
“It’s pretty much been family‑owned and -operated forever and ever,” Lattouf said.
The building tells its own story. A house built in 1906, The Horny Toad has been expanded and stitched together — or “Frankensteined,” as Lattouf said — over time. The dining room booths are repurposed church pews; the stained‑glass windows came from the same church. The saloon, added last year, was once a Christmas store, then a banquet hall, and then an arcade.
“You’d never guess it was pieced together,” Lattouf said. “It’s very consistent, but every room has its own history.”
The menu remains rooted in American comfort food like smoked wings, liver and onions, chicken‑fried steak, pot roast, meatloaf Mondays, cornbread, mac and cheese and strawberry shortcake.
“We have an older demographic, and people appreciate the nostalgic meal,” he said. “It’s truly a home‑cooked experience.”
The Horny Toad has also been a community anchor, donating food for town events and participating in Taste of Cave Creek. The Lattoufs stay connected through town council meetings.
“The community is awesome,” Lattouf said. “We try to give back as much as we can.”
