Road's End Restaurant as of 1995

Excerpt from Where the Road Ends, Havasu Palms...Recipes & Remembrances

              Walt Johnson, a general contractor by trade, always knew one of the developments for Havasu Palms' future was a restaurant. Not only was a restaurant discussed in the original master plan, Walt began purchasing used restaurant equipment a good decade before construction on the building ever began. He also purchased, from a demolished schoolhouse site in Los Angeles, California, pallets of original red Spanish tile, which would eventually roof Road's End Restaurant.
               Being unable to afford purchasing a California liquor license from an established business, Havasu Palms entered the California liquor license lottery and won a license in the late 1970s. Although it was good news for the resort, the pressure to build a restaurant, within the time limit set by the Department of Beverage Control, was on. And since Havasu Palms wasn't able to secure financing (at this time Havasu Palms was negotiating for a new lease, and its existing lease was entering its last five years) money from cash flow, and personal loans from family and friends, had to be used to finance the construction.
               Walt designed the restaurant building. Yet, when he went to secure building permits from the County of San Bernardino, he was told permits were no longer required, as the location was now within the Chemehuevi reservation. Unable to secure building permits elsewhere, Walt went ahead with construction, yet continue to adhere to local building codes. When construction was well underway, the County stepped in and announced the building permits were required. During this period of confusion over local jurisdiction, a situation that continues today, Havasu Palms was forced to secure extensions on the liquor license time limit. In spite of the delays and extensions, Road's End Restaurant was completed in October of 1981.
               As with most Havasu Palms project, labor came from family and friends. Peter King, the youngest son of one Havasu Palms partner, Luanne King, worked on the construction crew. Walt's son-in-law, Steve Galloway, and friend Phil Julian, tiled restrooms, kitchen and floor. Don Holmes, Walt's other son-in-law, worked on tiling the roof and setting Windows. Walt's daughters, Lynn and Bobbi, painted. Caroline cleaned, and cleaned. Plus, all those involved worked together assembling tables, laying carpet and doing what needed to be done.
               The night before the new Road's End Restaurant was to open, carpet was being laid as Havasu Palms was scrambling to meet the final liquor license deadline. It was about 1 a.m., Walt stood, hands on hips, by the front doorway of the restaurant. He surveyed the activity, carpet was being rolled out, tables were being fastened together and in just a few hours the Road's End Restaurant would open for business. To his youngest daughter, Bobbi, he chuckled half serious than half in jest "I think this is the stupidest thing I've ever done".
               In spite of Walt's declaration, he and Caroline dedicated themselves to the business. Walt's own father had owned a restaurant in Michigan, as had several of his uncles. Walt was an accomplished cook, who enjoyed experimenting in the kitchen.
               Before long they realized they could not purchase hamburger patties which would give them the quality they desired. Walt designed a burger press, purchased a meat grinder, and began making their own half pound burgers from choice inside round
               In spite of the disapproval from more experienced restaurateurs, those who sought bargain over quality, the Johnsons insisted on using top-quality products, such is using only real butter, real sour cream, Best Foods mayonnaise, homemade salad dressings, homemade desserts, crisp salads and purchasing choice cuts of meat.
               Caroline, who was not accustomed to commercial kitchens, which often tolerated cleaning standards far below acceptable ranges within one's home, insisted on a rigid cleanliness standards, which are still in effect today. Many of Havasu Palms' repair contractors say the Road's End Restaurant has the cleanest kitchen they've ever seen
               Well known for its excellent food and clean kitchen, the Road's End Restaurant has become famous for its house drink, the Road's End Cooler, alias the Green Thing, which was created by Walt Johnson and his son-in-law, Steve Galloway. Between 1992 and 1995 approximately 29,000 Road's End Coolers were sold.
                Operating the Road's End Restaurant has not been an easy task. Most of the supplies are brought in by boat. Each week the Havasu Palms pontoon boat makes a 30 minute journey to the Havasu Marina, where they meet the vendors. Supplies are then loaded onto the boat, sent back down the lake, loaded onto a truck and driven to the restaurant. Although beer suppliers to drive the 8 mile dirt road for deliveries, Havasu Palms must drive down the road to meet the liquor suppliers, who refuse to travel the rugged road.
             Securing employees are another obstacle. Due to the remote location, Havasu Palms has found it necessary to house many of its employees, as daily commutes are impractical, yet one longtime employee, Bar Manager Terry Blanker, commutes each day via her Sea-Doo.
               Since most of the restaurant customers come by boat, Road's End has developed seasoned and non-season schedules. From mid-March through October the restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, Thursday and Friday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.. During this on season schedule they are also open Memorial and Labor Day. Road's End Restaurant closes after the last weekend in October, then reopens for the off-season on Thanksgiving weekend Friday and remains opens each weekend (except Christmas week and New Year's) for a limited lunch menu, through the March.
              In Walt's final days, as he battled congestive heart failure, he would often sit Road's End Restaurant's table 8, a table normally occupied by family and off-duty employees, and observe the tremendous hustle and flow of summer customers. In a soft voice, touched with awe, he murmured "I never imagined it would be this successful".

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Road’s End Restaurant close its doors in 1997. Havasu Palms’ lease with the Chemehuevi Tribe expired in 1999. The Tribe, which refused to negotiate with Havasu Palms for a new lease, seized much of Havasu Palms’ personal property in 1999 – a direct violation of terms set forth in the lease between the two parties. Havasu Palms Inc. went to Federal Arbitration with the Tribe, and although the judgment was in favor of Havasu Palms, the federal government later set aside the judgment, stating it was not in the best interest of the Tribe.