Durant's on Central Avenue closes and sells to the Mastro family

PHOENIX - After 75 years, Durant's on Central Avenue in midtown Phoenix is being sold.

What we know:

The legendary establishment, on Central Avenue near Thomas Road, will shut down for several months for a renovation before it reopens with new management.

The new owners promise to keep the name and the vibe.

It’s the Phoenix mainstay of all mainstays. The classic look of Durant's has been on Central Avenue for 75 years this summer.

The backstory:

Jack McElroy has owned it for 35 years. His dad started it with the one and only Jack Durant.

As a kid, McElroy worked as a bus boy. 

Aside from the food, the restaurant is known for its backdoor entrance, its lighting, and red overstuffed booths.

"We’ve been very fortunate that we’ve been able to survive this long," McElroy said. "That is so atypical of restaurants."

On Feb. 26, they sold the famous steak house. McElroy said he had gathered the employees to lay them off.

"It became very emotional and it still is. This has been their lives as well as my life," he said.

What's next:

The new owners will be the Mastro family, which runs several high-end steak houses in the Valley, and throughout the U.S.

"Adding Durant's to that, especially for local steak house guys like us, can’t be more exciting. Pretty special," said Jeff Mastro of Prime Steak Concepts.

They say it will still be called Durant's and look and feel like Durant's, but the kitchen is getting a facelift before it reopens in about six months.

"It will look and feel like the wonderful Durant's everyone has come to know and love," Oliver Badgio with Prime Steak Concepts said.

McElroy says the steak house is in good hands.

"I think their goal is to offer this to maintain the feeling of Durant's. It’s very precious, and it’s hard to recapture that," McElroy said.

After the news broke, McElroy called St. Mary’s Food Bank to donate all the perishable food, including the high-end steaks.

"Somebody will really enjoy that, but I can’t think of anybody better for it to go to," McElroy said.

It's a gesture that shows why this 75-year-old restaurant on Central Avenue has meant so much to so many.

Gift cards will remain valid, and any reservations can now be honored at the new owner's other steak houses.