It’s the end of an era: Dos Gringos, one of the few fixtures of Old Town Scottsdale’s dining and nightlife scene for 19 years, has closed in the wake of the venue’s sale.
New Chicago-based owners will reopen the business as Old Town Gringos in about a week. It is expected to retain its Mexican cantina theme for several months, but transform into a new concept by next fall.
Dos Gringos’ other locations in Tempe, Chandler, and Mesa are not affected by the sale.
The original Dos Gringos was launched by nightlife entrepreneur Brian Roerich in 1996 at a time when Tempe’s Mill Avenue was the undisputed nightlife center of the Valley.
Thanks to Dos Gringos and the 1997 openings of venues like Cajun House and Axis-Radius, that center began to shift to Old Town Scottsdale.
Dos Gringos made headlines in December 2000 when then-Channel 3 personality Liz ‘‘You Know Who I Am?’’ Habib, allegedly intoxicated and cursing at staff, patrons, and police, was arrested for refusing to show ID.
Roerich ran into problems with the IRS in 2008 and sold Dos Gringos, which by then had grown into an East Valley chain, in 2009.
The ownership group that bought Dos Gringos from Roerich has been expanding a new concept, Bourbon Jacks, which opened in downtown Chandler in 2012 and north Scottsdale earlier this year.
