The Original Golden Skone, a chain of popular Valley restaurants in the 1970s, is making a comeback in San Tan Valley.
Tom Smith opened his first restaurant, The El Ray, while he and his wife, Katherine, were living in Idaho. At the restaurant, he spent seven years perfecting a recipe for a deep-fried bread that could be used for sandwiches and desserts.
In 1970, he opened the Skone Shoppe in Olympia, Wash., before moving to Arizona and launching the first Golden Skone in Mesa two years later. He eventually had six locations in Mesa, Scottsdale, and Phoenix.
He was pushed out of the business by partners he had taken on, but the partners were unable to replicate his secret bread recipe and the restaurants all closed by the late ’70s. Smith died in 2017.
Now, Smith’s son Dennis and daughter-in-law Stacy are bringing back the bread at The Original Golden Skone on the northeast corner of Ironwood and Ocotillo in San Tan Valley.
The restaurant will offer eight sandwiches and a couple of fruit-filled desserts (see menu).
A Feb. 3 opening is planned.
