History

"A Sedona Historic Landmark Attraction Celebrating 70 Years in Business"

 
The “Lawson” Room and former Dance Hall in the back of the building was added last. This room can accommodate 120 dinner guests with a dance floor, which makes it ideal for large private events and wedding receptions. In fact, through the years Relics has become known for the most affordable wedding venue in the area. Members of the community actually helped lay the wooden dance hall floor so that Rainbows End would be ready for the first grand opening country dance party. Before the Dance Hall was built there was a Bunk House, which ultimately burned down, where Cowboys could stay overnight for free with a meal for drinking in the Saloon. The “Lawson” Room has been used for many purposes throughout the years including: a community gathering spot and social club, a kid’s public game room, a bingo hall, a place to hold church services when traveling ministers were in town before Sedona had any churches, a U.S.O. dance club during WW II, a roller skating rink in the 1950s, the Verde Valley’s favorite country/western dance hall in the 1980s–1990s and continues to this day to be the dwelling place for many ghosts that have been seen, heard and even photographed in recent times.  

As a result of this reputation, Relics paranormal activity and related history have recently been extensively investigated and filmed in March 2016 by the Travel Channel for a paranormal TV show. Yes! Relics was confirmed haunted and therefore the only public location in Sedona known to be spirited.  The extent to which, was revealed along with some unexpected results in The Offering episode of The Dead Files, which aired on Saturday, March 18, 2017 (Season 9, Episode 13).   To show respect for such things there is a table in the Roadhouse that is “Reserved for the Ghosts”.  This Ghost Table is set with Relics' best silverware, antique Tiffany China and antique German etched crystal glasses. Do not hesitate to ask the host/hostess for a Haunted Brochure containing recent ghost photographs taken here on the property.

In 2003–2006 the current owners Joe DeSalvo & Karen DeSalvo added the “PoolRoom” by enclosing the breezeway adjacent to the “Lounge”, which previously connected the front and back of the building. This was followed by meticulously restoring the entire facility one room at a time over a four-year period while remaining “open” for business every day throughout the process. The restoration included exposing the original stone exterior wall and original wood flooring of the Gibson House, which had been covered for sixty years as well as stripping and refinishing all of the original woodwork throughout the facility. The original materials and fixtures were utilized wherever possible. 

Following this painstaking endeavor and continuing to this day, the interior is tastefully decorated using period antique furniture, fixtures and accents reminiscent of the opulent and luxurious aspects of the old west including many antique dining tables and chairs as well as a monumental Front and Back Bar . This Bar was acquired from the Sedona estate of a famous movie actress, who purchased it from MGM Studios in the 1950s because it was made for and used as a stage prop in one of her movies and she loved it. To accommodate the height of the Back Bar, the “Lounge” ceiling had to be raised twelve feet.

When the Bar was installed, we discovered that it had never been used “commercially” as it was not “electrified” for lighting,  “plumbed” for water nor had any hardware installed on the Back Bar cabinet doors for opening. The Front Bar foot rest however, was salvaged from the original bar; therefore, we know that many movie stars too numerous to list used it at one time or another including John Wayne and Elvis. The basement, which is now used as an office for the restaurant, once served as residential apartments and is quietly rumored to have been a brothel at a time long forgotten. Most antiques and collectables throughout the facility are available for sale to create a unique dining and shopping experience.