History of The Palace Restaurant & Saloon
Stepping into The Palace Restaurant and Saloon is like stepping into a time when cowboys spent their nights drinking and gambling and enjoying the company of ladies of the evening.
Although now patronized by locals and tourists, the feel of the old West still lingers in the air, captured in the warm wooden floors, old plaster walls, tin ceiling and the original quarter sawn oak and cherry bar. It was fully restored to its former grandeur by Dave Michelson, owner, in 1996, and reflects the atmosphere it had in 1901.
Originally built in 1877, the original Palace was destroyed in the Whiskey Row fire of 1900. But the original bar remained – patrons picked it up and carried it out of the burning building. There on the street, the owners at the time continued serving beer and whiskey throughout the night. Locals and tourists can still belly up to the original mahogany bar for a drink or to admire its polished, gleaming surface.
An all American style restaurant with full lunch and dinner menus, The Palace also features a mini-museum with old photographs, posters of Hollywood films shot at The Palace and antique gambling and mining display.
“Gambling was a big part of our Western heritage,” said Michelson. “Some of the gambling pieces displayed are pieces that were used on Whiskey Row back in the turn of the century.”
The Palace Restaurant, located at 120 S. Montezuma St., is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. The Palace is also home to Prescott original dinner theater, where the community can enjoy dinner and a show.
