The iconic El Chorro Lodge in Paradise Valley has new owners.
Phoenix-based Grossman Company Properties, which owns other Valley properties including the Arizona Grand Resort & Spa and The Scott Resort & Spa, acquired the historic restaurant and event venue for $19.5 million on July 27, according to documents filed with Maricopa County.
First built as a school for girls in 1934, El Chorro has transformed a few times over the years, with celebrities such as John Wayne, Clark Gable and Milton Berle staying at the lodge. The latest iteration has been one of the Valley’s most prominent restaurants and event venues. Before COVID, more than 150 special events and 90 weddings happened at El Chorro every year.
Grossman acquired the property from Jacquie Dorrance, the wife of Bennett Dorrance, a major shareholder in the Campbell Soup Co., which his family founded. Dorrance scooped up El Chorro in 2009, in the midst of the Great Recession. She paid $7 million for it, according to county records.
