In the early 1960s, Don and Eleanor Voelz laid the foundation for their Polynesian Dairy Queen at 68th Street and McDowell Road. Little did they know, the A-frame structure designed by Ralph Haver's architectural firm would become a symbol of nostalgia in Scottsdale and one that would be constructed from the ground up, twice.
Haver's biographer and founder of Modern Phoenix, Alison King explains that in the '50s and '60s, there was an appreciation or "craze" for Polynesian-themed design that swept across the country. Hence, the appeal to build a Polynesian Dairy Queen and its adjacent Polynesian Plaza in 1964 — a continuation of Polynesian Paradise, an adult-only condominium community that was built in 1962 on the property directly behind the Plaza.
After operating as a Dairy Queen for 20-some years, the Polynesian A-frame closed its doors in the mid-1980s. Through the years, it housed businesses including a local RV rental company and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. According to Jennifer Hibbard of Twins & Co. Realty, the property was purchased in early 2018 by Don Drake, owner of the neighboring Western Honda Motorsports.
At the time of sale, Hibbard says Drake intended to demolish the structure to clear space for a new Western Honda parking lot. However, Drake was willing to wait until they found a real estate developer with the means and motivation to preserve the Polynesian A-frame by dismantling and relocating it, according to Hibbard.
It wasn’t until the spring of 2019 when the building was being prepped for demolition that local real estate developer Tom Frenkel of Clayton Companies stepped in to "Save the Queen" and give it new life, according to a news release about the new restaurant.
According to Hibbard, each piece was carefully labeled and stored at the new location off Hayden and Osborn roads until the team was ready to begin the second construction of the Polynesian building nearly 60 years later. Although they weren't able to repurpose every single piece of the original structure from the 1960s, Hibbard says the pieces that weren't suitable to use were replicated using new materials.
Now, four years after the dismantling of the tiki-inspired building, Oliver’s Modern American, sister restaurant to neighboring brunch spot The Eleanor, will open its doors later this month and invite the neighborhood to dine in the relocated iconic Polynesian structure.
A labor of love and preservation
Complete with a history wall of various photos and pieces of memorabilia and an exterior constructed with lava rock from the original Polynesian Dairy Queen, Oliver’s mid-century design is both a nod to the building’s heritage and a wave to the future of dining in south Scottsdale.
“We’ve had people following the project (who) are over at The Eleanor having breakfast,” says Steve Ellefson, part-owner of The Eleanor and Oliver’s. “I had a woman come to tears last week because she stepped into the space and she said, ‘I’ve been here before’ — meaning, (she) was familiar with the location when it was on McDowell way back in the ‘60s and ‘70s.”
It's that kind of nostalgia that Ellefson and the team at Oliver’s hope customers feel when they step inside the repurposed structure — no matter their age or generation.
By partnering with ALINE Architecture Concepts and Social Design Studio, Ellefson is pleased with the way they have incorporated the once 1,000-square-foot Polynesian building into a 4,400-square-foot restaurant.
Centered beneath the vaulted ceiling that reaches some 30 feet up is the bar and lounge area where customers can sip on specialty cocktails like The Queen, a boozy tribute to the past served in a vintage Dairy Queen glass and made with vanilla vodka, amaretto, pineapple juice, grenadine and garnished with a pineapple slice and cherry.
Although the bar and lounge area are intended to be the focal points of the restaurant, Ellefson explains that the goal behind the design was for customers to enjoy the space no matter where they are seated.
“Sometimes you get to a restaurant that you’re excited about and you get sat at a table where you’re like, ‘Man, I wish I would have been sat at the table over there,’” says Ellefson. “Every table is going to have that equal this-is-a-really-cool-place feeling to it.”
Geared towards comfort and family
Oliver's comes to life as the next phase of Clayton Companies' hospitality project which started with repurposing the former dry cleaners building into The Eleanor next door. The building that houses Oliver's was the overall inspiration for the reimagined Polynesian-themed plaza.
“I think that (customers) are going to find some similarities or some synergy between the two," Ellefson says, "with the same mentality of we just want you to feel comfortable, we want you to feel invited.”
Since opening The Eleanor last September, Ellefson and head chef Kent Macaulay, who will also oversee the menu at Oliver’s, feel they have found their niche in refining a concept that’s not only approachable for families but also offers quality food and fresh ingredients.
Both fathers with young families, Ellefson and Macaulay emphasize that they are “honing their craft” of creating restaurants where parents want to bring their kids.
“There’s definitely room for another restaurant to come in and serve the neighborhood, so we want to be approachable,” Ellefson says. “We want the neighborhood to feel comfortable to come in on a Tuesday night, and, you know, get dressed up and come in again on Friday night.”
Recipes seasoned with flavor and creativity
In line with Macaulay’s love for recreating traditional home-cooked meals, Oliver’s menu will feature bold, flavorful dishes with “a lot of heart behind them” Macaulay says. From vegetarian-focused entrees and reimagined classics to a scratch-made kids menu, Macaulay has crafted a modern American menu with the slightest international influences and flavors — combined with the comforts of a home-cooked meal.
As he was determined to have dinner options geared toward vegetarians, it was important to Macaulay to create vegetable-based recipes using fresh produce and ingredients.
"For me, what’s the difference between a proper vegetable dish and a proper dish with meat in it? There is no difference, right? It’s just you’re using a vegetable, (so) why can’t you incorporate lots of good flavors with that?" Macaulay asks.
Menu items will include a vegetable flatbread, grilled corn and tomato pasta, strawberry and goat cheese salad, asparagus with whipped feta, Moroccan chicken skewers, a roasted garlic aioli burger and a coffee-crusted New York strip.
Despite how confident or excited he feels about the menu, Macaulay admits he is adaptable when it comes to what the kitchen will offer at Oliver’s — especially if a dish isn’t as popular as he anticipates or if he finds a fresh way to alter a recipe.
“I think that’s important to be able to see that and make those adjustments after an opening,” Macaulay says.
In anticipation of the grand opening on May 24, Ellefson is excited to share a part of Scottsdale’s history with new customers. He hopes it can be a place for the neighborhood to gather and reminisce while also creating new memories inside the historic A-frame building.
Oliver’s Modern American
3205 N. Hayden Road, Scottsdale
