Rockin’ R Ranch closing

After 35 years, owners Jim and Mary Robson are shutting down Mesa’s Western-themed Rockin’ R Ranch dinner and entertainment venue.

The Rockin’ R Ranch in Mesa is closing its doors for good.

But you still have time to say goodbye.

Just not much.

After 35 years, owners Jim and Mary Robson are shutting down the Western-themed dinner-and-entertainment business. The final show is tonight. (The ranch will hold an auction at noon Monday on the premises.)

Rockin’ R features a little Western town you can wander through before settling in for a hearty dinner and a Western-themed show, which includes the Robsons singing and playing.

“My head is swimming,” Mary Robson said Friday morning as she prepared for the closing. “There’s so much to think and do. But it has been a life for us for over 35 years.”

That life is changing. But don’t call it a retirement. The Robsons will continue to perform — just not at their own establishment.

“We still love performing, but we’ll be doing it on a more limited basis and traveling more,” Robson said.

Getting off the road, oddly enough, is what led the Robsons to create the business in the first place.

“We were on the road performing, going from state to state or city to city,” Robson said. “We realized we didn’t have a lot of control. We played Vegas,

we played all over. We started having more kids and we didn’t have a lot of control over the places where we were performing at.

“We wanted to come home.”

So she and Jim traveled around the country, checking out similar businesses, watching and learning.

“We took notes on everything,” she said. “We had never really been in business – just two young kids with a dream.”

With all the research and hard work, the dream came true.

“Things came together to make it happen all so miraculously,” she said.

They set up shop on what had been a cattle and horse ranch in Mesa. According to the Rockin’ R website, Jim’s greatgreat-grandfather was Charles Innes Robson, one of Mesa’s founders. They brought the flavor of that Western history to their shows.

But now it’s time to let it go. The Robsons sold the land; Mary says the buyers will build apartments on it. And she doesn’t sound thrilled about the prospect:

“Is that the future? Oh, brother.” It may be, though it’s not the Robsons’ future. They’re getting a traveling and entertainment schedule together. They might play South Korea, even. And the past offers some nice memories, too.

“I think almost every night I’m grateful,” Robson said. “My kids are on the stage, my husband’s on the stage. I look out and see a lot of smiling faces and families. It’s really heartwarming, you know?”

Is she surprised it’s lasted this long? Robson laughed at the notion.

“No,” she said. “I’m surprised that it’s not lasting.”