Desert Bar’s owner is looking to sell iconic saloon
The Desert Bar, also known as the Nellie E Saloon, is closing its doors for the season on Sunday, April 25.
That the remote bar in the rugged mountains near Parker, in western Arizona, shuts down every summer is not news to the thousands of fans who have frequented the iconic outpost since it opened in 1983.
But visitors may be shocked to learn that when the Desert Bar reopens in October its builder and owner may not be there.
The Arizona Republic has learned that Ken Coughlin, who built the Nellie E in the Buckskin Mountains 10 miles northeast of Parker, has decided to retire and sell his bar and grill.
Coughlin, 77, has not found a buyer for his 38-year-old bar. He hopes the summer closure will give him time to figure out his plans.
“I haven’t started anything,” Coughlin
said. “I am getting close to getting someone to assess the property. Evaluate everything, which I am going to be thinking about as we get close to closing.
“I sort of talked about retiring this year. And again, age has a lot to do with it. I always wondered when that was going to happen. It just comes naturally that you can’t do the things that you used to do. I have to accept that I have to move on.”
How the Desert Bar started
When Coughlin moved out West from Wisconsin in 1974, he settled in California. But after visiting Arizona for a short time, he realized that the desert life was for him. He started a snack bar catering to tourists along the Colorado River in Parker.
In 1975, he acquired land that was part of an abandoned mining camp. With his liquor license and 71 acres to
play with, he set up a six-stool shack that had no running water or electricity. By 1988 he had built the Nellie E Saloon in the parking lot of the old mining camp.
Today the Desert Bar is fully self-sufficient with solar-power electricity and well water. It’s open on Saturdays and Sundays from October through April.
‘I am always working on it’
The bar’s seasonal closure largely coincided with the pandemic and it reopened last October as is traditional. Coughlin continues to make additions to what he calls his “ongoing project.” Patrons who visit on the final two weekends of this season will see a new deck being built for additional space. There is also a modern new kitchen.
“All through the years, you have people coming back to see what I have done. Because I am always working on it,” Coughlin said.
Coughlin is final on his decision to retire once he finds new owners, but he’s unsure what he wants to do with his 71acre property. He is open to leasing the business, selling it or even selling the whole property. It all depends on what buyers have to offer.
The property includes the Desert Bar as well as his home, which overlooks the establishment. No matter who buys the
bar, however, Coughlin does not plan to go far. He’s even thinking of building another house on the property if the new owners are amenable.
He believes that will keep him close to his life’s work.
“I am hoping that if I sell in some way that I would be a part of it and that (new owners) would ask me for my opinion,” Coughlin said.
“I like the bar and everything, but the biggest joy was designing and building out there. Walking around and looking
at it and what I built, it’s the payoff.”
You can connect with Arizona Republic Culture and Outdoors Reporter Shanti Lerner through email at shanti.lerner@gannett.com or you can also follow her on Twitter.
Desert Bar and Nellie E Saloon
What: Bar and grill near Parker in western Arizona. The Desert Bar serves
mixed drinks, canned beer, chicken and barbecue sandwiches, hot dogs and burgers. Bring cash — credit cards are not accepted.
When: Noon-6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays from October through April.
Where: From Parker, take State Route 95 north about 5 miles to Cienega Springs Road. Turn right and go 5 miles to the Desert Bar. Cienega Springs
Road is unpaved and not regularly maintained. Carefully driven sedans can make it. You may be more comfortable in a high-clearance vehicle.