Eddie’s House sold:
Brother of MMA’s Holm one of buyers
Chef Eddie Matney, a veteran of three decades on the Valley dining scene, sells his restaurant, Eddie’s House, to business partners Weston Holm and Duane Koch. The new owners will open a farm-to-table restaurant and distillery in the space later this year.
Just days after Josh Hebert closed Posh Restaurant comes word that another of downtown Scottsdale’s iconic chefs has decided it’s time for something new.
Chef Eddie Matney, a three-decade veteran of the Valley dining scene beloved for his intense enthusiasm and eclectic menus, has sold his restaurant, Eddie’s House, to business partners Weston Holm and Duane Koch. Holm is the brother of renowned mixed-martial-arts fighter Holly Holm, who will have a role in the new farm-to-table restaurant and distillery opening in the space later this year.
Matney has helmed Eddie’s House at Indian School Road and Marshall Way since 2008.
“There comes a time every nine or 10 years that you have to redo a restaurant. It came to that time, it’s run its course and a positive opportunity came up,” he told The Republic.
Matney is no stranger to the increasing economic pressures on Valley restaurants, having navigated Eddie’s House through bankruptcy proceedings in 2014. But having closed the sale of the restaurant last week, he is champing to dive into a new project.
“I still love it,” Matney said. “I get a rush out of cooking an over easy egg. I’m looking for other things that will come across my plate, and there are so many different opportunities out there that I’m open to anything.”
Matney expressed excitement for the restaurant’s new tenants, who are bringing a new concept to the space.
“Blue Clover is going to be a restaurant and distillery with scratch kitchen foods and a little taste of the Southwest in there,” said Holm, who previously worked in the oil industry, distilling liquids of a different sort.
A native of Albuquerque, Weston Holm grew up in a farming family. The name “Blue Clover” is a reference to the Irish and Danish heritage of his grandparents, who met on a boat en route to Ellis Island and originally settled in southern Colorado. Holm hopes to bring those sensibilities to his new endeavor.
“We’re going to use as many local farmers’ foods as we can, because one farm kid to another, we understand the whole process,” he said. “So we’re going to be using the best ingredients in our restaurant and the best grains in our distillery.”
Though still under development, Holm describes a menu with a farm-to-table focus and a comfortable feel that will go well with cocktails prepared from spirits distilled in-house. Holm plans to first offer vodka, later following with gin, rum and possibly tequila.
Holm also says his sister, the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion who won the title by defeating Ronda Rousey in 2015, will assist in developing the restaurant’s look and feel.
“A touch of who she is is going to be put on this place as well,” Holm said.
Both partners are eager to open in Scottsdale. Koch said the regulations in Arizona are more friendly to a distillery than the liquor laws in New Mexico.
“Scottsdale just fell into our lap,” Koch said. “That property kept calling to us.”
But it isn’t just the regulatory environment that attracted the pair to Scottsdale.
“We love the buzz here,” Holm added. “The nightlife and the feel of the town and how electric this city is. It’s been a long time dream coming true.”