Safford is the official birthplace of the Arizona Salsa Trail, and the valley eats accordingly. But there is more here than salsa, and most of it is family-run.
The Salsa Trail
The trail links 16 family-owned Mexican restaurants and eateries across the valley. Casa Mañana, which opened in 1951, El Charro and El Coronado, both open since 1981, are long-running staples. Mi Casa Tortilla Factory has been making tortillas, masa and pan dulce in Safford for more than fifty years. Every September the whole thing is celebrated at NatureSweet SalsaFest, a downtown festival with restaurant and amateur salsa competitions, live music and a car show.
Not in the mood for Mexican?
Try a steak at the Branding Iron Steakhouse & Lounge, or mesquite-grilled steaks and ribs at Frontier Steak & Spirits. Retrograde Brew & BBQ pours house-brewed beer in a downtown brewhouse, and Rafter G serves smoked barbecue. Fancy Pizzeria makes Neapolitan pizza in an imported Italian oven. In Thatcher, Eagle’s Roost has been flipping burgers since 1976.
Breakfast, bakeries and coffee
Jerry’s is a classic diner with a lunch counter. Cottage Bakery and Rustic Barn Bakery handle the cinnamon rolls and cakes, and Good Bean Coffee Roasters and Ginaveve’s Market Place & The Main Street Bean cover coffee and a bite downtown. Out in Pima, El Mesquite Taqueria is known for breakfast burritos and Taylor Freeze is a burger-and-soft-serve stand.
Know before you go
Hours change and small places close early. Check with the restaurant before you drive across the valley. Everything we list is in the dining directory, and partner restaurants carry a Sponsored label. Think we are missing a place, or have something to add about one? Tell us.