GOODYEAR, Ariz. — A piece of Arizona history with a 100-year-old legacy is set to be demolished for a widening project in the West Valley.
Roman’s Oasis has been a western staple in Goodyear located near Yuma Road and Cotton Lane since the 1920s.
The giant rooster which sits just feet away from the road, or the 8-foot-tall Captain Morgan on the roof, gives little clues to the history and endurance the bar has lived through.
“It’s going to be difficult to see it taken down,” said owner Myra Curtis. “I’m sure I’ll be a puddle that day, but I think my dad would be proud that we’re moving forward instead of letting go.”
>> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.
It was Roman Comer, Curtis’s father, who made the bar what it is today. The building started off as a gas station and store and in 1934 it became a segregated bar named Carl’s.
Louis and Annie DeRosier ran it until 1944 when Arturo Martinez took over and named it ‘Western Oasis.’ Martinez added the full restaurant with chefs from the Wigwam Resort.
Comer took over the business in 1987, renamed it ‘Roman’s Oasis’, and added to the bar. His charismatic personality is visible in the décor. When Comer passed in 2011, his wife oversaw the business for a short time, until Curtis took the helm.
Throughout the years, the building tripled in size, going from 2,800 square feet to 9,000 square feet, lived through 20 presidents and segregation, survived a recession, and most recently a pandemic.
“I love it here, it’s like my second family,” said Greg Urpan, a regular customer. “It’s going to be sad to see it go.”
The iconic building is set to be demolished in the summer of 2024. A widening project on Yuma Road has forced the family to make the decision to take the bar down but rebuild a new structure 50 feet away from where it sits now.
“It’s a little bit crowded right now with just one lane heading east, so it’ll be great to have additional traffic flow,” said Curtis.
While the process will be bittersweet, Curtis plans to include loyal customers in the move. A month before the demolition, they want to transfer the Western charm and mementos to the new building.
“We want to make sure we preserve the things that we have that have history, the things that mean something to people in the community who brought them to my dad,” Curtis added.
From hotel bed boards that were turned into wall frames, to the plywood on the walls and the wine rack that decorates one of the bars, to the mix-matched tables and stools, all will be repurposed in the new bar.
All while still preserving special history, like the 45-foot-tall 100-year-old pine tree that will no longer be in the kitchen or go out through the roof, but in a future patio.
“I think he’d appreciate where we’ve come,” said Curtis who is hopeful to keep his father’s memory alive in the new building.
“Thank you for building this legacy,” she nostalgically said to her dad. “For not only myself but for my family, for the community. It’s just a beautiful place to be.”
WE ❤ ARIZONA
Explore amAZing people, places and things across our state on our 12News YouTube playlist here.