The latest Tucson restaurant victim of the economy is a big one: Terra Cotta.

Here’s an e-mail we’ve received:

It is with mixed emotions that we write to you today to share the news that after a tremendous 22 years of serving our friends, neighbors and guests from near and far, Terra Cotta will close its doors on Saturday, January 31st.

Like so many other businesses, the current economic climate has taken its toll on us too and we can no longer continue on. On behalf of the Luria and Nordin families, we want to express our gratitude to you, our valued guests, who have afforded us the opportunity to pursue our passion these last 22 years. It has been an honor and privilege to open our doors each night and do our best in providing you with a unique Southwestern dining experience. We would be remiss if we didn’t also acknowledge and thank the many talented staff that have worked with us over the years in creating and serving the wonderful cuisine that made Terra Cotta the success that it was. Lastly, we want to thank our many vendors (partners really, many of whom are local businesses too) and acknowledge our dedicated and talented peers in the industry–particularly those in the Tucson Originals.

While every story has an ending, this is not particularly the one our family would have chosen. However, in these last few weeks, we intend to focus on what has been and will ultimately be our defining legacy: the many

treasured relationships we have developed with you, our guests.

So, in these last few weeks, we hope that you will come in and dine at Terra Cotta to enjoy one last bowl of Jennifer’s Tortilla Soup, the Garlic Custard, our signature Stuffed Prawns with Goat Cheese and of course one last piece of our famous Chocolate Mousse Pie.

We’ll be open nightly starting at 4:00 PM now thru January 31st.

Warmly,

Michael and Maya, Don and Donna

(Full disclosure: Michael and Maya Luria are friends of mine.)

This article appears in Jan 8-14, 2009.

12 replies on “Terra Cotta Is Closing”

  2. The negative spiral really must end. I stubbornly believe it will,but when. And I wish that local favorites could just hold on. Wish the banks with their bailout monies could have a local fund for “tide-over” support of local business.
    But the spring training news was a positive note this week, will that come through?
    I hope for better things for our local food establishments.

  3. oy vey, did you see papers this morning. Saguaro Ranch in foreclosure? What happens to McClintock’s.

  4. I am so sorry to hear this sad news. We should all be encouraging our friends and families to support the local businesses that make our community great. Best of luck to both families…thanks for everything.

  5. Hey, Monica: Check out The Skinny this week. You’ll see that we had the Saguaro Ranch story in this week’s issue.

  6. No Jimmy, I didn’t see The Skinny story….but now that I have read it, I wonder if you can tell us if Virginia Wooters is still in Tucson and on the culinary scene? Thanks for being there at least we still have Tucson Weekly.

  7. Monica – A number listed in the white pages for a Virginia Wooters is disconnected, and the restaurant would not elaborate, only saying that she was no longer with the restaurant.

  9. They should’ve stayed in St. Philip’s Plaza, a more accessible location. Although being accessible didn’t help Cuvee.

  10. Those who care about Tucson should care — for some period of time — to only patronize locally owned restaurants. And as many other local businesses as possible. That makes food shopping hard, but maybe we would all appreciate what we have here… Just a thought.

  11. Let’s all move to Saint Philip’s Plaza and work there, too!

    With the “economy” apparently chosen to run cover for poor business planning and poor decisions it is informative to consider this pdf from U. Wisconsin that, in its way, shows how complicated a can of Boyardee can be:

    http://www.uwex.edu/CES/CCED/economies/tourism/RestaurantMarketAnalysis.pdf

    and compare it to support provided to well-meaning but emotional businesspersons by AZ government (UA) and City of Tucson…

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