Wendy and Keith Spooner bought the Patagonia Lumber Company (PLC) in July 2024. Their vision then and now is to “have a space for people to have fun, hear music, and be themselves.”
How they do that is what makes it special.
There is a focus on buying local goods, attracting a diverse group of locals and residents from surrounding areas and making the space comfortable and inviting for musicians as well as customers. They are committed to hiring local employees and provide training, mentoring, and ongoing support. The PLC hosts local nonprofits for friend-raisers and fundraisers, offering not only the space but help with planning, ticket sales, setup, cleanup and sometimes food, all at no or minimal cost. People also use the space for birthday parties, family events, or other special occasions. Dogs are welcomed too!
The Spooners had been living in Phoenix since 1997 and in 2019 were ready to get out of the big city. They began their search for a small Arizona town, in a natural setting, where they could see the stars at night, where they could contribute to and be nourished by a vibrant community, and where they could envision their future.
Patagonia was that town, and both Spooners knew it at their first visit. They moved just before Covid broke out in late 2019. Keith, a graphic designer for 25 years, left the Phoenix art community and her workshop, while Wendy was able to keep working online as an Executive Director of Data & Analytics in the Life Science industry. Keith focused on sculpture, custom metal work, graphic design, permit plans and architectural drawings. They bought land locally and considered how to begin fulfilling their vision there, but then the PLC came into focus. It seemed like an opportunity they could not pass up.
This October the Patagonia Lumber Company celebrates five years of music, friendship, community, and memories. Join them October 22-25 for their anniversary’s four days of music, food, and celebrations honoring the people who make this community so special — regulars, musicians, employees, founders, local businesses and friends.
The Lumber Company is a wine and beer bar, with a large outdoor space that can hold people sitting in chairs, couches, at a counter or at tables, plus room for a band to play and for people to dance. Wendy primarily manages the business, and Keith handles a myriad of tasks to keep operations moving. There is a rotating list of local beers on tap, beers in bottles and cans including nonalcoholic options, and local wines.
The PLC is always open Friday through Sunday but adds Wednesday and Thursday from Fall through late Spring, There is live music most nights, ranging from solo and duo acts to large-scale bands. Last Spring, every Thursday night featured local Mike Hogan, who plays an eclectic and soulful guitar, with no cover charge. Fridays and Saturdays usually rock a bit more with bands from local surrounds like Patagonia, Nogales, Rio Rico and Tucson. There is usually a minimal cover charge to help offset the cost to bring in the bands. There is often a food truck on site, and for special events or finding a food truck is challenging, Wendy, also known as Spoon’s Kitchen, cooks.
PLC customers are an increasingly diverse group: long-time locals, younger folks, families, snowbirds and tourists coming to Patagonia for a variety of outdoor adventures. Some are there to dance, some to follow local bands. Some looking to socialize with friends, others to meet new people.
“We’re grateful people get to experience our community and the talented performers, and we truly appreciate their business,” Wendy said. “We also love being a completely unique venue for bands and their fans. What’s most special is when we see familiar local faces in the crowd or watch local amateur singers bravely perform or watch kids jumping around the dance floor. It’s very connecting, warm, and accepting.”
While the Spooners are very happy to have the PLC and to grow it as a community space in Patagonia, there are definitely challenges. Managing a live outside music venue within the town means balancing the ability to book popular bands that can play loudly with protecting the local residents from excessive noise, which is defined by the town’s Noise Ordinance. To do so, the PLC schedules bands to start earlier and end earlier, well before the 10 PM limit of the Noise Ordinance. This works most of the time, for most, but not all, local residents or musicians. “We continue to work on this,” Wendy said.
A second challenge is that small-town taverns rarely make much profit, especially one designed to be a community resource. The PLC covers its costs but requires its owners to have day jobs.
Wendy and Keith knew that going in but “hope folks recognize they need to sell enough beverages and other products to allow them to do everything else,” Wendy said. “It’s hard when people come for a couple of hours and don’t buy anything. We are working hard to keep things affordable and appealing. And we continue to prioritize getting better at customer service.”
The Spooners are idea people who have some pretty big plans going forward with the PLC. Wendy would like to have a kitchen up and running this year with the capacity to make good food available for customers at the bar and takeout for locals. That would also mean more jobs for locals. Keith is interested in more art displayed in the space and more good music. Both talk about ways to expand the uses of the space, for example dance troupes, performance art, poetry reading, speakers on a variety of interests to the community, workshops around healing and wellness, open mic opportunities, or . . .
In the end, it’s really all about making a space for connections of people, ideas, and fun. Come see for yourself and check out their website for food trucks and a list of bands scheduled to play in October/November and beyond.