Two local musicians are opening a new music venue and restaurant in the high desert.
Mojave Gold is slated to open on Saturday, May 31. Cooper Gillespie and Greg Gordon of the band LANDROID are spearheading the project, and aiming to craft a thriving place for great music and great eats. Mojave Gold is located at 56193 Twentynine Palms Highway in Yucca Valley, the former home of Gadi’s Bar and Grill, and the short-lived AWE Bar.
During a recent interview with Gillespie and Gordon, they explained how they came across the opportunity to open Mojave Gold.
“We’ve been out here for probably about 10 years,” Gordon said. “I remember when this place was Gadi’s, and then it changed to AWE Bar. They did a really good job with it. I remember when Gadi’s didn’t even have bands here, so when they changed it over to AWE Bar, the stage got bigger; they brought in some lights and put in a sound system, and it was kind of cool. Seven months later, it was gone. At that time, I was working over at Pappy’s. I was the beverage director over there, and I was really shocked that the only other venue in town had gone away. Cooper and I would drive by this place all the time and be like, ‘Why isn’t somebody opening that?’
“One day back in December, my friend called me up, and he’s like, ‘Hey, Greg, I just was talking to the owner, and they want somebody to take over the place and run it. It’ll be yours, and all you have to do is pay the rent.’ I thought about it for an hour, called him back, and I was like, ‘No gets you nowhere in this life, so I’m going to say yes.’”
Even though there was a lot of work ahead of them, they said it was important to add another local music venue.
“We should specify we have long-term experience in the hospitality industry, and as being musicians,” Gillespie said. “I always joke that I started working in hospitality back when you had to punch in three-digit codes for every modifier, like tomato was like 456, on the old NCR system. I think a lot of times people want to buy a venue, or get started in hospitality, and maybe they haven’t done it before, and it’s a lot. … We felt confident that we had a lot to bring to it, because we both have years of experience in that industry, and also as musicians.”
Gillespie and Gordon brought on Dale and Brookelyn Fox, of Foxden Hospitality—a luxury vacation-rental company—as partners.
“We don’t have a lot of money, but it’s going to take x amount of dollars to get this going, so I got in touch with my friend Dale Fox and his wife, Brookelyn, and we started talking,” Gordon said. “We started putting together (financial) sheets … and the number kept going higher and higher, and he was like, ‘Look, I think I can get this money raised for you,’ so they came on board. They’re our partners, and it’s such a dream team. Brookelyn is really heading the design, and Dale’s really heading all the finances.”
As the group sifted through the challenges of renovating the building, they quickly realized why there is a lack of local venues.
“Once we were in here, we’re like, ‘Oh, the walk-in is not working; we’ve got to replace that,’” Gordon said. “Then the HVAC stopped working, so there’s $40,000 you need for that. There’s all kinds of electrical stuff that we’re getting done.”
Mojave Gold intends to operate with the local community at the forefront. For example, Gillespie and Gordon are eager to put local musicians on full display.
“One big thing is focusing on community and really bringing in our locals,” Gillespie said. “Not just musicians, but our local community—the local people who live here, and local artists, and having it feel like a community hub, I think that is really, really important. Having Liz Garo (formerly of The Alibi in Palm Springs) as our talent buyer is really incredible, because she can bring in bigger national touring acts, but we can give locals the opportunity to open for those acts. I don’t want it to be a space that’s just for nationals or just for locals, but rather, a space where it’s community driven, and it gives local musicians an opportunity to get opportunities.”
On the restaurant side, some have criticized Mojave Gold after another publication’s headline stated that the business will be focusing on elevated dining.
“Dale was asking me, ‘What is missing in this town?’ I was like, ‘Well, I know we don’t need another rib place, barbecue place, or Mexican restaurant,’” Gordon said. “We’re not going to compete with Pappy’s for food. Every time I want to take my wife out to dinner, I’m either going down the hill to Palm Springs for something nice, or Kitchen in the Desert out in Twentynine Palms. There are a handful of restaurants in Twentynine Palms that have elevated food dining, and I think we’re missing that up here. We should have a place that’s got really nice food, and great service, and I think that’s going to really help us.”
“Dale was asking me, ‘What is missing in this town?’ I was like, ‘Well, I know we don’t need another rib place, barbecue place, or Mexican restaurant.’”
Greg Gordon
Added Gillespie: “It isn’t exorbitantly expensive; it’s reasonably priced, but really great food. Our menu has a lot of vegan and vegetarian options. Don’t worry; we’ve got the meat, too … but there are a lot of really delicious vegan and vegetarian options. Someone was like, ‘There’s no place where I can get brussels sprouts in this town,’ and I’m like, ‘We got the brussels sprouts for you.’”
Executive chef Beren Ekine-Huett and chef de cuisine Williams Grimoldi are creating a sustainable, local menu.
“(Ekine-Huett) was previously the chef de cuisine at Workshop in Palm Springs for five years,” Gillespie said. “She lives up here, and she’s just amazingly talented. Her right hand, Williams Grimoldi, is also hugely talented. What I like about their menu is it’s recognizable, but they put twists on things. Our whole kitchen is focused on sustainability, sourcing from local ingredients as we can. Will is also a nutritional coach, and he majored in nutrition, so he’s also really focused on the nutritional aspect of the food. What they’ve put together is different and really needed around here.”
Gillespie and Gordon said they want everyone to feel welcome at Mojave Gold.
“I was a bartender for a really, really long time, and I came to this place where I really believed that I was changing the world one drink at a time,” Gillespie said. “I do think the work that hospitality people do is really important. … Having people be taken really good care of—it’s almost like a sacred mission. I know that sounds, like, out there, but I do really believe that. I see service that way, and I think you can feel that. You can feel when your drink is made with love; you feel the difference in the energy of your drink. … It is a sacred service, and you can really change people’s day with a great meal.”
Mojave Gold is located at 56193 Twentynine Palms Highway. Learn more at mojavegolddesert.com.
Cooper and Greg ARE Mojave Gold! I’m looking forward to seeing what they bring to that space and I’m so excited to have a vegetarian place that’s going to serve more than a veggie burger:)
Good to see the place coming alive again! I’m a musician as well and it seems the scene up here and down in the valley is not very happening. Been here for 10 yrs now from riverside. I have a P.A system and there’s no sound gigs as well! Any ways looking foreword to your opening.