I drive to Arizona on a regular basis and the last few weeks, I’ve noticed that the famous Rosie’s Den appears to be closed. Any update? I also remember recently a scandal involving someone there skimming lottery money. Could that be the reason they’re closed?
For those who don’t know about Rosie’s Den, it was a restaurant, bar, gift shop, and lottery outlet in White Hills, Arizona, roughly 25 miles southeast of Boulder City on US 93.
The business was something of a landmark for nearly 85 years, established as a gas station in 1933. Rosie Larsen, fresh from Florida, founded the diner in 1984, decorating it with personal items she trucked out from the Sunshine State and naming it Rosie’s Den to give it the feel of someone’s family room at home.
Rosie’s son Brad said, “It was my mother’s ‘ministry’ to help weary hungry travelers along US 93.” At its peak, Rosie’s Den was also the second-largest Powerball ticket-sales location in the nation.
An electrical fire destroyed the place in 2011. It was rebuilt and reopened in 2013, but Rosie died a couple years later in Vegas. Brad Larsen took it over, but in poor health and legally blind, he was challenged by running it. He discontinued lottery sales in March 2016. A nearby Chevron station and Arizona Last Stop (which is its own story, but for another day) both picked up the lottery slack.
We’re not sure about skimming, but we can say that when Brad Larsen parted ways with the Arizona Lottery, he owed it some money. He claimed that they were simply settling up accounts and we haven’t heard anything about it since, so we assume the debt was paid.
Then, on July 31 and August 3 of this year, Rosie’s was damaged by two fires. After the discovery of a stolen safe and gas cans at the scene, arson was suspected to cover the theft.
As of this writing, Rosie's is still closed. The phone recording says that it should reopen within "a week or so," but it's said that for at least a couple of months, which is why we're writing about it in the past tense. If you're planning on passing by and want to see if it's open, you can call (928) 767-3348.
