On October 2, the Arizona Biltmore and Wrigley Mansion announced that the house on the hill had joined the resort under one owner. The announcement called the dining "an elevated and distinctive culinary experience for locals, Arizona Biltmore guests and travelers alike." According to KTAR, reporting with the Phoenix Business Journal, the deal closed October 1 at $17 million under Maricopa County records. The seller was Jamie Hormel and family, who had owned the mansion since 1992.
Booking a table at Christopher's still works the way it did before the sale. Under the restaurant's own FAQ, at least one person in the dinner party has to be a Wrigley Mansion member. That rule goes back to the years when the hill and the hotel had different owners. Nothing about the new arrangement has changed it so far.
A private club because of where it sits
The mansion's membership page states the reason plainly:
"Given our residential location, the city requires us to operate as a private club."
Phoenix New Times laid out the background in 1998. The mansion's zoning didn't allow restaurants unless they were part of a hotel, the way restaurants were at the Biltmore next door. In the 1980s, Western Savings and Loan owned the mansion and used it as a club for its depositors. Its leadership got a city use permit for a restaurant and banquet center serving club members. The paper dated that permit to 1983.
The Hormels inherited the setup. They first tried opening dinner to the public and offering low-cost memberships to Biltmore residents, with Sunday brunches. By May 1998, Jamie Hormel had told the Arizona Biltmore Estates Village Association, or ABEVA, that the mansion would stay a private club with dues of $10 a year. New Times called that "a de facto public restaurant." ABEVA asked the city to revoke the use permit and to set a standard for what counts as a bona fide private club. At the time, the city's zoning administrator hadn't decided the question.
Nearly three decades later, the setup still runs on the same idea. Dues are low enough that almost anyone can join, and the house still operates as a club. The entry fee is now $20 instead of $10.
The years the hill and the hotel spent apart
The private-club arrangement grew out of a split. For most of its first half century, the mansion belonged to the same estate as the hotel.
- February 23, 1929. The Arizona Biltmore opens. William Wrigley Jr., an early investor, takes ownership as the Depression begins.
- 1931. Wrigley completes La Colina Solana, "the sunny hill," as a 50th wedding anniversary gift for his wife, Ada. Earl Heitschmidt is the architect.
- June 1973. Talley Industries buys Arizona Biltmore Estates from the Wrigley-Offield Trust. The purchase includes the hotel, the mansion, the Adobe Golf Course and about 900 acres of undeveloped land, according to ABEVA's history.
- 1978. The hotel is sold on its own to Rostland Arizona.
- 1980s. Western Savings owns the mansion and runs it as a members' club under the city permit.
- 1992. Geordie and Jamie Hormel buy the mansion and save it from demolition.
- 2021. Jamie Hormel completes a year-long renovation.
- 2024. Henderson Park acquires the Arizona Biltmore, and Pyramid Global Hospitality manages it.
- October 1, 2026. The Henderson Park-led joint venture buys the mansion.
The rest of the neighborhood grew out of step three. In 1976, Talley's company sold the first development parcel, which became the Cloisters. ABEVA's CC&Rs were written and recorded with that sale. When New Times described the 1998 dispute, ABEVA's position came from the same estate history that had once tied the mansion to the hotel.
What the new owners have said so far
The October 2 announcement names the ownership group as a Henderson Park joint venture with Western & Southern Financial Group, funds managed by Hamilton Lane, South Street Partners and Pyramid Global Hospitality. Pyramid will operate both properties. "There are very few opportunities in hospitality to bring two landmarks together that have been connected to one another from the very beginning," said Michael Hoffmann, the Arizona Biltmore's vice president and managing director, in the release. Pyramid CEO Warren Fields said the company was "ready to work alongside the talented associates who have built its reputation."
The resort's new Wrigley Mansion page offers transportation to and from the mansion for resort guests, arranged through the concierge. On October 3, the Biltmore Area Partnership pointed out that the mansion's site still advertised memberships and tied the private club to its residential location. It suggested confirming arrangements directly while the transition is underway. The membership page still says the same thing, and it still lists all three tiers.
Getting a membership before the first reservation
For a neighbor, the practical step comes before booking. You sign up on the mansion's registration page, with a one-time or auto-renewing annual payment.
| Tier | Annual dues | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Social | $20 | Access to the mansion, priority reservations for holidays and special events, member-only invitations, complimentary valet |
| Wine | $75 | Everything in Social, plus first-priority reservations for the annual Festivin celebration and other special events, plus wine-member events |
| Corporate | $250 | Everything in Wine, plus reduced food and beverage minimums for private dining spaces |
There's no card to carry. The mansion keeps members on file for entry and parking, and members can bring guests except to member-only events. The free valet matters on this hill. The mansion's directions page suggests driving all the way to the top, because self-parking means a steep walk and stairs.
Three rooms, three different evenings
Christopher's has the most attention right now. Chef Christopher Gross, a James Beard Award winner, runs the kitchen. The Michelin Guide's first American Southwest selection, released August 26, 2026, named it a recommended restaurant. It did not receive a star. It's open Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday it serves the Classics menu, and Friday and Saturday it serves the chef's tasting menu. Parties of six or fewer book online and pay in advance.
Geordie's Restaurant & Lounge serves dinner on the same Tuesday-through-Saturday schedule. The lounge opens at 4:30 p.m., with aperitivo until 6:30, and jazz runs Thursdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Jamie's Wine Bar sits in the mansion's original library. It pours a rotating list of wines by the glass with small plates to share. The resort's page lists its hours as Tuesday through Saturday, 4 to 10 p.m., which makes it the earliest of the three to open.
You don't have to come for dinner to see the house. Public tours run Wednesday through Saturday at 2 and 3:15 p.m. and cost $25 per person, according to the mansion's OpenTable tour listing. They last 45 to 60 minutes, and the mansion's tours page strongly recommends reserving, since private events affect availability.
The holiday weeks on both sides of the hill
The weeks from Halloween through New Year's Eve make up the first holiday season with one company running the hill and the resort below it. Here's the calendar the two properties have published:
- Halloween: For Halloween, the Arizona Biltmore turns Spire Bar into The Alchemist's Lounge, with specialty cocktails, tarot readings, a live DJ and a costume contest. The resort's party-and-stay package is dated October 30–31.
- November 26: Geordie's serves a four-course Thanksgiving menu from noon to 6 p.m. It's $175++ per adult and $45++ for children ages 5 to 12, and children 4 and under eat free. OpenTable requires a $50-per-person deposit.
- November 26, December 24 and December 31: There's no Thursday jazz at the mansion on these three dates.
- November 29 and December 13: The resort's Nutcracker Tea pairs a live Arizona Nutcracker performance with tea service in the Grand Ballroom.
- December 8: The Biltmore Area Partnership's holiday celebration takes place at the Arizona Biltmore, 2400 E. Missouri Ave., from 4 to 6 p.m.
The Social membership includes priority reservations for holidays and special events. For the Thanksgiving table at Geordie's, joining before booking is the straightforward way to go.
Wrigley Mansion has spent nearly a century tied to the hotel below it. If you'd like to talk through what the Arizona Biltmore estate's history means for the streets and properties around it, from ABEVA's beginnings to what the new owners do next, Shawn Keeler is glad to take that conversation. Let's Connect.
