Yates’ purchase Broadway, renovations planned

PRESCOTT – Once upon a time the Broadway Hotel and Cafe was a happening place.

Located across Highway 67 from the railroad tracks, it was a haven for weary, hungry travelers, as well as locals who enjoyed a good meal. But all good things come to an end and the hotel and cafe shut down.

However, just because the business closed and has been sitting empty for years, doesn’t mean it’s story is over. Not by a long shot. Matthew and Misty Yates have purchased the building and plan to renovate and modernize it to be a showplace for Prescott. Misty said they hope this will inspire others to renovate other buildings and make them useful again. The idea, she said, is to create a modern gathering place for families and community events as well as business meetings. It won’t happen overnight. She said depending on the availability of supplies it could take two or three years, if not longer.

Yates said she talked to Judy Duke, curator of the Nevada Depot and Museum about it, possibly putting it on the National Historic Register. But putting it on the register isn’t in the plans because of the exacting nature of what would be required to keep it as close to original as possible. Instead, she said, they plan to modernize it.

“We saw it and didn’t want it to go to waste,” she said. “We looked at a lot o buildings (in town) for office space and saw a lot like it. We want it to be more modern with a nice restaurant, a place where people could get married, or stay, something like an Air BNB, maybe have a rooftop terrace.” Overall, though, it would be an upscale place for residents to socialize and enjoy themselves.

She said they were under contract to buy the Broadway when COVID-19 hit, so there are a lot of unknowns as to when construction can begin. Meanwhile, the Yates’ own Yates Maintenance, a heating and air company which is considered an essential business. Still, employees wear PPE when on the job.

“My vision,” she said of the building’s future, “is for something intimate and nice.” The hotel and cafe would be family friendly, but not casual. Plans are to make it business friendly. “We’re completely new at this, but we have our remodeling license. It’ll be nice to have things in town people need so they don’t have to go somewhere else. It would be nice to locally source some of the ingredients for the cafe, but we’ll need someone to manage the restaurant.”

Once renovations begin, the building will no longer be known as the Broadway Hotel and Cafe. It will be getting a new name to go with its new look. Yates said she has no idea what the new name will be, but isn’t worried about it at this time. As to the look, Yates favors blacks and whites with clean lines, minimalism for design. But this doesn’t mean their new venture will be strictly black and white.

Regardless, the people of Prescott have something to look forward to once the Broadway is renovated.