Arizona Contractor & Community Fall 2015 V4 I3 | Page 58

Wanting to run their own business, the
Spears moved their family to Rapid City
and opened three popular Circle S stores
modeled after Circle K stores in Arizona.
Joe’s family owned several businesses
in Tempe, including the much-loved
Livingston’s Market, a long-standing,
independent grocery store.
Brian and I were friends in high school
in South Dakota. Our high school band won
top awards wherever
we competed, and he
led our outstanding
percussion
section.
With kindness and
dignity,
Brian’s
leadership
helped
inspire his fellow
percussionists to emulate his crisp and
precise drumming style. During marching
band season, Brian’s intimidating drum
section made the rest of us feel
unstoppable in our tall, furry-black hats
and itchy wool uniforms.
After graduation, Brian moved back to
Arizona where he got a degree in
Geography with an emphasis in Latin

American studies from ASU. Brian didn’t
know what he wanted to do for a living,
except that he wanted to do his own thing,
which predictably, he would do well.
In 2007, Brian and his partner, Joe
(who was also a drummer), were looking
for another business opportunity to add to
their Tempe rental properties. “We knew
it would be a service-oriented business
with a great creative and interesting draw
that would bring
people back again and
again,” Brian says. “It
just happened to turn
out to be a motel.”
“Prescott was not
on our radar initially at
all,”
Brian
adds.
“However, we are both natives to Arizona
and had spent a bit of time in Prescott. We
knew it was a wonderful community with
potential because of its small town
Norman Rockwellian setting and its rich
history.”
With Interstate 17 built so far from
Prescott in the 1970s, businesses in the city
experienced a downturn. Over the years,

Images courtesy of author

"We knew it was a wonderful
community with potential
because of its small town
Norman Rockwellian setting."

The Motor Lodge property acquired metal
awnings, ruffled curtains, and a plethora
of stuffed animals and dress-up dolls,
which inhabited each room during its
“country inn” phase. By 2007, the
occupancy rate had dwindled and repairs
were long overdue.
Seeing its potential, Brian and Joe
purchased the property and began
restoring the motel one room at a time.
During this period, occupancy rates
remained low, due in large part to the
recession. These were challenging times,
but Brian and Joe remained committed to
their project. After several years of
sacrifice and hard work, the result is superb.
The Motor Lodge is innovative yet
nostalgic. Above all, it is inviting. Brian and
Joe have a keen knack for customer service
and hospitality. Each room is impeccably
clean and orderly, for which Brian credits
his excellent staff of five, saying, “We are
lucky to have them.” The Motor Lodge is
ranked at the top among Prescott hotels
on Yelp and Trip Advisor, and it has
received accolades from Sunset and
Arizona Highways magazines.

Fifty eight

Fall 2015