You don't rush change when you buy a restaurant that has customers who have been loyal for 60 years, not to mention a few servers who have worked there for more than 40 years.
At least not if you are Tony Gonzalez, who bought Guillermo's Double L Restaurant last year from Bill Ford, whose father-in-law started the place in 1948 as a drive-in barbecue joint. It switched its allegiance to Mexican food four years later.
Gonzalez, 64, has been part of South Tucson's restaurant scene since he and his brother, Roberto, bought Crossroads in 1979.
Tony Gonzalez respects tradition, while seeing room for growth.
He's kept Guillermo's extensive menu as it is while adding dozens of Sonoran specialties with an emphasis on seafood. To do that, he brought in cooks he worked with at Crossroads to work alongside the existing kitchen talent.
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For entertainment, he turned to Oscar Contreras, another Crossroads favorite who more recently built a devoted following in Green Valley.
His changes have pleased Red and Dee Brannigan, self-described snowbirds from Chicago who eat at the Double L every day while they're in town. Dee, a 1946 graduate of Tucson High School, introduced her husband to the place in 1972.
"I think it's a little better now," said Red .
Guillermo's Double L Restaurant
1830 S. Fourth Ave., 792-1585.
• Owner: Tony Gonzalez bought it last year from Bill Ford, whose family ran it for 59 years.
• Year opened: 1948.
• Known for: A variety of favorites, including chicken, turkey or shrimp topopos. "We've had people say we have the best in town," says manager Linda Baker, who has worked there 40 years.
• Most expensive menu item: A four-pound whole fish baked with vegetables ($22).
• Least expensive: $4.25 bean tostada or gordita.
• Cost of a margarita: $4.75; or $2.50 from 3 to 6 p.m.
• Entertainment: Oscar Contreras sings and plays several instruments from 6 to 9 p.m on Fridays and Saturdays.
• How it got its name: Bill Ford's father-in-law, Don Leonard, briefly had partner whose last name was Lawyer. Ford added Guillermo (Spanish for William) after a renovation in the 1980s.
