5-diamond restaurant at Ventana won't reopen

It's a sign of the times, said Jennifer Duffy, the resort's public relations director.

"People want gourmet comfort food — they want to wear their khakis," she said.

Brian Johnson, the director of the resort, said no employees have been let go as a result of the closing. Ventana Room had closed for the summer, as it always does, and some employees had already found other jobs. Others have been absorbed into the work force at the resort.

Ventana Room was a coat-and-tie dining experience at a room on the top floor of the hotel. It had sparkling night views of the city, attentive service, an extensive and impressive wine list and innovative cuisine. When it won its five-diamond honor in 2005, it was a confirmation of the restaurant's excellence.

Still, business began to slow down over the last two years.

Earlier this year, the pricing was reduced at the Ventana Room, and the coat request was dropped, but the restaurant's high-end image was set. Instead, said Duffy, diners have flocked to the more casual Flying V, Cascade Lounge and Sunday brunches at the resort.

"They are wildly successful," said Duffy.

Janos Wilder has seen interest fall away from his upscale Janos restaurant — which is in no danger of closing, he said — while business at his more casual J-Bar has grown. Both sit on the grounds of the Westin La Paloma Resorts & Spa.

"Our business at Janos over the summer was up from last summer," he said, "but overall, fine dining is more difficult now than in years past."

Loews' decision to close the Ventana Room, which opened in 1984, was a recent one.

"It's the end of an era," said Duffy. "I'm sure regular patrons will be disappointed, but it wasn't fitting the needs of the majority of the people."

Marc Ehrler, the Ventana Room's executive chef, has spent the summer at the Loews resort on Coronado Island in San Diego, and though he'll likely stay in the Loews system, he isn't expected to return to Tucson, said Duffy.

"We are going to use the room as a high-end meeting and banquet space, for parties and special events," said Johnson. "And we are exploring the possibility of making the kitchen kosher so we can do kosher events up there."

It once was that when a restaurant garnered the AAA Five Diamond award, it was a near guarantee of customers. The award, given rarely, is a mark of sublime cuisine, service and ambiance.

But the closure of the Ventana Room follows a trend of five-diamond restaurants closing around the country.

In Phoenix, the tony Mary Elaine's at the Phoenician Resort closed and reopened as a steakhouse, albeit one with a James Beard Award-winning chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, at the helm. In Scottsdale, the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort's five-diamond restaurant, Marquesa, closed two years ago. In Boston, Aujourd'hui, the fine-dining restaurant at the Four Seasons, closed late last spring.

The only five-diamond restaurant now open in Arizona is Kai, at the Phoenix-area Wild Horse Pass.

Ventana Room timeline

• 1984: Ventana Room opens with the Loews Ventana Canyon resort.

• 1993: Restaurant is awarded Four-Diamond status from AAA Arizona

• 1994: One of 75 restaurants in the country to receive the Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DRNA) award.

• 1996: Receives Mobil's four-star honor.

• 2005: Receives AAA's five-diamond award

• 2009: Ventana Room closes.