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BUSINESS
TheMesaTribune.com | @EVTNow /EVTNow
Family trio acquires Mesa event center at the right time
BY PAUL MARYNIAK
Tribune Executive Editor
Timing can be everything in business and for Charles Cotter and his two children, buying Superstition Manor in Mesa could not have come at a better time.
While it caters to a variety of gatherings, its specialty is weddings and Cotter, his son Taylor and daughter Sharley Leavitt, acquired the 10-yearold property on the northwest corner of Signal Butte and Brown roads from the founding Burns family just as the pandemic has been loosening its grip on couples eager to tie the knot.
“Weddings have not only come back in full force. It is a force to be reckoned with,” Taylor said. “You had a lot of people that rescheduled or postponed their wedding for a year and then you still had the busy season on top of that. And right now, the industry is projected to have more weddings in 2022 than there has ever been in the last several years.
“So, 2022 is supposed to be crazy,” he continued. “We already have over 160 events booked for 2022 and we are projected to break 200.”
They got a taste of that level of business in October, which Taylor called “literally insane” because “it was something like 19 events in eight days….That was our welcome to the new business moment.”
And even more fortunate for them, the sprawling Superstition Manor grounds and mammoth reception center came equipped with three halls that can accommodate between 100 and 250 people, two fully equipped commercial kitchens and a half-kitchen and a staff of some 40 to 50 experienced servers, cooks and other per- The new owners of Superstition Manor in Mesa are, from left, Charles Cotter and his children, Taylor Cotter and Sharley Leavitt. (David Minton/Tribune Sta Photographer)
sonnel.
Beyond that, however, two features have made Superstition Manor a highdemand wedding venue, Taylor said: first, it’s pretty much a one-stop-shop for weddings and second, its pristine desert grounds with an unobstructed view of the majestic Superstition Mountains make romantic settings.
Neither Taylor nor his sister are complete strangers to the wedding industry.
Taylor has been in the wedding industry for years as a photographer and videographer and his sister also is a long-time wedding photographer.
For them and their father, buying Superstition Manor was almost a nobrainer, since they were inheriting an experienced staff and a location that most couples likely will find an ideal venue for exchanging vows.
“What’s really unique is where the property is situated,” Taylor said. “Across the street is actually a part of Usery Park Preserve and so from a couple of our ceremony yards where people get married, the backdrop is literally raw desert and Superstition Mountains. That’s one of the really unique things about the property: the view is unmatched. If you look out across the street, you don’t see houses. You don’t see development. You don’t see anything except just straight desert and Superstition Mountain.”
“Then there are lots of places on site as well,” he continued. “The previous owner did an amazing job of landscaping. And even without that view, you could stay just on the property and there is a ridiculous amount of places that you can go and couples can go to take gorgeous photos in a very wellmaintained, landscaped area.”
While Arizona currently is between the state’s two biggest wedding seasons of October-November and March-April, this is no time for the Cotter family to relax – and only part-
ly because Superstition manor also caters to charity events, sports banquets for schools and other celebrations.
They are more at a lull because in a few weeks, more than one man will be posing the big question with a holiday-wrapped engagement ring in hand.
And that means, Taylor said, the next big busy period will be January and February, when those couples will hunt for venues.
“So all those engagement rings that are going to be given a Christmas time, people better move fast if they don’t want to lose out,” he said. “We will have more people come and do tours of the venue in January-February in those two months alone than we’ll probably have in any other six to eight-month segment of the year.”
“It is very, very busy. Everyone gets engaged over the holidays and then there’s a big Wedding Expo that happens in the Phoenix Convention every year at the beginning of January. So we’re at that. I mean, there’s literally thousands of couples. We’re already booking for 2023.”
As almost a one-stop shop, the venue offers everything except wedding cakes and flowers and the Cotters have a list of recommended bakers and florists. Video and photography can be added on to the venue’s package.
Those packages include with all-day access to bride and groom suites, a DJ, a pro wedding coordinator a wide variety of décor, chairs, linens, tableware and centerpieces. From Italian to BBQ and beer and wines to top shelf alcohol.
As the Cotters say on their website, “All that’s left for you and your guests to do is party.”
Information: superstitionmanor.com
Superstition Manor has three ballrooms that can each accommodate di erent sizes of wedding and other
kinds of parties. (David Minton/Tribune Sta Photographer)
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1722 E University, Mesa
Larry Miller sells off western dealerships
BY DOMINIQUE LEYVA
Tribune Contributor
The Larry H. Miller Group has reached a deal with Asbury Automotive Group to sell its western United States dealerships, including its Ford and Nissan businesses in Mesa. Larry H. Miller, the nation’s eighth largest auto dealer group, agreed to sell its dealerships – including Total Care Auto –for $3.2 billion. Asbury Automotive Group will acquire its dealerships in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Idaho, Utah and Washington. Total Care Auto sells extended warranties, gap coverage and an assortment of other protection plans. In Arizona, employees were noti�ied via email of Larry H. Miller Group decision to sell to Asbury.
“The email just went over the deal between the two companies and how Asbury will acquire Larry H. Miller as of late December of this year,” Ashley Verdugo, a service employee for the dealership said. “I believe they sold to Asbury due to expansion in the markets. This could boost the company’s (Asbury) revenue and generate more than ever.”
Automotive News reported Asbury Automotive Group pulled a 1.5 billion loan and is selling $600 million in stock for the transaction.
According to a press release, Asbury anticipates adding new dealerships and that along with Total Care Auto will position them to create $20 billion annual revenue in a span of �ive years.
Verdugo said her coworkers were shocked, and others worried about the sale and what this could mean for the company’s future.
The automobile market this past year has been unpredictable, they said. During quarantine every dealership had some form of promotion to get cars off its lots. Now, dealership lots are empty due to a shortage in new car models and the used car market has skyrocketed in the past few months. “I didn’t notice any �inancial issues, the only thing was our brand-new car inventory was low and so was our used cars,” Lisa Mora,anemployee at the auto dealership,said.
Mora said the sales team was frustrated with the shortage as some months it would be “hit or miss,” and that at times they could not earn commissions because there was little to sell.
Verdugo and Mora both cited ongoing computer chip shortages, which have left thousands of motor vehicles stranded in factory lots. They both also said they hope nothing changes with the new owners besides inventory.
The Larry H. Miller Group began on May 1, 1979, when Larry and Gail Miller purchased their �irst dealership in Utah and they entered the Arizona market in Mesa two years later.
It has grown to include more than 80 businesses located throughout the West that include entertainment, �inance, auto insurance, real estate, health care, and philanthropy.
Larry H. Miller Dealerships include more than 60 dealerships in seven western states, representing 18 different automotive brands.
“We look forward to becoming part of one of the nation’s leading and largest automotive and retail companies,” Dean Fitzpatrick, president of Larry H. Miller Dealerships, said in a press release. “Asbury is like-minded in terms of our values and stewardship.
“Their vision to be the most guest-centric company in the industry aligns with our guiding principle to be the best place in town to work and the best place in town to do business.”
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