Gilbert’s Clare House to reopen under new ownership

The Town’s second oldest building was supposed to be demolished until the developer was indicted for fraud

GILBERT, Ariz. — A lot has changed in Gilbert over the years, but for over 100 years the Clare House has remained the same.

Now, a restaurateur has purchased the historic home which has been closed since 2022 and plans to re-opening the Clare House by the end of the year.

“We’re really going to make it a really fun and interactive,” said Nathan Ares

Ares is the owner and operator of Ares Collective Restaurants who owns Prep & Pastry which is right next door to the Clare House in the heart of Gilbert’s Heritage District. 

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Ares never thought he would own the second oldest building that was built before Gilbert became a town, but said the opportunity was too good to pass up; Especially knowing how important this place was for people living here.

The home has been through a lot over the past three years.

It was set to be demolished and replaced with a Bottled Blonde. A two story restaurant by day, club by night facility, which created a lot of pushback from families that didn’t want it. It also led to a group of people trying to preserve the Clare House by removing it and placing it a few blocks down the road. 

however, in 2024, the deal with Bottled Blonde fell through when the developer was indicted for fraud.

Then last week, Ares stepped in.

“I just kept hearing about the Clare house, how special it was,” Ares said. “What a better thing to, you know, acquire a beautiful piece of property with this cool, historic building on it.”

While he plans to keep the house the same, he said they will be doing some repairs to it and will bring in the Historical Museum to come in to preserve some of the items. 

From there, Ares said they will clean up the current trees and turn the current land into a big outdoor event space by merging the Prep & Pastry patio with the property. He said there will food an outdoor bar and the Clare House will be used for private events.

A change Casey Kendel, chairman of the Heritage District Redevelopment Committee is looking forward to seeing.

“I think that that’s a great concept,” Kendel said.

As long as the new venue keeps the home, makes changes that fit the aesthetic of the Heritage District and noise isn’t a problem Kendel said they are in support of keeping this piece of history alive.

“They’ll have all of those great amenities and really, whatever they put in there is going to be a great destination for the citizens of Gilbert, as well as anybody coming through there,” Kendel said.

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