# @downinnadesert on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DdCta9XEisM
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70300021-downinnadesert-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/14b85a6dd6.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-08T22:00:30.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Down In The Desert🌵 (@downinnadesert) — https://gondola.cc/downinnadesert

## Caption

There has been a business on that patch of Tonopah for more than a century. In 2023 it burned twice in two days.

Just after midnight on May 17, crews were called to the Tin Top Bar and Grill near Wintersburg Road and Salome Highway in the far West Valley. By the time they arrived, flames were shooting out of the building. Leaking propane tanks brought in a hazmat team. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office ruled it a total loss. One person was evaluated at the scene for difficulty breathing and nobody was seriously hurt.

The following day, what was left of the structure caught fire again.

MCSO arson detectives classified the fire as suspicious. ATF special agents and certified fire investigators responded to assist with the investigation.

The history on that lot runs deep. Laura Hansen built Tin Top from the ground up in 2002, in her hometown, after purchasing the property when the previous business there, the Boondocks, was destroyed. She sold it in 2005 to the current owner. She told ABC15 it isn’t just brick and mortar, that it’s the people, the employees, the owners, the history, and that there’s been something on that spot for over 100 years.

The place mattered out there. Locals, travelers, workers and motorcycle riders all stopped in. A women’s group met upstairs for crochet nights and paint nights. One longtime employee said watching it burn felt like watching his whole life burn down in front of him. Another had worked there 20 years and freehand painted all the signs on the side of the building himself.

More than two dozen people lost their jobs that night.

Via: ABC15, AZFamily, FOX 10 Phoenix and 12News

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#Tonopah #WestValley #Arizona #ArizonaNews #DownInnaDesert

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## Tags

downinnadesert, tonopah, westvalley, arizonanews, arizona

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