About Stories of Sedona

The Short Version

I grew up on Sedona in the '70s. I spent 40 years in the restaurant industry. My first decade, I started as a pizza delivery driver for Domino's, worked my way up to manager, and then corporate area supervisor. I spent the next 30 years with another chain, moving from manager through area supervisor and eventually director of operations. I've been in and out of more local businesses than I can count. I know what it takes to keep one alive.

When I left the restaurant business, I wanted to find a way to help locally owned small businesses that didn't require them to spend a fortune on advertising. So I created a co-op postcard — a big oversized mailer that goes to every home on Sedona. Locally owned small businesses share the cost, and every household gets it in their mailbox. Simple.

But something else happened along the way.

The Stories

I started digging into the stories behind locally owned small businesses — not just the ones on the card, but businesses all over Sedona that stood out as something special. Not just what they do, but how they got here. Who started them. How long they've been around. And I kept finding the same thing: families that have been doing this for three, four, even five generations. Some of these stories have been written down before. Many haven't. Either way, they deserve to be kept alive for the next generation to find.

A 12-year-old dishwasher who grew up to buy the restaurant. A family that's been cooking in the same kitchen for eighty years. These are the kinds of stories we're uncovering across Sedona — and we're just getting started.

What Stories of Sedona Is Now

It started as a postcard. It's become something bigger. Stories of Sedona is a growing community of people across Sedona, Arizona who care about where they live — the businesses, the families, the history, and the stories that connect us.

We tell those stories on Facebook, on our blog, and through the postcard that hits thousands of mailboxes every month. We're expanding from Sedona into West Sedona, Village of Oak Creek, and beyond. Every community in Sedona has stories worth telling.

If you're a business owner who wants to reach your neighbors, we can help. If you're someone who grew up in Sedona and wants to remember what made it special, you're in the right place. And if you know a story that needs to be told — tell us.

— Rich