Award-winning, family-owned Arizona Mexican restaurant is being sold

El Guero Canelo restaurant in Tucson received a James Beard Award for its iconic Sonoran hot dogs.

Provided by Rick Mortensen

USA TODAY Network, Reuters

El Guero Canelo Restaurante Mexicano, a Tucson staple that won a James Beard American Classics Award in 2018 for its Sonoran hot dogs, is up for sale.

All Tucson locations were listed on LoopNet.

Owner Daniel Contreras founded El Guero Canelo as a food cart in 1993 and expanded into multiple locations in Tucson. According to the Daily Star, Joey Burns and John Convertino of Tucson’s Calexico band immortalized Contreras in their 2003 song “Guero Canelo.”

Some fans took the news as a personal affront.

Hal Hostetler commented on the Facebook post: “Good for him, not so good for us. I pray the new owners will respect the quality of his food, but I fear they may not. Just ask Eegees and Peter Piper, both are shadows of what they originally were.”

Robin Amor Popovich posted on Facebook: “This is worst than being cheated on.”

Reach the restaurant critic at BAnooshahr@azcentral.com. Follow @baharcreative on Instagram.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Award-winning, family-owned Arizona Mexican restaurant is being sold

Reporting by Bahar Anooshahr, Arizona Republic / Arizona Republic

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Copyright Reuters or USA Today via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published October 8, 2026 at 11:41 AM.