One of the local Mom and Pop restaurant’s is The Dambar.  This eatery is currently in its 35th year and continues to serve up some of the best prime rib and other delicacies especially the biscuits.  Yummy!Recently this Steakhouse has supplemented its regular menu with a seasonal menu.  The current seasonal menu features Prime Rib Sliders. Prime Rib Stew and Pork Belly Tacos. I have tried the Prime Rib Sliders that were beyond delicious, very tender and flavorful. Besides the great food, adult beverages and outstanding service, the owner recently had some mural painted on the walls sheltering the outside patio.  Additionally, murals were painted along the walkway into the restaurant. The local artist did a remarkable job.What I truly like about this restaurant is the atmosphere. Casual ... 12/20/2025

Kingman has numerous local small businesses.  Some of these are restaurants that are open for breakfast and lunch while others are open for lunch and dinner. One of our favorite local eating establishments is “The Rainbow Diner.” Each holiday or season the interior is decorated with wall art and table clothes are changed to reflect the season.Yesterday I took a photo of one of the wall showcasing just some of the decorations. I always wonder where do they store all these decorations?By the way, the food here is home cooked and excellent. The French Toast is some of the best I have ever eaten.If you ever are in Kingman, check out The Rainbow Diner located at 1570 E Northern Ave. Suite A, Kingman, AZ 86409. Hour of operations are 7am MST to 2pm MST. Carry outs are available at 928-757-868... 12/18/2025

Yesterday when driving I heard Chuck Mangione’s instrumental of “Feels So Good.”  Often that is the feeling I have when a client makes a referral.  Those types of referrals reaffirm that my business practices are sustainable and even more important highly ethical.In hearing this rendition, I decided to stop by one of my happy buyers who has made numerous referrals to me and makes me “feel so good.”  This buyer, Jamie Greenberg and her father bought a site-built house on 5 acres with horse stalls and a large lighted arena in Kingman, AZ nearly six years ago. (Yes, Jamie gave me permission to use her name.)Since then, Jamie has added to her already busy schedule by boarding a few horses along with buying one for herself.  Buying a horse was a dream Jamie had and purchasing this property m... 11/02/2025

For those folks traveling south on Stockton Hill Road, they are greeted by this impressive sign and additional incredible art work as they enter the northern boundaries of the City of Kingman, AZ. Images of the Wild West come to mind.  Here are some possibly obscure facts about the City of Kingman, AZ Kingman is named after Lewis Kingman, an engineer for the Atlantic an Pacific Railroad Andy Devine was born in Flagstaff, but grew up in Kingman as his father owned the Beale Hotel. Many events and part of old RT 66, Andy Devine Ave. are named after him. Beale Street in historic Kingman is named after Lt. Edward Fitzgerald Beale, a U.S. Navy Officer assigned to the Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. Beale had orders to build a federal wagon trail across the 35tth parallel. Another orde... 08/04/2025

For both home sellers and buyers, understanding the data nuances within a particular area is essential and even critical to listing your property at the most competitive price or buying your property at the most comparative price.For example, addresses attributed to Kingman AZ are divided into 295 subdivisions. These subdivisions range from 40+ acre ranches to .15 acre city lots.  Looking from the 40,000 foot perspective, Kingman in June of 2025 had a median (not mean) days on market of 45 and closed 116 sales with a median sales price of $281,875. The most interesting statistic was the list price published was received 98.6%. Currently there is a 2.9 months supply which suggests overall Kingman is still a seller’s market.Just outside the city limits of Kingman is the subdivision of Cer... 07/29/2025

Yesterday evening when I explained to a friend I could not attend the weekly Friday late afternoon get together as I had just received another residential listing referral, he said “Go make some money.” When we are in sales, we often hear this phrase or a similar phrase. Yet what I have discovered and learned with over five (5) decades of sales experience, is first one has to make a relationship.For example, last night I received a call from a REALTOR® located in Maricopa County. This professional real estate agent had a client here in Kingman who wanted to sell a residential property. The agent asked if I work in Kingman and I responded yes.Then I did ask for the location because Kingman AZ mailing addresses extend north to almost Dolan Springs/Meadview, south to Wikieup and East to th... 06/07/2025

Even though I truly love selling dirt, vacant land, occasionally I do list and sell a home on dirt. This listing came from an encounter with a neighbor and a relationship that was established.Open houses here in Kingman, AZ often do not attract a lot of visitors. Often those visitors are other real estate agents who wish to tour the property or just nibble on the goodies.This past weekend  I held my second open house in eight (8) years. And I did have one visitor about 20 minutes before closing the  2 hour open house.My one and only visitor was identifying residential properties for this brother who lived out of town. We chatted extensively about our heritages, our recipes. our work experiences and our overview of the changing world. The visitor started the political discussion and than... 05/19/2025

Funny thing, just this past week I received a very lowball offer for an off grid residential property. The potential buyer shared he had done his research and four years ago the sellers paid this amount.  So he offered about $10,000 over what the current sellers paid.When the potential buyer and I spoke, I shared the sellers had made considerable investment in upgrading the solar system including a new inverter, new batteries and new solar panels. Additionally other improvements had been made, plus residential property values continued to increase.As a REALTOR®, the Code of Ethics obligates me to protect and promote my clients. Since this offer included a contingency addendum, I undertook additional research to better understand the 90 day contingency addendum.I discovered the property ... 04/16/2025

Yesterday as I was walking into a local grocery store here in Kingman, AZ, an older woman sitting in a white van called out to me and said “May I ask you a question?” My response was of course though I may not have an answer. The lady then asked as she was looking at my truck “What is a grit and gratitude agent? I have never seen that expression before.”“Well, grit," I responded "is because selling real estate especially dirt takes a lot of grit from driving the dirt roads here in Mohave County to ensuring purchases make it through to close of escrow as there are many unknowns. As to gratitude, I am grateful for being able to travel the dirt roads, for meeting friends I did not know I had, for being able to live and work at my age and for having my family.  As an old school salesperson,... 11/30/2024

During my seven years here on Active Rain, I have been blessed with friends I have met as well as friends I have yet to me. This past weekend I had the opportunity to break bread with Carol Williams  who was on her way south to her winter hideaway.As Carol is so much fun, I invited another REALTOR® good friend, Brenda Curwick, to join us for dinner. Of course dinner was at Red Cellar & Bistro.Between the great customer service, excellent food and adult libations, the conversation flowed. Yes, there was some real estate sharing, however most of it was just girl talk.I am so grateful that Carol included me in her southward trip. This was the second time we have met in person. If you have a chance, meeting Carol is indeed a blessing. She is so full of life and will tickle your funny bone.T... 11/11/2024

Imagine my surprise when one of my local title companies told my broker just this past week on 11/1/2024, I had a card at its office for me.  My surprise was even more unexpected as it was a thank you card from two recent clients who purchased two adjoining vacant land parcels.A little back story to this vacant land transaction is that I showed these two brothers several parcels of vacant land about 30 miles apart.  Then when visiting the second parcel outside of Kingman, AZ I mentioned about two other vacant land parcels that had been for sale, but now were off the market.As I had sold one of four parcels owned by the same seller in the same area just one block to the north, I was asked to see if the seller was still interested in selling the two vacant parcels. My buyers liked the are... 11/02/2024

Yes, Kingman AZ does have small, intimate restaurants that offer fresh, delicious and distinctive dishes. These local restaurants often celebrate the holidays with decorations and food specials.As a patron of this small business, The Red Cellar and Bistro Cafe, for several years,  I find the atmosphere much like a speak easy of the past with its muted music, wood and cork walls, upper end tables and chairs and fireplace for those chilly afternoons or evenings.This Bistro offers a fine dining experience from a full service wine and whisky bar including top shelf liquors to fresh entrees. Lunch and dinners are currently served Tuesday through Sunday.For health conscious patrons, none of the food is fried. The owners look to secure the best meat from beef to buffalo to elk (in season) alon... 10/31/2024

After nearly eight (8) years in real estate here in Mohave County, AZ, I thought it was time to appreciate others who have helped me became successful in this market and industry. Even with a very large home, I decided to host an “Appreciation of Summer” event at a local restaurant, The Red Cellar Bistro and Wine Bar, here in Kingman, AZ. The owners of this restaurant are property owners here in Golden Valley, AZ. One of my ongoing goals is to support local small businesses.This event was held on July 15, 2024 from 1pm to 4pm.  The food was fresh, finger food and a mix of meats, cheeses, vegetables, and fruit. There were also non-sweetened ice tea, water,  bread and crackers including gluten free crackers.  Flat Bread Pizza and Salmon Bites were also served though not in the photo. The ... 07/16/2024

For those seeking vacant land as well as residential properties, zoning is an important due diligence action though often overlooked. Here in Mohave County, the acreage of numerous vacant land parcels might be less than the current zoning ordinance. What is required is contacting the County and specifically asking about zoning. The reason zoning is important is zoning can restrict the dreams of the potential buyer. Additionally, sometimes listing agents fail to undertake their due diligence.For example, much of the vacate land here in Golden Valley and other areas of Mohave County is zoned Agricultural/Residential (Ag/Res). A complete search of zoning may show Ag/Res, but the actual permitted acreage may conflict with the actual acreage of the parcel.  For example, what may result is 5 ... 07/11/2024

Mac Anderson founder of Simple Truths authored this book You Can’t Send a Duck to Eagle School: And Other Simple Truths of Leadership. In under 125 pages, the reader learns about these other simple truths beginning with “Leadership Would Be Easy if it Wasn’t for People”  and ends with these two chapters, “Identify Your Core Values” and "Walk the Talk."One of my favorite chapters is “Wisdom is Knowing the Right Path to Take…Integrity is Taking it.” In this chapter Anderson shares the poem “Myself” by Edgar Guest. I had never read it or even heard about it until I read this book. This poem begins with “I have to live with myself, and so…" and ends with “Whatever happens, I want to be Self-respecting and conscience free.”Yesterday, I was having a discussion with some fellow citizens about ... 06/02/2024

Life continues to provide unexpected relationships. Last week I stopped by my favorite local restaurant, Red Cellar  & Bistro to deliver a birthday present to a young friend who is the cook at this establishment. She had admired my purse so I bought one for her forthcoming birthday.Then I stayed for an adult beverage as I knew another couple also enjoying this small business.  As we were talking, another couple came in and a conversation started.A comment by this new couple was that the three of us at the bar knew each other. We all smiled and conversation flowed now between the five of us. I learned this couple was visiting from Arkansas. During the conversation, we learned: Both the wives of the two couples and myself were born near or in Chicago, IL. The husbands had connections to C... 05/07/2024

Often we hear of some making fun of all those “business lunches.” What I know is breaking bread with potential clients helps to build relationships, let me explain.This past week I met with a couple seeking to buy vacant land here in Mohave County.  As Dirt Road Real Estate does not have a brick-and-mortar office due to the size of Mohave County, I often meet potential clients for breakfast, lunch and sometimes just for coffee.My goal is to confirm I really want to work with the client or clients and the client or clients really want to work with me. In other words, let’s make sure the fit works for all concerned. This is truly an investment of time with money being secondary. Lunch happened at a quiet local restaurant in Kingman, The Red Cellar & Bistro.   We were able to review the “s... 04/28/2024

Sometimes we fail to listen for the nuances in our conversations that essentially are the building blocks that lead to trust. Just for a gentle reminder nuances are those subtle differences or distinctions in expressions, meanings or responses. (Source: Dictionary.com)Here is why both verbal and non-verbal communication are very important.This week I broke bread with two out of state buyers seeking vacant land in Mohave County, Kingman, AZ.  During lunch I shared my simple presentation packet. In the back pocket I included a list of resources, my own constructed Yellow Pages, to help those new to this area. This list is not a recommendation but rather a compilation of different government departments to small businesses.  What was interesting is this was the one document that had the mo... 04/27/2024

Honest people are honest people and hence why they continue to be victims of wire fraud. Currently during the first quarter of 2024, 1 out of 10 real estate transactions encountered wire fraud. Additionally, nearly half or 48% of the loans processed ($65 billion) were vulnerable to both wire and title fraud. (Source: Funding Shield)And the news continues to trend toward the negative side with wire fraud issues increasing over each quarter.Please as sellers and buyers follow the wire fraud advisory given by your title firm, your lender and your real estate agents if they are involved.Dirt Road Real Estate does not handle any funds. However, as a licensed local professional real estate agent, I do include a Wire Fraud Advisory in all my presentation packets. Additionally, the local title ... 04/19/2024

When visiting Historic Rt 66 in Kingman, AZ, tourists and current residents may be surprised to see this new mural that has been added to the existing plethora of murals. This newest mural is actually on Rt. 66 (Andy Devine Avenue) between a new small business coffee shop, Mudd on 66, and the original drug store that is now a secondary Post Office.Kingman, AZ prides itself on being the hub of Rt. 66. Historic Kingman, the original town/city, boasts many unique shops and restaurants. Yes Kingman, AZ does have a historic culture expressed through numerous murals. Watch for further postings about these small businesses on and near Rt 66 as well as history of Kingman, AZ. Feature Photo Courtesy of Leanne M SmithAny reproduction of Leanne M Smith’s blog for use by any AI or GAI, distribution... 04/18/2024