When the mines shutdown in the mid-1970s, many of the businesses closed immediately and never reopened in Bisbee. One of those was the Warner Hotel in Old Bisbee, tucked away behind the old American Legion building (now the Legion Bar and Grill) on Subway Street. Built in 1915, the building has always been a hotel; however, it sat vacant for about 45 years until a talented builder and designer from the Phoenix area, Cole Van Norman, bought it as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning in March of 2020. 

He had a vision to restore it and salvage as many pieces of the rundown hotel as he could to transform it into a European Mid-Century Modern look. “The Warner Hotel offers a community space for people in Bisbee,” said Cole. “There’s now new life here within an old building.” 

A builder from a young age, this project took Cole about four years to finish. “My parents always let me build things as a kid,” said Cole. “And I now wanted my own company iterations and wanted my own project when I had the vision to buy the hotel.” 

Cole is happy he can give back to some history and vitality to the community that he fell in love with over a decade ago. He started coming to Bisbee in 2014, with five of 11 other friends that went camping together and half decided to check out the town after the trip ended. Cole met some cool people and saw some cool houses and became excited to return, which he did several times before bringing his parents along to show them what all the buzz was about.

The hotel, originally owned by Robert E. Warner until around 1917/1918, had 25 separate rooms, with three toilets, one shower room downstairs and one bathtub upstairs to share. The hotel now features 11 separate, uniquely designed rooms and 13 bathrooms, including two on the main floor in Earl’s Café, the coffee/light breakfast shop that also serves as the hotel lobby/check-in space. “Cole had the full vision and the full reigns to make this hotel his own,” said Darla Van Norman, Cole’s mom (and the hotel’s “unofficial” interior design consultant). 

The building served as a temporary home to several squatters over the years, which included a guy who lived there (and used the hotel’s address as his own) for 10 years in the 1980s and left his vision board behind with his name and details, which is now displayed in the hotel. Cole’s goal was to salvage and repurpose as many of the original pieces as possible. He was able to reclaim old doors from the hotel and turn into the bar at Earl’s Café, where coffee is served and patrons work and mingle. Additionally, the tiles from the outside of the building are now part of the fountain in the café’s sitting room. 

The finishing touches included opening Earl’s Café, appropriately named after his maternal grandfather, in September of 2024, a few months after the new and improved Warner Hotel welcomed its first guests on June 13 during Pride weekend last summer. Earl, as well as Cole’s parents (Darla and Kevin), brother (Chandler), aunt (Doreen) and spouse (Jon), helped Cole make the vision a reality in various hands-on ways. “My dad was so excited at the end of his life to be a part of it,” said Darla. “Cole told him was going to name the café Earl’s.”  

Cole also had a close relationship with his paternal grandmother, Roseanne, which he named the garden that can be found blooming with roses in the outside courtyard/event space. He was good with taking care of plants as well from a young age and would visit his “Nana” monthly to tend to her garden and trim her trees/shrubs. You can see his affinity for plants throughout the hotel, including the fountain sitting room and guest bathrooms upstairs, as he’s incorporated them into the design.

Coming up on their one-year anniversary, the hotel has come a long way since Cole and Darla teamed up to open all rooms but one (the one Darla was living in at the time)- without any hired staff. The water heater gave out after that weekend; however, after closing for a month to make repairs and to hire staff, the hotel has been operating at full capacity since. 

The hotel offers two rooms with a king-sized bed and all the others with a queen-sized bed. Some rooms have en suite bathrooms, and some have a bathroom across the hall from the rooms; however, no one has to share bathrooms these days. 

The best way to make room reservations is to either book online at Warnerhotel.com or call 520-222-6053. It’s also possible to make a reservation on Airbnb.com, and soon it will be possible to reserve a room via booking.com and expedia.com. 

Earl’s Café is open every day but Tuesday from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. It’s a chill vibe inside with live music on the weekends.