Meet Rebecca Riffel of Cottonwood AZ

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Riffel

Rebecca, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story has had a lot of twists and turns that brought me to where I am today. After graduating from the University of Arizona, I spent the majority of my twenties working and living abroad. Working and living abroad changed my life in so many positive ways, and teaching ESL was my way to see the world and be able to immerse myself in other cultures and countries. I taught English in Thailand, backpacked throughout Southeast Asia, and then was offered a job teaching in the Dominican Republic. After a few years abroad, I missed family and friends and knew it was time to come back to the States.
I moved to Portland for a few years where I managed and ran a spa, but after many rainy winters, I jumped at the opportunity when a family friend invited me to move to Maui with her and help her run a bar/restaurant that she had purchased. My parents also owned a bar in Arizona at the time and between the two, I learned all I know about the business.
After a couple of years in Maui, I came back to Arizona, and what was supposed to be a short stop over to visit family, turned into another opportunity that inevitably kept me in Arizona. I came back to my hometown of Sedona, AZ and when an opportunity arose with the perfect spot becoming available we opened a bar and music venue of my own in Cottonwood with the help of family and friends.
I think a lot of my experiences from traveling and places I’d visited and loved, made me want to create a space here in rural Arizona that could bring it all together. I noticed the need for a venue space in the area and had a vision of what I wanted to create and bring here. I wanted to create a bar/music venue for artists to gather, and local and touring musicians to play, that could be a home base for our community that incorporated music, art, and community. That was twelve years ago now, and never in my wildest dreams did I fathom I’d be where we are at with it now twelve years later. What has happened over the last twelve years surpassed any expectations I ever had.
It certainly hasn’t always been easy, but it has been worth every blood, sweat, and tear that we put in, because what I have gotten out of it has changed me for the better in every way and I believe it has filled a need in the community as well. Not only did we achieve our goal, but we also won awards I never could’ve fathomed including business benefactor of the year, and being named #1 bar and #1 place to dance every year since we opened our doors (just to name a couple). We have become a destination spot for live music and have hosted amazing bands, from locals just starting to Grammy award winners. We created a family through the best crew, customers, community, and friends I could imagine. We have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in fundraising events for our community and put on some of the biggest and best events this town has ever seen. I couldn’t be prouder of what Main Stage has become and the place and heart it now has in our community.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Oh my goddess, no nothing about starting a bar/venue in a small town or running a small business in any capacity has been easy. It has all been a big learning process, and I certainly made mistakes and took some hits along the way.
It has always been important to me as a female bar owner to make sure we create a safe space for everyone here and a space that is inclusive for all. I wanted to create a space where our local blue-collar guys would feel comfortable, as well as women coming in for a drink alone or with friends, who could come and enjoy and be comfortable, as well as LGBTQ and minorities in our community. I also wanted to give back to the community as much as possible through fundraising events. I’ve always felt that a community that comes together to help each other out, strives together. It was a vision not a lot of people understood in the beginning.
I was met with a lot of, “who does she think is” attitude in the beginning and it took some time to earn the community’s respect that we have today.
We hosted our first drag shows and pride events and were met with many protesters, but we never stopped and I never stopped fighting for what I believed in and being able to represent everyone in our small town.
Last year Main Stage was also honored with the Business Benefactor of the Year Award from the Arizona Community Foundation for the fundraising we do in our community. We have been able to raise over a hundred thousand dollars for local charities and people in need through our weekly Bingo nights and fundraising events. I can’t take credit for all of that, as it is the people in the community who show up to the events and the local businesses that contribute and donate as well. But it has been a really beautiful thing to be able to host and be a part of doing good for others and being a force for good in our community.
One of the things I am most proud of when it comes to Main Stage though is seeing all walks of life come together and enjoy one another through music, the space and culture we created, and break bread so to speak over some food and a drink.
I think it’s been a big lesson for me to not just quit when the times get tough, but to get tough with it and stay the course. In the end, the struggles have been worth it.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am the owner and operator of Main Stage, a bar and music venue in Cottonwood Arizona. We bring live music, art, and community together under one roof with an amazing bar, music venue, and now a restaurant as well. We are known for being a great place to come dance, watch live music, and gather. We have also become very well known for our bigger fundraising events that we host throughout the year, including an annual benefit for “Camp Courage” which is a camp for Arizona children burn survivors, Camp Courage and the Arizona Burn Foundation are near and dear to my heart as I was a child burn survivor who attended this camp as a child, so this is my way of giving back to those who helped and shaped me. Last year with the help and sponsorship of the Law Tigers Arizona, The Sisterhood Foundation Organization, and the Yavapai Broadcasting Company we raised over 18K in one day and helped send 12 children burn survivors to Camp Courage. We also have become well known for our weekly “This Ain’t Your Grandmas Bingo” nights which helps raise money for local charities and people in need in our community. It brings about a hundred-plus people together once a week to have fun, share laughs and good times all for a good cause.
We are known for being a great bar to come hang out and eat at, as well as a place to catch great artists and live music. I’m very proud of our ability to give back to the community that I love so much, as well as being a place where people come together for the love of art and music.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Covid was a very trying time for small businesses, and there were times I didn’t think we would make it through. It was the love and support from our community that got us through, who continued to support us through to-go options and donations that allowed us to be able to open up again, but it took a while to fully recover. I think the biggest lesson I learned is to allow others to help you when you need it too, and that we have the greatest community here that comes together in times of need, and for that, I am so grateful. It made me realize just how important gathering places like Main Stage are to a community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mainstageaz.com
• Instagram: mainstageaz
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mainstageaz

Image Credits
Images by Leah Joy Love Photography