Saguaro Dockside, located on Saguaro Lake, is celebrating its grand re-opening, introducing a refurbished gift shop and beer/wine bar to go along with its signature Desert Belle boat tours.

A joint venture between David Smith, Karen Berkowitz and Jeff and Kristi Kitchen, Smith said the whole gang is excited to be back out on the water and welcoming visitors to Saguaro Dockside’s newest offerings.

To celebrate the grand reopening, all items within the gift shop are 20 percent off through October 31. While there, Smith said visitors should head up to the beer and wine bar to enjoy the fall weather.

Saguaro Dockside is located at 14011 N. Bush Highway in Mesa, and hours of operation are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Additional information can be found at saguarodockside.com.

The gift shop is full of trinkets, jewelry and apparel, with fashions hand sourced by a local stylist. Offerings include women’s and men’s clothing, Arizona-themed gifts and souvenirs, as well as items made with Four Peaks Amethyst sourced from the local mine.

On the upper deck, visitors will find the new beer and wine bar, and live music is planned to resume when the world has further recovered from COVID-19.

Speaking of which, Smith said the plan was to re-open Saguaro Dockside earlier this year, but the pandemic threw a wrench in the plans. The result was that the crew had more time to fine-tune offerings and make sure everything was ship shape before welcoming back guests.

“The Desert Belle has been on Saguaro Lake since 1964 and we bought it in 2006,” Smith said. “We wound up selling the old Desert Belle to someone who ended up basically using it as a houseboat but, later on, we ended up making a little gift shop out of it and got our liquor license.”

Combine that with a new and improved, and much bigger, Desert Belle tour boat, and you’ve got a full Saguaro Lake entertainment package. Now that the Saguaro Dockside part of the venture has been fully refurbished, Smith and his partners are eager to show it off.

“It’s a place for people to shop and hang out and we even have our own private label wine, Saguaro Cellars,” Smith continued. “Saguaro Dockside is permanently moored and the Desert Belle does the tours. It’s great.”

For the time being, Smith said operations take COVID-19 safety into mind. The beer/wine bar is open air, but patronage will still be limited to make sure everyone has plenty of space to socially distance.

Whether a first-time visitor or a new customer, Smith said he thinks Saguaro Dockside has plenty to offer those looking to get outside, enjoy themselves and take in some great views.

“If you’re an hour early to the lake or whatever, it’s a place to hang out, shop or grab a drink,” Smith said. “Come out and check out the new gift shop and then check out the beautiful view on the second deck. You can just sit up there, have a drink, and stare at Saguaro Lake. It’s stunning.”