Harold Matzner and Spencer’s Restaurant Featured in the Spring 2024 Issue of ‘P.S. I Love You’ Magazine
The Spring 2024 Issue of P.S. I Love You Magazine is out, and you can find a familiar face in its pages! The Foodie issue of the magazine, published by the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce, features an interview with Harold Matzner about his iconic Spencer’s Restaurant.
Read the full interview below:
A Q&A with the man who made Spencer’s Restaurant at the Mountain a desert institution.
Spencer’s is a legendary breakfast, lunch, and dinner hotspot that’s truly for everyone: the ladies who lunch, the gays who brunch, the country club set, business titans, and tourists of all stripes. It’s where one goes to celebrate personal milestones, or to toast the closing of a big business deal.
Behind it all is Harold Matzner, arguably the most generous philanthropist/entrepreneur in the Coachella Valley. Having made his fortune in branding, advertising, and marketing in New York City and New Jersey, Matzner — who’s called Palm Springs home for more than 30 years, and who’s taken a seat on countless boards, often heading them — is the man who put the Palm Springs International Film Festival and its star-studded Film Awards on the map, serving as chairman of the Palm Springs International Film Society for more than a quarter century before recently stepping down. Most impressively, it’s estimated that Matzner has personally contributed more than $50 million to local nonprofits since 1995. PSILU decided to chat him up.
What year did Spencer’s open?
February 2000.
What made you decide to embark on that adventure?
I wanted to bring attention to the Palm Springs Tennis Club, a nonprofit club that has been bringing tennis to the community since the 1930s, but that had fallen upon hard times financially. I rebuilt the entire club, which was my first significant involvement with philanthropy in this city. The PSTC is now very, very successful, and Spencer’s manages the facility. The city was struggling a bit in 2000, and we wanted to demonstrate it was possible to open a successful restaurant here. We did, and it is.
Had you had restaurant experience?
I had had lots of event experience. No restaurant experience. But I do love to eat good food. Spencer’s has two good chefs that lead each shift in the kitchen. It’s known for its food and ambiance, it’s extraordinarily successful, and very few people know it’s named after my 110-pound Siberian Husky, whose picture hangs in the lobby. He was beautiful, loyal, and extremely intelligent. A wonderful friend who passed at 14 in 2007. I still miss him every day.
What makes you proudest about Spencer’s longevity and the fact that it’s truly a beloved local landmark?
It’s a very welcoming, beautiful restaurant with a gorgeous main patio that provides shade from five giant ficus trees. Many employees have been here since the beginning or shortly thereafter. General Manager Julieta Quinn arrived in 2003. It’s a great team of people who are extraordinarily friendly and provide excellent service. Despite all the increased competition in Palm Springs, sales have continued to grow. The food continues to win awards.
Is it true you don’t keep a dime of its profits — that those are what fuel your philanthropic endeavors?
That is true.
