Historic Scottsdale date shop finds new Valley home

For decades, Sphinx Date Co. has quietly existed as one of those places longtime Valley residents swear by and visitors stumble upon by chance, then never forget. Its story began as a mysterious date palm discovered in a Phoenix neighborhood nearly a century ago, and has evolved into a Scottsdale institution built on local food, deep roots and a deliberately old-school approach.

Today, Sphinx Date Co. is owned by mother-daughter duo Sharyn and Rebecca Seitz, who took over the business in 2012. Rebecca, who grew up in Scottsdale, says their path into the world of dates was not exactly planned.

“Honestly, my mom and I, we were looking for businesses in the area,” Rebecca says. “My background is marketing and e-commerce, and I really wanted to get into promoting local food, primarily.”

The timing worked. The previous owners were ready to step away, and Seitz’s experience in catalog marketing and retail made the transition feel natural. Her mother Sharyn, who previously worked as an Assistant Vice President at Amtrak, brought a complementary financial background. Together, they “didn’t step on each other’s toes,” Rebecca says. 

While dates are often associated with the Middle East or California, Arizona has its own deep history of date farming, made possible by the state’s hot, dry climate. Dates grow on palm trees and are harvested in the fall, with clusters hand-cut from the towering trees. 

While some original groves once existed within Phoenix city limits, urban growth pushed large-scale farming out of the Valley decades ago. Today, most Arizona dates are grown in Yuma, where massive date farms supply the state and much of the country, though a small number of historical palms still remain in the Phoenix area.

Over the years, Sphinx Date Co. has gone by several names, tracing back to its origins as a date ranch planted in Phoenix’s Arcadia neighborhood in the early 20th century. That original Sphinx Date Ranch, once made up of acres of date palms, was gradually surrounded by residential development, and the retail shop eventually moved off the former farm property. Earlier iterations emphasized the ranch itself, which often led visitors to assume they were arriving at an active date farm rather than a storefront. 

When Rebecca and her mother took over, they settled on Sphinx Date Co. Palm & Pantry as its modern identity.

While Sphinx Date Co. has passed through several families since its early days, the mission has stayed consistent. The shop focuses on Arizona-grown dates, locally produced pantry goods and thoughtful gifting, all rooted in the Valley’s agricultural history. Rebecca says that when they took over, one of the first priorities was education.

“Honestly, I didn’t really know anything about dates,” she says. “I was attracted to the aspect of promoting local food products, promoting this heritage story that we have in Scottsdale and the history of this business.”

Now, she laughs, she has become something of an expert.

“I’m an encyclopedia now on the knowledge,” she says. “A lot of people have no idea that dates even grow on palm trees, especially people visiting. We’re doing a lot of educating at times.”

That education extends beyond dates to Arizona-specific ingredients like white Sonoran wheat, chiltepin peppers and mesquite flour, which line the shop’s shelves alongside local honey, hot sauces and candies.

In fall 2024, Sphinx Date Co. underwent a major change when it was forced to relocate after 33 years at its former Scottsdale Road home.

“We did not expect to ever have to move,” Rebecca says. “We thought we would be there forever.” 

With just 90 days to find a new home before the busy holiday season, the family landed in a midcentury plaza near other longtime neighborhood businesses off Hayden and Osborn Roads in Scottsdale. The space was previously home to House of Rice, a specialty Asian grocery store that served the community for over 40 years until 2021.

“To be able to follow such a historic legacy business, that felt right, too,” she says.

Despite the upheaval, the core of Sphinx Date Co. remains unchanged. The shop sources most of its dates from independent family farmers in Yuma, while continuing to offer limited quantities of Black Sphinx dates tied to the business’s original Arcadia grove. Dates are still hand-sorted, gift trays are still made to order and the beloved date shakes remain refreshingly simple.

“Ice cream, date milk,” Rebecca says. “No big secret here.”

During the holidays, Rebecca explains, many customers are surprised to learn how customizable the gifting experience can be.

“A lot of people like to come in and make their own gift bags,” she says. “And then we can ship those out as well.”

With a small team of just a few outside of Rebecca and her mom, many of whom have worked there for decades, Sphinx Date Co. continues to operate as a family business. As it approaches its 75th anniversary in 2026, it does so in a new home with the same heart. 

Sphinx Date Co.

3221 N. Hayden Road