Sale of Harold Matzner’s beloved landmark to business mogul Nachhattar Singh Chandi draws praise, protest, and political fire

PALM SPRINGS — One of the desert’s most storied dining institutions has a new owner, and not everyone is raising a glass to toast the occasion.

Local businessman Nachhattar Singh Chandi has taken over ownership of the iconic Spencer’s Restaurant, the Harold Matzner Trust announced Thursday. For many in the Coachella Valley, the news carried a bittersweet weight, a final chapter in the legacy of a man who defined Palm Springs philanthropy for a generation.

Spencer’s was owned by legendary Coachella Valley philanthropist Harold Matzner, who died in September. The Harold Matzner Trust said the sale ensures the preservation of the late philanthropist’s cherished legacy both as a local business leader and restaurateur.

The trust was effusive in its blessing of the transaction. “Spencer’s meant the world to Harold, and the incredible group of people working in the restaurant was truly his family,” the trust said in a statement. “Putting Spencer’s into Chandi’s extremely capable hands is the best outcome possible, and we know Harold would fully support this change.”

For his part, Chandi, Founder and CEO of Chandi Group USA and Chairman of the Palm Springs International Film Society, having taken over from Matzner moved quickly to calm nervous regulars. Officials said there will be no operational or staffing changes planned for the team that has long made Spencer’s a local institution.

“Spencer’s is far more than a restaurant,” Chandi said in a statement. “It is a pillar of our community and a vital piece of Harold’s legacy that binds our city together.”

A Business Empire and a Political Lightning Rod

The reassurances did little to quiet a growing chorus of concern.

A segment of the Palm Springs community has expressed concern and vocal opposition surrounding Chandi’s perceived political alignment with and support of the MAGA movement. While some patrons have voiced frustration over the new ownership, others have defended the transaction, urging the community to focus on the business’s local impact and preservation of the historic site.

The criticism is not new. Chandi and his companies have been described as a longtime fixture of big-money political controversies in the Coachella Valley. In August 2016, after Nachhattar funneled $500,000 into a pro-Trump presidential political action committee, protesters descended on the Chandi family AM-PM outlet in Mecca. More recently, Chandi told Palm Springs TV station KESQ about a high-dollar Trump fundraiser he had attended at the estate of billionaire Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in Rancho Mirage.

Chandi owns and operates a vast local business empire encompassing more than thirty enterprises including gas stations, car washes, and fast-food franchises. That breadth of influence — combined with his now-dual role as Film Festival chairman and Spencer’s owner — has prompted some residents to question whether too much of Palm Springs’ cultural identity is concentrating in the hands of one man.

A Legacy Worth Protecting or a Boycott Brewing?

The debate playing out on local Facebook groups and neighborhood forums is sharp. Some longtime Spencer’s regulars say they will not return under the new ownership. Others argue that the restaurant’s longtime employees, the servers, cooks, and staff who have made Spencer’s what it is for decades should not be penalized for a change in ownership. Withholding patronage, they contend, ultimately hurts the workers far more than it does the owner. For these residents, the case for showing up is simple: support the people, honor the place, and leave the politics at home.

More About Spencer’s

Located at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains at the Palm Springs Tennis Club, the venue became synonymous with mid-century desert glamour, famously serving as a secluded getaway for Hollywood legends like Frank Sinatra, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, and many others. In 2000, Harold Matzner acquired a luncheonette operating at the site and revitalized it into Spencer’s Restaurant, named affectionately after his beloved Siberian Husky.

For now, the patio tables remain set, the wine list remains award-winning, and the kitchen remains open. Whether the dining room fills as it once did may depend less on the menu and more on how this desert city decides to navigate the complicated intersection of commerce, legacy, and politics.