In his book, “The Colossus of New York,” Colson Whitehead wrote about themoment the city becomes yours — when you see a place and say, hey, that used to be ... or as he put it: "when what was there before is more real and solid than what is here now.”
Recently, u/excesssss, a child of the '90s, took to Reddit to ask, “What was Phoenix like in the '80s?”
Three hundred comments followed with people reminiscing over aromas, foods and places that defined theirPhoenix ofthe 1980s. It was a time when the cityonly had one area code, when Interstate 10 stopped at 83rd Avenue and picked up at the I-17, whenArrowhead mall was just one of many orange groves that perfumed the cityand provided ammunition to teenagers likeHotsaucefridge who wrote:“it was a thing with teenagers to throw oranges at cars.”
In throwback "Where are they now?" style, here's a look at some classic Valley restaurants of the 1980sand what they've become.
Smitty's Market
Smitty's, which started as Smitty’s Big Town, brought back memories of a candy and ice cream counter and“free cookies,” for Jasmirris and others.
“If one got lost in Smitty’s, a worker would sit them down with a free cookie,” wrote Fashion_ThrowAway.
According to an Arizona Republic article, Smitty’s opened in 1961at Buckeye and 16th Street and was the first of its kind to have groceries, general merchandise and a family-style sit-down restaurant.
It eventually became a Fry’s.
Pistol Pete’s Pizza
accidentalretiree received lots of upvotes for “going to Pistol Pete’s during our off-campus lunch hour in high school.”
Drunkenkyle responded: “We hadovernight soccer lock-ins there. (Five)gallon buckets of coins and a bunch of smelly kids eating pizza and playing arcade games until your parents picked you up at 6 a.m.”
In a YouTube video, the Pistol Pete’s cowboy advertises an indoor merry-go-round andindoor games that won you tickets for toys.
Pistol Pete’s Pizza has since been taken over by Peter Piper Pizza.
Hobo Joe’s coffee shop
graveyardcatt whose family of seven lived in two hotel rooms for two months while waiting for their house to be built said: “(We)Ate our meals at the Hobo Joe's or at Bill Johnson’s Big Apple.”
Founded by Michigander Herb Applegate, Hobo Joe’s served hamburgers, pies and pancakes. But it was mostly known for the large statue that Herb imagined to be a 50-year-old hobo “throwing his responsibilities to the wind” to travel and experience food. The statuealso depicts Joecarryinga copy of the Wall Street Journal in his pocket to demonstrate his sophistication.
Applegate had a dark side. He embezzled money to build his Scottsdale mansion with a waterfalland had possible ties to the mafia, according to a 2019 investigation byThe Republic.
After Hobo Joe’s closed in the mid-80s, the statue changed hands a few times until Buckeye Main Street Coalition finished restoring it in 2019. The 25-foot statue standsnear Fifth Street and Monroe Avenue in historic downtown Buckeye.
Bill Johnson’s Big Apple
Named after the Big Apple square dance in Roger and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!”, the restaurant’s sawdust floors, Western theme and deep-dish apple pies attracted a few celebritieslikeBen Johnson, Val Kilmer, Kris Kristofferson, Wayne Newton, Johnny Cash, Barbara Streisand, Lee Majors, Cybill Shepherd and Glenn Campbell, to name a few.
After nearly 60 years in business, the restaurant closed its last location on Van Buren in 2015. GateWay Community College bought the space and turned it into a parking lot.
Mining Camp Restaurant
Located at the Apache Junction,this restaurant was known for its Western theme and family-style meals served on tin plates. Fashion_Throwaway recalled its “rad tin cups” and good cactus jelly.
Mining Camp Restaurant, which opened in 1961, was destroyed in a fire in 2017. The owners decided not to reopen.
Closing soon:A historic Phoenix bakery that opened in 1881 is closing
Thrifty ice cream
The famous squared-off scoops of Thrifty ice creamevoked memories for many.
According to LA Magazine, the chainstarted as a Los Angeles drugstore with a soda fountainthat was opened in 1929 by two brothers, Harry and Robert Borun. In 1940, the brothers decided to make their own ice creamto lure more customers into the store, where they sold the scoops cheap. It worked, and they expanded with more stores around the West.
Bwilcox03 wrote about a Thrifty at 51st and Thomas Street. “My mom would take me to get ice cream there on Friday or Saturday night and all the low riders and gangsters would gather there. That’s why as a 43-year-old matured punk rocker I still love low riders.”
In 1996, Rite Aid bought all Thrifty drug stores but continued selling the ice cream. In 2018, Albertson bought Rite Aid.
In metro Phoenix, Water and Ice stores still carry Thrifty ice cream.
Bobby McGee’s
Owned by Bob Sikora, the kitschy-themed restaurantopened in 1971 and grew to 24 locationsaround the United States. At Bobby McGee’s, the waitstaff wore unusual costumes,the salad barwas housedin a bathtub and drinks were served in mini sinks, bathtubs, a boot and a cactus mug.Oh, and the chairs were toilets.
In a 2006 article, Sikora told The Republic the reason for the costumes was that in 1970 he was in Los Angeles and saw a large costume shop with a going out of business sign. “I said, I’m going to put the waiters in costumes (and) … bought this whole place out.”
After Bobby McGee’s restaurants closed, Sikora converted the only remaining Arizona locationat I-17 and Dunlap Avenue to Bobby Q’s.
There is aFacebook Page(Bobby McGee's Arizona) dedicated to those who worked at Arizona Bobby McGee’swhere people share memories and photos.
Ed Debevic’s
The Chicago-based retrodiner was located near Highland and 20th Street in the Town andCountry shopping center, whereThe Republic reported:"sassy waitresses served burgers and meatloaf."It wasn’t uncommon for the waitstaff to dance on the counters.
The jukebox, photos and snarky neon signs went to auction when the diner closed in the early 2000s.
Showbiz Pizza Palace
The Republic described ShowBiz Pizza Palace as "a 90-minute performance by computer-operated animal figuresand a lobby arcade filled with video games, kiddie rides, mini bowling lanes and pinball machine" where they offered eight pizzas, sandwiches, salads, cotton candy and ice cream.
OMmegaRainicorn remembered she used to “clamor to get my front row seats to the animatronic Rock-a-fire explosion show.”
The pizzeria bought the bankrupt Chuck E. Cheese’s and eventually rebranded itselfas Chuck E. Cheese’s in 1998.
Minder Binders in Tempe
One of the places rumblepony247 reminisced about playing sand volleyball was Minder Binders.
Named after the owner’s favorite Catch-22 character, thisred barn venue was known for eclectic memorabilia, big burgers, stiff drinksandhosting some of the top bands.
Celebrities such as Mark Harmon and the Chicago Cubs players frequented Minder Binders. Later, Robin Wilson workedthere before he became the lead singer of Gin Blossoms, and after, he returned to the bar to perform.
Minder Bindersclosed in 2005and became theMission @ Minder Binderin 2014, then was sold againin 2018and becameSocial Hall.
After the second sale, in Glendalesold off the remaining memorabilia to the highest bidder.
The backstory:Minder Binders and its 'massive collection of weird junk' defined Tempe
Reach the reporter at BAnooshahr@azcentral.com. Follow @banooshahr onTwitter.
