MacAlpine’s Diner & Soda Fountain owner Monica Heizenrader sits with the Mac Club sandwich and cheeseburger, and left, a Breakfast at Tiffany’s soda, hot fudge sundae and Marilyn Monroe soda (photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News).
Step into MacAlpine’s Diner & Soda Fountain at 7th Street and Oak, and you feel as if you’ve gone back to the future. Any second now, Marty McFly is going to leap over the counter, Biff at his heels.
Lining the massive mirrored back bar, tucked in with antique tins, clocks and other geegaws, are rows of bottles holding soda flavorings – 99 of them according to Holly Heizenrader, daughter of owner Monica Heizenrader.
Between basic syrup and soda combos and more grandiose house specials, you could come in here every week for two years before you’d have to repeat a flavor.
The specials include Breakfast at Tiffany’s, with blue raspberry wedding cake soda and vanilla ice cream, and the I Dream of Jeannie, with creamsicle soda and vanilla ice cream. Or go for a favorite egg cream – it’s not on the menu but they know how to put one together.
And there will be more to come. They’re having a contest in July to name a new customer favorite. Piña colada is one of the candidates.
(photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News)
Sodas not your style? Floats, malts and milkshakes also are also on the menu – the shakes and malts served up in classic glassware with the overflow served on the side, in the frosty metal container straight off the vintage green Hamilton Beach blenders.
Or, dig into mountainous sundaes like the rocky road: huge scoops of chocolate ice cream topped with hot fudge and marshmallow creme; and the Wallace and Ladmo: scoops of mint chocolate chip, coffee and cookies & cream ice cream with hot fudge and whipped cream.
If you’re in a crowd, or just in the mood for something outrageous, there’s always The Legend, which the menu calls “this amazing monstrosity,” with 10 pounds of ice cream, six toppings, whipped cream and cherries ($139.99).
If you can bring yourself to pass by all this sweet temptation, you can sit in classic wooden booths for a diner menu including customer favorites like the cheeseburger, Reuben sandwich, and Mac’s clubhouse sandwich with bacon, ham, turkey, tomato, and Swiss and American cheese.
And you can walk off the calories with a visit to the shop next door, which has antiques and vintage clothing collected over the years.
Or just peruse the walls, festooned with all sorts of antiques and clocks.
MacAlpine’s originally opened in 1929 as Birch’s 7th Street Pharmacy. Fred MacAlpine bought the pharmacy and fountain in 1938, and it went through several owners before the pharmacy closed. Happily for locals, the soda fountain and dining room remained.
(photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News)
Over the years, MacAlpine’s saw a parade of Arizona notables. Former Gov. Rose Mofford was a regular, holding court at the first booth. Others – Barry Goldwater, Joan Ganz Cooney (a creator of Sesame Street), architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Sen. John McCain, Wayne Newton and Phoenix TV icons Wallace and Ladmo – also were regulars.
The Heizenraders bought MacAlpine’s in 2001. COVID caused them to close, and that and family health issues, including the death of Monica’s husband Cary, kept it closed four years, until reopening about a year ago.
Not all of the building is back in business yet. There are three ground-floor spaces. The diner and soda fountain are in the center. To one side is the antique store with vintage clothing, and the other space serves as storage for more antiques. Heizenrader hopes to re-open that portion at some future date, but for now, just getting the diner and fountain open for full-day service all week is her family’s challenge.
Along with daughters Holly Heizenrader (chief pie baker and soda jerk) and Heidi Reed (server and back-up soda jerk) and a small staff, everyone pitches in to get things back to full operation.
“It’s been very, very challenging,” Heizenrader said.
The pies have been a big help, according to Heizenrader.
“Years ago, an Amish lady rode the train out here from Indiana and spent a month, so our pies are really good because she taught us how to bake,” she added. Customers can call in orders for whole pies.
Word is spreading.
Lining the massive mirrored back bar, tucked in with antique tins, clocks and other geegaws, are rows of bottles holding soda flavorings – 99 of them to be exact (photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News).
“We’ve had people come in from other states and tell us we’re a ‘national treasure,’ Heizenrader said. “We had one man from Washington state who said he came down for the day just to have lunch with us. Another gentleman from Germany was on a tour of Route 66 and took a little detour to come to MacAlpine’s to propose to his now wife.”
Getting the word out to locals that MacAlpine’s is open after so many years’ hiatus has been a struggle, Heizenrader said, but there’s hope that word of mouth and social media can bring people back to this old favorite.
“We want people to know how special MacAlpine’s is, how amazing the history is. We live in a city without a lot of history. Up until the ’60s, Phoenix was a really small town. We didn’t do a really good job of saving what history we did have.”
Heizenrader hopes to expand opening hours.
“Everything we’ve done is baby steps,” she said. “We’re making it, but we have a long way to go.”
MacAlpine’s Diner & Soda Fountain, 2303 N. 7th St., is open Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, call 602-262-5545 or visit the website at www.macalpines.com.
