From the soda bar illuminated by the kitschy glow of the Coca-Cola marquee that advertises signature sandwiches and famous ice cream floats, to the carefully placed antiques and assorted collectibles from the golden age of Americana, everything is aimed at making you feel like the last true greaser.
You can almost picture Pony Boy himself wandering in from the drive-in or early morning rumble and plunking a few coins down to hear Richie Valens and wolf down a perfect diner cheeseburger.
Farther on, a sign optimistically proclaims “Pie Fixes Everything!” The display case below, filled with apple, cherry and the dangerously decadent “naughty” pecan with salted caramel, is ready to fix if not everything, then at least a sweet tooth.
With a storied history dating back to 1929, the pharmacy-turned-drugstore and soda fountain has been a favorite of some famous regulars (Senator Barry Goldwater, Frank Lloyd Wright, Wayne Newton, Governor Rose Mofford and Senator John McCain all bellied up to the bar) as well as loyal locals across generations.
Stewards of a slice of history
MacApline’s owner, Monica Heizenrader, shoulders the responsibility of crafting memorable diner experiences while also understanding the stewardship of maintaining the legacy of one of the city’s most historical eating spots. She fell in love with the place when she and her late husband Cary bought it in 2001.“You could feel the historical charm of it, and we had a lot of experience in the restaurant business beforehand, so it was just a matter of seeing the potential of the place,” she says.
Together, they spent months renovating and rejuvenating what had started as Burches’ Seventh Street Pharmacy in 1929, and had, over the years and owners — most famously Leslie J. Mahony, architect of the Orpheum Theater — morphed into MacAlpine’s Diner and Soda Fountain.
The Heizenraders developed the menu that is served today. Their daughters, Heidi and Holly, grew up in the restaurant business and as kids, could often be seen bussing tables or taking orders. Today, they continue to help their mother with the day-to-day operations, with Heidi handling front-of-house responsibilities and the soda fountain, and Holly baking the pies and other desserts.
“I always knew I would end up here,” Holly says. “I just didn’t know I would be making so many pies!”
The pies, derived from an Amish pastry chef’s secret recipe and hand-crafted in a meticulous process, have become a huge hit.
“We refer to her as the ‘Amish Snowbird’,” Monica explains. “She took a train from Indiana to Phoenix to teach us this approach to pie. It’s time-consuming, all done by hand, by scratch, but it is definitely worth it.”
Desserts aside, the food is comforting and lives up to what you would expect from a 1950s-era diner. The Reuben and fries are formidable diner staples done with delicious care, and you will not leave hungry. However, the real star is the soda menu, which touts over 99 combinations, including the Velvet Elvis Egg Cream that perfectly encapsulates a red velvet cake in soda form, and a tart, refreshing Bosin Berry with phosphate that is a perfect summer sip.
Other notable items include a sizable burger, a meatloaf plate for those needing a Midwestern staple and a top-tier Club sandwich. The atmosphere suits the food, and it pays to take a stroll through the antiques and collectibles to see a truly impressive collection of clothing, knick-knacks, furniture and keepsakes of a time gone by.
Rounding the corner after a difficult few years
Recent years have left the historic business in a precarious spot. In 2021, Cary tragically passed away from complications from COVID-19. The shocking loss was compounded when Monica suffered a severe knee injury, leaving her with limited mobility for months. As a result, the restaurant was forced to close.Eventually, through the efforts of an extensive and ongoing crowdfunding campaign, along with the pivot to online pie sales, the family was able to see a path forward.
“I knew we could do it, that we would do it — we had never worked so hard in our lives — but the question was how do we do it? To live up to people’s expectations of the place? To hold true to that memory for them, but with a new staff and starting over, what would that look like? And eventually, we just had to do it, step by step.” Monica reflects.
Now, MacApline's is continuing to expand their options. Recent comedy shows and the possibility of future drag events are helping broaden their brand, and the power of television appearances and TikTok influencers who have fallen in love with the aesthetic continue to keep foot traffic going.
This week, on her birthday, Monica received news that MacApline's had been awarded the National Trust for Historic Preserve and American Express’ “Backing Historical Small Restaurants” grant for $50,000. The funds, allocated to only fifty small, historic restaurants in America, will allow for exterior renovations and improvements so that the outside of the place can keep up with the charm of the interior.
“It was exciting, and a bit overwhelming, because our customers were the ones who suggested we apply for the grant, and they kept insisting. And they’re right.” Monica reflects. “There’s something about this place, it feels so good to be here. You kind of forget you're in 2024 and everything is so crazy. It kind of just melts away.”
While they are not completely out of the woods — the margins at restaurants are always close, and there are still financial goals to be met — Monica, Heidi and Holly are optimistic about the future. They are looking at expanding hours, adding new staff and tweaking the menu. MacApline’s is five years out from turning its first century, and the owners are excited to see what comes next.
Looking back and moving forward
On the way out, the jukebox cranks tunes picked by a curious teenager, playing songs with her parents as they feed the machine quarters and punch the large red plastic letter-number codes — the antithesis of Spotify instant song gratification.The dad explains the mechanism and enthusiastically proclaims that “this one’s a classic.” In a moment, the warm hiss-pop of needle threads the groove of the record and Mick Jagger stretches and peacocks each word about going down to the Chelsea Drugstore and getting a soda — “favorite flavor, cherry red.”
That Chelsea Drugstore lasted only a couple of decades and is now a McDonald’s. But MacAlpine’s is still standing, serving something unique and timeless, spinning the hits and giving people a new opportunity to revisit the past.
Sometimes we can’t always get what we want, but in the case of MacApline’s, we can get 99 soda options, a piece of history and pie.
