One of Phoenix's best-known dining destinations is receiving a grant intended to help protect its legacy.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation announced July 29 that MacAlpine's Diner and Soda Fountain in Phoenix is one of 50 restaurants being awarded $50,000 grants as part of the trust's "Backing Historic Small Restaurants" program. The program, in partnership with American Express, is intended to help restaurants "upgrade, update and grow their physical place of business," the trust said in a news release.
MacAlpine's intends to use the funding for exterior improvements and building renovations, the diner's management said on social media. Among Arizona honorees, the diner joins Delgadillo's Snow-Cap Drive-In, in Seligman, which was awarded a grant in a previous year of the program.
The MacAlpine's building, at Seventh and Oak streets in Phoenix, dates to 1929, when it opened as a pharmacy and soda fountain. Today, it's billed as one of the only remaining original soda fountains in the U.S., and customers over the years have included Barry Goldwater, Frank Lloyd Wright and Wayne Newton.
After closing its doors during the pandemic, MacAlpine's reopened this year and now is open for lunch Wednesdays through Sundays. For more information, visit macalpines.com.