People took to Reddit to reminisce about these 1980s Phoenix restaurants. What are they now?

In his book, “The Colossus of New York,” Colson Whitehead wrote about the moment 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 their Phoenix of the 1980s. It was a time when the city only had one area code, when Interstate 10 stopped at 83rd Avenue and picked up at the I-17, when Arrowhead mall was just one of many orange groves that perfumed the city and provided ammunition to teenagers like Hotsaucefridge 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 1980s and 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 1961 at 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 had overnight 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 and indoor 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 statue also depicts Joe carrying a 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 waterfall and had possible ties to the mafia, according to a 2019 investigation by The 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 stands near 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 celebrities like Ben 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 cream evoked memories for many.

According to LA Magazine, the chain started as a Los Angeles drugstore with a soda fountain that was opened in 1929 by two brothers, Harry and Robert Borun. In 1940, the brothers decided to make their own ice cream to 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 restaurant opened in 1971 and grew to 24 locations around the United States. At Bobby McGee’s, the waitstaff wore unusual costumes, the salad bar was housed in 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 location at I-17 and Dunlap Avenue to Bobby Q’s.

There is a Facebook Page (Bobby McGee's Arizona) dedicated to those who worked at Arizona Bobby McGee’s where people share memories and photos.

Ed Debevic’s

The Chicago-based retro diner was located near Highland and 20th Street in the Town and Country shopping center, where The 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 figures and 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 itself as 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, this red barn venue was known for eclectic memorabilia, big burgers, stiff drinks and hosting some of the top bands.

Celebrities such as Mark Harmon and the Chicago Cubs players frequented Minder Binders. Later, Robin Wilson worked there before he became the lead singer of Gin Blossoms, and after, he returned to the bar to perform.

Minder Binders closed in 2005 and became the Mission @ Minder Binder in 2014, then was sold again in 2018 and became Social Hall.

After the second sale, EJ’s Auction & Consignment in Glendale sold 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 [email protected]. Follow @banooshahr on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Classic Phoenix restaurants of the 1980s: Where are they now?