As we continue to celebrate The Mother Road’s 100th birthday, I wanted to share the story of a service station that was established the same year as our beloved Route 66. While once a hub for fuel and repairs, today, it’s a fueling station for people’s appetites. The Old Station Sub Shop has been in business since 1986 under its current name, although the building itself dates back to 1926.
The pink structure at the corner of 13th Avenue and Jefferson is eye-catching, yet also somehow off the radar. I’ve lived in the Phoenix area for over 20 years and never knew of it until just a few weeks ago. The shop is only open on weekdays, and only from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., so a lot of the business comes from nearby government offices in downtown Phoenix.
I was able to get over there on a Friday for lunch, and it was indeed a step back in time. The exterior is surrounded by a fence, but once you get inside the courtyard, its charm becomes clear. The front patio has some tables and chairs for dining al fresco.
Stepping inside, the interior was replete with vintage automotive fare, including license plates and road signs. There was a small framed display with some vintage photos dating back to the 1970s when the building was occupied by Castellano’s Garage. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found any media from prior to that.
Then:
And now:
A couple more older photos you’ll enjoy as much as I did:
Check out the late-1970s Ford Thunderbird and Datsun King Cab pickup parked out front.
Here you can see where the original roll-up door was closed off.
I ordered a Number 6 (The Italian) with ham, salami, capocollo, and cheese on a wheat bun from Bill Ellis, who bought the business back in 2024. He was proud of the building and its history, and he told me the structure itself is largely original (including the framing in the roof and much of the interior). In some areas, he said, you can clearly see the many layers of paint that have been added to the walls over the years. The ordering and dine-in area is located where the old service bay with a roll-up door used to be.
Bill showed me out back, where a huge canopy covered up the concrete pad; this was the area where larger trucks were worked on. It’s fun to think about the types of cars and trucks the station must have seen back in the 1930s, ’40s, and beyond.
When the station was built, Phoenix only had about 40,000 residents. Today, the city is home to 1.67 million, and the greater Phoenix area has a mind-boggling 4.9 million.
It kind of makes you wonder what the surrounding area will be like when the Old Station is still serving up sub sandwiches to customers another 100 years in the future.
Who wants to meet me there for a Number 6 in 2126?
