Lucky Boy in central Phoenix serves up burgers with a side of nostalgia
The 16th Street burger shop is the last restaurant from a chain that goes back to the 1950s Lucky Boy in central Phoenix, a 1950s hamburger shop with 1950s aesthetics, has stood strong since its opening on 16th Street on the corner of the street. The restaurant serves burgers topped with Thousand Island dressing, fries, and a butterscotch malt. The last remaining location of a local franchise, which once had nine restaurants in the Valley, is dated back to 1950. The oldest mentions of Lucky Boy are found in a May 1950 column in May 1950 and a job ad seeking "girls to fry hamburgers" in July of that year.
Published : a month ago by Jeremy Duda in Lifestyle
I suspect a lot of you are like me in the sense that you've driven past Lucky Boy a thousand times without ever stopping to eat at the old-school hamburger shop with 1950s aesthetics. Dig in: I finally stopped in to see why Lucky Boy, on 16th Street north of Osborn Road, has stood the test of time.
What I ordered: A burger, naturally. To be specific, I got the "international," which comes topped with Thousand Island dressing.
• I also got a side of fries and, just to add to the restaurant's "Back to the Future" vibe, a butterscotch malt.
The verdict: A great burger, by any account. It's everything you'd want it to be.
• The fries were crispy and delicious, and the malt added a sweet treat to the meal.
• It won't take me another 20 years to make my second trip to Lucky Boy.
Flashback: The 16th Street burger shop is the last remaining location of a local franchise that once had nine restaurants in the Valley, according to a 2014 story in the Arizona Republic.
• The oldest mentions we could find are a May 1950 column about an invitation to enjoy a "luscious hamburger" at Lucky Boy and a job ad from July of that year seeking "girls to fry hamburgers" at a location at Fifth Avenue and McDowell Road.
• Phoenix New Times dated the 16th Street location to 1950, though the sign out front says it's been open since 1951.