There are some restaurants you remember for the food. Others become part of the story of a place. Mag’s Ham-Bun was both.
Mag’s Ham-Bun was already a part of Phoenix’s restaurant scene by the mid-1950s, when the Valley was still a much smaller and very different place. A 1955 Phoenix city directory lists Mag’s at 4997 N. 7th Street, and by the end of the decade, additional Mag’s locations were appearing around the city. It didn't take long for the name to become familiar to generations of Arizona diners.
The restaurant became especially well known in Scottsdale. In the early 1960s, Mag’s became the regular meeting place for a group of prominent Scottsdale residents who had originally gathered elsewhere for informal breakfasts and conversations about local and national affairs. As the group grew, its members moved their gatherings to the larger Mag’s and became known as the Mag’s Ham Bun Bunch.
The group became something of a Scottsdale institution. Its members included influential local business and community figures, and its gatherings eventually attracted national attention, including coverage on 60 Minutes and CBS News. Mag’s had become more than a restaurant—it was a place where people came together, talked, debated and built relationships.
But you didn't have to be part of the Ham Bun Bunch to have a memory of Mag’s.
For many Arizonans, Mag’s was simply a familiar place to grab a sandwich, meet someone for breakfast or stop in for a quick meal. A 1961 Billboard article described a downtown Phoenix Mag’s with thick ham sandwiches, a 30-seat counter and a jukebox, offering a small glimpse into what a visit might have been like during the restaurant's heyday.
And Mag’s wasn't limited to the Phoenix and Scottsdale area. The restaurant also made its way to other Arizona communities. In Payson, Arizona Highways later remembered the local Mag’s for its oversized sandwiches and jukebox—a simple description that captures the kind of old-school roadside restaurant people remember long after the doors have closed.
Over the years, the Mag’s locations disappeared, but the memories didn't. Former employees and longtime customers still share stories about the restaurant, its sandwiches and the role it played in their lives. One former employee remembered working at the Shea Boulevard location in the late 1970s and early 1980s, while others recall Mag’s as a favorite from their childhood or family years.
That's what makes places like Mag’s Ham-Bun worth remembering. They weren't just restaurants. They were part of everyday Arizona—a place to grab a sandwich, meet a friend, catch up over breakfast or make one more stop before heading home.
Today, we're bringing a little of that memory back.
Our Mag’s Ham-Bun T-shirt pays tribute to an Arizona original, featuring the iconic “Finest Sandwich in the World” slogan and the four locations that helped make Mag’s part of Arizona history.
Because some places may be gone, but if you remember them, they're never really forgotten.
SHOP THE MAG’S HAM-BUN T-SHIRT →
Stories We Wear
Every place has a story. And every person who remembers it has one, too.
Stories We Wear is our way of celebrating the restaurants, landmarks, businesses, and local favorites that became part of our lives. At Nostalgic Brand Apparel, we turn those memories into vintage-inspired apparel—so the places we loved can live on in the stories we wear.
Have a place you think we should remember? Suggest a place and it could become our next story.