The Internet changed how we find restaurants. This project preserves the story of one company that helped lead that change in Arizona.
The AZeats History Project was created to preserve the story of one of Arizona's earliest online restaurant guides and document a remarkable period in the history of the commercial World Wide Web.
When AZeats was founded in 1998, the Internet was still in its infancy. Restaurant websites were uncommon, online gift certificates were a new concept, and many people were discovering the World Wide Web for the first time. AZeats helped connect Arizona restaurants with diners through restaurant websites, printable coupons, online gift certificates, virtual tours, email marketing, and other innovations that were ahead of their time.
Like many early Internet companies, much of that history has gradually disappeared. Websites vanished, computers were replaced, photographs were discarded, and business records were lost. Yet the people, ideas, and experiences that shaped those early years remain an important part of Arizona's digital history.
The purpose of this project is to preserve that history before it is lost.
Using original business records, archived websites, photographs, newspaper articles, interviews, and personal recollections, the AZeats History Project is creating a permanent historical archive documenting not only the company itself, but also the restaurants, technology, business relationships, and people who helped shape Arizona's early online dining community.
History is best preserved when it reflects many voices and many perspectives.
If you were connected with AZeats in any way—as a restaurant owner, employee, customer, business partner, advertiser, media representative, or simply someone who remembers those years—I would enjoy hearing from you.
I'm especially interested in preserving:
Every contribution will be carefully reviewed and, when appropriate, incorporated into the historical archive with proper acknowledgment.
Between 1998 and the early 2000s, AZeats worked with hundreds of restaurants and thousands of customers during a time when the Internet was rapidly changing how people discovered local businesses.
Whether your involvement lasted years or only a single visit to the website, your memories may help preserve an important chapter in Arizona's Internet history.
Even if your recollections differ from my own, I would appreciate hearing from you. Historical archives are strongest when they include multiple viewpoints and personal experiences.
If you would like to contribute information, photographs, documents, or memories, please contact:
When writing, please include:
Thank you for helping preserve this history for future generations.
The story of AZeats is not simply the history of one company.
It is the history of a remarkable period when ordinary entrepreneurs helped build the commercial Internet one small business at a time.
During the late 1990s, there were no proven formulas for creating successful websites. There were no social media platforms, no Google Maps, no YouTube, no Facebook, and no online marketing playbooks. Every day brought new ideas, new challenges, and new opportunities. Success depended on creativity, experimentation, and a willingness to solve problems that no one had solved before.
AZeats was part of that pioneering generation.
The company introduced independent restaurants to the World Wide Web, experimented with online marketing, developed new technologies, and continually adapted as the Internet evolved at an astonishing pace. Some ideas flourished. Others disappeared as technology changed. All of them became part of the story of how the early Internet grew.
This history matters because it preserves more than the accomplishments of one company. It preserves the experiences of the people who were there—the entrepreneurs, programmers, salespeople, designers, restaurant owners, and early adopters who collectively shaped the Internet into what it would become.
Their creativity deserves to be remembered.
Their ingenuity deserves to be documented.
Their willingness to embrace an uncertain future deserves to be recognized.
Without preserving stories like these, an important chapter of Internet history will quietly disappear.
Throughout the story of AZeats.com, I mention several creative, talented, and hardworking people who, along with Robert and me, played important roles in building and shaping what AZeats.com became. I have intentionally used only their first names in these stories rather than publishing their full names without permission. Their contributions were real, valuable, and an important part of the AZeats.com story, and I am proud of the work they did. If any of these former colleagues or contributors would like their full name included, I would be happy to do so—with their permission. If you recognize yourself in these stories, or know someone who was part of the AZeats.com journey, please reach out. I would love to hear from you and, with your permission, give you the recognition you deserve.
Some of the people mentioned in the AZeats.com stories are identified only by first name.
I have chosen not to publish their full names without permission,
but I would be happy to give them full credit if they would like to be identified.
References to "Bill" are for Bill Rowe.
AZeats.org is an independent historical archive documenting the original AZeats.com project. AZeats.org is not affiliated with the current registrant or operator of the AZeats.com domain.
