More than 20 years ago, AZeats.com was building restaurant websites at a time when the Web was still very new.
The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine has preserved portions of AZeats.com and some of the restaurant websites we created. A few of these captures are remarkably complete—and still allow you to click through the original pages, see the graphics, experience some of the features, and even watch animated GIFs that were part of the early Web.
These are not recreations. They are surviving pieces of the original AZeats Web.
We've selected the websites on this page carefully. These aren't simply every AZeats or restaurant website we could find in the Wayback Machine. Each one was chosen because it meets our standards for inclusion:
The result is a small collection of websites that help tell the story of what we were doing at AZeats.com.
Here are a few of the best-preserved AZeats.com homepages.
Each one represents a different point in the evolution of the AZeats website and gives you the opportunity to explore the site as it appeared more than two decades ago.
Explore the archived AZeats.com homepage →
September 26,2001 Note the 3 animated GIFs including a waving American Flag
- Featured Restaurant As Seen On KPHO TV5 - Each week live on TV Robert would present a Featured AZeats Restaurant
Opens in the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.
AZeats wasn't just a restaurant directory. We built individual websites for restaurants and used those sites to connect restaurants with AZeats.com.
Some of those websites have survived in the Wayback Machine.
The examples below are among the most interesting and complete captures we've found. Each includes a little of the story behind the website and why I remember it.
Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler, Mesa, Peoria, Arizona
Hover over the menu buttons and watch what happens. The buttons use a collection of 45 RPM records, and when you interact with them, the records actually spin.
Explore the Archived Website → https://web.archive.org/web/20011125181829/http://www.azeats.com/5anddiner/default.htm
Historical website — opens in the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Some links and features may no longer work.
Scottsdale, Arizona
Check out the Shuffleboard animation
Explore the Archived Website → https://web.archive.org/web/20010405093912/http://www.azeats.com/jillys/default.htm
Historical website — opens in the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Some links and features may no longer work.
Scottsdale, Arizona
Hoover your mouse over the cups of coffee.
Jolta Java was an AZeats client with a special connection to AZeats: proprietor Jonathan Shrednick was the son of the ASU professor who worked with AZeats on a 2001 dual-degree MBA/AIS project. This project eventually led to the creation of ColoradoEats .com.
Explore the Archived Website → https://web.archive.org/web/20010405095616/http://www.azeats.com/joltajava/default.htm
Historical website — opens in the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Some links and features may no longer work.
Today, building a restaurant website is relatively straightforward. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was a very different world.
Internet connections were slow. Graphics had to be kept small. Animated GIFs were everywhere. Many of the technologies we take for granted today didn't exist yet.
Yet we were already experimenting with ways to help restaurants use the Internet to attract customers, distribute coupons, promote special offers, sell gift certificates, collect email addresses, and communicate directly with their customers.
These archived websites provide a chance to see some of that experimentation for yourself.
Click around. Follow the links. Look at the graphics.
And remember this is what the Web looked like when AZeats was building it.
These websites are historical captures preserved by the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Even unusually complete captures have limitations.
▸ Some images or pages may still be missing. Not every element of an original website was necessarily captured.
▸ Some older Web features no longer work. Technologies such as Flash, Java applets, and certain early JavaScript functions are no longer supported by modern browsers.
▸ Some links may leave the Wayback Machine. An archived page may contain links to websites or resources that were not captured. Those links may lead to a current website or another live destination.
▸ Do not click old email links. These email addresses are more than 20 years old and may now belong to someone else.
▸ Do not enter personal information or submit forms. Forms, newsletter signups, search boxes, and other interactive features may no longer function as originally intended.
▸ Do not download files from archived pages. Some old software, documents, or other downloadable files may be obsolete or unsuitable for modern computers.
▸ Information shown is historical. Restaurant names, addresses, telephone numbers, menus, prices, hours, promotions, and other information reflect the period when these websites were created and should not be considered current.
