​​eegee’s turns 50 | What To Know About Arizona’s Best Spot for Subs, Fries and Sweet Eats  

“Welcome to eegee’s, would you like to try an eegee today?” If you haven’t heard some variation of that greeting before, you’re either from out of town or have been living under a rock for half a century (literally). Not only has this legendary Tucson-born staple been serving up tasty frozen treats, grinders and fries to millions of locals and tourists alike, but it has now been around for 50 years!

Yes, over a half-century of doing what we love. That’s a heck of a long time in the restaurant world. But eegee’s? We’ve not only survived, but thrived. And, we’re still growing. From our more than humble beginnings in 1971 to where we are today, it’s been a sweet ride.

All September we invite you to swing by your local eegee’s to help us celebrate our 50th anniversary.

#DYK (Did You Know)

eegee’s founders started simply by selling their delicious frozen lemonade from the back of a vintage truck in September 1971. And originally, the name of their business was just that: “Frozen Lemonade”. A soon sought-after refreshment in the hot Arizona desert, they eventually renamed their sweet icy drink “eegee” after the first letter of the founders’ first names “E” and “G”.

Not as thin as a slushie, but not as thick as an Italian ice, an eegee is the best of both— it’s a beverage all on its own. Slushies melt if you don’t drink them fast enough and Italian ice requires a spoon to eat as it’s not ideal for drinking, but eegees are built for ultimate enjoyment.

And, then did you know eegee’s once had a mascot? Many long-time fans already know there was a Captain eegee, however, did you know there was another variation on the mascot prior? Yup! Before there was the classic superhero Captain eegee, there was a Mr. eegee. A cross between a cuddly white animal and a cartoon-ish alien, decked out in eegee’s original branding, Mr. eegee was short-lived but continues to live in infamy.

Then, finally, our food’s got street cred. From our eegee flavors that are made with real fruit, our famous bread recipe that is baked fresh daily (and never frozen), and our world-famous and top-secret ranch dressing (ranch fries, anyone?) that is our own exclusive recipe, we take pride in the quality and flavor of the food we serve. It’s not just a line for us, we really do go the extra mile to make our customers happy.

Celebrating 50 With You!

Yup, that’s right! We’re officially turning 50 years old this month and we are ready to celebrate big-time with the people we love most: YOU!

What are we doing for the big celebration, you ask? From the return of popular limited-time vintage flavors to exciting contests and giveaways to the hottest ticket in the state this month—our Vibees Live concert in Tucson—there will be no shortage of exciting ways you can help celebrate eegee’s crossing the 50-year milestone.

First, to the vintage eegee flavors! Call it vintage, call it retro, call it just an awesome idea, we’re bringing back two of our all-time most popular flavors for limited times this month only: Galactic Grape for the first two weeks, followed by a surprise flavor for the last half of the month! So make sure to stop in and get your fill of these amazing two flavors.

Next, who doesn’t love a scratcher? All September, every time you dine with us (either for to-go, drive-thru or dine-in) we’ll be handing out special limited-edition 50th anniversary scratchers, giving away a whole host of fun prizes. Tip: We’re only printing a certain amount of scratchers, so we will run out quickly! To make sure you get (at least) one, you’ll want to stop by early in the month.

What can you win? Think a limited-number of ‘free eegee’s for a year’ gift cards ($200 value), up to 10 “Let eegee’s Cater Your Party” winners (which is a party pack of three 3-foot subs), as well as countless smaller prizes including $10 off your next eegee’s order, a free small eegee with purchase of specialty fry and eegee (any size excluding kids), as well as a free regular fry with an eegee purchase. With so many awards being given out, you absolutely owe it to yourself to treat yourself and your family with some delicious eegee’s this September (and every other month).

As if fun flavors and prizes isn’t enough, we’ve also designed a special t-shirt to celebrate. You can commemorate our 50th anniversary with the coolest swag in town. We will be launching it on eegees-swag.com early in the month, so keep a look out for the drop.

And, last but certainly not least, we’re throwing a concert! That’s right, we’re taking Tucson by storm on Saturday 9/18. For our 50th, we’re transforming our popular monthly Vibees event into a full-blown “eegee’s experience” with live music, fun and all things eegee’s. We’ve even partnered with Pepsi to create the ultimate event. Looking to land a ticket for this epic night? Well, beforehand, we’ll be giving out special VIP tickets both as one of our scratcher prizes as well as a bonus for new loyalty member sign-ups. Stay tuned to our social media for the latest!

We’ll See You Soon

Let’s be honest: We couldn’t have made it a whopping 50 years (!!!) without the incredible support of all our customers—long-time and brand-new. Not to mention the state of Arizona and the city of Tucson in particular. Tucson and the city’s one-of-a-kind spirit vibe, without question, have allowed us to thrive how we have. It has been a perfect home for us, and now that we’ve started our big launch in the Phoenix area with our first location in Gilbert, we couldn’t be more happy and proud to be Arizona’s most iconic (and delicious) destinations for awesome eats and sweet drinks. We’re now halfway to the full century mark and you better believe we’re eyeballing some major celebrations once we hit that 100-year milestone. Stay tuned!

While this September is when the biggest 50-year celebrations will be taking place, we’ve been 50 all year long. Whether you are a longtime customer or this will be your first visit, you sincerely mean the world to us. Here’s to the next, together!