Celebrating 25 years of business, Phil’s Filling Station stands the test of time as a staple of Fountain Hills cuisine.

With numerous Valley restaurants shuttered after falling prey to the pandemic, Phil Rodakis found COVID-19 to be a defining and pivotal moment for his restaurant.

“I was surprised at the local support that we received throughout COVID,” Phil said, who was initially hesitant to adopt food delivery service apps. After some prodding from his daughter, Alyssa, he knew it was his only choice.

“We had to change to the times and adjust what we normally would do,” Alyssa said, who has worked alongside her father for seven years.

Recently, Phil sat down to do the math on local restaurants that have come and gone.

“I counted over 140 new restaurants that had left or had moved locations,” he said. After 25 years, Phil has found his stride.

Phil opened his doors in 1997 when he purchased Jimmy’s Filling Station, changing the name of the restaurant to his own. The first location of Phil’s was at the corner of N. Saguaro Blvd. and Amhurst Dr., where he spent 10 years. He moved to a second location on the north side of town across from the middle school for 1-1/2 years until he settled on his current location at 16852 E. Parkview Ave., where he has been for 13 years. It was at this location where he started Cruisin’ @ Phil’s, where the public can enjoy breakfast while ogling cool cars in the back parking lot.

“The car show grew over time from 50 cars to 250 cars on Sundays,” Phill said. “It brings in people from everywhere, from Chandler to Prescott to Flagstaff.”

Aside from COVID, the perennial struggle for Fountain Hills restaurant owners is the drop in customers as a large swath of the community leaves town in the summer months. Over time, Phil has weathered these changes well, adding that care from his community and employees is what keeps him going.

“By serving the community, the community takes care of me,” Phil said. “If you take care of your employees, your employees will take of you, through the good times and the bad.”

During the early days of the pandemic, Phill recalls his employees – many of whom have worked with him for the better part of 25 years – offering their services at no cost.

“They said to me, ‘we understand how tough it is; we’re going to come in and we’re going to help you and work for free,’” Phil recalled.

Phill could not accept their generosity and found a way to pay them for their service.

“I worked for a lot of corporations and mom-and-pop places, and I always took with me the things that my bosses did right to respect and treat their employees,” Phil said. “I did not take with me the things that they did wrong.”

Phil’s greatest joy is having his children work with him and possibly take over the business one day.

“I’m really blessed to have this opportunity that my dad created for me and my brother so we can stay together,” Alyssa said.

Phil’s son, Johnny, serves as the restaurant night cook, and Alyssa takes care of the bookkeeping and back-office duties, but still enjoys serving to be around the customers.

“It’s the best restaurant in town,” Johnny says, who has worked at the restaurant his whole life.

After years of bussing and serving, Johnny graduated from the Arizona Culinary Institute in 2016 and came home to work as the night cook.

Phil does not have plans to celebrate the anniversary but wants the community to know how grateful he is for its support.

“We wouldn’t be here without them,” he said.

Phil’s Filling Station is open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. The Cruisin’ @ Phil’s car show is open every Sunday, October through May, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.