This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Editor's note • In this regular series, The Tribune explores the once-favorite places of Utahns, from restaurants to recreation to retail. If you have a spot you'd like us to explore, email whateverhappenedto@sltrib.com with your ideas.
For 45 years, Lee's Cafe in Bountiful was a northern Utah landmark — a visible halfway point for anyone traveling between Salt Lake City and Ogden.
The tall cafe sign — which looked as if it had been pierced by an arrow — pointed to a place where customers could enjoy a cup of coffee, French fries or a chicken fried steak. It was a community gathering spot, where you'd likely see a neighbor or longtime friend.
"It was truly a family-owned restaurant where you could get a home-cooked meal," said Brent Epperson, whose father opened the restaurant in 1950 and made everything from scratch. "My dad loved it. It was his life."
Leland "Lee" Epperson opened the original cafe on Main Street in Bountiful. He moved it to a second location for a short time until the property on the northwest corner of 500 South and 500 West —the old Highway 89 — became available. It was a prime piece of property, said his son. "It was before Interstate 15 was built, so anyone traveling between Salt Lake and Ogden had to pass by."
As populations in Davis County and the Wasatch Front increased, fast-food restaurants such as McDonald's as well as other developers had their eyes on the valuable corner and made repeated attempts to purchase it. Lee and his wife, Rhoda, always declined to give it up.
But in 1995, after both his parents had died, Brent Epperson decided to get out of the grueling restaurant business. He had worked at the eatery since he was 11, and at 43, with a fourth child on the way, he was ready to spend more time with his family.
Rather than selling the property, Epperson leased the land to McDonald's. The first 20-year lease expired last December and was renewed recently. He still remembers how angry customers and employees were when he announced the restaurant's pending demolition.
"I got letters saying how my dad would be so disappointed," said Epperson, who purchased the business from his father in 1981 and operated it for 14 years before leasing to the Golden Arches.
While the decision was difficult, Epperson said he had talked to his father many times before his death in 1988 about the possibility of selling. "He knew it was a business deal," Epperson said.
Epperson said the success of Lee's Cafe was due entirely to his father's hard work and dedication. A boy in the Great Depression, Lee Epperson hitchhiked to Chicago when he was 14 and persuaded the chef at the Edgewater Beach Hotel to give him a job. He started at the bottom and worked his way up to cook. During World War II, he honed his culinary skills as a mess sergeant in the Army. After his tour of duty, he was sent to Camp Williams to open the mess hall.
"He fell in love with Utah," said Brent Epperson.
When it opened, Lee's Cafe had just eight stools at a counter, but an addition in 1952, doubled its size and added booths. A large dining room was added in 1956. Ultimately, the cafe seated 250 people and was open 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Lee did all the cooking, and Rhoda, who met her future husband when he hired her as a waitress, was the server.
"They talked to the customers, knew their kids, knew what was going on in their lives," Epperson said. "And they took care of their employees." Through the years, the Lee's Cafe owners bought new water heaters or made monthly car payments for employees who were struggling. In return, they had loyal employees who stayed for decades.
Like all successful diners, Lee's Cafe had regulars. "We had the same group of people seven days a week," said Epperson.
Lee's Cafe also was a favorite late-night stop for police officers and truck drivers — the latter stopping to fill up their rigs at nearby Slim Olsen's, billed as the "world's largest service station."
Lee's was the meeting place for the Lions Club and Chamber of Commerce luncheons. Kaysville's Clover Club potato chip factory always had its company parties there, and those who worked the Christmas shift at the nearby refineries were treated to a catered turkey dinner from Lee's.
When the old Valley Music Hall was still a concert and performance venue — it's now owned by the LDS Church and called the Bountiful Regional Center — the owners had a contract with Lee's Cafe to feed the performers. Singers Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole, as well as actor Robert Stack, enjoyed meals at the cafe, Epperson remembers.
Lee's Cafe also was a favorite hangout for teenagers, said Lane Beattie, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber and a lifelong Davis County resident.
"It was the place to go if you'd been to a show and wanted to get something to eat afterward," he said, remembering that for some reason he and his friends always ordered French fries topped with brown gravy.
But more than the food, Beattie said it was Lee's atmosphere that brought customers back, day after day.
"It had this homey feel to it," he said. "And the waitresses would always remember your name, even if you were just a high-school kid."
With that kind of customer service, it's no surprise that Lee's endured for more than four decades and people still regret its demise. "It was the epitome of a successful business," he said. "The people were friendly and made you want to go back."