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Bountiful • You gotta be a little bit country and a little bit rock 'n' roll when you're the only show in town.
And disco. And metal. And karaoke. Some comedy, fashion and poker might help out, as well.
The Fifth is all of that, which may help explain why a low-slung beige stucco box, that's practically invisible behind Jersey barriers near a freeway entrance, has thrived as Bountiful's only public watering hole.
"We've done just about all of it," second-generation owner Brad Hepworth said, smiling about his varied clientele.
And that variety is part of what makes the job interesting.
"It's fun, just meeting all the different people," he said. "There's different crowds all the time."
Karaoke has the stage Wednesdays, and shares the 250-capacity space with poker on Thursdays. A rotation of Wasatch Front bands pack the dance floor on Fridays and Saturdays, when the bar charges a $3 cover. Sundays are for golfers relaxing after a round, or for football fans boosting their teams on the big screen.
Occasionally the bar hosts fashion, comedy and other theme shows.
It makes for a pretty young crowd most nights of the week. But the daytime is for older regulars and working men who have kept the darkened nook alive since it started under the name Pleiades half a century ago.
"I like the older boys in the day," bartender Sabrina Blackburn said."They're a bundle of fun, always full of jokes."
While Hepworth was growing up in the bar, construction workers formed the core of business. They're still around, along with refinery workers.
The Fifth is a Coors/Bud Light kind of place by day. But it also keeps Squatters and Wasatch microbrews on tap for the younger crowd that comes in by night. Jagermeister and Crown Royal are big sellers, too, Hepworth said.
Bountiful resident Mike Allen has been a patron for 35 years, even though he didn't always live in Bountiful. Back then, he had a work site nearby and stopped in with co-workers.
"We came in on Cinco de Mayo, 1976, and that was it," he said. He fell in love with a bartender, now retired, though she turned out to be married. She also turned out to be a great friend.
The Fifth has a grill, too, with classic bar fare such as burgers and hot pastrami.
"If you want to have a great meal at lunch, banter, meet new friends, this is the place," Allen said over a mini-pitcher of yellow beer.
The bar's name is somewhat mysterious, but it replaced the moniker Pleiades when Hepworth's dad took over and renamed it the Fifth Amendment. That's the part of the Bill of Rights that ensures due process and guards against self-incrimination.
At one point, Hepworth's dad sold the place. When the new owners went out of business, Hepworth's dad reacquired it. He decided a new name was in order, and shortened the old one.
But really, Hepworth said, the Fifth can mean anything. Could mean a fifth-gallon flask, if you like. Could mean Fifth West, where the bar is located.
Truth is, the Fifth is more or less whatever you want it to be.
Look online
Check Friday's Mix section for The Tribune's drink guide, listing 50 of our favorite bars and clubs, and visit our new daily entertainment website, nowsaltlake.com.