WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Larsen's Frostop

Home
Calendar
Organizations
Museums
Reference
Documents
Maps
Photos
Videos
Genealogy
About WCHS
Contact WCHS

St. George

Histories
Washington County
Cities and Towns
Artifacts
Buildings
Businesses
CCC
Cemeteries
Churches
Homes
Hospitals
Libraries
Motels
People
Roads and Trails
Schools
Water Resources
Zion National Park
Miscellaneous

LOCATION

858 E. St. George Blvd.
St. George, UT 84770-3036
(435)673-2216

Latitude: 37.108086, Longitude: -113.567114

HISTORY

Gale & Darlene Larsen were farmers in the Uintah Basin. Gale supplemented his farm income by driving a Wonder Bread delivery route. One of his customers was a Frostop franchisee in Duchesne UT. That business seemed to be doing well, so the Larsens decided to give that business a try.

In 1965, they moved to St. George and started Larsen's Frostop on St. George Blvd. When it opened, Frostop was a nationwide chain of franchised root beer stands. There were around 350 such stands in the US in the 1960s. But the chain went out of business in the early 1980s.

Originally, Larsen's Frostop had the typical 14-foot rotating root beer mug sign which was typical for most franchisees. But when the franchise folded, Larsen's Frostop continued as a privately owned store. The mug was replaced with the current neon sign. The mug was stored in the Larsen's back yard for several years and then was moved to a farm. It has since disappeared.

Gale and his wife ran the business until 2002 when they decided to retire. They sold the business to Nathan McCleery, a local schoolteacher. Nathan had been teaching Spanish for five years, but wanted to become an entrepreneur.

Kim & Andra Garrett bought the store in June of 2008. Garrett has an extensive resume in the food industry. Originally drawn to Dixie College from Provo High to play basketball, he has a bachelor's degree in hotel and restaurant management from BYU-Hawaii. After a few years away from St. George, the Garretts and their children returned in 1986. Kim managed Arby's for 10 years and then Tony Roma's for another 10 years.

PHOTOS

WCHS-00289     Recent photo of Larsen's Frostop

Other WCHS photos:
WCHS-00388     Photo of St. George Blvd. looking west with the Frostop on the left

Other photos on the web:
Photo of Larsen's Frostop at night looking west
A collecton of photos, including three photos of Larsen's Frostop
Photo of Larsen's Frostop sign looking east
Photo of Larsen's Frostop sign looking east
Two photos of the Larsen's Frostop sign

REFERENCES

Article about the history of Larsen's Frostop through its sale to Nathan McCleery
St. George Spectrum article about the Garrett's purchase of Larsen's Frostop
Discussion and photos of the Frostop Root Beer chain