For many Utahns, the name "Maddox" brings to mind images of fresh rolls, famous fried chicken, juicy steaks and home-style service.
Those have been the hallmarks of the Maddox Ranch House in Perry, just south of Brigham City, for about 50 years.Now three grandsons of restaurant founder Irvin B. Maddox have opened two independent eateries - one in South Jordan and one in Layton - that use the Maddox name and original recipes.
And although the family name saves them a bundle on advertising, the members of this new generation say it also means they have to uphold an established reputation and tradition.
"There's almost a dilemma to calling it Maddox, because people expect a lot . . . and they'll hold it against you if you don't keep the quality up," said Chad Maddox, who runs C&B Mad-dox Famous Chicken in Layton with his brother, Ben.
"It's a great advertising thing. You get, like, 50 years of advertising. But if you're not up to par, they'll let you know right away."
Chad and Ben Maddox opened their take-out restaurant at 698 N. Main in Layton on Jan. 19. Their menu includes fried chicken, turkey burgers, mashed potatoes, salads, rolls and, of course, cream pies.
"They're all the original Maddox recipes," Chad Maddox said. "We knew how to do all the chicken. . . . I've been a Maddox all my life. I worked up there as a kid and heard forever how great it was."
Original recipes also are a staple at the Grandpa Maddox restaurant at 1133 W. Jordan River Parkway in South Jordan.
Troy Maddox owns this spinoff along with partners Tod Storey, Shawn Morley and Mark Young. But the touch of the original Maddox does not end with the family name. Dale Fryer, Grandpa Maddox's general manager, worked for about 20 years at the Perry restaurant. His wife, Shelly Fryer, is the new restaurant's head dining room manager, and she had about 13 years of experience at the Perry location.
That means both of them were trained by Irvin Maddox and his wife, Wilma - or "Mrs. Maddox" to those who knew her. Irvin Maddox died in 1988, and his wife followed last Christmas Day, but the Fryers said the ideals they learned in Perry have helped make the South Jordan restaurant a success.
"We came down to duplicate the quality food and service," Dale Fryer said. "That was the scary part for me, was living up to the expectations."
To help meet the demands of tradition, Young said Grandpa Maddox brought in a meat cutter and two chefs from the Perry restaurant.
"We weren't starting off from square one," Young said. "It was like we had been here forever."
Customers responded likewise, he said, even though the restaurant did almost no advertising before it opened last April 4. Dale Fryer said Grandpa Maddox sometimes had a two-hour wait to get a table during its first days of operation.
"It's an institution in Utah," Young said. "If you talk numbers and dollar volume, it's far exceeded our expectations."
Chad Maddox said he and his brother had a similar experience in Layton. They did no advance advertising and didn't even put up a big sign before opening their takeout.
"We were a little leery of bringing in too much business before we knew what we were doing," he said. "All we've had up were some low-key banners that we put up on the second day of operation. Business about doubled just about every day, up to about the third week."
Chad Maddox said he and Ben and their wives still do much of the work at the take-out, and people always ask if the restaurant is "really a Maddox."
" `We're glad you're here' is the next (thing customers say), `because we love to have lunch at Maddox, but we can't drive up,' " Chad Maddox said.
"We instill in our people to greet (customers). My wife in particular has been running the window and the cash register, and she's been trying to keep that same relationship with the people. We're trying to keep, as much as possible, that Maddox service."
Both restaurants also have maintained good relationships with the original.
Steven K. Maddox, Wilma's son and president of Maddox Ranch House Inc., said he wishes his nephews nothing but success. He said other attempts at franchising the restaurant, or starting spinoffs, were tried in the past in locations like Ogden and Salt Lake City, but they never worked out for long, partially because some of them were not run by family mem-bers.
"Part of the magic of Maddox is the family is there," he said.
And he thinks his nephews are honoring the traditions they have learned.
"It's our hope to see the tradition continue," Steven Maddox said. "We hope that the third generation members of the families will see opportunities. . . . It's not a dying family thing. There's still a lot of vitality here."
Chad Maddox said he and his brother may eventually start a few other small chicken places to the south if C&B works out. Young said he and his partners are planning to franchise the Grandpa Maddox name and suggested locations have included Provo, St. George and Las Vegas.
But no matter where they go, Chad Maddox said, the family wants to make sure anything with the Maddox name is more than just another restaurant.
"The family connection is a lot of it," he said. "Between the four of us, there will probably always be a Maddox sitting right here."