BOUNTIFUL -- Almost anyone in Bountiful will tell you that the best place in town for made-fresh popsicles, onion rings and Coke is the little hamburger shop on 500 West with the funny name.
"It's kind of an icon in Davis County," says Chad Pace, the third generation in the Pace family to run Pace's Dairy Ann, at 1180 S. 500 West. "It's home-cooked food and we make it by hand."The restaurant's street sign bears a likeness of one of its most popular menu items -- the Astro Bar. At 25 cents each, the cherry, lime, peach and grape-flavored frozen treats go fast.
"We sell about a million Astros a year," Pace said. "They have tons and tons of sugar and tons of flavor -- and they're cheap."
Pace, 28, remembers when at a very young age he and his brothers and sisters would come down to the family fast-food restaurant and stand on milk crates so they could help make the famous popsicles.
During summer months, employees start making popsicles in the back of the shop at 6 a.m. to prepare for the day's requests, which can be as many as 4,800 popsicles a day. Even in the winter, the restaurant sells about 40 dozen popsicles a day.
"We always take a dozen home with us when we come," says Joyce Christensen, who frequently makes the drive to Bountiful from Layton to eat at Pace's.
The Astro Bar recipe was developed by Chad Pace's grandparents, Gordon and Elizabeth Pace, who started Pace's Dairy Ann in 1957 after dropping their Dairy Queen franchise stores. Gordon renamed the family restaurant Pace's Dairy Ann, Ann being his wife's middle name.
The restaurant business seems to run in the Pace family's blood.
When Gordon's son Ralph took over, there were times when all of Ralph's children were working behind the counter at once.
"There were shifts when everyone working would be related," Pace said.
Jason Rigby, 23, has worked at Pace's since he was 16. He is the fourth generation of Paces to work at the restaurant.
"It's been fun working with the family," Rigby said. "And you get to be friends with the people who come in every morning."
Rigby says a lot of "Cokaholics" come in each day to get their soda fix from the fountain machine rigged to serve up a super-concentrated version of the classic.
"They have the best Coke in town," says Janet Kjar of Centerville, one of the restaurant's frequent customers. When Paces closes from Dec. 24 through early January for Christmas, many customers go through withdrawal, she said. "It's the longest two weeks -- it's awful."
Others come in for the Country Boy hamburgers and fresh onion rings, which are made from scratch every day.
"They are the best onion rings in the valley -- in the state," said Mike Kjar.
Pace says it is regular customers like Kjars who keep the store alive.
"It's kind of a bad location, really," he said. "Our clientele is repeat customers."
The restaurant sits on what used to be the main thoroughfare when U.S. 89 was the main road for north and southbound travelers. I-15 has significantly decreased traffic on the road, Pace says, which is now lined with auto mechanics and small shops.
Pace said he gets a lot of requests from residents in Davis County who would like a restaurant closer to where they live. He has considered opening up another Pace's, but he said he doesn't want to increase prices or lower the quality of the food.
"Everything's made from scratch. That's part of the reason we're so good."