On any given night, especially in the summertime, Nielsen's Frozen Custards in Bountiful is a beehive of activity.
A steady stream of visitors wait at the walk-up window. Outside tables are full of teenagers or families enjoying a laugh or frozen treats. Every few minutes a car makes its way to the drive-through window. Inside, 10 people wait in line to order. Booths and tables are full of people enjoying a burger or Concrete — thick, rich milkshakes the business is most known for.
"Concretes are by far (our most popular item)," said Steve Nielsen, who founded the business. "Of the 65 percent of total business that is custard, 65-70 percent of that is Concrete.... There's a lot of Concretes going out of here every day. That is our number one item."
Nielsen's Frozen Custards, 570 W. 2600 South, Bountiful, with its trademark Concrete, has been a landmark in the Salt Lake Valley since it opened 26 years ago. It's come a long way from its humble beginnings in the food court of the Crossroads Plaza, even becoming a franchise, with stores in Nevada, Arizona and Virginia in addition to locations in Holladay, Bountiful and Layton.
Steve said one of the biggest hurdles to overcome was to introduce audiences to the concept of frozen custard.
"We wanted to go into the ice cream business.... We wanted a family store," he said. "We ran into an old fellow who said 'before you open an ice cream store, you need to find out about frozen custard.'"
Steve connected with a man running a frozen custard store that has been operating since the early 1900s. He bought the rights for a machine and got a patent for it. When the store opened in 1981, it was the only frozen custard business west of the Mississippi and one of a handful in the United States, Doug Nielsen, one of Steve's sons who manages the business, said.
"Everybody knew each other. We got to meet all the old timers," Steve said. "Now there's a lot of frozen custards around."
The reason for starting in the Crossroads Plaza was to promote product identity by handing out samples to a high volume of people, Steve said. It took about three years before they started doing decent business, Steve said. The first stand-alone store was located in Holladay at 3918 Highland Drive. Shortly afterward, stores opened in St. George and Bountiful. The Bountiful location is now the headquarters and serves around 1,000 people each day, Steve said.
When the Nielsens opened the Bountiful location, they added burgers, fries and chicken to the menu, decorating the store to resemble a 1930s diner.
"(Food has) added a whole dimension and growth to it," he said, noting they continue to stick to their staple item. "We're still in the frozen custard business. That's who we are."
One thing that has enabled Nielsen's to not only survive but thrive is to avoid change and, along with that, train and treat staff members well enough so there's not a high turnover.
"We have to make sure they get trained because customers are fussy and they want things done right and consistent," Steve said. "We're making sure we do things the way they need to be done. We don't like to change flavors or anything.... Some kids are now bringing their kids and they want it to be the same from what they remember from when they were little."
This ideal is one of the things that has helped the business stay afloat.
"We just do our own little thing. We don't care much what anyone else is doing," Steve said. "It's the no-change philosophy that keeps us steady."
Doug says he enjoys being involved with the business.
"It's been amazing to see the growth and it makes you proud of the family run business, proud of the product and proud of the business," he said. "I see customers who came in when they were in high school and whatnot and now they bring their kids in. It gives me a sense of pride thinking 'that's your family business.'"
The business has also been accorded several honors over the years. One year USA Today and Men's Journal magazine named Nielsen's Frozen Custards as one of 100 best things to eat in America.
Another year, the Washington Post was running a summer-long series to find the best ice cream on the East Coast. Out of chance on the last week of the series, the food editor stopped into a Nielsen's franchise in Vienna, Va. In the article he wrote that week, he told readers to forget everything else he said and that the best ice cream on the East Coast is Nielsen's Frozen Custards.
"It's a big honor. You can't buy advertising like that," Steve said.
E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com