AMERICAN FORK — Even before Parker's Drive In opened for the day on Friday, there were people standing in line, some for several hours, wanting to get one last burger and shake before the local favorite shut down forever.
"This is just where we would always come to eat," said customer Ann McAllister. "We grew up on Parker's."
Customer Steve Phelon knows how good the food is. He has been eating at Parker's since 1973.
"They are really good, they are," he said.
He bought lunch for everyone at his office, $138 in all. He did it, he said, for the memories more than anything. "(I've) been coming here so long, (I) just had to get in on the last day."
The home-style hamburgers, fries, shakes and, of course, fry sauce haven't changed over the past 58 years — except for the price.
"I can remember hamburgers at 19 cents, shakes at 25 cents, sundaes 15 cents," said Grant Parker, who worked for his brother in the early days and watched as the family business and its personal touch survived the competition of the fast-food chains.
"Now you have to have a drive up and you have to have indoor seating, and we don't have either one," he said.
Lillian Parker and her late husband, Lee, were in their mid-20s when they opened for business in 1953. Through the years they've had hundreds of employees and thousands of loyal customers.
Parker’s Drive In isn’t closing because business is bad, according to the owner, Lillian Parker.
"It just feels like it is time," she said.
Parker says the property is now in the process of being sold to an undisclosed buyer. While she is sad to see it come to an end, she hopes her customers understand that after 58 years in business, she deserves to retire.
"I'd like to thank people for staying true to us," she said. "A lot of businesses have come and gone, and we've stayed here."
So after a day of photos, hugs and some moments of nostalgia, Parker’s Drive In is now a part of history.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com