The Utah-based family buffet restaurant Chuck-A-Rama will celebrate 50 years of tender roasted meats, fried chicken, real mashed potatoes and gravy, and warm rolls on Wednesday, Sept. 7, at their 12 locations throughout Utah.
“Our slogan is, ‘the choice is yours,’ and we are grateful that the community has continued to choose Chuck-A-Rama for 50 incredible years,” said Michael Johanson, who started as a dishwasher in 1969 and is now president of the company. “We intend to keep pleasing them with homestyle cooking for many years to come.”
Chuck-A-Rama took its name from chuck wagons of the “Old West” and the Boy Scout’s Scout-o-Rama, which was dear to the founders’ hearts, and was founded in 1966 by Donald E. Moss, Wayne Chamberlain and Alva Greene.
For the past 50 years, the Moss family has been primary owner of the restaurant. Brothers Duane B. and Evan Moss serve as chief executive officer and chief operations officer, respectively.
“We’ve been blessed as a company because we have been able to help people provide a living for their families,” Duane Moss said at a preview event. “We pray for them; we care for them; we worry about them. We have an excellent management team that updates us on employees’ lives — from pregnancies to family deaths; we want to know about it. Our employee base is our family.”
With 700 employees among the 12 locations, the Moss brothers said their greatest priority is their employees’ individual lives. They do things together as a company outside of work, such as fishing, hunting and a big golf tournament, where “the choice is yours” whether or not the participants follow the standard rules of golf.
“It comes right down to being blessed that we can employ 700 people and help them provide for their families,” Duane Moss said. “Our asset is our employee base. They are No. 1, and we could not function without their hard work.”
As the restaurant grew in popularity, so did the buffet menu. The company prefers to locally source its foods, including locally milled flour from Lehi Roller Mills and Big J Milling Company, Apple Beer products and fresh fruits and vegetables, according to information from company officials.
“All of the food is prepared here, in our stores, and baked fresh throughout the day as customers need," Evan Moss said.
Several popular recipes used in the buffet are homemade family recipes, they said. For example, the rice pudding has been in the family for as long as they can remember, and the roasted chicken was made for the first time on a family camping trip. They loved those recipes so much, they decided to bring it to the restaurant.
Also, the tomato basil soup was a discovery made at a Halloween party for a congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Moss family asked the Relief Society member who made the soup for the recipe, and it has been a popular item ever since.
In addition to these family recipes, Chuck-A-Rama has a section of “Golden Oldies” recipes, which have been so popular, they’ve lasted 50 years. These include the carrot salad, fried chicken, potato salad, roast beef, three bean salad, coleslaw and beets.
Rene Schuurman, operating officer in charge of food and self-appointed “food guy,” said Chuck-A-Rama can satisfy any dietary need — from allergies to healthy weight-watching diets to “eat-whatever-you-want” diets.
“Whatever diet you’re on, we can serve you. The choice really is yours,” Schuurman said, referring to the company’s slogan.
On Sept. 7, at Chuck-A-Rama's 12 locations in Salt Lake, Murray, Orem, Provo, Bountiful, St. George, Ogden, Draper, Logan, Lehi, Boise and Ammon, Idaho, the celebrations include spinning a wheel to win prizes and discounts, such as 50 percent off the meal and the “golden ticket founder” price, which is one dollar for lunch or $1.50 for dinner — the prices it was when the restaurant was founded. Prizes also include a red Radio Flyer wagon, a Cuisinart Pure Indulgence ice cream maker or a Camp Chef Dutch oven at each location, and the grand prize is a two-night stay at Stein Eriksen Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah.
For more details on the 50th birthday celebration, visit chuck-a-rama.com/anniversary.php.
Email: kschwab@deseretnews.com