Flagship Jiffy Lube turns 30 in Ogden

OGDEN — Disco balls, flashing lights and balloons are not the typical decor at a Jiffy Lube, but the look was appropriate Monday for the shop at 192 36th St.

The world's first Jiffy Lube marked its 30th anniversary, and about 60 people gathered to commemorate the opening of a quick-lube shop that would spawn more than 2,000 Jiffy Lube stores in the U.S. and Canada that handle more than 27.5 million vehicles annually.

A lube-services shop with a drive-through service — and no need for an appointment with a dealership, gas station or mechanic — was a new concept in 1979.

"It's not only the first Jiffy Lube," said Dave Griffin, owner of the Ogden flagship store and its franchise owner, Griffin Fast Lube, which operates 25 Jiffy Lube centers in Utah and northern Nevada. "It was the first fast-lube ever."

Griffin noted the "great foresight and great insight" of the owners and franchisees of the shop before Griffin Fast Lube acquired it in 1999. Back then, he ran a car wash and detail business nearby.

"Today is a landmark day for us," he said, "and first and foremost is it sets us on to the next 30 years."

Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey described the first store among accomplishments by "some incredible people that have come to this town." He mentioned the achievements of gunmaker John Moses Browning and Marriner Eccles , who was the Federal Reserve chairman from 1934 to 1948.

"It is the spirit of entrepreneurship and the leadership of the people that have made the history of this community and continued to shape not only the history of Ogden but …. the history of the world," Godfrey said.

"We're very proud of our heritage, very proud of our connection to Ogden," said Rick Altizer, president of Houston-based Jiffy Lube International.

Altizer noted that the Jiffy Lube concept has reached halfway around the world, with a small group of stores in China. Jiffy Lube International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell Oil Co., has more than 300 franchisees.

The Ogden store invented the fast-lube industry and helped expand the concept of franchising, he said. "So it's really the combination of two great concepts that we have that started right here in Ogden."

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