Leatherby's: 25 years of ice cream, romance

Ice cream is a key ingredient in romance, at least if you work at Leatherby's Family Creamery in Taylorsville.

The ice cream parlor, which is celebrating 25 years on Wednesday, has a been the backdrop for at least 29 married couples who met at Leatherby's.

"We employ roughly 70 employees, so there are a lot of teenagers working here who get to know each other," said Chris Cooley, whose parents, Doug and Marianne Cooley, opened the store in 1984.

"But it's always been a popular date spot, too. We're across the street from Taylorsville High, and we actually draw from a lot of the other high schools."

Brad and Judy Wardle were the first couple to meet at Leatherby's. They were two of the store's first employees in 1984. Brad Wardle is now the West Jordan fire chief.

"He was our first manager," Chris Cooley recalled. "I think both our managers ended up marrying people they met working here."

Tom and Leslie Ollis also met each other at the creamery in 1986. Their daughter, Charlee, works there now.

As part of the 25th anniversary celebration, the entire menu is 25 percent off all day Nov. 27, and FM 100 will be broadcasting from the store, which is located at 1872 W. 5400 South.

A new flavor, Cherry Chocolate Jubilee, was created for the occasion.

"It's like a cherry chocolate chip ice cream," Cooley said.

Leatherby's originated in California by the Leatherby family, and when the company began a national franchise, Doug and Marianne Cooley brought the outlets to Utah.

Although the franchise dissolved a few years later, the popular Utah Leatherby's stores remain. The Cooleys also own the Midvale Leatherby's.

Doug Cooley began working as a fry cook for Pete Harman's KFC during high school, according to a press release bio. After graduating from Utah State University in 1974, he operated a Taylorsville KFC and later worked for Harman in California. In 1984, he returned to Utah to open Leatherby's.

Son Chris began helping out at the age of 8 and graduated from University of Utah in 2007.

The store makes its ice cream in-house daily and offers around 30 flavors. One local favorite is Arcadia Avalanche, named by students at the nearby Arcadia Elementary. It's peanut butter ice cream with swirls of caramel and cookie dough.

The shop also offers savory items such as sandwiches, burgers and fries. The sales are "about 70 percent ice cream, 30 percent food items," Cooley said.

"What we're well-known for is our portion sizes," he added. "We try to wow people when it's brought out to the table."

Over the years, the creamery has employed more than 1,500 people. It takes about 30 people to staff the store on a Saturday night, said Chris Cooley.

So what's in the future for the next 25 years?

"My dad is done doing any expanding himself," Cooley said. "He's looking forward to spending some days on the golf course. But I'd like to start branching out an opening a few more stores."

So, the ice cream/romance tradition is likely to continue.

e-mail: vphillips@desnews.com