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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
The little town of Randolph, located just 20 miles south of beautiful Bear Lake, is a relatively quiet place with not much more than about 500 residents. But it is one of Northern Utah's best places to get a great raspberry shake and a hamburger made to order. Of course, you have to visit Gator's Drive Inn and Game Room for both of those things and the visit is well worth it.
April 1 was an anniversary for Gator's. Pat and Wally Orton opened the restaurant 14 years ago. Gator is Wally's nickname, and it's one that comes from a popular cartoon called Wally Gator.
Prior to opening the restaurant, the couple moved from Salt Lake to Randolph during the Evanston oil boom in the early eighties. As a contractor, Wally found plenty of work in the area with home remodeling projects. But the couple wanted a business they could manage on their own. An emptied-out drive-in on Randolph's main street seemed appealing and after a major cleaning, Gator's was in business.
Pat has been running the place ever since, serving up delicious food to people traveling to Bear Lake or Jackson Hole. In fact, Pat works every day, seven days a week, from opening until closing to provide the personal service she feels her customers deserve. Pat serves up a variety of wonderful sandwiches with french fries made from real, freshly-peeled potatoes. The menu also includes tater tots, onion rings, fresh soup in the winter and weekday specials. For her raspberry shakes, Pat uses real raspberries, not flavored syrup.
In addition to the food, Pat and Wally have installed video games, pool tables, air hockey and they even rent videos for folks living in Randolph.
But Gator's is a drive inn, not just a restaurant. Inn in this case is spelled with two "n's," and so it is that Pat and Wally have built four cabin units to go along with their eatery. Pat calls them bed and baths because she says, "We don't do breakfast." Still, the cabins have been popular, and they with the food make a visit to Gator's Drive Inn a must when passing through Randolph.
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
