Off of Main Street, near
the mouth of Logan Canyon in a neighborhood known as “the island,” resides
Herm’s Inn. For years it was a dilapidated building, a reminder of days gone by
and a landmark to those in the neighborhood. A few weeks ago, after over 60
years of neglect, a remodeled and renovated Herm’s Inn opened for business.
A private donor who
grew up seeing the remains of the old restaurant funded the restoration of the
building.
“We’ve been open
about seven weeks,” said Ryan Bird, co-owner and manager of Herm’s Inn. “[The
donor’s] parents would always talk about Herm’s Inn and kind of reminisce what
it was. So this building sat here forever, he always wanted to see it become
something.”
Herman Johnson
founded Herm’s Inn in the depression era, offering “last chance lunches” for
travelers heading up the road through Logan Canyon. To those returning through
the canyon, the other side of the building welcomed them with “first chance
lunches” before returning to town.
Honoring its roots
and its founder, the original signs still hang on the wall in the new Herm’s
diner emphasizing the feel of a bygone era.
“We want to have an
accurate portrayal of what went on,” said co-owner and manager Heather Senti.
“We still have customers who can remember as they walk in the door having the
nickelodeon on and dancing down the aisles here in the nighttime.”
Punctuating the
colorful history of Herm’s Inn are his famous slabs of steak, fresh vegetables
from the garden out back and even stories of a secret bootlegging operation in
the basement.
“They bootlegged the
whiskey downstairs to get through the depression,” said Jeanie Johnson, a great
granddaughter of Herman Johnson. “The people could pull up to the gas pump, buy
a gallon of gas and then buy a gallon of whiskey. They both came in glass jugs
and they looked identical.”
“This place on the
surface was a nice restaurant that sold dollar steaks and twenty-five cent
pie,” Senti said. “Below us was a whiskey operation in the prohibition days.”
Although the stories
are legend among those who work at Herm’s Inn, for now they remain just that –
stories.
“You hear so many
different stories,” Johnson said. “I really don’t know a lot about it, in
actual facts.”
Building on this
history, and Herman Johnson’s reputation for a delicious meal worth leaving
town for, has been the focus of the new restaurant. Bird emphasized their
commitment to making much of their food fresh in-house, including their gravy,
biscuits and hamburger buns.
“Our approach is more
about being fresh,” Bird said. “We don’t use our freezer; almost everything
comes in and within a day is on the table.”
For Senti it isn’t
the food or geography that distinguishes the restaurant – it’s the community.
“It’s a unique place
because we are lying right in the middle of the community,” Senti said. “I
mean, how many places do you know like that in Logan?”
“We are kind of a little hidden gem that no one has
discovered yet,” Senti said.
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