What: Longest continuously running ice cream shop in Utah – and (arguably) the biggest variety of flavors, too
Where: 286 21st St., Ogden
When: Opened in 1929 (weeks before the stock market crash/Great Depression)
Why: Because their ice cream is “Farr Better”
It was really hard to convince my family to come with me on this one. By which I mean, they were already in the car before I'd finished the question.
The Farr Better Ice Cream shop in downtown Ogden is the longest continuously running ice cream shop in Utah. Others may be older but had some interruption in business.
The Farr Better company began as an ice business (harvesting, storing, delivering), which was tough work. Azael Farr decided to branch into different industries and incorporated Asael Farr & Sons Company in 1920. He started the ice cream business (manufacturing and retail) in 1929, finding that commercial ice plants also gave him a strategic advantage.
Despite the challenges of the Depression, locals still bellied up to the ice cream bar, looking to drown their sorrows beneath sweet, creamy goodness for only a nickel. (This is Utah, gosh darn it.) Farr Ice Cream, soon to be coined by fans as “Farr Better,” weathered the country’s lean years while others shuttered their doors – some temporarily, some permanently.
With over 100 possible flavors at any given time, Farr Better Ice Cream arguably has the biggest variety of flavors in the state, too. There are a couple of contenders for the title, such as Handel’s (not a Utah-born company) and Aggie Ice Cream (whose supporters are just as devoted as Farr’s).
Which flavors are the most popular? According to UtahFarmBureau.org, I scream you scream we all scream for vanilla – the number one seller for any ice cream vendor. Farr Better reports that their second bestsellers are playdough and burnt almond fudge. Which are fine, yes, but I may singlehandedly raise brownies on the moon to the #1 spot. And my pants to a much larger size.
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