Leatherby's celebrates 25 years -- and 29 couples

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Tom, left, and Leslie Ollis became sweethearts when they met while working at Leatherby's in the mid-80s, when the store was new. Now, in their 21st year of marriage, the Ollis' daughter works for the store. Leatherby's Family Creamery celebrated 25 years of spooning creamy ice cream and the art of match-making on Friday.

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Taylorsville » Milk, sugar and cream aren't just the building blocks for 26 flavors of ice cream at Leatherby's Family Creamery.

They're also the makings of romance.

Leatherby's celebrated 25 years of scooping ice cream Friday, along with another milestone -- 58 employees (29 couples) who have met their spouses working there.

"This is a really social place," says Marianne Cooley, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Doug. "I'm sure there's a bunch we don't even know about."

Not to mention the number of customers who have wooed future mates over banana splits and hot-fudge sundaes. The ice cream and hamburger hangout, 1872 W. 5400 South, also is a popular

Among its "legacies" -- couples who met as employees and later married -- Leatherby's counts West Jordan Fire Chief Brad Wardle and his wife, Judy.

"She would tell you that I noticed her first -- and she would be right," says the chief. He was one of the restaurant's first managers when it opened the day after Thanksgiving in 1984. She was among the first servers.

They married in September 1985 and now live in Herriman with their three children.

Tom and Leslie Ollis, another legacy couple, stopped into the eatery Friday for lunch -- and ice cream -- with three of their four kids.

"They know the whole story," Leslie says. "They

Tom, now 46, was an early manager of the store. Leslie, 40, started waiting and clearing tables at age 17.

Tom remembers his first impression: "She'll never make it." He spotted her crying in the parking lot as she waited for her parents to pick her up after her first night working her first job.

But he was wrong. She stuck it out, eventually impressing her manager with her strong work ethic.

"I thought, 'What is a beautiful girl doing working weekend nights? She could be out dating,' " says Tom, who was in his early 20s at the time. "I was even more impressed when I learned she was saving for college."

The two started going out. One morning, Leslie surprised Tom with a candlelight breakfast in the center of the darkened restaurant when he came in early to open.

"It was French toast with strawberries, orange juice and bacon," he says. "We were at a table of six, staring across at each other."

Tom took advantage of knowing when his girlfriend's shifts were. He would surprise her with a rose left on her car seat or by scraping the ice off her windshield on winter nights.

Leslie did save enough for college. She went to Utah State University for a year. Tom moved to Logan to open a Leatherby's franchise (now closed). Later, the couple returned to Taylorsville and married in 1988.

At the wedding, Leatherby's staffers served the restaurant's homemade frappé.

Now, their 16-year-old daughter, Charlee, buses tables at the Taylorsville creamery. She is believed to be the first, second-generation employee at the business.

Charlee has her parents wondering: Could her future husband be working at Leatherby's?

"All of a sudden," her mom says, "16 sounds way too young."

rwinters@sltrib.com