'Having Snappy Service here adds variety to our menu,' he said. But also, we had a need (at Jordan Commons), and it provided a value for us to relocate him here. 'I'm sure there was a certain sentimental value there. Miller has known Morrie since he was a teenager,' Harvey said. Snappy Service likely will have a home in Sandy for a good long while. I don't know if they'll let me stay that long, or if they'll keep me. Larry done me a favor, letting me come out here. Here, I'm dealing with a lot of younger kids.'īut 67-year-old Daras is quick to say he wouldn't have it any other way. Downtown, I knew everybody, and what they ate, what they wanted when they came through the door. 'On the weekends, it's really a madhouse here,' he said. Life at the center of one of Sandy's busiest entertainment attractions is a lot different than the snug downtown diner, Daras admits. The diner itself was just a slip of a thing, 42 feet long and 15 feet wide. What it had was good food (burgers and fries are a speciality, though the diner's famous spam-and-egg sandwich has been replaced by a ham-and-egg version) at good prices (a hamburger cost 36 cents in 1957, and now costs $3.99). Daras kept his job at Snappy Service, and on May 1, 1969, he bought it.ĭespite its faithful following, Snappy Service never was in danger of overexposure - there were no franchises, no celebrity owners, no 'theme' decor. They decided to stay in Utah because, according to Daras, 'I didn't want to raise kids on the East Coast.' Before he could get bus fare, he met and fell in love with Elke, who has been his wife for more than 40 years. He was 22 years old, fresh out of the military. I just wanted bus fare out of town.'ĭaras took a job as a fry cook at Snappy Service in 1957. 'I wasn't planning on staying but a few months when I first got the job. 'I never knew Snappy would be 100,' Daras laughed. Attendees included Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan and other city and business leaders, along with a handful of Daras' longtime customers.

On Wednesday, the diner celebrated its 100th anniversary with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by Miller. Daras took the deal, and Snappy Service Lunch lives on. He offered to move Daras to Miller's just-finished Jordan Commons entertainment complex in Sandy in exchange for the right to buy the Snappy Service name once Daras retires, according to Jordan Commons manager Dale Harvey. Miller had been a customer from way back and would prove to be among the diner's biggest patrons. State) was sold, so he came in and asked how long I'd be here,' Daras said. Miller, owner of everything from malls to car dealerships to the Utah Jazz, dropped by. His lease was up, the property sold, and Snappy Service seemingly had nowhere to go. A year ago, Morris Daras didn't know what would happen to his life's work, the Snappy Service Lunch on State Street.

Snappy burger