West Valley’s first McDonald’s celebrates its 50th anniversary
Tom Haraldsen
Salt Lake Business Journal
Shortly after Charles and Jan Sparrer moved to Utah from Southern California in 1975, they decided to open a McDonald’s restaurant on 3500 South in what was then called Granger (and now West Valley City). The road wasn’t heavily traveled and it didn’t have a stoplight at that point.
This month, the Sparrers, along with their daughter and son and other family members, celebrated the 50th anniversary of that store, and the start of their McDonald’s restaurant ownerships in Utah.
“Our family moved here from Southern California, and it was the best thing that ever happened to us,” Charles Sparrer said. “It was the most beautiful opportunity to live in such a beautiful community with the landscape that we have, with the people that we work with, with the state of Utah. We just feel really blessed to be here and part of McDonald’s and part of the community.”
The plan was to open this first store in March that year, he recalled during the anniversary celebration. “Unfortunately, as the construction crew dug down one floor for a basement, they hit the ‘Granger plunge,’ as we called it.” It was the groundwater beneath the site, and there was open water several feet deep. The problem was solved and the water capped, but the opening was delayed until that August.
That wasn’t the end of the “plunge,” however.
“The restaurant was rebuilt about 10 years ago on this site, and the basement is gone,” Chris Sparrer-Baer said, “but prior to rebuilding it, I was here and the electrician had to drill some grounding into the basement hole, and, literally, we had to stand there with our finger over the hole that he drilled, because the water started coming in again!”
Not to worry. The store has become a go-to for many families on the west side, and was the first of what are now 32 stores operated by Sparrer-Baer and Rob Sparrer and their company, C&R Management.
“We both started working here at this location when we were kids,” Sparrer-Baer said. “We cleaned the kitchen and dining area, we cut grass and pulled weeds. Dad and Mom made us work our way up, just like in any business. And it’s been great.
“It’s grown into a close-knit community, and we’re so appreciative of the support from all of our vendors and employees,” she continued, emphasizing the family-like atmosphere and opportunities for growth within the company.
“We express gratitude to all of you here, including the suppliers, vendors and community members, for your contributions to the restaurant’s journey,” Rob Sparrer said, “for being here with us, because all of you have been part of our family, part of our journey, as we’ve been doing this.”
The two praised their parents for working together to build the store’s success, Charles Sparrer with the operations and Jan Sparrer with managing the books. Sparrer-Baer joked with her mother, saying, “Once a banker, always banker, huh, Mom?”
Many of the current roster of C&R employees have grown up with the business. Some of the store managers started working on crews and continued to advance. Today, those 32 McDonald’s constitute a large percentage of the chain’s stores in Utah and currently boast over 2,500 employees. The newest McDonald’s in the chain opened in Bluffdale earlier this year, a first “McD” in that community.
Sparrer-Baer spoke to the longevity of the relationship between owners and team members.
“So many of the people here started this group and worked their way up, and I’m just so proud of all of you and what you do to be part of our team,” she said. “And I think McDonald’s is such an opportunity if you want to just learn as much as you can as a first-time job and take those skills someplace else, or whether you want to take those skills and continue to grow up within the company. There’s so many opportunities. And so I just want to thank all of you for your support in this journey. It has been phenomenal. And so thank you, and thank you for being here.”