Remembering Southern Utah establishments during childhood

With the recent closure of Larsen’s Frost Top in St. George, I’ve had a bit of a crisis.

I was born and raised in St. George and lived in the same house without moving. Living in the same place for that long means you’re going to have some favorite spots across the city.

Frost Top was one of the last places from my childhood that never went out of business. Now what do I mean by that?

As a kid, there used to be some unique places I would frequent that aren’t around anymore. Allow me to give you some of my favorite examples (not including Frost Top, because I wrote a separate article talking about my memories there).

Scone Cutter

There aren’t many locations left in this food chain. As the name suggests, Scone Cutter served various scones and other fried options. My personal favorites were the honey butter and cinnamon scone with a side a popcorn chicken. My mom would take me there all the time when I finished a milestone at school, or just when I was feeling sad.

Apparently, part of the reason they went out of business wasn’t just because of low sales and poor service. Drug dealers liked to frequent the place to…y’know…deal.

Honolulu Grill has taken residence in the old building where Scone Cutter used to be if you’re wondering where it was.

Don Jose’s

This was a Mexican restaurant located where Viva Chicken has taken up residence.

I can’t even begin to tell you how many times my mom took me to Don Jose’s. She took me there so much that I actually became sick of it. It probably didn’t help that I’m an abomination that doesn’t like cheese (my ex-wife’s words, not mine).

Now though, I miss it. Maybe because it was probably my mom’s favorite place, but now that I’m older and my palate is more refined, I would love to take another look at that menu.

Red Cliff’s Mall

Believe it or not, The Red Cliffs Mall used to be a lot more than a hallway with clothing store after clothing store.

For instance, there used to be an actual food court by where JC Penny is right now. They had a Panda Express, a soup and sandwich place that served its soup in bread bowls, and even a dedicated ice cream joint.

Right across from the food court was an arcade. Yeah, an actual arcade, it was called Tilt, and it was an amazing place for a kid to hang out. My dad and older brothers would often play the various pinball machines they had there.

They even had a video game store that wasn’t a franchise. It was just a dedicated owner who knew the right people to get their stock. I really miss that place.

I miss Scone Cutter and Don Jose’s, but the thing that hurts the most when it comes to Red Cliff’s Mall, is that it could easily make a couple of simple changes to take it back to its former glory. I hope one day, the mall will become a great place for adults AND kids to visit once again.