Gandy Dancer offers a bit of something for everyone
Glen Croydon and Boni Gravelle, new owners of the Gandy Dancer Mercantile, are pictured with their vintage marble ice cream counter that's around 100 years old.
The authentic Chicago Dog is one of the signature items at the Gandy Dancer Mercantile.
Josh Olsen, Kim Olsen and son Ryder Olsen of Washington Terrace enjoy ice cream on a recent Saturday afternoon at the Gandy Dancer Mercantile.
One side of the shop is lined with bookshelves, comfy chairs and local newspapers for reading.
A bran muffin created by culinary students at the Ogden Weber Technical College.
Small bouquets of fresh flowers are $4 per bunch at the Gandy Dancer Mercantile.
Gandy Dancer Mercantile is named for the early railroad workers who laid and maintained railroad tracks. They were nicknamed “gandy dancers” for their synchronized movements together while working on the tracks.
Shop owners Boni Gravelle and Glenn Croydon wanted to pay homage to Ogden’s railroad history, but especially to “the immigrant workers who came here and worked hard for a better life,” Croydon said. “And they had to work as a team. There’s a lot of symbolism in our logo and our philosophy, as well.”
But if you don’t know railroad history, you might simply see the “Gandy Dancer” sign, think it has a nice ring with a bit of mystique and come inside to check things out.
The combination ice cream/eatery/gift/book shop opened in April at 3920 Washington Blvd., in the building that formerly housed the Burch Creek Mercantile. Burch Creek’s old-fashioned storefront is still there, as is the vintage marble soda fountain counter with stools and old-fashioned parlor tables where patrons can sit and enjoy ice cream, breakfast or lunch.
But the new owners have put their own spin on the store.
The south side has become a comfy library area, with shelves of used books (all for sale), free Wi-Fi, newspapers, and sofas and chairs to relax and read. It’s so inviting that two local book clubs are holding their meetings at the shop, Croydon said.
The husband-and-wife duo came to Utah from Hawaii. Croydon spent 45 years in Michigan as a speech therapist and school principal, and then a hospital chaplain. Gravelle taught kindergarten and reading at a private school in Hawaii. They now live in Huntsville, where they own a bed-and-breakfast and raise sheep. They closed the bed-and-breakfast temporarily to focus on getting the Gandy Dancer up and running.
So why move from the paradise of Hawaii?
“This is just a different kind of paradise,” Croydon said with a smile.
The shop, he said, was intended as a real estate investment.
“But it became an opportunity for a whole new venture, to give jobs to folks and to provide things to Ogden that were lost during COVID,” Croydon said. “We heard that at least one bookstore had to close, so we are providing books. They’re used, and they’re older, not just the kind you can get at a Barnes & Noble. I’ve found one that’s from 1947.”
They buy many of the used books from the Other Side Academy, which in turn helps support the Academy’s program for recovering addicts. Although one would think that e-readers and smartphones have taken over the reading market, the store has sold over 500 books in the past two months, with prices ranging from $1-$3.
Croydon and Gravelle also wanted to fill the gaps left by restaurant closures during the pandemic, such as Jessie Jean’s Café. They offer a morning menu that includes coffee, breakfast casserole and burritos, avocado toast and basil pesto toast, along with signature muffins created by the culinary school at the Ogden-Weber Technical College.
The menu is currently a bit fluid, with the day’s offerings posted on a chalkboard.
One of the store’s signature items is the Chicago Dog, a hot dog made famous at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The authentic version is an all-beef frank (from the Vienna Beef Company of Chicago) on a poppyseed bun, with sports peppers (small hot peppers), a dill pickle, two tomato slices, bright green pickle relish, chopped onion, mustard and a dash of celery salt. Sorry, ketchup-lovers — no ketchup on a Chicago-style hot dog! They are $4.50 each.
“Our Chicago Dogs are doing really well,” Croydon said. “I don’t know if there are any other locations in Utah that have them. The first week, we sold 60 hot dogs.”
You can also order a vegetarian version, or a hot dog smothered in chili.
Sandwiches currently include a Roundhouse Pastrami with Swiss, sauerkraut and housemade Thousand Island dressing; the California Zephyr Chicken Salad Panini on sourdough, with cucumber and red onion; and the Conductor Roast Beef on multigrain bread with red onion, tomato and lettuce. They are each $7.99, with chips and a small veggie side.
Gandy Dancer Mercantile also hosts a live music series every Friday night and has built a small stage for performances. It draws people in while also giving musicians exposure.
“When COVID hit, musicians had to take other work because they lost their income,” Croydon said. “When we employ them, it gives them a place to perform and become known again.”
During the Friday night performances, specials are offered such as Chattanooga Choo Choo Mac & Cheese or a Kansas City Pulled Pork Sandwich, each for $3.50. Or you can choose from dozens of different ice cream flavors, from $1.85 for a kids’ cone to $5.69 for a three-scooper.
They also carry small bouquets of flowers for $4 each. “That was one of our visions, to have flowers that are affordable,” Gravelle said.
The off-color gag gifts sold during the Burch Creek Mercantile days are gone. There are family-friendly items, as well as local favorites such as Caffe Ibis coffee and Butcher’s Bunches jams. A wall of local artists’ railroad paintings and photographs and a case of railroad memorabilia gives customers plenty to peruse.
A table in the back corner displays a half-finished jigsaw puzzle, so people can sit down and add a few pieces during their visit.
The idea is to have a place where the community can gather, and “where customers become friends,” as the motto says. And they have already found instances in which they’ve been able to lend a listening ear to customers who are going through hard times, Gravelle said.
“We feel this is a special place where we can offer support,” Croydon said.
Although other businesses say they are struggling to hire staff, “We’ve been fortunate to get a lot of applications,” Croydon said. “I think it’s because it’s a happy place.”
GANDY DANCER MERCANTILE
Location: 3920 Washington Blvd.
Contact: https://gandydancerutah.com, 801-605-3384
Prices: $1.85 (kiddie ice cream cones) to $7.99 (sandwiches)
Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; closed Sunday-Monday
