Bon Ton is a French term defined as something fashionable or stylish. Many businesses around the country, from department stores to bakeries, used the name. Even so it will surprise long-time Blackfoot residents to learn that Blackfoot’s original Bon Ton was a Chinese restaurant that opened in 1907 with Lou Wah as the proprietor. He sold it months later to Louie Fung who promised to “conduct it as a first-class restaurant and short order house.” It was located on North Main Street. It seems to have disappeared sometime before 1916.
The second Bon Ton would last for 59 years, at the corner of North Broadway and West Pacific in Blackfoot. The Bon Ton most remember was a candy parlor and restaurant, started by Ted Enlow in 1916. They served Mexican Chili and chicken tamales at all hours, providing those hours were between 9 am and 11 pm when they were open. The Bingham County News on May 11, 1916, described the Bon Ton as a “place artistically fitted up for a candy parlor and factory, and the display of sweetmeats is indeed attractive. The place is also provided with a player piano and a Victrola in connection with a small dance hall.” Dancing would be big at the Bon Ton during its first few years, with many mentions in the local papers.
Nick Lagos took over the Bon Ton in 1921 and ran it until 1923, when he sold it to Chris Spyrow and Jim Morris. Lagos moved to Idaho Falls where he opened Falls Candy Kitchen. What happened to Mr. Spyrow, or exactly when Gust became involved in the business isn’t clear. Gust married Lagos’ daughter Constance in 1931. The Bon Ton that Gust and Jim ran is the one most people remember. It was a teen hangout for decades, where you could drop a coin in a jukebox and order a banana split or a Miss Blackfoot to go along with your burger.
The Morris brothers came to the United States from Greece in about 1916, when Gust was 16 and Jim was 18. Gust wasn’t fussy about his name, answering as readily to “Gus,” which he was commonly called. He also answered the fire alarm countless times. The fire station was located across the street from the Bon Ton. A member of the volunteer fire brigade from 1938 to 1969, Gus was often seen dashing across the street in his white apron to answer an alarm.
Urania Brown, the daughter of Gus Morris remembers dipping chocolate in the basement of the Bon Ton for her dad. All those sweets had to be stored somehow, so the candy makers worked out a deal with the Bitton-Tuohy men’s store down the street to get the shoeboxes customers didn’t take when they purchased shoes.
Gus and Jim created a lot of chocolate and prepared miles of ribbon candy. It was an ice cream creation that made them famous at the fair. They purchased a booth at the fair in 1936 and began selling burgers and ice cream. Their selection winnowed down over the years until they were selling just Bon Ton nut sundaes, a block of vanilla ice cream on a stick rolled in chocolate and chopped nuts. Gus’s son Jim, quoted in a 2002 article in The Post Register, estimated the family had sold more than half a million of the ice cream treats over the years. That was the year the family sold the booth. The Bon Ton itself was closed in 1975.
The second Bon Ton would last for 59 years, at the corner of North Broadway and West Pacific in Blackfoot. The Bon Ton most remember was a candy parlor and restaurant, started by Ted Enlow in 1916. They served Mexican Chili and chicken tamales at all hours, providing those hours were between 9 am and 11 pm when they were open. The Bingham County News on May 11, 1916, described the Bon Ton as a “place artistically fitted up for a candy parlor and factory, and the display of sweetmeats is indeed attractive. The place is also provided with a player piano and a Victrola in connection with a small dance hall.” Dancing would be big at the Bon Ton during its first few years, with many mentions in the local papers.
Nick Lagos took over the Bon Ton in 1921 and ran it until 1923, when he sold it to Chris Spyrow and Jim Morris. Lagos moved to Idaho Falls where he opened Falls Candy Kitchen. What happened to Mr. Spyrow, or exactly when Gust became involved in the business isn’t clear. Gust married Lagos’ daughter Constance in 1931. The Bon Ton that Gust and Jim ran is the one most people remember. It was a teen hangout for decades, where you could drop a coin in a jukebox and order a banana split or a Miss Blackfoot to go along with your burger.
The Morris brothers came to the United States from Greece in about 1916, when Gust was 16 and Jim was 18. Gust wasn’t fussy about his name, answering as readily to “Gus,” which he was commonly called. He also answered the fire alarm countless times. The fire station was located across the street from the Bon Ton. A member of the volunteer fire brigade from 1938 to 1969, Gus was often seen dashing across the street in his white apron to answer an alarm.
Urania Brown, the daughter of Gus Morris remembers dipping chocolate in the basement of the Bon Ton for her dad. All those sweets had to be stored somehow, so the candy makers worked out a deal with the Bitton-Tuohy men’s store down the street to get the shoeboxes customers didn’t take when they purchased shoes.
Gus and Jim created a lot of chocolate and prepared miles of ribbon candy. It was an ice cream creation that made them famous at the fair. They purchased a booth at the fair in 1936 and began selling burgers and ice cream. Their selection winnowed down over the years until they were selling just Bon Ton nut sundaes, a block of vanilla ice cream on a stick rolled in chocolate and chopped nuts. Gus’s son Jim, quoted in a 2002 article in The Post Register, estimated the family had sold more than half a million of the ice cream treats over the years. That was the year the family sold the booth. The Bon Ton itself was closed in 1975.
The interior of the Bon Ton circa 1955 with Jim Morris at the cash register.
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