Memories of the Last 29 Years Went Up in Smoke

Faulty wiring may be to blame for the fire that burned down the Juniper Inn last weekend. For the Hoth family, it was 29 years of memories that went up in smoke.

Started by DeVerle Hoth in 1974, the Juniper Inn has been a Cache Valley fixture for nearly three decades.

"It was just a tiny café back then," said DeVerle's son Tracy Hoth, who bought the restaurant from his father. "The whole family worked there growing up. It's part of us."

The restaurant was added on to seven times to meet customer demand, Hoth said. The last addition was in 1994 when they converted to a log cabin facade.

By early Sunday morning last week, the restaurant, just north of Logan on U.S. 91, was nothing but charred ruins.

"The state fire marshal said it was faulty wiring or a furnace in the attic that started the fire," Hoth said. "We don't know what we're going to do."

Hoth says he's unsure whether he'll rebuild the restaurant, but said if he does it won't be at the same site.

"Hyde Park wouldn't ever go to bat for us. We tried to get a liquor license and we just never could," he said. "In this day and age people want a glass of wine with their meal. So not having a license really hurt us I think."

The insurance company is still investigating the cause of the fire that resulted in $1 million damage.

"I would like to thank the people of Cache Valley for making the Juniper Inn what it was in the 29 years we were there," Hoth said.

Story and photo by Toby G. Hayes