Tucked away in the southwest corner of Utah, about 170 miles north of Las Vegas, is the community of Cedar City — home to Southern Utah University, gateway to natural splendors including Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks — and one iconic cow that has graced the roof of a beloved eatery since the 1960s.
The idolatrous cow, who never received a proper name but stood proudly atop the roof of Cedar City’s Top Spot Drive Inn for decades, was sent to the proverbial pasture last week, taken down for the final time.
As first reported by the St. George News, longtime restaurant owners Craig and Ann Barton, along with several of their family members, gazed reflectively as the black-and-white fiberglass heiferette was lowered from the roof via a rope.
While it was not the first time the icon had been removed from the building’s roof, it would be the last, Ann Barton said, assuring those who loved the icon of milkshakes and double-scoops that the treasured relic would be given a good home.
“That cow has been stolen off the roof dozens of times,” Ann Barton said, citing times that mischief-makers have left the cow in places including a livestock auction and the cemetery in Cedar City, as well as being exchanged for a horse that once adorned the roof of nearby Dick’s Cafe on St. George Blvd.
“One time, someone called and said, ‘We’re either going to steal the cow, or you’re going to take it down for us because we’re going to have it at our class reunion,” she added. “We had somebody ask us if they could have it for their wedding.”
According to the St. George News, Top Spot was founded in 1963 by LaNoir Jones, who sold the operation to Clark and Lil Barton, Craig Barton's parents. Craig and Ann Barton took over the business in 1981 and ran it for 34 years until their retirement in 2015.
Ann Barton noted that while the building is now located in the middle of town, Top Spot was aptly named at the time since it was the last business folks would encounter as they reached the ‘top’ of Main Street.
Top Spot Drive Inn continued operations for a few years after being purchased by current owner Jeff Obering. The eatery’s last hurrah was last summer — July 22, 2023 — when a hood fire caused extensive smoke damage to the interior of the building.
Obering arranged for the cow’s ceremonial removal as a tribute and a thank-you to the Bartons and said the building would soon be home to a new sports bar called DC Pub and Grill.
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