When you’re hungry, it’s time to eat and there’s no better time than that to eat well.
Sure, you could go to the McDonald’s and the Wendy’s of the world to satisfy your craving, but when you’re looking for something with more of a local flavor and a little more life than those mass-produced meals, where do you go?
Wherever you’re from, you’ve likely got those local joints on lock — the little mom and pop kind of places where everything is made to order, those dives that serve the most incredible oreo milkshake you’ve ever had, or the spot that curates all its own local produce and the proof is in the taste.
So what do you do when you move to a new town — maybe to attend Dixie State University — and you don’t know the good from the greasy?
Well, you ask a local. Today, I’m your guy.
If you’re looking for fresh, local, and service-oriented, I recommend The Lunch Box. Open seven days a week for lunch and located in the Sunset Corner complex at 1091 N. Bluff St., The Lunch Box boasts a full menu of salads and sandwiches and a soup of the day, all made to order with fresh ingredients.
“I go out and do the buying for the shop,” said Becky Bohman, one of the owners of the shop. “It’s important to me that the ingredients are as fresh and quality as possible. We don’t use brands like Tyson — and it shows in our flavor.”
I’d have to agree; I’ve eaten here more than my fair share, and I’ve yet to have a bad sandwich. I’m not big on salads for lunch, so I’m admittedly not well-versed in that part of their menu, but if their Yelp reviews are to be believed, you won’t be disappointed.
One reviewer wrote: “My wife and I ordered the BBQ Chicken salad … and our taste buds were more than satisfied! We are recommending this place to all our family members and friends.”
Their Yelp page is full of similar reviews. They currently sit at a 4.5 star rating with over 150 reviews. The secret isn’t very well kept: this place is great.
Gary Jones and Becky Bohman are the husband and wife team behind The Lunch Box.
“I run the day to day operations here while Becky’s in charge of the marketing, advertising and purchasing,” Jones said.
Living in Draper and looking to get out of the snow and mix things up, Jones and Bohman found The Lunch Box while traveling through St. George and heard the owner was looking to sell.
Coming from a background working in flooring, neither of them had experience in running a restaurant, but they jumped at the opportunity.
They’re both happy to be here and doing what they now love — and The Lunch Box is definitely a labor of love. As their Facebook page says, everything in the shop is a team effort.
Not content to be confined to the walls of their shop, they offer an extensive catering menu and have even catered a number of events at DSU for faculty and staff.
“We love Dixie,” Bohman said. “We’ve always been really well-received there.”
Their appreciation for DSU doesn’t stop with the faculty.
“We offer a special sandwich deal for students at Dixie — it’s probably our best deal on the menu,” Bohman said.
Students get what amounts to almost a full-sized Italian Hero for very nearly half the price. Make sure you bring in your student I.D. card if you want to take advantage of the offer.
You might remember The Lunch Box being a bit closer to campus. They moved from their old location on Tabernacle last July.
“It’s been a transition,” Jones said. “Since we’re so high on Yelp, we used to get a lot of travelers coming through town stopping in. Now that we’re not so close to the freeway, we don’t see as much of that.”
Now that they find themselves closer to a lot of other food options more people tend to wander in, Bohman said.
“We’re working on getting the word out that we’ve moved and are still open,” Bohman said.
If there’s a downside to this place it’s only that they don’t have a soda fountain. All their drinks are in cans or bottles. If that’s a deal breaker for you, I suggest looking elsewhere for your meal. But really, don’t let something so small deter you from what could become a new local favorite.
As a convert to their food, service and personalities, I put my stamp of approval on The Lunch Box. If you’re looking for a stellar lunch, the freshest ingredients and that real local appeal, this place has it in spades. Their motto is particularly correct: “Small place… Big taste.”
Go, and when you go, order the BBQ Chicken Sandwich — I can’t stop thinking about the last one I ate.