Ask an alumnus about Auburn tradition, and along with pajama pep rallies and rolling Toomer's, he might just mention Sani-Freeze.
And while that once-popular restaurant is long gone, a similar business is still serving up hot dogs and sundaes on Pepperell Parkway.
"I really don't know the secret to Mrs. Story's," said owner Bob Boothe. "It's really just a neat place because of the atmosphere."
Mrs. Story's Dairy Bar, just past East Alabama Medical Center, has been in business since 1952. It has stayed a family business, currently in its third, and nearing a fourth, generation.
"I think it's just cool that we've been here forever," said Blake Boothe, who will take over the business in coming years. "It's a small place, and it's just real simple."
Bob purchased the Dairy Bar from his mother-in-law, Cora Reams, who purchased it from her grandmother and original owner, Annie Story.
"I call it a good vehicle to be able to be around my kids," Bob said.
Purchasing the business in 1997, Bob said, allowed him to be involved in the lives of his children, from being a Scoutmaster to coaching baseball.
"If I'd have been working somewhere else ... I never would have gotten the opportunity to do all the things I've gotten to do with my kids," Bob said.
Bob said he can remember when the dairy bar was one of the only things on the road--accompanied only by Lee County hospital and a radio station all the way to the dead end at Gay Street.
"I used to ride my bicycle down here when I was a kid ... and get hot dogs and milkshakes and ride it home," Bob said. "The city's kind of grown up around us."
While the surroundings may have grown and changed, Mrs. Story's Dairy Bar hasn't.
"If you've got something good, leave it simple, and do good at it," Bob said. "Don't change things that people grew up eating."
The Boothes use a special chili recipe on their hot dogs and keep the menu simple, serving hot dogs, ice cream, chips and drinks. Bob said he isn't concerned by competition from other ice cream places.
"If you give somebody something fair--a good product at a fair price-- people are going to come back," Bob said. "People come down here two or three times a week that's been coming since the 14-15 years I've had it."
One of those loyal customers is Barry Whatley.
"It's all great," said Whatley, who's been coming to the dairy bar for 42 years. "It's just a great tradition."
It's a tradition Blake said he looks forward to continuing, though it wasn't in his original plan.
"I was going to school, and was going to go into building science," Blake said. "I can name off 10 people off the top of my head that graduated from Auburn with building science degrees and do not have jobs right now."
Blake will take over in a few years when Bob retires after his daughter finishes college.
"I told my son, 'You'll never get rich selling hot dogs and milkshakes, but you'll survive and have a comfortable life, and people's going to come," Bob said.
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