Utah County History · Community History
The building at 77 West Main Street in Santaquin, Utah carries more than a century of use. Before Leslie's Family Tree Restaurant moved in, the structure served successively as a mechanic shop, a floral shop, a post office, and a Greyhound bus stop — layers of commercial activity that investigators later cited as a possible explanation for the density of reported paranormal presence.
Leslie's Family Tree Restaurant opened in the building in the 1980s and operated for 36 years as a family-owned diner that became integral to Santaquin's community life across multiple generations. The restaurant was known locally for its home-style cooking and for a peculiar clock on the wall that stopped working one day, then spontaneously restarted — running backward.
The restaurant closed permanently on Friday, November 13, 2020. The owners retired, and the COVID-19 pandemic's economic pressures accelerated the decision. Yelp lists the restaurant as closed as of April 2026.
After closure, Advanced Paranormal hosted organized investigation events in the empty building, making it one of the few former restaurant locations in Utah to transition into a formal dark tourism venue post-closure.
Sources
- https://myfamilytravels.com/a-family-restaurant-in-utah-shut-its-doors-but-three-generations-of-ghosts-stayed-behind/
- https://www.wisps.org/media/case-studies/family-tree-restaurant/
- https://advancedparanormal.com/eventbrite-event/former-family-tree-restaurant-in-santaquin-paranormal-investigation/
- https://ghostadventures.fandom.com/wiki/Leslie%27s_Family_Tree_(episode)
- https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=54036403&itype=CMSID
- https://www.ksl.com/article/42055094/utah-county-restaurant-has-over-100-spirits-at-any-1-time-owner-says
- https://www.deseret.com/2014/11/6/20552143/santaquin-restaurant-embroiled-in-unexpected-social-media-nightmare/
ApparitionsShadow figuresPhantom soundsDoors opening/closingCold spotsObject movementPoltergeist activity
The paranormal reputation of Leslie's Family Tree Restaurant was established before the closure, through multiple investigation visits that produced consistent documentation of unexplained activity. Paranormal investigators described the concentration of reported entities as among the highest they had encountered in a single small-town commercial building, though investigators differ on the count — some teams recorded evidence pointing to approximately 60 presences, while others reported over 100.
Specific documented incidents include a wall clock that stopped working normally for an extended period, then restarted running backward with no mechanical explanation found. Doors have been observed opening and closing independently. Children's voices and laughter have been heard and in some cases recorded in empty sections of the building. The area near where the cash register stood has been described by multiple independent witnesses as marked by a shadowy figure that appears in the peripheral vision and is gone when looked at directly.
The kitchen generates persistent reports of temperature drops and the sensation of being watched. Former employees described a quality of heaviness in certain rooms — not threatening, but noticeable and consistent across different individuals who worked there over the restaurant's 36-year operation.
The building appeared on Ghost Adventures (Season 12, Episode 12, 'Leslie's Family Tree Restaurant,' 2016) and Dead Files. Both productions documented activity at the site and contributed to its regional reputation as Utah's most documented haunted former restaurant.
The Wasatch Investigative Society for Paranormal Studies (WISPS) conducted a formal case study of the location and published results on their website.
Media Appearances
- Ghost Adventures S12E12 (Leslie's Family Tree Restaurant)
- Dead Files
