Ogden's Past Still Lives At the Two-Bit Cafe

I just put up some Facebook pics/ads from the Bon Ton Cafe on 25th St in Ogden back in 1927, and was reminded that darn few restaurants ever come close, these days, to the dining experience our grandfathers took for granted --- good food, friendly proprietors who were right there waiting on you in a restaurant with vintage atmosphere, with real tables, real linen, real silverware.

Who does that any more? Lamb's in Salt Lake, Idle Isle in Brigham, the Bluebird in Logan, come closest.

One in Ogden offers a similar experience, and the guys who ran the Bon Ton would recognize it, because Two Bit Street Cafe, at 126 25th, is a block down from the Bon Ton and its interior has changed but little.

They serve anyone!

When I came to town in 1978 it was "The Club," a beer bar where railroaders cashed their checks, prostitutes plied their wares and drunks did what drunks do. The bar closed, but the back bar that was there in the 50s and before is still there, the wood work and fixtures are still there. The clock with the bullet hole is still there.

James Dayley snaps a pic for customers

Co-owners Penny Allred and James Dayley have been operating the place for 10 years now. Penny is an amazing cook, James is an amazing magician, and 10 years is a lot of amazing food and bent spoons.

A good meal there costs a bit more than 35 cents, but the food is excellent, prepared for you while you wait, not nuked. It is the only restaurant in town where vegetarian and vegan are happily prepared, but carnivores eat well there too.

More important, their restaurant is locally owned, operated, and part of what makes my town unique. James and Penny live, work and shop here, just like owners of old. Can McDonalds say that? Nope.

You can sit in a booth and, very easily, imagine yourself back in time as the owners bustle, friends drop by the chat while you eat, and the past oozes out of the woodwork.

Man if only those walls could talk.

Happy 10th, guys. And thanks.