Ogden’s historic Two-Bit Street Cafe to close after Christmas Eve when lease expires
Dec 15, 2023, 6:32 PM | Updated: 6:47 pm
OGDEN — The owners of an Ogden restaurant say they’re getting hit with some unwelcome Christmas news and are being told they will not be able to renew their lease. The owners of Two-Bit Street Cafe say they’d very much like to stay where they are, but that isn’t an option being offered by their landlords of 20 years.
James Dayley and Penny Allred-Dayley say they were told just after Thanksgiving that they’d have to get out by the end of the year. They say the news came so fast and they are working quickly to get everything out.
“We’re still processing this whole thing,” Dayley said.
James Dayley (Mike Anderson, KSL TV)
James Dayley said they’ve become known for their good food and low prices, and even won a best in state award for their brunch. They said they’ve put a lot into the business over the years, and have enjoyed being a part of the community.
“We survived COVID, we’ve survived, you know, labor shortages; you know, no one wants to work in it. We’ve survived, but this, we can’t survive this,” Dayley said.
There is a lot of history inside the old club on Ogden’s historic 25th Street — like the clock with two bullet holes. But to hear them, you’ll have to talk with James Dayley. They still do not have a new home for the restaurant.
Customers like Joe Charbonneau rave about the food at Two-Bit Street Cafe as well as Allred-Dayley and Dayley. Charbonneau said he’ll be the first in line if they find a new home.
“I’m ordering soup today because the soup is divine and it’s like the kind of soup your mom made or that your mom wish she made,” Charbonneau said. “Sort of raised our kid here and realized this is home cocking; this is someone who wants to put a meal on the table, not just something that you eat real quick.”
Customers at Ogden’s Two-Bit Street Cafe dine on Dec. 16, 2023, as the restaurant enters its final weeks in operation at its current location. (Mike Anderson, KSL TV)
Dayley and Allred-Dayley said finding a new location is still up in the air.
“It’s just not fair and I love this community, and we hope to still be a part of it somehow,” Allred-Dayley said. The couple has heard from a few potential landlords, but nothing solid.
“So we’ll see what the future holds for us, I don’t know,” she said.
The last meal served in the current location will be for Christmas Eve brunch, a meal that won a Best in State award for 2015.
There is a fundraiser to save and relocate Two-Bit Street Cafe.*
*KSL TV does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
