Restaurant Review

Josh Rhees and his mother, Bernice Kelley, made their debut as restaurant owners when they opened the Pleasant Valley Grill in South Ogden in 2008. They sold their restaurant at the end of 2009 and Rhees later became the manager of the Mount Ogden Grill. Kelley retired.

The Mount Ogden Grill, located behind the Mount Ogden Surgical Center, is owned by several of the surgical center's physicians. The physicians originally opened the Mount Ogden Cafe in 2009. In the spring of 2010, the cafe closed and reopened under its new name with a different menu and Rhees as the manager.

Rhees takes a hands-on approach, serving by day and cooking at night. Hand-cut certified Angus beef steaks are his specialty. They are cooked at 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit in an infrared broiler. The intense heat sears in the juices and flavor, and the steaks are served at a sizzling 500 degrees.

Maria Valenzuela's family has been in the restaurant business for more than a half a century.

Her father and his three siblings started working at a chain restaurant in their youth. Later, her parents, David and Anita Moore, bought the Park Cafe in Ogden and turned it into Moore's Family Restaurant.

Thirty-two years ago, they purchased Dick's Cafe in West Haven and converted it to a second Moore's Family Restaurant.

Maria Valenzuela remembers working as a dishwasher in her parents' restaurant when she was 12. From there, she worked her way up to becoming a cook and a waitress. In 2000, she started running the West Haven location and is now the owner.

CENTERVILLE -- Before moving to the Top of Utah, Osmin Mendoza, formerly of Los Angeles, missed the convenience of eating at In-N-Out Burger for lunch or dinner.

Larry Norton, owner of the original Zeppe's Italian Water Ice in Harrisville, said he grew up on the East Coast where Italian water ice is popular everywhere.

For more than a decade, Wendi Lund managed and worked in every kind of restaurant in the food industry, from fine dining to brew pubs. She loved customer service and working with people.

Nick Morris and Lance Smith deliberated for a while over what to do about the cafe for sale across the street from their home, and then decided to take a chance. They became co-owners of Kaffe Mercantile on July 1, 2009.