This week, Ogden City announced in a press release that UTOG Brewing Company owner Carson Foss will be opening a new restaurant in the space later this year.

“Full Stop Diner and Pub, created by the owners of UTOG Brewing Company, will soon open inside the airport’s newly remodeled terminal,” the release said. “Since opening in Ogden in 2019, UTOG has established itself as a popular local gathering place known for good food, service and community pride.

“Following a competitive RFP process, Ogden City selected UTOG after reviewing applicants’ business plans, menus and history in the Ogden community. Full Stop will bring that same local ownership and community connection to the airport, with an aviation-themed restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and evening fare for travelers, pilots, nearby businesses and community members.”

The Standard-Examiner recently spoke with Foss, a commercial pilot in addition to being a restaurant owner, about how he intends to combine two of his passions — aviation and food — to help benefit his community.

Food and flight

Foss originally opened the UTOG Brewing Company in downtown Ogden in March 2019.

“We focused on being a family-friendly brewery, which there’s not a lot of those in Utah, so that’s kind of how we differentiate ourselves from other breweries in the area,” he said.

He said that UTOG Brewing Company has supported everything from the Ogden Raptors and Ogden Mustangs to local schools over the last seven and a half years.

However, long before he stepped into the restaurant business, Foss was pursuing another passion — flying.

“I started flying when I was 18 years old and my first 15 years was all aviation,” he said. “And then I stepped away from aviation for a little bit to help raise my kids.”

It was during this break that he helped bring UTOG to life.

“During that time, I did a lot of home brewing,” he said. “I had friends that started a brewery. North of Salt Lake City at the time, there was only one brewery, and so we’re like, ‘You know what, let’s get a family-friendly brewery up here.’ And we found an amazing location and kind of made it happen.”

The skies wouldn’t elude Foss for too long and he said he returned to flying in 2023 on a part-time basis.

A new opportunity

In November 2025, the city finished a $5 million expansion of the Ogden-Hinckley Airport terminal. In addition to adding an indoor baggage claim, additional office space and more space for passenger drop-offs and pick-ups, the renovations presented an opportunity. Earlier in the year, the terminal’s lone restaurant — Bickering Sisters — moved to a new location in downtown Ogden. With the terminal’s renewal and a recent return of commercial aviation to the airport, there was a chance to bring a new food experience into the airport.

“Ogden City sent out that letter to a lot of local businesses asking if anybody’s interested to apply,” Foss said. “And so I read the details of what Ogden City wanted and I thought it would fit right up our alley. They wanted a full-service restaurant, which is what we do, and they wanted to cater to the aviation community, which I’m a part of as well. And so I filled out the paperwork process and turned it in and got awarded the bid.”

Foss said the name ‘Full Stop Diner & Pub’ even pays homage to the restaurant’s location.

“‘Full-stop’ is an aviation term,” he said. “So when pilots are coming into land, they let the tower know, ‘I’m doing a full-stop.’  That lets the tower know they’re going to leave the runway and they’re not going to continue flying around in a pattern.”

He said that there will be some major differences between the airport restaurant and the existing UTOG Brewing Company.

“The reason we call it diner and pub is we’re going to do breakfast, which we do not do at Utah,” he said. “We only do a brunch on Sundays, but we’re going to do a breakfast probably starting at 7 a.m. and then we’re going to roll into lunch. And then the dinner out at the airport will kind of just be light fare appetizers, just due to the fact that after four o’clock out there, a lot of people just go home and it’s not really busy on that side of airport.”

Foss said that it’s likely this will change in the future and that a more substantial dinner menu will be rolled out in time.

He said the airport restaurant will also feature another first for the airport.

“This will be the first time that the airport will have a full bar,” he said. “So we’re hoping that when people get off work, they’ll come down for a beer, some appetizers and stuff like that.”

Full Stop Diner & Pub will be located outside of the secure area and will be open to the general public as well as those flying in or out of Ogden.

Foss added that operations will remain unchanged at UTOG Brewing Company in downtown with the opening of the new restaurant.

In the press release, Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski said that the new restaurant brings a lot to the growing airport.

“Ogden-Hinckley Airport has always been more than a place to board an airplane,” he said. “For generations, it’s been a place where people gathered to watch aircraft, learn to fly, connect with neighbors and experience the excitement of aviation. Full Stop Diner and Pub builds on that tradition while giving residents and visitors another reason to enjoy everything our airport has to offer.”

Foss said he’s hopeful that the restaurant will open in October but that a solid date is unavailable.

A community spot

Ogden City Business Recruitment Manager KC Sanders told the Standard-Examiner in an email that he’s looking forward to this restaurant becoming a gathering spot for the city.

“Full Stop brings together two things that are uniquely Ogden: local community and aviation,” he said. “UTOG has been part of Ogden’s food and community scene since 2019, while owner Carson Foss is also a commercial pilot. That makes the airport location a natural fit. We’re especially excited that the restaurant will be a place where someone can grab breakfast before a flight, meet a colleague for lunch, have dinner with family, or simply bring their kids to watch airplanes. That’s exactly the type of experience we want people to associate with Ogden Utah Airport.”

Foss said this will also be an exciting prospect for pilots flying in and out of Ogden.

“As a pilot, in training and flying for fun on my own, being able to go to an airport that has a restaurant on the field just brings excitement,” he said. “When you’re planning your cross countries or you need to stop somewhere for fuel, to not have to worry about a car and all the other stuff really makes it nice as a pilot. And also, all the flight schools that are out there, the jump station — I think we’ll get a lot of aviation traffic. One thing that’s really fun on the weekends, Saturdays and Sundays, is the early morning crowd that likes to get out there early, have breakfast and go on a flight. Now they’ll have a place to do that, which is important to us.”

In recent years, it’s become almost a cultural expectation that food and drink purchased at the airport will come at a premium price compared to restaurants even in the same region.

However, Foss said this will not be the case at the Full Stop Diner & Pub.

“A big goal that myself and Ogden City have is to keep the prices affordable because we want our local customers to come in, whether they’re flying or not,” he said. “We want those local businesses to come over for lunch. They’re not going to be like flying into an international airport. We know our surrounding communities, we know the kind of prices they like and our goal is to keep it affordable for the family.”

Airport Director Brian Condie said in the press release that this helps in continuing to build the airport’s culture into a positive experience.

“Every improvement we make at Ogden-Hinckley Airport is about creating an experience people want to return to,” he said. “Full Stop Diner and Pub adds another important amenity while reflecting the airport’s unique aviation culture and Ogden’s commitment to supporting local businesses.”

Foss said the restaurant ultimately represents a couple of his biggest passions.

“I get to be around two things that I love,” he said.