Slackwater, No Frills Diner move closer to Ogden’s core
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- Ron Yeates, owner of No Frills Diner, poses inside the eatery’s new location on Historic 25th Street on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021.
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- The exterior of the new Slackwater pub and pizzeria location at 209 24th St. in Ogden, pictured Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021.
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- Ron Yeates, center, the owner of No Frills Diner, poses with staff inside the eatery’s new location on Historic 25th Street on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021.
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- Ron Yeates, owner of No Frills Diner, poses inside the eatery’s new location on Historic 25th Street on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021.
OGDEN — A pair of tried-and-true Ogden eateries have moved to the city core.
Slackwater, the pizzeria and pub, moved from its location beside the Ogden River off Washington Boulevard to a new building it built at 209 24th St. It opened at the new site on Tuesday.
“Everything’s going to be more consistent and also come out faster,” said Krissann Smith, co-owner of Slackwater along with Justin Gumm. Slackwater first opened in Ogden in 2011.
No Frills Diner, meantime, is operating out of new digs in the heart of Historic 25th Street. It had been operating out of a leased location at 449 W. 12th St., but closed there last February and reopened at 195 25th St. on Nov. 22.
“It was a little scary at first,” said Ron Yeates, the No Frills owner, but he’s adjusted. “I’m loving it.” The new location creates more dining and kitchen space.
The shifts for the two locales represent a boost for dining options in the central area of Ogden. But the moves weren’t strictly about being in that geographic zone.
Smith said Slackwater’s move, in part, was motivated by the need for more kitchen and food prep space to keep pace with customers. “Our kitchen is wonderful, a lot bigger, a lot nicer pizza oven,” she said.
The dining area is a little bigger, she said, while the space for parking expands dramatically. Given the presence of three other locales near the old Slackwater site at 1895 Washington Blvd. — Ogden River Brewing, Wimpy and Fritz, and Dirty Bird — that area can get busy with car traffic.
Smith expects brisk business at the new location, perhaps a larger lunchtime crowd given the proximity of Internal Revenue Service offices in the area and other employers. Two hotels are also situated near the new Slackwater location.
The sale of the West 12th Street property where No Frills was housed to an adjacent medical manufacturing company forced Yeates’ hand. He settled on the Historic 25th Street site, which previously housed a furniture store, but “issue after issue after issue” in the renovation process delayed the reopening.
No Frills, decorated with pictures of entertainment icons like Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Audrey Hepburn, offers diner fare. Its popular dishes include chili verde, waffles, French toast and country fried steak.
“We’re doing a lot better than we were at the old location,” Yeates said, citing the higher visibility of the zone to the dining public. “We’re seeing a lot of our regulars, but every day, I’m seeing more and more new faces.”
For now, No Frills is just open for breakfast and lunch. But Yeates hopes to extend hours, perhaps next month, to draw the dinner crowd.