Ogden’s Own bar ‘taking it to the next level,’ aims to bolster local scene
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- Brandi Stickler, right, prepares a drink on Oct. 26, 2021, at Side Bar, the new bar operated by Ogden’s Own at its manufacturing plant. Fellow mixologists Tommy McKeever, left, and Felicia Parsons look on.
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- Brandi Stickler, right, prepares a drink on Oct. 26, 2021, at Side Bar, the new bar operated by Ogden’s Own at its manufacturing plant. Fellow mixologists Tommy McKeever, left, and Felicia Parsons look on.
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- Ogden’s Own has opened a new bar, Side Bar, at its Ogden manufacturing plant. Pictured inside on Oct. 26, 2021, are, from left, Tim Smith, director of production; Brandi Stickler, bar and event manager; Mark Fine, company president; Felicia Parsons, a mixologist; and Tommy McKeever, also a mixologist.
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- Tommy McKeever, left, prepares a drink on Oct. 26, 2021, at Side Bar, the new bar operated by Ogden’s Own at its manufacturing plant. Fellow mixologists Brandi Stickler, right, and Felicia Parsons look on.
OGDEN — Ogden’s Own isn’t just selling liquor for mixing and consumption at home.
The Ogden distillery has expanded into the bar business with its own locale, Side Bar, meant to showcase the vodka, gin, whiskey, liquors and other products it manufactures. It’s meant to be different from other drinking establishments in the city, and Mark Fine, the new company president who helped spearhead creation of the establishment, doesn’t view it as competition to existing locales.
Rather, it’s about bolstering the bar scene in Ogden and enhancing marketing opportunities for Ogden’s Own products via the drinks on the menu. Call it another step along the singular path that Ogden’s Own, with its distinctive marketing efforts and quirky products like Five Wives Vodka, has forged for itself.
“It’s taking it to the next level that most people aren’t doing. We want to take it to another experience, an Instagrammable experience,” Fine said.
More specifically, he’s aiming to bolster exposure of Ogden’s Own products through visitors who post photos on social media platforms like Instagram of the distinctive drinks served at Side Bar. He’s also aiming to create a new destination, generate buzz and draw visitors from Salt Lake City and beyond. “We want people to come here for one or two cocktails then go to Historic 25th Street. We want this to be worth the trip,” he said.
The new locale, operating from 4-10 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, opened in late October. It’s located inside the business’s production facility in west Ogden at 615 W. Stockman Way.
“Just by word of mouth, the positive reaction and number of guests has been truly rewarding thus far,” Fine said. More than 15% of visitors have come from Salt Lake City “which is what we mean when we say it’s worth the trip.”
What’s more, it received a write up in The Spirits Business, an industry publication, as one of the “hottest bar openings” globally for the month of October.
Most drinks range from $8-$10, with some up to $14. There are sweet and fruity, sour, spicy and “spirit forward” offerings and customers will be able to get the recipes to make the drinks at home. Among the many offerings on the menu are martinis with espresso, a “gin gin mule” that’s a variation on a Moscow mule, something called the “Ogden connection” and more.
“Our mixologists will offer personal recommendations on cocktails to suit a customers’ taste preferences, and even mix up cocktails tableside,” Fine said. He hopes customers leave, “feeling like they’ve been cared about as if they’re family.”
