Two-Bit Street Cafe Leaving Ogden’s Historic 25th Street
Two-Bit Street Café, named for Ogden 25th Street’s notorious history, is closing as of Christmas Eve.
On its Facebook page, the owners say they were “strong-armed” out of their lease at 126 25th Street, and are scrambling to find a new location. An employee has set up a GoFundMe page to help finance the move.
To quote the Facebook post:
“We’re Outa Here!
After 20 years of calling this place home, we have been strong-armed out of our lease and our location.
Despite this setback, we remain ever committed to serving Ogden’s vibrant community and it’s lovely visitors. As we prepare to vacate this building, we are also attempting to find and secure resources for a new location.
Penny, James and the Two-Bit crew have been grateful to serve you all over the years. And we are calling on the community to help us continue doing so in the not-so-distant future.
You can learn more and stay up to date on our hopeful relocation via GoFundMe or our Facebook.
We will be open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, with our last day of service being Christmas Eve.”
I met Penny Allred Dayley when doing a 2016 story about unusual appetizers. Two-Bit Street Cafe was known for its Bleu Cheese Chips and Scotch eggs at the time.
The GoFundMe page, organized by Two Bit Street Cafe employee Andrew Shorts, explains further:
“This message goes out to our fellow Ogdenites, and all who have had the pleasure of eating at Two-Bit Street Café over the past 2 decades. After 20 years of proudly serving the community and its lovely visitors, we have been strong-armed out of our lease and our location.
My name is Andrew, and I have started this GoFundMe on behalf of my boss Penny, and the company she has built. I know myself and many others in this community feel a deep love for the beautiful memories and dishes that Penny and her café have produced over the years. As of today, this eatery and community hub we love is in immediate peril. Come the end of the year, we will be closing the doors to this beloved location for the last time.
Penny’s dedication in the kitchen to feeding the community, and her commitment to preserve Ogden’s history, is unquantifiable. Closing her restaurant’s doors for good on these terms would be a massive disservice to the hard work of Penny and James. I am personally determined to ensure they get a new and improved location where their business can thrive. Retiring prematurely by force is not part of Penny’s plans, and for that reason we aim to re-open at a new location where Penny can continue to do what she loves for all of us, until she’s ready to hang up her frying pan.
When the time comes for Penny and James to step back completely, their wish is to pass the business on to me and my family. We are honored to provide them with the retirement terms they deserve and want, and would be grateful to carry the torch serving the community as their successors. To do this, Two-Bit must live on!
As we tackle the massive effort of emptying our current location, we are simultaneously trying to gather all the resources needed to safely secure our ideal new location. Aside from our ‘mom and pop’ budget not being sufficient in the current market, we have what is needed to make this a reality. All contributions from this crowdfund would be used to secure a lease agreement, moving costs, and the initial costs of launch. If our community can pull enough resources together, Two-Bit can not only stay alive in Ogden, but hopefully grow to something even more successful and renowned.
Securing these funds would be a springboard from an unfortunate ending at one well-loved location, onward to something new that would better serve Penny, Two-Bit, and its customers. All contributions bring us closer to our goal. We appreciate you hearing our plight, and hope to see you soon in a new location!
In the coming weeks we will post updates of the locations and progress on this GoFundMe page, and our Facebook. Please stay tuned and spread the word.
Let’s make sure this isn’t ‘goodbye’, but ‘see you soon’.
-Andrew and the Two-Bit crew”
