New Warrens Is Cooking in Plain City
Katelyn Dean, manager of Warren’s in Plain City. photo by Valerie Phillips
The new Warrens in Plain City hosted an official ribbon cutting today (Feb. 24), although it opened in January. Now folks living on the northwest part of Weber County can enjoy the burgers, fries, salad bar and shakes without having to drive into Ogden.
A Mushroom burger with sweet potato fries at the new Warrens in Plain City. photo by Valerie Phillips
Manager Katelyn Dean said so far, dinners have been really busy, with the chopped Steak Philly, Pastrami Melt and Rocky Mountain Reuben sandwiches being frequently ordered.
“Our half-pound Steakhouse Burger has also been really popular,” she said.
Katelyn Dean is the daughter of Kirk and Leigh Dean, who own eight Utah restaurants. There are currently Warrens restaurants in Roy, South Ogden, Syracuse and South Jordan; Dylan’s restaurants in Ogden and Kaysville, and Warrens Craft Burger on Historic 25th Street in Ogden.
In fact, Warren’s will be celebrating 70 years in business later this year. In the 1950s, retired Roy sheriff Doug Warren started the first Warren’s in South Ogden, on what is now Riverdale Road. It was originally called Rusty’s Drive-In. He developed it into three successful locations, according to the Warrens website.
Meanwhile, Evelyn and Keith Combe bought a burger shop called Mason’s Drive-In, on the Riverdale Road site where Windy’s Sukiyaki is now. In a previous Standard-Examiner article, daughter Leigh Dean said her parents worked hard to make a go of the drive-in, living in a trailer behind the restaurant.
In the late 1960s, the Combes bought Warrens from Doug Warren, and kept the name. When their daughter Leigh married Kirk Dean, he worked with Keith Combe in the business. In 2003 the Deans bought the Warrens restaurants from Leigh’s family.
The Plain City Warrens has a different look from some of the other Warrens’ restaurants, but the distinctive “W” tells you you’ve arrived. photo by Valerie Phillips
Plain City might seem a bit out of the way for a burger joint, but the Kent’s Market and several other businesses drive some traffic.
“Kent’s Market had a spot, and specifically asked if we wanted to come out here,” Katelyn Dean said. “The community has been really excited to have us, and we’ve been really excited to be here.”
Warrens salad bar offers a variety of veggies and other toppings to make your own salad. photo by Valerie Phillips
Warrens’ salad bar sets it apart from most burger-and-sandwich joints. Some of us are old enough to remember the ’80s when salad bars were trendy. Even Wendy’s had salad bars back then. Nowadays, there are only a few places with salad bars (Sizzler comes to mind). But Warrens and Dylans restaurants have kept their salad bars, and include a variety of toppings.
“We get a lot of people who come in just for the salad,” said Katelyn Dean.
A “best kept secret:” “A lot of people don’t know that we serve breakfast,” she said. “We have breakfast burritos, omelets, and chicken fried steak.”
The menu also lists pancakes, bacon, sausage, hash browns, eggs Benedict, french toast, and biscuits & gravy.
My first introduction to Warrens was in the 1980s, when a roommate had a thing for lime rickeys. On hot summer days, we made a few trips there so she could cool off with her favorite drink. Katelyn said the lime rickeys are still a popular part of Warrens.
A look around the still-new restaurant reminded me of a quote from a previous Standard-Examiner article. Kirk Dean said Keith Combe always insisted on “Clean stores, clean restrooms, clean kitchens.”
Looks like the mantra is continuing with the current Warrens restaurant.