Weller’s Bistro Is Coming to Ogden! Patience…

  Weller’s Bistro really IS coming to Ogden!

  But you’ll have to wait a couple more months to enjoy Das Schnitzel, Goulash or Beef Rouladen in the new digs.

  Weller’s “Coming to 25^th Street in 2025” sign went up last November on the former site of shuttered WB’s Eatery. But it’s taken a lot longer for the Layton restaurant to open its second location than owner Jan Weller expected.

  The kitchen was initially too small for the from-scratch German cooking that Weller’s is known for. So Weller and partner Jessica Wolford invested in a major expansion, as well complying with Ogden City building requirements such as installing a grease trap.

  “The remodel process is quite extensive and time consuming, but it will be an amazing venue once completed,” said Weller. “That being said, it looks like it will be June when we will open our doors.”

  Jan Weller, from Witten, Germany, has around 25 years of experience as a fine-dining chef. He’s worked at the prestigious Savoy Hotel in London, Radisson Hotels, and Park City’s Goldener Hirsch Inn and High West Distillery, and the Promontory Club.

In 2019, he opened his own restaurant on Layton’s Main Street, in the former Gabor Brothers building (above photo). As the restaurant found a following, he added a food truck. Last year, he decided it was time to scout out a second location.

  Weller and Wolford looked from Ogden to Salt Lake. The Monarch Building’s 25^th Street location had some advantages, except for the too-small kitchen. So they decided to invest in a remodel to expand the kitchen.

  “It’s a big investment, but it feels right,” Weller said.

  Wolford, who has worked at the Layton restaurant since it opened in 2019, will manage the Ogden location. Some of the Layton staff will move to the Ogden venue, and more crew members will be hired in May.   

  Chef Weller plans to oversee the Ogden kitchen. “As I have a great executive chef in Layton, I will take the lead on opening the new spot in the kitchen,” he said. 

  Here are some things you can look forward to, hopefully in June:

  – Weller’s will open at 455 25th Street, in The Monarch Building, a renovated historic building that hosts art studios, a gallery, professional salons, events venues and retail. It’s part of Ogden’s Nine Rails Creative District.

  – The new site offers about 30 percent more seating than the Layton eatery, which fills up quickly during lunch, dinner and weekend brunch.

  –  About 65-70 percent of the menu will be the same as in Layton, said Wolford. “But we will change a few items to differentiate the two locations.” 

  – Weller’s signature Das Schnitzel will be a mainstay on the Ogden menu.  It’s a pork loin that’s pounded thin and tender, parmesan-crusted and pan-fried.

  – Chicken doner kebabs, which have developed a fan following with Weller’s food truck, will also be on the Ogden menu. This is Germany’s most popular street food, Weller said, and was first introduced there by Turkish workers.    

   Seasoned meat is stacked and cooked on a vertical rotisserie, and thin slices of the meat are shaved off and served as a sandwich. Wolford said their doner kebabs do really well when the food truck is in North Ogden, so they decided to put it on the Ogden menu.

  – Ogden diners will also be able to order mushroom toast, made with locally sourced Misfit Mushrooms of West Haven. The appetizer has been a popular special at the Layton restaurant, said Wolford.

– Pizzas won’t be served at the Ogden location. The main reason it’s on the Layton menu is because of “Gertrude,” Weller’s nickname for the massive pizza oven left over from the Gabor Brothers days.

  “It’s beyond me to figure out how to get it out of the kitchen, so I might as well use it,” Weller told me a few years ago.  But in the Ogden location, there’s no already-existing pizza oven to work around.

  – The two locations will have different weekly specials, to give customers a reason to visit each spot.

  “After we opened, we established regulars very rapidly, and we want something new for them to try,” Weller said. “I have one couple who come in twice a week and only order from the specials.”

  The weekly specials, posted on Weller’s social media, help switch up the menu and attract attention, he said. “People feel very strongly about the specials. They will say, ‘You haven’t done the mussels for awhile,’ and ask when we will be doing a certain special.”

 – Although Weller’s is known for German cuisine, there are not-so-German options such as burgers, pasta and trout almondine on the menu. My personal lunch favorite is the German dip sandwich, with tender morsels of pork, sauteed mushrooms and a savory broth for dipping. I don’t really think of it as “German,” just really good. Especially served with the sauteed brussels sprouts.

   A pro tip for those who don’t like waiting for a table at the Layton Weller’s Bistro: show up around 2-4 p.m. on a weekday. You’ll be in between the lunch and dinner rushes.

  “From 2 to 4 p.m., we’re completely empty,” said Weller, “and then by about 4:30 or 5, we’re completely full.”