Weller’s Bistro: Wilkommen to Ogden!
When Weller’s Bistro first opened in 2019 in Layton, owner Jan Weller wasn’t sure how well his German restaurant would be received among so many chain eateries.
“But we found that Davis County appreciates quality, scratch-made food a lot,” he said. “And after five-and-a-half years, it became a natural next step to expand into a different market.”
Now folks in the Ogden area won’t have to drive to Layton to enjoy Weller’s Das Schnitzel or goulash. Today, a second Weller’s Bistro opened in Ogden, at 455 25th Street, in the Monarch building location that most recently was WB’s Eatery. The new Ogden restaurant should ease up the waiting times for a table at the Layton location.
Weller and partner Jessica Wolford spent many months overseeing renovations and expanding the kitchen before opening.
A few months ago, I asked the Monarch building’s owners about the new tenants.
“We couldn’t be happier,” said Thaine Fischer, managing partner of the Fischer-Regan Enterprises. His company redeveloped the historic Monarch auto garage into a space for artists, salons, private events, and dining. “Weller’s is an incredibly recognized restaurant with amazing food, and will tie in with our existing culture really well.”
And, with the Monarch’s event venues, “We hope we can use their catering for some of those events,” Fischer said.
When Weller and Wolford scouted possible sites from Ogden to Salt Lake City, they initially ruled out the Monarch spot, as its kitchen was too small.
“The Monarch, in general, is very artsy and involved in the community, and those things really spoke to us,” said Wolford. “All the other boxes were checked — big, beautiful windows, and a nice patio. The only drawback was the kitchen.”
One night Fischer came to dinner at the Layton restaurant. After Weller and Wolford talked with him, they decided to invest in expanding the kitchen in the Monarch. The expansion ended up taking months longer than expected.
“It’s a big investment, but it feels right,” said Weller. “I don’t have a problem investing, because I know it’s going to work.”
Weller’s is the third independently owned Layton restaurant to expand to Ogden in the past year or two. Red Fort Cuisine of India opened in May 2024 in the old El Matador building. And Scrambled!, opened last September in the former Sonic building near Washington Blvd and 12th Street.
Why Ogden?
“For us, it’s the perfect location,” said Weller, noting that last year, the USA Today Readers’ Choice awards placed Ogden’s Historic 25th Street at No. 3 for the “Best Main Street.”
“I feel 25th Street is a destination, but there’s still room for other restaurants,” he said. “Salt Lake City has a great restaurant scene, but there’s a lot of competition.”
Weller’s already has a following in the Ogden area, through its traveling food truck.
And, there’s the opportunity to do the catering for the Monarch’s private events. “The menu in the restaurant is only about 15 percent of what we offer in our catering,” Weller said.
The Ogden location has about 30 percent more seating than the Layton one, which is usually packed during lunch, dinner and weekend brunch.
“The term “bistro’ means a small restaurant, so we weren’t looking for a big space,” Weller said. “We are known as an intimate, personalized establishment.”
Wolford, who has been at Weller’s since it opened in 2019, is the managing owner of the Ogden site.
About 65-70 percent of the menu is the same as in Layton, she said. “But we will change a few items to differentiate the two locations.”
Weller’s signature Das Schnitzel has a solid spot on the Ogden menu. It’s a pork loin that’s pounded thin and tender, then lightly breaded and pan-fried..
“For every one other entrée I sell, I sell three or four plates of schnitzel,” said Weller.
Chicken Döner Kebab, a mainstay of Weller’s food truck, will be on the Ogden menu. Döner Kebabs are Germany’s most popular street food, Weller said. They were first introduced by Turkish workers who came to Germany after World War II. Similar to the Middle Eastern shawarma, seasoned meat is stacked and cooked on a vertical rotisserie. Slices of the meat are shaved off and served in pide bread with a tangy tzatziki sauce. When I heard the word “pide,” I thought of the thin, flat Middle Eastern pita. But Weller’s pide bread, baked in-house, is more fluffy, making a pretty substantial sandwich. (I ended up cutting it with a knife and fork instead of trying to take hand-held bites.)
Wolford said their Döner Kebabs do really well whenever Weller’s food truck is in North Ogden, so they decided to put it on the Ogden menu.
Ogden diners can also order mushroom toast, made with locally sourced mushrooms. The appetizer has been a popular special at the Layton restaurant, said Wolford.
Another favorite is the German dip sandwich, with tender morsels of pork, sauteed mushrooms and a savory broth for dipping.
– Pizzas aren’t 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 in the kitchen from the Gabor Brothers days. He couldn’t figure out how to move it out of the kitchen, so he decided he might as well use it making pizzas. But since there was no existing pizza oven in the Ogden location, it made sense forego pizza.
Jan Weller uses his grandfather’s goulash recipe at Weller’s Bistro. It’s served here with sauerkraut and spatzle. photo by Valerie Phillips
– The Layton and Ogden locations will have different weekly specials, to give customers a reason to visit each spot.
“After we first opened in Layton, 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,’ or ask when we will be doing a certain special.”
One lunch favorite is the German dip sandwich, with tender morsels of pork, sauteed mushrooms and a savory broth for dipping.
The back story: Weller, from Witten, Germany, has over 25 years of experience in the food industry. He’s worked at the prestigious Savoy Hotel in London, Radisson Hotels, and Park City’s Goldener Hirsch Inn and High West Distillery. Most recently, he managed two fine dining Promontory Club restaurants in Park City.
He always wanted to open his own place, and was tiring of the Park City commute from his Farmington home. When the shuttered Gabor Brothers building in Layton became available, he took the opportunity “to create a rustic, yet contemporary space to feature scratch-made quality food, craft cocktails and exceptional service,” he said. (For more on Weller’s and its menu, click here.)
He opened in 2019, just months before the Covid pandemic wreaked havoc on the restaurant industry. But, Weller’s managed to weather the storm. Today, the Layton restaurant attracts German food fans from as far away Tooele, Utah County and Logan.
“I always tell my servers to send me out to talk to the people who have traveled so far to eat here,” he said. “When they travel that far, we want to make sure to give them the best experience.”
Many Utahns have German ties — former missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hill Air Force Base military once stationed in Germany, families with a German heritage, or folks who visited Germany and developed a love of the cuisine. And some customers just want to expand their culinary horizons.
Service is an important part of the dining experience, Weller said. Right after the Covid pandemic, it was hard to find employees.
“But now we have a lot of applicants. When we post a server position, we get 30-35 applicants,” said Weller. “With the labor market easing, this was another reason that we decided we could open a second location.”
Click here for a map showing parking at the new Ogden location. The “butterfly” parking lot is just west of the restaurant. Parking there is free for Monarch building patrons. Ask restaurant staff for the QR code, and type in your license plate number. Across 25th Street and slightly west, there’s another lot for Monarch patrons, and street parking along Ogden Avenue. However, you can’t park in the IRS parking lot that’s directly across 25th Street. The lots are marked, but may not be easy to read at night, so it’s good to know ahead of time.