The Oaks Re-Opens in Ogden Canyon Nov. 15

The Oaks, that iconic Ogden Canyon landmark for over 100 years, is re-opening Nov. 15.

It’s great news for those who have missed enjoying a burger or ice cream in the scenic mountains next to the Ogden River.

But the new owners, Cora and David Neal, say it’s OK to wait a bit before checking it out. They hope to start out with a slower pace, to let the staff ease into a restaurant routine.

“I’m a little bit worried about the volume of people who might come as soon as we open the doors,” said David Neal, currently a culinary instructor at Ogden Weber Technical College. “The last thing I want is for people to wait two hours to be seated.”

He noted that there’s been a lot of interest since they bought the property last February. All summer while they were remodeling, curious drivers stopped in to ask if they were open yet.

 “We wanted to be open for summer, but renovations took longer than we thought,” said Cora Neal, a math and statistics professor at Weber State University.

  They will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily — serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Quite a feat, considering The Oaks’ notoriously small kitchen.

  “I designed the menu for speed and efficiency,” David Neal said. “The biggest focus is on burgers.”

  Most of the burgers, sandwiches, salads and breakfast entrees are $12-16.

 One exception is the signature Mountain Man burger, a massive half-pound patty blend of bison, wagyu, venison, and wild boar, priced at $18.

“It’s a spectacular burger, and it was inspired by our beautiful mountain setting,” David Neal said.

There are seven other burgers, with options of a 1/3-pould beef patty, a vegetarian patty, chicken breast, or a tilapia filet. A vegan, gluten-free bun can be swapped out on request.  

The Firecracker burger kicks it up with jalapenos, habanero jack cheese and a spicy sriracha aioli. Other burgers include Mushroom & Swiss; The Classic; The Oaks with bacon, ham, Monterey jack, cheddar, and caramelized onions; Bourbon BBQ, Buenaventura Bacon & Blue Cheese, and Italian.

There are three salads: Canyon Garden, Classic Wedge and Caesar.

Sandwiches include a Veggie Melt, Reuben, BLT, Double Decker Grilled Cheese, Patty Melt; and the Ogden Canyon Sunrise (grilled chicken breast, bacon, lettuce, onion, tomato, avocado, green goddess dressing and an over-easy egg).

David Neal’s current favorite sandwich is the Pesto Sandwich, on a hoagie bun with grilled chicken, nut-free pesto, spinach and mozzarella.

 “It’s got a nut-free pesto, for those with nut allergies,” he said. “I’ve tried to provide options for dietary restrictions.”

Tomato soup will be served every day, with another rotating soup of the day.

There’s also a large breakfast menu with omelets, burritos, breakfast sandwiches, pancakes, French toast and cooked-to-order eggs. All the breakfast entrees come with hash browns; all the burgers come with fries or a side salad.

There’s plenty of room for sit-down dining. The booths in the back room were switched out with tables and chairs (they came from Taggart’s Grill, which recently remodeled its dining area with new seating.)  

The Oaks will have breakfast burritos, fragrant cinnamon rolls, and other grab-and-go morning options for skiers on their way to the resorts. Or, for Ogden Valley residents on their morning commute.

The Neals kept the ice cream counter, with over 30 flavors of the local Farr’s ice cream.

“Mike Farr, the company president, told us his company has invoices from 1933, selling ice cream to The Oaks,” said David Neal. “He also gave our staff a tutorial on serving ice cream. You could tell he really wanted our business.”

When Keith and Belinda Rounkles bought The Oaks in 1981, it only offered a takeout menu, according to an interview I did with Belinda Rounkles on outdoor patios, back when they still owned it. The Rounkles beefed up the menu and built a patio with a view of the river and mountainside. For 38 years, it was a popular stop for travelers through the canyon for summer boating or winter skiing. After a long run, the Rounkles shuttered the restaurant in January 2019 and put it up for sale.

In 2020, The Oaks re-opened under new owners. During that Covid pandemic summer, the outdoor tables with cool canyon breezes offered a popular social-distancing getaway. But in February 2021, a TV news story reported The Oaks was struggling to stay afloat. It closed later that year.

But The Oaks’ quick re-closure doesn’t deter the Neals, who pointed out that the last owners didn’t sell alcohol and weren’t open on Sundays, which likely affected their business.

Also, the Neals’ background in math and finance, plus David’s culinary expertise are big advantages to help their new venture succeed. They grew up locally (David attended Clearfield High; Cora attended Layton High), but worked many years in the San Francisco Bay area. While there, David owned a restaurant before giving it up for a corporate career in banking and finance. After the Covid pandemic, when his company kept pushing for more layoffs, he decided to escape the corporate world. He had already taken college culinary courses while in California, and he enrolled in OTECH’s culinary program, graduating in October 2023. A few weeks later, he was hired as an instructor.

But he’s recently realized it will be impossible to achieve his dream of running a restaurant, while teaching full-time. So Nov. 14 is his last day at OTECH.  

“It was really hard when I had to come to grips that I would have to quit,” he said.

He listed some factors he’s learned — and taught — that will help in The Oaks’ success, or anyone wanting to become a restaurateur.

-Financial resources. “I knew about coming in capitalized, with enough money to assume you won’t make money for a couple of years,” he said. “Many people scrape together enough money to get it started, but they need to be able to weather setbacks and extra costs that are bound to happen.”

-Practice cooking all the menu. “You can’t open the doors if you haven’t figured out the timing and sequencing of your menu,” he said.  He was able to test-drive some of the menu ideas with students at OTECH. On the weekend of Nov. 2, the Neals and their staff cooked and taste-tested menu items. And last Saturday was a “dress rehearsal” where friends and family came in and ordered menu items.

-Sanitation. “No restaurant is perfect, but I have a level of standards that most restaurants don’t have. Everybody cleans, all the time.”

He added that when they bought the restaurant, which had been empty several years, there was still old food sitting on some of the plates. “It was more cleanup than we expected. But the health department has been great to work with us.”

-Staffing. He’s been fortunate to “cherry-pick” some of the graduates and current culinary students from OTECH.

“We’ve got great staff, and they’re recruiting their friends,” said Cora.

 Cora’s math background helps on the financial side.

  “Cora sat down with our key kitchen staff and gave them a lesson on how to price items,” said David. “If the cost of meat and ingredients is a certain amount, you’ve got to know what you need to sell this plate for.”

One of their goals is to honor The Oak’s legacy by keeping it in business.  

“I firmly believe this is a service to the community,” said David Neal. “I want to make money, but this place has so many memories for so many people.”