Two-Bit Bistro Is Now Open Inside The Historic Bigelow Hotel
NEWS
The iconic Two-Bit Cafe sign now hangs inside the new location inside The Bigelow Hotel.
The wait is over in Ogden, Utah. The iconic Two-Bit Cafe sign is back and the beloved restaurant is reborn inside Ogden’s historic Bigelow Hotel. Two-Bit Bistro held a grand opening on Saturday at its new three-level space.
The new Two-Bit Bistro is a full bar, restaurant, and catering service with intimate event spaces, including the “Capone Lounge” and “Blue Door” upstairs, and a “deliberately fast” grab-and-go cafe downstairs, coming soon.
Heartbreak turned into “a springboard to a better tomorrow,” said Andrew Shorts who now operates the restaurant in partnership with owners Penny Allred-Daley and her husband James Daley.
In December 2023, Two-Bit Cafe was forced to close its doors after over two decades of business. The landlord gave notification of lease termination on Dec. 5, and the owners spent Christmas Eve packing to be out by New Year’s Day.
The new Two-Bit Bistro inside the historic Bigelow Hotel officially opened with a grand opening Feb. 22
The move brings new life not only to Two-Bit, but also to the Washington Boulevard-facing corner of the historic building (previously Archie’s bar and MacCools Public Pub) that has been vacant for around five years.
Penny Allred-Daley, who opened Two-Bit Cafe in 2003, is back to doing what she loves, cooking in the (bigger) kitchen. “If it’s what you love it’s not work,” she said.
Allred-Daley’s love of cooking comes from her father, who grew a vegetable garden full of exotic varieties, and her mother, “one of the world’s best cooks.”
Penny Allred-Daley (left), Andrew Shorts and Penny Allred-Daley (right).
Living overseas, she learned the art of British-style cooking from Scottish and English friends, including a master chef in Sussex.
Left: Sunrise Salad (baby spinach, portobellos, mandarins, carrots, ginger spiced nuts, house poppy dressing). Right: Mac & Cheese.
Antiques are also Allred-Daley’s passion. Relics from the former location are on display inside the new space including restored vintage payphones (still in working order) and a painting nicknamed “Lady Isla” that was a gift from a patron.
Restored, working payphone (left) and “Lady Isla” painting (right).
The same menu of local favorites is available at the new restaurant and bar, including the Ruben sandwich, paninis, Greek pasta salad, Scottish eggs, crab cakes, and local draft brews.
It’s fitting to say Two-Bit is “reborn,” Allred-Daley said. It took nine months to open from the time they signed the lease in May 2024. They worked long and hard for this comeback, she said. “I’ll do it as long as I still love it.
Two-Bit Bistro is located at 2510 S. Washington Blvd, Ogden, Utah. For more information, visit twobitstreet.com.
Photos by Deann Armes | The Ogdenite