Taggart's Grill -- Worth the Weber Canyon Drive on I-84

 

SADLY, the lifespan of local restaurants is that they usually come and go. Few such eateries, even seemingly popular ones, last for more than a few decades.

Utah Noodle, in Ogden, my wife’s favorite, closed for good in 2012. The Oaks in Ogden Canyon had more than a century old history, but it closed in 2023, seemingly for good. And, in 2024, Annie’s Diner in Kaysville shut its doors forever. Both of the latter two were favorites of the author.

So, looking for new restaurants, my wife and discovered Taggart’s Grill in Weber Canyon, six miles east of Morgan and four miles west of Devil’s Slide. It is barely visible from the I-84 freeway and does have limited parking, but it does offer great, upscale food. Its chocolate fudge cake is to die for, as is its carrot cake. Both are made from scratch on-site.

  Take exit No. 108 to access the grill.

                                                              I-84 exit No. 108.

  The grill began in the year 2000. It began earlier, just offering sandwiches to local rafters and tubers down the Weber River, as the area has long been a launching location into the river. Most menu items are in the $15-$20 range and children’s portions are under $10. The grill offers a Sunday brunch (11 a.m.-3p.m. only).

  There is limited patio seating, but only for adults, ages 16 and up.

  Our food was great and the service excellent. We arrived on a weekday, just before noon and by 12:30 p.m., all the tables around us were filled.

Several peacocks live in the grill’s yard and are a delight to watch through large glass windows. Located miles from any town, the grill’s setting is quiet and peaceful.

                                                   A warning sign at the Grill.

  It is worth the drive east on I-84, from South Weber. From my house, in Layton, it is a 40-minute drive (29 miles) to Taggart’s Grill.

                      Part of my extended family eating at Taggart's Grill.

 

   The same area at the Taggart exit used to have a service station and at one time offered cabins for rent, as well as ice cream to buy (see the two pictures below, that are framed on the grill's walls).

NOTE: The author has no financial ties or connection to Taggart's Grill, other than being a patron.

 

A Sad Farewell to Annie's Diner in Kaysville, Utah ...

 

Sadly, my wife and I had our last visit to Annie’s Diner in Kaysville, Utah on May 22, 2024. 

This locally owned eatery is closing by June 1, 2024, or before, as it has lost more than $93,000, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. (Thanks to one of my Facebook friends, Valerie Phillips, for posting first on Facebook about the closing.) 

I haven't felt this sad about a restaurant closing since Utah Noodle of Ogden called it quits in September of 2012. (I also didn't like it when The Oaks Restaurant in Ogden Canyon closed either.)

  Annie's had probably been open about 20 years, under three different ownerships. It opened in the late 1990s as Jonnie's Restaurant and was bought and switched to Annie's in 2002.

My wife and I made one last late lunch visit to Annie's. We had to wait 22 minutes to be seated and 30 minutes for our food, but worth it. Lots of high school kids there with yearbooks on the last full day of public school  (including 4 young men we saw who left without paying). Many people before us had to apparently wait 60 minutes for their order. 

                                         The Cadillac Burger, with bacon and fries.

The staff was so far behind that they locked the doors 5 minutes after we got there. We saw at least 6 people turned away. For me, the Cadillac Burger (their most expensive regular item at $16.99) was what I always ordered. And, it was as great tasting as ever,

                                   The author and a Cadillac Burger.

A waitress said they only found out about the closing the night prior. She said the owner had stopped coming in much recently was the only pre-warning sign, as the restaurant seemed plenty busy.

 

The owner stated on Facebook that he was essentially subsidizing each meal ordered by about 7 percent. And, when he tried a price increase before that, business went down significantly. He had already saved the restaurant from closing a few years ago when he bought it from the original owner, who was set to close it.

Other than some very small local eateries, except for fast food now, Kaysville seems to only have Orlando’s Mexican restaurant as its lone major sit-down restaurant left. 

Annie's was kind of a rough equivalent of Sill's Restaurant in neighboring Layton City, though more upscale.

  All in all, it is one less locally owned restaurant in an eatery world dominated more and more by chain restaurants.

              A Jack in the Box restaurant under construction, south of Annie's in Kaysville.

A new Jack in the Box (my favorite fast food place) is ironically under construction next door, and to the south of Annie’s. – (some consolation for me.)