Hug-Hes is celebrating its 25th year in business and a grand reopening in its new location, across the street from its old location on Harrison Boulevard in Ogden.
The celebration includes a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 24, and live music that evening as well as Saturday evening. Food specials and prize giveaways are also planned.
Husband-and-wife co-owners Blake and Kathryn Hawkins said they were both working in the food industry when they decided to open a small sidewalk café 25 years ago. Before moving to their new location this year, they expanded twice to increase their seating capacity to 95.
The new restaurant includes a drive-up window to facilitate speedy takeout orders, a private dining area that seats 20, and a beer and wine menu. The décor contains a lively mix of blues and greens with splashes of white.
Most of the menu remains the same, made up of family recipes. "The three things we are known for are our beer bread, smoked chicken pasta salad and our pink sugar cookies," Kathryn Hawkins said, noting that all of those dishes evolved from family recipes that have been passed down.
In January 2012, Studio 5 conducted a sugar cookie taste test by collecting samples across the state from St. George to Logan. When the results were in, they chose the homemade cookie with pink icing from Hug-Hes as the best-tasting.
Other popular cookies ($1.20-$1.50 each) include peanut butter and oatmeal, lemon with zucchini and pumpkin, and the double chocolate pecan.
For lunch, Hawkins suggests the Smoked Chicken Pasta Salad ($8.49), with kidney beans, carrots, broccoli, Parmesan cheese and a house dressing; the Classic Reuben ($8.49); a Roasted Turkey and Avocado Sandwich ($8.49); or the Philly and Swiss ($8.49), with thinly sliced sirloin, grilled peppers, onions and mushrooms.
The Ultimate Burger ($8.99), with Swiss cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, barbecue sauce, onions, mushrooms and seasoned buffalo fries, is also popular.
Favorite appetizers include the Trio ($6.99), with hand-battered pickles and green beans and sweet potato fries, or the Combo Four ($7.99), with beer-battered onion rings, deep-fried mushrooms, cheese sticks and buffalo wings in homemade sauce.
Their No. 1 dessert is the Oreo Mudball ($3.99), a large scoop of vanilla ice cream rolled in Oreo crumbs and drizzled with hot fudge and caramel.
The Hawkins credit the success of their business to having hardworking, dedicated employees.
HUG-HES CAFE
- Address: 1220 E. 4800 South, Ogden
- Hours: 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday
- Phone: 801-479-0071