OGDEN — A fixture of the Northern Utah food scene for seven decades and an Ogden-area original will expand its myriad offerings to Plain City in the coming months.

Warrens, a family restaurant chain owned by Kirk and Leigh Dean, is slated to open a new location in the city early next year.

“We’re looking to open the first week or two in January,” Kirk Dean told the Standard-Examiner.

The Plain City location will be the Deans’ eighth operating restaurant. There are currently Warrens restaurants in Roy, South Ogden, Syracuse and South Jordan, in addition to Dylan’s restaurants in Ogden and Kaysville. The couple also owns Warrens Craft Burger on Historic 25th Street in Ogden.

And while the newest location may have a different look, the same commitment to serving up fresh, quality food in a welcoming environment that has been a key ingredient to Warrens’ success will carry over, according to the Deans.

“The building itself is totally different. It fits the countryside a little bit. It’s nice and inviting, but it’s not too modern,” Kirk Dean said.

The growth of Warrens as a veritable culinary institution in the region has been a generational journey.

Warrens was founded as Rusty’s Cafe in the 1950s by Doug Warren, a longtime member of the Roy Police force and entrepreneur. He eventually sold to Keith and Evelyn Combe — Leigh’s parents — who cut their teeth in the industry with Mason’s Drive-Inn and a number of Arctic Circle restaurants.

“He was a franchisee and a little stubborn … Sometimes he would butt heads with corporate, of course, because he just wanted everything a certain quality. And he carried that through to Warrens as well,” Leigh Dean told the Standard-Examiner of her late father. “I remember as a kid we’d go and check the restaurants at night and get ice cream cones.”

Although he had been in the paint business for several years, Kirk was eventually compelled to take the proverbial baton from his father-in-law.

“When I married Leigh, Keith and I got along pretty well and we decided to build a third location. So, Keith and I built one on 12th and Monroe that was a Warrens at the time. And my commitment was that, if I’m going to do this, I need to be an actual manager and know how to operate the building,” Kirk Dean said.

“So, I spent four years as a store manager there, learning the ins and outs of what Keith created.”

In 2003, the Deans bought Warrens from Leigh’s family. Flash forward to now, and another generation is following in Keith’s footsteps.

“Our daughter works for us and she’s the manager at 12th Street right now and she’ll open up the new Plain City store. So, she has that experience,” Leigh Dean said.

Through it all, the family has sought to maintain the same high standard for Warrens that was set by those who built it.

“I love what we do; it’s fresh and quality,” Kirk Dean said. “Keith taught me we go for quality. We want fair prices, but we want to make sure we have the right product first. He said ‘Clean stores, clean restrooms, clean kitchens.’ We really take a lot of pride in stuff that customers don’t see, but we know that it’s taken care of properly.”

Warrens’ menu features items ranging from their “Big W” burger to fish and chips to breakfast fare, salads, shakes and much more. For more information, go to https://mywarrens.com/.