On historic 25th Street in Ogden, a restaurant serves nostalgia sunny-side up.

No Frills Diner proudly pairs a warm-toned and welcoming atmosphere with classic red booths and vintage, pop-art photographs. Located at 195 25th St., Suite 100, this piece of history is not to be missed.

The diner is distinctly American, boasting comfort food and a homey ambiance with a touch of jukebox music. According to No Frills Diner owner Ron Yeates, evoking a feeling of home, familiarity and comfort is his recipe for success.

“I wanted something small and intimate,” Yeates said. “I love the diner feel.”

No Frills accomplishes Yeates’ dreamt-up diner feel, but it is anything but dingy. Yeates explained that the inherited name “No Frills,” which belonged to the restaurant when he bought it in 2008, sometimes throws people off. Yeates has had several customers admit they avoided the diner initially, thinking the name hinted that the restaurant was low quality.

However, as soon as customers walk inside, they are greeted by lofty ceilings, warm lighting and tall wooden beams that make the diner feel classy and classic all at once. The space is roomy and inviting, yet still intimate, and has a clean and modern edge.

Even the artwork decorating the walls merges the classics with modernity. There are photographs of 1960s icons, including Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn. These black-and-white historic photos hang on the walls of No Frills encased in colorful and contemporary frames.

Yeates believes there is more art inside of the diner than these spunky photos. “When I’m cooking and I put food on the plate, I feel like it’s a piece of art. I’m proud of it,” he said.

This purposeful plating is apparent in each of the diner’s dishes, which the chefs — including Yeates himself — carefully arrange for each customer. Before plates go out, Yeates makes sure his food “looks like it could be in a picture.” He commented on how it feels when people go to drive-thrus and the fries are hastily tossed in the bottom of the bag or the haphazardly spread condiments on the burger fall out. He never wants his diners to feel that the chefs handle the food carelessly.

The food isn’t just nice to look at; it is also delicious and entirely comforting. Yeates sources fresh ingredients to ensure everything tastes like the produce and livestock were raised in his backyard. Using these fresh ingredients, everything is made-to-order from scratch.

Yeates said these tenets drive No Frills’ successful business model. “Everything is done as ordered. That is one of the things that helped us get popular. Customers can taste the freshness of our food,” he said.

The diner’s classic waffle is sweet and spongy. The omelet is gently folded so the egg melts in your mouth, and the ingredients inside are mouth-wateringly fresh and warm. The hash browns also are perfectly crispy and flavorful. Each dish tastes like it was made by a loved one. Their master ingredient is no secret: intention. Yeates teaches his chefs that they should never plate food they are not proud of. He prioritizes the quality of the food over quickness, but the wait times are still reasonable.

When asked to describe his cooking style, Yeates said, “It’s creative, homestyle comfort food.”

His dishes satiate an appetite for home, even for diners passing through town. When conceptualizing the diner, it was essential to Yeates that it felt like a second home for customers, and he asks his loyal staff to treat everyone walking through the door like they are a part of the No Frills family.

Over the years, the diner has become a home to Yeates himself. He calls it his “dedication; it’s like my family,” also joking that he’s happily “married to this place.” His connection to his business runs deep, and Yeates’ dedication is the beating heart of the diner.

Yeates’ vision is rooted in history: “I have a lot of customers come in here, and they feel like their past is coming to them.” He leans into the classic diner feel with the happy, upbeat ’50s and ’60s music playing over the speakers. Yeates mentioned how he loves watching kids, adults and elderly patrons mouthing along and shimmying with the timeless music. He cherishes how the songs elicit smiles and liven up the place, giving diners a spoonful of nostalgia before they even order their meal.

When asked about his relationship with customers, Yeates laughed, saying, “A lot of them I don’t know by name, but I know them by what they eat, what they drink.” He refers to these diners by order, saying to his staff, “Chicken-fried steak just walked in,” as he sets to work cooking up the customer’s usual.

“I just start talking to them, and you get to know stuff about them,” Yeates said. Since beginning his career in the restaurant industry when he was a teenager and becoming an owner 16 years ago, Yeates has seen kids grow up. “They come in, and they’re married now and got kids of their own,” he said.

These customers were raised in the comfort of No Frills Diner, and it is apparent they treasure their time in this homey, welcoming place. Yeates also reminisced about his older clientele, those who walk through the door and go wide-eyed because they have found a slice of their past. These patrons often become daily customers, coming to the diner for breakfast or lunch while enjoying the friendly hospitality of the staff and owner.

With inflation and COVID-19, his business costs have severely increased. He tries to balance the price of his menu with the cost of staff, but this proves challenging.

He does not want to drive customers away by slightly adjusting food prices, but he also cares deeply for his staff members, treating them with respect and family-like fondness. When grappling with these tough decisions, Yeates said he asks himself “how it’s going to affect my customers, how is it going to affect my staff and how is it going to affect me.” He always thinks about his customers first.

Yeates approaches these dilemmas with a level head and attributes his business acumen to his time working at La-Z-Boy in upper management until the factory closed in 2008. After years of working as a part-time chef in another diner, Yeates looked into full-time restaurant ownership. His kids had recently graduated high school, which opened up his finances, and the stars aligned for him to start anew when he found the original No Frills Diner for sale.

Then again, in 2020, amidst the uncertainty and tumultuous early COVID-19 economy, Yeates was forced to start from scratch when the building No Frills had resided in for 12 years was sold. At the same time, an empty building on 25th Street went up for sale. Yeates decided moving his diner to a new property was worth the risk. He had to put in the entire kitchen himself, and the diner was closed from November until February. Some regulars from the original location still do not know that the diner is still around, just in a new location, and Yeates’ has had old customers wander in and exclaim, “You’re still here!”

Yeates’ tireless dedication to his restaurant — his “family” — paid off in the end. This diner is now a fixture on 25th Street, lending the already historic neighborhood an added teaspoon of nostalgia with a side of delectable eats.

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