Ruby’s Pizzeria and Grill may be a new name for the restaurant located at 1400 North 795 East in Logan, but its owners, management team and most of its menu remain the same.
LOGAN – As you go through the door to Ruby’s Pizzeria and Grill you see a small sign that sets the tone for the restaurant you’re about to enter. It tells a short story about Bear Lake native Ruby Jean, the restaurant’s namesake, and how she frequently gathered loved ones and new friends around her table for a good meal. Her two sons and their business partner aim to preserve that same feeling at the restaurant that, until recently, was known as Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom on 1400 North 795 East in Logan.
Thad Willis, who co-owns the restaurant with his brother Tom and business partner Andy Daniels, says the restaurant is undergoing a name change but the owners and management team behind it remain the same. After operating the Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom franchise since October 2019, they decided it was time to go in a different direction after the franchise kept making changes.
“They proposed changes to the menu that Cache Valley has really grown to love, taking out some of our top sellers and taking off all of our appetizers,” Willis explains. “My brother and I and our partner decided to buy the franchise out and be on our own, to make sure we keep providing the food and climate and atmosphere that Cache Valley and surrounding areas have grown to love.”
The casual dining restaurant continues to offer a full menu of specialty pizzas, appetizers, macaroni and cheeses, wings, burgers and desserts. The restaurant also has a full liquor license.
Like Thad, his parents and many of his family are alumni of Utah State University and he loves having the restaurant so close to campus.
Willis says his dad was in the Air Force and his parents got to travel the world. His mom, Ruby, became known as a great entertainer and hostess wherever they were stationed. Once her husband retired, the couple returned to the Bear Lake valley and her home was always the preferred destination for family and friend gatherings, holidays and fun get-togethers.
“She could always make something taste really good and people could have a good time and relax,” says Willis.
The restaurant’s new logo features a silhouette of a young girl sitting on a rock gazing into the distance. Willis says it’s a representation of his mother as a young girl who, after her chores were done on the ranch at Meadowville, would climb a nearby hill to sit on a rock to gaze over Bear Lake while also keeping an eye on her home. The story is, Willis says, that Ruby would sit on that rock until her mom or dad would wave her back in before it got too late in the day.
Ruby passed away last spring, and Willis says his mom likely wouldn’t like the restaurant being named after her.
“She wouldn’t have liked it; she didn’t like that attention! She hasn’t haunted us yet,” Willis laughs. “But everyone who knows the association knows why, because she was just that good of a hostess and friend and family member to do those fun things. We always knew what the name would be and how we would work it out.”
Ruby’s Pizzeria and Grill officially opened on April 7th and Willis says the changes have been well received so far.
“We’ve added some more specialty pizzas, we have added some different appetizers, we have added two more hamburgers and one more sandwich,” he explains. “So, we are offering more variety, we put a steak option on the menu for the weekends. We sold out the first weekend so we’ll expand on that.
“We’ll keep the same core menu, what Cache Valley has been used to seeing from our store. There are a few proprietary things that we had to take off, but the majority of it is the same food, maybe named something different, plus a few additions.”
Willis emphasizes that it is a family restaurant that also serves alcohol, not a bar that serves food. The typical clientele is a family of four who wants a variety of food options while checking on their favorite sporting event. The restaurant maintains its sports theme with 23 televisions mounted throughout the indoor and outdoor dining areas.