The restaurant walked away from the 2025 award ceremony with 5 honors: best fast food, local burgers, shakes, soup and specialty foods.
Dairy Keen owner Jan Oplin said the restaurant has been consistently recognized with Best of State awards since 2003, but this is the first year the restaurant has won five.
She said winning best soup and specialty food is an honor that hits close to home.
"We've won for best soup, which I'm extremely proud of, because all of our soups are made in the winter, and I make all of those,” she said on KPCW’s Mountain Money podcast. “We've won best specialty menu, which is our gluten free menu, which my sister and I both have celiac so we have an extensive gluten free menu.”
While soups, burgers and gluten free items are a staple on Dairy Keen’s menu, the historic restaurant is also known for the 19 model train engines that chug around the dining room.
“We have a Disney train. We have a train that looks a lot like the Heber Valley railroad trains. They are all made in Germany,” Olpin said. “They're LGB trains, and they last the longest. They have actual metal parts. They aren't just made with plastic. So they chug along our ceiling.
Dairy Keen is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
