Happy Birthday to Silver Star Café!

Tuesday, March 25, 2025 marks the 15 year anniversary of the Silver Star Café. Café owners Jeff and Lisa Ward purchased the business from the Silver Star resort developers in March of 2010. At the time, it was called the “Silver Star Market and Café,” and it served a casual “order at the counter” breakfast and lunch concept which helped draw attention to the newly built Silver Star project while its residential units were being sold. 

Though notable in terms of real estate project exposure, the developers were not restaurateurs, and the business itself had not been successful. In early 2010, the Wards were approached by the developers about buying and operating the business, after which the Wards spent several months observing restaurant operations to identify where improvements could be made, and imagining what the business could become, before completing the business purchase in March. 

After purchasing the Café, the Wards rebranded it as Silver Star Café (dropping the “Market”), shifted the concept to fine dining, eliminated breakfast, kept lunch, added dinner and weekend brunch, and live acoustic music for dinner patrons. Soon after, the project developers completed sales of the Silver Star residential units and listed the commercial buildings for sale. The Wards were fortunate to be able to purchase their restaurant building in 2012, allowing them to control their space and lease expense while building their business. 

Today, the Silver Star Café is known as a community gathering place that celebrates the diverse regional foods of the American melting pot, with live acoustic roots music, and a warmly welcoming hospitality reflected in both service and atmosphere. The restaurant is ski-in/ski-out, located at the base if the Silver Star lift at Park City Mountain, and also sits at the trailheads for the Armstrong and Spiro trails for summer hiking and mountain biking. Locals and visitors are equally welcome, as are well-behaved dogs on the summer patio. The focus is on great food, ambiance, service and acoustic music— what they call the “four legs of our table.” The Café uses organic and locally sourced ingredients whenever possible, serves nothing with trans fats or high fructose corn syrup, and almost everything on the menus is gluten free, or can be made gluten-free. The Café’s made-from-scratch comfort food is influenced by regional flavors, and while elevated fine dining, it is also approachable. 

Jeff and Lisa are both 40-plus year residents of Park City, who met in the mid-1980s when working as captains in the five-star Glitretind dining room at Stein Eriksen Lodge. Each had started working in restaurants in high school and continued to be involved in restaurants through college and beyond. Jeff, a New York native, earned a degree in Geology, and Lisa, a native of California, a degree in Organizational Communication. Jeff, a trained sommelier, became one of the most successful restaurateurs in Park City, while also contributing as an active community leader, serving on a variety of boards and commissions, including several years as Board Chair of the Park City Chamber Bureau. Lisa established a communications consulting firm, focused on marketing, public relations, and corporate communications for businesses, municipalities, and the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Committee. She also co-directed the Leadership Park City program, mentoring future community leaders in leadership, volunteerism and civic engagement. The two brought their skill sets together for the Silver Star Café project. They have been married for 34 years and have two adult sons and an adult nephew in their family, and their spouses, and one grandson, who all live in the Salt Lake Valley. 

Aware that restaurant work can often distress staff with stress and poor treatment, the Wards strive for a company culture that encourages life balance for their staff, with flexible schedules to accommodate other interests in their lives, and an atmosphere of respect, kindness, and support. They treat their staff like family. They are also committed to supporting independent music artists by hosting live acoustic music dinner shows throughout the year, at no additional cost to their guests. “We treat our music artists with the same warmth that we treat our guests, and respect for their art and talent. We hope that Silver Star Café feels like home, where all are treated as welcome friends.” 

Press: Silver Star Café 

• Silver Star Café has been featured in three episodes of the Food Network’s Diners Drive-ins and Dives. Episodes: “Cross Country Comfort Food,” “Small Town Sensations, and “A Little Lighter” 
• Print stories include full travel/dining features in the Washington Post, USA Today and Forbes, as well as New York Post, Lonely Planet, Huffington Post, Outside Magazine, Ski Magazine, Tasting Table, Travel and Leisure, Luxury Travel, Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake Magazine, Park City Magazine, the Park Record, and in-flight magazines for Delta and American Airlines. 

Awards: Silver Star Café 

• Silver Star Café has been recognized with the “Utah Classic” Award from Salt Lake Magazine, for restaurants that maintain excellence over a sustained period of time (2024). 
• Jeff and Lisa Ward were recognized as the 2024 “Restaurateurs of the Year” by the Utah Restaurant Association, their highest honor, with the “Golden Spoon Award” 
• Salt Lake Magazine’s “Best Restaurant Utah” (2014, 2018, 2019) and “Best Comfort Food”. 
• “Best Outdoor Dining” annually for 9 years from Park City’s Best awards. 
• Trip Advisor “Award of Excellence” 9 years in a row, and currently the fourth year of Trip Advisor’s “Hall of Fame,” and “Traveler’s Choice”. 
• “A Dining Destination” and “Best Bar Program” from Taste Utah Bites and the Utah Restaurant Association.