Passing the torch: Betty’s Pantry is now Marge’s Diner

By: Heather Rule

Marge’s Diner is the spot to visit if you’re looking for classic diner food, especially breakfast, in Ottertail. The diner has a menu with high-quality ingredients to serve up delicious meals to its customers.

The diner – formerly Betty’s Pantry – is located at 102 West Main Street in Ottertail. The restaurant rebranded, complete with a new menu and new name, and reopened as Marge’s Diner in May 2024. The diner has the same owners as the Ottertail Supper Club, Dan Hurder and managing partner Dexter Brown, who runs the day-to-day operations.

Marge’s Diner in Ottertail is open for breakfast and lunch, serving what owner Hurder calls “classic American diner food.” They serve favorites like omelettes, French toast and “a giant pancake that’s a real head-turner when it comes out on the tables,” Hurder said. He refers to the menu as classic diner food but with their own take on it as they elevate traditional diner food. Almost everything on the menu is made from scratch.

For lunch, they offer a popular salad bar. But breakfast is definitely the star of the show.

The diner also underwent a dramatic redecoration as part of the rebrand. The décor inside the diner has a Midwest, 1990s theme with collected items adorning the walls. Diners will see doily collections, salt and pepper shaker collections, and cookie jar collections. It all creates a very nostalgic factor.

The “Marge” name started when Hurder opened a small bar in Fargo, calling it Marge’s Bar. Where did the name come from? The Marge Gunderson character in the movie “Fargo.” The name stuck, and Hurder used it for a Marge’s Diner in Fargo.

“We just carried the name Marge’s over to that and said, ‘Marge started with this little hole-in-the-wall bar and then she eventually worked her way up and opened her dream diner,” Hurder said, of the fictional character.

The Ottertail diner is open daily in the summer, with scaled-back hours in the winter. Like Betty’s Pantry, Marge’s Diner also offers catering for events like weddings, graduation parties or any other event you’d like to have catered.

For more information: https://www.ottertailmarge.com/