It’s starting to feel like we’re in the home stretch of the pandemic with vaccine distribution finally underway. We are looking forward to the summer months when the impacts from the vaccine start to take hold and outdoor dining becomes an option again. Until then, our retail businesses need customers as much as ever. Let’s be sure to support our shops and restaurants to make sure they make it through for us to enjoy after the pandemic!

Recently Opened:

The Ivy | 55 West 100 South
This cocktail bar-restaurant has been in the works for a little while now and was finally able to open its doors recently. It considers itself a modern American bar offering a contemporary, ingredient-led menu. Personally, I’m hoping the falafel waffle tastes as good as it is fun to say, but there are plenty of mouthwatering options available. Look forward to patio season as they are reinvigorating the old Caffé Molise patio, and they’re working on a secluded outdoor space for private events.

Janela Bay | At City Creek Center
Based in Orem, Janela Bay designs stylish but modest swimsuits for all body types. You’ll find a selection of one-piece suits and tankinis, and they even have maternity designs and kids’ suits.

Paper Source | At City Creek Center
This stationary chain opened just in time for Valentine’s Day! Visit to get your hands on custom cards and gift supplies to send to all of your valentines even if you won’t be able to see them in person this year. Of course, you can visit year-round to get everything from custom stationary and calendars to craft kits and party supplies.

Varley | 63 West 100 South
Sister concept to The Ivy, Varley is located right next door. They even share a kitchen so you can order from a selection of the food menu in addition to one of the signature cocktails. The space is outfitted with custom wood tables and other elegant finishes. Varley is brought to you by the folks behind Soundwell, so we expect to see some great live music over time.

Opening Soon:

Ascoli Espresso | 30 East Broadway
Its flagship store is at Pike Place Market in Seattle, but Ascoli Espresso is preparing to open a location in the center of Downtown SLC. You can expect a true Seattle coffee experience as they bring their signature blends and pastries. The coffee shop is expected to open for business next month.

Cotton On Kids | At City Creek Center
Hailing from Australia, Cotton On has proven to be a popular fashion outlet among hip Salt Lakers. City Creek Center is preparing to add a version geared specifically toward an even younger audience.

Edison Street Brewery | 229 South Edison Street
We’ve been hearing rumors for a while about a brewery going in on the east side of Edison. While we still don’t know much about it, we did receive confirmation just last week. You know we’ll share details as soon as we know more!

Karma | 122 West Pierpont Avenue
We recently noticed the signs change on the spot that most recently featured Button Down. It is set to be another nightclub, maintaining the growing nightlife in the area. 

Niccoli’s I 270 South 300 East
I shared this one with you a few months ago, but have since learned more details that it only felt right to provide an update. Behind the Italian market featuring high-quality local and imported goods, Niccoli’s will include a fine-dining space featuring special chef tasting menus. They are planning 3 private suites that will be utilized for special events and available for private functions. There also some unique amenities in the works, like a water sommelier as is trending in many major cities. Niccoli’s is expected to open next month.

Regent Street Restaurant | 126 Regent Street
The team behind Silver Star Café in Park City is coming down the canyon to develop a new restaurant concept in SLC. The space was formerly occupied by Fireside has sat vacant for a while now, but is sure to see new life with this activation anticipated to open by early summer.

Roctaco | 248 South Edison Street
This storefront on Edison has been a work in progress for quite some time. Its Instagram feed features some gourmet-looking taco concoctions. If nothing else, we can appreciate the enormous octopus mural made by local artist Chris Peterson on the exterior! Did I mention there’s a walk-up window?

TruFusion | At The Gateway
The Gateway will soon be home to a 13,000 square foot gym. This will be the first location for TruFusion, a national boutique gym chain with an innovative focus on group fitness and yoga. Situated on the corner of 100 South and Rio Grande, the gym will prove to be a valuable amenity on the west side of downtown as workers start to return to their offices and residential density continues to increase. Keep an eye on The Gateway as we hear there are some other new concepts in the works!

Uniquely Utah Souvenir Co. | 122 South Main Street
Tourism may not be at its peak right now, but Uniquely Utah will be ready for visitors as early as next month. They are working with local artists and businesses to curate a selection of unique merchandise for anyone to bring home memories of Salt Lake City. The store is perfectly situated on Main Street just south of City Creek Center.

Why Kiki | 67 West 100 South
Drive down 100 South and you’ll notice a new pink facade just in front of the Salt Palace. Downtown Salt Lake City will soon be home to a tiki bar called Why Kiki. Their Facebook page features a recently-posted video touring the space, which looks ready to open very soon. It also previewed some tiki glasses, so get excited for some tropical drinks!

Do you know of a new business I missed? Got a tip of one getting ready to open? Let me know at !

The 2020 State of Downtown report offers insights into key industry sectors: commercial real estate, retail, residential, nightlife, arts and culture. The report was researched and compiled by the Downtown Alliance and CBRE. This report is an excellent resource for developers, planners and policymakers to help guide decisions about investing in our central business district. 

Click here to view the full report

Shop, eat and gift local this holiday season with Downtown Dollars! Featuring dozens of downtown bars, restaurants and retailers. This electronic gift card can be spent at many of your favorite downtown merchants and is a great gift for your besties (including you!). Simply show your eGift Card on your mobile device at participating retailers to use.

Bonus Bucks are funded by a Shop In Utah grant and can be spent just like Downtown Dollars at all participating businesses. Click the button below to purchase your Downtown Dollars and browse participating businesses. 

*The Bonus Bucks offer expires 12/31/2020, or when available funds run out. Purchased Downtown Dollars do not expire, but the extra Bonus Bucks must be spent by 5/31/2021.

Don’t see your favorite downtown business listed? Have them contact to enroll as a participating business!

Buy Downtown Dollars!

FAQ

How can I purchase Downtown Dollars and receive Bonus Bucks?
Click on the "Buy Downtown Dollars" button above. When you purchase your Downtown Dollars in eligible amounts, you will automatically receive Bonus Bucks to spend at your favorite merchants.

How does the Bonus Bucks pricing structure work?
Purchase $50 or more in Downtown Dollars, get $10 in Bonus Bucks!

Where can I spend Downtown Dollars?
Downtown Dollars can be spent at any participating downtown business. You can view the list and map HERE. More businesses are being added all the time! Click here to add your business.

How can I purchase Downtown Dollars and Bonus Bucks for someone else or give them as a gift?
When purchasing Downtown Dollars, you enter the recipient’s name and email address to send directly to them to redeem, or you can send the eGift Card to yourself and forward the information to them. You have the option to send your original Downtown Dollars purchase and the extra Bonus Bucks to separate recipients.

Do Downtown Dollars and Bonus Bucks expire?
The purchased value of your Downtown Dollars do not expire. Bonus Bucks must be used by 05/31/2021 After 12 months of inactivity, a $3 fee will occur monthly.

Recent rule changes now allow downtown restaurants and bars to add seating in adjacent outdoor (or indoor) areas. Retailers can also activate additional space. The intention is to allow businesses more physical space to operate under health guidelines that require physical distancing among patrons and workers.

“Downtown restaurants have been innovative in adapting their operations and implementing health safety guidelines. But to achieve physical distance standards between diners, restaurants have reduced their guest capacity by 40 to 70 percent. We are hopeful that many restaurants can expand their safe seating under these new provisions,” says Dee Brewer, Executive Director of the Downtown Alliance. 

Downtown Alliance has been working with other economic development and business associations in support of provisions that would let businesses expand their footprint for service.

Mayor Mendenhall’s Emergency Proclamation No. 11 temporarily relaxes rules throughout  Salt Lake City. The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (DABC) also temporarily amended regulations to allow alcohol service in those outdoor areas. 

This week, 117 downtown restaurants are open with dine-in and/or take-out service. The number of open downtown restaurants has grown each week since May 9. Some customers are dining in restaurants. Some are dining on restaurant patios.  Some are picking up their favorite meals and picnicking at Gallivan Center, the State Capitol or other nearby public spaces.

Related Articles: 

Utah Gives Restaurants A Break for Alcohol Service Outdoors  The Salt Lake Tribune

Salt Lake City restaurants, shops cheer as mayor allows them to expand into parking areas, side yards during coronavirus The Salt Lake Tribune

Downtown SLC's local businesses are an integral part of our local economy as they add vibrancy and walkability to our downtown streets. As businesses continue to open their doors amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the health and safety of customers and staff remain top-of-mind. We asked several businesses how they're faring and what they are doing to adapt to the current situation. 

We encourage you to support our local businesses during this time - be sure to check out our restaurant dining guide that features take-out, delivery and dine-in options.

How was your business impacted by COVID-19?

Salt Lake Power Yoga: We closed our business effective March 16. We went from offering 65+ Live classes a week to offering less than 20 classes on the virtual platform. We opened again with one live class per day on May 18, and are continuing to host the virtual classes.

Caputos Market & Deli: It is a challenge to describe the innumerable ways our company has been impacted by COVID-19. Entire revenue channels vanished, as our restaurant wholesale customers shut their doors, our dining rooms closed, and our popular tasting classes disappeared. Almost a hundred employees' livelihoods weighed heavily on our shoulders, while we were faced with a fraction of the ability needed to provide for them. Sales in our markets (which remained open for shopping) plummeted. So many sleepless nights. In spite of these incredible challenges, the global pandemic also presented opportunities - for example, our online grocery business skyrocketed. The strength and adaptability of our crew became widely apparent as chefs became delivery drivers and cheesemongers became packers for online orders. The 4-per week average tasting classes that disappeared soon were resurrected with online Zoom classes, now reaching people from coast to coast. To put it simply, it's been heartbreaking, indescribably stressful, but full of silver linings.

What changes have you made to adapt to the situation over the past couple of months?

Boltcutter/Monkeywrench: The biggest change that we have made to adapt to the current situation was to design and install large panels on the storefronts of Boltcutter and Monkeywrench so that we can take orders and deliver food to our guests without having them inside of our space. We also built out online ordering platforms for Buds, Boltcutter and Monkeywrench which is not something we had available to our guests prior to COVID-19. Learning how these systems function and how to utilize them to best serve our guests has been a new challenge.

The Bourbon Group: The Bourbon Group has taken a safety/sanitation first approach. We are following all state guidelines and have taken extra steps as a company to minimize risk to our staff and guests. We ask each guest to sanitize before entering and provide them with a mask to wear while communicating with our staff. We professionally sanitize each establishment 3 times a week as well as having staff sanitize every surface every 30 min each day. We have also started to take reservations in order to be able to control our door and eliminate people having to wait for tables.

How have you adapted your operations to ensure the health and safety of your customers and employees?

Boltcutter/Monkeywrench: All of our employees work in masks, we have increased our sanitation protocols and we are not allowing any dine-in customers. We made and installed pickup windows at Boltcutter and Monkeywrench to reduce air exchange between the staff and customers and allow for contactless customer experience. We are now a cashless operation too.

Salt Lake Power Yoga: Everything was revamped. We remained closed longer than required because we didn’t feel like it was appropriate to open without thoroughly reviewing every aspect of our business, with the safety of our staff and students always at the forefront. Required masks, signage, communication, social distancing, traffic patterns inside the studio, cleaning and disinfecting protocols, and limiting the capacity to a maximum of 18 students in the practice space (normally our capacity is 65 ppl) are examples of some of the pivots we have made with COVID. We have been in constant communication with the Salt Lake Health Department to ensure that we are doing everything in our power to provide a safe space for people to practice yoga.

How do you see your business continuing to develop into the future?

Caputos Market & Deli: Many of the things we put in place to survive during the pandemic will allow us to thrive long after it is over. For example, online ordering for local delivery of sandwiches executed by our own drivers rather than 3rd party delivery app will remain. Shipping of groceries via USPS and FedEx has been even more popular than local delivery. Customers can order online in all 50 states and expect free and fast shipping and the same incredible customer service they get in our physical stores. Our online sales are now larger than in-store and growing quickly! We have also moved our classes online, and while many others have also done this, ours include samples of the food shipped to your door and a truly engaging and educational experience. The response has been so incredible that we envision using Zoom to change the way specialty food is sold online. For example, why have a personal shopper, when you can talk with a cheesemonger? We are developing a virtual work station at Caputo's cheese counter where our mongers can guide online customers to delicious products that fit their preferences and needs. Just like the experience, they would get when standing at the cheese counter in Salt Lake City, but then shipped to their door anywhere in the USA! 

The Bourbon Group: We have always had a high standard for sanitation and safety. We will continue to adapt, improve and implement new and better policies and practices.

Why should people start to come back to your business now they are allowed to do so? 

Salt Lake Power Yoga: Now more than ever, people need the practice of yoga. The practice of coming to their mat, staying in the stillness, moving their bodies and connecting with breath, other students and their teacher. We invite everyone to practice with us, whether it is from their own home or in the studio. Local studios like Salt Lake Power Yoga will make it through this crisis with support from our incredible community. Spending your dollars on our classes or on our retail goods flows directly to the teachers you love and will help keep the light on in the studio many call home. Now more than ever, small local businesses need our support. 100% goes stays local. No franchise, or corporate contracts with this local studio!

Caputos Market & Deli: The same reason they always have - out of love for the good stuff. Many of the foods we treasure most - artisan cheese, salumi, tinned seafood - has been around for hundreds of years, through world wars, natural disasters, and other global pandemics. We are committed to doing our part to ensure these traditions continue, and continually adapting in order to share how special they are. Caputo's is built on connection to our past, our present, our future, and our customers. We hope people will come to our shops (in person and online) to experience the food traditions we strive to preserve.

Special thanks to Boltcutter, Caputos Market & Deli, The Bourbon Group and Salt Lake Power Yoga for participating. Learn more and visit these businesses by clicking the links below:

• Boltcutter/Monkeywrench
• The Bourbon Group (Bourbon House, Whiskey Street, Whitehorse)
• Caputos Market & Deli
• Salt Lake Power Yoga 

Craft cocktails have taken Salt Lake by storm over the past few years and the proof is in the wealth of incredible mixologists working throughout the city. Meet three ladies who are pouring their heart and soul into their own signature, beverages behind the bar at The Vault, Under Current and Bar X.

Julie Owen
The Vault at Bambara, Bartender

Owen has a knack for remembering regular customer’s’ favorite drinks. With 14 years experience in the food and beverage industry she’s perfected her craft on the job at The Vault. “I love that the bar staff at Bambara has the freedom to create our own cocktail lists, order the wines, beers and spirits that we want to sell, and that we are fully empowered to take care of our guests and any problems we might come across,” Owen explains. With whiskey being her favorite spirit, “I’ve been a fan since my grandfather first let me sip on a taste of his Crown Royal,” Owen shares her recipe for the Dickel Dew.

Dickel Dew cocktail recipe:

1.5 oz. George Dickel rye whiskey
Muddle Bing cherries with whiskey
Shake small amount of lemon juice and lemonade with a touch of simple syrup
Pour over whiskey and cherries
Add 1/2 oz. of red wine (preferably fruit-forward wine) over top
Zest lemon over top leaving the twist in the drink

Amy Eldredge
Under Current Bar, General Manager

Eldredge is one of the most recognized name in Salt Lake’s craft cocktail community. She’s implemented a new cocktail menu and trained staff on craft cocktail nuances at Bar X; redesigned the cocktail program for The Grand America hotel; and conducted extensive training programs for the staff at Takashi, Copper Common and Rye. She is also the president of the Utah chapter of the United States Bartending Guild. Eldredge has been spending her time recently educating customers about absinthe so she shares her recipe for The Siren with absinthe and locally made Beehive Distilling gin—of which she loves the sage, rose petal and herbal notes.

The Siren cocktail recipe:

Egg white
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
3/4 oz. simple syrup 1:1
1 oz. Absente absinthe
1 oz. Beehive Distilling gin
Dry shaken to emulsify the egg white and give the cocktail body, then cold shaken and strained up. Garnished with a sage leaf.

Carly Bringhurst
Bar X and Beer Bar, Bartender

Although Bringhurst has been a bartender for just shy of three years and she’s already making her mark in the Salt Lake scene. You’ll find her Carlita on the cocktail menu at Bar X and her excitement for the profession is contagious. “I just want to become really good at it and eventually teach others what it is that we do and how to do it really well.” Bringhurst’s current liquor of choice is mezcal and it’s the star of her Sweet Dee cocktail. “It’s sweet, creamy and kind of smoky from the mezcal,” Bringhurst explains. “I made it up as a good introductory drink to egg cocktails.”

The Sweet Dee cocktail recipe:

1 whole egg
1/2 oz. orange juice
1/2 oz. apple brandy
½ oz. simple syrup
1 1/2 oz. mezcal
Chocolate bitters
Add all ingredients and dry shake. Then add ice and cold shake. Strain into chilled coupe, then top with chocolate bitters.