Utah chef and restaurant owner Ryan Lowder is expected to open his fourth Salt Lake City area restaurant this week.
But unlike his three other eateries — The Copper Onion, Copper Common and Copper Kitchen — the new place won’t be named for Utah’s best-known metal.
Instead, customers should look for The Daily, which Lowder describes as “bodega meets cafe.” It is at 222 S. Main, on the street level of the Goldman Sachs building, in the former home of Bistro 222. Initially it will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with weekend hours to be added later.
The menu at the all-day cafe will include sandwiches, salads, rice/noodle bowls and baked goods as well as pressed juices, horchata and something Lowder called “monkey milk," a blend of almond milk, bananas and honey.
He eventually plans to get a liquor license from the state that would allow The Daily to serve beer and wine.
Guests can enjoy their food and drinks from the sleek urban counter or one of the leather booths, which — thanks to large east-facing windows — offer a view of Main Street.
In a hurry? There will be a “grab-and-go” case for quick bites.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Daily, a new cafe on the street level of the Goldman Sachs building at 222 S. Main, Friday, Sept. 21, 2018.
The Daily also will be the first restaurant in Utah to feature Stumptown Coffee, a popular roaster and retailer based in Portland, Ore.
The house-made breads and baked goods served at all of Lowder’s restaurants — which currently are made at Copper Common — now will be produced in The Daily’s new kitchen.
The dining space at The Daily features wood, metal and other modern accents — as well as cactus-and-llama wallpaper. It seats about 50 inside and eventually will have some outdoor dining.
Jameson Frank is the The Daily’s chef. It marks a homecoming of sorts. Frank was the sous chef and first employee when The Copper Onion opened nearly a decade ago.
Lowder patterned The Daily after concepts he liked in the Big Apple.
“I used to see these kind of fast and approachable places all the time in New York City,” said Lowder, who grew up in Sandy, attended the Culinary Institute of America and worked at various restaurants in New York before returning to Utah. “It satisfies the need for a quick-serve cafe in downtown.”
Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah chef Ryan Lowder closed Plum Alley in 2014 — at the height of its popularity — to create what is now Copper Common bar.
Diners who have followed Lowder’s Utah restaurant career may be wondering why he didn’t use the new space to re-create Plum Alley. He closed the Asian-style restaurant in 2014 — at the height of its popularity — to create what is now Copper Common bar.
Sympathetic, Lowder is considering outdoor pop-up events on the 222 Building’s secluded courtyard to bring back — even for just one night — some of the old favorites.
Until then, the opening of The Daily is big news for downtown workers and visitors who want something reliable and fast.
