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The second location of the uber-popular Pretty Bird restaurant received its state liquor license last week — a sure sign that it soon will open.
But just how much longer will spicy hot chicken fans have to wait?
About a month, said chef-owner Viet Pham. The target date is early March but that’s if the remodel — amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic — goes as planned.
This much is certain: Pretty Bird 2 will serve the same Nashville-style fried chicken as the original downtown spot and it will have more seating.
It will be located in the retail development on the northwest corner of 700 East and 2100 South — in the former Sampan Asian Cuisine location.
Sampan closed last summer, after nearly three decades in business.
With the limited-service liquor license it was granted from the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Pretty Bird will be able to sell beer and wine to help wash down all that hot poultry.
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Mint Sushi opens in Holladay
The recent opening of Mint Tapas and Sushi 2 in Holladay marks a return to the old neighborhood for owner Ariunbold Batsaikhan — aka Chef Soy.
Soy originally owned and operated Rice Basil in Holladay until he was forced to move and the building was razed.
He opened Soy’s Sushi Bar and Grill in Murray and later Blue Marlin in Sandy. Before the pandemic, he sold the Blue Marlin name to new owners and changed the Sandy restaurant to Mint Tapas and Sushi.
The journey came full circle last week, when he opened the Holladay location at 3158 E. 6200 South, shortly after being granted a full-service liquor license from the DABC.
The lunch menu in Holladay — the Sandy restaurant remains dinner only — includes 10 options such as salmon, steak, chicken, sushi and salad. The meals come with miso soup and steamed rice for $10 to $12.
Dinner is served daily beginning at 5 p.m. and includes Asian-style small plates, salads, sashimi, nigiri and specialty rolls. There also is a children’s menu.
Mint Tapas and Sushi • 8391 S. 700 East, Sandy. Open daily at 5 p.m.; 3158 E. 6200 South, Holladay. Open daily from 11:30 a.m.to 2:30 p.m. for lunch and 5 p.m. for dinner.
(Trent Nelson | Tribune file photo) Beer at Wingers Restaurant & Alehouse in Murray in 2018. Wingers plans a return to Bountiful.
Wingers returns to Bountiful — with beer
The first Wingers restaurant opened in 1993 inside a narrow, silver dining car in Bountiful.
Since then, the brand — known for chicken wings, sticky fingers and, as the television ads say, “freakin’ amazing sauce” — has become one of the longest-running Utah-based restaurant groups.
Yet, in 2013, the Slaymaker Group was forced to close the original “silver bullet” in Bountiful.
In March, though, it plans to return to its roots, opening a 4,000-square-foot Wingers Restaurant and Alehouse at 255 N. 500 West, in the West Bountiful Commons shopping center. It will be the company’s 14th store in Utah and 23rd overall.
It will feature Wingers new sports-themed concept, with an expanded menu that includes soups, salads, hamburgers and entrees.
Asphalt Pie, which made its debut at the original Bountiful diner, also will return, founder and President Eric Slaymaker said in a news release.
“We’re extremely excited to reopen in our hometown of Bountiful,” he said. “The original Bountiful Wingers was a very successful location for 20 years and was an iconic business in town.”
The Bountiful location also will have a dedicated takeout area, a full bar with beer on draft and in bottles as well as high-definition television for watching sports. It has a restaurant liquor license from the state, so guests will have to order food with their beer, wine and cocktails.
