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It has been months since we had weekday lunch at The Daily, listened to live music at The State Room or watched a movie — and downed a beer — at Brewvies.
The Salt Lake City cafe, concert venue and cinema pub, respectively, have been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The good news is that these food and drink businesses — along with nearly two dozen others statewide — say they are not closed forever. They’re just waiting for the right time — maybe within the next month or two — to reopen.
The state liquor commission recently approved requests by these owners for extended closures, a requirement for businesses that serve alcohol in Utah.
Under state law, a business licensed to serve liquor cannot close for an extended period of time without permission from the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The maximum time is usually around 60 days. The rule was modified in the early days of the pandemic because many businesses have been unable to reopen due to COVID-19. There are myriad reasons for the extended closures.
The Tin Angel, for example, is located inside the Eccles Theater, and the owners must wait until the building’s operator — Salt Lake County — determines when it is safe to reopen.
The Daily, at 222 S. Main, on the first floor of the Goldman Sachs building, also is waiting until downtown employees return to their offices, rather than work remotely.
Amour Cafe, near Liberty Park, has a small interior dining room, and the owners don’t feel they can open to sit-down service safely, although they are doing online ordering.
Publik Ed’s, a tiny cafe near the University of Utah, also has remained shuttered because of space and because many U. employees and students are still working and studying online.
The owners of The State Room and The Commonwealth Room must wait until the state allows larger groups to gather before they stage concerts again.
“We can’t wait until the day we can turn on the lights and the sound systems,” said co-owner Chris Mautz. “We’ll have a robust schedule. We’re just waiting until the time is right.”
DABC staffers said several businesses have used the downtime to remodel and upgrade their facilities, including Brewvies and The Rose Establishment. The latter, agency staffers said, is expanding into the adjacent space where Pallet restaurant was previously located.
And then there’s Sunny’s Bistro, located inside the Airport Inn Hotel, 2333 W. North Temple. In December, the Salt Lake City Council decided to use the hotel as a temporary overflow shelter for the homeless. The hotel previously decided to close due to the drop in travel at the Salt Lake City International Airport.
When the shelter closes — sometime in April — the hotel and Sunny’s can reopen, according to the DABC.
Most Utah businesses recently received one- and two-month extensions, but alcohol commissioner Steven Bateman wondered if that was enough time. “Are these one- and two-month requests adequate?“ he asked. “Are we going to be sitting here in two months doing this again?”
The answer, of course, is no one knows.
But coronavirus case counts keep falling, and the ranks of Utahns getting vaccinated keep rising, so these business owners — and their eager customers — are hopeful.
List of Utah bars, restaurants, event venues planning to reopen
With that, here is a list of 26 temporarily closed Utah bars, restaurants and event venues that recently extended their alcohol licenses and plan to reopen (other shuttered establishments could end up doing the same):
Amour Cafe, Salt Lake City.
Atomic Grill & Lounge, Moab.
Brewvies, Salt Lake City.
The Commonwealth Room, Salt Lake City.
The Daily, Salt Lake City.
Hotel RL restaurant/bar, Salt Lake City.
Hyatt House H Bar, Salt Lake City.
Hyatt Place Airport restaurant/bar, Salt Lake City.
Hyatt Summerfield Suites restaurant/bar, Sandy.
Jake’s Chaparral, Kanab.
Juniper Pizza, Springdale.
Koral Kafe, Washington.
Legends, Park City Mountain Resort.
Line Camp Steakhouse, Monticello.
Public House Bar, Park City Mountain Resort.
Publik Ed’s, Salt Lake City.
Rocking V Cafe, Kanab.
The Rose Establishment, Salt Lake City.
Salt Bistro at The Leonardo, Salt Lake City.
Salt Stone at the Marriott Hotel, Salt Lake City.
Saltair Sky, Magna.
The State Room, Salt Lake City.
Stephen’s American Bistro & Bar at DoubleTree by Hilton, Salt Lake City.
Sunny’s Bistro at Airport Inn, Salt Lake City.
Tin Angel at the Eccles Theater, Salt Lake City.
Union Event Center, Salt Lake City.
