One of Salt Lake City’s three food halls abruptly closed down Sunday after experiencing low foot traffic for months, according to a manager.
The Local Eatery & Bar was a “culinary collective” that opened in February 2023 as part of The Exchange, a $110 million mixed-use development at 310 E. 400 South.
“We were told two days ago that they’re going to just cut the losses and shut it down,” said Daniel Lindner on Saturday. Lindner was the multi-outlet kitchen manager for the food hall, and said he was given the task of telling nearly 40 employees they were out of work.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, The Local said, “To our loyal supporters, we wanted to inform you that we will be making some exciting changes to The Local Eatery & Bar,” then went on to say that the closure was only temporary.
The post also said that the space would be “transitioning” to a new concept, and added that it would still be open for private events.
The Domain Companies, which owns The Local and ran it in partnership with Hospitality HQ, said via email that “after thoughtful consideration, we’re using this opportunity to align our product and offering with a refreshed vision that we believe will better serve our community.”
As of Saturday, there were six food concepts operating in The Local: Super Chingón (Mexican), The Salt Delicatessen (a Jewish-inspired deli), Pop’s Burgers (smash burgers and hot dogs), Enko Ramen (Japanese), Habibi (Mediterranean/Middle Eastern), and Après (dessert and coffee), plus Good Bar, a full bar serving wine, cocktails and beer.
When The Local first opened, most of the food stalls were occupied by local, independent businesses, and they would be contracted to stay for a certain amount of time, Lindner said. But then once their contracts were up, they would often leave, “because they noticed they weren’t getting traction here, there’s nobody being able to come here,” he said. “Parking is a huge issue.”
Hog & Tradition was one concept that started out at The Local but ended up moving to HallPass, a food hall in The Gateway, Lindner said.
Another original tenant of The Local — Cereal Killerz Kitchen, a national chain of ice cream and breakfast cereal dessert shops — moved to HallPass last fall.
The Domain Companies saw the high turnaround, and decided they were going to put in their own ideas and concepts, Lindner said. So they contracted with another company that, in February, brought in Lindner — who has a background in culinary instruction and is a longtime chef — to oversee the culinary aspect of the food hall and maintain consistency of food, food safety and food compliance, he said.
Once that started happening, the quality of the food went up, he said, and more business started to come in.
(Kolbie Peterson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Food stalls Habibi and Super Chingon are shown at The Local Eatery & Bar on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. The food hall closed on Sunday.
But “downtown is suffering right now,” Lindner said, “especially if you’re outside of the metropolitan area, we’re just not getting the foot traffic.” The number of unsheltered people in Library Square and to the north and east “makes it hard for people to want to come up this way,” he added.
Lindner said The Local would get more patrons when the Salt Lake City Main Library would hold events and concerts, but “I think it’s kind of too little, too late.”
A phone call placed Monday to a representative of Hospitality HQ wasn’t returned.
He also mentioned that the cost of food has gotten so high that “it’s hard to keep up with that.” He said that in regards to prices, The Local struggled to cater to the development’s residents as well as the many students who would visit the food hall, while also balancing costs and labor.
“It’s hard to keep the lights on and pay your staff when you’re just always in the red all the time,” he said.
Lindner said that he thinks the food hall model can work, but that it needs “more of a community effort as far as what businesses you have next to it and working in tandem.” He also said that to really thrive, food halls need to have an emphasis on shopping or other entertainment, and not try to stand alone as their own destination.
Besides HallPass, Salt Lake City has one other food hall: Woodbine Food Hall, at 545 W. 700 South, in Salt Lake City’s Granary District.
On Monday, Emmily Jones, director of operations and events at Woodbine, said she was “shocked” to hear that The Local had closed so quickly.
She also agreed that “food halls need more than just good food to succeed,” but that “principle applies across the hospitality industry. Entertainment and programming also only takes you so far. …”
“At Woodbine, we prioritize culture and atmosphere,” Jones continued. “We’re focused on creating a welcoming space where people can easily access and want to return again and again.”
Correction • Tuesday, Sept. 24, 1:37 p.m.: This story has been updated to reflect that The Domain Companies owns The Local and ran it in partnership with Hospitality HQ.
