St. George • Like the Harley-Davidson, Indian and other vintage motorcycles he rides and collects, Utah businessman and restauranteur Rick Salisbury is on a bit of a roll.
With his Strap Tank Brewery restaurants in Springville and Lehi operating squarely in the black, and the nation’s red-hot market for craft beer, the Salisbury Homes owner is prepping to roll out the latest iteration of his popular brewpub in March – this time in sunny St. George.
Will residents of the region historically known as Utah’s Dixie, more than 61% of whom are teetotalling members of The Church of Jesus Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, cotton to a brew pub equipped with a full bar?
“Absolutely,” said Salisbury, noting many Strap Tank customers come for the food and fun atmosphere, not the alcohol.
Foaming at the mouth?
Like the head on a hefeweizen or pilsner, St. George-area locals who do drink insist they are–figuratively and somewhat impishly speaking–foaming at the mouth to patronize the pub.
Ivins resident Barry Neff said you can count him in, especially if the St. George Strap Tank carries hefeweizen, the wheat beer he favored while serving in the U.S. Army in Germany years ago.
Anything else, he quips, sort of goes against the grain.
“I’m a craft beer guy,” the Chicago transplant said. “I go looking for hefeweizens to try. So if they have hefeweizen on tap, I’ll be the first guy there.”
Ditto for Lyle Obray, who used to live in Provo and was a regular at Springville Strap Tank before moving to St. George seven years ago. Like Neff, hefeweizen is his favorite, but he furtively admits to imbibing and even enjoying seasonal and other ales on occasion.
“I’m excited to have a Strap Tank in St. George because the food and the beer are great,” Obray said. “I’m especially excited that it is coming to the downtown area close to where I live.”
St. George officials, always looking to spice up and diversify the city’s business base, also seem to be rolling out the welcome mat.
“Strap Tank’s arrival in St. George adds an exciting new option to our city’s vibrant dining scene‚” said Chad Thomas, St. George’s economic development director. “It’s a unique establishment that I am sure will be popular with residents and visitors alike.”
A ‘no-brainer’
(Mark Eddington | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brewery equipment inside the St. George Strap Tank on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, which is under construction and is scheduled to open in March.
For his part, Salisbury said locating a Strap Tank in St. George is a no-brainer. For starters, St. George is consistently one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country. Washington County’s population is projected to more than double to about 465,000 by 2060.
Moreover, with its location just off St. George’s Dixie Drive, Strap Tank will be within easy walking distance of the Dixie Convention Center and 500 hotel rooms. St. George’s proximity to Zion National Park and other outdoor recreation hot spots is also a major plus.
“In my opinion, the St. George Strap Talk will do even better business than the other two because St. George is more of a vacation town,” Salisbury said.
The same could not be said when Salisbury debuted his first Strap Tank in Springville in 2016, which is also predominantly Latter-day Saint and where no brewers had operated legally since before prohibition. In fact, Salisbury recalled one of his friends telling him he was “an idiot to get in the business.”
But Salisbury plowed ahead. He named Strap Tank after his 1907 Strap Tank Harley-Davidson, one of only three known to exist, along with 200 vintage motorcycles he displays in his Legends Motorcycle Museum adjacent the Springville brew pub.
Following the success of that location, he opened a second, larger Strap Tank in Lehi in 2019. The St. George location, which will consist of two stories totaling about 9,000 square feet, will be slightly larger than the one in Springville but well short of the Lehi location’s 14,000 square feet.
Salisbury said the St. George eatery will seat about 300 diners and will include a full bar and dining menu that will feature first-rate pub grub including wings, burgers, sweet potato fries along with healthier choices such as salmon, tuna dishes and salads.
Brewery about family, not alcohol
(Rick Salisbury) Rick Salisbury standing beside one of his vintage Harley-Davidsons at his Legends Motorcycle Museum in Springville.
“It’s not all about alcohol,” said Strap Tank manager Gary Minter. “We want this to be a family restaurant, just like our other locations.”
To that end, the menu in St. George will include nonalcoholic beverages, including soft drinks and craft sodas. As for adult beverages, Strap Tank will sport about a half-dozen core draft beers on tap, such as Flathead lager, Highside wheat beer and St. Holtz Irish stout, all roughly 5% alcohol by volume.
Those libations will be complemented on occasion by seasonal and some 2% or less low-alcohol ales.
Some beer will be brewed on premises, but most – including higher-alcohol-content beer in cans – will be made in an off-site facility in Fort Pearce Industrial Park.
While each Strap Tank largely follows the same floor plan, Salisbury said each one has some individual flourishes, including signs, placards and other slices of yesteryear Americana. Minter said the menu will also vary a bit from other locations.
Once it opens, Strap Tank is expected to employ between 50 to 70 people, according to Salisbury. Besides bolstering the local economy, Minter said the goal is to make the brewery “the best restaurant in St. George.”
