This article is excerpted from the Utah Eats newsletter. To get the full newsletter every Wednesday, subscribe at sltrib.com/newsletters.
Hello, Eaters! It’s practically impossible to travel along the Wasatch Front without finding a “dirty” soda shop. There are currently 35 Swig stores, 43 Fiiz franchises, 10 Sodalicious shops and eight Thirst locations in the region.
The one exception to this trend — blown up to national proportions by “The Secret Lives of Mormon Lives” — is the heart of downtown Salt Lake City. That’s where Fletch Howell and James Morris, owners of Sizzurp Soda Lab at 150 S. State, saw an opportunity.
“‘Dirty’ soda seemed like a pretty fun and very viable thing to do,” Howell said. “Every other soda shop is really focused on having a drive-thru, and that churn-and-burn traffic.”
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) A neon sign hangs in the window at Sizzurp Soda Lab in Salt Lake City on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025.
“I don’t want to do that,” Morris said. “I like the walk-up [experience]. To be able to create a vibe, something that really pops on the block, and people actually want to walk into and sit down. Because we’re not a converted McDonald’s.”
“One of our customers referred to downtown Salt Lake City as ‘the soda desert,’” Howell said. “So we’re joking that we’ve become the oasis of downtown.”
Howell and Morris opened the soda shop in September, in what used to be a coffee shop in the same lobby as Salt Lake Proper Barber, which the men also own. The coffee shop “didn’t really do anything with the space,” Howell said. “We’ve got these big, beautiful windows, and wanted to get something to look at.”
Howell said they wanted to create the vibe of a neighborhood bar — but without the alcohol. “One of the things we hear all the time is ‘there’s nothing to do downtown except for bars,” he said.
A pleasant side effect of opening the soda shop, he said, is that several of the “regulars” are people in recovery “who miss the bar feel and vibe, but obviously don’t want to be around alcohol.”
Howell credited his wife, Zoe Whicker, with coming up with many of the flavor combinations on Sizzurp’s menu. “She has a much more refined palate for this stuff,” he said. “She’ll think of an idea for a drink, and then we’ll come here and actually put it all in a cup. And most of the time, it’s pretty good.”
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) A neon sign is seen on the wall at Sizzurp Soda Lab in Salt Lake City on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025.
The names of the drinks are cheeky references to Utah culture, such as “The Brigham Yum” (Dr Pepper, coconut, lime and cream), “The Hustle M. Nelson” (white Monster energy drink, peach puree, coconut and vanilla) and “The Julia Reagan” (Dr Pepper, raspberry puree, pomegranate, coconut and cream). Read down to the “Drink of the Week” feature to learn which one I tried.
Customers’ reactions to that last one, named for the late matriarch of the Reagan billboard empire, are how the soda makers tell the tourists from the locals, Howell said.
“The only thing that I think most Utahns love more than sugar is just being a little bit naughty — just king pushing things a little bit beyond their limit,” Howell said. “My favorite thing … is to just watch people read the menu and start laughing at all the different names and descriptions.”
Sizzurp Soda Lab is open Mondays through Saturdays, noon to 4 p.m., and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Live deliciously,
Sean
Food News
• Publik Kitchen, at 931 E. 900 South, has discontinued its dinner service, which it launched in August, the coffee-and-brunch spot announced on Instagram. Publik will continue with breakfast, lunch and brunch — as well as its cocktail menu. “Maybe we will see what the dinner vibe is this spring?” Publik said on Instagram.
Openings:
• A month ago here, I mentioned that Beast From the East Sandwichery is preparing to open its second location, at 1702 S. Main, Salt Lake City. I got word from married co-owners Megan and Kris Davis that the grand opening was set to happen Saturday. The new Beast is connected to the bar Manny’s — but separated enough that all ages can go to the restaurant. (Beast’s first location is inside Cruzrs Saloon, at 3943 S. Highland Dr., Salt Lake City, and one must be 21 or older to go there.)
• Fogo de Chão, a Brazilian restaurant chain, is opening its first Utah location Monday, at 6223 S. State, Murray — across from Fashion Place Mall. The restaurant features an open churrasco grill, which allows a view of chefs butchering, hand-carving and grilling meat over an open flame. Fogo will donate 10% of its sales the first week to the Utah Food Bank.
• Chick-fil-A, the chicken-centered fast food chain, just opened at 3817 S. 2700 West, West Valley City. The new location is the 35th Chick-fil-A to open in Utah.
Closings:
• Sal y Limon, the Midvale taqueria that Tribune food reporter Kolbie Peterson featured in this space in May, has closed permanently, the owners announced on the restaurant’s Instagram account on Nov. 7. Owners Oscar Perez and Jesus Galvez (pictured above) also own Sol Agave, which has locations in Salt Lake City and American Fork, as well as five in California.
• The Peppered Vine, a Sandy business that offered gourmet meals packaged to reheat at home, closed on Nov. 1, owner-chef Renee Poe announced on the business’s website and Instagram account. “It’s a hard world out there,” Poe wrote. “Expectations are higher than ever, while costs of food, rent, utilities and labor keep climbing.”
Booze (and Drink!) News
• White Horse, one of the five Main Street businesses shut down after a fire in August, could be open as soon as mid-January. Jason LeCates, managing partner of the Bourbon Group (which owns White Horse),told The Tribune’s Jose Davila IVthat the space wasn’t hit as hard as the other businesses — London Belle, Whiskey Street, Los Tapatios and Eva — and “the structure is pretty much still intact.” Whiskey Street, also owned by Bourbon Group, likely won’t reopen until next fall, LeCates said. Eva should reopen in the next few months,according to Gastronomic SLC writer Stuart Melling.
Dish of the Week
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) A drink called the ÒJulia ReaganÓ sits on the counter at Sizzurp Soda Lab in Salt Lake City on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025.
My complaint with most “dirty” sodas is that they load sugar on top of sugar, until you feel like the entire Wonka factory is being poured down your throat. The drink I enjoyed at Sizzurp Soda Lab should have been like that, but happily it wasn’t.
The Julia Reagan is a refreshing blast of flavors in one sip. The spiciness of Dr Pepper and the tartness of raspberry puree and pomegranate juice blend wonderfully, and the dollop of coconut and cream give it a silky finish.