A Utah-grown pizzeria with hundreds of beer options is venturing further south into Utah County — a sign the fast-growing county in stereotypically sober Happy Valley is changing.
Slackwater Pizzeria has been steadily trekking south in the 14 years since it opened in Ogden on the banks of the Ogden River, and now sells its nearly 300 different types of beers at three restaurants in Salt Lake County and a new downtown location in Ogden. But this is its first foray across the border into Utah County.
The move to Provo — culminating in the pub’s opening on May 5 at 4801 University Ave., in The Shops at Riverwoods — has been a few years in the making, Slackwater co-owner Blake Hirschi said.
One reason for the delay, he said, is because it’s hard to find property in one of the nation’s fastest growing counties.
But it also is a move that years ago few pub owners would have contemplated, if not for that incredible growth — given Utah County’s teetotaling reputation and Provo’s university students’ atypical abstinence from alcohol.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The gyro trip pizza is one of the menu offerings at Slackwater Pizzeria, which opened its fifth Utah location in Provo on May 5, 2025.
“I just think Utah has grown in the last few years. We’ve all felt it. We all see it. ... The secret is out on Utah,” Hirschi said. ”People know it’s pretty rad, so we’re getting a lot of different people coming in.”
Hirschi said a few distributors have raised an eyebrow at this new venture, but he thinks there’s plenty of people in Happy Valley who want a place to drink beer or wine, eat good food, watch a game, and bring their kids along too, if they like.
He added that city officials welcomed Slackwater and seemed interested in wanting to “shake that old stigma” that Provo wasn’t “the most friendly to these types of businesses.”
Cody Hill, Provo’s economic development director, acknowledged that Slackwater’s vast selection of craft beers is unique for the city, but it’s hard to know if a beer-focused business opening in town means Provo residents are changing — or if it’s the needs of visitors that are in flux.
Brigham Young University recently joined the Big 12, meaning fans of its opponents are visiting Provo in droves about a half dozen times every year. And they apparently want to drink alcohol — Hirschi said Provo’s two licensed bars, ABG’s and the Provo Marriott, “are packed on game day.”
He said the city knows there are some residents who don’t mind the increases in places to imbibe, who think it’s smart to capitalize on the tax revenue leaving the city to places that welcome those businesses. But he also knows there are residents who do mind, and the city is trying to listen to both groups.
Regardless, Hill said it will be customers and the developers, not the city, who decides whether businesses succeed and stay.
“So far, we’ve been open for a week, and a lot of people are out here drinking beers and having a good time and enjoying this awesome view,” Hirschi said, taking a moment to text a photo showing Mount Timpanogos from Slackwater’s patio.
(Slackwater Pizzeria) The view from the patio at the new Slackwater location in Provo.
He said he also hopes this location, near the mouth of Provo Canyon, will attract out-of-town anglers, hikers and other recreation enthusiasts seeking a pit stop on their way home.
The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services signed off on the eatery’s limited-service license for beer and wine during its March 27 meeting.
Slackwater isn’t the first beer-focused eatery to enter Utah County’s limited, but growing, beer scene. Strap Tank Brewery became the first brewery in Utah County in a century when it opened in Springville in 2016. It then expanded to Lehi in 2019 (and opened a location in St. George this year).
Slackwater’s Provo location operates under the same hours as all the other: From 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays; and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays.
And they’re bringing all of their nearly 300 beer options with them.
“We didn’t water it down or anything,” Hirschi said. “No pun intended.”
