Three businesses received liquor licenses on Thursday, including a much-anticipated bar opening on 900 South in Salt Lake City.
The monthly meeting of the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services’ (DABS) liquor commission was the first to include new commissioner Chris Conabee, who was appointed by Gov. Spencer Cox and was confirmed by the Utah Senate last week.
At the end of Thursday’s meeting, commissioner Tara Thue said, “one thing you should know about commissioner Conabee is he is very dedicated to public service. ... I’m really excited to be serving on the commission with him.”
The Utah Senate last week also confirmed the agency’s new executive director, Ericka Evans, whom Cox appointed in June. Evans replaces former executive director Tiffany Clason, who departed in June to work in the private sector.
Both Evans and commission chair Steve Handy remarked on the fire that destroyed three bars and a restaurant in downtown Salt Lake City earlier this month.
Evans said the DABS’ compliance specialist had been working directly with the licensees who were affected by the fire. “We wish them all the best in rebuilding, and we’re here as a resource,” Evans said.
Handy said commissioners “wanted to publicly acknowledge and pay attention to the devastation of this awful, awful thing for these businesses. So we wish them well in their recovery and hope they can recover.”
The only bar that received a liquor license Thursday — and the only bar on the meeting agenda — was Neighbors Bar, which is being built at 416 E. 900 South in the Milk Block development.
According to a staff report submitted to the Salt Lake City Planning Commission as part of the bar owners’ application for conditional use, Neighbors Bar will be located in the building east of the structure that will house the Wasatch Food Co-op. The bar’s Instagram account says it is opening in the fall.
Neighbors Bar is owned by Danielle Petek, who grew up in Taipei, and Chase Worthen, who also owns The Pearl bar in the Central Ninth neighborhood, the documents state.
The bar will feature a varied menu of beverages that includes draft beer, draft cider, draft wine, kombucha, nitro coffee, mocktails and cocktails, as well as a Vietnamese-inspired food menu, according to the documents.
The Salt Lake Tribune reached out to the owners of Neighbors Bar on Instagram, but didn’t receive a reply.
A new liquor store will be opening in early October, Evans said, at 1115 W. 12 St. in Marriott-Slaterville, in the Ogden area.
DABS spokesperson Michelle Schmidt said via email that the new store will feature refrigeration units, as well as a section called Proudly Utah that will spotlight made-in-Utah products.
During the meeting’s financial update, DABS financial director Todd Darrington said that in fiscal year 2025, Utahns had raised $1.5 million for the Pamela Atkinson Homeless Account. Among the ways people can donate to the account is by “rounding up” their purchases in Utah liquor stores.
The following business received restaurant limited services licenses, which allows them to serve beer and wine:
• Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee and Social, 7188 W. Hidden Hills Way, West Jordan (in Daybreak).
• Tabeyo Sushi, 459 E. 1000 North, Spanish Fork.
• Mexi-Tacos, 4936 W. 3500 South, Suite F, West Valley City.
• La Vaca Steak House, 1145 N. 500 West, Provo.
Two restaurants received licenses to serve beer only:
• Sinaloa Town, 1438 E. Main St., Lehi.
• El Gallo Giro, 346 N. University Ave., Provo.
And two restaurants received full liquor licenses:
• Kin Sen Thai, 3011 E. 3300 South, Millcreek.
• Fogo De Chao, 6223 S. State St., Murray.
After Thursdays meeting, there are 27 bar licenses available and 77 full-service restaurant licenses available, with one additional full-service restaurant license coming online in September due to population increases.
The next meeting of the DABS’ liquor commission will be Sept. 25.