Three bars — one in St. George and two in Heber City — and eight restaurants have received their liquor licenses, as one liquor commissioner warned that the state may see another license shortage by next summer.
The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services’ commission, meeting Thursday, approved license applications for three bars. They are:
• Black Rock Mountain Resort, 900 W. Peace Tree Trail, Heber City.
• The Cave Saloon, 650 W. 100 South, Heber City.
• Peppers Cantina, 144 W. Brigham Rd., St. George.
The commission also approved full-service restaurant liquor licenses to eight businesses:
• Christopher’s Prime and Sonoma Wine Bar, 110 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City.
• Sol Agave, 660 S. Main, Salt Lake City.
• Applebee’s, 980 W. State St., Hurricane.
• El Cappuccino, 1065 Utah Ave., Hildale.
• Harvest Midway, 195 W. Main St., Midway.
• Galeano’s, 494 S. Main, Heber City.
• Wolfe’s Hotel Moab, 1089 N. Main St., Moab.
• Steiny’s Family Sports Grill, 119 600 West, South Ogden.
After Thursday’s actions, the liquor commission has 31 bar licenses available, based on the state’s population-based quota, said commissioner Tara Thue. Three more will be available by the end of June, she said, because of projected increases in Utah’s population.
After scarcity concerns two years ago, the Utah Legislature approved a reduction in the number of residents needed to create additional licenses — phased in over seven years. The next adjustment in the quota is set for July 2026, when a new block of licenses will be made available.
“We’re in a good place” with 31 bar licenses now available, and three more by June, Thue said. However, she said, the commission has been awarding bar licenses at an average rate of 2.8 per month — and that could mean a scarcity by next summer, she said.
“We will be feeling the pinch,” Thue said.
In past years, the liquor commission handled such a shortage by using its discretion in awarding licenses — and only giving them to businesses that were already open or about to open soon. Bars that weren’t set to open for a couple months would have to wait until a license was available, a situation that left emerging bars stuck in limbo.
The Legislature took that discretion away from the liquor commission, Thue said. Now, she said, a new resort or investment property could be out of luck if it applied for a license behind a business that wouldn’t open for months.
“We would still have to favor whoever applies first, whenever they are going to open,” she said.