Note to readers • This story has been updated.
The owners who brought Utah its first James Beard finalist bar are being sued by their Sugar House landlord, alleging they abandoned the former Campfire Lounge watering hole after attempts to revitalize the space and now owe tens of thousands of dollars.
A&A Funk, the limited-liability corporation that owns the property, filed the lawsuit Monday against Acme Bar Co., at 837 East 2100 South, as well as Diviner Hospitality, plus bar operators Sean Neves and Scott Gardner.
In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Neves said he had not been formally served the complaint, but he said what he had read in the public filing was “fundamentally untrue.”
Neves and Gardner also co-own Water Witch and Bar Nohm, in Salt Lake City’s Central Ninth neighborhood. Water Witch was named a James Beard finalist for Outstanding Bar this year, and last year, Bar Nohm’s chef, David Chon, was a named a semifinalist for Best Chef in the Mountain region.
The lawsuit alleges that Acme Bar’s owners haven’t paid rent since April and vacated the space in the middle of a “significant construction project to remodel nearly every aspect[.]”
According to the lawsuit, the bar owners entered into the lease on Oct. 7, 2022. The lease outlined a five-year agreement from Nov. 1, 2022, through Oct. 31, 2027.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Suckerfish, in Sugar House, is photographed on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023.
The landlord alleged in the lawsuit that it cost more than $18,300 to bring the space back to a “vanilla shell” that could be leased.
Neves and Gardner also allegedly owe more than $38,600 in back rent, and the lawsuit said they will continue to accrue more than $6,600 per month through the end of the lease as the landlord “has not found a replacement tenant.” The lawsuit alleges damages higher than $300,000.
An attorney representing A&A Funk did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement, Neves contradicted the lawsuit’s allegations.
He alleged the space had undisclosed issues, including its utility and safety, “that we found insurmountable as a small business,” adding that the bar operators’ attorneys will formally respond to the complaint in court.
The statement also strove to distance the allegations against Acme Bar from Bar Nohm or Water Witch. The complaint had “absolutely nothing to do with” those establishments — “both of which are open and happily serving the good people of Salt Lake City,” the statement read.
Neves and Gardner took over the former Campfire Lounge location in 2022. After renovations, it opened as Acme Bar, but it has been shuttered on and off amid more construction, including this year. Owners had planned to open a new concept, Remora, there this spring, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Campfire Lounge on 2100 South in Salt Lake, Thursday, May 21, 2020.
The site had also hosted popular Christmas pop-up bars in 2022 and 2023, firing off speciality cocktails — some with real flames — under glowing holiday lights with walls decorated in wrapping paper. And it hosted a tiki bar pop-up concept called “Suckerfish.”
Last year, though, they instead hosted holiday festivities downtown at The Ruin (which has since closed) as they remodeled the Sugar House space.
They had posted about the renovation for Remora in March 2024, saying, “Plumbing, HVAC, electrical, walls, yes even the venerable Acme Bar Co brand. Everything. Must. Go..”
In November 2024, they posted, “[W]e are in the throes of a major makeover, turning Acme Bar Co into REMORA! We hope to bring our Oasis in the Great Basin to you in late winter or early spring of 2025.”
As of Tuesday, Remora’s Instagram read, “Your oasis in the Great Basin. Coming soon....” It listed the Sugar House location’s address and directed potential patrons to Water Witch or Bar Nohm in the meantime. By Wednesday, the address had been removed.
The bar also reposted an image on its story Monday night that featured Sam Miller and Mikey Edwards, the two bartenders behind Acme Bar who would run Remora, sipping red drinks superimposed in front of a Christmas-themed backdrop, with a message that said: “Big news coming this week, stay tuned... . . 🎄🎁🎅🏿”
The two announced in August on the “Lets Go Eat and Drink” podcast that they were going “back” to the Sugar House location after keeping the brand alive through their residency at the old Ruin location, “but we’re not quite sure when it’s going to open yet.” They alluded to struggles with Salt Lake City permitting.
Correction • Nov. 12, 5:30 p.m.: This story has been updated to correct the name of Mikey Edwards.