A long-delayed Salt Lake City tiki bar has received its liquor license in a place the bar’s owner sees as being downtown Salt Lake City’s next hot area.
Remora — a project co-owned by Sean Neves and Scott Gardner, who also own Bar Nohm and Water Witch in the Central Ninth district — was one of five businesses to receive full bar licenses Thursday from the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services’ commission.
Remora will be located at 228 S. Edison St., in the former location of Campos Coffee, across from Franklin Ave. Cocktails & Kitchen.
Neves said Thursday that his team started looking at the location in May and called it “an opportunity we didn’t want to pass up.”
Remora, Neves said, will have “three different distinct experiences.” The bar’s main room, called The Great Salt Lake Room, likely will open in February or March, he said.
Another space, the Primordial Room — which Neves called “an adult Disneyland” — should open in April or May, he said. Around the same time, Remora’s rooftop bar, which has a Pacific Islands theme, also will be ready, “just in time for patio season,” he said.
Edison Street has a lot of potential for nightlife, Neves said. He said he expects downtown foot traffic to increase when the doors to the Salt Lake Temple open in 2027, drawing tourists and locals alike who may not follow The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ guidance against consuming alcohol.
(Rachel Rydalch | The Salt Lake Tribune) A person walks by Edison Street on 200 South on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.
While construction continues at the Edison Street location, Neves said Remora is again teaming up with a local bar for a “Season’s Drinking” Christmas pop-up. This year’s is located at the Drift Lounge at the Woodbine Food Hall, 545 W. 700 South, Salt Lake City.
Remora’s opening on Edison comes a month after Neves, Gardner and their Acme Bar Co. were sued over their previous planned location for the tiki bar.
A&A Funk, a limited-liability company that owns the old Campfire Lounge building at 837 E. 2100 South in Salt Lake City’s Sugar House neighborhood, filed a lawsuit on Nov. 10. The company accused Acme Bar Co. of not paying rent on the property since April and alleges A&A Funk had spent $18,300 to get the space into a condition where it could be leased.
Neves declined to comment Thursday on the lawsuit, except to say his lawyers are working on filing a formal response to A&A Funk’s complaint.
In November, Neves said in a statement that what he had read of the lawsuit was “fundamentally untrue.” The old Campfire Lounge site, Neves said then, had undisclosed issues, including with utilities and safety, “that we found insurmountable as a small business.”
Other new bar licenses approved:
• Sushi by Bou, what appears to be the first location west of the Mississippi for an East Coast omakase chain, in the Peery Hotel, at 110 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City.
• Hide & Seek, a speakeasy within Bonnie & Clyde’s at 611 S. Main, Salt Lake City.
• Hobbled Dog Cidery, at 917 N. 700 West, Logan.
• The Parlor, at 1765 Sidewinder Drive, Park City.
After Thursday’s approvals, DABS has 27 full bar liquor licenses available.
Full-service restaurant licenses approved:
• Sacred Energy Coffee, 295 E. 4500 South, Murray.
• Life Time Fitness, 10996 S. Riverfront Parkway, South Jordan.
• Macaroni Grill, 10622 S. Riverfront Parkway, South Jordan.
• ChefDance Social, 427 Main St., Park City.
• Mint Indian Bistro, 730 E. Flamingo Road, St. George.
• Puerto Vallarta Mexican Grill & Cantina, 935 E. Fort Union Dr., Midvale.