Kolbie PetersonAn owner of one of the downtown Salt Lake City bars destroyed by last summer’s devastating fire on Main Street told Utah liquor commissioners that it likely will be toward the end of the year before the business reopens.
Jason LeCates, managing partner of The Bourbon Group, gave an update during Thursday’s meeting of the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services’ (DABS) liquor commission, and requested that the board allow Whiskey Street to remain closed until Dec. 15.
Whiskey Street — which The Bourbon Group owns along with White Horse and Franklin Ave. — has been closed since the fire on Aug. 12 left it an empty brick shell. White Horse also closed due to the fire, but it reopened in January.
LeCates told commissioners the century-old building was “basically destroyed,” and the process of rebuilding and getting it back open has been “really slow.”
He said his team was advised not to enter the building and potentially disturb evidence for the first couple of months. They now are able to enter the burned-out bar, but LeCates said they have run into issues as they work to stabilize the old brick walls, which were damaged in the fire.
“Even though it’s standing, it’s not as strong as it should be,” he said.
In the past week, LeCates said workers have been doing seismic upgrades on the building, in order to keep it from collapsing.
He said they plan to build an “iron skeleton” that will surround the building and support it.
“There’s a lot of people that wanted us to just tear the building down for cost reasons and start over,” LeCates said. “If we would have done that, we’d probably be a lot further along than we are now.”
“Our goal has been to save the building, which is going to happen,” he continued.
LeCates said he hopes Whiskey Street will be open by October, but December is looking more likely. He said his team plans to build a rooftop patio for the bar.
“It’s a monumental effort you’re having to put in there,” said commissioner Jacquelyn Orton, “and I really appreciate your willingness to try to save the building.”
The commission unanimously approved an extended closure for Whiskey Street, which will allow it to stay closed but keep its liquor license.
Liquor licenses
Two bars and about 20 other businesses received some form of a liquor license on Thursday.
The bars that received licenses are The Break Sports Bar and Grill, at 5418 S. 1900 West in Taylorsville, in the former Trolley Wing Co. building; and Desert Edge Brewery at 273 Trolley Square in Salt Lake City.
DABS spokesperson Michelle Schmitt said Desert Edge currently has a restaurant full-service license and applied for a bar license at the same location. Now that the new license has been approved, Desert Edge will be a “dual-licensed premises,” with the bar license covering one side and the restaurant full-service license covering the other side.
Two restaurants received licenses to serve only beer:
• Granny’s Drive In, 511 S. Main St., Heber City.
• La Resaca, 3952 W. 3500 South, West Valley City.
The following businesses received restaurant limited-service licenses, which allows them to serve beer and wine:
• Tha Siam Bistro, 7711 S. 700 E., Midvale.
• La Ferrovia Italian Ristorante, 234 25th St., Ogden.
• Spark by Hilton SLC Airport, 230 Admiral Byrd Road, Salt Lake City.
The following restaurants received full-service liquor licenses:
• Rock Reef Cafe, 150 E. Main St., Torrey.
• Wasatch Roasting Company-Riverwalk, 1895 Washington Blvd., Ogden.
• Outback Steakhouse and Bonefish Grill, 7770 S. 1300 East, Sandy.
• Nacho House, 7191 S. Plaza Center Drive, West Jordan.
• Puente Viejo Mexican Steak House, 825 25th St., Ogden.
• Crush Golf and Grill, 1375 S. 1750 East, Clearfield.
• Toscano, 12547 S. Herriman Auto Row, Herriman.
• Bout Time Pub and Grub, 475 W. 14600 South, Bluffdale
• Fancy Burger, 1132 S. State St., Orem
• Smokin’ Joe’s BBQ, 1646 W. 200 South, Parowan
• Bawarchi, 689 S. Jordan Parkway, South Jordan
• The Outlaw Saloon, 138 N. Main St., Hatch
After Thursday’s meeting, there are 25 bar licenses available and 55 full-service restaurant licenses available.
The next meeting of the DABS’ liquor commission will be May 28.
Kolbie Peterson reports on food, drink and small business for The Salt Lake Tribune and also writes the Utah Eats newsletter. She previously covered breaking news, crime and public safety as part of The Tribune's enterprise team. She received her bachelor's degree at Westminster University, back when it was Westminster College. She has five cats.