This article is excerpted from the Utah Eats newsletter. To get the full newsletter every Wednesday, subscribe at sltrib.com/utah-eats.

Hello, Eaters! Epic Brewing Company has been a part of the Utah beer scene since 2010, when it opened as the state’s first brewery since Prohibition to exclusively brew high-point beer.

If you’ve been an Epic fan since the beginning, you’re probably familiar with the brewery’s small tasting room by the front door. If you’ve ever wished you could sit at Epic and sip a full-size beer, or get Epic beer on draft, you’re in luck: Epic just updated its brewery at 825 S. State St. in Salt Lake City, with an entirely new bar area and patio that opened a few weeks ago.

I recently had a nice chat with Epic Brewing jack-of-all-trades Ryan Kluh, who told me about what’s new.

The origin story: The new bar and patio were inspired by the Epic owners’ newfound focus on the Salt Lake City brewery after they closed their Denver location at the end of 2022, Kluh said. Realizing Epic has “never had a great bar here,” he said, Kluh oversaw the transformation of part of Epic’s brewing area and wraparound driveway into a bar and outdoor patio, a project that took more than a year of back-and-forth with the city before it could be approved.

The vibe: Kluh said he went for a “lodge-y” feel for the bar and patio, since he’s an avid skier and lover of Utah’s mountains. In the bar, which you reach by following a walkway through the brewing area, you’ll see lots of rustic reclaimed wood (including some from an old shed behind Epic) and a winter landscape painting that used to hang in The Cliff Lodge at Snowbird.

On the patio, a mural of Little Cottonwood Canyon by artist Josh Scheuerman continues the mountain theme. There are plenty of tables to set your beer on (the taller ones came from The Garage on Beck, RIP), benches and lots of glowy string lights. On Fridays, there’s live music on the patio, and you can access food trucks through a gate. Epic is working on the paperwork to allow dogs on the patio, FYI.

The menu: At Epic, “the focus is the beer,” Kluh said, and there are 40 to 50 different kinds you can order, but the brewery also just added liquor, wine, simple cocktails and cider to the menu.

Keep in mind, you order different items depending on whether you’re in the front tasting room or the back bar. In the front, you order tasters and paninis, which Epic stopped making a few years ago and just brought back. In the back bar, you order liquor, wine, draft beer and full-strength beers. All of Epic’s beers are available to taste in the front except for the draft beers, which you can get only in the back. I stopped by for lunch; read about my order in “Sandwich & Beer of the Week.”

The hours: Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Live deliciously,

Kolbie

Food News

Openings:

• JJ Coffee Co., a Utah coffee shop that started in Orem, is now open at 330 E. 400 South in the mixed-use development called The Exchange, just east of the Salt Lake City Library’s main branch, according to a news release. JJ Coffee Co. is known for its syrups, in flavors like vanilla and banana bread, that it ships all over the country. Coming to The Exchange later this year is Tepanyaki Kitchen, another local business; at that restaurant, diners will find sushi, udon, tempura, flame-grilled teppanyaki and more, the release said.

• Doner & Company, which sells European street food, is now open at 915 S. Washington St. in Salt Lake City’s Central Ninth neighborhood. Their signature menu item is the German doner kebab, which is a wrap made by slicing meats roasted on a vertical rotisserie into pita bread, and then adding vegetables and sauces.

• Salt & Straw, a national ice cream chain that has locations in casinos and Disney theme parks, is coming to Mountain View Village in Riverton, according to an email from a publicist for the company. The exact address will be 4489 W. Partridge Hill Lane, Suite S-120. Salt & Straw is known for its unusual flavor combinations, like Chocolate Malted Potato Chip Cupcake. In April, I reported that Salt & Straw is also coming to Trolley Square.

• In more ice cream news (there’s been a lot lately!), Rockwell Ice Cream Co. is now open again in Daybreak at 5446 Center Field Drive in South Jordan, right by The Ballpark at America First Square, according to an Instagram post. Rockwell is known for its super-rich ice cream, which is made fresh with more butterfat than typical ice cream, according to the company’s website. Rockwell also has locations in downtown Provo, City Creek and the Salt Lake City International Airport. My favorite flavor is the Rockwell Road, made with a dark chocolate base with homemade almond brittle and marshmallow cream.

• In more Daybreak news, it looks like Naraya, a new Thai restaurant from the folks behind Sawadee, is going to be opening at 5414 Center Field Drive in South Jordan sometime in July, according to an Instagram post.

Closings:

• Xiao Bao Bao, a Salt Lake City restaurant that specializes in steamed Chinese buns called bao, is closing both of its locations: the Milk Block location (416 E. 900 South) at the end of May, and the downtown location (216 E. 500 South) at the end of June, according to an Instagram post. “The numbers just never quite worked out,” the owners of Xiao Bao Bao wrote in their announcement, posted last week.

• Has a restaurant opened or closed in your neighborhood? Let us know at food@sltrib.com.

Sandwich & Beer of the Week

When I visited Epic Brewing last week, I ordered a Talk Turkey to Me panini ($12) with a glass of the new Brainless Honeycomb ($8), which is a 12.5% Belgian ale brewed with Utah honey and aged in chardonnay casks.

The panini was good for what it was, an accompaniment to the real star of the show, which was the beer. But it had a nice balance of flavors, with slightly sweet turkey playing well with the pesto, tangy tomato and smoky bacon.

That beer though! My favorite drink of all time is local mead, and the Brainless Honeycomb felt and tasted a bit like that. It was easy to drink, with a lovely sweetness, lots of honey flavor, and more structure than what I feel like an ale usually has. This might be my summer 2026 beer.