Note to readers • This story was updated to reflect the City Council’s approval of the loan.

One year after a devastating fire along Salt Lake City’s Main Street, another of the affected businesses is rising from the proverbial ashes.

City leaders opted Tuesday to loan $1 million in public money toward a $3.8 million restoration of the site of Whiskey Street Cocktails & Dining. The popular spot was one of a handful of taverns and eateries destroyed or shuttered by smoke, heat or water damage in the block-sized blaze on Aug. 11, 2025.

The remake of the well-known bar and restaurant aims to restore the first floor of the century-old red-bricked building at 323 S. Main much to its original form, according to city records.

Drawing on additional insurance and investment funds, the reconstruction work — already well underway — is also slated to add a second floor to create a new rooftop bar and additional indoor areas for patrons.

Renderings submitted at City Hall as part of the loan request show an open and modernized ground-floor front with a sidewalk-adjacent patio area for the 12-year-old business, known throughout the Intermountain West for its wide and curated selection of spirits.

The City Council, in its role overseeing the city’s Community Reinvestment Agency, unanimously approved the low-interest loan through a disaster-relief program created last October in the fire’s aftermath.

“Main Street is a jewel and it needs to be preserved,” said council member Jennifer Napier-Pearce, whose District 4 spans the downtown area. “I know so many people have just been waiting for this section of our city to be revitalized.”

The property owner — listed as 323, LLC in county records — is authorized to use the $1 million loan for demolition, cleanup, design and reconstruction of the fire-damaged building. The city will charge zero interest for two years, then 2% interest for a third year, when repayment would be due.

Use of the city’s loan will be limited, though, to restoring the property to its pre-loss condition, with proposed additions to be funded from other sources.

The 2025 three-alarm fire, which started in the kitchen at London Belle Supper Club next-door to Whiskey Street, devastated London Belle, Los Tapatios, Whiskey Street and White Horse Spirits & Kitchen along that storied stretch of Main.

White Horse and Eva, a Mediterranean-style restaurant up the street which was also damaged, have since reopened.

The owner of the sites of London Belle and Los Tapatios has been granted $2 million in disaster-relief loans through the same program at the city’s CRA to aid in their restorations.

The property holder there, Chenzo LLC, which is owned by members of the Tran family, is pursuing a permit to construct a 75-foot-tall, 18,600-square-foot building at the location, which would make it four stories.

According to Whiskey Street’s loan request materials, its owner has seen a critical gap in funding after its insurance proceeds kicked in.

Without assistance, the bar and restaurant’s rebuild “could be significantly delayed or reduced in scope,” slowing its return to productive use along that segment of Main in the city’s Central Business District, according to city staff.

Of the $3.8 million in total redevelopment costs, insurance is paying $1.8 million and investment partners are footing $1 million, with the city’s disaster relief to cover the rest. Nearly $2.8 million of that total represents the cost of actually returning the building to its pre-fire status.

Work on restoring the building’s shell, meanwhile, could be complete by October, when it will undergo interior improvements.

Jason LeCates — managing partner of Bourbon Group, which owns both White Horse and Whiskey Street — asked officials with the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services’ liquor commission to allow the establishment to remain closed until Dec. 15.