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Restaurant openings latest news

Sunday's Best - fried chcken sandwich, monkey bread

It’s been barely two weeks since the last mega-recap of the dining scene notable additions, but even in that small time, more than two dozen new businesses have come across my radar. Here’s the latest to keep an eye on – open now and coming soon.

An interesting item to note is how many of these are expansions of existing businesses. As Covid-stressed retail space is no doubt at an all time high, savvy-operators with a strong business model probably see this as the perfect moment to double down.

Sundays Best

Sunday's Best - dining room
Sunday’s Best – dining room

The latest collaboration between chef Tyler Stokes and restaurateur Michael McHenry is now open in Sandy. The duo last worked together on downtown SLC’s Ginger Street and have teamed up again to deliver this all day brunch spot at 102nd South; this former Southerly outpost of Mazza retains some of the previous occupants design motifs with a hefty dash of modernist-cafe chic dolloped on top.

The menu affords a diverse range of brunch items, ranging from the traditional to the trendy; the picture above is their fried chicken sandwich and sticky-sweet monkey bread. Open till 4 p.m. every day the restaurant has a slew of fizz options ranging right upto a $600 Dom.

10672 State St, Sandy, UT 84070
(801) 441-3331

brunchmehard.com

Bunz Gourmet Burger

Located in the Orem Mall this new burger shop. The menu is relatively restrained with a quartet of burger making yp the menu core – but hey – one of them is a pastrami burger ($9.99) so it’s all good.

575 E University Pkwy Suite M-205, Orem, UT 84097
(801) 691-0720
bunzgourmetburger.com

Kahve Cafe

A menu of sweet meets savory at this now open Turkish coffee spot. If dishes like gozleme, borek and baklava sound like your cup of tea – well um – head here and get a cup of tea. Or Turkish coffee.

57 600 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84102
(801) 674-7047
kahvecafeslc.com

Yummy’s Korean BBQ

Currently in a soft opening mode, this quick casual Korean-Japanese restaurant. The new West Valley City location looks to build on the success of the Orem original with dishes such as kalbi short ribs, teriyaki chicken and katsu.

2946 W 4700 S, West Valley City, UT 84129
(801) 769-6614

Mr Charlie’s Chicken Fingers

Chicken and waffles (Mr Charlies Chicken Fingers)
Chicken and waffles (Mr Charlies Chicken Fingers)

The expansion of Mr Charlie’s Chicken Fingers is now complete with the recent opening of their Draper location (and new dish as featured above). You might recall Penny Ann’s Cafe recently became a 50% owner in the chicken finger based business. With the recent arrival of Raising Cane’s in Utah, and the ensuing comedic lines of cars, perhaps expect to see more of these pop up; not least also the fact Penny Ann’s are exploring franchising too.

592 E 12300 S, Draper, UT 84020

Scion

Scion is a new cider-focused bar coming to the Central 9th neighborhood – just South of Laziz. Reps from the business contacted me this month to share a little more info on what to expect:

We will have 20+ taps of cider, plus a significant selection of craft cider in cans & bottles imported from all over the US, the UK & elsewhere as we ramp up. We’ll also serve cider focused cocktails & a smaller selection of non-cider beverages, along with snacks for pairing. We will also be doing our own in-house production of small batch cider as well.”

916 Jefferson St, Salt Lake City, UT 84115

Cafe Anh Hong

Cafe Anh Hong – beancurd with salted fish and fried rice

This simple post was probably the brightest food news I heard all month. The much missed Cantonese-experts of Cafe Anh Hong are officially headed back to the SL valley. The recent announcement came out of the blue after after nearly five months of radio silence; you might recall lease issues caused Cafe Anh Hong to depart state street at the start of this year. The team will be back in action at Sandy’s former Pei Pei House spot – and with them – some of the bets dim sum in Utah.

8650 S 1300 E, Sandy, UT 84094

Nona Bistro

Follow along here on IG for more info updates on the expansion of 9th and 9th’s Pizza Nono. Nono meet Nona. All we know for sure so far is the brief description over on the social media page which states, “346 east 900 south. a (mostly) outdoor sister restaurant.”

Slackwater Pizza

Slackwater coming to Sandy (Slackwater)
Slackwater

SLC will be the next destination for the famed Ogden based pizza and pub, which most recently made Sandy home as well. Here’s the press release on the impending arrival:

Pizza lovers rejoice! INDUSTRY SLC will soon be home to Slackwater Pizza’s mouth-watering artisan pizzas slated to open in late 2021. With locations in Ogden and Sandy, Slackwater Pizza has grown into a staple for foodies and craft beer connoisseurs in the Beehive State.
Selecting INDUSTRY for its third location was an easy choice for the Slackwater team who will look to employ 80+ employees from the area. The new space includes patio seating, an open air atmosphere, expansive garage doors for natural light, and will seat 250 people comfortably. From brunch to beer to buffalo wings, Slackwater will continue to serve its popular and curated menu in this new spot.

“We believe in having unique spaces that feed off of the areas they are in,” said Blake Hirschi of Slackwater Pizza. “We hope that everyone can feel comfortable and welcomed by our space while enjoying our same great menu. We are excited and grateful for the opportunity to operate out of INDUSTRY with all the cool spaces and growth they have planned for the area.”
The Slackwater team signed on to the INDUSTRY SLC location during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, standing by their strong insight of the resurgence of dine-in-eating soon on the horizon and confidence in the Granary District location. 


“We are thrilled to add Slackwater to the INDUSTRY SLC family and excited to have executed this lease in the height of the pandemic. Slackwater is a strong local tenant and is embracing the revitalization of the Granary District neighborhood,” said Jason Winkler, co-founder of INDUSTRY. 
Slackwater’s menu for their INDUSTRY location will be in a similar fashion to their existing locations with staple favorites, a rotating special menu, and an expansive beer and drink menu. 

650 500 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84104

Coffee & Tonic

Several readers contacted me about this one. As yet there are no concrete details beyond the name and the location. The seemingly beverage focused C&T is opening up in the old Einstein’s Bagels location close to the U. I’ve not seen a related filing at the DABC (or city licensing for that matter) for this one just yet, so would wager on a coffee shop/restaurant focus. More info when I hear it.

Copper Creek Pub and Grub

I’d previously reported on the closure of this West Valley pub spot, but it seems like the business might be about to be taken over by new owners. If you can read this, you can read more. If you can’t – join our Facebook discussion group 😉

Trolley Wing Company

Taylorsville is the next port of call for the ever expanding TWC. Hopefully the current chicken wing shortage (yes there is one – wings are the new lumber) doesn’t affect the menu. See more info here.

Garage Grill

Herriman will be the next stop for this expanding restaurant. Posting to Facebook the brand writes, “WE’RE BREAKING GROUND!!! Coming this Fall 2021 to 12600 S Mtn View Corridor in Herriman, we’ll be opening up a second Garage Grill location! More details to come as we continue to make progress, but we couldn’t be more excited!”

Prodigy Brewing Co. 

The Herald Journal writes this piece on the upcoming arrival of this new brewpub for downtown Logan. The brewpub will be part of a larger renovation of the 120+ year old space at 25 W. Center St. will also feature an “international food court with seven separate open kitchens and food providers. Space will also be available in the renovated and expanded basement for what developer Tony Johnson envisions as a “speakeasy” style tavern, though no tenant has committed to move there.”

Jurassic Street Tacos

Pleasant Grove will be the next location for this food truck borne taco business. The brand reckons being open in PG before the end of June.

Itto Sushi

A fourth location is on the cards for this growing group, currently TBA. Taking a leaf out of the playbook of sister business Cup Bop – the brand took to Facebook to announce and discuss – link. The eventual opening will join existing locations in SLC, Midvale and Orem.



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