Hot on the heels of our last major new restaurant roundup – here’s another slew of new businesses for your dining delectation. If you’ve missed the most recent recaps, you can also catch up on our August, June and March collections; combined they have more than 100+ new restaurant openings across the valley this year so far.
Featured image courtesy of Flanker Kitchen + Sporting Club, Jacklin Slack Photography.
Open now
Dirty Bird
The second location of this fried chicken shop is now open in Ogden; you might recall the original opened back in early 2020 in Provo’s The Hut food hall . The newly minted Weber County debut also comes alongside news of Wags Capital acquiring a majority ownership in this McHenry Group concept – with a reported $20 million investment set to pour into the brand for continued expansion.
Fried chicken is part of a holy trinity of trendy concepts now. An ever increasing number of combatants are falling over themselves to fire a salvo in the chicken sandwich war. On local streets The Chicken Shack recently deployed their Vegas based brand here in SLC, while San Diego outfit Crack Shack will begin operations over in the 9th and 9th area soon as well.
Speaking of chicken…
350 Park Blvd, Ogden, UT 84401
dirtybirdchxx.com
Pretty Bird
“Bawk appetit” – the downtown location of Viet Pham’s Nashville fried chicken endeavor is now back in business after two month remodeling hiatus. With its return the store has been re-imagined as a walk up window operation. The menu has also been retooled to reflect the brand’s newer flagship location over in Sugar House. A third and fourth location are anticipated soon in Park City and Idaho respectively.
146 Regent St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
prettybirdchicken.com
Coco Wok
Ahhh Thai food. You kids probably won’t remember, but once upon a time, Thai food was itself the fried chicken of its day; no small amount of existential angst was writ and wrote, “do we really need more Thai food!”. These days, it’s a refreshing change of pace amidst the sea of poke shops and healthy bowl eateries opening up – those are the other two hot concepts right now with chickum.
Anyway, State Street is now home to this new Thai spot which was previously Thai Siam. I haven’t been able to discern if this is a rebrand or a whole new business – let me know in the comments below if you have more intel!
1435 S State Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84115
(801) 474-3322
cocowokslc.com
Wimpy And Fritz
Back to Ogden again and today sees the opening of WAF’s all new bricks and mortar location. The new spot is right next door to Ogden River Brewing who’ve helped to christen the opening by supplying the restaurant with their very own hibiscus saison. The team reckon the Hibiscus Haole brew pairs perfectly with the whole menu of tacos, tortas and nachos.
352 Park Blvd, Ogden, UT 84401
facebook.com/wimpyandfritz
Tapas Ohana BBQ
It appears I missed the opening of this Lindon based Hawaiian eatery back in the Summer – ever the completionist – here it is now. The restaurant aims to, “bring the most authentic Hawaiian style food experience that we can to the UTAH VALLEY!! From the moment you enter the restaurant we want you to be able to feel the ALOHA SPIRIT and smell the aroma of the Hawaiian Islands!” The menu includes saimin, poke, loco moco and more.
133 South State, Lindon, UT 84042
(801) 701-0313
hapasohanabbq.com
The MAD Menehune’s
This all new food truck can be found winding their way through SLCs streets as I write. The menu offers a “taste of the pacific with a twist of aloha”, which means an eclectic mix of dishes taking in Korean chicken wings, Chinese char siu noodle bowls and garlic shrimp with mac salad.
Kabob Bros
I can’t wait to make a trip to Midvale and run the rule over this new Pakistani restaurant/. For now I’ll have to drool over the menu and pictures provided here by the ever fab saltplatecity.com team. The unique collection of dishes are built around kabobs, respun in a variety of ways including the intriguing looking kabob’za – a pizza unlike any you’ve tried by the looks of things.
June’s Southern Table
Now operating Monday through Friday during lunch hours is this new ghost kitchen operation out of the Com Com Kitchen facility. Chef Christine King puts out a menu that’s available direct and exclusively to your door via Grubhub. Southern dishes (which are in short supply amongst all the chicken and poke around these parts) include gumbo, jambalaya, etoufee, and a variety of po’boys .
Panera Bread
Go hit up the Delta website and buy yourself a plane ticket right now. Where to you ask? Pfft it doesn’t matter, that’s not the point. Instead of traveling far and wide and enjoying the wonders of the world, you can experience Utah’s very first Panera Bread, located in the heart of SLC International. Hyperbole? Maybe. But I wouldn’t put it past some chain-crazed fanatics to have done this. I mean what sane and rational human waits in a drive thru lane with 150 other cars…
Cupbop
West Valley has an all new Korean fast casual, courtesy of this ever bourgeoning local empire.
2662 S 5600 W, West Valley, UT 84120
cupbop.com
Presto Tea
Presto is a new bubble tea shop out of California, now open in Midvale.
7710 Union Park Ave, Midvale, UT 84047
801) 207-4719
presoteaamerica.com
Coming soon
Tavernacle 2.0
Well that didn’t take long. Following on from the recent loss of their two decade home to downtown development, this dueling piano bar confirmed their impending return. The Facebook post from the business confirms the new location too, “The Tavernacle 2.0 is under way! We are beyond excited to announce that we received the keys today for the new space and we can’t wait to get back together with all of our friends. We will be reopening on the ground level of the Broadway Media building in downtown Salt Lake City sometime in the early fall!”
Les BBQ
Former Benji’s BBQ owner B.M Stalling teased a new BBQ concept this week over on his social media profiles, namely “Lesbbqsandwiches” which seems to be a link up with lesbbq.com. No concrete details on timing, location or menu yet, but I’ll keep you posted.
Pizza Twist
Headed to the 7-21 plaza in Sugar House is Pizza Twist. Here’s a snap of the exterior you might have spied while whizzing along 7th.
Flanker Kitchen + Sporting Club
The replacement landing in the sprawling location of the former Punch Bowl should be here any day now. The Vegas based hospitality group behind the new concept recently completed a job fair, and should be before the DABC at this months meeting for the appropriate licensing.
Expect a formal opening date to be announced thereafter, I’d say October looks reasonable. With that in mind, here’s some info of what to expect on the food side. The group provided the following press release this week confirming Jeannie Glass as exec chef, who counts stints at Vegas spots like Robuchon, Sage and Bardot Brasserie on her resume.
Press release as follows:
With anticipation building ahead of its October opening in downtown Salt Lake City’s The Gateway cultural district, Flanker Kitchen + Sporting Club — a dining, drinking, and entertainment destination conceived by Carver Road Hospitality — is giving the world its first glimpse at a menu of elevated American fare developed by renowned culinary director Jeannie Glass. Rising to meet the challenge in a city that’s fast-becoming a must-taste destination for foodies, Glass has conceived a selection of dishes for all occasions and palettes, to be served at Flanker’s centerpiece Restaurant, as well as its Sporting Club and The Parlor cocktail lounge.
Among the Restaurant’s mouth-watering offerings for meat lovers: an 8 oz. prime Filet of Beef and 16 oz. prime New York Strip, both with mashed potatoes and chimichurri; and the Backyard Burger, a griddled 8 oz. Black Angus patty with American cheese, served on a brioche bun and topped with pickles, sweet onions, and comeback sauce; and a seared and chilled rare filet of Beef Tataki with soy-ginger sauce. For seafood fans, Flanker will serve a skillet of Lobster Mac ‘N Cheese featuring four cheeses, panko, and cavatappi pasta surrounding a lobster tail; a pan-seared Crab Cake Sandwich on a brioche bun with old bay remoulade and butter lettuce; a Center Cut Salmon Filet with sweet chili glaze and sesame broccolini; Popcorn Rock Shrimp, served salt and pepper style with shishitos and cilantro aioli; and Lobster Fritters with fresh corn and Old Bay remoulade. The restaurant will also feature a selection of salads and bowls, as well as handheld dishes, including Hot Fried Chicken with maple bacon buffalo sauce and Brisket Tacos served on flour tortillas.
While the dining menu delights during the week, Flanker Kitchen + Sporting Club will become a brunch lover’s destination every Saturday and Sunday in The Restaurant and The Sporting Club. Saturday’s brunch will feature the week’s biggest games in a fan-friendly atmosphere while the Sunday Champagne Brunch will be a more lively party atmosphere complete with a DJ spinning all day in The Sporting Club and games playing on its 400-square-feet of LED screens.
For the brunch menu, Glass incorporates the best of traditional breakfast dishes, cheat day diversions, shareable plates, and desirable delicacies. Brunch offerings include: Ricotta Pancakes with maple syrup, blueberry compote, and whipped butter; French Toast served bread pudding style with rum raisins and vanilla custard; classic Steak and Eggs with hash browns and toast; Avocado Toast topped with arugula pesto and two poached eggs; Smoked Chicken Wings with barbecue sauce; and a Bagel Board of “everything” bagels and hot-smoked salmon, cream cheese, tomato, cucumber, capers, and onion toppings; as well as a selection of egg benedicts.
Glass was enlisted to develop the menu for Flanker Kitchen + Sporting Club following her successful tenure as Executive Culinary Director of Chicago-based restaurant group Hogsalt. She is well known for her contributions to Las Vegas’ dining scene as Executive Chef of Bavette’s Steakhouse and Bar at Park MGM, Estiatorio Milos at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, and the Bardot Brasserie, Five50 Pizza Bar, and Sage restaurants at ARIA; and Glass has also served as a Master Cook under “Chef of the Century” Joël Robuchon.
“A multi-concept destination demands a multi-tiered approach to the menu, and from the beginning we wanted Flanker Kitchen + Sporting Club to appeal to a range of guests, from those craving classic comfort food to those with adventurous tastes,” Glass explains. “It’s a delight to design a menu from the ground up with dishes that can be shared and enjoyed whether you are just stopping by for dinner with friends or settling in for a long evening of fun and games. I’m confident that our thoughtful and learned approach to this menu will make Flanker a must-taste experience among the city’s wonderfully diverse collection of restaurants.”
Located on the second floor above Olympic Legacy Plaza and across from Vivint Arena, the 17,500-square-foot Flanker Kitchen + Sporting Club is a dining, drinking, and entertainment complex featuring the Restaurant, three uniquely-designed bars, The Sporting Club for gameday viewing parties and nighttime socializing, private karaoke and golf simulator rooms, and The Parlor cocktail lounge.
The Restaurant will be open Monday through Friday nights beginning at 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays beginning at 11 a.m.
In other news
- Businesses poaching staff amidst hiring crunch
- The high rises are coming (that means more restaurant spaces)
- Jerry Pacheco appointed executive chef at Bambara
- Open spaces a huge success say bars and restaurants
- Learning lessons at the Market Street Broiler
Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC. I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.
I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV. Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.
Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.
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