Local Utah restaurant quits amid continuing staffing issues

Sad news just in hot off the press, Fenice Mediterranean Bistro in downtown SLC is no more. Local food blogger SLC Eats spied the following information recently posted to the doors of the Mediterranean styled restaurant. The notice reads:

“8/21/2022 Dear Fenice Patrons and Supporters. Due to the many challenges facing small businesses in the current economy, we have made the difficult decision to cease operations.

There are many factors involved in our decision, and while our business levels were not consistent, we didn’t adequately anticipate is how difficult it is to staff the restaurant in the
current economy. We simply don’t have enough help to operate successfully.

We will take some time to re-assess the business to determine if it is feasible to continue operations at a later date. We thank you for the support you have given us and wish you
all the best. Please come visit us at our Park City restaurant, the Silver Star Café. Thank you, The owners and staff”

The restaurant first opened their doors in late 2021, our own Christy Gilbert previewed the opening and their initial menu in this story. Other local publications and writers were equally effusive in their praise for business; the second from owner operators Jeff and Lisa Ward who also run the very popular Silver Star Cafe in Summit County.

Fenice is the second business to falter at the location in recent years. The Regent Street location, just a few steps down from Viet Pham’s Pretty Bird, was formerly home to Fireside On Regent which closed in 2019.

Staffing and inflationary pressures are of course nothing new for Utah. I wrote about the constellation of factors causing entreprenuraila distress last year, check out this award winning, piece, why your favorite restaurant might be closing, for a deeper dive into the world of staffing, wages, inflationary pressure and more.

The full posted notice is as follows, which does allow for the possibility of a future return at an unspecified date:

Further recent reading

Here are a few more stories from a mix of local and national press about the current business landscape right now and how some companies are adapting.

• Is it recession or not? Utah’s situation looks good but some businesses still worry
• Inflation taking a bite out of restaurant owner’s bank accounts across the US
• Inflation is latest challenge South Salt Lake restaurant taking in stride
• As inflation rises, some restaurants are lowering prices
• Restaurants that survived the pandemic are now threatened by inflation
• US added 428,000 jobs in April despite surging inflation
• The impact of the $15 wage
• Inflation squeezes popular Salt Lake restaurant

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Stuart Melling

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.