Eight new bars approved at June alcohol meeting

Credit, Quarters Arcade Bar, City Home Collective

Yesterday saw the momentous day of reckoning that we’ve been previewing since March. With the myriad updates to Utah’s liquor laws now in effect for for 2022, a once in a generation bounty of full bar licenses were up for grabs – ten to be precise. As commissioner Thue dubbed it,”barapalooza”. Let’s get straight to … Read more

Liquor license frenzy approaches – mark your calendars

Beer (freepik)

As the clock ticks down to the June DABC meeting (sorry it’s DABS now folks) so the interest escalates around who exactly will snaffle up all those delicious bar licenses set to unfurl. Just like an exotic flora that blooms once every 17 years, this is a practically unheard of event, something to witness and … Read more

Utah bar licenses exhausted until the Summer after DABC meeting

Beer (freepik)

Well there you have it. Two months into the year and bar licenses are pretty much toast. Want to open a bar in Utah? Come back in May, because that’s when a single license will be up for grabs next. And after that, who knows… With various news outlets reporting on a state legislature unconvinced … Read more

Fifteen bars, one license, welcome to Utah

It sounds like the premise of a bad joke: fifteen bars walk into a… but no, this was the reality of January’s DABC meeting. One singular bar license, fifteen business jostling for position and five ready to go today. Welcome to Utah. To remind you then, the state currently has a complete dearth of available … Read more

Utah liquor license crisis set to worsen according to reports

Punch Bowl Social - beer and biscuits, no more

Get ready for a fraught 2022 folks. Following this months DABC meeting, Ben Winslow confirmed via this story that the Utah legislature seems unmoved by the perilous state of Utah’s liquor license inventory. Indeed, things might actually get worse yet still – if that’s even possible. As part of the FOX13 story, Winslow highlighted the … Read more

Restaurant liquor licenses starting to feel the pressure

Crack Shack sandwiches (Crack Shack)

Welcome back to our monthly roundup of all things perfectly potable. While ordinarily I’d start with a raised eyebrow and nod to the state’s bar license crunch (there are presently ZERO available) there’s truthfully not much to talk about. So instead lets start with another looming area of concern… Full service restaurant licenses (beer, wine, … Read more

Lack of bar licenses continues to dominate DABC meetups

Level Crossing Brewing Company - Utah Uncommon beer

As is increasingly common at DABC meetings, wrangles over Utah’s exceptionally limited inventory of bar licenses dominated proceedings during the August meetup. For those following along with this years main liquor story, a solitary bar license was punted over from July’s meeting; and on the docket for the August event – eleven different businesses hoping … Read more

The latest liquor news you don’t want to miss

Eight Settlers - bar and dining room (Eight Settlers)

In his first meeting taking the reigns from former chairman John T. Nielsen, commissioner Thomas Jacobson ran a briskly paced meeting that sped through the docket at an enjoyable pace. A few notable items that came up: The list of businesses requiring extended closures has slowly been whittled down to just a small handful. Publik … Read more

Bountiful bar loses license after 18 years, other liquor news

Generic beer photo

An eighteen-year paperwork snafu led to the loss of Bountiful’s only bar at a busy DABC meeting this month. The bar in question, The Fifth, underwent a change in business name way back in 2001. Changing from the Fifth Inc to the Fifth LLC; the change went unnoticed for close to two decades. Sadly the … Read more