Sugar House set to welcome ambitious new food and drink hall

After what seemed like a non-stop explosion of food halls just eighteen months ago – the pace of openings in Utah has dried up in recent times. That is until now, with the next few months set to see the completion of a completely new concept for Utah; a food hall that brings together not only restaurants – but bars too.

Sugar House Station is set to be the next major opening to keep tabs on, and for restaurateur Scott Evans, it might just be his most ambitious project to date. Created with an eye on the booming residential growth in the core of Sugar House, the hall will shortly unfurl into the sizeable space left vacant by the departure of Kimi’s Chop & Oyster House (2155 South Highland Drive). The ground floor of the central neighborhood space clocks in at 10,000 square feet alone, plenty of space for a hefty lineup.

Let’s get straight to that point, as after all, it’s what makes or breaks these types of dining destinations. Evans is notably proud of the lineup, and rightly so, tempting more than one well-known name back onto the dining scene. “Our lineup is very intentional. We didn’t openly solicit vendors, instead, we chose to carefully curate”, Evans tells me. “We reached out purposefully to everyone involved in the project, and invited them to come on board – because we love what they do.” That list then:

• Aristo’s
• Birdhouse Chicken
• Bitters Amaro Bar
• Canella’s
• Casot Wine Bar
• Kimi’s
• Pizza Nono
• Proper Burger / Brewing
• Publik
• Santo Tacos

The first name on that list will no doubt be a welcome sight to many a seasoned Salt Lake City diner. After shuttering his much beloved Greek restaurant in April 2019, the affable Aristides Boutsikakis will soon be back in action at Sugar House Station. “Yes there’s going to be Artisto’s much-missed gyro”, Evans confides. Count me in already.

Canella’s too will be making a comeback in the space, as will a variation of Kimi Esklund’s former restaurant offering up, “a very cool raw bar, martini’s on the side”, Evans explains. Birdhouse Chicken is also set for a reprisal of sorts – Evans’s short-lived restaurant in the 9th and 9th neighborhood coming back with renewed vigor. The piri piri chicken sandwich concept opened 3 months prior to the pandemic in 2020 and never reopened. “I don’t think we executed as well as we could have in that first iteration and the timing was about as bad as it gets,” Evans notes.  “Phelix (Gardner, exec chef in the Pago empire) is partnering on the 2.0 iteration, and plans to deliver something very special this time around.” 

In total the space will offer four unique bar programs, though every vendor in the space will offer libations of some description. Crucially though – Sugar House Station will be licensed as a 21+ only bar, which ultimately means patrons can wend their way from bar to bar, vendor to vendor – and yes – carry that drink along as they go. If they even choose to of course; it’s worth noting that each name on that list will offer discrete seating, as well as a larger communal central seating area. This will be in turn used to host live programming or big game watch-alongs. Again, with a smart eye on the rapidly developing neighborhood, expect the space to play host to a variety of drink and dining needs.

Right now the final pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall into place. In around thirty days or so, expect phase one to kick in. At that time, Sugar House Station will rotate through one vendor per week, allowing patrons to start to sample, as well as affording the various operators a little time in the kitchen to get up to speed with the space. From there, phase two – the full and formal opening – is expected in about three months.

Expect to see me there, camera in one hand, gyro in the other, I’ll report back then…

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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.