Most of you are already aware that Salt Lake City is now attracting some of the best chefs outside of the major metropolitan area. “We recruited our chef from Chicago,” said Aker owner, Brandon Hargett.
Our locals are hand-crafting dishes, spirits, craft beer and amazing food that is now attracting Michelin Stars and James Beard nominees. Way to go, local chefs and restaurateurs! Monte, in South Salt Lake is now booked out until the 2081 Olympics!
In this issue, we offer write-ups and shout-outs to our favorite hidden gems and restaurants that are especially great in their respective categories. These are the establishments you must recommend to the 3-5 million visitors expected to visit downtown for the Salt Lake City Temple Open House over the next six months.
Visitors seeking authentic experiences at the best of local Utah should be steered clear of the chain restaurants and be funneled to our local hot spots. We like to create economic opportunities by supporting local chefs who partner with local farms. Caffe Molise does both.
Want to experience the best sports pub in downtown? Try the Green Pig Pub. Want to know where you can get on a luge and feel the cold winter ice below your cold fall or winter beer? At the Beerhive Pub. Want the best Jewish-deli Reuben sandwich in Salt Lake City? Go to Feldman’s.
Visit the fall splendor of Emigration Canyon and experience dining out at Ruth’s Diner. We also love Snowbird’s Octoberfest which runs until October 11. But if you want to get one last brew in, Snowbasin’s Oktoberfest runs until October 18. We love fall and dining so keep this issue in your glovebox or on your coffee table and memorize all of the amazing places to try.
The Scary Facts Regarding the Demographic Shift of Salt Lake City
It’s certainly a tale of two cities as we approach the day when all the ghouls, goblins and witches emerge. But only one city is full of nightlife: clubs, restaurants, Jazz games and Mammoth hockey.
Salt Lake County has nearly $10 billion in announced investments across three major developments alone, with construction unfolding over the coming years.
Statewide, the investment approaches $140 billion, including data center projects and Salt Lake County development projects. SLC is growing larger and taller and more upscale and more tech-centric. As long as we focus on conservation of our canyons, our water and our once-great salty lake, these will be good investments, but there is another side to the progress we can’t ignore.
Our seniors who are on fixed incomes are being largely left out of Utah’s economic future. For the past three months we have been covering senior housing safety failures. Drug addicts and drug dealers are open for business in senior housing facilities such as Romney Plaza. Outside, the zombies do the fentanyl flop, inside they line up to buy. Even in their own homes, seniors are facing shocking price increases from taxes to water.
Seniors now pay five times more for water and sewer than they did five years ago. City and County taxes have also skyrocketed, pricing seniors out of their homes. The County and City’s answer is to subsidize more affordable housing projects. But taxing seniors out of their homes and into housing projects is not a good strategy.
By producing more wards of the state, more people become dependent on government housing and services. This is a far inferior strategy to building more affordable housing and giving seniors and residents a break.
Utah Stories learned that 150 Salt Lake County employees earn more than $150K per year. The top three County earners earn nearly $300K per year. We reported last month that the County, State and City are helping Ryan Smith by pitching $2 billion into the Salt Palace and Delta Center expansions. It’s scary how much our political leaders cater to their billionaire donors. But there is hope.
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Feature Image by Michael Hart on Unsplash.
