The restaurant business is challenging in any economy. In the midst of a recession and downtown Salt Lake construction projects, the risks are even higher.
Yet a handful of independent eateries have sprung up in the last few months. Most aren't the traditional large, sit-down restaurant with a menu spanning several pages. Instead, the newcomers are experimenting with strategies to help them survive, and even thrive in the current economy.
In fact, some owners say the empty buildings, cost-conscious customers and lessened competition work in their favor.
Who knows which of these will be around in five years? Meanwhile, they are spicing up the local dining scene.
Local and organic
"Green" is the new black, and three restaurants have jumped on the "local, organic, sustainable" bandwagon.
Tipica, 314 W. 300 South, takes advantage of space at Tony Caputo's Market & Deli that's empty at night. Business is bustling during the lunch hour, but it dies down after 3 p.m., noted Matt Caputo. So Wednesday through Saturday evenings, the deli is transformed with white tablecloths and fine china. Billowy curtains hide counters and shopping aisles, and the dock door opens up for a semi-alfresco dining experience.
"Tipica" is the greatest compliment you can pay an Italian chef, Caputo said; it means your food captures the soul and traditions of a region.
Tipca is part of restaurant-supported agriculture, or an RSA, with local Bell Organics farm. The restaurants buy a share in the farm, and each week, they receive a portion of whatever is harvested.
So Tipica's menu changes with what produce comes in, backed up by ingredients from Caputo's market.
"People may not be able to show their friends the incredible pasta they had the week before," said Caputo. "But we know the difference in a tomato from a garden and a tomato that comes from a supply chain."
Meats are sourced from small, local, sustainable farms, fish from 100-percent sustainably fished or farmed stock. Pasta is made from organic semolina and free-range eggs.
"We will never put one morsel on the menu that came from a conventional big farm," said Caputo.
Also, this is Utah's first "nose-to-tail" restaurant, meaning that chef Adam Kreisel buys whole animals and uses every part, "to show respect for the animal," as Caputo explained it. So you might see lamb sweetbread, served on a bed of celery-laced risotto ($15) or a lamb neck and shoulder ragout with polenta and micro fennel ($18). Other dishes from the first week's menu were a salad of raw scallops and braised kale ($12); heirloom squash, ricotta and chestnut honey ravioli ($15); and risotto with clams and baby octopus ($17).
Caputo sees his customer base as "dyed-in-the-wool foodies, and people who care about sustainability and the Italian cultural tradition." Kreisel is known for adventurous dishes from past stints at the Globe Cafe, Sundance Tree Room and Acme Burger.
"Some people think it might be a stupid time to open a restaurant, but Caputo's is doing better than ever, and Adam was available now," said Caputo. "And the space was already here." (801-328-9638 or www.TIPICAcaputo.com)
Pago, 878 S. 900 East, is another restaurant that belongs to Bell Organics' RSA. Pago also uses ingredients from other local and artisan producers, including East Farms, Canyon Meadow Ranch, Morgan Valley Lamb, Taylor Made Beef and Pork, Clifford Farms, Beehive Cheese, Snake River Farms and Amano Chocolate.
The restaurant opened May 27, but owner Scott Evans began planning it back in 2006, while earning his MBA from Westminster.
"I tried to open something on a small scale," he said. "A familiar neighborhood restaurant with reasonably priced food will weather any economy."
Evans' 16 years of experience include Squatter's, The Depot, the Grand America, Stein Eriksen Lodge, Sage's Cafe and Park Ivy.
The 46-seat restaurant's brick walls and reclaimed wood tables give it a casual but polished ambience. Diners can spent $8 for a sandwich or up to $27 for a steak. Lunch dishes include Utah elk bratwurst, and open-face meatloaf sandwich. Dinner includes golden potato gnocchi ($13), chicken paillard ($16), Moroccan spiced lamb ($19). Starters include cinnamon beets with Greek yogurt, ceviche, and braised beef cheeks.
The chefs, Adam Findlay and Michael Richey, were both at the Globe Cafe before it closed in 2003. Findlay has worked at the Viking Yurt in Park City and Fishing Unlimited Lodge in Alaska; Richey at Sundance's Tree Room and The Aerie at Snowbird.
(pagoslc.com 801-532-0777)
Forage, 370 E. 900 South, is another small eatery relying on local, organic ingredients. Owners Bowman Brown and Viet Pham even have a vegetable garden and greenhouse to raise them. They plan to serve one fixed-price meal each night, with the menu changing every day.
The restaurant's much-delayed opening is now scheduled for the second weekend of June. But a few planned dishes are butter-poached crab in a carrot crepe and puffed barley; Utah beef, grilled zucchini puree and cauliflower gnocchi; slow-cooked wild king salmon with pecorino, fava beans, sweet peppers and wild-fennel pollen. Meal prices can run from $35-$70.
"We're not a vegetarian restaurant. But we're vegetable-driven, instead of focusing on the meat and using vegetables as an afterthought," said Pham.
What happens in the winter, when the growing season ends? "We can use preserves or pickle foods that we've grown and also use root vegetables," said Pham.
The two had culinary-school training and cooked in high-end California restaurants before coming to Utah to open Spark in Provo. But, they said, their culinary philosophy differed from that of Spark's owner. Rather than going back to California, they decided to open their own place in Utah. "The Utah economy is doing great compared to California," said Pham. "We choose to be here, because there's so much potential." (www.foragerestaurant.com)
Drive-through sushi
Peggi Whiting ran Ichiban Sushi for nearly 18 years, watching sushi go from obscure to mainstream in Utah. She sold her restaurant in 2005 and turned to developing Seal Sama teriyaki sauces.
But when former customer Keith Guevara approached Whiting with an idea to serve sushi like a fast-food restaurant, "I realized this was too good of an idea not to do it," Whiting said.
Hayai Zushi takes its name from "hayai," meaning "fast" in Japanese.
The bottom dropped out of the stock market as they were about to sign the lease.
"We had to ask ourselves, 'Are we sure?' But this actually fits the economy, because it's a lower price point. If you want sushi, it's easier to get a $5 roll at the drive-through than spend $50 for a meal at a restaurant, with the time investment and a tip."
They opened April 8, "and it's doing better by far than I did the first month at Ichiban," she said. "We notice that the first or second time, someone will come inside the store to order, because they want to see what it's like, if it's clean, see where the sushi is being made. After that, they use the drive-through." (www.hayaizushi.com or 801.364.1699)
Comedy and cuisine
The former Hard Rock Cafe at Trolley Square, 505 S. 600 East has been transformed into a combo deal: the Wiseguys Comedy Cafe upstairs and Poundcake's restaurant downstairs.
Owner Keith Stubbs also has comedy clubs in Ogden, Orem and West Valley, and wanted to expand to a downtown spot with a full-service restaurant.
"This space is perfect for what we're trying to pull off," he said. "The comedy shows are a hook to bring people in. Our food is good, and that will bring people back."
The menu is straightforward, with familiar appetizers, burgers, salads and pasta. The most expensive item is a $15.95 Cajun rib-eye steak.
Customers can dine before a show, or eat upstairs while watching.
"We are busiest when there are shows, but we're trying to build our lunch business," he said.
"We're battling the reality of the economy. It couldn't be a tougher time. But on the other hand, we benefited from the economy, because big chains aren't expanding. So the only person who would take a space like this right now is an independent owner." (www.wiseguyscomedy.com or 801-532-5233)
Family affair
J. Wong's Asian Bistro, 163 W. 200 South, got its name from owner Kwan Wong's four sons who help her run it: Jason, Josh, Jordan and Jesse. Kwan has owned the China Platter in Bountiful for over 20 years.
Plans for a Salt Lake restaurant were in the works a few years before the recession hit.
"It took us awhile to find the right spot and to remodel it," said Jason Wong. "So by that time, you don't stop."
Kwan Wong is optimistic. "We have a good location, with valet parking, and good Chinese and Thai food," she said. "We get a lot of convention business, since we're across from the convention center."
The restaurant earned 3 1/2 stars in Deseret News restaurant critic Stacey Kratz's May 8 review. She praised the attentive service and the "intelligently selected Asian favorites, mainly Thai and Chinese, striking a balance between the kitschy, fun dishes that characterized the Chinese restaurants of yesterday and the more modern, authentic food people want today."(801-350-0888)
Small plates
Eva, 317 S. Main, serves tapas, or "small plates" for lunch and dinner.
So you can graze on a $4 plate of sauteed brussels sprouts or a $4 order of crispy, parmesan-dusted fries. Or you can have more of a meal with spanakopita or a "French pie" pizza topped with pears, brie and toasted walnuts.
"The trend is people wanting to try a lot of things, and not too expensive," said chef Charlie Perry, who named his restaurant for his grandmother, who inspired him to become a chef. "We have pizza and pasta dishes for under $10 that are a filling dinner for one person. Or you can do several different small plates, and it won't break the bank."
For alfresco dining, there's a narrow patio sandwiched between two buildings in the back, jazzed up with flower boxes and paper lanterns.
Perry said he trained in San Francisco and Seattle, and he wanted to create the feel of restaurants from those cities.
"I expected our lunches would be our bread and butter, but we've been fortunate to have a good following for dinner." (Evaslc.com or 888-314-8536)
Quick quality
The Olive Bistro, 57 W. 200 South, is just a few doors down from the Olive Garden chain, but might as well be worlds apart.
Owner Hassan Salami serves a dozen different Mediterranean-style panini sandwiches and a few tapas such as a bruschetta and a cheese and olive plate.
The former chemical engineer is well aware of the recession, but adds, "What people don't realize is this is actually a perfect time to open, because I don't have as much competition. If you wait until everyone has lots of money to spend, there will be a lot more restaurants."
The menu reflects Hassan's upbringing in Paris and Morocco. The best-selling sandwich is the salmon basil provolone panini, at $9.96. Customers order at the counter, and can be served tableside, sit on the sidewalk patio or get take-out.
While managing eateries in Salt Lake and Park City, "I realized the dining process has the potential for a lot of mistakes," said Hassan. "I designed mine to eliminate them. The cook is right there at the counter, so he hears the order as it's placed, and there's less chance of it getting mixed up." (801-364-1401 or www.theolivebistro.com)
Open 24/7
Bayleaf Cafe is slated to open the second week of June at 159 S. Main, a spot that's been empty for nearly five years.
"The recession doesn't really frighten us, because we have something that's sorely needed," said owner Seth Radford. "Downtown is crying out for somewhere that's open 24 hours on the weekends. There are people who want somewhere to go for breakfast after the bars close."
Monday through Thursday, the restaurant will be open 6 a.m.-6 p.m., but on the weekend, it will stay open continuously until Sunday at 6 p.m.
Radford said he was raised in the South, and his wife in Asia, and they are including some of their favorites on the menu. So you will find chicken-fried steak with grits, hoppin' john and collard greens, as well as spring rolls and rice bowls (www.bayleaf-cafe.com or 801-359-8490).
There's more
Other new restaurants to watch for: Simply Sushi, on the corner of 200 West and 400 South; Donovan's Steakhouse, a high-end steakhouse chain in the building formerly occupied by Ruth's Chris and Baci at 134 W. Pierpoint Ave.; the Sandbar, a beach-and-beer themed Mexican spot in the former Cafe Pierpont space, 122 W. Pierpont Ave.; Bruges Waffles, a take-out spot at 336 W. Broadway; and The Last Samurai Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi, 214 W. 600 South.
E-mail: vphillips@desnews.com