A proposed Salt Lake pub challenges Utah's resistance to corner bars

A small pub has the potential to stabilize a business zone on Salt Lake's east side, according to the owners of a new corner bar planned for the East Liberty Park neighborhood.

Driving the news: The proposed bar won approval Thursday from the city's planning commission despite some objections from neighbors who say it will attract nighttime noise and smoking.

Why it matters: Small corner bars are rare under Utah's rigid liquor laws, which leaves Salt Lake without many of the cozy watering holes that serve as neighborhood hubs in other cities.

• That missing "third place" — gathering spots outside work and home — means residents don't get chances to see the social benefits a neighborhood pub can bring, brothers Cody and Cam Chamberlain told Axios.
• That vacuum can exaggerate suspicions that bars attract only drunken riff-raff, said Cody Chamberlain, who owns the building at 1533 S. 1100 East.

Zoom in: Nearly all businesses on 1100 East between 1300 and 1700 South close before nightfall, leaving the commercial district mostly deserted after hours.

• "The business owners are not there. The parking lots are empty," said Ian Kaplan, architect for the project. "Corridors that contain commercial businesses make for safer neighborhoods. But when they're not activated, particularly at night, they make for a breeding ground for crime."

Context: The corridor sits between the bustling 15th & 15th and 9th & 9th neighborhoods on a prosperous side of town.

• "It's one of those few, rare neighborhoods in Salt Lake City that has the potential to be a walkable, urban, safe neighborhood, and has a lot of community businesses on it," Kaplan told the planning commission.
• But business turnover has been fairly regular, Kaplan said, and there are a handful of empty buildings near 1700 South.

Details: The bar is slated for a 113-year-old building that previously housed a sewing shop, with seating for 90 in a taproom and wine bar, and space for a few arcade games.

• "We love this location because it isn't big," Cody Chamberlain said. "We're not Lake Effect downtown. We're not Club Sky."

What they're saying: "You look at our current state of the world: It's so polarized. There's so many people who hide behind their phones and tablets and argue. There's no face time anymore," Chamberlain said. "A neighborhood bar helps bring neighbors together. They leave their differences at the door, so to speak, and have those thoughtful conversations."

Of note: Bars were by far the most preferred type of new businesses for the nearby 9th & 9th area in a 2019 survey of East Liberty Park residents.

The other side: Some neighbors complained that lights, noise and congregating smokers could disrupt adjacent residential streets — though most of the 40 or so public comments favored the bar.

• The Chamberlains said they're planning landscaping and a barrier wall.