This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Through chance, coincidence or design, liquor will be served on a limited basis at the new City Creek Center.
On one hand, recent restrictions dictated by state law will put restraints on mall tenants such as restaurants that choose to serve liquor. At this point, only two eateries have.
Drink specials are outlawed. Servers may not pop open a can of beer in public view. And partitions, dubbed Zion curtains, must be erected to hide bartenders from diners.
But the fact that alcohol is being served at all is something of an upset, given that until seven months ago there were no permits available.
Two years ago, the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control had issued all of the licenses available under the state's population-based quota system, set by the Legislature. Last July, among the laws that took effect was one that increased the number of restaurant liquor licenses — at least for a time.
The newly issued liquor permits enabled The Cheesecake Factory and the Texas de Brazil steakhouse to serve alcohol at their City Creek locations. Under the permits, diners are required to order food with drinks, and no more than 30 percent of all restaurant sales may come from alcohol purchases.
Looming over this unusual give and take is the fact that the mixed-use City Creek development, of which City Creek Center is a part, has been bankrolled by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which teaches its members to eschew alcohol.
Those involved in the development have been juggling how to allow individual restaurants to pour booze — considered key for profit margins — while not violating the faith's stricture. An outside firm, Taubman Centers Inc., is leasing the restaurant space for City Creek Center, leaving the LDS Church out of the liquor-selling business.
The Utah-based Blue Lemon restaurant, the first eatery to open in the development, does not serve alcohol. And it is written into the lease that the Sixth and Pine restaurant on the second floor of Nordstrom will be alcohol-free, said a Nordstrom spokesman. The Nordstrom Bistro Cafe in Murray offers beer and wine, as do most of its other restaurants nationally.
Although The Cheesecake Factory is known for large bar areas, bartenders at City Creek will have to mix drinks in back rooms or behind a partition (or so-called Zion curtain) to comply with yet another law that took effect in January 2010. The Cheesecake Factory's location in Murray is exempt because its bar was constructed before the legislation was passed. But even its Murray location had to be modified before it opened in 2007, forgoing bar stools because drinks must be served to patrons sitting at tables.
State Senate President Michael Waddoups has long championed Zion curtains, saying bars in restaurants cloud the distinction between family-oriented eateries and liquor establishments. Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, contends that the mixing of drinks and elaborate bars glamorize alcohol, leading to teen drinking and drunken driving. The theory has not been scientifically tested.
Although Utah is one of only five states to regulate all aspects of alcohol, including retail sales, more Utahns are imbibing. Legislative auditors report that while the state's population from 2001 to 2009 increased by 22 percent, gallons of alcohol consumed for the same time period increased by 54 percent.
That change can be seen in the new Harmon's City Creek grocery store, which is in the block adjacent to the development and has obtained a liquor education permit to include wine in its cooking classes. Although LDS leaders invited Harmon's to open a store in the downtown area, the brothers who own the chain decided to retain their business model of selling beer, staying open on Sundays and, at City Creek, opening their third cooking school.
"We had a great response when we started our cooking classes, and there also was a desire from customers for wine and cheese pairings," said Bob Harmon. "From a broader perspective, we understand that in Utah, there are all kinds of backgrounds and lifestyles. There is a broad base of customers that we are serving."
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Liquor at City Creek Center
Restrictions • Partitions (or Zion curtains) will hide bartenders from public view.
Restaurant bars • Can't be operational, some unopened bottles may be on display.
Diners • May not be served alcoholic beverages without an order of food.