Proposed Sandy development
A little Broadway, much more gourmet
Theater cheerleaders say the pondered playhouse would attract fine dining
Deseret Morning News
By Derek P. Jensen
lThe Salt Lake Tribune
4/10/2008
Dining districts thrive in downtown Salt Lake City, which may explain why planners are plotting a new "restaurant row" for City Creek Center.
But duplicating that dynamic in Utah's suburbs most often means a meandering trek to a chain restaurant or a strip mall.
Tourists exiting TRAX in the capital can walk to a half-dozen sushi joints. And live-theater fans can cross a single downtown street for the Metropolitan or Bambara - not Applebee's.
Sandy cheerleaders hope to replicate that experience if the suburb lands a $50 million Broadway-class theater near City Hall. The pondered 2,800-seat playhouse, they say, would lure upscale eateries to boost the Broadway experience.
"It's certainly an enticement," says Sandy spokeswoman Trina Duerksen. "Mayor [Tom] Dolan has always said there's hardly anywhere to eat - it's hamburgers or the grocery store. There's always room for more of the upscale restaurants."
But is it realistic?
Salt Lake County Councilman Randy Horiuchi, himself a boisterous theater advocate, says it is. He notes the south valley is primed for gourmet options, especially since the bulk of the valley's population resides south of 4500 South.
"If this facility comes, will that gap be bridged?" he asks. "I think it can."
Horiuchi says Sandy, a suburb of 95,000 people and Utah's fifth most populous city, easily could support a steakhouse like Ruth's Chris or Morton's.
Indeed, Duerksen says, Sandy aggressively courted The Cheesecake Factory before the popular eatery opted to go to Murray instead. And each year, Sandy sends a delegation to Las Vegas to court restaurants and retailers at the International Council of Shopping Centers convention.
But those efforts are likely to lure chains, not the private bistros popular with the wine-and-cheese crowd.
And that begs a question about corporate saturation. Already, that congested stretch of Sandy has McGrath's, Olive Garden, Mimi's Cafe, Chili's, T.G.I. Friday's, Carvers, Texas Roadhouse and more.
The proposed theater, which would be just southwest of City Hall, is but one element in a planned $500 million makeover that includes office, residential and retail buildings. And business leaders bet more people will mean more appetite.
"People can reach this location [just east of Interstate 15 near 10000 South] easily from any part of the Salt Lake Valley, thanks to a great freeway and the UTA transit system," says Nancy Workman, president and CEO of the Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce. "Even Utah County people are excited. They say they come here to work so they would love to just stay, dine and go to a Broadway play. We have lots of incredible restaurants with more on the way."
To be sure, the definition of "incredible" depends on the mouth of the beholder. But with theater as an anchor, more white tablecloths soon could shroud the suburb - even if the best menu item is a corporate steak.
djensen@sltrib.com