Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
This is Chris Redgrave for Zions Bank Speaking on Business.
Matthew Lake feels so lucky it's like, "Hey, somebody pinch me!" This is a talented chef who grew up in the restaurant business with his family, running a small deli in upstate New York. In fact, he remembers helping out when he was around six or seven, and as the family business grew, he worked on big corporate catering gigs as a 12-year-old.
Matthew knows the food business. Later in his career while working in New York City, he was featured in Food and Wine magazine as one of the top 25 chefs in the United States and, at the time, was certainly one of the youngest. He has now made it back to Utah with his wife, who is a local, and opened his own place, Zy Restaurant at 268 S. State in Salt Lake City.
Matthew says he has a great business partner with Shawn Slatter, who supports him as he grows Zy Restaurant. The name for the restaurant came from playing around on the computer, and it's catchy. It's Zy like sky, with a ‘z.'
This unique restaurant is right on the street in downtown Salt Lake City, and as the general manager puts it, "has never seen this kind of growth" in such a short period of time. The restaurant is receiving two to four open reviews a week, which is direct feedback from customers. One of their best business practices is to stay in touch with the customer so they can constantly evolve and improve.
Zy opened to the public four months ago. It's open for lunch Monday through Friday and for dinner every day of the week. They're already getting a name for their mac and cheese with ham, buttermilk chicken and the bread they make on site. At Zy Restaurant they buy organic whenever possible and are participating in Salt Lake City's e2 Business Program.
Zy Restaurant is a great example of the success of Downtown Rising, and with 45 employees, they have contributed to the job creation critical to Utah's economy.
For Zions Bank, I'm Chris Redgrave, speaking on business.
Zy Restaurant 268 S. State Salt Lake City, UT 84111 (801) 779-4730 www.Zyrestaurant.com
