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SALT LAKE CITY — The owners of the famed restaurant La Caille at Quail Run are seeking investors through Sotheby's so the business can be expanded to possibly include a winery and small hotel for destination weddings, according to one of its owners.
The upscale French restaurant located on scenic grounds at 9565 S. Wasatch Blvd. has been in operation since 1974. Co-owner Steven Runolfson said he and business partner David Johnson do not want to get rid of it, but they're also are not eager to finance changes themselves.
"I plan on staying here. The business is staying here," Runolfson said Friday. "There are things we'd like to do. We'd like to step up and say, 'Let's take it to the next level.'"
He said the two engaged Summit Sotheby's International Realty to seek out investors who might want to buy portions of the operation. An infusion of new capital could finance additional amenities.
"I can't personally finance it anymore," he said.
The website lacailleutah.com describes details of the property, including the restaurant, two residences and a honeymoon cottage.
"People have been trying to invest with La Caille for years and years," Runolfson said. "We finally said, 'Let's test the waters.' Sotheby's is pre-qualifying people to become either partners or investors, either in the real estate or the business."
Runolfson said bringing in new funding would help realize several ideas for improving and expanding the business, which he said is doing well despite the current hard economic times.
"We're serving twice as many weddings this year as last year," he said. "We've come up with a package of Sunday through Thursday (weddings) that are not so expensive."
If the grounds had a small, "quaint" hotel, Runolfson said it would be yet another attraction for couples seeking that kind of experience.
"I'd like to see a little village with a hotel here," he said. "The most lucrative weddings are destination weddings."
E-mail: lindat@desnews.com
