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TOOELE — Starting up a new business during a slow economy is a risky proposition for sure, but that didn't stop a Tooele County man from taking a chance.
Spiros Makris plunked down $1 million to open a fine dining restaurant in Tooele's downtown business district that's struggled for years. That move is now helping to revitalize Tooele’s Main Street.
But a high-end dining establishment in Tooele, Utah?
Makris says people are surprised when they first discover Sostanza, on 29 N. Main Street. “First they laugh,” he said. “If they're not locally from here. They laugh and say, really?"
Yes, really!
Spiros Makris opened the Sostanza restaurant about a year and a half ago. It was a risky move, but Makris, a long-time resident of the community, never hesitated.
"The building was unique. When we were going to do the project originally, I wanted to do something in the historical part of downtown."
"It's always been the feeling of the community that we keep this if we can and be successful and make it so we don't have a bunch of empty storefronts, which has been a problem for a while." Tooele Mayor Patrick Dunlavy
He purchased two turn-of-the-century buildings. They didn't meet code and needed a lot of work. So Makris and Tooele city leaders started working together.
Tooele Mayor Patrick Dunlavy, who has made it a priority to revitalize the downtown area, was happy to see a business interested in locating there.
“It's always been the feeling of the community that we keep this if we can and be successful and make it so we don't have a bunch of empty storefronts, which has been a problem for a while," Dunlavy said.
The city provided about $150,000 in loans to restore the building facades, and Makris spent roughly a million dollars completely redoing the interior. All this came just as the nation's economy started to falter. Talk about taking a risk.
But Makris says customers are coming. “I’m not saying we’re growing leaps and bounds, but we’re slowly increasing month after month.”
The restaurant has started to become a magnet for other businesses interested in moving downtown. That’s certainly music to Dunlavy’s ears.
"He's (Makris) actually turned something into what may have been a dream for him to a total success story, not only for him as a businessman but for our community, because now it's a showcase downtown."
Makris, whose family also owns Jim’s Family Restaurant in Tooele, said he always admired what other cities, Park City and Ogden in particular, have done to revitalize their downtown business districts.
"I think what gives this a little more character is doing it in the historical part of town, doing something against the grain and people appreciate it."
And he really appreciates how the city leaders worked with him to make it happen.
“We all worked together and we’re trying to create some stuff that is going to make for a better future for Tooele itself.”
Because of what he’s done to help revitalize the downtown area, Spiros Makris was named the Tooele County Person of the Year in 2010 by the Tooele Transcript Bulletin.
E-mail:kmccord@ksl.com
