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PROVO — The Provo City Council on Tuesday narrowly approved a much-debated new ordinance that will allow brewpubs, restaurants that brew their own beer on-site, to operate in certain sections of the city.
The vote split the seven-member council, with four members voting in favor and three against. Just before the vote, the council substituted an amended ordinance with a “sunrise” clause that will prevent it from taking effect until the city develops new licensing specific to brewpubs.
The ordinance was discussed at last month’s City Council meeting, and councilmembers ultimately requested more information before making a decision. The city then created an online poll, which ran from Jan. 30 to Feb. 11, to gather more feedback on the proposal.
Presenting the poll’s results to the council, Provo City Council policy analyst John Magness said it indicated widespread support among the 1,342 respondents, including 546 registered users of Open City Hall. While Magness noted the poll was not scientific and had weaknesses, it showed that young people overwhelmingly supported the proposed ordinance; older generations were not as sold.
Even 64% of respondents who don’t drink were “very supportive” of the ordinance, Magness said.
Hannah Salzl, also a policy analyst for the Provo City Council, gave a presentation saying that local cities with new brewpubs have seen no increase in alcohol-related problems and that local law enforcement has no objection to them.
“It’s very expensive to get drunk at a brewpub,” Salzl said.
Some commenters from the general public said at the meeting that the ordinance would be out of character for the Provo they’ve lived in for decades. “I love the standards this city has in comparison to the world,” one said. “I feel very strongly that a brewpub, as wholesome as it may be … will only make drinking more attractive.”
“It’s a change of direction in how we view Provo and where Provo is headed,” said another.
One commenter pointed out that, although he personally doesn’t like beer, he finds the best food in Salt Lake City at brewpubs. “If the food has anything to do with a brewpub, I’m way into it,” he said.
Councilmembers Travis Hoban, David Shipley, David Harding and Shannon Ellsworth all voted for the ordinance; Bill Fillmore, George Handley and Dave Sewell were opposed.
The councilmembers discussed their thinking before the final vote.
“For me, this decision comes down to the question of what will change if we approve this request,” Hoban said. “I couldn’t find any material difference between brewpubs and the restaurants we currently have, or can have, in the city.”
Hoban cited the city’s Red Robin location, which mentions “brews” in its signage and features alcohol prominently in its menu.
Shipley pointed out that a Buffalo Wild Wings would have no trouble opening in Provo, but argued that it would “bring more alcohol consumption and increase in consumption than maybe the next brewpub that we’re discussing.”
Sewell argued that brewpubs’ emphasis on beer as a primary marketing and menu element makes them a bad fit for the city. “My experience and my reading is that if you increase the popularity of drinking, there’s really no way to completely separate that from an increase in alcohol abuse and all that goes with that,” he said.
Fillmore agreed. “I would gladly trade a couple of brewpubs for the two dive bars we have downtown. I would do that in a heartbeat,” he said. “Unfortunately, that’s not the proposition presented to us.”
In Utah, restaurants that serve alcohol must generate at least 70% of their sales from food. Patrons may not order alcohol without food, and nobody under 21 may sit at or near the bar. All these rules will apply to future Provo brewpubs.
And unlike brewpubs in cities like Salt Lake, Provo’s will not be able to sell bottled or canned beer to go.
The ordinance will pave the way for brewpubs in Provo’s General Downtown, Downtown Core and Regional Shopping Center zones, the last of which includes The Shops at Riverwoods and Provo Towne Centre.
Quinn Peterson, executive director of Downtown Provo Inc., spoke at Tuesday’s meeting and advocated for the ordinance, which he believes will attract business and tourism to Provo.
He said Wednesday that the brewpubs will create a nice middle ground between restaurants and bars, and help attract talent to Utah County businesses like Qualtrics. “Having a space for professional individuals to get a drink is something that we want to provide,” Peterson said.
“I can empathize with the concern and fear” about the change, he went on. “But this request, it’s not about whether or not alcohol is bad. That has nothing to do with our discussion. Our discussion is strictly a land-use request for a restaurant to be able to brew on-site. … We already have licenses out in the city. Apparently, as I said last night (at the meeting), there’s 60 of them in the city. And so that’s loads of places that serve alcohol with alcohol licenses in our community. It’s not like we’re talking about whether or not that’s good or bad. That’s not what’s up for discussion. It’s exclusively whether or not they can brew their own version.”
Peterson said the City Council hopes to have brewpub licensing figured out in about a month so the ordinance can go into effect. He believes that the change will bring additional diversity and variety to Provo's thriving downtown culinary scene.
"I think what's just important is that we as a community realize that being different is not being bad," he said.
