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SALT LAKE CITY — A downtown Salt Lake City restaurant has closed indefinitely because of "many factors," including an ongoing labor shortage, according to its owners.
The owners of Fenice Mediterranean Bistro, located at 126 S. Regent Street, posted the message in a letter on the building's front door on Sunday.
"Due to the many challenges facing small businesses in the current economy, we have made the difficult decision to cease operations," the letter states, in part. "There are many factors involved in our decision, and while our business levels were not consistent, we didn't adequately anticipate how difficult it is to staff the restaurant in the current economy. We simply don't have enough help to operate successfully."
Jeff and Lisa Ward, who also own the popular Silver Star Cafe in Park City, opened the upscale downtown restaurant just last year, according to Utah food magazine Gastronomic SLC, which first reported the closure. The outlet noted that the location behind the Eccles Theater had replaced Fireside On Regent, a restaurant that closed in 2019.
The Wards described Fenice as the "sister property" of the Park City café on the restaurant's website. It seemed to be a hit among customers in its run, too, drawing a 4.5-star rating on Yelp and 4.4 out of 5 stars on Google Reviews.
"Just an awesome experience," one customer wrote. "The food itself was innovative without losing a focus on great and balanced flavor."
The note outside the building did, however, leave hope for a comeback.
"We will take some time to reassess the business to determine if it is feasible to continue operations at a later date," the note adds. "We thank you for the support you have given us and wish you all the best. Please visit us at our Park City restaurant, the Silver Star Café."
Fenice's closure comes after Mazza, a Middle Eastern cuisine restaurant in Salt Lake City, recently cut hours and increased prices because of inflation and the "rising cost of labor."
Utah's unemployment rate remains steady at 2%, compared to the 3.5% national average. Mark Knold, chief economist at the Utah Department of Workforce Services, explained in a report published last week that the economy is experiencing some labor shifts at the moment, which may impact some businesses.
"Nationally, baby boomers are leaving the labor force faster than new ones are entering," he wrote. "This is producing unfilled jobs, lowering GDP, making labor searches difficult and contributing to higher inflation through increased wage bidding. This labor deficit is why negative GDP change is not morphing into a jobs recession."
