Utah

Utah’s bar license reforms now coming into final focus

Published

2 years ago

February 25, 2024

Utah’s bar license reforms now coming into final focus

Remember when I told you to temper your expectations last month? Remember when I told you to not get too excited? You did listen, right? News from several outlets this week (FOX13, Trib, KPCW) seems to point to what is increasingly looking like the final iteration of Utah’s annual omnibus liquor bill. One bill to rule them all. Well, rule all the drinkers.

Amongst the items on the proposed HB548 is the banning of high ABV products like Everclear, adding a few cents tax to your liquor bill, and also allowing guests to take hotel bar drinks back to their room. I’ll go over the full list when the final bill is stamped and signed. Until then, a look at bar licenses in the state – 2023’s hot topic item.

Antimatter, neodymium, Utah bar licenses – so goes the list of the most scarce resources in the Beehive. The relative exhaustion of Utah’s inventory has forced DABS commissioner’s hands into contriving what are now known as the “ready to operate” guidelines. Simply put: appear before the commission for your golden ticket to open a bar, and you’ll need to demonstrate your ability to open right now. No waiting on a final hire, no promises the stools will arrive tomorrow. Skip away from the meeting and be prepared to unlock your doors – today.

On paper the logic seems solid, why hand out a license to a business not ready to operate? As we saw in the previous year though, the lack of certainty can put businesses in a huge financial bind; having to support a litany of ongoing expenses without clarity or confidence. 2023 had plenty of precarious examples – Edison House having to retain staff to the tune of $70,000 per month while waiting indefinitely for the greenlight – just one.

As a reminder, the dearth of bar licenses is a completely avoidable one. One bar license is presently permitted per 10,200 residents in Utah. That number? Arbitrarily plucked from the ether some six years ago. With that in mind, and kudos to the state for appreciating that point – the folks in charge arranged a study of other control states. What exactly was everyone else up to?

At the start of this year, FOX 13 ran an interview covering what the study discovered. No one was surprised to learn that the ratio in other states, was indeed lower. Much lower. On average, like-minded control states saw a ratio closer to one per 5000. While you’d probably need the smelling salts if I told you Utah was set to double the number of bars overnight – lawmakers did throw out a range of one license per 7-8000 as something that might make this year’s bill. Note: in the notoriously debauched state of Idaho, the limit is one per 1,500 residents (per city). Just sayin’

Sean Means’ piece in the Tribune this week had some granular detail that proved enlightening. While I previously cautioned against getting too hot under the collar about Utah returning to a quota of 1 per 7850 (merely reverting to 2018 limits) it’s possible we now might see a somewhat racy quota of one per 7,246 residents. As Means explained in his article, expect that to boost the state’s current 350 bars by another 136. Crack open the babycham right? Wrong.

Those 136 new licenses will be doled out incrementally through 2031. Should that happen uniformly over the proposed seven-year period – expect 19 (ish) new licenses each year. And of course, sprinkle a few more in there for population increases. There’s just one small wrinkle in the plan.

Even in a year drier than the West Dessert, Utah managed to dole out 28 bar licenses in 2023. Slightly more names than that appeared (and still do) on wait lists. Remember that commissioners themselves called last year’s fifteen new licenses, “basically a Band-Aid”. This presumably makes 2024’s triage ostensibly more of the same treatment, albeit with a little kiss, and some soothing there theres.

What this all means, unless any substantial changes expect the DABS policy of “ready to operate” to continue for at least the next half-decade.

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Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC. I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.

I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV. Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.

Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.

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Utah

Man arrested for DUI after rear-ending Utah County deputy

Published

11 hours ago

February 2, 2026

Press Room

Man arrested for DUI after rear-ending Utah County deputy

SPRINGVILLE, Utah — Police arrested a man whom they say is a “habitual offender” of driving under the influence after he crashed into a patrol vehicle.

A Utah County Sheriff’s deputy said he was patrolling in Springville early Sunday morning when a pickup truck driven by Richard Andrew Roberson, 38, collided with his vehicle. The deputy said he was stopped at a stop sign when Roberson hit him from behind.

When the deputy approached Roberson’s vehicle at a nearby gas station, he said the suspect showed signs of being intoxicated and also smelled like alcohol. He agreed to a field sobriety test, during which the officer said he showed multiple signs of being impaired.

Roberson was then arrested, and police say a urine test showed positive results for alcohol and marijuana, while a blood test is pending.

Police said Roberson’s driver’s license from California is currently suspended, and his vehicle was not insured.

While looking into Roberson’s background, police say they discovered that he’s had “nearly a dozen” DUI charges or convictions across four different states. His most recent convictions were in 2016 and 2017 in another state, but his most recent DUI charges were a pair of incidents in Utah within the past two months.

The arresting officer wrote that these factors indicate that Roberson “is a habitual offender and is a danger to the public.”

Roberson was arrested for felony DUI, driving on a suspended license, and operating a vehicle without insurance. A judge denied bail.

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Utah

Pair of Utah Jazz Veterans Emerging as Trade Candidates

Published

23 hours ago

February 1, 2026

Press Room

Pair of Utah Jazz Veterans Emerging as Trade Candidates

With just under a week to go until the NBA trade deadline arrives, the Utah Jazz are beginning to see a few names around their roster pop up in the some rumors as potential movers in the coming days.

As of late, two veteran names have come to the forefront as the most likely names to be shipped off before the deadline: Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson.

NBA insider Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune recently broke down the current situations revolving around the Jazz’s deadline plans and what could be in store for both Love and Anderson, circling the pair as perhaps the two most likely players to be traded from Utah before February 5th.

“Fellow veterans Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love are less in the Jazz’s plans moving forward, though, and could be moved if the situation made sense…” Larsen wrote. “Anderson has played well when on the court for Utah, but has frequently found himself out of the rotation as the Jazz prioritize youth.”

“The 37-year-old Love, meanwhile, is an impending free agent making $4 million this season. He also has played relatively well in his infrequent minutes for the Jazz. These players aren’t expected to have significant league interest, but the Jazz could make a deal similar to that of the one they made last season, when they sent veterans Drew Eubanks and Patty Mills to the Clippers in exchange for P.J. Tucker’s contract and a second-round pick.”

Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson Could Be Jazz’s Most Likely Deadline Movers

Both Love and Anderson have been productive veterans when given a role in the rotation for the Jazz, albeit in spotty minutes throughout the first half of the season.

However, with both not a part of the Jazz’s long-term timeline, combined with their contractual status of becoming free agents as soon as this summer, the two become obvious players to watch as guys who could be sent on the move before that trade deadline buzzer sounds.

Dec 15, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Dallas Mavericks center Moussa Cisse (30) pokes the ball away from Utah Jazz forward Kyle Anderson (2) during the second quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The possible hurdle when dealing one or both of Love and Anderson for the Jazz centers on generating interest around them.

As Larsen notes, not a ton of teams are exactly chomping at the bit to land a 32-year-old veteran forward or a 37-year-old big on expiring deals. Especially with many teams looking to cut down on their total salary rather than adding to it, an addition of a $9.2 million salary on the books from Anderson might not be much of a coveted asset on the trade market.

But as proven from last season’s Patty Mills and Drew Eubanks deal with the LA Clippers, all it takes is one interested team to offer a worthwhile package to the Jazz worth accepting for that swap to come to fruition. Even if the incoming package is just a couple of future seconds, such a return could be worth pulling the trigger on.

Utah’s front office is certainly sniffing around for similar opportunities to strike upon this season, but that could be easier said than done.

Maybe Love and Anderson will be the next names to join the list of Jazz trade deadline movers since their rebuild kicked off, but Utah’s front office will have until February 5th to find the right package to do so.

Be sure to bookmark Utah Jazz On SI and follow @JazzOnSI on X to stay up-to-date on daily Utah Jazz news, interviews, breakdowns and more!

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Utah

Alex Jensen calls out Utah basketball’s selfishness following loss to Oklahoma State

Published

1 day ago

February 1, 2026

Press Room

Alex Jensen calls out Utah basketball’s selfishness following loss to Oklahoma State

Utah men’s basketball head coach Alex Jensen isn’t mincing words anymore.

A week after saying his team “quit” down the stretch of a double-digit loss to BYU, the Jensen delivered another brutally honest assessment of the Runnin’ Utes following their 81-69 loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday.

“We were very selfish tonight,” Jensen said during his postgame press conference. “I thought we were getting better at that, but we were individually very selfish.”

Jensen’s group was neck-and-neck with the Cowboys for a majority of their Big 12 tilt at the Huntsman, until another late-game collapse costed Utah (9-12, 1-7 Big 12) another opportunity at earning a league win.

Despite a stretch of miscues, the Runnin’ Utes found themselves down by three with just over 6 minutes left in regulation. They struggled to find the bottom of the net the rest of the way, though, leaving the doors open for the Cowboys to grow their lead to double-digits inside the final 2 minutes.

Utah’s offense stalled, in part, because of a lack of ball movement. The Runnin’ Utes didn’t have an assist in the final 6:40 of regulation and finished the game with 11 dimes total, tied for their third-fewest in a game this season. Utah went 3-for-11 from the field after falling behind, 62-59, with 6 minutes left in regulation.

“Too many guys are in their own world,” Jensen said. “Too many guys started the game thinking about just scoring.”

“There’s other ways to be selfish: guys not talking, guys not being ready to shoot. Players win games, not coaches, and the players can’t do it unless they do it together.”

Utah looked less than prepared to defend Cowboys fifth-year guard Anthony Roy, a career 42.8% shooter from 3 who came into Saturday as one of the top outside shooters in the Big 12. The 6-foot-3 Oakland, California, native lived up to his reputation against Utah, as he knocked down five treys in a 26-point performance to lead Oklahoma State.

“We’re not a very good defensive team,” Jensen said. “A lot of times it’s not the scheme; you just got to guard the guy in front of you. I don’t have a solution for that right now.”

The defensive end of the floor continued to be a problem for Utah, which dropped to No. 234 in the country in adjusted efficiency on KenPom.com. Saturday was Utah’s 11th time allowing 80 or more points this season.

Perhaps the only positive Jensen took away from Saturday: the energy inside the Huntsman Center noticeably improved from where it was at the start of the season.

“The crowd was great tonight,” Jensen said. “I’m embarrassed because that was far from the University of Utah team that’s been here for decades. We might lose, but we’re not going to lose that way. So we’re going to work on it and find some different combinations.”

Terrence Brown led Utah with 20 points, marking his 15th such game of the season. Only Andrew Bogut (22) and Keith Van Horn (20) have more 20-point games in a single season in Utah history.

Keanu Dawes added 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Don McHenry had 17 points on 7-for-17 shooting.

The Runnin’ Utes are back in action Wednesday for a home game against Arizona State (7 p.m. MT, CBS Sports Network).