Garage on Beck, a popular Salt Lake City bar and grill, is closing its doors
Apr 12, 2025, 7:00 AM
Garage on Beck owner Bob McCarthy hugs a customer who returned for the business's reopening after a fire on June 6, 2024. McCarthy said Thursday that his Salt Lake bar and grill will close for good in May. (Lauren Steinbrecher/KSL TV)
(Lauren Steinbrecher/KSL TV)
SALT LAKE CITY — A popular bar and grill on the northern edge of Salt Lake City plans to shutter next month after a final series of farewell celebrations.
Garage on Beck, 1199 N. Beck Street, will close for good at the end of May, owner Bob McCarthy wrote on the business’s Facebook page Thursday.
“(It’s) been my honor to run this club for 16 years,” he wrote.
Read more: Popular Salt Lake City breakfast sandwich shop closes
Garage on Beck has gone through many transformations over time, as Visit Salt Lake noted in 2018. The building was constructed as a mechanic garage in 1947 before it transformed into a bar in the 1970s. It was known as Rose’s Jimax Lounge when McCarthy scooped it up in 2008, converting it into its current name.
Its vibe and food won its praise in online reviews. In winning “best funeral potatoes” in its 2023 Best of Utah awards, City Weekly staff raved about the grill’s “Midwestern marvel that’s loaded with creamy, cheesy goodness.”
“It’s a one-of-a-kind place. It truly is,” customer Deirdre Babcock described it to KSL TV last year.
While it’s been a popular spot for residents and visitors alike, it went through recent turbulence. Babcock was among the many customers who came back to the business after a large 2023 fire closed it for months.
McCarthy didn’t explain why he decided to close the bar, but he wrote that he plans to shift his attention to his other two businesses: Stoneground Italian Kitchen and Bobby Juniors, a restaurant and a bar both located downtown.
Read more: Expect more fake eggs made of colored marshmallows or even potatoes on this year’s Easter spread
The 78-year-old building will also be torn down. County records show the property is now owned by Tesoro, which owns a neighboring refinery.
In the meantime, “tons of music and big celebrations” are planned in the final few weeks of operations before it closes on May 31, McCarthy wrote. He requested that other bar owners also reach out to him if they’re looking for staff.
Everything from Garage on Beck’s name to its inventory, website and liquor license will be sold, possibly allowing it to exist in a new location with a new owner in the future.
“I would love to see the legacy continue somewhere,” he added.
Customers responded to the post with sadness for the forthcoming closure and with an outpouring of love. Many wrote about the funeral potatoes, but some wrote that they even met their significant others there.
“Another great place being lost to the dust of time,” one person wrote. “Thank you for the memories and amazing environment you produced.”
Read the original story at KSL.com.
