Cookies, coffee and Thai food: New retail, restaurants coming to SLC

by Jacob Scholl | Mar 10, 2026

A number of new retail shops and restaurants are headed for Salt Lake City, as local permits tell the story of fresh businesses in the works.

Speaking of fresh — a new, fresh cookie bakery is slated to open near the University of Utah. And no, it’s not one the cookie franchises the state is known for.

Insomnia Cookies is preparing to open its first location in Utah near the U., according to a building permit filed with Salt Lake City last month. The address listed on the permit is 1330 E. 200 South, which would be located within a string of businesses located just off University Street.

Insomnia Cookies has locations across the country, with bakeries in nearby states like Idaho, Colorado and Arizona. Insomnia locations offer up cookies and ice cream with late-night hours. It offers delivery at many locations, too.

It’s not clear when the location could open, as the commercial building permit was still being reviewed as of Monday.

Rally House

624 E. 400 South
Central City

Speaking of the U., a retail chain of sports fan gear is headed for 400 South next door to Trader Joe’s.

Rally House, a nationwide retailer that focuses on selling sports clothing and merchandise for whatever colleges and pro teams are nearby, is preparing to remodel a retail space to open its first store in Utah.

The retail chain would surely feature Utes merchandise given its proximity to campus, as well as fan gear for BYU, Utah Jazz, Utah Mammoth and Real Salt Lake, among other teams.

New Thai restaurant

777 S. 200 East
Central City

A new Thai restaurant is slated to open along 200 East in Central City, according to a commercial building permit filed with Salt Lake City earlier this month.

The permit says the building will be installing a kitchen, a ventilation hood and other upgrades to the existing retail space for a restaurant called Suan Wasatch Thai Restaurant.

The address listed on the application indicates the restaurant would be located in a small planned development done by the Maven Group, which also developed a building just to the south.

Previous BSL coverage indicates the building is a three-story, mixed-use structure with ground floor retail. With 10 studio units above, the Thai restaurant would presumably have customers just feet away from the kitchen.

Tiki bar on Main Street

159 S. Main Street
Downtown

The former Ruin bar on Main Street could be converted into a Tiki bar, according to a commercial building permit filed with the city last month.

The permit says no structural work is needed and no additional space would be added, but the planned interior remodel would consist of “minor electrical and plumbing changes, interior wall painting and flooring, new furniture, (and a) new bar.”

The Ruin closed last April, though operators had hinted at a possible return in an Instagram post announcing the bar’s closure, according to Gastronomic SLC.

The former location of The Ruin, a bar at 159 S. Main Street that closed last year. Image via Google Maps

Clothing and shoe store on Pierpoint

357 W. Pierpoint Avenue
Downtown

A new clothing and shoe store at 357 W. Pierpoint Avenue will undergo renovations to the existing space, according to a permit filed with Salt Lake City in early February.

The store, called Cooperative Utah in the permit, would undergo a number of changes, including a new ADA restroom, new lighting, new finishes and work on the space’s basement, which would be closed off for storage, the permit says.

It’s not clear when the clothing and shoe store could open, but as of Monday, the building permit had received a handful of approvals from city departments, including building code, fire and zoning.

Sao Coffee

404 E. 1700 South
Liberty Wells

A unique two-story building on the corner of 1700 South and 400 East is slated to become a new, Vietnamese-style coffee shop called Sao Coffee, according to a permit filed with Salt Lake City in January.

Little other details are available for the business, though the permit says the building will be remodeled as part of the project.

The new coffee shop would be located across the street from Alchemy Coffee. It would also be located to the east of Salt Lake Community College’s South City campus.