A rendering of a proposed 4-story building along Main Street in Downtown Salt Lake City. Image via Salt Lake City, Chenzo LLC
A key parcel on Main Street will receive more city funds as part of its redevelopment efforts.
On Tuesday, members of the Salt Lake City Council, acting as members of the city’s Community Reinvestment Agency board, approved an additional $2 million loan to Chenzo LLC, the company that operated the Los Tapatios and London Belle restaurants formerly located at 319 and 321 S. Main St., respectively.
Council members voted unanimously (with the exception of Council Member Victoria Petro, who was not present for the vote) on Tuesday to approve the loan as part of the CRA’s Commercial Development Loan Program (CDLP).
The two restaurants were destroyed in the August 2025 fire that ravaged multiple businesses along Main Street. Earlier this year, redevelopment plans became public as part of a Disaster Relief Loan Program (DRLP) application through the city.
Though each loan includes the same amounts, the two have different terms. The DRLP loan carries a zero percent interest and increases to three percent after year two, and the loan term is just three years. The CDLP, on the other hand, would have a 10-year term with amortized repayment and a balloon payment at the end of loan term, according to a staff report on the proposal.
Chenzo is proposing a four-floor building at the two addresses, which would be 75 feet tall and have a total square footage of 18,600, according to a building permit submitted to the city in June. The company was given a $2 million loan through the disaster relief program following a vote by the city council in July.
But that July loan approval ultimately is what caused the delayed vote Tuesday. Members of the council approved six of seven applications as part of its CDLP in a vote last month, with the seventh being the Chenzo loan. Members of the council withheld its vote on the project because the project had already been approved for the separate disaster relief loan.
Hayden Callaway, a project coordinator for the CRA, explained to the council Tuesday the two loans can be combined, adding the agency’s policy does not prohibit a single project from using the CDLP and DRLP together.
Callaway added the project would use the funds to pursue businesses in the “food, beverage, and entertainment industries, including restaurants, lounges, and bars.”
The Los Tapatios and London Belle sites shortly after the August 2025 fire. Photo by Devin Zander | Building Salt Lake
Last month, council members pointed out that the total of $4 million in CRA loans would account for over half of the project’s capital stack. A staff report on the CDLP loan says the two loans combined would account for 53 percent of the total development costs.
Taylee Foulger, a CRA project coordinator, said the applicant secured $2 million in private funding for the project, but said those funds are contingent upon receiving the CDLP loan. She said the applicant said additional private financing could be available, but other lenders have told the applicants that letters of intent from tenants would be needed to get those funds.
“The concern with this is if they have to do the tenant selection process, that could significantly delay them being able to start construction, which would leave the hole in this prominent spot in Downtown vacant even longer,” Foulger explained.
She said that while city loan funds would make up the majority of the project, the city is still considered a gap financier per the CRA’s guidelines. She said the project’s debt service coverage ratio, combined loan-to-value and scoring on its application are all well within the CRA’s guidelines for CDLP loans.
Council Member Erika Carlsen, who was among those questioning the loan application last month, said Tuesday the council was pressed for time during the initial CDLP vote. She appreciated the CRA taking a closer look at the proposal, adding she was now in full support of the loan.
Council Member Jennifer Napier-Pearce, who represents Downtown on the council, said the CRA’s explanation answered her questions, and added she was also in full support of the loan proposal.
“I don’t want to delay this project,” Napier-Pearce said. “Main Street is too important to us all, and I look forward to a vibrant scene down there as soon as possible.”
After their comments, the council voted to approve the loan proposal. In total, the council has approved over $9 million in CDLP loan funds this year.
Next door to the Los Tapatios and London Belle sites, another notable property is looking to go vertical in wake of the August 2025 fire. Whiskey Street, a restaurant destroyed in the fire, received a $1 million DRLP loan earlier this year. The rebuilt restaurant is seeking to add a second floor rooftop patio.
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