How I Found a Third Space to Love the Dog

“We were always going to have a friendly place for people to come and feel welcome being themselves.”

“A welcoming place for welcoming people” was the answer that SLC Pub’s owner Scott Hanna shared with me when I asked what the bar was. Tyler Reese, SLC Pub’s bar manager, echoed Hanna’s sentiment, saying that the goal behind SLC Pub was to create somewhere new, exciting and most importantly, welcoming for the community. “We wanted to create a space where people can both look forward to coming in after work and enjoy themselves with a cheap beer,” Hanna says. “Too many places are price gouging these days, so we were always going to have a friendly place for people to come and feel welcome being themselves.”

SLC Pub is one of Salt Lake City’s latest additions to its diverse and popular bar scene. Opening last September, SLC Pub is a movie bar, complete with a projector screen, almost 20 televisions placed throughout the bar with surround sound throughout the building. The bar features multiple movies each night in addition to live bands, DJs, and an openmic night. Reese expressed that he’d love to see the bar hosting local skate or snowboarding tapes as well as local short films if a space was needed to host a premiere. As a movie bar, I had to see what the bar’s Letterboxd four favorites would be if it had any — Hanna, Reese and General Manager Jimmy Alcover picked SLC Punk!, The Royal Tenenbaums, Three Amigos! and The Matrix and shouted out one of the pub’s bartenders, Jake, for starting the Letterboxd and putting together the featured movie lists. You can expect to see a Western playing on Wednesdays, a horror movie on Fridays and something sci-fi on Saturdays. Any other day (besides Sundays since the bar is closed) it’s a free game. You can find SLC Pub on Letterboxd: @SLCPub.

“I want Salt Lake to get better and better, and if we have a spot where we can help people make it better and better by sharing their art, then fuck yeah.”

You would be remiss if you thought SLC Pub to be a punk-rock bar, though. At a glance its graffiti-covered walls, paintpen-laden bathrooms, signs and wall art complete with anarchy symbols might indicate a punk-rock bar, but look deeper; you’ll find a collection of movie posters donated by the staff that have been customized by Reese, couches that are broken in with the same kinda comfort as those staples from the family living room growing up and a community art wall that hosts art from a new local artist each month. Hanna, Reese and the rest of the staff agree — SLC Pub is a movie bar through and through. The punk aesthetic comes from the mentality and intention behind punk and other counterculture movements — making and maintaining spaces for those who otherwise wouldn’t have them. Hanna says, “I care about this place. I want Salt Lake to get better and better, and if we have a spot where we can help people make it better and better by sharing their art, then fuck yeah.”

SLC Pub’s team has learned from their past and ensured that their menu features a wide selection of staple drinks, local favorites and staff picks across an array of beers and spirits and have a commitment to simple but effective available foods, beginning with one of Hanna’s childhood favorites — the Cincinnati chili dog. The bar also has the necessary theater staple of popcorn and build-your-own nachos coming soon!

“This is the fucking place.”

SLC Pub was recommended to me by friends of mine before I ended up visiting, and when I did, I was greeted with warm welcomes, genuine hospitality and excellent service. In the words of Hanna and Reese, “This is the fucking place.”

Writer’s Note: a Cincinnati chili dog is different from a Coney Island Dog. The chili on the Cincinnati dog is thin, almost sauce-like, and is made with cinnamon and cocoa instead of being more savory and dense like on the Coney. Don’t knock it before you try it!

Read other features by Hans Magleby: 
Velour & Vinyl: Yes, Provo Does Have a Music Scene
Localized: Seeking the Sun