Downtown Salt Lake City’s Gateway shopping center has been undergoing slow and steady adjustments since its change in ownership last year. The transformation is paying off: The Gateway is adding new tenants, including a Dave & Buster’s.
Construction at The Gateway has been nonstop for the past year. Recent visitors may have noticed a new coat of paint, new outdoor furniture, and a slew of new events like lunchtime food trucks, free movie nights, and a monthly Sunday brunch complete with a gospel choir.
Marketing Director Edie Trott says it’s all part of the $100 million-dollar plan to transform The Gateway into what she calls an “entertainment and lifestyle destination.”
“It’s no secret that retail in general is struggling,” Trott says, adding that management firm Vestar is looking to fill The Gateway with a solid mix of retail, restaurants and entertainment venues.
“We have The Depot, Wiseguys, The Acoustic Space, the Clark Planetarium, Discovery Gateway,” Trott says. “So we already have that great foundation, and it’s really just building off of that foundation and rounding it out.”
So she says the addition of Dave & Buster’s is the perfect fit. The popular chain offers a full-service restaurant with drinks, arcade games, billiards and bowling. It will open in the old food court space in early 2018.
“ I know that sounds far away,” says Trott, “but it’s actually only six or seven months away. But we are really excited to have them coming to Salt Lake City and to Utah in general.”
Trott says several more lease agreements are in the works, as are plans for public art installations, and a boutique hotel connected to the historic Union Pacific Station. She says while a complete revitalization of The Gateway may still be two or three years away, the momentum is just picking up.
