Delayed 2 years by fire, Utah restaurateurs find 'silver lining' in new Sugar House location

SALT LAKE CITY — Brooks Kirchheimer brims as he whisks a tour around to a private dining room space at the back of his newest restaurant located on the ground floor of a soon-to-open mixed-use apartment complex in the heart of Sugar House.

He talks about the lighting expert he hired from New York to design the hundreds of lights scattered throughout the building to create what he hopes will be the perfect aura for future diners, as well as the unique ceiling sizes and dining spaces that blend into the rest of Hearth and Hill.

Some of the restaurant's staff are preparing nearby for the first crowds to walk through the doors a few hours from now, where they will be stationed by a "true chef's counter" that gives customers a unique view of kitchen operations. It's a feature partly inspired by a previous restaurant at which Kirchheimer worked and partly influenced by a growing fascination with the industry as portrayed on TV.

"(During) the pandemic, people spent more time at home looking at cooking shows," he said while guiding a tour. "(This) really gives them a true look and feel into where their food is being made. But it also just adds to the overall ambiance and action of the restaurant dining experience."

This is his second Hearth and Hill, a business that Kirchheimer co-created in Park City nearly a decade ago. It's now officially open after a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday afternoon.

Hill's Kitchen, his other restaurant inside The Residence At Sugar Alley, is slated to open in a few weeks, while residents will also begin to move into the eight-story, 193-unit complex in April.

While he's always eager to open a new restaurant, there's an extra sense of relief when it comes to this one. That's because this restaurant should have already opened at least two years ago, but it — and other lofty plans for one of the city's fastest-growing neighborhoods — all but went up in smoke in 2022.

Reflecting on it now, he can only chuckle and chalk it up as one of the setbacks that makes the restaurant industry so difficult.

"It's surreal to see it finally come to life," Kirchheimer said. "We can't wait for more and more guests to come in here and also be a part of it."

A major setback

Planning for the second Hearth and Hill began about four years ago. Kirchheimer and his father/business partner, David Kirchheimer, signed a lease with Lowe Property Group on Lowe's new property at 2188 S. Highland Drive in 2021.

Construction was moving along well when everything came crashing down in the fall of 2022.

Hours after the Kirchheimers secured a liquor license and building permits needed as they laid out their plans, a massive fire broke out at the site, lasting for several days and costing $59 million in damages. Investigators later stated that it was likely caused by either heaters or an electrical issue.

It forced everyone to start from scratch. David Kirchheimer remembers two other retailers opting out of their leases, while Lowe allowed the Kirchheimers to back out too. However, they had fallen in love with the location and other aspects of their plans.

By sticking to a new building, they could customize the restaurant layout in sync with the rest of the complex construction. That includes all the fancy details patrons will notice and all the background infrastructure few people think about when walking into a restaurant.

"We didn't blink an eye about staying here," David Kirchheimer said.

A 'silver lining'

While the fire delayed the restaurant's opening two years, it could have been worse. Ben Lowe, chief development officer of Lowe Property Group, said last year that firefighters were able to save about a year's worth of construction by salvaging its parking garage.

It also helped the restaurateurs avoid another logistical nightmare. Salt Lake City began its 1100 East/Highland Drive project in 2023, which gutted the road in front of businesses in the area for large chunks of that year and 2024.

That, paired with 2100 South construction that began last year and is still ongoing, left several businesses "teetering" on the edge of collapse, Erika Wiggins, co-chairwoman of the Sugar House Chamber of Commerce, explained in November 2024.

"It was harder than we ever expected," she said at the time.

Brooks Kirchheimer says he knows business owners who closed or relocated because of the construction. With construction on the rest of the building now wrapping up, Highland Drive outside of the complex is looking more like its old self for the first time in years.

"It's a silver lining in an otherwise dark cloud," David Kirchheimer added. "Because of the fire, all that work was done before we opened as opposed to during our operations. That would have been a problem."

It's allowed the Kirchheimers to think more about the logistics of the restaurant's 180-seat interior, its aesthetics and menu, one that's similar to the Park City location but with unique twists special to different chefs. The same goes for Hill's Kitchen, which will also hold a bakery to bake bread for all its locations.

That's not to say there wasn't one last hiccup before Friday's opening. Brooks Kirchheimer said the power went out in the area about halfway through one of its soft openings earlier this week. It was a moment he immediately laughed off.

"(It was) nothing compared to what we've been through in the past," he said.

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