'Like general conference every day': Downtown Salt Lake prepares for temple crowds

SALT LAKE CITY — Downtown Salt Lake City businesses are preparing for a significant increase in visitors when the Salt Lake Temple opens to the public following years of renovation.

Leaders with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expect the temple open house to attract about 22,000 visitors each day, which is comparable to general conference crowds.

Matt Caputo, CEO of Caputo's Market and Deli, said his team used the church's recent general conference weekend as a preview of what could be ahead.

"We're just thinking, 'All right, guys, let's get geared up. We know what that looks like,'" he said. "Having one after another will certainly be a challenge, but I know that it's one that my team is actually looking forward to, because the energy that that brings is always something that's really welcome."

Caputo said employees are already training for the expected rush by practicing how quickly they can prepare food and learning how to maintain a hospitable environment even when it's crowded.

"We did something a while back called Olympic training season. We look at ourselves like an Olympic deli team," he said. "They're doing things like time trials on making sandwiches, how to keep calm under pressure."

City Creek Center is also preparing for an influx of visitors. Director of marketing Natalie Watson said several new retailers are opening at the shopping center, including Suit Supply, Läderach, SKIMS and The North Face.

The mall is planning special activations during the open house and is working with church officials and the Downtown Alliance on operational planning, including parking.

"We have noticed a great level of excitement, even with the temple visitor center just opening," Watson said. "We've seen that influx of foot traffic and just the energy."

The Salt Lake Temple has been closed since late 2019 for a major renovation. During that time, nearby businesses noticed a decline in customer traffic.

"The general conference and the temple visitors, I think, have been a larger portion than I really understood of the visitors to downtown Salt Lake," Caputo said. "I think it took them going away for us to really miss them, so we're really excited to have it back."

As the temple prepares to welcome visitors again, Caputo hopes increased foot traffic will help fill commercial vacancies downtown.

"There's offices with available signs, food establishments with available signs all over," he said. "To have it back just how it was would be fantastic. But all the events to open it up with a bang is going to be something that we really welcome."

Business leaders said they are optimistic the temple's reopening will bring more visitors, customers and economic activity to downtown Salt Lake City.

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