SALT LAKE CITY — The hustle and bustle of Whiskey Street and White Horse used to pour into the streets of downtown Salt Lake City, but now, the businesses have fallen quiet.
“If you came down here on Friday or Saturday night. This was the heart of the city and the vibe, I guess, is just not there,” said owner Jason LeCates.
On Aug. 11, a devastating fire started inside the kitchen of the London Belle. White Horse was left with smoke and water damage, and Whiskey Street was a total loss.
“Before I even got on the freeway to drive downtown, I knew the place was going to be a total loss,” LeCates said. “It was clear very quickly that Whiskey Street was going to burn to the ground.”
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LeCates immediately got to work, and when FOX 13 News Utah caught up with him on Monday, just six weeks after the fire, the place had been transformed.
“Most of the fire debris is gone. Everything should be out of here in the next day or two. After that, we got to get the floor out. So that's kind of the last part of the demolition,” LeCates said.
Peter Marshall, owner of Utah Book & Magazine next door, has known LeCates for years and has been looking after the space ever since the fire.
“It made me very sad. I almost started crying. I mean, these people are my friends,” Marshall said.
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Marshall said people come in to ask about the businesses all the time.
“'When’s White Horse open? When’s Whiskey Street?' I said, 'Jason's going fast. They're not fooling around. They're going to get it done,'” Marshall said.
LeCates said they’ve set a goal of when they want to reopen.
“We've been saying, a year on Whiskey Street, six months on White Horse. We're a little more optimistic. We're kind of hitting the ground running. Things are really coming together now. The city's really willing to help expedite stuff,” he said.
The hope is to be done even sooner than that.
In the meantime, Marshall said he will continue to watch over the empty space until people are there to fill it.
“You still water his plants?” FOX 13 News asked.
“Every day. I'm not going to let them die. I’m not letting these things die. I put a lot of work into them, and they’re going to grow,” Marshall said.
LeCates said insurance companies are still working to determine the cause of the fire.
