SALT LAKE CITY — Mark your calendars: Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at 5 p.m.
That's when the once-popular restaurant chain The Training Table says it has some "Tasty things coming" — but it's not yet clear whether that's a reopening date or the day where they'll make an announcement.
A somewhat cryptic message appeared on The Training Table's website in July, reading: "Tasty things coming soon..." along with a space where aficionados of the iconic former Utah restaurant to enter their email address to "Get Notified."
The restaurant also posted a tease about its possible reopening on Instagram, with a photo of cheese fries and the accompanying caption: "We're still a family owned business and still very much 'A Utah Original'! ☎️ Stay hungry and stay tuned. 🍟🍔"
But now, as of Friday (Sep. 2), those eagerly awaiting The Training Table's return have a date to look forward to.
There's also a live countdown on the website, down to the very second.
Details about what exactly is in store are still unknown. Will customers again call in their orders using phones at their tables, or will there be a new take on the nearly 40-year-old Wasatch Front staple? Time will tell — exactly 35 days, 36 minutes and 22 seconds, as of this article's publishing.
The chain closed in 2016. At the time its doors were shuttered, there were Training Table locations in Salt Lake City, Holladay, Layton, Riverton and Sandy, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
On Dec. 1, 2016, the chain posted a final message on Facebook.
"After 39 wonderful years, yesterday was our final day serving cheese fries, dipping sauce and burgers! Thanks to our incredible customers and staff who made us A Utah Original!!!"
Despite its success, the family-owned restaurant was closed following lawsuits filed among family members. The CEO and president of the chain, Stephanie Chard, originally filed the lawsuit against her father, Kent, who founded the restaurant in 1977, seeking damages for the loss of "past, present and future business opportunities."
Kent Chard filed a countersuit saying his daughter caused him "extreme mental distress, humiliation, anguish, and emotional and physical injuries, as well as economic losses."
