Garage on Beck is permanently closing its doors, building to be torn down

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — After seeing two fires and countless other setbacks, the Garage on Beck is shutting its doors for good.

Bob McCarthy, the roadhouse grill and bar’s owner, made the announcement on social media, officially marking Saturday, May 31, as the bar’s final day. He told ABC4.com that he was having mixed emotions about closing the beloved Beck Street bar.

“The people who worked here for so long and the people that were customers for so long really made it,” McCarthy said. “To me, you can make anything like this, but you’re just another T.G.I. Friday’s if you don’t have that soul, if you don’t have people that dedicated themselves to you – workers, band members, people who played here for free, customers that just relentlessly came here.”

McCarthy has been the owner of the Garage for 16 years. His bar has welcomed customers for drinks, brunch, and music ranging from unheard-of local bands to legendary musicians such as Andre Williams and Joe McQueen.

But between two other businesses in Salt Lake City – Stoneground Italian and Bobby Juniors Bar – and wanting to spend more time with his family, he told ABC4.com it was time for him to say goodbye to the Garage on Beck. He explained that the lease was coming up, and after some recent conversations with Tesoro, the refinery that occupies the Garage’s backyard, he said it felt right to step away.

While the building will be torn down to make way for Tesoro development, McCarthy said he hopes the Garage on Beck will live on.

“I’m hoping somebody can take this amazing project – liquor license, business name, everything – and do something with it,” he said. “There’s a great opportunity for this to live. Of course, it will never be the same, but I would like to see it live on. If not, there will be a ‘Garage sale’ happening in June where you can come buy a piece of anything around here.”

McCarthy explained that everything in the building was brand new after it burned in its second fire in October 2023. And while the community rallied to help the Garage reopen in June of the next year, it was the moments after the first fire that McCarthy said would stick with him.

It was after Andre Williams played his first night of a two-night show, the Garage burned down. McCarthy said he thought it was over and Williams was packing his bags to head out, thinking the bar was burned down because of his show. But the Gallivan Center reached out, offered its stage, and Williams played his show in front of a massive Salt Lake City crowd.

McCarthy recalled sitting with Williams in the green room during the show where he said, “You know how lucky you are? Look at these people out here. You’re going to be fine. You’re the luckiest person I know.”

“Right there I knew, it’s going to be ok,” McCarthy said. “Lo and behold, everything got put back together and we had another great 10 years.”

While it does seem like the end of an era, McCarthy promised the Garage on Beck would not go quietly into the night. Throughout May, the Garage on Beck will be hosting celebrations with live music every night, including local bands that played at the bar when the Garage first opened.

“We’re just giving everybody a last time to say goodbye,” He said before jokingly adding, “Let’s just hope they don’t burn it down.”

To learn more about the upcoming month-long celebration, McCarthy encouraged people to keep on the Garage on Beck’s social media channels.