Garage on Beck’s ‘Last Dance’: Saying goodbye to an SLC staple

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Salt Lake City’s Garage on Beck held its last night on Saturday before closing its doors for good, marking the end of a community staple.

They celebrated with one “Last Dance,” featuring bands that perform there frequently — and tickets were sold out. When ABC4 asked why the bar was closing down, we were told it was due to a variety of reasons, but ultimately it was the owner’s decision.

“It’s been a chapter,” said Levi Beutler, the general manager. “Sometimes it closes, and that’s fine … It’s bittersweet, it’s always bittersweet.”

The establishment suffered two fires and countless other setbacks before its closing. Bob McCarthy, the roadhouse grill and bar’s owner, made the announcement on social media, officially marking May 31 as the bar’s final day. He told ABC4 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 it was time for him to say goodbye to 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 had hoped Garage on Beck would live on. Now, he said he’s selling everything, even the Garage’s name.

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 that 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 greenroom 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.”

Throughout May, Garage on Beck hosted 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.