‘Time flies pretty quickly’: SLC bar owner speaks a month after Main Street fire

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — It’s been almost a month since a fire broke out on Main Street in Salt Lake City and destroyed five businesses. Jason Lecates, the owner of two of those businesses, spoke with ABC4.com about rebuilding efforts.

On August 11, 2025, a fire broke out in the London belle restaurant in Salt Lake City, before spreading to several other businesses. The Whiskey Street Bar and White Horse Bar were both severely damaged as a result of the fire.

Jason Lecates, managing partner of Whiskey Street and White horse, previously told ABC4 that the fire was ‘a kick in the gut’. Despite the loss, he emphasized his commitment to rebuilding the businesses, in addition to focusing on the 150 individuals he employed.

This week, Lecates spoke about recovery efforts. He said, “First and foremost, we want to make sure that they land on their feet. We got with the city, and the city really helped with expediting unemployment claims. We got all that taken care of within the first couple days, so there wasn’t any holdup with unemployment payments.”

Additionally, other business owners within the community reached out with job openings in a variety of fields. Lecates said, “We’ve done our best to pass that on to employees. If they’re interested, they can apply for those open positions.”

The Downtown Alliance SLC also opened a fund for displaced employees and has disbursed almost $500,000 to those employees in order to help with rent, groceries, and other essential expenses.

Additionally, Downtown Alliance SLC offered an employee resource fair and other services to those employees.

Despite efforts to help them, Lecates told ABC4.com that the employees’ status remains unsure. He said, “We’re trying to keep in touch with them as much as possible, but most of them are going to have to move on, at least for the time being, and find other employment until we get a better game plan for when we get these reopened.”

As for the bars reopening, progress was initially postponed while insurance conducted inspections. Fortunately, Lecates said debris removal and rebuilding was allowed to begin on September 5, 2025.

Lecates was able to provide estimates for rebuilding, though he noted, “We’re in this a month– next week’s going to be a month. Time flies pretty quickly.”

White Horse Bar was less damaged by the fire and could reopen in the next four to six months, Lecates reported, though a small amount of asbestos was found in the building after the roof collapse.

Whiskey Street, on the other hand, will need significantly more work. Lecates’ initial estimate says it may take a year to rebuild.