Daybreak coffee shop hopes business will perk up near new Bees Stadium after the season concludes

SOUTH JORDAN, Utah (ABC4) — The Salt Lake Bees stadium opened in April, just a few months after a new local coffee shop opened its doors across the street, but the owner said business hasn’t exactly been buzzing.

Amber Wilson opened Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee in February, just before the new Bees stadium opened two months later.

“It’s very close, we’re right across the street basically,” Wilson said.

She was hopeful the new stadium would bring more customers.

“It was such a fun season, I wouldn’t say the Bees stadium brought us as much business as we were hoping for, and didn’t get as much foot traffic,” Wilson said.

Wilson said that on game days, the traffic is actually from residents who stay close to home, avoiding big crowds.

“The traffic is interesting on the days of the Bees games, we get more traffic from our residents because they come in and say ‘Oh, there’s a Bees game, we are not driving anywhere,’” Wilson said.

Wilson thinks part of this issue may be from the kind of food customers want at a game.

“I think people are looking for that traditional game food; we didn’t have a lot of grab-and-go options, and a lot of people went to the stadium not knowing what to expect, checking out other food items,” Wilson said.

ABC4 asked some residents in the area if they would come back to Downtown Daybreak after the season was over. Some said the stadium is a good addition, but not enough to keep them in the area long term.

“The main draw is the baseball stadium,” Matthew Haight said.

“We’ll come up and walk the lake during Daybreak, and it’s good trax access, but otherwise we’re not up here doing a lot,” Chandie Vansickle said.

No matter what, Wilson hopes her coffee shop will be a good place to hang out before the games.

“We’re hoping to be a heavier presence in the community and have this be a place where people see these are features of the new ballpark + development that are designed to draw people,” Wilson concluded.