A wall of chopped wood nestled into sleek metal cubbies and bright walls may be the first thing visitors notice about Vinto, the new pizzeria and Italian eatery on Park City’s Main Street. The second would be the wafting smell of warm dough as wood-fired pizzas are pulled out of the oven in rapid succession, a hallmark of the new restaurant.
The establishment first opened its doors earlier this year and sits at the base of Main Street, or as owner David Harries likes to say, the entrance to Main Street.
“Think about where Main Street really starts and where we are,” he said. “This is where it all starts.”
Harries first dipped his toes into the Park City dining scene when he originally opened Riverhorse on Main more than three decades ago. Now, he works with partners and married couple Helene and Chuck Loyd, both who helped open the first Vinto location in downtown Salt Lake City.
“With Vinto’s speed, efficiency and price point, all that in an environment that’s really inviting and modern, that’s a combination we feel is underserved, not just in Park City but on Main Street specifically,” Harries said.
Vinto is what Harries would call a “fast-casual dining experience,” meaning the environment has upscale flair where diners are using actual silverware rather than eating with plastic, but the prices are still affordable and the food is served up at a quick pace.
“The biggest hurdle for restaurants in Park City is that there are so many good, high-end restaurants, too many,” Harries said. “For the average person living in Park City, whether they can afford it or not, people don’t want to eat that serious all the time.”
Instead of using the fine dining business model, Harries said his business model rests on three principles: good food, good service and good environment. That’s why nothing on the menu tops $11 and wine is served at a flat rate depending on whether its red or white wine. It’s his personal mantra, the indispensible triangle that accompanies any restaurant he opens. And Harries has opened his fair share of restaurants in Utah.
For more than 30 years, Harries has worked in the restaurant industry, opening his first restaurant as a 20-year-old with the help of his sister. Since then, he’s gone on to open restaurants such as The Barking Frog, the Stag Lodge Restaurant, Trio and Fresco, all of which are now sold.
“There’s practically nothing that we don’t make ourselves,” Harries said. “Our breadsticks are rolled fresh every morning. Our croutons are cut by hand. Almost every single thing in the restaurant is made fresh.”
That includes the house desserts made by an on-staff pastry chef in Salt Lake City and driven up to the local area daily, classics that include gelatos, tiramisu and molten chocolate cakes.
Even minute décor details were carefully constructed to give Vinto its own atmosphere, down to the thick, horizontal black and white stripes lining a back wall. The inspiration came from Harries’ honeymoon in Italy where he saw a cathedral in Siena with distinctive black and white stone striping the length of the edifice, a secret only one restaurant guest has been able to correctly identify.
“I’m always trying to create a positive experience,” Harries said. “That’s what this all comes down to.”
Contact Information:
Vinto
900 Main Street
(435) 615-9990
Hours:
Monday – Thursday
11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Friday – Saturday
11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Sunday
4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Beer, wine and cocktails available