BOUNTIFUL—The city has been wanting to bring a restaurant to Main Street for some time and they’ve finally found just the right fit – Lucky Slice Pizza. When DeBoar’s Running Store closed in October of 2023 after 40 years in business, Bountiful City bought the building in January of 2024 with the idea that a restaurant there would bring more people to downtown Main Street.  

 A year later, the City Council approved Lucky Slice’s application at a recent meeting and now the pizza restaurant is moving forward with an anticipated opening in the fall. 

“It’s exciting,” said Mayor Kendalyn Harris. “We put out an RFP for any restaurant to give us their pitch about why they would want to come here. It seemed people were interested more in the evening hours to drive down to Main Street. So we wanted someone who would be open for lunch and dinner six days a week.”

Lucky Slice has a successful business model, she said. “They have restaurants in Logan, Ogden and Clearfield. They have good energy and vibe.”

The building backs onto the Town Square east of Main Street. “We hope they’ll have access to that so if a mom is at the park she can walk up to a window and get a slice of pizza for her kids.”

It’s a strategic location, said Harris. “It will energize downtown. There’s Makmak, the gluten free bakery Sweet Cake Bake Shop and Vito’s. We want to attract more restaurants so it’s more of a destination when people are wondering ‘where can we go?’”

Harris said when Lucky Slice applied she decided to see for herself and went to their Ogden location. “I wanted to experience the ambiance. I tried the pizza and it was delicious. I thought, ‘they need to come to Bountiful.’”

They have unique flavors, she said. “You don’t see them everywhere. They also have the good old traditional favorites that are tried and true. I was sold when I sat down. It had a fun, inviting atmosphere. It was just really good. I was just sitting there thinking ‘this is delicious,’ I loved it.”

“The mayor reached out in 2020-2021,” said co-founder, co-owner, Nick VanArsdell. “She had been seeking a restaurant in general for Bountiful. I took a tour of Bountiful and looked at a few places but nothing fit our style or model.”

Two years went by, he said. “Then a cool building came up in historic downtown Main Street. When I saw it it matched what we do and it was a great location for us. The city went through the RFP process and we applied. One thing led to another and now we’re looking down the barrel at opening in Bountiful.”

VanArsdell said they have an affinity for historic buildings. “We like to use historic charm like exposing brick or original flooring, taking down the ceiling and repurposing it for tables and chairs. We get supplies from different sources like a defunct bowling alley or old gym floors.”

Their style is really guided by a DIY spirit, he said. “That’s how we start out. It inspires us to reflect that in our surroundings and food.”

Lucky Slice also uses murals, he said. “We’ve had muralists work in our other restaurants and create a four-panel mural that we hang on the wall. There’s an individual design element in all of the stores and we use a local artist to create those.”

A cool feature of the building is that it is accessible to Main Street and also the Town Square, said VanArsdell. “It gives easy access to both sides so we can have a pickup window and seating on the east side by Town Square.”

Lucky Slice’s signature is a thin crust like New York style pizza, he said. “We have traditional and unique pizzas. We always have a seasonal menu that rotates twice a year. We also have a monthly special where we get more creative. Some are really out there.”

VanArsdell said they like to showcase the outside culinary world and delve into different food styles. “We have Asian and the southern U.S. right now. Chili, ramen crunch has been a hit. Also the Real Dill pizza. It has garlic with a cream base, mozzarella and dill pickle chips on top. It’s flavorful and delicious.”

They looked at other areas but Bountiful couldn’t be much better, he said. “It’s walkable, bike able and quaint. It makes sense for us. We’re excited to be part of the community and participate in events downtown.”