Formerly: Lamb's Cafe
Salt Lake City, Utah · Founded 1919
A former Utah restaurant founded in Logan in 1919, moved to Salt Lake City in 1939, and closed after 98 years in 2017.
Lamb's Grill Cafe began in Logan in 1919 under Greek immigrant George Lamb before moving to Salt Lake City's Herald Building in 1939. For decades it was a downtown power-lunch institution known for its 1939-era dining room and Speros-family stewardship. The restaurant closed permanently in 2017, and its former Main Street space is now a different restaurant.
Greek immigrant George Lamb opens Lamb's Cafe in Logan, Utah.
Source: Salt Lake Tribune, "Lamb's Grill, Utah's oldest continually operating restaurant," August 29, 2011; Deseret News, "A Lamb's tale," February 18, 2004
Lamb moves the restaurant from Logan to the Herald Building at 169 South Main Street in Salt Lake City.
Source: Salt Lake Tribune, "Lamb's Grill, Utah's oldest continually operating restaurant," August 29, 2011; KSL, "Lamb's Grill Cafe," September 4, 2008
Ted J. Speros begins working with George Lamb and eventually becomes his partner.
Source: KSL, "Lamb's Grill Cafe," September 4, 2008; Deseret News, "A Lamb's tale," February 18, 2004
George Lamb retires and Ted Speros buys him out, according to the Deseret News account.
Source: Deseret News, "A Lamb's tale," February 18, 2004
Ted Speros sells the restaurant to his adult children, John Speros and Estelle Speros Kevitch.
Source: Deseret News, "A Lamb's tale," February 18, 2004
John Speros buys his sister's interest in Lamb's Grill.
Source: Deseret News, "A Lamb's tale," February 18, 2004
John Speros sells Lamb's Grill to Francis Liong.
Source: Salt Lake Tribune, "Lamb's Grill, Utah's oldest continually operating restaurant," August 29, 2011
Lamb's Grill closes permanently after financial difficulties and liquor-license issues.
Source: KUTV, "Salt Lake City's Lamb's Grill closes its doors for good," July 8, 2017; Salt Lake Tribune, "Lamb's Grill closes — but not forever, owner hopes," May 11, 2017
Ramblin' Roads occupies the former Lamb's Grill space at 169 South Main Street as a different restaurant business.
Source: Chew and Chat, "Lamb's Grill Building Is Now A Ramblin' Roads," June 11, 2025
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The Salt Lake Tribune, KSL and Deseret News all identify George Lamb's 1919 Logan opening and the 1939 relocation to the Herald Building at 169 South Main Street.
Major Utah publications described Lamb's as Utah's oldest continually operating restaurant before its closure. It closed in 2017 after 98 years, so the designation is historical and cannot be used to describe an active restaurant today.
Lamb's Grill permanently closed in 2017. The 169 South Main Street space later became Ramblin' Roads, a separate restaurant business that does not inherit Lamb's historic identity.
Before closure, contemporary reporting described long-preserved 1939 booths, wainscoting, counters, fixtures and other interior elements. After the 2017 closure, owners sold much of the furniture and kitchen equipment to a different restaurant, so an intact Lamb's interior at the former site cannot be assumed.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported that John Speros sold Lamb's Grill to Francis Liong in 2011. This review found no support for a John Sparks purchase.
The reviewed sources identify the historical Herald Building location but do not establish a 1909 construction date or document the development history of the restaurant space.
Lamb's Grill is still open at 169 South Main Street.
Lamb's Grill permanently closed in 2017. Ramblin' Roads now occupies the former space as a separate restaurant.
Source: KUTV, July 8, 2017; Chew and Chat, June 11, 2025
Lamb's Grill opened in Salt Lake City in 1919.
George Lamb opened Lamb's in Logan in 1919 and moved it to Salt Lake City's Herald Building in 1939.
Source: Salt Lake Tribune, August 29, 2011; KSL, September 4, 2008
John Sparks bought Lamb's Grill in 2011.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported that John Speros sold Lamb's Grill to Francis Liong in 2011.
Source: Salt Lake Tribune, August 29, 2011
The historic 1930s Lamb's Grill interior remains intact at the former site.
Much of the restaurant's furniture and kitchen equipment was sold after the 2017 closure. The current restaurant at the site is a separate business.
Source: KUTV, July 8, 2017; Live2Makan, June 8, 2020; Chew and Chat, June 11, 2025
This field is retained only for archival context. Lamb's endured through a move from Logan, a long Speros-family operating era, and changing downtown tastes, but it ultimately did not survive the financial and licensing pressures that led to its 2017 closure. Its historic furnishings and identity were dispersed or preserved elsewhere rather than continuing intact at the original Salt Lake City site.
No. Lamb's Grill permanently closed in 2017 after 98 years in business. The former location at 169 South Main Street is now occupied by Ramblin' Roads, a different restaurant.
George Lamb opened Lamb's Cafe in Logan, Utah, in 1919. He moved the business to Salt Lake City's Herald Building in 1939, where it operated until its permanent closure in 2017.
Utah newspapers and local reporting described Lamb's Grill as Utah's oldest continually operating restaurant before it closed in 2017. That designation is historical; Lamb's is no longer an operating restaurant.
The ownership history near closure is incomplete in the sources reviewed. John Speros sold the restaurant to Francis Liong in 2011, while 2017 reporting identified Wayne Barlow as owner during the financial and licensing crisis. The exact legal ownership transition requires business-record review.
After Lamb's Grill closed in 2017, the 169 South Main Street space was later occupied by Ramblin' Roads. The successor restaurant is a separate business and does not continue Lamb's 1919 founding or historic designation.
Before its closure, Lamb's retained many 1939-era booths, counters, wainscoting and fixtures. However, reporting after the 2017 closure says much of the furniture and kitchen equipment was sold, so the former space should not be described as retaining an intact Lamb's interior.
169 S Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 364-7166
None on file
Lamb's Grill is permanently closed. The address is now occupied by a different restaurant; do not visit expecting the historic Lamb's business or its original interior.