Running a Utah restaurant through ski season, shoulder season and summer

In Park City and Moab, a restaurant's year is a set of waves. Park City surges with ski season and festivals, then drops when the lifts close. Moab surges with spring break and fall, goes quiet in winter and swelters in summer. A business that treats these waves as a plan instead of a surprise has a better chance of surviving the troughs. This guide is for owners of independent restaurants, cafes and bars in resort and tourism towns.

What does the Park City calendar look like?

Local reporting and the state's ski tourism office describe a pattern. Ski season drives the winter, with peak weeks around the holidays and major events. When the lifts stop in spring, a number of restaurants close for a few weeks or for much of the shoulder season. Owners told the Park Record that staying open costs more than it earns in those weeks, and one described closing as cheaper than staying open. Others keep regular hours. The local restaurant association publishes shoulder season updates every year, which shows that closures are a shared, organized practice, not a failure.

What does the Moab calendar look like?

Discover Moab, the local tourism office, has said that many restaurants reduce hours or close in winter, with some reopening in spring with limited menus. The busy periods are the spring events and spring break and the fall shoulder season, when popular restaurants can have long waits. Summer heat shifts demand to evenings. Reservations are strongly recommended at the busiest dinner restaurants in summer.

How do you decide whether to close or stay open?

Run the numbers on a typical quiet week. Add up the fixed costs you pay whether you open or not, such as rent, insurance, loan payments and utilities, then the costs you avoid by closing, such as hourly labor, food and some utilities. Estimate the sales you would make. If a week of reduced hours loses less than a week closed, stay open; if it loses more, close. Also count the intangible costs of closing: staff who find other jobs, regulars who forget you and a harder reopening. Some owners choose a middle path, such as opening four days a week with a short menu.

How do you keep staff through the quiet weeks?

Seasonal work is a major reason for turnover in resort towns. Options include paying a modest retainer or bonus for staff who return, offering cross-training and maintenance work during closures, sharing staff with a sister business, and giving a clear reopening date. Tell staff early, in writing, when you will close and reopen. Workers who know the plan can arrange other jobs or housing. Housing is a recurring problem in both towns, and some employers lease rooms or help with deposits.

How do you plan cash for the slow months?

Build a cash reserve during the peak. A common rule is to set aside a share of each busy week's profit for the weeks you know will lose money. Negotiate payment terms with suppliers, and ask your landlord about seasonal rent. Sales tax collected is not your money, so keep it in a separate account. Use gift cards, advance bookings and event deposits to bring cash forward, and make sure the tax and refund rules for them are clear. Order less food and cut your menu in the shoulder season to reduce waste.

How do you manage the peaks?

At the peak, capacity and consistency matter more than novelty. Keep the menu shorter, prepare ahead, and stock enough of the best sellers. Take reservations for dinner and hold a share of tables for walk-ins. A waitlist with a text notification keeps people from crowding the entrance. Plan staffing for holidays and festivals well in advance. Holiday weeks and big event weekends can look very different from the rest of the winter, so ask other owners how they staff those days, and note that major events can move or end, so do not build a budget on one.

How do you tell customers what you are doing?

Post closures and reopening dates on your door, your website and your social pages at least a month ahead. Update your hours on map listings, since wrong hours are a common source of bad reviews. Offer a gift card for a spring return, and ask regulars to sign up for a mailing list. In a tourism town, many guests plan a year ahead, and clear information protects your reputation.

What should you review each year?

After each season, write down what worked: which weeks were busy, what sold, which staff were stars and what you would change. Compare with the previous year. Keep a simple calendar with event dates, school holidays and weather. Share it with your suppliers, so they can plan deliveries for your busy and slow weeks, and ask whether they offer seasonal terms. Review the calendar with your managers at the start of each season so that everyone knows when to hire, when to cut hours and when to order extra stock. A plain record is more reliable than memory, and it helps you decide when to close, when to open and what to order. In a town where half the businesses close at the same time, being open on a quiet week can also bring in locals who have nowhere else to go, which is a way to build loyalty that outlasts the season.

More guides for your business:

• Utah food handler permits and certified food managers
• Utah liquor license quotas and waitlists for restaurants
• Utah tipped wage and tip credit for restaurants: a worked example (2026)

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