Non-Alcoholic NirvanaApril 23rd, 2009
Spark: Provo's Hip New Ultra Lounge and Dining Experience
by Jacob Hodgen
Tucked away on the ground floor of the Wells Fargo building in Provo lies a mysterious new culinary destination.
Called "Spark," the restaurant is upscale, hip, and is oozing with ambiance. Modeled after high end lounges and hip restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area, Spark seeks to pair the best of fine dining with the look and feel of an ultra lounge.
How does a place like this survive in Provo? It's 100% alcohol free.
Whet your appetite with roasted cauliflower soup and almond froth, dine on some tandoori-crusted blue nose sea bass in a spicy pineapple reduction for the main course, and finish off the evening with some guava caviar and cream of hazelnut soup for dessert. Wash it all down with a non-alcoholic mango mojito or apple martini that won't get you thrown off the football team.
The restaurant's owner, Blake Ballard, is a success story of risk and innovation. Though only 25 years old, he has singe-handedly built Spark into one of Utah Valley's truly unique dining experiences. But he didn't always have this in mind.
"I graduated from BYU with a degree in Finance," he tells me. "And I took a job out in the San Francisco area. I ended up realizing that the job I took wasn't necessarily what I wanted to be doing. I also saw and learned a lot about different restaurants and ambiances. Provo had absolutely nothing like what I was thinking about."
The decision to refrain from serving alcohol was not made lightly, and he admits that they do lose some business because of it. However, he counters that it has also helped them to establish their own niche market. "Many people here chose not not to be in an environment where alcohol is served," reports Blake. "The ambiance is just as much the experience as the alcohol. Why not give that portion of the experience?" Spark does serve both coffee and tea.
Blake faces some unique and often humorous challenges while running Provo's only non-alcoholic lounge. If you can't guess it already, just remember this universal law: with any form of prohibition comes bootlegging.
"When we opened, we had people coming in with in bottles of wine, but according to state law, we can't even allow them in the restaurant or charge an uncorking fee," says Blake. "Another time a couple of guys kept ordering coke. We normally don't sell that many coke products, since most people are so intrigued by our drinks. We couldn't figure out what they were doing, until we saw them pouring in Jack Daniels they had snuck in. We also had some guy walk in off the street and sit down at our bar with a twelve pack of beer."
I asked Blake how his high-end business is faring in these tough financial times. Due to its upscale nature, Spark doesn't have many--if any--natural competitors in the valley, but Blake tells me jokingly that, "In this economy, fast food is competition!" He reports that Spark is doing well, though, and that he has high hopes for the future.
Check out Spark at 86 N University Ave in downtown Provo.
Reader Comments
Jannika Miller
I love reading the Utah Stories articles! Keep up the good work! Just be sure to spell check your headlines:
Non-Aloholic Nirvana April 23nd, 2009
(alcoholic and 23rd)
: )
re Jannika: Thank you Jannika. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it when readers point out typos. I edit the stories but I'm horrible at catching typeos and I often mess up perfectly good work. Would you like some free movie tickets to Brewvies? Just send me your address and I'll send you two. If any other readers would like free tickets. Just fill out our short survey frorm found here.
