In the heart of downtown, it's hard to miss the "Second & Second" written in large white font against solid black paint across the brick building at 200 South and 200 East.
The latest tenant of this distinctive landmark is The People's Coffee. However, the building began as a Studebaker automobile garage, where the letters originally displayed, "Studebaker Garage." It showcases Salt Lake City's industrial past and community growth throughout the past hundred years.
Studebaker began as an 18th century colonial family business that manufactured wagons. By 1852, it was an Indiana-based wagon and automobile manufacturer owned by five brothers, and by 1868, it was known as the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company. Their business quickly spread across the country—including to Utah—when they entered the automotive business with electric vehicles in 1902 and gasoline vehicles in 1904.
Many photographs of the era in the University of Utah's Shipler Collection show men riding the newest car models in front of the Latter-day Saint Temple downtown. The Studebaker Garage marked the transition from horse-drawn carriages toward automobiles in the first half of the 1900s. The Studebaker company established a reputation for quality, durability and reliability and its popularity in Salt Lake City is evidenced by a contemporary Studebaker store at 157 S. State Street.
Now, the building doubles as a coffee shop with low-income housing above. The People's Coffee was forced to move its shop from Broadway when a block of small businesses was demolished for a housing project on 300 South. Finding a new spot only a few blocks away was a stroke of luck in May of 2021, a year into the COVID-19 pandemic. The coffee shop is celebrating its three-year anniversary and has flourished in its new location.
Having a coffee shop in a historical building has its advantages, Omar Jamhour, the owner of said. "It's still in the middle of downtown, but yet it doesn't have to be a new building. It has a lot of character and doesn't look like every other building."
As a historical building with low-income housing on the upper floors, Jamhour's contract lasts for 89 years, so he does not have to worry about the building being demolished and having to relocate again. "They can't kick me out because of demolishing the building," he said, "which is definitely the biggest benefit."
