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Cottonwood Heights Journal

Archibald's Restaurant in Gardner Village offers a unique dining experience

Feb 17, 2022 10:37AM ● By Peri Kinder

Diners at the popular Archibald’s Restaurant at Gardner Village get more than an exquisite dining experience. They get to walk back through time when the historic pioneer flour mill was teeming with energy and community connection.

Scottish immigrant Archibald Gardner built the mill in 1877 in what is now West Jordan. But people worried it was too far away from civilization to succeed. 

“The second wave of pioneers developed this part of the valley,” said Marcia Johns, Gardner Village Marketing Director. “We’re eleven miles from downtown [Salt Lake City] but early pioneer journals said life would never exist this far south. They thought Archibald was crazy.”

But the mill became a bustling part of the Salt Lake Valley’s industrial scene until the building fell into disrepair and was purchased by Nancy Long in 1979. Archibald’s Restaurant opened in 1990, ten years after Nancy purchased the property and opened Country Furniture and Gifts (now CF Home). 

For more than 30 years, Archibald’s Restaurant has offered diners a list of delicious choices, from salads to steaks. Favorites include the legendary fried green tomatoes, lightly breaded and served with a signature creamy salsa, and the thick slices of carrot cake that feature a rich cream cheese frosting. 

“The fish and chips are also a favorite thing,” Marcia says. “We’ve served them for a long time and people love it. I personally love the wedge salad. I usually eat it twice a week. It’s amazing. We have a variety of options to suit people’s tastes and preferences.”

Open for lunch and dinner, Archibald’s Restaurant offers home-cooked items like soups and salads, pastas, seafood, sandwiches, burgers, steaks, and its infamous pot roast, with pan dripping gravy. The restaurant also provides a beer and wine selection.

If you’re looking for a unique event venue for a birthday party, wedding dinner, holiday banquet or office event, Archibald’s offers six rooms to accommodate an intimate gathering or a big reception. Whether it’s the Upper Silo, the Gear Room adjacent to the Mill Plaza or The Cellar with its full-service bar, the venue staff at Archibald’s will help you create an event to remember.

Guests can also explore the Gardner Village shops which are housed in historic buildings, either original to the site or relocated from places around the country. Each building, including the first two-story log cabin in Utah, has a plaque explaining its history. The mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Utah Historical Site. For more information, visit gardnervillage.com/archibalds-restaurant.

“This is casual dining with a modern farmhouse industrial feel,” Marcia says. “There’s nowhere else you can go and eat in a historic flour mill and silo here in Utah.”