Primo — an adjective describing something of the highest quality and the Spanish word for cousin — serves as fitting inspiration for the name of Preemo’s Restaurant & Bar, a modern American restaurant that cousins Miguel Carapia and Armando Huerta opened in Old Town Heber City earlier this month.
Huerta is the executive chef, a position he humbly downplays despite his three decades of experience. He started as a dishwasher at Snake Creek Grill in Heber City, working his way up to line cook. He’s also worked as a chef at The Blue Boar Inn & Restaurant and the Homestead Resort in Midway, as well as Squatters Pubs’ locations in Park City and the Salt Lake City International Airport.
Miguel has wanted to open a restaurant since childhood, but he’d “probably burn water if (he) cook(ed),” he joked. So, he sticks to administrative tasks with his wife, Guadalupe.
Miguel got his restaurateur aspirations as a 12-year-old boy bussing tables for his mother, who in 2002 opened La Reyna Mexican Restaurant on Park City Main Street.
La Reyna lasted only a year, serving as an example of the thin profit margins and cutthroat nature inherent to the industry. Despite that, starry-eyed Miguel walked away from the experience with a dream to open a restaurant of his own.
“I didn’t know it was so hard to own and manage a restaurant. I tell (my mother), ‘Maybe I should have done construction. Maybe I would have had my big company right now in construction, making a lot of money,’” he joked.
The Steak Sandwich is loaded with a 6 oz picanha steak, gorgonzola cheese, truffle mayo, balsamic onions, arugula served on local ciabatta bread. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record
Jocelyn Esparza makes a signature cocktail. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record
Preemo’s Restaurant & Bar offers a full service bar. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record
Miguel financed his dream by opening a local food delivery company, Wasatch Food Rush, in 2020, just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic. Americans’ spending on third-party food delivery more than tripled between the periods of December 2019 to February 2020 and October to December 2022, according to a 2024 study published by the United States Department of Agriculture. The rush at Wasatch Food Rush was constant in the company’s first two years.
As Miguel delivered food from restaurants, he began to get a sense of what menu he would want to develop: one that offered a sample platter of cuisines to appeal to all palettes.
That’s what he and Huerta have done with Preemo’s. A group of friends could walk in hungry for shrimp tacos, steak and teriyaki bowls and satisfy each craving.
Miguel’s favorite dish is the chipotle-braised hammer pork shank. He was inspired to put it on the menu after seeing a video about pork shanks on social media.
“I’m always looking at food on my phone,” he explained. “If there’s something I like, I will tell the chef, ‘Hey, I saw this. Can we see if we can do it?’ And he’ll put it together, and if we like it, we’ll put it on the menu.”
Owner Miguel Carapia, left, stands outside of Preemo’s Restaurant & Bar with Armando Huerta, his cousin and head chef. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record
Miguel and Huerta plan to create fluctuating seasonal menus to keep locals coming back. That’s the model Miguel has used for Route 32 Bistro in Kamas, which he opened last May.
“We have people up there that dine with us three, four times a week,” Miguel said. “I want to make it creative for them so they don’t get bored of the same old menu.”
Route 32 Bistro was formerly a sister location of Vintage Restaurant, Bar & Grill, which Miguel co-owned. He said the rebrand and his taking sole ownership more than doubled the restaurant’s gross sales in one year.
He also co-owned Buon Appetito Italian Bistro, his first restaurant, which he opened in 2022 and shuttered last month to reopen as Preemo’s.
Miguel much prefers flying solo. He said he often deferred to his co-owners in decision making, even if he disagreed with them, because he had the least experience in the restaurant industry. Now, he’s calling the shots.
“The food was good, but it wasn’t great. I always thought we could do better,” he said about Buon Appetito. “We were losing money month after month.”
Jocelyn Esperanza makes a signature cocktail. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record
Miguel is hopeful that his new restaurant can offer a truly primo experience.
One way he plans to do that is by focusing on the locals — for example, by sourcing ingredients from local vendors, like meats from The Stock Exchange in Kamas and bread from Red Bicycle Breadworks in Park City, offering daily lunch specials and creating a grab-and-go menu for students once the nearby Deer Creek High School opens in August.
Miguel acknowledged he’s still learning how to run a restaurant and that he’s very open to feedback. He hopes that Preemo’s can overcome one of the challenges that killed Buon Appetito — its location further from the center of town.
“People say this building is cursed. I’ve heard that on social media, that business after business (has closed),” he said. “The curse is away. Come on in.”
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