Five5eeds at 1600 Snow Creek Drive was opened by Australians Andrew and Tiffany Percy and was a quick hit. The restaurant was meant to emulate breakfast spots the couple loved back home and the restaurant continues to be popular.
But, the Percys’ sold Five5eeds to Ian Pope, Price Nicol and Mark Shrayber in 2023 so they could move back to Australia. Pope is also from Australia and was the general manager of Five5eeds for four years before taking it over.
Now, Pope and his two partners want to expand the Five5eeds experience into an Aussie-inspired dinner spot called Matilda.
“It's the number one thing our, you know, solid fan base at Five5eeds ask for, they always ask when are we opening for dinner,” Pope said.
However, he said the logistics of opening for dinner at Five5eeds just wouldn’t work. So, the team purchased a space right next door. The name, design and menu of the new restaurant link back to Pope’s Australian heritage. The name Matilda is a reference to the country’s pseudo-national anthem “Waltzing Matilda.”
“We wanted something kind of different than what you see in Park City,” he said. “Wanted to have, you know, something that reminded me of the small wine bars in Sydney and Melbourne, just something a little bit more casual.”
The restaurant will have a dining room as well as a lounge area and bar. Pope said the focal point at Matilda will be a large Marra Forni rotating pizza oven in the open kitchen. The menu will be simple, featuring sourdough pizza and “produce-driven” share plates.
Pope said the idea to feature pizza formed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I fell in love with sourdough, like a lot of people during COVID,” Pope said. “Then we started being really good friends with the Gozney crew, who have their headquarters in Park City and Salt Lake. They make amazing pizza ovens, and just through that kind of connection, started making a lot of really great sourdough pizzas.”
The team then started hosting various pop-ups throughout Park City for charity and Matilda will be a permanent spot for their pizza creations.
Pope said co-owner Nicol loves wine, so the trio are also planning to have a concise and unique wine menu like someone would see in New York, LA or Sydney. The team wants to branch out from standard wines found at local liquor stores.
Despite his Aussie roots and dining theme, Pope said he loves Park City.
“We've got a really great customer base and I love talking with them, meeting with them,” he said. “Park City hospitality is now in my blood.”
Pope says the trio has finished the design process and is going through permitting right now. Matilda is set to open this fall.
