Grand re-opening of the Tamarisk in Green River

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

The Tamarisk Restaurant has three new owners. Kelly and Vicki Bayles recently retired and sold the business to long time managers Trevor and Allyson Mecham, Josh Rowley and Nick Derrick.
The Tamarisk has been in business since 1979.
The business has been remodeled and updated and new menu items added. New owner Josh Rowley said he grew up in Green River and he’s glad to be back after spending 10 years in Salt Lake.
Every thing in the restaurant is new. The interior has been completely updated with new lighting, paint, tables and chairs and the art work.
Rowley said many menu items have been updated and the classics are still being served. New food presentation and new tableware are part of the changes to the restaurant.
There are salads, sandwiches, Mexican dishes, salad bar and a buffet available when tour groups come in.
Another item being revived is the Tamarisk fudge. It will be individually packaged and ready for purchase. Rowley said the entire front space in the restaurant has been opened up and a waiting area has been added. A divider wall was taken out to open up the restaurant and now it seems much larger. Rowley said they modernized the decor and now it’s trendy in design and style. The wall murals are local scenic attractions.
Another new wall decoration is the Rural and Proud theme spelled out in lights. This is the theme for the local Epicenter.
Rowley said the wall murals show what’s cool about Green River and highlight local attractions. It gives diners some idea of what’s out there if they aren’t familiar with Green River.
Rowley said they are working to help make Green River a destination where people will want to stop and stay.
Mecham said he has been a cook at the Tamarisk for 27 years and purchasing the restaurant seemed like a good fit for him and his wife Allyson. He loves cooking for people and watching them enjoy the good food at the Tamarisk. He encourages everyone to come on by and see the new look and menu items. Mecham said to be sure and try the new Navaho chicken salad and the street tacos. There is a locals discount of 10 percent off menu items.
The hours are 7 a.m.- 10 p.m. every day.
Also available on the menu are wine and beer. The wine is local being produced in Moab at the Castle Creek winery. The Tamarisk is happy to introduce these local products to international visitors.
Nick Derrick said his role in the business venture as a co-owner is to do all the billing, accounting and the ordering of products for the restaurant. He gives the credit to his husband Josh for the design and creative work. He’s really happy with how everything has turned out.
The phone number is 435-564-8109. You can find the Tamarisk at tamariskrestaurant.com and on facebook.
History of the Tamarisk Restaurant. The property was owned by the Hatt family as well as the property where the museum is located and the motel. Kelly Bayles tried for three and a half years from 1975-1979 to get the restaurant location on the river. He wanted the diners to be able to enjoy the view. That’s really where he wanted the restaurant to be and any sacrifice was worth the river view. The downside was the flood insurance was quite high priced. When the restaurant was opened in 1979 among the first customers was a bus load of 45 senior citizens stopping for lunch.
About the same time a raft load of young people came floating by on the Green River and mooned the senior citizens dining in the Tamarisk by the large picture windows.
The Tamarisk was one of the first restaurants to serve Navajo tacos.