Justin Hamilton: fine--but not too refined--dining in Logan.

• Author: Shelley, Barb
• Position: Steakhouse and Seafood restaurant - Company Profile

WALK INTO THE HOTTEST RESTAURANT to hit Logan in years, Cafe Sabor, a Latin bistro located in the charming old train station on Center Street, and you will see a surprising blend of local patrons: a silver-haired couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, a family with six kids in tow, and college students socializing and sometimes studying while devouring the cafe's weekly student special--a $5 beer and burrito.

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Single, successful and only 26, restaurateur Justin Hamilton has carved a broad-based market niche in this bucolic, land-grant college town, including his newest venture: Hamilton's Steakhouse and Seafood restaurant, located in an atmosphere-rich venue on north Main Street. His secret to success is ensuring that everyone feels welcome. From the afore described locals to the Bear Lake tourist seeking a tender steak after a day of sunburn and sailing, Hamilton's restaurants appeal to everyone.

How did a new entrant into the brutal restaurant business build two locales in only three years in a small town with a history of failed independent restaurants?

"The younger you are, the easier it is to take risks," reasons Hamilton, a modest and remarkably mature entrepreneur who moved to Logan eight years earlier for an academic and leadership scholarship at Utah State University. He selected the school because of the strength of its academic programs, but also instantly liked the community and recognized the innate opportunities to get involved.

Raised near Idaho Falls on a potato farm, Hamilton is a natural marketer. While studying economics and political science, he recognized that the town needed an exciting student hangout. He launched Cafe Sabor the summer between his junior and senior year, and, while working 80-hour weeks, was still able to graduate with a bachelor's degree in 2003. He credits his years working on his family's farm for teaching him a dawn to dusk work ethic.

The cafe flourished probably because Hamilton broadened the college hangout concept to appeal to a diverse demographic. At the steakhouse, he aims for ambiance fine enough for a...