A community staple for years, Farlaino’s Café recently reached another milestone as on Tuesday, March 4, the restaurant celebrated its first anniversary under the ownership of Bill Hicks. To help commemorate the occasion, the Carbon County Chamber of Commerce provided a ribbon-cutting ceremony allowing community members to celebrate with Farlaino’s.

“We talked about doing a ribbon-cutting for Bill (Hicks) when they first opened, but he just wanted to make sure everything was dialed in, and then it just kind of got away from us,” said CCCC Executive Director Barbie Haeck in a previous interview with Castle Country Radio.

Hicks’ journey into the food world began in 2019 when he became a manager at the Crosscut Brewery. At the same time, he began attending the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, where he pursued a degree in culinary arts and chef training.

In the same year, Hicks would be named the head chef at Utah State University Eastern, a position which he held until 2024 when he took over Farlaino’s.

In his single year at the helm, Hicks has had an immediate impact on not just the restaurant but the community. In January, he was presented the Chamber of Commerce’s hospitality award at their annual installation banquet.

At the ribbon cutting, Hicks stated, “It’s been crazy and amazing. I’m lost for words right now.” He continued onto upcoming hour changes for the restaurant as winter turns into spring,” We’re going to extend our hours March 17, Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, of course, we have our brunch from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.”

Surrounded by friends, family, and employees, Hicks cut the ribbon to cap off the one-year celebration.

In a post shared on LinkedIn, Hicks states,” Well it’s been one year since we took ownership of Farlaino’s Café. It’s been an amazing year with so much support from everyone! Here is to many more years!”