Any strong alcohol has to be purchased at a state run store.

So, like 5/6 of the states I've lived in. California was the only one where you could fill up your car and buy a bottle of Everclear at the same time.

5% ABV beer can be found in grocery stores

That's better than 3/5 of the states I've lived in. PA has liquor stores, and beer stores. A few years ago they started allowing grocery stores to sell individual bottles, but it had to be in a closed-off section with a separate cash register. Minnesota precludes all alcohol sales except in liquor stores (and restaurants). Georgia - at least when I lived there - also only allowed sales in custom stores.

So Utah is actually more liberal with alcohol sales than many states!

hard liquor or wine or stronger beer goes through the state. Even restaurants

I think that's the rule in the States. California is the only one I know if where you can buy hard liquor from a 7-11.

This was (basically) how it worked when/where I grew up in Washington

I lived in WA too, Vancouver, but I was too young to be aware of liquor laws.

2. No ordering alcohol at a restaurant unless you also order food. Not sure what other states do.

Before the law change, this was the loophole in PA. You could pop down to a pizzeria and buy a couple of beers. It was a necessary loophole because, ironically, the one place you could buy beer - the specialty beer stores - you could only buy cases or kegs, no singles. But, yeah, that's changed.

There were rules about bar areas in restaurants having to be more 'hidden' from the main dining area, but I think that's a thing of the past.

I heard about that - a curtain, or separate room. But that changed a decade ago, because (as I mentioned) you could sit in the main room in a burger joint on the main street of Park City and order a beer (or martini) with lunch.

I think all us non-Utahans need to reevaluate our stereotypes for Utah. it seems to have become more liberal (alcohol-wise) than many other states.