“It is my own little playground with really good pizza.” Stacy House grew up just south of Chicago in Coal City, a small town where pizza ruled the restaurant scene. “The only restaurant, to be honest, that I ever wanted to own was a pizza place,” she said. “Because I grew up south of Chicago, and I have a very specific pizza type and flavor that I love, and I’ve had a very hard time finding it in the West.” That dream finally became a reality with Millcreek Pizza House, the restaurant she and her family opened in 2024.

“I’m born in Vietnam, but I always worked in Japanese restaurants here in Utah.” Ken Cuong Gip’s story begins in Ho Chi Minh City, in a family that ran an ice cream shop. He remembers the rhythm of school days, soccer after class, and the occasional help at the shop packing kilos of ice cream for street sellers and loving the daring flavor of durian, a fruit native to Southeast Asia. At home, he cooked now and then with his mom and great-grandmother, and he taught himself fried rice just because he loved it. That simple plate became his first signature dish on his way to becoming the chef and owner behind the Japanese restaurant, Shinobi Sushi Bar & Grill.

“We were young and confident. In one year, we opened Orchid Dynasty, got married, and I was pregnant.” Shelly Huynh smiled when she said it, remembering a time when everything seemed possible. Born in Vietnam, she arrived in the United States as a toddler in 1979, one of the “boat people” whose families risked everything to flee.

“People have wondered how we could work together for forty years. But since we kind of do different things - even though they overlap - I have mIne and he has his. Some days are easier than others, but we have found a way to make it work.” Kelly and Majid Omana have built a life together in every sense - married since 1983, partners in Evergreen Framing Co. & Gallery since 1985, and still going strong.

“We want the people who come in here to feel like family.” Todd Holsten grew up on the east side of Salt Lake City, spending much of his childhood in the mountains. Skiing, biking, climbing - if it was outdoors, he was in his element. After high school, he worked a string of odd jobs before finding his career home at Delta Air Lines in 1996. Nearly thirty years later, he is still there, now part of the aircraft movement team, enjoying the job’s stability and the flight benefits that have allowed him, his wife, and their family to travel the world. Together with his wife, Aranya, he now owns Aranya Thai Kitchen, a warmly inviting spot known for fresh, meticulously prepared Thai dishes that reflect her passion for getting everything just right.

“We need to accept dogs for the creatures they are - different from us but equally deserving of respect and understanding.” Ashley Wolf speaks with the kind of clarity that comes from lived experience. Her journey into dog training was a winding path that began in Santa Cruz, California. It wove through rebellious teenage years, university classrooms, and a series of other careers. Eventually, it led Ashley - alongside her husband, Ryan Heidt - to co-found Bark & Biscuit, a business dedicated to helping dogs and their owners understand one another.