“By the end of that first year, we were kind of at a turning point - either we sell the building and move on, or we figure out how to really make the building work for us.” That moment, equal parts terrifying and clarifying, belongs to John Simianer and Peyton Wunderli, the architects behind The Pearl on Main. Their path to owning one of Midvale’s most iconic buildings, now home to an event space and architecture office, was not mapped out in a business plan. It unfolded the way many meaningful things do - through partnership, instinct, and a willingness to pivot when something is not working.

At the end of the day, we are here for young people. To see them. To believe in them. And to give them a space where their voices are not just heard but celebrated.” That is how Larissa Trout, Executive Director of Spy Hop, summed up the heart of an organization that has been quietly and powerfully transforming the lives of Utah’s youth for over twenty-five years. “I don’t know if I’ve ever worked anywhere else that centers young people as intentionally and as fully as this place does.”

"We wanted to create a space where people could turn their culinary dreams into reality without the financial burden of a full-scale restaurant," Ana Valdemoros shared, reflecting on the origins of Square Kitchen.