“We have kind of done things together for forever.” Jasmine and Angelique Gordon laugh when they say it, but the line could easily be the tagline for their lives. From growing up in Ogden, Utah with a single mother and two older brothers, to years in the restaurant and bar world, to running a women’s clothing boutique and a bar at the same time, the sisters behind A La Mode in Sugar House have been side by side through all of it.

“I have been baking since I was nine. When I retire, I am still going to bake. I want the final chapter of my life to be spent baking bread in a little stone oven at home, offering it to my neighbors.” For Adalberto Díaz, founder of Fillings & Emulsions, the beloved Salt Lake City bakery, baking is not just a career, it is a lifelong devotion shaped by memory, faith, and family.

“I turned to Byron and said, ‘Can we be a donut shop?’ And boom, here we are.” Kandy and Byron Tesen never set out to open a bakery. In fact, when they first met in the Army over two decades ago, they could not have imagined that one day, they would be creating rosemary chocolate chip cookies, lavender and earl grey mini loaves, and glazed habanero peach donuts in their own sun-filled café. But after years of service and sacrifice, the couple opened Eats - a vegan bakery that is equal parts community hub and creative playground.

“The two things that bring people together, no matter who they are, are sports and food. And that’s what we built this place on.” Frank and Jovanna Henry, owners of Creole & Sliders Cafe, did not move to Salt Lake City with the intention of opening a restaurant. They came to retire.