“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.

“It was never in the cards for me. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I would be running a theater company - let alone Salt Lake Acting Company. Cynthia Fleming grew up in Bountiful, Utah, the daughter of a former Miss Utah and a charismatic father who managed a radio station and often emceed events around Salt Lake City. Tall, lanky, and pigeon-toed, she was steered toward ballet at the age of seven. Her teacher, a Utah Civic Ballet (now Ballet West) dancer, gave her strict classical training, and she quickly went from being one of the weakest in class to one of the best.

“I always thought it was strange that no one had taken 801 for a business name. I grew up between Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon, and when it came time to name my company, 801 Coffee Roasters felt right. Back in the day, that was all there was, 801. Now we have area codes 435 and 385, but the original people only knew 801. I figured the name had to be gone, but it wasn’t, so I trademarked it immediately and have been running with it ever since.”

“Finally, something I actually enjoy drinking.” That was the reaction of Jennifer Carleton when she first tried hard cider in a pub outside Galway.” Jennifer is the founder of Mountain West Hard Cider along with her husband Jeff. Jennifer had always loved mulled cider - the warm, spiced, non-alcoholic kind served during the holidays. But it was not until a 2008 work trip to Ireland that she discovered its boozy cousin: crisp, refreshing, and poured like a pint of beer.

“We offer good quality cleaning and pressing at a good price. That’s what keeps people coming back.” Dennis Jardine has spent decades building Jardine’s Professional Dry Cleaners into a trusted name in Salt Lake City. Located in the Marmalade district, this dry-cleaning business has been a neighborhood staple since 1988, thriving on customer loyalty and word of mouth rather than traditional advertising.

"I think it was actually kind of helpful in a way that we opened in February of 2020, admits Scott Adams, owner of District Coffee Company. He did not have to scale back like so many others at the beginning of COVID, instead Scott and his partner, Cameron Sappa, were able to simply open small. "We only had two employees; we had no real indoor space for seating. We could open with all the guidelines in place, and then just grow as everything was slowly lifted."

“This is my first interview ever,” Molly Mullane laughs, admitting her slight trepidation at sharing her story. As the owner of two Club Pilates studios in the Salt Lake City area, Molly’s journey from a small farm town in Indiana to becoming a fitness business owner is both inspiring and relatable.

“Taking a three-hour flower arranging class made me so happy - it brought me a source of comfort and peace that I did not realize could happen to me,” shares Natalie Cruz, a native of Cottonwood Heights, Utah. Surrounded by flowers since childhood, thanks to her mother and grandmother, Natalie developed a deep love for blooms. This passion followed her to California, where it truly flourished during her college years. Frequent visits to local farmers markets and floral arrangement classes ignited a joy that eventually led to the founding of The Petal Coop.

“We have a passion for bringing people together through food and drinks,” says Chris Madrill, one half of the dynamic duo behind Marmalade Brunch House. Chris and his brother, Nelson, opened their brunch spot in April 2023, at the remarkable ages of nineteen and twenty. Their youthful energy and love for great food are palpable in every corner of this colorful, welcoming space.

“It was really difficult to choose a name for the restaurant,” Milo Carrier confided when we sat down one summer afternoon. “It’s so permanent.” He went on to say that he did not want it to be associated with a particular cuisine. “I didn’t want people to have a preconceived idea of what they would find when they got here.” Milo then admitted that he did have a dog named Arlo years ago, and, yes, he did listen to Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant,” growing up. In addition, his sister’s name happens to be Alice. But in the end, he simply liked how Arlo sounded. “It rolls off the tongue easily without offering any hint of what is inside the front door.”