“If you could do anything, what would you do?” This was the question posed to Heather Santi years ago, and her answer was quite simple. “Breakfast.” Long before Eggs in the City became a Salt Lake City institution, she knew this was her favorite meal of the day and one she wanted to share with others. It was not about food trends or culinary ego. It was about people.

“I would have thought you were a little crazy if you told me a year before this that I would be running a cleaning company.” For Steven Connors, owner of Maid Brigade in Salt Lake City, this chapter was never part of the original plan. He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, one of four children in a swim-tennis community where days were spent outside riding bikes, playing sports, and roaming the neighborhood. At the University of Georgia, he studied finance, ran track and cross country, and graduated in 2007 with a clear, conventional path ahead of him.

“I grew up around horses - riding horses - you know, the whole little farm thing.” In this Rocky Mountain Bully Chews profile, Sue Steel’s story begins in rural Idaho, the oldest of seven on a farm where there were a couple of milk cows, pigs at times, a dog or two, cats, and always horses. Her father taught FFA and agriculture at the local high school, leasing their sixty acres to neighboring farmers until, in retirement, he became an agronomist, the kind of practical advisor who helps growers choose what they need to make their crops thrive. Country days shaped Sue: chores before school, rides at dusk, and an easy love of animals that never left.

“I just love food. I love everything about it. I love cooking it, baking, eating, looking at it, watching people make it. Traveling for food is my favorite thing.” For Monet Clough, Catering and Events Director of Beaumont Bakery & Café, that love has never been abstract. She grew up just down the road from the Olympus Hills Shopping Center, with Mount Olympus and Grandeur Peak filling the windows of her childhood. As a teenager, she was constantly in motion, playing basketball, volleyball, and running track. Between practices she came up the hill to work in the place that would quietly become her second home. She was seventeen, in 2021, when she walked into Beaumont Bakery for the first time.

“I worked with my dad at his deli when I was twelve years old. I would ride my bike downtown and go spend hours there on Saturdays. Little did I know I would own a deli, myself, someday.” Sharon Wuolukka, owner of The Old Dutch Store, grew up in Salt Lake City, the youngest of four children in a Dutch household where food, work, and family were intertwined.

“Your past does not define you. You are capable of healing, and you are capable of change.” For Ronda Davis, the founder of Healing Feathers, those words are not a slogan but the compass that has guided every step of her life.

“Utah is my eighth state,” Joe Bott admitted laughing as if even he still finds it hard to believe. “We moved constantly for my mom’s job. But somehow this ended up being the place that made the most sense to come back to.” Joe’s journey is as winding as the story behind Second Summit Hard Cider Co., which he owns in partnership with his mother, Vicki.

“If I were to describe the store simply, we’re here to bring some joy to people,” says Trace Sweeten, co-owner of Backyard Birds along with business partner Rob Blackhurst. Trace’s simple reflection captures the heart of Backyard Birds, a small shop in Sugar House that has grown into a beloved haven for bird lovers, gardeners, and anyone in search of something charming and unexpected.

“I literally woke up and thought, you need to do something with cupcakes for [my daughter] Celina.” Natalie Jensen never imagined that one day she would own So Cupcake. She grew up in Salt Lake City’s Millcreek area, graduated from the University of Utah with a master’s degree in social work, and spent her early career helping children at the Children’s Center. “I never, ever thought I would own a bakery,” she said. “My mom was a really good cook, and I learned from her, but I was never into baking.”

“My purpose, my mission statement is to create the landscape in which we celebrate this big, beautiful existence,” said Morgan Simkins, owner of Native Flower Company. Inside, that purpose is visible everywhere. Both the Liberty Wells shop and their Sugar House location are bright and beautiful, filled with color and movement, with a small, well curated collection of gift items tucked between lush plants and artful floral arrangements. 

"For me, creating new crepes is something that makes me happy. We are here on this planet to create.” At Dali Crepes, the business that carries his nickname, Dalibor “Dali” Blazic has built a life around that belief, one delicate layer of batter at a time.

“I always knew I wanted to create something of my own, but I did not know if I could take the leap. Then life pushed me, and suddenly it was now or never.” Parfé Diem - two words that carry a meaning far beyond dessert - is about seizing the moment the way Parker Barbee finally did after decades of hustling, grinding, imagining, and doubting. And it is also about the person who stood beside him as he leapt: Marcus Martin - the steady, grounded, practical partner, the one who gave up a secure career so Parker could pursue his dream.

“Food is my language. I bring my spices from Peru, I cook with my heart, and I believe everything will turn out well.” Rubi’s Peruvian Taste is Rubi Gutierrez’s life’s work and love letter to two homes. She grew up in Lima as the youngest of six, the daughter who stayed closest to her mother and the one who loved the kitchen most. Her mother ran a small restaurant three blocks from their house, and by eight years old Rubi was chopping onions and tomatoes, learning that the pot only tastes right when the cook cares.

“Out of deference to the well driller who was shot on this porch, and how important the well is for us, we changed our name to Dented Brick Distillery.” Marc Christiansen revealed this standing a few feet from the barrel room where the air carries warm notes of wood and spice. He had just finished pointing out the original bricks - kept from the old house that once stood on this South Salt Lake property.

"I did not create a business. I created an art project. Something that is living, breathing, giving artists the opportunity to pursue it as a career, and having them work in a safe place where they can feel fulfilled. It’s taken on a life of its own, and it keeps evolving. I could not be prouder of what I was able to create.” For Mason Atlas, the founder of The Hive SLC Tattoo & Aftercare, tattooing has always been more than ink on skin. It is a dialogue between art, culture, and the human experience - a collaboration that changes both the artist and the client.

“Back in seventh grade, I told the teacher I was going to be either a Marine Corps scout sniper or a bartender.” Rob Dutton grinned when he said it, sitting inside Lucky 13. This is the bar he has owned since 2009, the bar people travel hours for, the bar with walls covered in awards and firefighter patches and stories. It is not lost on him that the kid who made that prediction had no idea what was coming: the moves, the upheavals, the loneliness, the grit, and ultimately the community he would build in a tight, lively room a stone’s throw from the ballpark.

“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.

“We’re all in the Soup Kitchen together. My kids, my family, my customers, we feed one another, not just with food but with heart. This isn’t just soup. It’s love, handmade every day.” Roberta “Robi” Sasse has kept the heart of the fifty-two-year-old Soup Kitchen beating through faith, handmade soup, and community, and now she is determined to make it her own.

“That’s kind of all I knew. The old saying is 'being born in a trunk.'” The theater has been part of James Parker’s life for as long as he can remember. Today, the Parker Theatre, located on State Street in South Salt Lake, is a 200-seat Art Deco playhouse that was once the Avalon Theater, a one-screen cinema from the 1940s that had fallen into disrepair.

“I like to be behind the scenes and let the shop be our voice.” Meeting Scott Lyttle, one understands immediately that Tea Zaanti is an extension of who he is: calm, thoughtful, and quietly joyful. Scott's story begins far from Salt Lake City, in a Canadian household where food and conversation were the heartbeat of family life. He was born in Kingston, Ontario, while his father was earning a PhD, and grew up in Philadelphia after a series of moves that eventually settled the family there.