The H may be a mystery, but Hires is not

Posted on April 26, 2015 by comm5775

Story and photos by BRANDON RISLEY

Come see why Hires Big H has been one of the most popular restaurants in Salt Lake City for over 50 years.


Walk into any Hires Big H and you’ll almost certainly find a crowd. This is particularly true for the restaurant at the corner of 400 South and 700 East in Salt Lake City.HiresBigH_Stand

Hires Drive In was founded in 1959 by Don Hale. He originally worked for his family’s grocery store that they created to help with money during the Great Depression.

Mark Hale, a son of Don Hale and current co-owner of Hires with his brother Jon, said that during the time of the Great Depression Don worked a lot with fresh meats and produce and developed a keen sense for how burgers should be made.

Mark talked about how his father wanted out of the of the grocery business. “He hated it,” he said. “He had to work long hours and did the same things every single day. Because of the store he knew his way around a grill and with his knowledge of food he wanted to start his own restaurant.”

Mark said his father purchased property in the early 1950s by his family’s grocery store in hopes to one day open his own place. When Don finally had the money to build, he completed his first restaurant. To this day it still stands at the same street corner in Salt Lake City.

Before Don opened his restaurant’s doors he still couldn’t figure out what to name it. Mark said that Don Hale had taken a trip to California before the restaurant’s first day to get away from the store for a bit. He visited a place called Bob’s Big Boy and fell in love with burgers there. “He wanted to name it after [Bob’s Big Boy] but it had already been trademarked,” Mark said.

Shortly before the store opening day a salesperson for Hires Root Beer was making rounds asking if people wanted to sell Hires at their establishments.

“My father figured, ‘Yeah that’s not a bad idea. A tall, cold glass of root beer would go great with a burger,’” Mark said. According to Hires Big H website, when Don took the deal Hires sent him a sign to put up above his restaurant to help advertise Hires and not long after the name of Hires Drive In came to life.

Mark said the restaurant was doing very well but his father wanted to spice up the place by adding something new. “His mother used to make a kind of Thousand Island dressing-type sauce that had a pink color to it. My father loved the sauce and figured it would taste great on a hamburger,” Mark said.IMG_5459

Don experimented with a few different ingredients until he finally created the sauce he adored as a kid. He then put it on a burger and the Big H Burger was created.

Mark said the customers loved the sauce so much that they asked for cups of it to dip in their fries. The experiment took off and Hires’s signature fry sauce was then invented. According to Don Hale’s obituary, published in the Salt Lake Tribune in January 2011, the company was then producing more than 10,000 gallons of fry sauce annually for its restaurants and retail.

Mark said that he can’t reveal exactly what is in fry sauce. “It’s a family trade secret but essentially it starts with ketchup and mayonnaise,” Mark said.

According to the Tribune article, the Big H led to a whole new line of burgers such as the Western H, which is basically the Big H with bacon, and Country H, which comes with BBQ sauce. With the “H” added to the menu, Don decided to rename his restaurant from Hires Drive In to Hires Big H.

Mark said that Don never actually told his customers exactly what the H stood for. “The rumors going around were that it was either Hale, Hires or hamburger,” Mark said. According to the Tribune article, Don only had this to say to his customers: “Let’s just say it’s one of those.”

Mark said that with old age and many years of work setting in for Don he handed ownership over to his oldest son Jon in 1980. Five years later Mark joined his brother as co-owner. “We’ve tried to keep things as similar as possible to when my father first opened the place,” Mark said. “We did a remodel shortly after taking over and tried to bring it more back to what it felt like in the ’50s but for the most part we’ve tried to keep it the same with the same items and feel.”

Don Hale died on Jan. 29, 2011, at the age of 93. “We were devastated with our loss but we knew my father had led a successful and happy life,” Mark said.

Mark said his father believed in hard work, quality of food and bringing together a community. Long-time Salt Lake City resident Celeste Bennett said she’s been coming to Hires Big H since it opened. “We had just moved from Denver [and we] used to live off 600 South and 800 East,” Bennett said. “We’ve been going to Hires ever since the ’60s. When we first met DoIMG_5454n as he was walking around the restaurant we were just blown away by how nice he was. He not only asked us if everything tasted good but also talked to us about our move to Salt Lake and how we liked the city.”

Mark went on to say, “My father didn’t just want to create a place with great tasting food, which he did, but he wanted to create a place the friends and families could come to celebrate life. It’s kind of become our mission statement.”

Mark also said Hires’s fame has been helped by articles written in publications such as the Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

Cassidy Simpson, a student at the U, has loved Hires Big H ever since she moved to Utah in August 2013. “I love this place so much,” Simpson said. “There isn’t really a local burger joint close to my house in Las Vegas and so coming here and experiencing something as awesome as this is just incredible. The burgers taste like heaven.” Simpson also talked about the fry sauce. “I’d heard that fry sauce was created in Utah and after tasting it with one of the yummy fries at Hires I’m very glad that they did.”

Mark said owning Hires Big H has been one of the greatest joys in his life. “I love seeing people happy,” he said. “I love seeing them so content and satisfied and it just makes me smile. They come together and bond and become happier from the moment they walk through the doors.”

The best part about Hires Big H? “The community has all came together over a simple hamburger,” Mark said.

Filed under: Food & Restaurants, Small Business | Leave a comment »

Zest Kitchen and Bar provides organic dining in Salt Lake City

Posted on April 24, 2015 by comm5775

Story and slideshow by RYAN CARRILLO

Visit Zest Kitchen and Bar and see some of the amazing organic dishes.

 

Nestled between some of the biggest chain restaurants in Salt Lake City, Zest Kitchen and Bar provides a dining experience that no one else can.

The restaurant, located at 275 S. 200 West, is reinventing healthy eating by providing a menu free of processed foods that tastes incredible. Everything the restaurant serves is also 100 percent organic.

“Everything’s fresh, and that’s really what I wanted is fresh and organic real food that came from whole foods and not from a box,” said Casey Staker, the restaurant owner. He opened the bar and restaurant nearly 2 and 1/2 years ago.

Staker has crafted a menu of 35 unique items between brunch, lunch, dinner and dessert. The restaurant offers an eclectic fusion of ethnic tastes and American favorites while using healthier ingredients than nearly anywhere else. It also offers a more “grown-up” environment, being for individuals 21 years old and older.

The brunch menu, available on Fridays and Saturdays (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) features perfectly sculpted buckwheat pancakes or a fresh southwest skillet with quinoa, cheese, black beans and fresh pico de gallo, among other entrees. The brunch menu also includes the “best mimosas in town” for just $5, which come in a variety of flavors.

Zest’s lunch menu provides options that are hard to find anywhere else. Selections range from fresh fruit smoothies and small plate items like cheesey Brazilian bread bites to a fresh kale salad and larger entrée items like coconut curry forbidden rice. For people looking for less-healthy health food there is “barely buzzed beehive” grilled cheese, which puts a fresh spin on an American favorite by pairing it with the soup of the day, pesto and seasonal fruit.

The dinner menu mixes things up by offering mostly shared plates or larger entrees, while still featuring fresh salads and perfectly blended juices. This particular menu is home to beet and walnut dip served with fresh veggies, baked mushrooms with cashew cheese and a tomato and eggplant ratatouille that comes with spinach quinoa.

Perhaps the best part of the menu comes after the entrées, soups and salads have been cleared away: dessert. Staker takes the same approach from his entrees and appetizers and applies it toward dessert staples, creating sweet, succulent cakes and tortes. One of these masterpieces is a carrot cake topped with rich cream cheese, shaved carrot and orange peel.

Tim Hurty, a local resident, has visited Zest Kitchen and Bar on multiple occasions. He is fond of the black bean chia patties served on a multigrain bun. Being a dedicated vegan, he was drawn to the restaurant because of its ability to accommodate his dietary needs. At Zest he is able to enjoy a delicious meal without fear of cross-contamination, which occurs when animal byproducts come in contact with any of the ingredients used in the meal.

Being a vegetarian himself, Staker’s menu is completely free of meat. Many of the dishes are also vegan and the staff is currently working to provide vegan accommodations for all their menu items. Not only that, all the dishes are gluten-free as well.

“Naturally by design vegetarian food or [rather] healthy vegetarian food is almost always gluten-free,” Staker said. As a restaurant owner, the needs of his customers seem to be a driving force behind the menu selection.

Billy McMichael is the head chef at the restaurant. Having worked in vegetarian restaurants for 10 years he understands the importance of these dietary restrictions in the lives of his customers.

“The Zest mission is to be inclusive,” McMichael said. “So almost any allergy you have, you can come here and get a good meal anyway.”

McMichael personally likes the challenge that comes with providing healthy food without sacrificing the taste. It forces him to be creative and innovative with the dishes he and the other staff members prepare.

“It’s been nice to come here where it is less about copying meat style dishes,” he said. “[It’s] more about charting your own path, making things that people haven’t done before, working with more ethnic variety, more variety of produce. I can’t just cheat and flavor up a big piece of tofu and put it with some mashed potatoes and say ‘here’s dinner.’”

The restaurant is also nearly free of soy and doesn’t use any peanuts. For individuals with any of these dietary restrictions, whether forced or voluntary, a restaurant with Zest’s knowledge and dedication is heaven-sent.

For vegans it can be difficult to find a restaurant that fully understands the difference between their needs and vegetarians. Vegetarians limit their diet to not eat any killed animals while vegans take it a step further by not eating anything from an animal. This eliminates things like eggs, milk and cheeses. While there are several restaurants in the Salt Lake Valley that can accommodate  the needs of both groups, there are few, if any, that also match Zest’s focus to overall health.

Zest Kitchen and Bar is also the only dedicated gluten-free restaurant in the city, which may come as a surprise as the gluten-free trend continues to grow and has created a multibillion dollar industry. Chain and local restaurants alike are expanding gluten-free menu items, but none have entirely abandoned the ingredient. Salt Lake is home to several bakeries that are dedicated gluten-free but that’s where it stops.

For individuals with Celiac Disease, a severe autoimmune disease that is triggered by gluten, Zest’s commitment offers them a hidden benefit that most people don’t see. The symptoms of the disease can be unleashed with the slightest trace of gluten in someone’s food. That means that even eating a gluten-free meal, if prepared in a standard restaurant kitchen where gluten is also used, can potentially cause symptoms to flare-up since the food may come into contact with gluten in a variety of ways. Since Zest’s kitchen is dedicated gluten-free there is zero chance for cross contamination. No one else in the area can offer that.

What may be most surprising is why Staker and his staff run the restaurant this way.

“I didn’t do this restaurant because I was sick,” said the owner. “I did it because I wanted a healthy place to eat.”

Zest is also “healthy” for the economy. The restaurant tries to buy as much local product as possible, supporting local merchants throughout the year. Since the menu is dependent on fresh fruits and vegetables this can become difficult as the seasons change.

“In the summer we do as much local [shopping] as we can. We still get our greens from a local greenhouse,” Staker said. “We have a special salad that’s always local. [The selection of produce] gets better and better when it gets warmer. Spring, summer, fall we have a lot of local stuff. During winter we have to outsource. Our goal is to support local.”

That commitment to the local community doesn’t stop just in the restaurant’s shopping practices. The staff is active in the community, exposing new people to their food on a regular basis and helping them make better dietary decisions.

During the summer of 2014, Zest operated a booth at the summer farmers market at Pioneer Park, 350 S. 300 West. In 2015, the restaurant is ditching the booth for a more mobile option.

Soon Zest Kitchen and Bar will be unveiling Utah’s first health food truck. The truck will be featured at health conventions like the gluten-free and healthy living expos. Staker is excited for the opportunities the truck will give the restaurant.

He says that public response has been great whenever Zest has had a booth at these types of events, so the food truck response should be even better.

“When we go to the gluten-free expo people say ‘oh my gosh you guys actually have real food. You guys are serving heathy vegetables and dips and stuff,’” he said. “At the gluten-free expo it’s cakes and cookies and packaged stuff.”

The restaurant’s truck is scheduled to debut at the end of April 2015 once preparations are finalized; an exact date has not been set yet.

Filed under: Business, Food & Restaurants, Health & Fitness, Small Business, Utah's Economy | Tagged: , , , | Leave a comment »

Roy City gets “facelift” in hope of growth

Posted on April 23, 2015 by comm5775

Story and slideshow by BRITTNI STRICKLAND

Visit the city of Roy and meet some local business owners.

Roy City, populated with 37,733 individuals, is commonly known for its strong community and hometown feel, which can be especially found in local businesses in the area. However, popular chain businesses like CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens and WinCo Foods have begun to take the focus off of local businesses and in a different direction.

At the recent city council meetings at the Roy City Office courtroom and in speaking with city council member John Cordova, it is apparent that the council would like larger corporations moving into the town of Roy.

“You never want to chase away the small guys because the small guys are huge,” Cordova said. “They’re local and they’re loyal. But on the other hand any homeowner in Roy, if we don’t continue to bring in big businesses, then supporting the city ends up on the resident’s back and that’s not good.”

While sitting at the kitchen table in his Roy home, Roy City Mayor Willard Cragun said the city started a “facelift” in April 2015 on 1900 West in Roy to help take some of the pressure of supporting the city off of the residents’ shoulders.

“What I have planned for Roy City is re-establishing Roy City’s business community, so that we can provide local services to the residents of Roy. So, if you want to buy a pair of shoes, you can buy a pair of shoes in Roy City, or a dress, or pair of pants, you should have a shop you can go to in Roy,” he said.

Cragun noticed in 2000 that the majority of local businesses were moving out of town as developers moved in. “Over the years those ma and pa businesses have left Roy City. It’s been very, very hard to get them to re-establish in Roy,” he said. Once the developers established in Roy, the 25-year leases through the Redevelopment Agency expired and prices skyrocketed, making it hard for locals to afford rental rates. Another problem the town faces with bringing locals back, is the city does not have open ground for locals to build on. Consequently, they must purchase buildings from developers, tear them down and rebuild, all of which is an expensive process.

The city has no control over the developers and what type of businesses they choose to lease to. “The developers have all the rights and the city has no say,” Cragun said. Roy City only has control of business when the City Council approves business licenses.

Councilman Cordova said, “A lot of spots in our town need fixing, everyone sees it.” The council has approached merchants on 1900 West and heard outpouring support for a plan to clean up the downtown area in a mission to attract larger markets to Roy City.

Cordova and Councilman Brad Hilton are currently working on economic development of the city and plan to visit Las Vegas in May 2015 to meet with economic planners to get ideas for the facelift. Cordova mentioned the idea of the city approaching the local Harmons to get its help in spurring the development of the entire city. He mentioned how Harmons has helped spark growth at Farmington Station and in downtown Salt Lake City.

The council has been approached and has begun focusing on plans to have a movie theater come into town where Albertsons store was located on the corner of 5600 S. 1900 West in Roy. The building has been vacant for almost 13 years, Cragun said. Traffic from adjacent towns like West Point, Hooper, Clearfield and from the freeway would be brought into the city benefitting everyone. Cragun said the city needs something to draw people to Roy and hopes that a movie theater would do just that similarly like it did for the city of Ogden when Megaplex 13 was built.

The thought of having larger corporations come into the city of Roy has caused mixed reviews from local businesses including Jessie Jean’s Coffee Bean’s Homestyle Café, Sacco’s Produce and Roy Winegars pharmacy.

Lloyd Thomas is the owner of the pharmacy in Winegars that has been located at 3444 W. 4800 South in Roy for 20 years. He said that when CVS Pharmacy opened last year on 1900 West he was nervous about what that might do to his business. But, he has yet to see a change. “It’s just a way of the economy, there are chain stores everywhere,” Thomas said.

“I’ve always felt that Roy City has been really supportive of us,” Thomas said. The city supports the pharmacy at the annual Roy Days Parade and carnival as well as in the local newsletter.

Jessie Jean’s Coffee Beans Homestyle Café in Roy has experienced struggles keeping the business alive while in the city. Anna Whitnack, owner of Jessie Jean’s for 15 year, said “it’s been hell” while being in the city. Owning a business on 1900 West has been difficult due to a neglected main street and continuous problems with a nearby store, Whitnack said.

Whitnack is working hard to move her coffee shop to a new town in hopes of better business and more support from the city. “We went to talk to Ogden City and they had open arms,” Whitnack said. There is no confirmed date as to when Jessie Jean’s Coffee Bean’s Homestyle Café will move out of town.

Sacco’s Produce has been in the same spot in Roy since 1969. Dominic Sacco said Roy City has always been a local type of city, but he wouldn’t necessarily mind other business in town.

Sacco’s Produce, at 6050 S. 1900 West, has frequenters from Idaho and all over the state of Utah during the summer months. Locals patronize it during the winter months. But with larger markets coming into the town, he said the biggest struggle for Sacco’s Produce has been competing with those “box stores” like Winco and Wal Mart.

“People think they’re going to get a better deal, which pricewise they may. But they may not get the quality. We’re more about selling local products grown here,” Sacco said.

Even with the struggles of keeping up with larger market stores, Sacco believes it’s a good idea to continue to move them into the city. “It’s good to have businesses around each other, it brings everybody to the same location,” Sacco said.

Mayor Cragun clarified that larger corporate markets would help the city of Roy. But, he still wants to keep that local hometown feel that Roy City is known best for. “I’m looking forward to more of the locally-owned businesses in Roy,” Cragun said. He added that he hopes that the beautification of downtown Roy on 1900 West will bring in larger markets as well as local shops while helping the city of Roy and the residents within the city.

 

Filed under: Business, Food & Restaurants, Medicine, Small Business, Utah's Economy | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

Ben Behunin, artists have a responsibility to illuminate the world

Posted on April 23, 2015 by comm5775

Story and slideshow by NATHAN ASTILL

Experience the artwork Behunin has created in his Salt Lake City studio.


Ben Behunin quickly wipes the excess dust away from his ceramic pieces with a sponge. He has the practiced efficiency that only years of experience can bring. The artist moves between a metallic sink and a shelf that holds the ceramic dishes he is working on in his studio at 1150 E. 800 South in Salt Lake City. His sentences flow out in a smooth, nonchalant way. “I feel like artists have a responsibility to illuminate the world,” he says.

He is glazing bowls, painting them black with a brush as he speaks. “Art is anything that is done to the highest level, whether it’s making sandwiches or mowing lawns,” Behunin says. “Life would be so much better if everyone considered themselves artists.”

Behunin is fairly busy, hoping to get in a good amount of work before he heads over to the Deseret Book flagship store, in downtown Salt Lake City, to sell his various artwork at the “Lunch and Learn” series. This event allows LDS artists to come meet customers and share the stories behind their artwork. 

Behunin, 41, grew up, for the most part, in Salt Lake City. The oldest of seven children, he not only became independent, but also learned to use his creativity to make money since his parents never had much.

“My dad wasn’t rich but could teach me how to work, so I started my own lawn business when I was 10,” Behunin says.

By the time he was 12, his parents informed him that he was making more money than they were. Up to this point in time he had begun to realize that he, like many other artists, lacked a financial safety net. Whatever he chose to do in his life he knew he had to be successful enough to make a living off of it.

Knowing this simple fact has helped Behunin when it comes to running his own pottery business. The ceramic artist, who jokingly refers to himself as Chief Slave, relays something his friend once told him. “The great thing about running your own business is you get to only work half days. Pick any 12 hours you want,” he says with a laugh.

But as Behunin believes, “Being a slave to your work isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

Behunin is usually in his studio by 8:30 a.m. and still works 12-hour days. “I love creation,” he says. “I love being able to take mud and turn it into something functional, something that has value.”

He believes everyone has an inherent creator inside of them. “Whatever it is we do we’re making mud pies of a sort. All of us probably start out as creative artists as kids,” he says. “When you ask kindergarteners who thinks they are an artist, 99 percent of them will raise their hands.”

Except he believes that many of us grow, or are even pushed, out of it. “But then someone tells a child that their dog looks like a monkey, or that there is no such thing as purple trees,” he says. “And then they start to think that, ‘maybe I’m not an artist.’”

But artists come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Nick Beckstead, 31, a character animator for Disney Interactive, offers another artistic voice to the belief that no matter what a person is doing in their life, they are still creating art.

In a phone interview Beckstead said, “My personal belief in life is that everyone is meant to be a creator. I have friends who are programmers and though they wouldn’t say it, they are creating art.” Beckstead pauses, “It doesn’t have to be traditional art to be art.”

Beckstead adds another thought onto his idea. “There is so much you can do with art,” he says. “I personally believe work ethic exceeds talent. Anyone can be a good artist and make a living off of it.”

Behunin would agree. “Too many people buy into the idea that ‘it’s good enough,’” he says.

“I feel like art is one of the most important subjects,” he says. “It enhances science and math. I mean, you have to be creative to design new things. And art is what opens your mind to the possibilities.” Behunin continues, “Imagination asks questions while knowledge feels like it has all the answers.”

As Behunin speaks an idea begins to emerge. “Artists create beautiful things that give hope,” he says. “They create philosophies and ideas that challenge the status quo.”

But challenging the status quo — having society progress — is only half of the answer to the question: why is art so important?

“The hope of joy,” Behunin says. “They are buying my story as much as they are buying my art.” He pauses, “They are taking home a piece of ‘follow your own dreams.’”

Because when Behunin creates art he wants to create something that will make people feel happy.

“My goal at any art festival is that people see something they like and that they can afford,” Behunin says. “Because I would rather make 1,000 people happy than just one person happy.”

Happiness is something people seek. Something that people need. Behunin points to the “gear heads” hanging on his wooden fence outside his home studio. The ceramic faces are molded together with gears from cars. “I used to make happy and sad gear head faces. But people only bought the happy ones, so I stopped making the sad ones,” he says.

Whether it’s at art festivals, his studio, or at small events like Deseret Book, people continue to buy his art, a lot. So does that make Behunin a successful artist? Well, yes and no, because Behunin defines success differently than most. “I feel like I’m rich because I have no wants and am happy every day I go to work,” he says. “I feel like I’m contributing joy to the world.”

Linda Howard, the art concierge at Deseret Book, talks about her views on art as she helps Behunin place his bowls, plates and books on the table they have set up for him, organizing them neatly for potential customers to view.

Howard used to teach art for elementary teachers at Brigham Young University and as such has strong views as to why art is so important as an educator. She echoes a thought Behunin has also had before. “Art is just as important as science and math,” she says. “The world would be a dreary, terrible place if we didn’t have art to uplift and inspire.”

As she walks around showing off the diversity of the various paintings in the store she offers a fitting final thought. “Art is not the frosting on the cake,” she says. “It is the cake. You need art to connect with life.”

Filed under: Profiles, Small Business | Tagged: | Leave a comment »

Webster agrees, the definition of beautiful is YOU

Posted on April 23, 2015 by comm5775

Story and slideshow by SHANNON O’CONNOR

Learn more about how people are impacting lives through positive body image.


Lexie Kite, 29, created the nonprofit organization, Beauty Redefined, with her twin sister Lindsay Kite. The idea to start the motivational program was sparked in their media literacy class at Utah State University.

The class opened their eyes to how women are negatively represented in the media. The Kite sisters were angry at how the media transform the public’s idea of what makes a woman beautiful.

“One day my heart started pounding faster and I wanted to spread the word,” Lexie said. Lindsay felt the same way.

They decided to continue their research on body image and the media at the University of Utah and earned PhDs in 2013.

Their doctoral dissertations formed the basis of an empowering visual presentation they have given to “tens of thousands of people across the U.S. since 2009,” according to the website.

“We started through a dinky website, and based on the reviews we realized people were starving for this information,” Lexie said.

Their presentations are a compilation of their research, studies and experiences. “Beauty Redefined teaches audiences to recognize and reject harmful messages about bodies and continuously resist those limiting ideals through the power of body image resilience” according to the website.

Body image resilience is their main promoted message. It is “the ability to combat harmful ideas and bring to light the lies women are told,” Lexie said. The lies that women are just objects and have to look a certain way to be beautiful.

Lexie and Lindsay are passionate and driven to empower women and remind them they are “more than just bodies, more than just something to decorate the world,” Lexie said.

The portrayal of women in the media makes them feel pressured to look a certain way. If women don’t look that way, they may feel negatively about their appearance or get negative critiques from others.

“You’re just fat and ugly and jealous of all the beautiful women,” wrote a woman in an email to the Kite sisters.

“We can use painful experiences as stepping stones and not stumbling blocks,” Lexie said. “We can help provide the skills, resources, and tools to do that.”

Lexie and Lindsay Kite will not stand for women being objectified. They are influencing people around the world to have a positive outlook on body image through their blog, website and presentations.

Another program that promotes positive body image is a University of Utah club called SPEAK (Students Promoting Eating Disorder Awareness and Knowledge). SPEAK chapters are spreading to other universities, including George Washington University and the University of Minnesota. Each chapter has about 100 members.

Some of the 110 members at the U are people who have experienced an eating disorder or a body image issue. Other members, like Jon Junejo, financial director for SPEAK, have not experienced such issues. But they have a passion to educate and help people through their body image struggles.

Members of the U’s SPEAK chapter regularly engage in outreach to elementary schools, high schools, teams and clubs throughout Utah. “The more outreaches we do, the more it becomes evident that our program, and other positive body image programs are worth it,” Junejo said.

Junejo, 21, has been a part of SPEAK since 2013. At first, he joined the club so he could gain public speaking experience. Junejo wasn’t expecting to gain a passion for the importance of positive body image.

“Honestly, after the first outreach I did at Dilworth  Elementary, SPEAK became something much more,” Junejo said. “As I began hearing stories about people’s experiences with the eating disorder epidemic, it became clear to me that I could have a real positive effect on these people.”

SPEAK’s mission is to educate people about the effects from negative body image, body dysmorphia and provide ways to help people struggling with body image.

Body dysmorphia is a “conflict between what you see as an ideal body, compared to what you actually look like,” Junejo said. The disorder can affect people of all ages and may be caused be peer pressure, genes, or culture – including images in the media.

Junejo learned about one result from negative body image, eating disorders. He has not experienced it himself but he has friends who have suffered from anorexia and bulimia.

“Our [SPEAK] goal is to prevent eating disorders in the first place,” Junejo said. “We refer people to treatment centers on an individual case basis.” He added that eating disorders are predominantly emotional issues, but each person has a unique situation. It’s a multidimensional problem that the members of SPEAK are trying to help.

“Who you surround yourself with can dictate how you feel about yourself,” Junejo said. It’s important to have positive people around to overcome negative thoughts. Junejo has been a part of helping people through a struggle that people are scared to talk about.

When people compare themselves to the media, Junejo and the team want them to re-evaluate the source and “think differently about what source is making you feel like you should look a certain way.”

A main source to promote positive body image is through social media.

“They’re [social media sites] great places to get a conversation started with girls and women. We struggle wanting to be a certain way and look like this person, or that person,” said Nicea DeGering, host for “Good Things Utah.” “So when someone says, out loud, ‘just be you, you is good enough’ and it’s said on social media, which is the primary language spoken by young women today, it’s even more of a positive impact.”

DeGering has been a host for “Good Things Utah” for 12 years and graduated in 1995 with her communication, broadcasting degree from Brigham Young University. DeGering is a successful woman, wife and mother to two daughters.

She sees her daughters influenced by the pressure the media have put on women to look a specific way. “It’s something that we talk about in my house on a daily basis,” she said. “When is it OK to just be yourself? The answer should be, every day.”

DeGering didn’t have the same social media issues as her daughters, but she did struggle with her body image growing up. Her peers called her “big” because she was 5 feet 10 inches tall by the time she was in seventh grade.

“Now I’m mad I wasted one minute worrying that I was different,” she said. “Thank heavens there is only one of me, and I want to do me the best I can. Unique needs to be celebrated.”

Beauty Redefined promotes this notion, too: “Reflect on what impact narrow beauty ideals have had on your life and take inventory of the time, money and energy you dedicate to appearance concerns.”

DeGering added, “Looks are the first thing we all see. That’s a fact. And that’s actually OK, as long as you keep looking, as long as you continue to dig deeper beyond that, there is more to everyone. Everyone has their hard times, everyone struggles.”

The media disseminate many unrealistic messages about beauty to women.

“Conversation and awareness are key in making change,” DeGering said. That conversation begins with help from programs like Beauty Redefined and SPEAK, and by influential people like Nicea DeGering.

“Just be you, you is good enough,” DeGering said.

Filed under: Education, Health & Fitness, Media, Nonprofits, Organizations, Small Business | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »

Gamers ‘press start’ in the video game industry

Posted on April 23, 2015 by comm5775

Small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs struggle to compete in the massive world of the video game industry.

Story, timeline and slideshow by ALEX HARRINGTON

Trace the history of video games in this timeline.

Game Changerz’s appreciation of their craft and customers creates a unique experience for any who visit.

 

Video games often hold a special meaning to their players. They transport the player to a world with a kind of power that no book or movie can emulate.

This power has influenced and inspired people who enjoy these games. But sometimes, just playing games as a hobby isn’t enough for these devoted fans. Gamers have started to take their beloved medium to the next level by breaking through to start a small business in the video game industry.

One of the more ambitious options is to dive into the retail aspect of the video game industry, something Michael Morrissey, branch manager of the small business Game Changerz, knows plenty about.

Game Changerz, located on the corner of 3300 South and State Street, is often in direct competition with enormous companies like GameStop. Despite this intimidating match-up, its unique connections with the gaming community give it more than a fighting chance against other retail Goliaths.

Morrissey recalled several events that his company has sponsored for fans. These included several Smash Brothers tournaments conventions like “Anime Banzai,” an event similar to the popular Comic Con but with an emphasis on Japanese culture. Game Changerz’s support of these events not only adds to the fun experiences that come from them, but brings the company recognition apart from other stores like it.

This isn’t the only way this small business distinguishes itself. Game Changerz is packed to the brim with old-school classics, including games for the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo and PlayStation 2. These games are not sold in most large retail stores, as these companies usually limit their wares to games that are only for newer consoles like the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.

Morrissey said the older, classic stock is another reason that gamers keep returning to Game Changerz. “People want to relive their childhood,” he said. Older audiences who grew up with systems as early as the Nintendo Entertainment System are often out of luck when looking for games they remember from their youth. Game Changerz provides these games, plus a healthy dose of nostalgia that many gamers crave.

However, in an industry where awareness is everything, Morrissey talked about how difficult it is to compete with companies like GameStop that are much more widely known than small businesses like Game Changerz. “People don’t know about (video game-related small businesses),” Morrissey said.

Game Changerz’s business goal is to raise awareness for small retail stores like it and its best bet to do so is by creating a positive experience for customers. The sponsors and customer service encourage not just the purchase of games, but the enjoyment of the gaming experience as well.

Game Changerz’s unique appreciation of customers helps it to survive in the face of stiff competition. Without this business approach, Game Changerz would not stand out amid the crowd of competitors. Living in the shadow of huge businesses can make starting and maintaining a small video game business extremely difficult.

Riley Porter, an avid gamer and frequent customer at Game Changerz, talked about how small businesses add to the video game industry. “Gaming is a big corporate thing,” he said. He applauded small businesses like Game Changerz for intertwining old and new elements of video games, adding to the video game community.

But the difficult struggle to keep from sinking under the crushing weight of large competition isn’t possible for everyone. Whether it’s from a lack of resources or connections, not everyone is equipped to start a small business, especially when facing up against big-name corporations. But, that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road for hopeful, business-minded gamers.

With the recent growth of technology, new opportunities are appearing for this community. For those who don’t have the resources to start a company from the ground up, new websites have thrown wide open the doors of the video game industry to everyone.

Websites like Twitch.tv and YouTube allow ordinary people to create a living for themselves in the video game industry, becoming gaming entrepreneurs.

For Steve Mossman, who was weaned on video games from just a tot, this has been his dream for many years. From his home in Sandy, Utah, he has created and uploaded several gaming videos to YouTube, under the screen name “TheAnonymousRaccoon.” He often does playthroughs, which are videos of a person playing all the way through a video game, of games like “Streets of Rage 2,” “Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel” and “Mega Man 3.”

Mossman fondly remembered his gaming childhood during an interview. Games like “Castlevania: Bloodlines” for the Sega Genesis and “Super Mario Bros. 3” for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) filled his waking hours as a child. He retains as deep a passion for video games today, hoping that his videos will elevate him to the status of the gamers who have made gaming into a career.

Mossman pointed to some of his favorite YouTube personalities, people like Markiplier, PewDiePie and JonTron, as models for his own YouTube channel. All of them actually can make a living just playing and talking about video games.

These people may not have built a small business like Game Changerz. But with little more than their charm and a whole lot of traffic on their channels, they became entrepreneurs who took the pastime of many and elevated it to a legitimate money-making operation.

“It gets bland (without popular YouTube personalities),” Mossman said. “[Your average gamer] ends up being some 13-year-old on Xbox Live with a mic calling you the ‘n-word.’”

He talked about how his favorite YouTube personalities create not only an entertaining experience for their viewers, but also add personality and excitement to the gaming community. “[People like] PewDiePie are charming,” he said. “(They) make you think, ‘I want to watch more.’”

Riley Porter agreed with Mossman’s take on the power of these websites. He talked about his experiences with Twitch.tv and what additional opportunities it provides to gamers. He established a Twitch presence, going by the screenname “lolpikapika” and doing live streams of games like “The Evil Within” and “Destiny.” For fellow gamers like him, “It (Twitch) creates a better foothold in the community,” Porter said.

Gamers today can use little more than their personalities and their Internet connections to almost instantly garner fame in the gaming community. But just because the possibility is there, it doesn’t mean it always pans out.

In regards to becoming popular on Twitch, “(There is) a long buildup, you’ve gotta keep at it,” Porter said.

Mossman experienced much of the same in his struggles to become known on YouTube. “You can’t go anywhere without the right equipment,” he said.

The problem of awareness hits these hopeful entrepreneurs just as hard as small businesses. With the virtual world being so populated, with hundreds of thousands of people trying to gain recognition or success, virtual entrepreneurs have to do more and more to stand out from the crowd.

Though there still are certainly obstacles for gamers looking to make a career for themselves in the video game community. These obstacles take many shapes and sizes, whether it’s fighting for recognition in a market crowded with retail giants, or on the Internet where thousands of others are trying to do the same.

Whatever the medium, retail or in the online gaming community, stories of success that embolden and encourage gamers are everywhere.

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Unstructured past creates stable future

Posted on April 23, 2015 by comm5775

Story and slideshow by LIZ G. ROJAS

You’ve read her story, now meet the woman.


It’s been more than three weeks since Katara Nyberg, office manager for a Utah-based lending company, helped the business relocate from Salt Lake City to its new location in Sandy. Nyberg, who is only 23 years old, not only works as office manager but also as a member of the executive team for the lending company.

Nyberg has been with the company for more than four years. Her responsibilities vary from internally setting up software to directing the client services department.

Her commitment makes her an essential part of the company as she grows, learns and directs its structural organization.

Though Nyberg is in a position where not many young adults find themselves, she credits her success to her unstructured past and how it helped create a strong, secure future.

BEGINNINGS

Nyberg was born in Salt Lake to a 15-year-old girl in the early ’90s. She began her education at Hawthorne Elementary, a school on the outskirts of the city.

There, she remembers, was where everything began.

Nyberg’s first grade teacher had asked her to go outside the classroom with her partner to read a book. Before she went out the teacher started examining her, specifically a scab on her wrist.

She was called to the front office where she saw her 3-year-old brother. Next to him, in handcuffs, sat their mother.

“I went through a lot of court from that time,” Nyberg said.

School administrators were under the impression Nyberg was being neglected and/or abused because of the presumed cigarette burns on her wrist and body. As required by the state of Utah, the school contacted the Department of Child and Family Services.

A police officer escorted the confused and scared little girl from the school. While sitting in the police car she remembers being asked if she was hungry.

“I was so frustrated at the fact that he asked,” Nyberg said.

She didn’t understand why this was happening — why her mother was handcuffed and why she couldn’t be with her.

From what Nyberg remembers, her mother wasn’t guilty of abusing her.

A few weeks before the incident her family had gone camping. While camping, Nyberg said she’d gotten some mosquito bites, including one on her wrist. That bite got infected and that’s what her first grade teacher had seen.

She remembers repeating this to court officials during numerous recorded interviews. This made no difference because in court, her recordings were said to be inaudible.

“One day, they say, if you say yes [your mother abused you], you can see your mom,” Nyberg said.

On her mother’s trial date the judge put Nyberg on the stand and asked if her mother had abused her.

“I looked at my mom and she’s staring right at me and she’s bawling,” said Nyberg. “Because the last thing that I said was ‘yes.’”

She then saw as her mom was handcuffed once again and taken from the courtroom.

Nyberg and her younger brother were also separated and sent to live with different foster parents for two years.

LIFE AFTER COURT

Nyberg was living with foster parents when her paternal grandmother was able to get custody after finding out about the children’s situation.

Once her mother was released, she regained full custody after successfully finishing parenting classes at Valley Mental Health.

Nyberg recalls the transitional period her mother experienced.

“My mother is a great mom, but I think because she went to jail so young that really took a toll on her,” Nyberg said. “She was younger than I am now.”

The family moved to Vernal in 2000 where her environment consisted of addictions and police officers.

Nyberg had to take care of herself and her brother. The adults in her life were in no condition to do so.

At the end of sixth grade Nyberg’s grandmother told the children their father had been released from jail. She offered a trip to Nevada to meet their birth father after many years of not seeing him.

In July 2004, they went to Nevada.

After a few days with him, Nyberg asked when she and her brother would return home. He told her they would remain with him. There was no home to go back to — her mother had been evicted and there was nowhere to go.

Devastated, Nyberg resigned to her fate and lived with her father.

Nevada was her temporary home from 2004 until 2009, when she graduated from Spring Creek High School with a scholarship worth $10,000 for academic achievement. The scholarship was to be used in any university in the state of Nevada.

Nyberg knew she had to move back to Utah to reunite with her mother.

There was nothing in Nevada for her. The only way she could think of getting out of Nevada was to attend school in Utah. She packed her bags and enrolled in Salt Lake City’s Paul Mitchell School of Beauty, beginning her education.

PERSISTENCE AND DEDICATION

Nyberg juggled work and school. She had to commute from Salt Lake City to Draper in order to go to work. Eventually she realized she couldn’t keep on commuting. It was making her late to class every day and she needed a job closer to the school.

She started applying to multiple jobs and came across a small start-up lending company in Salt Lake City. With no previous sales experience, she was hired as a junior funding analyst.

Initially, Jantzen Fugate, the CEO and founder, did not want to hire Nyberg. However, after persistence from the former office manager who saw potential for her development, she was hired.

“I have never been more wrong and more pleased at being wrong,” Fugate said.

Nyberg worked her way up from an entry-level junior sales position to director of client services. As director of client services, she helps ensure the fulfillment of services provided by the company like business plan writing, credit repair, website creation and lender matching.

Describing her experience working in the company Fugate said, “It’s because of her relentlessness to outperform other people.”

Shelby Fielden, a close personal friend and coworker of Nyberg’s, admires her attentiveness in their friendship. When referring to Nyberg’s past, she believes the way she’s overcome her situation has molded her into the person she is now.

“I think it made her a stronger person,” Fielden said.  “She does things on her own, she’s very independent.”

Nyberg is currently in school at Stevens-Henager College working on her business administration degree while simultaneously working as director in the client services department. During the day she works at the company and at night she completes her courses.

“My mom was passionate about me being smart because we were poor, we didn’t have money for college,” Nyberg said. “No one in my family even considered going to college.”

She’s driven by success and motivated by past failure.

“Growing up and being successful is what I was always told to do,” Nyberg said. “’Don’t be like me,’ is what everyone always told me. ‘Be different, be better than me. Make sure you go to school.’”

She sighed when she reflected on how she has dealt with the difficulties in her past.

“What else are you going to do,” Nyberg said. “I love myself, and I love my family, I love it because it’s who I am.”

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High Uintahs Taxidermy brings memories back to life

Posted on April 21, 2015 by comm5775

Story, photos and slideshow by WILLIAM PHIFER III

Take a behind-the-scenes look at the process of taxidermy.

 

In the center of Coalville, Utah, lies a small 700-square-foot building filled with hides, horns, antlers and taxidermy forms.

Front door - High Uintahs Tax

The main entrance to High Uintahs Taxidermy in Coalville, Utah. Ironically, a sign directs visitors to a side door because the entry is crowded with life-size mounts.

High Uintahs Taxidermy, owned by Dean Schulte, 49, is located at 31 S. Main St. Specializing in big game taxidermy, Dean strives to recreate a lifelike appearance of the animals that people bring to him.

“I hope that when [people] look into the eye of my work … they can see a spark of character and soul,” Dean said. “That is the most important thing that we really try to work for here, with myself, and with the guys that work for me. I never stopped reinforcing that.”

Dean believes focusing on the detail of an animal’s eyes is what makes them look alive. “We are known for our eye work here. Our eye detail is the foundation,” Dean said. This process entails setting the glass eye into clay and tucking the hide into the clay. This prevents the hide from pulling away from the eye socket when it fully cures.

By doing this, Dean hopes that his work will serve as a commemoration to his clientele and their hunts, especially those of family-related outings. “They are looking at a snapshot of a lifelong memory,” Dean said.

While some of his clients focus on the trophy quality of the animals, Dean said his emphasis on the eyes “is going to make that memory that much more lifelike for them. … It’s the difference of having a sharp image of something and a dry poor piece of photography.”

Dean, a self-taught taxidermist, founded the business in 1993 so he could make a living and support his family, while doing work that he enjoyed. “Most importantly,” Dean said, “I am happy at what I do.”

However, Dean said, “There’s a struggle between the artist and the businessman. I’m an artist first.” He never intended to create a business that would grow and become a huge operation and he has purposefully prevented it. While he has employed as many as eight people at one time, Dean presently employs four people.

Including himself, Dean prefers his current five-man operation. “This is the limit for me, otherwise I’m going to become a manager. I will not be involved on the floor as a taxidermist if I was to add more personnel,” he said.

By running this type of operation Dean is still able to be involved in the work that he is passionate about.

Dean’s passion for taxidermy began in Montana when he was 10 years old and he paid a $1.99 monthly subscription for pamphlets made by the Northwestern School of Taxidermy. However, he only dabbled in it until he was 16. He strayed from it as adult life began to take precedence.

Dean moved to Utah when he was 18 to work in the oil fields with the intention of only working for six to eight months. However, he said the money was good.

On one calm, cold November morning Dean said he and his team of three guys were having trouble with an individual oil drill they were working on. It was the third day they had been working on this particular piece of machinery. Each night the well would build up pressure caused by a mixture of natural gas, oil and water, and his team would follow safety procedures to bleed-off the pressure.

However, the company he worked for at the time did not have an oil and gas separator, which would burn off the natural gas and dump the excess oil and water slurry into a tank.

Dean recalled the events of that morning:

Getting ready for the day, as the well was bleeding down, well what happened is within 5 minutes, all the sudden that well just opened up and it unleashed a huge tremendous amount of [gas]. I don’t know how many cubic feet of gas it dumped into the valley. By the time we could get over to the well and shut the valve, it had already saturated this valley. It was literally like fog, like a fog of natural gas. We were shutting down all the equipment we had started up, basically all your ignition sources, trying to shut them down. Well on the edge of the location there was a trailer, probably like a 6 by 10, that we had lockers in there and we changed our clothes and we had a heater in there. Well that trailer was the last thing we got to and that heater, the piolet lite, it ignited the location. I was probably 10 feet from the door.”

Dean said it felt “like standing by a jet intake on an airplane, just a roar. And obviously all the oxygen is being consumed in the air. Everything just went red.”

Dean suffered third-degree burns on 40 percent of his body and spent six weeks in the hospital. After that he was in and out of the hospital for about five years, while he had multiple operations done on his hands and face. (The other members of his team also suffered burns. One person sustained third-degree burns over 55 percent of his body. Another suffered third-degree burns over 25 percent of his body. The fourth man was in the trailer at the time of the flare and didn’t get burned until he tried to help the other men.)

“It was a swift kick in my ass. I went back to school,” Dean said. “I wasn’t going to let it beat me.”

Doctors told him he would probably never work with his hands again, but Dean set out to prove them wrong. He went back to school to be a machinist and in between surgeries, earned a degree in robotics and automated systems. After that he also spent three years studying electrical engineering. Then at the age of 25, a friend reintroduced him to taxidermy.

“I just kind of realized, second time around, maybe this was my forte, this is what I really want to do. This is what I’m supposed to be doing [and] I just very aggressively pursued it,” Dean said.

In 1993, he started doing taxidermy work out of his garage. Later he moved to a 30-foot by 30-foot building but quickly realized he need more space. He moved his shop into its current location.

Over the years, Dean has raised nine children, all of whom have worked in the shop with him at some point in time.

Stephen Schulte

Stephen Schulte stands in front of an award-winning lesser kudu.

His oldest son, Stephen Dean Schulte, 27, is the only one who still works at the shop. He began working for his dad nine years ago, when he was in high school. Father and son both hope he will, one day, take over the family-owned business.

Stephen considers himself lucky to have been able to work for his dad and gain experience in the business.

“There’s guys that go to school for this and they pay like $10, $15,000,” Stephen said. “The best way to do this is, I guess like a tattoo artist, is to apprentice under somebody. I’ve been able to apprentice under him [and] I like doing this. That’s my ultimate goal is to run the business.”

Stephen feels confident about his ability to run the shop with his the help of his wife, who does a lot of the office work. “I pretty much run all the North American sector. I do all the managing [of] the North American stuff, which we do about 200 North American pieces a year.”

While North American animals such as deer, elk, moose, mountain goat, Dall sheep, bear and many others are his area of responsibility, Stephen also works on animals not native to the United States. He said he has done taxidermy on a lot of African animals including antelope species such as springbuck, bushbuck, impala, nyala, and kudu. Stephen is excited to be planning his first trip to Africa in May 2016, and he can’t wait to see all the animals running around.

“Kudu are my favorite. I think they’re pretty,” Stephen said. “They look awesome and I’m excited to go get mine, because I’m going to do something cool with it.” About the size of an elk, greater kudu are an antelope species with large curled horns and hides that are a mixture of grey, brown, black and white.

Stephen's award winning lesser kudu

Stephen Schulte did the taxidermy work on this lesser kudu that he entered in the Best of the West Taxidermy Championship. He won second place in the Masters Division with this free-standing piece.

“I’ve mounted a ton of them, but every time I do one I get my reference pictures out and obviously the internet has everything you need,” Stephen said. “You can pull up a million different pictures.”

Like the kudu, there are a lot of animals that Stephen hasn’t had the opportunity to see in real life. He said pictures are the key to good anatomically correct taxidermy.

“That’s the important thing,” Stephen said. “Reference pictures, reference pictures and more reference pictures. My dad will tell you the same thing.”

Stephen added, “A lot of taxidermists don’t [use reference pictures]. What happens is they do so many [animals], but then they start to stylize them to the way they think looks good.” In the long run they end up changing the anatomy of the animal.

This use of reference pictures is something that Dean teaches to all his employees, not just his son.

Kelli Dixon, who is also a hair dresser, does most of the finish work on animals at High Uintahs Taxidermy.

“They’ve taught me a lot here. I mean, I’ve never ran an airbrush before,” Dixon said, “and they taught me to sew.” Dean also taught Dixon the importance of using reference pictures. “Dean has some catalogs down there,” Dixon said. “[He has] books with pictures and stuff and then Google, amazing Google!”

Dixon, who still works out of her home as a stylist, said her new job has given her a different perspective on the art of taxidermy. “I had no idea what taxidermy took. I had no clue that it was all this art,” she said.

She really likes working as a taxidermist, perhaps more than being a stylist, and enjoys the outcome of her job. “You get the animal and you get to fix it up and make them all pretty,” Dixon said.

Dixon plans on being at High Uintahs Taxidermy for a long time because she finds her work very fulfilling. “I like when you tell people what you do, and they look at you like you’re an artist,” she said.

Having found a love for taxidermy, Dixon now appreciates taxidermy a lot more. She said, “Now I look at everything and see. I look at live animals and [I] notice every detail … It’s funny the detail that you start noticing after doing this kind of work.”

It is exactly that kind attention to detail that Dean and his son, Stephen, share. Their craftsmanship is what attracts people to High Uintahs Taxidermy. They want Dean and his team to create a piece of artwork out of the hide, horns and antlers — preserving their experience and bringing the memories back to life.

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3 Squares Produce keeps farming alive in Salt Lake County

Posted on April 21, 2015 by comm5775

Story and slideshow by CALLI PETERSON

View the main orchard with 3 Squares Produce owners Ralph Larsen and Jack Wilbur.

Owning a family-operated business for more than 70 years can be tough, but running a farm business in the urban Salt Lake County can prove to be even tougher. Ralph Larsen, initial owner of what is now 3 Squares Produce, never let that stop him from continuing what he knows to do.

WHERE IT BEGAN

Larsen moved to Orchard Drive in Bountiful, Utah, around the age of 9 with his parents and nine brothers and sisters. Since then, he has lived in the same white, green-trimmed farmhouse planting vegetables and growing fruit trees.

“We moved out here in 1938,” Larsen said. “July 18th, I think it was. Orchard Drive was called Orchard Drive because it had orchards.”

While his father worked as a janitor, Larsen and his family looked for other ways to supply their household with the income they needed to sustain a healthy lifestyle.

“Back in the Depression, if you wanted money, you go and find a job,” Larsen said. “We started out picking cherries. We had cows, and we had pigs, chickens, turkeys one year and we had geese.”

As time passed, Larsen chose not to leave his farm life behind. He adamantly continued his family farm and welcomed his brother, wife, daughter and son-in-law to help keep the business thriving.

In 2009, Larsen’s son-in-law, Jack Wilbur, took charge and turned Larsen Farms into 3 Squares Produce.

Wilbur grew up gardening with his father and then married Kari Cutler, Larsen’s daughter, who happened, as Wilbur said, to be a “farmer’s daughter.” This union brought him to Larsen, proving to be just what he needed.

“We started [the orchard] and two gardens,” Wilbur said. “That’s why we call it 3 Squares Produce. My wife likes to say we’re doing our part to help people have three square meals a day.”

But 3 Squares Produce is not just a small farm. Wilbur advanced Larsen’s business and initiated a CSA. The CSA helps the Larsen and Wilbur families stay connected to the community by providing shares to their customers. Wilbur said that about half of the business is a farm and the other half is the Community Supported Agriculture.

Wilbur spends his nights and weekends working at Larsen’s orchard and planting at the other 3 Squares Produce properties. Those properties include: two small orchards in Bountiful, a backyard orchard in Farmington, an orchard in West Valley and four private residence yards in the Salt Lake area.

“In order to make it as a small farm business in the city,” Wilbur said, “you pretty much have to have different fields in different locations. We grow the things that grow the best in the areas that grow the best.”

When Wilbur is not working in the orchards or gardens, he works as a public information officer for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, a state agency that promotes and regulates agriculture and business.

“It was not by design, but now pretty much my entire life is agriculture one type or another,” Wilbur said. “I’m either promoting it or writing about it.”

Though farming can turn into serious work, Larsen’s authentic humor and genuine personality keep the family-operated business full of laughs. His stories, told from a straightforward perspective, lead to unmistakably unforgettable stories such as the one about the skunks who enjoyed reading the newspaper.

“You know how we used to get rid of skunks?” Larsen said. “Barrel of water with a ramp going up and put a newspaper up there, see? And the skunks would climb up there to read the paper, and they’d read and fall in and drown.”

Larsen enjoys making jokes and sharing stories. And Wilbur makes sense of the tales.

“Actually, the rest of the story is, he put eggs, I think, eggs or something on the paper,” Wilbur said. “So they didn’t actually get up there to read the paper.”

Larsen chuckled, “Put down they read the paper.”

Even though Wilbur came to take care of the business, 86-year-old Larsen still makes his way working in the blossoming orchard and tending to the tasteful fruits and gardens. He contributes as much as he can to 3 Squares Produce and fills the long work days with wisdom and humor.

“We planted a tree the other day,” Larsen said. “Five years and we’ll be able to start picking. You know how old I’m going to be? Someone’s going to have to hold me up to pick the peaches.”

Wilbur nodded, adding, “He’ll still do it. You bet he will.”

TIMES ARE CHANGING

Though the work of a farmer never seems to be complete, Larsen cannot help but look back on the way things used to be when his home in Bountiful was not surrounded by paved roads and fast-moving cars.

“The street was a dirt road out here,” Larsen said. “We’d go down there and play baseball and football right there in the street.”

Larsen and Wilbur enjoy reflecting on the changes made to Bountiful and farming in general.

“Everything’s changing,” Larsen said. “Twenty years from now it’s going to be really different.”

Wilbur added, “And farming too. There’s not going to be these little farms anymore.”

They often look back on the way things used to be, but they still work just as hard, if not harder, making sure the past is not forgotten.

“Times have changed, and there are not that many farms like this anymore,” Wilbur said. “That’s kind of why we do this — to keep it going.”

Though towns are booming and land is becoming harder to acquire, Larsen and Wilbur still think about the beauty in what farming can do for a community.

“Every year in the spring anything’s possible,” Wilbur said. “That’s the neat thing about farming. Look at those young plants, right now. They’re just going to be wonderful crops with big yields. Who knows what’ll happen.”

WHY THEY KEEP GOING

Though Larsen has spent many years working in the orchards, he still cannot find a way to stop. He says he does what he knows to do.

“Might as well do something,” Larsen said. “It’s a good day when I can get out of bed and walk. If I quit walking, I’ll probably die.”

Wilbur added, “It really does keep you going.”

Wilbur will follow in his father-in-law’s footsteps and continue planting and growing fruits and vegetables.

“I don’t really have a complete sense at what’s going to happen here, but I do have control over what I do,” Wilbur said. “I will probably be doing this the rest of my life.”

Though towns are growing and the weather is uncertain, the life of a farmer finds its way molding into the ever-changing world. 3 Squares Produce discovered a way to keep going and remain family-operated.

“Sometimes our life doesn’t turn out quite the way we think it’s going to,” Wilbur said. “It turns out in ways we can never imagine, but it’s perfect, and that’s sort of what happened here.”

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Food trucks serving up a crowd in Salt Lake City

Posted on April 21, 2015 by comm5775

Story and slideshow by DAVID FISHER

See what food trucks are serving up on the streets of Salt Lake City.

Korean barbeque, gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, slow-roasted barbeque and delectable cupcakes are only a few of the options available during Food Truck Thursdays at The Gallivan Center in downtown Salt Lake City. Hundreds of customers rally in from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. between 200 and 300 South every Thursday afternoon to purchase endless amounts of street food during a weekly local gathering of food trucks.

Creating a social scene, food truck-goers interact with one another as they wait in line for their food. This is a unique dining experience; the diversity of the dishes and the à la carte style of eating is not something that can be found at a typical sit-down restaurant.

Three years ago, food trucks were required to follow a strict set of laws that prevented them from gathering within private properties of Salt Lake City. However, in April 2012 this law was changed to permit food trucks to gather in these areas and serve a wide variety of customers. This has created a totally new scene, and a plethora of newly successful businesses on wheels.

What started as only four food trucks in 2012, has increased to more than 40 trucks that roll through the streets of Salt Lake City.

One such food truck is Cupbop, a truck known for its Korean food in a to-go cup. Beef, spicy pork, chicken, or a meat combo are options available for customers to enjoy over rice, noodles and vegetables. All meat is slow roasted and marinated in a delectable homemade sauce that owner Junghung Song learned to make on a church mission he served for three years in South Korea. Each cup is covered in a savory sauce that ranges from mild to spicy. Song uniquely named the mild seasoning “baby spice” (level 1 spicy). For those who like a spicier dish, he recommends the “melt your mouth spice” (level 10 spicy).

Cupbop’s motto is “Shhhh, just eat,” which Song describes as not asking what Cupbop is, but rather just trying it for yourself.

Song went to a Salt Lake City restaurant convention in spring 2013 and noticed there were not any Korean food restaurants. This was when food trucks were starting to appear within the city. He wanted to start his own unique Korean barbeque food truck to serve his homemade recipe to customers.

Song quit his job working for an advertising company and decided to pursue running his own local business on wheels. It only attracted a few customers at first, but now Cupbop is one of the most popular food trucks in Salt Lake City. A large line of customers always gathers up the steps of the Gallivan Plaza every Thursday afternoon.

Waiting in line for food can be boring, but Cupbop makes it an experience.

Song is known for having his employees who work within the truck come out and sing and dance with the people waiting in line. Korean pop music echoes through the plaza as customers attempt to sing along to tunes that they are hearing for the first time in a language they may not understand.

“If I’m not having fun, I cannot smile to my customers,” Song said. “A bad experience would make you want to leave, and never want to come back. This is your lunch break. I don’t want you to stress out during an already busy day.”

Song always serves Cupbop with a smile, and hopes to bring a smile to all of his customers’ faces. He wants them to come back for more.

“Sometimes the other food trucks find us annoying because we are so loud,” Song says while laughing.

Song communicates with all of the other owners of food trucks because they are beginning to become their own community. Song runs and operates Food Truck Underground, which allows people to vote on locations for food trucks to gather. Food Truck Thursdays at the Gallivan is just one of many gatherings that occur throughout the week.

One truck that participates in Food Truck Underground is Heidi Cakes Utah, a food truck specializing in gourmet cupcakes made from scratch with fresh ingredients. Known for the eye popping, spotted bright pink motorhome, Heidi Cakes Utah has been serving customers for a little more than two years.

Owner Janine Lestwich wakes up every morning at 4 o’clock to start baking hundreds of her cupcakes in the commercial kitchen attached to the back of the motorhome. All cupcakes are loaded and ready to be sold for $3 apiece by 9 a.m.

What started as a bake sale to raise money for an annual anti-drug and alcohol rally is now a large-scale business. Ten percent of profits that Lestwich makes from selling her cupcakes is given to 4TheSolution.org, which educates youth about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

With sales and donations combined, Lestwich has raised more than $10,000 toward 4TheSolution.org since the start of her business.

“We are one of the few food trucks which only sells desserts and donates profits to a good cause,” Lestwich said. “We have no competition. Our customers want to keep coming back to support the cause and my business. I really appreciate everybody coming together.”

When the Heidi Cakes Utah truck is not at Food Truck Thursdays, it can be found in downtown Ogden or at local car dealerships.

One of the biggest challenges that both Cupbop and Heidi Cakes Utah face is when the truck decides not to work. This includes engine failure or oil leaks and problems within the kitchen.

“Truck issues are extremely difficult to deal with,” Song said. “It can completely shut down our business and decrease profits, especially in the winter. But it’s worth it because it creates a challenge.”

Both Cupbop and Heidi Cakes Utah inform customers of these problems through social media outlets like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Because both trucks do not have an official website, this is their means of communicating to the public.

For Heidi Cakes Utah, Lestwich posts a daily menu and schedule on Facebook and Instagram as to where her truck will be located and what she will be serving that day. She listens to her customers’ words. If they are requesting a specific flavor of cupcake or for her to be at a certain location, she will respond.

“I share a lot of my personal life on my business Facebook,” Lestwich said. “People don’t get angry when I have to take a week off from my truck because they know I am visiting one of my daughters in Tennessee or Texas. Sometimes you just need to put family before business.”

Lorna Balfour, 21, is a customer of Heidi Cakes Utah who has been following the business for the past few months on social media platforms.

“I try to come down to Food Truck Thursdays as much as possible during my lunch break,” said Balfour, who works at the University of Utah. “It’s a place where the community comes together to try new foods that they may not have tried before. I go to Heidi Cakes because of the cause she supports and her red velvet cupcake.”

Balfour follows a multitude of food trucks on Instagram and Facebook so she can stay up to date as to where they are located. Sometimes she posts photos on Instagram of the food she gets from the truck and her friends always ask her about where she got the food in her photographs. She describes it as being a part of a community that is unique to Salt Lake City.

Song explains that with Cupbop, most of his new customers come because they saw social media posts from friends of theirs. Free Cubop is offered to customers who share images of their food on social media to an abundance of followers or give a great review. It is a type of reward that Song likes to give as a thank you for marketing for his truck.

The food truck community within Salt Lake continues to grow as more food trucks are beginning to gather in public places. This creates a village of a melting pot of different styles of food for customers to enjoy. There’s always something new to enjoy, and a new favorite food truck to be discovered.

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