Times are tough, but some local businesses may be doing better than you think.  Here is a snapshot of some of what’s going on in Salt Lake City with reporting by the numbers of the business scene.

New Business Spotlight

“Authentic” is an overused word when talking about cuisine. But when we find truly authentic cuisine we know it, even if we may not have traveled to that region of the world. When Eric deBonis opened the Paris Bistro on 15th and 15th everything was made to replicate an authentic Parisian Bistro, right down to the custom-made light fixtures.

Sea Salt has been a work in progress for deBonis for several years. DeBonis crafted the recipes and the entire menu himself and it’s now open on the northeast corner of 1300 South and 1700 East. Like Paris Sea Salt is immaculate.

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New Businesses (past 6 months)

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Businesses Expanding/Moving

Starbucks Closes on 9th & 9th

Why would anyone go to Starbucks when there is Coffee Garden on the corner?” My friend recently asked. The Coffee Garden defines the 9th and 9th area—its classical music wonderful coffee, pastries and standwiches have made it the centerpiece of the area.

But the closing of Starbucks has less to do with the Coffee Garden and more to do with the change in Starbucks’ corporate structure: Starbucks is moving largely into the drive-thru business and away from the hang-out envirnoment buisness.

As a publicly traded company there is no comparison to profit potential of a drive-thru that can process an order every two minutes, to a stand-alone building where people stay for 30 minutes to a few hours and might only order a single item.

Starbucks found their niche in building high quality coffee houses all over the nation. They established the marketplace for coffee houses in America and every succesful local coffee shop has Starbucks to thank for changing our culture in a positive manner. Starbucks paved the way, but the local coffee shops are doing a much better job at providing community gathering places.

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