Founder and master distiller Kirk Sedgwick and his wife Denise opened Outlaw Distillery in January 2015. The name is an ode to Butch Cassidy (born in Beaver, Utah) and Utah’s rich history surrounding the Outlaw Trail. Kirk’s prowess as a diesel mechanic allowed him to design and build all of the distillery’s equipment in Midvale by hand. Just as meticulously, they source the … [Read more...]
Hammer Spring Distillers: Utah’s First Distillery to Make Potato Vodka
JP and Vita Bernier opened Hammer Spring Distillers in April of 2017. The family-owned business is the only Utah distillery to make vodka from potatoes, says JP. “We use whole, fresh Utah potatoes for a 100% farm-to-glass product.” Alongside their signature potato vodka, Hammer Spring produces a bourbon, two gins, a coffee liqueur, and two specialty vodkas — habanero and … [Read more...]
Downtown SLC Restaurant Resurgence Guide
What would Salt Lake City be without our restaurants and bars? The social fabric of our local communities depends on the hundreds of chefs, restaurant workers, and mixologists at bars and restaurants. There are also hundreds of ancillary businesses that depend on them such as this Utah Stories. Never before has there been a time when our hospitality industry has been so … [Read more...]
European Tastees, an Armenian-Owned Small Shop in Murray not Fazed by Pandemic
Since 2005, European Tastees has been providing a taste of nostalgia to the European population in the Greater Salt Lake area. It is a true family business, founded by an Armenian couple, Artur Makian and Ruzan Mnoyan. I chatted with their son, Andrew Makian, who is carrying on his parents’ legacy of making German, Polish, Bulgarian, Russian, ex-Yugoslavian, and many other … [Read more...]
Doing Well By Doing Good — A Visit to Bill White Farms
Driving into Park City on State Highway 224, you pass a collection of buildings and other structures that blend beautifully into the mountainside, and at night is lit up with a gorgeous array of thousands of colored Christmas lights. It’s pretty spectacular. But then, pretty much everything restaurateur Bill White builds is pretty spectacular, from his flagship Main Street … [Read more...]
Made in Utah Winter Fest 2019
Made in Utah Winter Fest and Winter Walk Dec. 7-8, 14-15 and 21-22 SALT LAKE CITY, UT — (November 20, 2019) -- Utah Stories has partnered with The Gateway to present the second annual Made in Utah Winter Fest in collaboration with the Gateway’s unique Winter Walk holiday light experience. With distinctive holiday light displays created by local artists, specialty art and … [Read more...]
Beehive Distilling Has a New Place to Call Home
When it comes to gin in the Beehive State, Beehive Distilling has been leading the way since 2013 with its much-beloved, hand-crafted Jack Rabbit Gin. If you are a local, you’ve come to expect to see Beehive Distilling’s award-winning Jack Rabbit Gin, Barrel Reserve Gin and Organic Vodka on the top shelf of nearly every bar, as well as most food and cocktail events. Owners … [Read more...]
Dara Modern: Design Store Seeks Clean, Elegant Look
Birds perched on the spouts of teapots, figures trapped in canisters trying to push their way out; a vase with multiple faces. Where can you find these eclectic objects in Salt Lake? At Dara Modern, along with place settings, silverware, furniture and kitchen devices. When Dustin Matinkah, owner of Dara Modern, bought a home in 2012, he had difficulty finding … [Read more...]
Great West Food Desert: City Seeks to Improve Food Options on Westside
Food deserts are areas occupied by people lacking the income to buy healthy food or do not have access to foods that are considered part of a balanced diet. By U.S. Department of Agriculture standards, the west-side of downtown Salt Lake City is a food desert. Whether the SLC Redevelopment Agency's proposal to build a permanent, year-round public market for Salt Lake City will … [Read more...]
Ogden’s Gift Shop Pawn House: Home to an Extensive Collection of Browning Rifles
Scott Vanleeuwen at Gift Shop Pawn House in Ogden.Every editor knows that a magazine is only as good as its sources. Thus far I have found there is no better source than men with long, white beards. The length of the beard is usually proportional to the breadth of their wisdom. This is why Moses (of the Old Testament) is always portrayed with a beard down to his knees. Scott … [Read more...]