Community Spotlight: Summer 2025
From the editor… Summer 2025
Managing Editor Andy Cupp discusses the importance of supporting local businesses on the Westside, and thanks Mestizo Coffeehouse for their years of serving the community.
Cafe Plov & Borsch: Bringing Eurasian Flavors to the Westside
If you’re looking for something new, unique, and absolutely delicious, Cafe Plov & Borsch is a must-visit. This hidden gem is the first of its kind in Utah, introducing the Westside to the bold and comforting flavors of Eurasian cuisine. With roots in Central Asian, Russian, and Eastern European traditions, the menu is packed with dishes that will excite your taste buds and open your mind to a whole new world of flavors.
Caring for the trees: Pitching in to save our urban forest
Urban trees offer vital benefits to our community, such as conserving energy by cooling buildings and streets with shade, providing animal habitats, and filtering the air. However, in Salt Lake City's arid climate, trees don't thrive naturally. This creates a dilemma: keeping our urban forest healthy requires property owners to irrigate, which often feels contradictory to our necessary efforts to conserve water by cutting back on yard watering.
Trash, encampments persist in Salt Lake City’s industrial corridor
Black garbage bags are scattered along the sidewalk on Gladiola Street amid cardboard, plastic, and other debris. Farther north, a camper trailer sits parked by the curb, surrounded by bicycles, boxes, and more bags. Nearby, an old refrigerator, broken trash containers, and other discarded items lie in a heap beneath a tree.
Gladiola Street is one of several industrial corridors where trash piles up near homeless encampments. Similar problems have occurred under the 700 South underpass at Bangerter Highway, near the Amazon Fulfillment Centers on 700 North, and near a newly-built Wendy’s on 5600 West and Amelia Earhart Drive.
Madsen Park reopens after playground renovation, other park enhancements
A local park in the Fairpark neighborhood is welcoming back neighbors of all ages after recent renovations. Madsen Park, located at 9 N Chicago Street, has evolved from once-empty land donated by private citizens to a full-fledged park. Now, it’s received upgraded amenities including a new playground and open green space.
1,300-bed homeless campus coming to Westside, residents concerned about plans and impacts on local safety
State officials have announced the acquisition of land in a more rural part of Salt Lake City’s Westside to be used for a major homeless campus.
The 15.85-acre plot of land — which sits just off I-215 north of 2100 North — backs up to the freeway in an area filled with farmland, marshlands, and warehouses. Officially located at 2520 North 2200 West, it will be designed to house approximately 1,300 beds, creating a space state officials say will provide a “sustainable and transformative solution to address homelessness in Utah.”
Assistive Technology: A powerful tool helping individuals with disabilities
Dozens of exhibitors and volunteers packed the Sorenson Unity Center in Glendale, all to help highlight the different kinds of assistive technology available to those in our community with disabilities.
They arrived equipped with knowledge, resources, and tech aimed at helping individuals with disabilities navigate the world with greater ease. The second annual assistive technology fair was put on by the Utah Assistive Technology Program (UATP) at Utah State University.
Culture Coffee holds 1st night market: “Grab A Cup & Catch A Vibe”
Cafes that seek to build community offer much more than just a good cup of coffee. They create a space where people come to connect, share, and create. These places don’t only serve coffee, but they serve their communities by making everyone feel at home. And that's exactly what's been brewing at Culture Coffee.
On August 1st, Culture brought the community together with coffee, art, and good vibes at their first-ever local night market.
Don Daniel’s Mexican Grill and Cantina: A Rose Park Classic
This month’s Westside Eats takes us to Rose Park, where Don Daniel’s Mexican Grill and Cantina has been delighting locals with authentic Mexican cuisine since 1995. Located at 1017 N 900 West, this family-owned gem is more than just a restaurant — it’s a cornerstone of the neighborhood that has been feeding the community for 30 years.
Several transportation projects underway, affecting the daily commute for Westside residents
As summer drags on, so too do road projects around the area. Several of the projects underway affect the Westside — directly or indirectly — affecting each of our daily lives. Some projects hope to improve road safety, some add artistic beauty to an otherwise drab area, and others look for ways to heal historical divides.
Westside Dance Company: Teaching Mexican heritage and tradition through Folklorico
A dance group established in 1997 continues to thrive and make moves on the Westside and beyond in Salt Lake valley as they explore becoming a 501(c)3 organization. The move is coming with its own challenges, but Westside Dance has overcome many other trials as they expanded over the last 25+ years.
The message behind Utah’s Wildlife Walls
Art is powerful. It can transform how a place looks and feels, but it can also transform our own personal emotions. Wall art — murals — hold this type of power in the place we live in. But we often pass murals without really understanding their meaning. We don’t really consider how the artist isn’t just simply adding color to a blank wall, but they are transforming the space by creating an experience for those who engage with the art.
Op-Ed: Nourishing Possibilities: A Food and Water Genealogy of Place
When I imagine a deeper time, I wonder about the older and often ignored soul of Soonkahni that has nourished the peoples of this place for ages. When I think of the events and social structures that dramatically transformed this place, I now see them as beginning with ‘food fights’ and ‘water wars’, which catalyzed an apocalyptic change across this region. The Varmint Hunt of 1848 and ensuing Battle Creek Massacre, Provo River Massacre, Bear River Massacre, Utah’s Black Hawk War, up to Posey’s “War”, and more - represent a small amount of time with violently unprecedented consequences, including both physical and spiritual starvation. The aftermath has left the elder soul of this place malnourished.
California Burger: Big flavor, local favorite on SLC’s Westside
On this month’s edition of Westside Eats, we discovered another local gem that’s been serving up flavor and variety for more than a decade — California Burger. Located at 306 North 300 West, this unassuming spot has been a go-to for the community for the past 13 years, offering a menu that stretches far beyond your average burger joint.
Seeking input on future of Northwest Quadrant
Salt Lake City and the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) are seeking comments and feedback as they work to determine the future of the Northwest Quadrant. Specifically, they’re seeing public input on the area west of the airport.
Students in Salt Lake City sign ‘Letters of Intent’ for apprenticeships
The Salt Lake City School District recently hosted its largest-ever Talent Ready Apprenticeship Connection (TRAC) Signing Day, celebrating 19 students—the biggest cohort in district history to join the TRAC Advanced Manufacturing Program. Students signed their letters of intent, officially committing to youth apprenticeships with top local employers, including two manufacturers located on Salt Lake City’s Westside, Utah PaperBox and Stadler Rail.
First-ever assistive technology fair to be held on Salt Lake City’s Westside
Utah State University is hosting Salt Lake City’s first assistive technology fair, ‘Gadget Galaxy.’ The event will highlight different kinds of technology available for individuals with disabilities. It will take place on Saturday, July 19th from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm at the Sorenson Unity Center in Glendale.
Op-Ed: A Hopeful Road
Baruch Spinoza once wrote, “Fear cannot be without hope, nor hope without fear.” He believed the two are deeply intertwined. Hope carries fear of disappointment, while fear holds hope for a better outcome. In a world where truth and lies coexist, a lack of promises occur, hatred is uplifted, and love is diminished. When everything seems chaotic, what can we do? I propose we face it with values we all know — respect, compassion, gratitude and hope.