Southern Utah Businesses We Should Be REALLY Proud Of
I'm a born and raised Southern Utah kid! I was born at the Dixie Regional Medical Center, and I have immense pride in St. George and the surrounding areas. I LOVE when I see celebrities have come to town, or when a local kid is getting statewide or even national attention. But now that I'm older, one thing that I've been totally proud of is BUSINESSES that were born in Southern Utah and are thriving!
Here's a list of some Southern Utah Businesses that we should REALLY be proud of:
SWIG:
Swig is going on my list #1. You can say whatever you want about Swig or Soda Shops, but Swig literally invented something that was right in front of our eyes. I can remember when Swig started in this tiny little building a block down from the Boulevard, and now they've grown into a JUGGERNAUT across the United States! They're on their way to 500 locations and they can't be stopped. Someone put their dream to work and they're now worth MILLIONS. That's pretty incredible.
Squatty Potty:
Squatty Potty hit BIG around 10 years ago when they started selling little stools to help your stools (That should actually be their tagline. Someone hit them up about that!) But then they struck a deal on Shark Tank and now Squatty Potty is worth over $60,000,000 according to Google! Not bad for a little business from little St. George!
Cafe Rio:
The Real OG's remember when Cafe Rio opened up well over 20 years ago in St. George. Their first location was where Durango's sits now. Without Cafe Rio we wouldn't have Durango's or Costa Vida and for THAT... We thank you, Rio! Cafe Rio now has over 160 locations across the globe! Isn't that awesome?!
Paparazzi Accessories:
Paparazzi Accessories is a local company that has EXPLODED across the world. It's a Network Marketing company and if you're completely uniformed on "Network Marketing" you'll probably say it's just Pyramid Scheme or a Scam... It's not. Paparazzi owns that MASSIVE building with the pink lights across the street from Big Shots Golf. Paparazzi is worth over $250,000,000 and they employ TONS of local people as well as people across the globe. They're owned by Misty and Chani, two local girls from Hurricane.
I know that there are TONS of other places that have made a big name for themselves here in Southern Utah, and if you can think of those places, PLEASE let me know who should be added to this list!
Best Places To Put A 2nd Costco In Southern Utah
Have you been into Costco in St. George lately? It's THE WILD WEST! It is incredibly packed all the time and the parking lot is a nightmare! We definitely have enough people for another Costco location, but the problem is... SO MANY PEOPLE share their Costco cards with others. Costco assumes we have x-amount of members, when in reality they have at least DOUBLE that number in customers.
We will definitely be getting ANOTHER Costco sometime soon, and here are the top places I think they should be:
Southern Parkway Exit:
This is the next BIG area that will be thriving soon! Desert Color has gone in and brought tons of people, and with that came Big Shots Golf. Megaplex has announced they're bringing a Luxyury Megaplex next to Big Shots. In-N-Out Burger and Del Taco will be going in on that exit, and another Sakura location will be too.
Hurricane Valley:
This wouldn't be the ideal landing spot for me. It would be further out of town, but it could work for a lot of Southern Utah. It would be closer for Hurricane and all the growth happening out there, and it's right off Southern Parkway too, so you could get there fairly quickly.
Ivins/Santa Clara:
Growth in Santa Clara & Ivins has EXPLODED in the last few years. I remember when there was NOTHING out there, and now they've got Harmon's, Swig, Alfredo's A, Jersey Mikes, Buck's Ace Hardware, and more. This could be a good landing spot for people living in western St. George as well as Santa Clara and Ivins obviously.
Warner Valley:
We're going to see a HUGE influx of growth out near Warner Valley in Washington, and another big draw... Right off Southern Parkway again! Yes, it's on the western side of town again, but maybe that would help take the pressure off the current Costco location!
Industrial Area of St. George:
South River Road already has a ton of huge warehouses, so a Costco out here wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb. This would better serve the area of Little Valley and the Southern part of St. George that is seeing the most growth. But would Costco want to be out somewhere that feels so desolate?
Cedar City:
That's right, Cedar City. It's your turn to get a Costco. With Cedar's population sitting under 40,000 I think this would be a long shot to get their first Costco, but I'm not going to rain on this parade. Let's make it happen!
Where have I missed? Where would you like to see the next Costco Location in Southern Utah?!
IS IT LEGIT? People Are Skeptical About "Best Of Southern Utah" Contest
If you've lived in St. George, or ANY part of Southern Utah, you've probably heard of the 'Best Of Southern Utah' Awards. You may have heard of it regarding a restaurant, a carwash, schools, or a variety of other local businesses. You've probably seen the stickers in windows of these businesses, claiming they're the absolute BEST at whatever their business is. But the question is... IS IT LEGIT?
In the Facebook Group 'St. George Word Of Mouth', Garcia Ward posed the question to a poll: "What are your thoughts about the “Best of Southern Utah” contest? Is it fiction or fact?" Opinions from the community came flooding in and the results were SHOCKING. A total of 424 votes came in with a WHOPPING 405 votes (95%) voting "FICTION" while 19 votes (5%) said "FACT".
Comments on the poll were even more eye-opening than the results itself!
Now, these opinions don't mean the contest or awards aren't real. But it seems like the community is questioning the validity of the results. Is there really a true way of getting results that everyone is going to be happy with? I don't think so. It seems like there will always be people upset with results of contests like these.
Let's take some winners of Best Of Southern Utah and see if MY OPINION matches up with the winners.
2023 Best Ice Cream:
GOLD: Handel's Ice Cream
SILVER: Alumni Creamery
I have no problem with the results of this. Handel's is great, and the Alumni Creamery is awesome too!
2023 Best Cookies:
GOLD: Cookie Co.
SILVER: Fabulous Freddy's
I struggle with this one. Crumbl is one of the BIGGEST and FASTEST growing companies, they sell MILLIONS of cookies each year. I'm shocked Crumbl didn't make the list here.
2023 Best Soda:
GOLD: Splash @ Fabulous Freddy's
SILVER: Fiiz
This one is also a struggle for me. Where is Swig?! How is Swig not #1? They invented this category! But they're all pretty much the same anyway.
2023 Best All Around Restaurant:
GOLD: Red Fort Cuisine Of India
SILVER: Riggatti's Wood Fired Pizza
I'm PRETTY CLOSE to being okay with this one. Both Red Fort and Riggatti's are great. But I REALLY thought Sakura would win this award, and they didn't get Gold or Silver.
2023 Best Frozen Yogurt / Custard:
GOLD: Yogurtland
SILVER: Nielson's Frozen Custard
This is a smaller category, but I can agree to it. But who else could really have made the list? Culver's and Menchies are the only ones I can think of.
After all of this, if you've made it this far, I think you should make up your OWN MIND on the results of this contest, and next year we should ALL be voting and build the ABSOLUTE BEST LIST of Southern Utah's BEST in 2024!
St. George Boy Wins State Championship, One Win Away From Nationals!
It's been a fun 2024 for St. George 8 year old, Hendrix Lay. He saw a flyer at the St. George Rec Center about a "Hoop Shoot", and he told his parents he wanted to compete. He did compete... and he won! He's beat out kids his age, then kids around town, then kids across Southern Utah, and last weekend he won the entire championship for the state of Utah!
Last weekend in Provo, Utah, Hendrix sunk 21 of 25 free throws clinching his first Utah State Championship title, a feat he'll remember for life. This Saturday, February 24th is Hendrix's 9th Birthday, but he'll be celebrating a little differently this year. Not only is Saturday his birthday, but it's also his next big competition in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hendrix will be competing against a handful of kids that won their respective State Championships. We'll see kids from the Western United States like Hawaii, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Arizona, and of course, Hendrix representing Utah.
Hendrix, the other State Champions, and their families will be put up in a hotel this Friday night in Las Vegas, with bowling and a pizza party to celebrate their big accomplishments. Hendrix and the other children will receive their very own custom sweatsuit at the party as well. Saturday morning, at a Las Vegas high school, the kids will compete and the winner will punch their ticket to the National Championship in Chicago, Illinois. If Hendrix makes it to Nationals, and WINS Nationals, his picture will be up with his name at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Speaking to Hendrix tonight he told me "Guess how many free throws I made in a row today? 51!" When asking Hendrix if he's nervous, he always tells you "A little. But I like the pressure!" Well, the pressure is indeed on for Hendrix this weekend in Las Vegas, but we're all pushing for him and believing in him!
Hendrix comes from a basketball family, too! His Grandpa, Steve Hoagland, was a high school and college standout, playing his college ball at Southern Utah University. Hendrix's Dad, JC, and Grandpa, Cole, each played ball for the Dixie Flyers. Hendrix's Great Grandpa Don is past Dixie Flyers Baseball and Basketball coach Don Lay. He won 3 State Championships with the Dixie Flyers in the 1970's, and the baseball field is appropriately named Don Lay Flyer Field. Coach Lay would be over the moon to be watching Hendrix today, but we're sure he'll be watching the Hoop Shoot from the other side.
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