This story appears in the May 2026 issue of Utah Business. Subscribe.
How did a double-decker tour bus end up in Salt Lake City? The short answer: Maurice “Moe” Egan drove it here from Seattle.
The longer answer requires time-traveling back a few decades to when Egan, owner and co-founder of SLC Bus Tours, was growing up in East Oakland, Calif. It includes stops in San Francisco, Las Vegas and his current residence in Salt Lake.
“In fourth grade, my uncle taught me how to roll weed, smoke weed and sell weed,” Egan says.
He remembers getting caught with the drug in the school bathroom and being sent home. Instead of being punished or reprimanded, Egan was met with silence from a group of family members busy smoking and drinking. He calls this a “defining experience” that shaped the first part of his life.
“I said to myself, ‘This family’s not really concerned about what’s going on with me. I’m going to be able to do whatever I want in life,’” Egan says. “And that took me to some places I wouldn’t wish on anybody.”
Today, Egan is a pillar in the community. SLC Bus Tours is just one of his successful professional ventures; he’s also the director of recruitment at The Other Side Village and a chair-appointed member of the Utah Homeless Services Board.
A rocky start
“It’s no secret that I became a lifelong drug addict, alcoholic and criminal,” Egan says about his past.
Despite small wins and attempts to get his life on track, Egan describes experiencing “disappointment after disappointment.” His life seemed to be a string of broken friendships, relationships and lost jobs. At one point, a friend got him a coveted position at The King Center in Atlanta. While there, Egan experienced a relapse. He returned to California, frustrated that he still couldn’t manage to get it together.
Enough was enough, and Egan decided to start trying various recovery programs. He graduated from all of them, but the success wouldn’t last.
“Two weeks later, everybody I knew in the neighborhood was doing drugs in my place,” Egan says.
In and out of programs, standing in line for government services, and prison time — that’s how things went for a while.
Then, on his final arrest, Egan looked at the police officer handcuffing him and saw a familiar face. It was his former football coach. Egan was filled with embarrassment and shame. But instead of rage, the officer told him about the Delancey Street Foundation, a San Francisco nonprofit that is a residential self-help center for former substance abusers, convicts and the homeless.
Unsure, but with nothing to lose, Egan wrote a letter to the foundation. He was accepted to the two-year program. Immediately, it was different from anything he’d tried before. According to the Delancey Street Foundation website, the holistic approach works on “a model of social entrepreneurship, of education, of rehabilitation and change that is exciting and full of hope.”
Egan felt the difference. Delancey Street was the first place where people truly expected something of him, a place where he was told the American dream wasn’t off the table, even for those with a difficult personal history.
“All the programs I went to, they threw assets at me. A job here, counseling there, housing here,” Egan explains. “My issue wasn’t assets. What I needed was a behavior change, and that’s what [Delancey Street] helped with.”
One skill he walked away with was a commercial driving license. His first job in that role was — you guessed it — a tour bus driver. Some buses had pre-recorded audio, but Egan eventually did his own.
Egan dedicated himself to his new life. He stayed after hours to wash buses, earning a reliable and respectable reputation. He was offered a job to train drivers, tour guides and the sales team. He was promoted to operations manager for the company’s Las Vegas location.
While in Vegas, Egan learned about a program in Salt Lake City: The Other Side Academy. He got a call from Joseph Grenny, author of “Crucial Conversations” and co-founder of The Other Side Academy.
“[Grenny] said, ‘We’re doing a replication of Delancey Street here in Salt Lake City, and your name came up. Are you interested in helping us run this thing?’” Egan remembers.
The Utah spirit
Egan moved to Salt Lake City in 2016. The Other Side Academy had already branched out with The Other Side Movers and wanted to continue expanding. Soon, Egan led the launch of a food truck, followed by a thrift boutique. He briefly relocated to Denver to open another campus for The Other Side.
Once he was back in Utah, Egan stepped into his role as the director of recruitment for The Other Side Village. The community, according to its website, “empowers individuals to move beyond chronic homelessness through stable housing, personal accountability, and meaningful connection”.
Egan still contributes to The Other Side’s social enterprise ventures. A couple of years ago, he helped start The Other Side Donuts.
The success of each business is, in part, thanks to Utah’s unique spirit and culture, Egan says.
“Utah is about entrepreneurship,” he says. “You cannot live here and not have that entrepreneurial spirit.”
Encouraged by that culture, Egan had the idea to research the viability of a food walking tour. In addition to his full-time job at The Other Side Village, Egan put together a food tour of downtown Salt Lake City in just under a month.
“I remember the first booking I got,” Egan says. “I’m standing [at the meeting spot], and I’m waiting for somebody to show up. And they showed up! I remember being so nervous — and it just took off.”
After launching a second walking tour on Main Street in Park City, Egan got an even bolder tourism idea.
An idea worth hopping on
Andrey Olinov isn’t your traditional hospitality business owner. He started his first tech business in Canada at 20 years old. Eventually, he sold the company and traveled, spending time with family while consulting. Then, he started another company and found his way into business coaching, which led to an offer as a management consultant in Draper, Utah.
That position lasted about a year until Olinov decided to leave the company and pursue another start. While at a networking event, he met Egan. One thing led to another, and the two launched SLC Bus Tours as business partners.
“You can’t take the physical, but you live on in your influence, your impact.”
— Mo Egan
Olinov built the company’s site and continues to handle the tech side of the business, leaving the tour development largely up to Egan.
“He’s such a talented storyteller and the commentary that he creates is very much loved by our guests,” Olinov says.
Operations expanded quickly. Egan purchased a second bus and started seasonal and holiday-themed tours. In December, they did a Christmas lights tour, and the Valentine’s Day tour was a hit.
Aside from seasonal and holiday-themed events, the tour currently runs on weekends. In traditional hop-on hop-off fashion, guests can board at any stop, get off and explore, then get back on the bus when they’re ready. Stops include the state capitol, This Is The Place Heritage Park, the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Temple Square and the Natural History Museum of Utah.
Thanks to a live-tracking feature that refreshes every 15 seconds, guests can locate the bus and plan their route accurately.
SLC Bus Tours also offers a 90-minute evening tour focused on a curated downtown experience. Learn about the history and culture of Salt Lake City at the state capitol, sit down for a chocolate tasting at Caputo’s Market and even try ice cream in a historical building.
Egan’s past bus experience and Olinov’s tech expertise complement each other. It has been a positive experience for Olinov, who has never had a business partner before.
“This business presented me with an opportunity to be more creative,” Olinov says. “I concluded that a lot of companies out there were pretty lame when it came to their tech. I had a vision for real-time bus tracking that we could integrate … I think we’ve accomplished it all pretty well.”
If a problem arises that neither founder knows how to solve, they figure it out together. They’re both committed to avoiding shortcuts and making sure everything from operations to the quality of the tour audio is done right.
The company quickly became one of the highest-ranking tours in Salt Lake, and in only the second full year of operation, the momentum is positive. SLC Bus Tour works with hotels, travel agents and other tourism businesses to create partnerships that benefit both parties.
Egan has plans for other specialty tours and to have tour operations ready to meet the demand of the Winter Olympics in 2034.
More than a bus
Every time Egan sees the bus going around Salt Lake, it represents much more than a successful business. It reminds him of the little kid who grew up in East Oakland. It makes him think about what he’d tell him.
“Your dream is not lost,” Egan says, as if talking to his younger self. “The American dream is back on the table. Keep a good attitude and don’t get caught up.”
From thrift shops to donuts to food tours, Egan’s relentless hustle stems from his commitment to give back.
“When I look back at all the times I got arrested, I still only got arrested for maybe five or 10% of the stuff I did,” Egan says. “So I owe. I owe the community, and I gotta give back.”
Reflecting on the legacy he wants to leave behind, Egan is up front. It’s never been about money or how many businesses he creates.
“All that stuff, you can’t take it with you,” Egan says. “You can’t take the physical, but you live on in your influence, your impact.”
