This story appears in the February 2026 issue of Utah Business. Subscribe.
Owning a business is a dream come true for many, but when disaster strikes, it can bring reality crashing down. From electrical fires to road construction to putting trust in the wrong people, anything can happen. For some businesses, there’s no opportunity to bounce back. But these four business owners found a way to push through.
Reopening after fire and water damage
In August 2025, a kitchen fire on Main Street in downtown Salt Lake City quickly spread to neighboring buildings. Directly next to the building where the fire started, Whiskey Street suffered from both fire and smoke damage. White Horse, next door to Whiskey Street, thankfully didn’t catch on fire, but was still destroyed by water damage. Jason LeCates, co-owner of White Horse and Whiskey Street, says he was inspired by the way the community showed its support, and they reopened White Horse in January 2026.
“Arriving there that morning [after the fire] and [we saw that] everybody that cared about the business was right there to greet us and just to tell us that they’re there to help us.
The mayor had people there with the city, offering us support and promising that they would help expedite things. I met with the landlord right out front; they love Main Street just like we love Main Street, so we committed to each other right there to rebuild. It’s just crazy how many people reached out via text or social media — it was literally overwhelming. It took me a couple of days even to reply to everyone, making sure they knew I appreciated it; even if I couldn’t respond with a note, at least I could let them know that I got their message, and that was cool.
By the next morning, the city had revived the ‘tip your server’ program from COVID-19 and started requesting donations with a half-a-million dollar goal because our staff woke up without a job. They reached their goal, and all of our employees benefited. I think everyone was able to land on their feet.”
— Jason LeCates
Co-owner, White Horse and Whiskey Street
Recovering from closures due to construction
Hopkins Brewing Company in Sugar House recently celebrated its seventh anniversary. In those seven years, the business has dealt with COVID and construction on 2100, which made accessing business entrances difficult. Chad Hopkins, owner of Hopkins Brewing Company, used social media to reach people, encouraging them to come by and support both the brewery and other businesses on his street. In 2025, construction was completed and 2100 has reopened.
“As soon as [the city] started working on 2100 South two years ago, it made it so hard to get to our business. People stopped coming in, and it was hard to find parking. There was a steady decline in sales for all the businesses around here, and we’ve even lost a few businesses.
When I started to feel the effects of what was going on, I started making videos and doing social media. There are whole videos of me walking around, showing all the different ways you can come in, all the places you can park. I recorded other businesses and gave them a shoutout, and I would do a weekly construction update video, which helped people to start coming in. That was huge.
It’s been a really stressful year for business owners. The only way you’re going to make it is if your community helps you out.”
— Chad Hopkins
Owner, Hopkins Brewing Company
Redefining your business model after an electrical fire
For nearly a year, Maven Cinemas was housed in the old Sticky Shoe Theater in American Fork. But after an electrical fire in 2024, the theater closed. Since then, Dvorah Governale, who co-founded Maven Cinemas with her husband, and her team have pushed on with community event partnerships and are working toward reopening and revamping the services they provide to the community.
“We were actually fulfilling the dream of a lot of people in the community. You could just see that for some people, it was the location itself that has been there for almost 75 years. There are a lot of memories, nostalgia and emotional connection to that space. For some people, it was the events that we were putting on, but those films and our events were what really caused an emotional connection and experience for people.
[After the fire], we actually had several emails from people in the community wanting to show support. Some of them were people who had been and loved it so much and wanted to get it reopened, and some of them were people who had heard about us after the fire and were sad to have missed it and wanted it to reopen so they could experience it. So we put a board together, and we’re working on our non-profit paperwork.
We always felt like this should be a non-profit because the profit margins are pretty slim. The other reason though was not just because we felt like it would help to keep the doors open and keep the business alive; it was also because we have seen the benefits of storytelling in our communities and the way that it impacts people. We know that there’s a lot that this type of cinema can offer.”
— Dvorah Governale
Co-founder, Maven Cinemas
Overcoming the obstacle of having the wrong person in the wrong position
With over 30 years in business and as the COO and co-founder of Cedar Bear Naturales Inc., Jhoane Robinson has seen and survived a lot: the 2008 recession, stolen intellectual property, and putting her trust in the wrong person to manage her finances. It took three years to restructure and rebuild her company.
“We’ve been through many of the types of challenges a business might face. But we developed a philosophy early on that we do impossible well. Some of the things we’ve had to come through are what others might consider impossible, but we do the impossible well.
Going through all we have, it’s given me real confidence in myself. I learned to focus, even when you get discouraged. Learn from it and go on. You can’t make every call right, you can’t make every decision right, but you’ve got to keep on keeping on.”
— Jhoane Robinson
Co-founder, Cedar Bear Naturales Inc.