Lisa Harmer
Campaign and Program Director
Celebrate Small Business Saturday with Us!
Celebrate Small Business Saturday with Us!
This year marks the 15th anniversary of Small Business Saturday. On November 30, the day after Black Friday, Small Business Saturday is all about “shopping small” and giving back to the businesses that make Utah so special. With 22 years under our belts as a small, Utah-based business, Targa Media is thrilled to celebrate and support other local businesses!
As a local marketing and ad agency, Targa Media is all about helping — big and small — succeed. We know from experience just how much heart and soul goes into every product, service, customer, and interaction. It’s what makes small businesses unique and essential to our community. This Small Business Saturday, we’re encouraging everyone to explore the local shops, restaurants, and services that provide so much color and life to our local neighborhoods.
To give you some inspiration, here are some of our favorite local spots, handpicked by our team. Even though our office is based in downtown Salt Lake City, our team hails from all corners of the Wasatch Front. Hopefully you’ll be able to join us in patronizing these businesses, on Small Business Saturday and beyond!
Utah Natural Meats – Jason
This family-owned farm and business combines “locally grown” with “personal touch.” I was introduced to this company through a friend, and I’ve loved learning about the collective passions and hobbies of each of the family members. My hundred-mile round trips are few and far between, but you’ll find my hand baskets heavy with cheese, raw grass-fed milk, pork chops, breakfast sausage, and pastured eggs. Utah Natural Meats raises food the old-fashioned way…naturally yummy.
Publik Coffee Roasters – Alison
Publik is one of those businesses that you can tell just loves our big little city and takes pride in serving rad, delicious coffees.
Who knew that a plain cup of coffee could be so delightful?! I love their values: quality over quantity, being an active and productive player in our community, planet over profit, and creating places that people want to be in. I miss their Park City location but it’s nice to visit the Salt Lake locations when I’m downtown.
Dancing Crane Imports – Lisa
I will admit I am a bit of a hippie at heart. I absolutely love the energy at Dancing Crane. It’s a great place to escape, let your stress melt away, and get inspired to focus on goodness and gratitude. It smells wonderful, they have an amazing boutique, unique art, and all the good energy healing tools you need to find – or keep – your zen. And don’t get me started on the gorgeous jewelry selection! I always leave with a full soul and an empty wallet.
Slide Ridge Honey House – Taleen
This charming honey bee “ranch” is our family business. Dedicated to safeguarding the health and growth of the honeybee population with over 3000 hives in northern Utah, Slide Ridge produces five delicious flavors of honey wine vinegar, and actual honey wine! The vinegars add flavor to every dish, the wine is a treat, and we have sweet gift baskets for the holidays. Help us save the bees!
Graywhale – Josh
A staple for Utah’s audiophiles since 1986, Graywhale is Utah’s largest local, independent source for music, movies, games, record, toys, books and more. What started out as a humble CD exchange (which are now–inexplicably–making a comeback) is now a go-to for entertainment for all the cool cats in northern Utah.
They specialize in pre-owned music and have an awesome selection of retro games too. I’ve spent countless hours in each going up and down the aisles, flipping through boxes of every type of music you can think of.
Taqueria 27 – Heather
My small business shout out is Taqueria 27, not your typical “authentic” Mexican restaurant. The food is made from scratch and they use local ingredients when possible, sustainable and always fresh. T27 offers traditional flavors along with some out-there options like duck confit tacos. Almost everything is or can be made gluten-free plus which is a huge bonus for those of us who have celiac or gluten intolerance. They do not cross-contaminate their fryer oil, which is amazing. Highly recommend trying out the G.O.D. (Guacamole of the Day), T.O.D. (Taco of the Day), and F.O.D. (Fish taco of the Day). Even better? They have gluten-free churros!
The Heavy Metal Shop – Justin
This iconic Salt Lake City music store sells exclusively heavy-metal and hard rock music. They’ve been “peddlin’ evil since 1987” according to their tagline. A tough sell in conservative SLC. But to me and my fellow die-hard metalheads, it’s the mecca for all things heavy in Utah. Heavy metal, hard rock music, DVDs, CDs, merch, merch and more merch. Their hoodies are iconic and rock greats like Slayer and Alice Cooper have been known to rock THMS logo shirts.
Hanamaru – Vanna
Are you looking to have the best ramen of your life? Hanamaru has got you covered. This local restaurant is a small, tucked-away local joint in Ogden, Utah, serving authentic Japanese food Thursday through Saturday. Saturday is Ramen Day. They’re open from 11 until the last ramen is sold out, which usually happens by 1pm so it’s a good idea to reserve your ramen ahead of time! It’s absolutely worth it though, and they have plenty of other options, including a delicious sushi menu, as well.
Febi & Co Jewelry – Heidi
Based right here in Utah, this local jeweler offers collection of beautiful, unique earrings that always put a smile on my face.
And while the shop is primarily online, they’re also a regular presence at farmers markets and pop-up shops around the area. One of the things I absolutely love is their dual-sided hoops. These earrings are a total game-changer, and a steal! One side is silver, and the other is gold, so you can flip them depending on your outfit. They’re unique, fun and reasonably priced so it’s easy to treat yourself without feeling guilty about the cost.
Pho 777 – Evan
Salt Lake easily has more than 100 joints around serving pho. But only a few make more than a bowl of broth with “stuff” in it. The quality of the “stuff” (and the broth) is what matters. And Pho 777 has the good stuff. Family owned, Pho 777 is committed to bringing authentic (and dare I say, delicious) Vietnamese cuisine to the Salt Lake area. Their pho broth is made from bones, from scratch, every single day. It’s divine. And their banh mi is legit the best I’ve ever had. This is not just my opinion! Pho777 was named a 2024 Best Restaurant by Salt Lake Magazine. It’s so Pho-king good!
We hope you enjoy this little “taste” of Utah! Please make a point to support your neighbors and our local businesses (Targa included!). You make a difference!