Cofounders: Brooke Doner and Milo Carrier | Salt Lake City

Arlo, a Salt Lake City favorite specializing in globally inspired fare made from locally sourced ingredients, has managed to achieve the (nearly) impossible: sustained success after opening in July 2020, which cofounder Brooke Doner calls “almost certainly the worst time for a restaurant to attempt to launch.”

Furthermore, Doner and her husband and cofounder, Salt Lake City native chef Milo Carrier, were ineligible for many relief programs due to their post-pandemic opening. The key to Arlo’s strong performance?

“We were saved by our large patio and the wonderful locals who continued to support us,” Doner says. “We clawed our way through those dark days and are so happy to say that it feels like we are on the other side of it.”

Along with Carrier’s always-changing, seasonal menus, sustainability is at the heart of Arlo. It partners with local farms and operates a butchery program that utilizes the whole animal. The restaurant’s approach signals, Doner feels, a changing industry.

“The Salt Lake City restaurant scene has, until recently, been fairly uniform and homogenous,” she says. “Today, it’s an exciting time to be [here]. Restaurants are stepping up their game and challenging each other to do better, both in their culinary craft, and in their consumption practices.”