Even Stevens Sandwiches - Food With a Cause

May 19

Photo courtesy of Even Stevens Sandwiches

In this episode of The Utah Foodie Podcast, we talk sandwiches with Even Stevens' creative director Jamie Coates and director of community engagement Sara Day. But not just any old sandwiches—sandwiches with a cause. For each sandwich Even Stevens makes, they donate one to a local nonprofit partner here in Utah.

And after just one year of crazy growth, Even Stevens now has two locations—and a third on the way—and have donated a whopping 75,000 sandwiches. Awesome.

In this episode, our host Chase Murdock sits down with Sara and Jamie to learn about what drives Even Stevens and how they got started. Their founder Steve Down is intriguing. He's not your stereotypical restaurant guy. As their blog puts it:

"Steve Down dons a suit daily, quotes Goethe, orates words like compassionate capitalism, and carries Steve Job’s biography in his back pocket. And he lays it out on the table: he isn’t a “restaurant guy”. Blue eyes don’t lie has perhaps been his creed since birth. He isn’t a 20-something hipster with tousled hair jetting off to developing countries. He doesn’t use Instagram. (The rest of the team does plenty of that)

We applaud the vagabond millennial, but Even Stevens is a tale of its own. Think of your parents’ wisdom mixed with the progressive spirit of youth. A New York Stock-exchange meets Woodstock kind of romance. Steve has forever been a champion for the next generation."

And like their founder Steve, Even Stevens isn't stereotypical either: they're making a large splash in the Utah food scene and showing all of us what it means for a business to be authentically engaged in their community and focus on local, while simultaneously creating a large, multi-location restaurant brand.

We also go into Even Stevens' food menu, their beer pairings, and talk about how they use local ingredients at each location. You can hear Sara and Jamie's passion for what they do and in this episode, it's clear that Even Stevens isn't just building a restaurant—they're building a movement.

This episode of The Utah Foodie was hosted and produced by Chase Murdock. Visit our episode archive on Ventricle Presents, and stay connected with us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

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