Where do all the Utahns go?
That question has been on my mind since I took a trip to Rhode Island and met 149 of my coworkers one weekend. As the only Utah employee, I was somewhat of an oddity. Many hadn’t met anyone from Utah before, so there are people walking around out there who believe I represent the population as a whole.
You’re welcome, Utahns!
I was shocked that so many of these people only knew one thing about Utah: Mormonism. And soda shops. So I guess they knew two things.
The soda shop craze went viral on TikTok sometime last year and the novelty of an entire state where people regularly pour half-and-half into jugs of Dr. Pepper captured imaginations. I was peppered with questions about it at all times. Breakfast? I was asked about the weirdest soda concoctions I’ve tried. Lunch? Watchful eyes followed my hands to see what I did with my Diet Coke. Dinner? They generally moved onto other topics.
For many, visiting a Utah soda shop was a bucket list item, right up there with “Travel to all 50 states” and “Do an ayahuasca ceremony.” For many others, their questions seem to be an attempt to suss out just what place these soda shops have in our society. “How often do most people go?” “How long do you spend there?” “Have you tried all the varieties?” “What’s your go-to?” “Do you know your soda baristas by name?”
They wanted to know if soda shops are our “third place.”
If you’re not familiar with that term, it’s the place you go to spend significant time when you’re not at home (your first place) or your work (your second place). It’s seen as a common area, a gathering place, a place to meet new friends or hang out with old ones.
There are a few important qualifiers that make something a true “third place.” For instance, it must be a neutral ground, where occupants have no obligation to be there. Status in society can’t be taken into account in this place. It must be open and readily accessible to all members of the community. The focus has to be on conversation, especially playful or lighthearted ones. And finally, it has to have its regulars, who welcome newcomers and set the tone for the space.
Sociologists say it’s important to have functioning “third places” in order for communities to be healthy in the long run.
And when you think about it, my coworkers’ curiosities made perfect sense. Outside of Utah, when people aren’t at home or at work, they have coffee shops or bars that fit this model perfectly. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz famously said that his coffee chain is engineered to be the perfect “third place” across the country.
But with 66% of Utah’s population being members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and therefore most likely unwilling to spend time in buildings dedicated solely to coffee or alcohol, it makes me wonder…
What are Utahn’s “third places?”
I’m not sure Latter-day Saint chapels count, with only 66% of the state really belonging there. And I wouldn’t exactly categorize the vibe as “playful” or “nonobligatory.”
Maybe our parks would count for the 4 months of the year the weather isn’t trying to kill us with exposure?
Restaurants don’t really count, as most want customers to come and go quickly to open up valuable table space. Maybe Hogi Yogi was the last great Utah “third place” but I’ll leave that for the historians to decide.
Or maybe, the answer is right under our noses. Maybe we already have “third places” all over. Maybe my curious coworkers were on to something. And all it will take is a little imagination (and some renovations):
What do you think?
I've often thought I would love to spend a Saturday afternoon writing in Fiiz.
Cool idea! In high school, snow-cone shacks were definitely a third-space in the summer. You could roll up to Snowasis in Alpine, UT on any given summer afternoon and see friends. Gotta think about some others.