Arriving in the Maven district, the writing’s already on the wall that this isn’t your typical neighbourhood. Splashed across a 15ft-high mural, like a feminist manifesto writ large against a hot pink background, are the immortal words: “Maven: trailblazer misfit. Those who dare to be first and stand alone”. On the side of a nearby building is yet more vibrant street art, this time a painting of a group of women lifting each other up. I’ve officially arrived at Maven, Utah’s first sister-hood where 85 per cent of the businesses are female-owned.
Starting life in 2010 as a solo pilates studio, the past few years have seen this pioneering district blossom into a buzzy network of around 100 women-owned companies. Much of the action is condensed into a single block at 9th and 9th near downtown Salt Lake City, but a quick glimpse around reveals that Maven is a rapidly expanding tribe, with building work almost complete on a second complex just across the road.
Meeting me in front of a cookie shop, the smell of freshly baked biscuits wafting from its doors, is Rocky Donati, chief marketing officer and Maven co-owner. We head around the corner to the Juice Shop, where the health-conscious menu includes fancy toasts and protein smoothies served to a hipster clientele. Established by first-time business owner Meera Patel, who returned to Salt Lake City following a successful marketing career in New York, it’s a prime example of how Maven is tempting high-flyers back to the city like homing pigeons.
It’s all about creating an ecosystem where women can thrive through mentorship and community support, Donati tells me as we wander through the female-powered Maven haven. It’s a vision that’s clearly attracted a diverse range of businesses to the block, from an art studio offering painting and pottery classes, to a swish co-working space and a wellness hub that runs the gauntlet from strength training to zen mindfulness.
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Why this hotbed of progressive activity has sprung forth right in the heart of conservative Salt Lake City is up for debate. From education to employment, Utah scrapes in near the bottom of national surveys regarding women’s equality, so it’s perhaps a take-charge response to the everyday barriers still in existence. But, equally, Utah’s family and faith-heavy culture – this is, after all, a state where 66 per cent of the population identify as Mormon – has long created an environment that welcomes small businesses over the mega-corps.
“Utah also has a lot of part-time working moms and women who turn hobbies into careers, so there was a real hunger for what Maven offers,” Donati adds, as we duck into Mineral and Matter, a boutique store where gem stones twinkle at the window and shelves jostle with zodiac cards and cosmic-chic notebooks.
Out on the main strip, I stop by Curiosity, an outrageously Instagrammable zero-proof bottle-shop and bar. Offering the sober-curious a grown-up nightlife experience, minus the hangover, the bar also hosts poetry nights and social meet-ups where drinks are paired with mind-expanding questions.
Looking out across the street at the new Maven 2.0 block being constructed, a mixture of restaurants, locally owned homes and Airbnb apartments due to open in June 2023, Curiosity’s co-owner Raegan Plewe tells me that the “area is changing so quickly. In five years, it will be totally unrecognisable”.
Rustling up a mood-enhancing elixir mocktail, the mixologist adds that she’s personally found the tight-knit local crowd to be an inspiration. “It’s cool to be surrounded by so many women realising their dreams,” she says, sliding a drink laced with hemp and rimmed with spicy salt across the jade green tiled bar. “It’s a community where we have a social hour get-together to talk about how things are going and what we could improve on. There’s also funding to help develop our businesses and mentorship schemes for newbies.” Forget the daytrip: taking a long sip of my elixir, I’m already thinking I could quite easily live in this utopian micro-verse.
At my next stop I’m told that a permanent matriarchal lifestyle is actually pretty feasible by Tori Plant, owner of the Planted Salon. When she’s not coiffuring A-listers at Utah’s Sundance Film Festival, Plant and her team are chopping and colouring from her hairdressing salon decked out with palm leaf wallpaper. Pausing between appointments, Plant says that the enclave has “been designed as a curated community, where the things women want are within walking distance. So, you can get your hair done, grab a non-alcoholic drink with a friend, get inked at the tattoo parlour, have a therapy session and go back to your home, all within a few steps”.
Back out on the street, I reconnect with Maven creator Donati outside a retro vinyl record store. She’s quick to tell me that even she was unprepared for the neighbourhood’s roaring success. “It’s become far bigger than we ever imagined, back when we started out with one little building,” she marvels, as a pair of women pass us on their way get their chicken and waffle fix at the Pig & A Jelly Jar restaurant. “Sure, there have been female co-ops in the past, but nothing on this scale.”
So, what’s next for the Maven empire?
“We’re now looking at branching out to nearby cities, like Ogden, then thinking about how this could look on a national level,” Donati confides. “Because at the end of the day, every city has women who are looking for opportunities to shine.”
Expect to see Maven sister-hoods cropping up throughout the US in the not-too-distant future.
Travel essentials
Getting there
Delta flies directly from London to Salt Lake City with a flight time of 10 hours 20 minutes. From Salt Lake City International Airport, it’s a 10-minute drive to Maven.
Staying there
Bed down for the night in a Maven-owned rental from £96 a night, decked out with artwork and products from local independents including Pantry Products and Majaira Studio. Each unit has its own kitchen and overnight guests can also borrow bikes to explore the local area.
More information
Visit mavendistrict.com
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