There are some people with personalities so flamboyant that you never forget them. Their confidence, stylishness and outgoing nature make them one-of-a-kind and unforgettable.
One such person is Steve Sloan.
Steve is a popular face and personality in the community where he has lived and worked in the customer service industry for over 40 years.
Anyone who has met Steve knows him as a social butterfly, but he wasn’t always that way. In fact, when he first started working for the Shiloh back in the ’80s, he described himself as quiet and super shy. “I bussed and did room service there, and they would have me go out to light the candles and talk to customers to try and get me to come out of my shell, and not be so quiet and timid,” Steve said.
It’s hard to imagine a quiet and timid Steve, but with 40 years in the industry, he says it will take anybody out of their shell. “Now I don't shut up,” he laughs.
Steve grew up in California but moved to Idaho Falls while in junior high and moved to Salt Lake City for 20 years before moving back, but the one thing he has never drifted from is the customer service industry. At least, not for long.
When the Shiloh closed in the early ’90s and became a restaurant called O'Callaghan's, Steve was transferred to Salt Lake City to work there. When the restaurant closed, he worked at two other local restaurants and at one point, he decided to work at an insurance company.
“I worked for an insurance company for a short period of time and it was awful,” he said. “I’m not a desk person. I'm not a sit-down and work-at-a-computer-type person at all. I need to be up and moving.”
After moving back to Idaho Falls, Steve worked a handful of other jobs in the restaurant industry, many of which you may recognize him from. He served at the Whitewater Grill for many years, served at Garcia’s and Pachanga’s for some time, served and managed at the SnakeBite for 12 years, served at the Cast Iron when it first opened and now he is a manager at Heads & Tails, a distillery in downtown.
“When I left the SnakeBite, it was time for a change, and at Cast Iron, it was fun opening up a new place and getting to know all the people there. When I left there, I needed to get back downtown,” he said. “I like the downtown vibe a lot. I like the people. The customers, the employees, everybody.”
Steve’s upbeat nature and high energy is a perfect fit for where he’s worked all these years, and especially the energy he brings to downtown. From bussing to room service to serving to managing, he can do it all and with a smile on his face.
“I love meeting new people, talking to people,” he said. “I’m very much a talker.”