Margo Provost, owner of the Log Haven Restaurant, has been chosen to receive an Avon Women of Enterprise 2000 award.
Last year, only six women nationwide received the award.
Provost was nominated by the Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. The chamber gets $1,000 for nominating a winner, and Provost also gets $1,000, a trip to New York and a stay at the Waldorf Hotel.
The awards will officially be presented at a ceremony in June. Avon has been honoring women entrepreneurs with this program since 1987.
To qualify, a businesswoman must have been profitably self-employed for at least five years, run a business with a minimum annual revenue of $250,000, be a role model for other women, demonstrate business creativity and resourcefulness and show an ability to communicate.
Provost overcame several obstacles to renovate the 75-year-old restaurant and reception center, which re-opened in 1994 and is considered one of Utah's best restaurants. It consistently gets top marks from Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazines.
Once the building was purchased, Provost ran into financial misunderstandings that forced her to dip into her retirement fund from a previous career to undertake major renovations so the building could meet codes.
The contractor got infectious hepatitis. Asbestos was discovered and had to be carefully, and expensively, removed. Then government inspectors decided the structure needed to meet higher earthquake standards. Cost overruns turned out to be not the 25 percent Provost had been told, but 110 percent. Then the IRS zoomed in for an audit.
Nonetheless, Provost re-opened the restaurant and drew a loyal following.
You can reach Linda Thomson by e-mail at lindat@desnews.com