“I wanted to be an inventor,” smiles Polly Baykova, co-owner of Mixers and More, during last week’s grand opening on Heber Avenue.
“And I gave big-rig truck driving a shot,” chimes in business partner Crystal Deakins.
Mixers and More offers mocktails, syrups, bitters, mixers,alcohol-free wine and beer, and more. The two met at Nusanu, bonding over shared creativity and adventurous streaks. “We’re a dynamic team with big personalities,” Crystal says with a grin. “We’re creating something we believe in and holding ourselves accountable.”
Polly’s path began in chemical engineering, leading her to the oilfields of North Dakota—“where I learned to admire roughneck toughness, working through sub-zero blizzards,” she recalls. Born in Utah as the first American in her Russian family, she spent part of her childhood in Russia, later studying the language with her professor aunt. “But I missed the mountains and my STEM roots,” she says, returning to teach robotics and engineering at West High in Salt Lake.
Crystal is “a spiritual soul” who delights in the beauty and energy of stone and crystals. “Yes, I’m Crystal, who loves crystals,” she laughs. Her artistic carries over into crocheting and hand-crafting chain mail jewelry—“because who doesn’t need more chain mail in their life?” she jokes. A devoted Xbox gamer, “I trade pliers and pixels each Sunday for mashed potatoes and family time,” she says. “I love spending the day with people who have to love me!”
The idea for Mixers and More sparked when Crystal remembered customers at Swede Alley liquor groaning about the 1.5-mile trek to the supermarket for mixology essentials. “Mixers and More fills that need and The Gateway location is perfect for anyone walking downhill from the liquor store,” she says.
Already expanding, the duo supplies alcohol-free wine to art galleries and rescues local restaurants when they run low. “Watching our dream come true is just the beginning,” Crystal says. “We love making little moments of joy happen.”