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Just hours before he was fatally shot on a college campus in Utah, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk delivered a message to hundreds of restaurant leaders gathered in Salt Lake City last week.
Wade Allen, president of Costa Vida, a fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain that started in Utah, was in the room when Kirk spoke at the annual Restaurantology summit, hosted by the Savory Fund, he told Fox News Digital.
He recalls Kirk’s words not as political, but as deeply personal.
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“There was nothing political about the conversation [with Savory Fund co-founder and managing director Andrew K. Smith],” Allen said.
“In fact, the totality of the conversation was about entrepreneurship – the risks that you take being an entrepreneur and the hard work it takes and the dedication and the commitment.”
Charlie Kirk, who was murdered last week, spoke to restaurant leaders in Utah (event not pictured) shortly before the fatal shooting. (Nordin Catic/Getty Images for The Cambridge Union)
Kirk, known nationally for his political activism, may have surprised those in the audience by instead focusing on the entrepreneurial journey.
Drawing from his own experiences, Kirk underscored the highs and lows that define life in both politics and business, Allen said.
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“But the undercurrent of that whole message for me, and what I took away in a very big way — which I think most of the other audience took away — was that entrepreneurship is a journey, and there are good days and there are bad days,” Allen said.
“But he quoted something specifically that, in time, this too will pass. And, so, when you’re having those bad days, remember that this will pass, and then when you’re having really good days and great days and great times, remember that, too, the time will pass as well.”
Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)
Allen described the message as “very powerful” when it was delivered – and then “surreal” as the news of Kirk’s shooting began to spread after the conference broke for lunch.
“To say that Charlie was shot, I’m like, ‘It’s impossible. He just left here,'” Allen recalled. “And then I recognized, ‘Wait a second, he left here before we got on stage, which would have been an hour and 15 minutes ago.’ And then it all started to come out.”
The mood among attendees turned quickly as Smith returned to the stage to announce the news.
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Then it got “as quiet as a church,” Allen said.
“I do know that a lot of people were just, kind of, almost in disbelief and the remainder of that event was really somber.”
Kirk’s presence at a restaurant industry conference might have seemed unusual at first, but the “connective tissue” quickly became clear.
A restaurant leader said those in attendance at the conference were in “disbelief” after learning that Kirk had been shot. (Melissa Majchrzak/AFP via Getty Images)
“The restaurant industry, in general, is full of a lot of entrepreneurs,” Allen said — so Kirk’s message that it takes hard work and “you have to listen and engage with people” rang familiar.
“His message resonated so well,” Allen said.
Allen, who didn’t know Kirk, said he’s “still grappling” with the senseless loss of life.
“He was here, and now he’s gone.”
“It was super sad, regardless of beliefs, regardless of political setting, to be so near a life that’s gone for a reason that just doesn’t make a lot of sense,” he said.
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“I think everybody that I rubbed shoulders with [at] that event, regardless of what their political affiliation was, felt the same way. He was here, and now he’s gone.”
