2021 — 2023 · Founder
Uptown Burger
Opened a burger brand in 2021, ran operations end-to-end, and sold it in 2023 — a crash course in building something people love.
Uptown Burger began in 2021 as a bet that a small brand, run carefully, could earn a following with good food and consistent hospitality. I opened it, ran operations end to end, and learned more about people and systems than any classroom could teach.
Building in the real world
Menus, suppliers, staffing, service peaks, cash flow — every day was a product loop with edible stakes. Branding mattered, but so did the unglamorous work of opening on time and closing clean.
The exit
In 2023 I sold the brand. It remains one of my favorite chapters — proof that shipping something people love is not limited to software, and that knowing when to hand it on is part of building well.