30/08/2026
I’ve been thinking about growth recently. Not the kind you set targets for, but the kind that sneaks up on you while you’re just trying to do the work properly. Everything I know about growth, I learned the unglamorous way.
At home first, becoming a father changes what “building something” even means. It used to be enough that the food was good and the restaurant was full. Now I catch myself wondering what my kids will inherit from the way I worked, not the business itself, but the habits. Whether they’ll remember a dad who was present, or just one who was busy. Whether the care I put into the business is the same care they felt at home.
Then at work, I’ve watched people join us barely able to hold a knife with confidence. I consider myself lucky to have watched them become the person who someone else now looks up to. That’s the growth that actually holds meaning to me, not the headcount (although that’s grown a lot too!) but who people become while they’re part of something.
I used to think Berenjak’s story was about one restaurant. It was never that small. It just took me a while to see it. Which is maybe why it doesn’t feel strange anymore to say that soon we’ll be bringing Berenjak to Chicago.
Grateful doesn’t quite cover it. But it’s the closest word I have.
