Small Busines Spotlight: Exile Burrito
Each newsletter we are taking the opportunity to speak with clients about their business and what makes them tick and hopefully inspire more entrepreneurs to take the next step.
CEDC: We’re very excited today to be speaking with a CEDC business grant recipient Adam Hammill, founder of Exile Burrito in Berlin, New Hampshire.
Your business model is simple but also so innovative- tell us about it.
Answer: We are a Quick Service Mexican American restaurant that specializes in fresh burritos & burgers. Our business platform is in the style of the popular franchises Chipotle Mexican Grill and Five Guys Burgers, two franchises that are unlikely to enter our small but loyal market. Our platform may be similar, but our menu is our own. We allow you to have your burritos, tacos, and burgers the way you want it, even if it’s not on the menu.
CEDC: What made you want to open your own business? How did you get started?
Answer: My wife, Kaeli and I began with a small food stand at the Gorham Farmers market to test our markets interest in Mexican food. It was a success, which led us to begin to look for a location. We were told that the Berlin Main Street Group had bought the old “Wangs Garden” Chinese food restaurant at an IRS auction. They were the only one to bid and got it for less than $10K. After our first meeting, I was told their intent was to keep it from going back to the bank, which would have led to another vacant building on Main Street. I was told if we were interested, they would sell it to us for not a penny more. This was a major reason I was able to take the step towards opening. With the purchase of the building, we were still on the hook for a large tax bill owned to the City of Berlin. I was encouraged to petition the City Counsel for some relief from the back taxes. When I approached them with our business plan, they were willing to cancel a large percent.
CEDC: Tell us how you found out about CEDC and how you used your grant.
Answer: Financially, there were no institution’s that would loan to us. We did not qualify for the traditional paths to receiving loans for startup restaurants, like SBA loans or from our personal bank. The only support we received at the time was the tax relief from the City of Berlin.
It was through Pam Laflamme, Berlin’s Community Development Director, that I was informed of the CEDC grants. These grants were a real financial lifeline. The Community Business Beautification Program matching grant we used to pay a local artist to create our Retro looking sign. We were also eligible for the Community Development Block Grant; this was used to pay for or menu design and food photography. These were huge helps to finish vital projects that we didn’t have funds for.
CEDC: You were super brave to start a business during the pandemic. Have you seen the community come together and support each other? Tell me what you think got you through to the other side?
Answer: It is so important for me to stress how much community support truly helped us to get to this point, it was not us alone. There is no amount of hard work that could have brought us this success. This is why I love the people of Berlin. They invested and believed in us, from City Hall to Berlin Main Street group, along with the community. They are the ones that were willing to give a chance to a different style of restaurant, with different food. They truly did more than just give us a chance they have allowed us to thrive! That goes for our team too, I don’t know how we have been able to put together a group of rag tag misfits that have worked so hard and have believed in our vision. This was the opposite of the greater narrative of no one wanting to work during the pandemic.
CEDC: Tell me more about your what makes your business unique or fill a niche for the area.
Answer: Even before we open the doors in May of 2020, we saw the void in our market for not only Mexican food, but the opportunity to bring a restaurant to Berlin that was built for the twenty-first century, with an active social media presence, and website with an easy-to-use online ordering platform. Online ordering accounts for roughly 60% of sales. My hope is to prove to other folks that are considering opening a business in Berlin, that our community will use and is supporting new technology.
We have also brought a different dining experience, our dining area is styled with an industrial feel, with exposed brick, modern pop art, tables made from repurposed lumber. We aim to provide the best customer service, this is through making every costumer feel welcome and individually accommodated to, we want every customer to feel like their day is a little better than it was before they stopped in.
CEDC: What advice can you offer to other small businesses just starting?
Answer: It has been a huge help having an open dialog with City Hall, including Code Enforcement, Fire Department, and the Health Inspector. Try to look at these folks as an asset, and not your adversary. I believe because I approached them this way, this led to open dialog, which can save you both money and time.
Invest time in cultivating you community presence, both in person and online. I started to attend city council meetings and that’s where I met the person who would sell us the building. As for social media, we started our Facebook page when we set up our food stand at the farmers market, as well as engaging on the local Facebook community groups. This allowed us to gain followers, it was a communication bridge from the time of the farmers market to us opening our doors. We had a goal to have one thousand followers on Facebook before opening, I’m proud to say we surpassed that goal.
One last piece of advice I would give for anyone looking to open a restaurant is just as important as it is to be passionate about food, it’s even more important to identify yourself as a small business owner. What I mean is that you could be the best cook, but if you don’t know how to calculate food cost or, expect others to run the business side of things, you are going to have a much harder time.
CEDC: That is such amazing advice! What’s next? Any future plans or expansion ideas?
Answer: My love for Berlin and its potential is what I see in my future. Living in Berlin sometimes feels like living in EXILE, isolated and an hour away from everything, but it’s a place surrounded with natural beauty, hardworking people, and affordable living. There are so many properties for all sorts of startups. I can list more than 5 turnkey restaurant’s that are just waiting for a young family to pour their blood sweat and tears into. This is where I see our community’s future, we need to make it a reality, I want to figure out how to bridge the gap between people with the vision, and the fruition. Whether that is mentoring or trying to assemble a group of local folks willing to invest in people that do have the vision, a plan and the willingness to put in the work to make it happen.
CEDC: This has been great! I hope it inspires others to get out there and make something new. And as a grant recipient, I must tell you- all of us at CEDC are very proud of all you’ve done.
Answer: It’s been my honor to participate in this Q&A. All I will add is come to Berlin, the opportunity to be a part of a city’s rebirth doesn’t come around often, especially in an area as beautiful as the White Mountains!
CEDC: Thanks again for your time today Adam!
If you are in the area and are looking for some amazing food, it is a must to stop in to try Exile Burrito. To learn more, visit https://exileburrito.com or call 603-215-6592.
If you would like to have your business featured in our Small Business Spotlight, email us at execdirector@coosedc.org.