09/01/2026
We opened the doors here 3 years ago today!
To say in year 3 things got easier would be a lie. A lot of days have been great, some days have been s**t, most days have been long…. but the weeks fly by faster and faster.
A few months ago while cleaning out my desk I found the original business plan for Uncle B’s. We were hoping to make this thing work doing 14 sandwiches a day and 40 cases of b**r a week. Now we do tables of 14, but only have 32 seats inside. It gets cramped and crowded, but we try to accommodate everyone as best we can. I can promise you there isn’t a more thankful human than me.
I was supposed to always keep Ironworking and work here at night and on the weekends…. That very quickly turned into me slinging sandwiches all day and never looking back. Which is great. But there are days I miss the life and people and freedoms of a different time.
To the friends I’ve made along the way that have turned into family, the people that have come and gone, the people that made B’s what it is today, thank you. I want to say thank you for believing in this place, for believing in an Ironworker that didn’t know what the hell he was doing. For the ones that bought into the system, no matter how chaotic it’s been, this place wouldn’t have survived without you.
To the community members that got behind us and have been so damn good to us, thank you.
To the group from Yorkville that comes all the way here just to get burgers, thank you. To Singin Joe who comes in on Wednesdays to serenade the crowd, thank you.
I appreciate every single person that has turned this place into what it is today. To the ones we don’t see anymore, we miss you. To the ones we wish didn’t come in so much, stop being as****es but keep coming in. To everyone else, a million thank yous isn’t enough. For a bar that serves food, this place sure has satisfied a lot of hungry people. Stay tuned is the first thing I ever put on the reader board out front when I bought this place, and that’s message still rings true most of the time because we’re always changing and constantly adapting.
After doing a lot of reflecting lately, I think maybe my future is to slow down a bit, because running as hard as I have for 3 years has not been easy on my body, mind, or those closest to me.
So cheers to entering year 4. Some days I still can’t believe we turned a Subway into a home for so many people.
See you soon. 🐝
