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In this episode of The Bottom Line, Naki Soyturk sits down with Jessie and Ed Kileen, the husband-and-wife duo behind Grassburger, a growing fast casual brand that fuses sustainability, values-driven leadership, and operational discipline. The Kileen’s share their journey building a burger concept with a conscience.

They source 100% grass-fed, U.S.-raised beef from regenerative, humane ranches—never grain-fed, no antibiotics or synthetic hormones. Their philosophy: “grass-fed cattle live a happy and active life on pasture (as nature intended)”—and the ranch practices are kinder to animals and better for the planet.

They’ve earned acclaim as serving award-winning burgers and fries. The concept began with Jessie and Ed’s desire to feed their family allergy-friendly, nutritious food—an ethic eflected in their family- and allergy-friendly menu
They unpack the challenges of staying true to their mission while scaling a business in a competitive space. We cover everything from team culture, cost controls, and sourcing integrity, to why owning your brand narrative matters more than ever in today’s market.

Jessie & Ed’s Links:
Website: https://www.eatgrassburger.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grassburger
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grassburger

What You’ll Learn
• How to build a mission-driven brand in fast casual
• Why sourcing integrity can be a competitive advantage
• How to manage costs without compromising values
• How to build company culture in a multi-unit setting
• The realities of expanding in small markets
• Why it’s hard—but necessary—to lead with authenticity
• How the Kileens used purpose to weather tough seasons

• 00:00 – Intro & Meet the Kileens
• 03:30 – Grassburger’s Origin Story
• 07:00 – Building a Values-Driven Fast Casual Brand
• 11:00 – The Role of Supply Chain & Sourcing
• 15:30 – Leading a Team with Purpose
• 19:00 – Managing Growth Without Compromising Integrity
• 23:30 – Culture, Turnover, and Hiring with Heart
• 27:00 – Operational Discipline with Soul
• 31:00 – Scaling Infrastructure & Expansion Hurdles
• 35:00 – What’s Next for Grassburger
• 39:00 – Final Advice for Operators

Welcome to The Bottom Line – the real talk podcast about restaurant profit and growth. Each episode, we explore the decisions, systems, and stories behind the most successful food businesses out there in the market. No fluff. No hype. Just real operators, real challenges, and real advice from people who know how to get results. Let's get to The Bottom Line.

Have a question or need a professional opinion? Reach out!

Web: https://consultingaccross.com

Get a Free Profitability Audit

Connect with Naki on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ufuksoyturk/

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In this episode of The Bottom Line, host Naki Soyturk sits down with Ric Gruber Jr., the attorney-turned-entrepreneur who brought Neapolitan-style pizza to Chicagoland 20 years ago—and never looked back. Ric shares how he and his family bootstrapped Billy one unique wood-fired oven into a powerful regional brand with seven stores, seven food trucks, and a growing catering operation. Along the way, they added Moo Joe’s, a mobile ice cream parlor that’s redefining dessert experiences.

Ric dives deep into the early challenges of introducing a new pizza style to a deep-dish city, and how commitment to quality and storytelling helped Billy Bricks stand out. He also explains why his team invests in artisan-level training, technology like MarginEdge, and organic SEO over paid marketing. The episode is a masterclass in balancing growth with authenticity.

It’s also a story about building IP, intellectual property and trademarks for the brands that he builds.

This conversation covers everything from branding and operations to failure, resilience, and what it really takes to run a profitable, scalable, and soulful business. Whether you’re running one restaurant or looking to grow your concept into a fleet, Ric’s wisdom will give you tools, tactics, and serious inspiration.

Awards, Accolades & Recognition
 Named among PMQ’s “20 Pizza Brands to Watch” (2025)
 “Loved on Yelp” Award in 2015 for Oak Park catering
 Celebrated 20-year anniversary in 2025—one of the earliest adopters of wood-
fired brick ovens in Chicagoland (only ~5 in 2005)
 Featured widely in local media for elevating Chicago pizza culture

Billy Bricks stands out in the fastcasual space by combining:
 Authentic wood-fired craft with premium ingredients
 A premier casual experience in neighborhood pizzerias
 Mobile-first innovation via pizza and ice-cream trucks
 Strategic brand extension through Moose Joe’s
 Techenabled operations and careful scaling Locations & Footprint
 7 brickandmortar pizzerias in Chicagoland: including Lombard, Wheaton,
Naperville, St. Charles, Downers Grove, Oak Park, and LaGrange
 7 woodfired pizza food trucks servicing events across the suburbs
 Catered events & weddings nationwide via roaming trucks

Guest Links
• Website: https://www.billybrickwoodfiredpizza.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billybrickspizza/

Welcome to The Bottom Line – the real talk podcast about restaurant profit and growth. Each episode, we explore the decisions, systems, and stories behind the most successful food businesses out there in the market. No fluff. No hype. Just real operators, real challenges, and real advice from people who know how to get results. Let's get to The Bottom Line.

Have a question or need a professional opinion? Reach out!

Web: https://consultingaccross.com

Get a Free Profitability Audit

Connect with Naki on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ufuksoyturk/

Send us a text

In this episode of The Bottom Line, Naki Soyturk welcomes Matt Molaski and Rich Dunham from MarginEdge—the industry’s “Swiss Army knife” for inventory, invoice processing, and restaurant cost control. They break down the biggest myths about inventory, why most operators get stuck in spreadsheet chaos, and how MarginEdge helps transform back-office pain into profit.

You’ll hear about the most common mistakes restaurants make (and how to spot them), how tech can save you from recipe disasters, and why a “partial count” can sometimes matter more than a perfect full inventory. Matt and Rich share their own industry stories, client wins, and a few confessions from years on the operations and finance front lines.

Links:
 MarginEdge Website
 Rich Dunham on LinkedIn
 Matt Molaski on LinkedIn
 Email Matt: mmolaski@marginedge.com

What You’ll Learn
 The “hidden killers” in recipe costing and why they persist
 How MarginEdge’s unique invoice and SKU management solves the mess most tools create
 Why real-time (not static) food cost and recipe costing matter—especially now
 How partial counts and “Hawthorne Effect” boost accuracy and accountability
 Beverage inventory secrets: How to finally track and protect your bar profits
 Implementation: What to expect, what it costs, and who gets the most value
 Real-life stories: Cutting food cost by 15–20% and uncovering “CSI-level” mysteries in
your data

00:00 – Introduction & Guest Intros
02:30 – The MarginEdge Story & Team Background
05:00 – Why Inventory is Restaurant 101
08:00 – Common Inventory Mistakes (and Horror Stories)
12:00 – Solving Unit-of-Measure and SKU Nightmares
15:30 – Real-Time Costing and Consistency in a Volatile Market
19:00 – Partial Counts, The Hawthorne Effect, and Real Wins
22:00 – Finding Variances: The “CSI Restaurant” Approach
25:00 – Beverage & Bar Inventory: Why It’s Different (and How to Nail It)
28:00 – MarginEdge Implementation: What to Expect, Cost, Timeline
32:00 – Who Gets the Most Out of MarginEdge?
36:00 – Industry Changes: Why Tech + Grit is the Future
39:00 – How to Get a Demo, Links & Closing Advice
42:00 – Fun, Confessions, and Wrap-Up

Welcome to The Bottom Line – the real talk podcast about restaurant profit and growth. Each episode, we explore the decisions, systems, and stories behind the most successful food businesses out there in the market. No fluff. No hype. Just real operators, real challenges, and real advice from people who know how to get results. Let's get to The Bottom Line.

Have a question or need a professional opinion? Reach out!

Web: https://consultingaccross.com

Get a Free Profitability Audit

Connect with Naki on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ufuksoyturk/