Meet Michael Solomon

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michael Solomon. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Michael , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

My mom say’s my brother, cousin, and I all got our work ethic from her side of the family. My grandfather “Little Andy” and his brothers were all savages. My grandfather dropped out of school as a kid (during the depression) to work and help his family pay bills. He was the oldest boy of 9 kids. As time went on, my grandfather and his brothers eventually had bagel stores, and a bed and breakfast in the Catskills. On top of that, my grandfather was also a delivery man for Alpine liquors (Now Peerless Importers). All of the siblings worked hard to provide for their families and give their kids the opportunities that they didn’t have growing up. My mother and uncles all inherited the same work ethic. They worked hard throughout their upbringing and careers, and they all had side hustles. My Uncle Joe worked in the finance industry but back in the day, he would bring in extra money by hand making electric cables for household appliances or companies that needed to run cables when installing equipment.

When my cousin Joe, Brother Andy, and I came around we learned to do the same. Nothing was given to us, our parents made sure to teach us the value of a dollar and to work for what we wanted. Growing up we were all servers/ busboys/ dishwashers and everything in between. We worked at a family friends restaurant (Basiles and Solo Bella).

For myself I started as a kid selling pencils on the school bus to make money. I’d buy all the pencils from the school store and then jack up the price by 25 cents. I guess I created a bit of a monopoly back then. Then I started doing landscaping and shoveling snow for some of the neighbors. I believe I was around 13 years old back then…

As I got older it lead into following cousin Joe into the restaurant world and my brother Andy eventually followed. We were the guys who would take every shift and deliver catering orders to make extra money. For some reason we were just work horses and also enjoyed the industry and the family we worked for.

Going back to myself I think my work ethic grew during these periods because I was part of a startup culture. which I didn’t realize at the time. But the attitude of “if you work hard enough you’ll succeed” was a way of how I looked at things back then. I’ve always wanted to have a little extra money in my pocket, but as I got older, my goal shifted to building a life where I could do what I wanted, on my own terms. I’m not talking about flashy cars or designer clothes. I mean having the freedom to never worry about money, being able to go surf whenever I want, and eventually working on my own time—not someone else’s.

So I guess that’s the basis of my work ethic and why I still go just as hard as I did as a kid.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Little Andy’s Burgers was created by accident or as I like to say “A Happy Accident.”

I was laid off from my job in late 2023 (right before the holidays) and out of work for 9 months due to the job market. During my time off I was hustling to make ends meet.

One afternoon, I had a group of friends over to watch a UFC fight and decided to make smash burgers for everyone. I’d been perfecting this style of burger since moving back from California, and my friends went absolutely crazy for them. And that’s when the lightbulb went off in my head. I’ve always wanted to do something food related but couldn’t figure out a lane to fit in. I didn’t want to do pizza or Italian food like everyone else out here and realized West Coast style burgers weren’t really a thing out East.

My background is in Marketing and Advertising. I’ve created brands, built them up, etc. It’s also a passion of mine and it’s fun to do.

And from my upbringing, I’ve always wanted to have some sort of restaurant or something of that. It just never happened at the time…

So when the lightbulb went off. I decided to really develop this idea into something brand-able, have fun with, and pay a make a few bucks while I was looking for work.

So I started doing these living room pop-ups or what I like to call them “Low Key Kickbacks” every weekend. And came up with the name “Little Andy’s Burgers” after a nickname that was given to my grandfather. I thought the name had a cool flow to it.

I perfected my recipes and created some new ideas that I haven’t seen anywhere along with utilizing some flavors I was introduced to out in California. Some of that was in my own way a homage to In-N-Out Burger.

I Started with the classic LA Smash burger. Pickles, White Onions, Burger Sauce, Cheese.
Then it lead me into what I call my “Vaya Con Dios” Style burger. Named after a line from the original movie Point Break…
The Vaya Con Dios Burger is a Smash Patty, Burger Sauce, White Onion, Banana Peppers, Mexican Chorizo. (this one became an instant favorite.)

I also do a version of the Vaya Con Dios style on fries which people love too.

The logo came from my love of chicano graffiti and calligraphy. I love the west coast culture. From surfing, skateboarding, to music (both punk and hip-hop), and low-rider tattoo culture. When developing my logo I wanted to show appreciation for something I love and create something that will look good on clothing, branding, etc. So that’s really where my logo come from.

My marketing is something fun I like to have. I love old 80s wrestling clips and photos, all types of music, and of course enjoying some good pop-culture moments. The idea with my marketing is to make people laugh while also creating something “cool” and it will always stay that way.

So over a few months I would do the weekend pop-ups in my living room and it sold out each time. Then I got the opportunity to do a ghost kitchen in a local bakery called “Confections of a Rockstar” in Asbury Park. I really got a feel to see if the general public enjoyed my food as much as some of the people who came out every week.

I started the ghost kitchen in August of 2024 and within 10 weeks it became a neighborhood favorite and even got myself featured in the Asbury Park Press on the cover of the Food Section. The whole thing did and still blows my mind.

The overall idea and identity of the brand is a passion project. I LOVE that people enjoy the food and I would like to make it my full time job some day. My goal is for when people see my sign they know that they’re getting a quality product. If the food isn’t good then the brand wont survive.

I do have expansion plans for Little Andy’s Burgers but that comes with time. I’m going into my first full summer in Asbury Park and this will be a true test to see how we do. My goal is to eventually scale the brand and become a major player in the fast casual space.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Always be honest. Be honest with your employees, and don’t be a “Rule with an iron fist” type of leader. That wont get you anywhere.

Always stay grounded. I’m still having impostor syndrome and I don’t think it will ever go away. I appreciate every person that comes in to get one of my burgers and then tells me they love them. It really means the world to me. The money that’s made with this business helps keep the business alive, I’m not getting rich here… I’m just happy I can keep growing it.

You have to be a killer: The food business is perceived as “sexy” to a lot of people. Tons of people want to own a restaurant but they don’t want to put in the work. The food industry isn’t easy, you have to want to “Kill” to keep it a float. It’s not for lazy people. I spend most of my off time working on the business, trying to understand how I can grow it, marketing, business planning, prepping the food, and making the food. This whole thing is on me. I operate about 17 hours a week right now as a side hustle and passion project. I still have a full time job. So during the week I’m up at 6am some days working on stuff, or even just getting ready for the weekend. And on Friday nights when people close their computers for the weekend at 5pm. I go down the street to make burgers all night. You have to want this bad enough or it’s not going to happen for you. I’m still working hard at it and cant take my foot off the gas anytime soon.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

I have a few people who have been super helpful in helping me throughout the challenges and development of this business. From my cousin Joe who owns Big Apple Bakery in Manahawkin, NJ. To Fran and Pete, the owners of Artichoke Pizza in NYC, and lastly Nick, Ed, and Wilson, who are all mentors and former bosses of mine. All these guys bring something different to the table. There’s days that I honestly think this thing may not grow any more, or maybe have some financial questions, food costs questions, etc. All these guys have been extremely instrumental on how I want to build Little Andy’s Burgers up. They’ve all been through it in some way shape or form. The knowledge and experience each person brings is extremely valuable to me.

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