Meet Michael Di Battista

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

Hi Michael, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.

I developed my ability to take risks by gradually stepping outside my comfort zone, learning from both successes and failures, and reflecting on my experiences. Each small risk built my confidence and helped me understand the value of resilience and adaptability.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

My name is Michael. I went to school for Dietetics and worked in sports and clinical nutrition. Throughout all of this, I realized not only did I enjoy cooking but I wanted to center my life around cooking – so I dove into the deep end.
My two childhood friends, Jose and Brandon, spent most of their lives working in the business scene.
We all had a passion for food and wanted to share that with our community, so we combined our heads and founded the Burger Jawn.

We decided on doing burgers for our product after a handful of conversations regarding the burger scene in our area.
It didn’t seem like there were any quality burger spots and we wanted to change that, for ourselves and the community.
We didn’t want to be just any other burger joint so we studied how can we improve what is already a classic. Better technique, better ingredients, and doing all the small things right; this is the foundation of our product.

We didn’t just want to make a classic item better, but stir the pot, rock the boat, and introduce concepts the burger scene never heard before. We want people to say, “holy cow, this melts in your mouth more than a steak.” We also want them to say “Holy smokes, I’ve never had marmalades, Au Jus, and flavors like this as a burger before.”
For us, it’s all about creating an experience for our guests.

What we feel sets us apart from others is just our style and the whole reason we are doing this – our mission.
We truly believe in doing all the small things right, regardless of how meticulous the process may be.
What this yields is a product that is clearly levels above the norm. Come get a burger from us and you’ll see 🙂

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?

The three most important qualities in my journey have been resilience, adaptability, and curiosity. Resilience helped me overcome setbacks, adaptability allowed me to navigate change, and curiosity drove my continuous learning.

For those early in their journey, I recommend:

1. Embrace Failure: View mistakes as learning opportunities rather than setbacks.

2. Stay Open-Minded: Be willing to change your approach and try new things.

3. Cultivate a Growth Mindset: Focus on continuous improvement and seek knowledge from various sources.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

Over the last 5 years, I had the blessing of meeting many fantastic people. I quickly learned that if you pay attention you can pick up on skills, qualities, or even knowledge from the people around you. Whether they were a chef and I picked up on a technique, or a landscaper who’s business savvy and opened my eyes to logistics and efficiency. If you surround yourself with a good crowd, good things happen, so I’d have to tip my hat to my family, friends, and all the wonderful people who unknowingly gave me all that I have.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theburgerjawn.com/
• Instagram: @wetheburgerjawn