We were lucky to catch up with Dan Sawyer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I have a separate career that has me traveling all across the United States. I’ve been to every major city and more small towns in between than I can count. One of the benefits of traveling for work is being able to eat the local foods and find the hidden spots off the beaten path. My favorites tend to be small, hole-in-the-wall, typically family run places that have a simple menu that is done right like the cheesesteaks and pork roast sandwiches in Philly, Chicago Italian beef or deep dish pizza, pastrami in Detroit or crab claws in Key West.
My wife, Michelle, and I live in the historic Five Points neighborhood just north of downtown Denver. It has a rich history and a feel of a few square blocks of, say, New York City. After returning from a work trip, I mentioned to Michelle that our neighborhood could use a little walk-up window style sandwich or burger joint. She said, let’s do it!
Michelle had just retired from over 30 years as a nurse at Children’s Hospital and needed a new challenge. So we took a chance began setting up shop.
Now we have Duke’s Good Sandwiches & Burgers serving our signature Original Denver Chopped Cheese Sandwich and our hard to beat Smash Burgers, and a few other items, through the walk-up windows with patio seating in the back of the building. The front of the building facing the main business corridor on Welton Street is Scratch Family Bakery & Local Market. Michelle’s long time passion for baking also gives the neighborhood a great place to find sweet treats. While I am on the road most weeks Monday through Friday, Michelle keeps everything running smoothly at both Duke’s and Scratch along with our wonderful staff. You can find me on the grill weekends.
Both are becoming local favorites just like the places around the county that inspired the idea.

Dan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

We have never run a restaurant before but we do know what customers should expect when visiting our shops. We use only the best ingredients and adhere to high standards.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When starting a new restaurant/retail type business from the ground up, expect to double the cost and double the time to get open. And that’s already after you’ve planned for the worst.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

I think our best source of new clients may come from social media influencers that visit Duke’s. We have reached out to a few that will stop by and have lunch or dinner on us and in return post pictures and stories. There is a large following for food posters and is a great way to spread the word.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dukesgoodsandwiches.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dukesgoodsandwiches/

Image Credits
Photos by: Daniel Severo and Chris Curtis