We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andy Atkins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Andy , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Imagine this, The year is 2020 and the entire world comes to a halt. Everyone is sitting at home rethinking their life decisions and pursuing new hobbies while in quarantine. Well, at least that’s my story. I worked in the music industry for years. When covid hit and everything stopped, I was left with a lot of time on my hands. After knocking out every DIY home improvement i could possibly do and afford, I got a flattop griddle and started playing with burgers. Little did i know that at the same time my buddy, Cody, was amidst his own burger journey.
After a few weekends of playing burgers together and feeding all of our friends, we realized that we had something really good and really special.
We figured if all of our friends loved our burgs so much, maybe we could sell a few. Fast forward a few months and we are slinging delicious smash burgers our of a tent in parking lots all over town. It started as just a hobby but it quickly grew into something we hadn’t really prepared for. There was a real Burger Club developing around what we were doing. Hundreds of people were lining up in parking lots through any weather imaginable to eat our cheeseburgers. It was really apparent to us that we had something special and that we had to chase it. Once the world opened back up and it made sense, we left our other gigs to focus on burging full time.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Andy. Along with my friend and business partner, Cody, I run a mobile food business called BAD LUCK BURGER CLUB. What may seem like just a food truck is something much more. It’s truly a club, a lifestyle. We are not only serving what we believe to be the juiciest, crispiest, flattest, smash burgers in town but we are fostering a sense of community where all are welcome to join the party, meet new friends, share new experiences, and connect with the community around you. If you just want to stop by the truck to get a burger and move on with your life, that’s cool but there’s also the opportunity to chat with folks in line and see what this “club” is all about.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

The initial expense of starting Bad Luck was very minimal. Both Cody and I had bought our own consumer level flat top griddles that we used in the beginning of the business. After that we had to spend a few hundred dollars on coolers, tables, and a tent. We might have been all in $1000 in the beginning. We are truly lucky that since our first weekend in business we have been cashflow positive, paying ourselves back for the initial expenses. Within our first year of business we had netted enough money to buy and outfit a food truck to take the next step in our business.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Our business solely exists off of social media. Up to this point in our existence, we have spent no money on advertising. Every bit of success we have has come from word of mouth and social media. It was very clear to us that having a strong online presence was very important. Our very first service was a free friends and family event where we invited 80 of our closest friends to come out and eat burgers for free. Those 80 friends naturally put up pictures of their burgers and the good times they had at the event and it started to ball rolling. The key is to involve the consumer. They need to feel like they are a part of something more than just commerce. When you start developing real relationships with your customers both on and offline, they’ll want to support you and talk about you to their friends.
Match our delicious burgers with our charm and good looks and you have instagram gold! haha. The reality is, you have to engage with your audience. Answer their DM’s and comments. Repost the stories they mention you in. If you’re just using your socials to try to make a sell, you’re missing the point and the consumer can see through that.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.badluckburger.club
• Instagram: @badluckburgerclub
• Twitter: @badluckburgers
• Other: TikTok: @badluckburgerclub

Image Credits
Photos by Katty Danger