Introducing Strange Brands Co.
Strange Brands is an idea for food spots, unique experiences, and services with big ambitions to bring something new to Atlanta. Right now, these businesses are simply things that I have been designing and tinkering with for a long time. These are places and experiences that I have wanted for myself and my town since moving here over 5 years ago.
I’m putting these out there now for a few reasons:
Accountability: These have been farfetched, random ideas for a long time, but “building in public” might push me to actually make them real.
Collaboration: I work with and know a lot of smart, talented individuals and maybe they would like to get involved. I know I can’t do it all myself.
Inspiration: I’ve been helping small businesses grow for most of my professional career and they’ve inspired me. Maybe I can inspire someone else.
If you want to stay up to date on any future happenings, sign up for the Strange Brands newsletter. The updates won’t be frequent enough to annoy you, but I’ll do my best to keep you posted on my progress.
Sutro Sauna + Bathhouse
A modern bathhouse experience committed to individual wellness and social + community betterment.
We are creating a space to bring the practice of hot/cold therapy into the modern day to inspire connection, rejuvenation and relaxation.
Boxed Lunch
A fast-casual spot for handcrafted deli-style sandwiches made with the freshest ingredients.
Taking inspiration from Deli Board and Molinari Delicatessen in San Francisco, we want to perfect the meat and bread delivery system.
The Exchange
A stock market themed bar with a fun-built-in, unique social experience
Complete with dynamic pricing based on popularity, “stock market crashes” and more. We want to make “grabbing drinks with friends” a fun, exciting experience.
FAQ
Why did you call it “Strange Brands?”
I looked at some of my favorite restaurants/hospitality brands in Atlanta, San Francisco and elsewhere to get inspiration. Not to say that they are “strange brands” themselves, but each of them is unique, fun, interesting and tell an amazing story. I wanted to emulate them and “strange brands” was one of the first things that came to mind and it just stuck.
What’s the point of Strange Brands Co.?
It’s really a way for me to organize my thoughts and ideas into one cohesive thing. I’ve picked up a habit of writing ideas for food spots, shops, startups, apps, etc. down and I wanted to do more with those ideas. I wanted to brand them, build business plans, and potentially act on these ideas and bring them to life.
Where are you in the process and what else is there to do?
Right now, I’m enjoying the process of putting these business/ideas together given my background in bringing products to market, but I am no expert at a number of the things involved. If you are a designer, branding wizard (sorry), or copywriter and want to get involved, I am more than happy to accept that help and pay you for your time. Even if you just want to talk through these ideas more, I would love that. You can contact me here on my website or on Twitter. I’ve also created a Twitter and Insta for Strange Brands. Let’s talk!
I have the business plan for Sutro essentially finished. The others have been started, but are nowhere near finished. My mind goes straight to the general idea and brand first so I wanted to get some of that in an ok (enough) place first before digging deep into the business side of things.
I’m also working on a standalone Strange Brands site that houses more information about the businesses and my vision for each of them. More on that soon.