Ed is a successful entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience in various fields and disciplines, including commercial real estate sales, leasing and development, business creation, financial structuring, operations, leadership, and management.
Ed is the co-founder of Grassburger in Durango, CO. Ed’s responsibilities are CFO and COO. In 2013, he and his wife, Jessie, created the concept of a “better” burger/fry/shake restaurant based on their own family’s experience. Several of their boys have severe food allergies, and one of the only options to eat for them was burgers—since it was fairly easy to know the ingredients. Since the industrial food systems create food that is far from healthy, ethical, or sustainable, when they created Grassburger, they did it with a holistic approach alongside the concept of catering to those with food sensitivities like allergies to ingredients. 100% USA grass-fed beef regionally sourced, no corn syrup in sauces or condiments, GMO-free hamburger buns, and frying oil differentiate Grassburger from the competition. From the beginning, they wrote the menu so their boys could eat anything in the store, or there would be an alternative they could eat. The first store opened in Durango in 2014, a second one in Albuquerque (2016), a third one in Albuquerque (2019), and a fourth one in Durango (2022). Grassburger started with 15 employees and now employs over 100 people in two states.
Before Grassburger, Ed was primarily involved in commercial real estate development—developing, owning, and operating retail, residential, and industrial projects. He worked with many national tenants such as Walgreens, Starbucks, Kohl’s Department Store, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Aldi. He also developed Marriott hotel projects in Denver earlier in his development career. His commercial real estate experience involved brokerage, sales, and consulting. While consulting, he has worked in over 20 U.S. markets to assist communities with development strategies to strengthen urban retail markets—deploying New Market Tax Credits on several projects.
Ed’s community involvement has included serving as a board member of Durango Devo (2012-2018), volunteering with the National Ski Patrol at Hesperus (2010-2015), serving as Treasurer for the Colorado Restaurant Association—Durango Chapter (2015-2019), and chairing the Strategic Long Term Finance Advisory Board (2020-2023). He also actively supports the Durango addiction/recovery community.
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