Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Siegel.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Banger’s is really the quintessential entrepreneurial story of a crazy idea making its way from your head to something you talk about with other people. From there, it becomes a written plan. That written plan becomes something you take action on and ultimately, that action becomes a real-life thing in the world.
It all started way back when I was a college student. Back then, I went out a lot, as college students do. When the bars would let out at around 2AM, odds are you could find me in line at this amazing little sausage cart called ‘The Best Wurst’. One day, while waiting in line I had the thought:
“Man, the line here is always so much longer than any of the other food carts on the street, I wonder why there isn’t a brick and mortar restaurant that just sells sausage.”
That was it. That was the spark of the idea that would become Banger’s. It was years before I would take any action. Honestly, it was years before I would even give myself permission to take the thought seriously. I graduated with a degree in finance and was headed down a very traditional path. All was going well except one thing, what I was doing professionally wasn’t fulfilling. I was faced with the quintessential problem most 20 somethings face which is, what do I want to do with my life. I was becoming very clear on the things I didn’t want to do (which is more important than I realized at the time) but what I did want seemed very illusive and out of reach. Every time I’d ask myself the question, this vision of a sausage house and beer garden in Austin, Texas would pop into my head. Just as quickly as it would pop up, I would dismiss it as crazy. I had zero restaurant experience, like literally zero. So even entertaining the thought of opening up my own place scared the heck out of me.
Then, one day, I was at work in my office in downtown Los Angles and I read an article about a new sausage house that was opening close to where I was working, I couldn’t believe it. Me and a buddy went to check it out on our lunch breaks and the minute I walked in, I felt this pain in my gut. It just felt like I’d missed my chance. This idea I’d been sitting on for years was more or less sitting in front of me except it wasn’t my idea, it was someone else’s.
Fortunately, I didn’t stay in that headspace very long. The story of the founders of that place was similar to mine and very inspiring. They also did a great job with the concept and it was incredibly popular which was also encouraging.
The big shift happened a few months later in December of 2010. I was on a plane flying back from a friends wedding and suddenly I was hit by these three thoughts simultaneously:
First, I had this total realization of the control I had over my life. At the time, I think I was 27 years old, I had no kids, no wife, no house and really nothing tying me down. I suddenly realized I could go anywhere and do anything and the only thing holding me back was, well, me.
The second thought was the idea that no one was going to do it for me. If I wanted to live a great life and do great things, then I had to do something about it. Sitting around and hoping something great was going to happen wasn’t enough, I had to take action and take control of my life.
And the final thought was, I know exactly what I want to do with my life: I want to move back to Austin, Texas and open up the sausage house and beer garden I’d been picturing in my head for all these years.
The plane landed and I immediately texted my boss from the airplane asking if he could meet me tomorrow. He said he couldn’t and so I asked if he could talk now. So, from the airplane I explained the situation and the realizations that I had. I told him I would give him as much time as he needed but that the time had come for me to change my dream. He was very supportive and understanding and so we agreed to a two weeks notice and that was it.
Meanwhile, a few months prior to this I had befriended a local restauranter and had confided in him about my hopes and dreams. As soon as my two weeks were up, I called him and told him I’d done it. I quit my job and was going to figure out how to open up my own place. Then, I went to work for him for free. I’d spend 3-4 days a week working every possible position in his restaurant and then I’d spend 3-4 days a week locked in my room working on my business plan.
A dear friend of mine and one of my current business partners, Adam Glick, was getting his MBA from UT at the time. So, every few weeks I’d book a trip out to Austin to stay with him for 7-10 days. I’d make a list of people we needed to meet with and then I’d schedule meetings for us in between his class schedule.
In June of 2011, I packed my car with all my worldly possessions and then me, my brother and my dog Pickles took off on a road trip to Texas. In July of 2012 Banger’s officially opened its doors to the public.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Ha! I read somewhere that the only true constant in business are problems and the only difference between a good businessperson and a bad businessperson is how they respond to those problems. That has very much matched my experience. The road has been anything but smooth and straight. Our first major hurdle came after we had fully designed and engineered the space. Somehow, my entire design team and I missed the fact that our restaurant was located in a National Historic District and what that meant. Long story short, it meant we had to throw the plans away that I had already paid for and come up with an entirely new set of plans. None of that was free. Fast forward to January of 2019. We had just completed a multi-million dollar expansion of the restaurant in December that took more than four years to complete (plenty of problems that could be discussed in that process). Suddenly four members of my leadership team, all of who had been with me an average of five years, either quit or were let go. That was a tough one to navigate! There are far too many to name them all but that should give you a good idea.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
So, like your name says, Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden is, first and foremost, a sausage house and beer garden. As I said earlier in the article, at the end of 2018 we completed a huge expansion of our restaurant which allowed us to expand some of our offerings but mostly double down on who and what we already were/are. We opened a smokehouse which was officially the first whole hog BBQ in Texas history. We expanded our tap wall from 101 taps to 202 giving us the largest draft system in the State of Texas. We have dedicated curing facilities where we produce hams, salamis and other cured products. A pickling room where we make pickles, sauerkraut and jams, jelly’s and preserves. We have a meat processing facility where we produce our sausage and butcher animals. We are also a private events venue and a live music venue. Much of this got put on hold during the pandemic but as we emerge so too will the full spectrum of who we are and what we do.
What were you like growing up?
I’d like to think I was a sweet kid. I had lots of energy, was very curious and very affectionate. Others might say I was also kind of a pain in the ass. I talked a lot, always had to be touching someone and didn’t understand the concept of personal space. I had a ton of energy and was constantly getting hurt and getting in trouble. But, in the end I feel like I turned out ok!
Contact Info:
- Email: info@bangersaustin.com
- Website: www.bangersaustin.com
- Instagram: BangersAustin
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bangersaustin
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb5hdSHxacfrmbwPQI-NuBQ/featured
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bangers-sausage-house-and-beer-garden-austin
Image Credits
Robert Jacob Lerma
