I’m a James Beard Award-nominated restaurateur, concept developer, and creative strategist with a decade-plus of experience bringing bold hospitality brands to life. I’ve built food businesses that people don’t just love—they get tattoos of.

I was born and raised in New Jersey, where my earliest food memories came from roadside burger joints, diners, and boat-up slider joints. That classic, down-to-earth style of eating stuck with me—and it’s the common thread running through everything I’ve built. From barbecue joints to fast food burgers, my goal has always been the same: create food experiences that feel familiar, elevated, and unforgettable.

My career began with storytelling. After earning a BFA in multimedia from the University of the Arts in Philly, I launched VendrTV and What’s This Food?!, two food-focused video series that racked up millions of views, ranked in the Apple Podcasts Top 10, and earned features on ABC News, Fox & Friends, and in the LA Times.

Hey, I’m Dan.

A later episode of VendrTV profiling Wafles & Dinges in New York City.

An episode of What’s This Food?! about Bonito Flakes.

In 2012, I hauled a smoker from Texas to NYC, and launched Brisketlab, a brisket development series that took place across New York City. I built a custom pre-sale platform and sold over $100,000 worth of brisket in just 48 hours.

BrisketTown was born directly from that momentum. It became my first brick-and-mortar restaurant: a Central Texas-style BBQ joint in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was intimate, no-nonsense, and often sold out before the night was over. BrisketTown quickly earned critical acclaim and helped shape the early 2010s NYC food scene with its authenticity and obsessive approach to smoked meats.

Next came Delaney Chicken, a fast-food fried chicken sandwich concept. We opened locations in both Brooklyn and Manhattan, serving a tight menu of perfectly crispy sandwiches from a space that was less than 100 square feet. It was one of the first fully cashless restaurants in New York and designed for speed—we could serve over 100 guests an hour with ticket times under 30 seconds.

Then in 2020, I launched Mr. Blanco’s—a pandemic-born burger brand in Mexico City that introduced classic American sliders to a market that had never seen anything like them. What started as a lockdown project quickly exploded, scaling to seven locations at its peak, including two brick-and-mortar shops. We didn’t just fill a gap in the market—we built a brand people deeply connected with. We received over 2,000 organic franchise applications, and yes—some superfans even got the Mr. Blanco’s logo tattooed on them.

Beyond restaurants, I’ve given talks at venues ranging from Columbia University to Apple, and have consulted with companies large and small across the food and tech industries.

Today, I split my time between running Mr. Blanco’s and coaching entrepreneurs and restaurant founders. Whether you’re refining your brand, launching your first spot, or just feeling stuck—I can help you turn your ideas into something that actually works.

Want to learn more? Check out my Wikipedia, or Google me—there’s plenty out there.