MEET SAM
FROM EXCEL- TO EGGCELLENT
Sam grew up in Chicago where his father owned and worked as a cook in Diners since the 1970s. Sam’s fondest memories from childhood all take place in the hustle and bustle of his family’s diner. Since moving to Denmark, Sam had worked in various restaurants around Copenhagen before graduating with a Master’s degree in economics from the Copenhagen Business School. After a few years working as an economist for the Danish government, it was time to move on and find new challenges.
It was around the same time that a former colleague mentioned that there was a restaurant space for sale. This wasn’t quite the career change that Sam had envisioned for himself when he told his buddy that he needed a new career challenge. Nevertheless, this conversation rekindled an old dream: could this location be the perfect setting for an American Diner, just like the one he grew up in? The more he thought about it, the more excited he became and the more tempting the idea became.
Now he just had to convince his wife, Lulie.
MEET LULIE
– FROM THE HEARTLAND TO THE HYGGELAND
Lulie grew up in small-town USA near the state border between Illinois and Iowa, where the mighty Mississippi river runs. Lulie’s family has owned the town’s Diner for over 30 years. Her mother has been diligently cooking delicious food for the town’s population of under 5,000 for decades, she even knows the exact way her loyal patrons like their food cooked. Lulie grew up working at her family’s diner too, and has been serving customers since she was a teenager and all the way through college, where she got a teaching degree.
The friendly atmosphere that characterize diners in the US, real buttermilk pancakes and crispy bacon for breakfast, creamy shakes and juicy burgers – it was always missing here. It didn’t take much convincing to get Lulie on board. It turns out that she had been missing all of the same things as Sam, especially the social aspect of being in a diner. So, with the entrepreneurial spirit of any red-blooded American, she told Sam that it was now or never!
