On Tuesday, July 28, more than 20 members gathered to hear the entrepreneurial story of Reza Kamranian, owner of Reza’s Pitch – Burgers & Beer. What is a pitch you might ask? If you are a soccer fan, you may already know that it is another name for soccer field. Reza, who was born in Iran, always had a love for soccer and wanted to give other local fans a go-to spot to watch the sport.
Prior to opening Reza’s Pitch, Reza had many jobs in the restaurant industry. He started out washing dishes, and worked his way up from there – bus boy, server, assistant manager, and eventually managing partner/part owner of several different restaurants. He was a part owner in Rockin’ 50s in the Gateway Mall, Sergios, and the Old Broadway in Fargo. He eventually purchased the A&W franchise in Bismarck. After not receiving much support from the corporation who bought out A&W and Long John Silvers, he decided it was time to go out on his own.
Reza’s Pitch opened in March of 2010. Reza joked he did a lot of drinking (in the name of research) to find out what other bars and restaurants were doing in the form of prices, drinks, entertainment, etc. He used what he found to build the concept that is Reza’s Pitch – Burgers and Beer. At his restaurant, every order is a “special order” with Reza’s unique way of ordering.
Like many successful entrepreneurs, the waters were not always smooth sailing at the beginning. In fact, the first year Reza saw a major loss that carried into part of the second year. He admitted he was in a major financial turmoil resorting to second mortgages and lines of credit to get by. Eventually the business began to grow, and he has been seeing a major increase every year since.
Reza strives to be a perfectionist and holds himself and his restaurant to the highest standards. He wants the cleanest restaurant, the best employees, the best quality food, and the fairest prices. To quote Reza, “I always tell myself, if it was easy anybody could do it.” Congratulations to Reza and all he has accomplished. He is a true story of local entrepreneurship and the YPN is very grateful for his presentation and support of the network.
