Inspiring Conversations with Guillermo Vidal of Burgernati

Today we’d like to introduce you to Guillermo Vidal.

Hi Guillermo, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I would say our story is one of perseverance. My business partner and myself got into the restaurant business 7 years ago to bring some awareness of the diversity of Latin American culture to the Midwest. We started with a concept we called MashRoots where we were serving food from Cuba, Puerto Rico and Brazil our cultural backgrounds as well as doing cultural events. That led us to go from a pop up to a store to a food hall stall in those 7 years. Through that journey we learned a lot about running a restaurant and Cincinnati. That meant that along the way we had to adapt our concept to make our food more approachable to our market while always adding our Latin twist to things. Overall I think we were fairly successful and many people tried and loved our food, however the realities of running a food business are tough and given the contraction art nature of the current state of our economy our idea was no longer viable. So we took everything we had learned of running a restaurant and Cincinnati and made a huge pivot to see if we could save our business. We focused on food that was highly appealing to our marker and presented it in a way that spoke to the love we all have for the city, from there was born Burgernati. About 4 months ago we made this branding change and focused our menu in on the items from MashRoots that had the broadest appeal and it has proven to be a game changer.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think in my previous response I eluded to our struggles. Our original concept and idea is a bit ahead of its time for a Cincinnati as a robust, viable food business in the given times. In general I would say there is nothing ever smooth in creating something brand new, seeding an idea from conception and making it a reality. With that though there is also nothing more rewarding than bearing the fruits of your creation and seeing others experience it. We have survived many things like Covid, employee theft, lack of employees, bad quality, running out of money… to name a few. The key for us has been perseverance in always finding a third way and reflecting on what the lesson to be learned was. So as the saying goes what does not kill u makes u stronger.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Burgernati ?
What you should know is that at Burgernati everything stems from our purpose and principals. We believe good is one of the greatest gifts we have in this planet and it has an amazing power to bring people together and create joy. So we pride ourselves in using the best ingredients to create tasty food so that we can enable amazing experiences and bring people together. That is why all of our burgers are intentionally crafted to elicit a unique flavor experience connected to Cincinnati.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
Yes for sure nothing on this planet nothing can be achieved alone. We have had the support of our friends and the help of several mentors. However the 2 biggest impacts and enablers that have enabled us to get here is first out faith and second out family. Creating something from nothing is what I would call literally and act of god and requires tremendous faith. That has also been our grounding force and come back to state when we have encountered resistance. It is also why we have had success. Secondly is family as they are the ones that have had to endure the sacrifices. The late nights, the not having energy, the mood swings, the trips that could not be taken, the why dad is not here. Without the love and understanding of my wife and children none of this would be possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.burgernati.com/
• Instagram: Burgernati
• Facebook: Burgernati