Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Eskin.
Adam, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
After graduating from Brown University, I moved to New York and began working for a private equity firm. As one of their investments, the firm bought a small chain of health-food restaurants called The Pump Energy Food, targeting the fitness crowd. In 2006, I shifted from investing in The Pump to running the restaurants – and quickly realized, there was an untapped market for the way I personally like to eat: fresh, vegetable-driven food you can eat every day. So in 2011, I rebranded the business as Dig Inn with a completely new menu focused on local, seasonal produce at an accessible price point.
Dig Inn was one of the first restaurants to democratize food from the farm. When we got started, the farm-to-table movement was limited to fine-dining restaurants. There was no such thing as farm-to-counter. We believed if we could serve locally-sourced food on a large scale, it would have a lasting impact on the food system. We established a supply chain built on real, reciprocal relationships with farmers located as close to our restaurants as possible. Produce is delivered to our kitchens and prepped by our chefs every morning.
This is the model all our restaurants are based on, but we make an effort to continuously innovate, from leasing land for our own Dig Inn Farm in upstate New York to evolving what we serve on our menu.
We now have 16 restaurants in New York and 3 in Boston, with plans to open several more locations this year. I’m especially proud of the success in Boston since I grew up outside the city and still consider it my home.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of our initial struggles was figuring out what types of dishes to serve on our menu – what our customers wanted and what felt like “us.” We tried juices, shakes, soups, sandwiches. After a lot of trial and error, we arrived at a menu that’s perfect for Dig Inn: choose-your-own bowls made from wholesome mains and sides that are way more sustaining than salad. We want to serve the kind of food you’d expect in a home-cooked meal – just made by our chefs!
Our chefs face a challenge when cooking with produce that varies with the seasons. It’s not one-size-fits-all cooking in our restaurants – our chefs have to respond to the raw ingredients and adjust recipes based on what they receive fresh from the farm. This type of cooking takes more time to teach, especially for our chefs-in-training, many of whom have never cooked professionally before. We recognize this challenge and are committed to mentoring our trainees – from knife skills classes to trips to the Dig Inn Farm. We do this not only to maintain the quality of our food but to help our team members grow their culinary careers.
As for expansion, that’s a whole other challenge. If Dig Inn opens in a new market like Boston, we build a completely new supply chain dependent upon local farmers. This process can slow down plans to grow the business, but our top priority is working with the best ingredients possible and we’re never going to sacrifice that for rapid expansion.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Dig Inn – what should we know?
Dig Inn serves vegetable-forward food grown by farmers, cooked by chefs and inspired by the seasons. We want that food to be accessible to everyone. Our menu has options for every type of eater, from vegans to Whole 30-ers to people who just want a comforting bowl of meatballs and mac and cheese. Our goal is to change the future of food by encouraging talent in the kitchen, innovation on the farm and good food choices at our table.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
We opened our first Boston restaurant in Back Bay two years ago and we’ve since expanded to Downtown Crossing and the Prudential Center. I feel incredibly grateful for the warm welcome we’ve received from the Boston community and I’ve realized that “community” is a core component of the city’s identity. In Boston, it’s less about being trendy and more about connecting to what people really care about, whether that’s the Pats or a local brewery like Lord Hobo. If you can be a part of people’s lives, not just a flash in the pan, you’ll succeed here.
Contact Info:
- Address: Restaurant Locations:
557 Boylston St. (Between Dartmouth St. and Clarendon St.)
277 Washington Street (Between School St & Water St)
800 Boylston Street (Next to Saks Fifth Avenue) - Website: DigInn.com
- Instagram: @diginn
- Facebook: @diginnmarket
- Twitter: @diginn
Image Credit:
Dig Inn
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