50, Restauranteur
Why He’s Interesting: As the president of Hangry Brands, Beudert is more than flashy plates of steak, loaded pizza slices and crafty cocktails across his five restaurants and bars. A passion for charity, which started in 2013 when he founded the Northeast Ohio chapter of A Special Wish, a nonprofit organization providing opportunities to children with terminal illnesses, drives him.
Heart to Heart: Fourteen years ago, Beudert was diagnosed with bradycardia, a condition in which the heart rate can drop dangerously low. “It sort of saved my life. I felt like I wanted to do something more.” The “more” materialized into A Special Wish Northeast Ohio, through which he found another love of his life. After meeting Eileen Lane — Winking Lizard owner John Lane’s daughter — at a restaurant event, she volunteered to bring pizza to A Special Wish’s first hospital visit. Beudert and Lane now run the charity as a married duo.
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Phone Eats First: A dining experience worth remembering is Beudert’s main inspiration at Hangry Brands. There’s rhyme but not too much reason to operating polar-opposite, eye-catching establishments like STEAK, Geraci’s Slice Shop, The Yard in Downtown Willoughby and Lionheart Coffee. “I get bored. I like to create new things. When you incorporate a cool design, you have to think about the picture. People want to take a picture.”
Making Magic Happen: Before Hangry Brands, there was Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, where Beudert worked a management role for food and beverage. Though he’s far from the castle today, the experience still informs his imaginative concepts like giant Solo cup cocktails, shot glasses made out of cookies and Ferris wheel ice cream sundaes. “There’s a very thin line between cool and cheesy. Luckily, we’ve walked the line very well.”
Counting Cows: Despite the expansive palate of cuisines in Hangry Brands’ wheelhouse, Beudert’s comfort meal comes from outside the bubble. “Mitchell’s Ice Cream,” he concedes. “Chocolate peanut butter anything.” Though Beudert admits he hasn’t actually eaten ice cream since starting a new diet last February, he says he still dreams daily of the delicacy. “It could be a drug.”
500: The approximate number of families that Beudert’s chapter of A Special Wish has serviced. This has allowed it to become the largest charity of its kind in the area.
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