jun 01 · 2026
▸ v0.2. dark palette, scouting map with pins, comps table, projected revenue mix. the third product line (jars at the counter) gets its own spotlight.
open notebook · v0.2
updated jun 1 2026
1 owner · 0 cooks (yet)
opening: TBD · LA
a burger shop coming to los angeles
burgers & the kind of salsa you'd eat with a spoon.
bobos sells three things: burgers, burgers with our salsa on them, and jars of the salsa at the front of the counter so you can take the good stuff home. We're scouting blocks in LA, writing menus on napkins, and arguing about pickles. This page is the napkin.
what we sell
Three product lines, one obsession.
The salsa is the headline. It goes on the burger by default, off the burger if you ask, and into a jar if you want to take it home.
01 · the burger
Smashed double, no salsa.
For purists, kids, and the salsa-curious working their way up. The base of the whole thing.
price$9.00
cogs$3.20
contribution$5.80 · 64%
02 · the headline
Smashed double, salsa built in.
The reason bobos exists. Salsa roja worked into the bun and the bite, not served alongside. Adds two dollars, ten cents to your day.
price$11.00
cogs$3.60
contribution$7.40 · 67%
03 · jar at the counter
16oz of the salsa, to go.
The CPG bet. Buy it on the way out, put it on your eggs Saturday morning. Higher margin, lower frequency — but it's how a burger joint becomes a brand.
price$14.00
cogs$3.10
contribution$10.90 · 78%
how the business could work
One counter, three revenue lines, three years.
Working assumption: ~180 burger-equivalent transactions a day, $11 average ticket, 312 service days a year. The jar program starts as a stunt and grows into a real second business. Numbers are honest-guess directional — meant to be argued with.
Projected revenue mix
$, by product line · yr 1–3
$480k
year 1
$780k
year 2
$1.20M
year 3
burgers
burgers + salsa
jars to go
The shape of a good month
year 1 · steady-state estimate
5,400
tickets / month
~180/day · 30 days
$40k
revenue / month
$11 avg ticket
42%
attach rate, salsa-on
salsa-builds vs plain
210
jars / month
~7/day · grows w/ regulars
the scouting board
Where in LA could bobos live?
Six neighborhoods we're walking. The map is rough on purpose — pins are where we think a small counter with a serious salsa habit could fit in by tuesday. Tap the table below for the comps.
front runner
watching
long shot · stress test
| candidate | sq ft | $/sf/mo | est. monthly rent | foot traffic /day | posture |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highland ParkYork Blvd · walkable, food-curious | 1,200 | $5.50 | $6,600 | ~1,800 | front runner |
| Virgil VillageVirgil + Santa Monica · spicy-food literate | 1,400 | $5.20 | $7,280 | ~1,500 | front runner |
| FrogtownBlake Ave · river-adjacent, creative weekday lunch | 1,800 | $3.40 | $6,120 | ~600 | watching |
| Echo ParkSunset, east of Alvarado · night + tourist energy | 950 | $7.10 | $6,745 | ~2,400 | watching |
| Mar VistaVenice Blvd · westside, families, sunday market | 1,600 | $4.80 | $7,680 | ~900 | watching |
| Smorgasburg LAROW DTLA · sundays only, brutal honesty | stall | event | ~$4,500 / qtr | event-based | long shot |
// numbers are directional comps, not signed letters of intent — we'll replace these with real broker quotes as walks become tours.
Know a block we should be walking? Know a landlord? Know someone who already does the best salsa in their neighborhood and doesn't know it yet? tell us.
the menu (on paper)
What we're cooking, in draft.
the build log
Thinking, in public.
bobos doesn't exist yet. This is the running list of decisions, dead ends, and small wins on the way to opening day. New entries up top.
jun 01 · 2026
✓ v0.1 napkin. hero, belief stack, menu draft, build log.
may 28 · 2026
✓ name landed: bobos. small, easy to say, easy to mishear forgivingly.
may 22 · 2026
✓ salsa roja test #4 — pulled the cumin back, doubled the char on the tomato. the one.
may 14 · 2026
▸ first walk: Highland Park, Virgil Village, Echo Park. notes in the scouting board above.
may 02 · 2026
the one-sentence pitch: a burger joint where the salsa goes on the burger — and home with you in a jar.
stay in the loop
Get the opening day text.
One message, one day — opening day.
No newsletter, no "we're updating our menu!" emails. Just a single note when there's a door to walk through.
// capture endpoint pending — for now this nods at you politely.