Conversations with Benjamin Todd

Today we’d like to introduce you to Benjamin Todd.

Hi Benjamin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
After nearly a decade as an IT guy, I could still make a mean calzone. I left IT behind and my wife Hillary and I built a food truck out of an old busted trailer sitting on a friend’s lawn. We made our way through random gigs, breweries, and 20th & Larimer late nights. We would show up at midnight and leave at 2:30 AM. Almost two years of that, and we had enough to upgrade to a brick & mortar. Not every food truck can do that, but we took it as proof that our calzones were amazing. We couldn’t hand them out fast enough – the slow part was taking the money. You don’t get to be fighter jet-themed and be slow!

We signed a lease in October 2019, and thought “as long as bars are a thing, we should be fine.” Then with COVID, bars (specifically) were shut down. We pivoted the food truck to neighborhood gigs and survived. Then we were given permission to begin building our restaurant at 32 N Broadway in September 2020. Living only two blocks away, we spent from 8 AM to Midnight nearly every night building the place. On January 4th, 2021, we opened the doors officially. Everyone asks, “How did you open a restaurant in January in COVID?” The answer is… we knew our food was amazing, and we knew how to keep costs low since we only knew how to operate with two people in a food truck.

Four days into the opening, we were informed by another calzone place that they trademarked “Danger Zone” as a calzone in 1993 and that we were infringing on that trademark with our business name. So we asked the many fighter pilots and TOPGUN Instructors we’ve come to know, “What would you call this place? It is a celebration of fighter jet culture, so it’s for you.” They named us “Full Afterburner Calzones.” We made the official switch from “Danger Zone Calzones” to “Full Afterburner Calzones” on June 8th, 2021.

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?
Opening a restaurant in January is a terrible decision for any restaurant. Opening a restaurant mid-COVID was unheard of. How did we survive opening in January in COVID? Well – I guess our food is amazing. Also, we know how to operate with only two people since we came from a food truck. We only have a 14-foot wide space on Broadway, so there’s not a lot of tables, servers, etc. You just order your calzone, and 5 minutes later, it’s in your hands.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are the only fully-fighter jet-themed restaurant in the US. We are known for our calzones, which have five ingredients in the dough that make it remarkable. Most calzones are an after-thought for restaurants – just fold your pizza dough in half. They end up being “too bready” or “too much crust”. Not ours. Our calzones are rolled thin, and the dough is the best part. We started with 19 flavors in the food truck and have whittled it down to just the six that made the cut – the repeat offenders – or “the food truck classics,” as we like to call them. We will probably add flavors in the future, or perhaps a “flavor of the month” – but the dough remains the best part of our calzone.

Also, if you love fighter jets, there is a lot to take in visually. You can buy your kid a toy fighter jet, you can see an inverted F-14 pilot giving you “the bird.” You can see a ten-foot-wide photo taken by a TOPGUN Instructor in the 80’s who helped write the script for the movie “Top Gun.” You can share a military story at our “Officer’s Club” table in the back. Our employees all love hearing the stories you have to share with us about why you love fighter jets too.

We are also the only Colorado retailer of JOCKO Willink’s energy drink called “GO.” They have a flavor called AFTERBURNER ORANGE, which is backed by a real TOPGUN Instructor and member of Jocko’s staff, David “Chip” Berke. Chip is a legendary TOPGUN pilot. We’d like to get him and many other aviators in-house to share some stories.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
We are aiming for ten stores in three years. There are several parties interested in expanding our concept to their city. We’ll keep them small and easy to operate. The biggest change coming is that we’ll likely add a liquor license since we’re regularly surrounded by bars and the party scene.

Pricing:

• $10/calzone
• $3 breadsticks
• $3 sidewinders

Contact Info:

• Email: 32nbroadway@fullafterburnercalzones.com
• Website: www.fullafterburnercalzones.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fullafterburnercalzones/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fullafterburnercalzones
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/full-afterburner-calzones-denver