How Andrew Ahn Turned Boo's Philly Cheesesteaks Into an LA Institution

Top Takeaways

• 01

  Read what's changing before everyone else does. Andrew went cashless in 2018—years before it was the norm—because he noticed his young staff couldn't make change and fake bills were piling up. He dropped phone orders before most restaurants had kiosks. He built out ghost kitchen infrastructure before delivery apps became the dominant channel. Now 80% of Boo's orders come through DoorDash or Uber Eats.

  Lesson: The best business moves look obvious in hindsight and premature in the moment. Pay attention to what your team can't do anymore, what your customers are already doing, and where friction keeps showing up. That's where the market is going.

• 02

  When you don't know how, figure it out anyway. Andrew had never opened a restaurant when his dad needed help getting Boo's off the ground. He didn't know any architects, so he drew the floor plan himself—using dimes as tables—and got it stamped by the city. He'd never done marketing, so he hired young influencers, threw cheese pour parties, and figured out Instagram. None of it was the "right" way. All of it worked.

  Lesson: You don't need expertise before you start. You need resourcefulness after. The willingness to attempt something imperfect and iterate is more valuable than waiting until you know how to do it right.

• 03

  Don't shrink what works. Boo's has been open 15 years. The cheesesteak is the same size, sourced the same way, priced to stay accessible. Andrew watches competitors shrink portions, raise prices, and chase premium—and deliberately goes the other direction. His bet is that the working-class roots of the cheesesteak are the brand, not a detail to evolve away from.

  Lesson: Growth doesn't always mean changing what you do. Sometimes, it means refusing to. Know which parts of your business are the reason people come back, and protect them from the pressure to optimize.