E16 Dan Moran

Dan Moran joins the show this week. Currently, Dan is one of the co-owners of Red Rabbit in Stratford. This is part of a co-op style ownership group that also includes Old Man and Son, Pollo Morto and Somewhere a Sandwich which are all in Stratford Ontario.

Dan was born and raised in Gananoque, Ontario - a border tourist town and subsequently got his start early in the service industry. In 1988, Dan moved to Waterloo Ontario to attend University of Waterloo and started working at the on campus bar - The Bombshelter Pub (The Bomber). Shortly thereafter, Dan started working for on campus concert promoter known as BEnt.

In 1990, Dan temporarily left school to figure out his next move. Well, his next move involved moving to Whitehorse in the Yukon on a whim. While up north, Dan worked security, bartended and did sound for live concerts as well.

Dan eventually returned to Kitchener-Waterloo and started working with BEnt once again as well as security at several clubs and live events. Eventually, Dan started got a job at Ethel’s bartending when it opened in 1994. After a number of years at Ethel’s, Dan got in to the ownership side of the business and opened up Frat Burger with several partners. This provided him with the foundation of business operations and mechanics of running an independent restaurant.

Moving on from Frat Burger, Dan spent time working at Mercer in Stratford and the Duke of Wellington in Waterloo for several years. By this point, it was 2013 and Dan made one of the best decisions of his career and joined a staff-owned restaurant concept in Stratford that he has been a part of ever since. They opened up Red Rabbit that same year and haven’t looked back. The ownership group subsequently opened Okazu in 2015, Old Man and Son in 2016 and Pollo Morto in early 2020 and Somewhere A Sandwich.

www.redrabbitresto.com @redrabbitresto

oldmanandson.com @oldmanandson

www.pollomorta.com @pollomorta

www.somewherearestaurant.com @somewherearestaurant