Nicholas “Chef Nick” Balsamo did not build Rosemarie’s Buns & Brews through investors, trends, or corporate restaurant playbooks. He built it through grit, obsession, discipline, and an unwavering belief that restaurants still have the power to create genuine human connection.

What began as a small popup tent and food truck operation built through relentless days and nights has evolved into one of San Diego’s fastest growing independent restaurant brands.

Today, Chef Nick serves as executive chef and the creative force behind Where to Eat California and the award winning group behind Rosemarie’s Buns & Brews. In under three years, the company expanded from popup dinners, brewery tents, and food trucks into three thriving coastal restaurants, earning Yelp’s Top 100 Restaurants in America recognition for two consecutive years, being voted Best Burger in San Diego by San Diego Magazine with both Editors’ Choice and Readers’ Choice honors, along with features from Eater San Diego, Fox 5, KUSI, The Arizona Republic, Phoenix New Times, and Modern Luxury.

But long before Rosemarie’s became one of Southern California’s most talked about burger brands and one of the first truly chef driven slider concepts in the country, Chef Balsamo’s path looked very different.

After serving in the United States Army, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University before enrolling at the Midwest Culinary Institute in Cincinnati. Early in his culinary career, Balsamo deliberately chased discomfort, working nearly every position imaginable in restaurants while seeking out unpaid stages anywhere he could learn from talented chefs and disciplined kitchens.

During his time in Ohio, he trained under Chef Todd Hudson at the Wildflower Café in Mason, a nationally respected farm to table program known for technical precision and ingredient driven cuisine. That experience sharpened his understanding of restaurants at a high level, but it was his time traveling throughout Asia studying food culture, street cuisine, and service traditions that would ultimately shape the philosophy he carries into Rosemarie’s today: food should feel soulful, intentional, and emotionally connective.

After launching Where to Eat California in 2019, Balsamo quietly built a grassroots culinary following through underground supper clubs, catered events, farmers markets, and popup street food concepts operating throughout Southern California and Phoenix. Early projects like Festa Supper Club and Strada Street Cuisine became creative proving grounds for food, energy, and brand identity.

Then came COVID.

While much of the restaurant industry stood still, Balsamo adapted in real time, expanding operations into Arizona and building popup kitchen concepts inside breweries, bars, and music venues throughout Phoenix. Those concepts quickly developed a cult following for chef driven comfort food delivered with an uncommon level of execution in unconventional spaces.

It was during that relentless stretch of tents, mobile kitchens, overnight prep sessions, and nonstop service that the DNA of Rosemarie’s truly formed.

The eventual launch of Rosemarie’s Buns & Brews alongside Harland Brewing Company in Bay Park marked a turning point for the company. Partnering with longtime friend and fellow Army veteran Ray Ganske, Balsamo transformed what began as a humble popup operation into a restaurant brand rooted equally in culinary quality and emotional connection.

Inspired by his grandmother Rosemarie, the restaurant was built around a philosophy that still guides every decision today: turn strangers into regulars and regulars into family.

That idea became bigger than burgers.

Rosemarie’s quickly distinguished itself through chef driven Wagyu sliders layered with slow cooked onion confit, kewpie mayo, house sauce, and served on fresh baked Turano brioche buns. The trucks created lines around the corner while maintaining a level of culinary execution and consistency rarely seen in fast casual dining.

Guests responded not only to the food, but to the feeling surrounding it.

At Rosemarie’s, every detail, from ingredients to guest interaction, is intentional. Balsamo often describes the brand as “a love story about food and people,” a phrase that has become deeply woven into the company’s identity.

That philosophy helped transform Rosemarie’s from a grassroots tent operation into one of the region’s most recognizable emerging restaurant groups, now spanning three San Diego locations from Ocean Beach and Mission Beach to Encinitas.

Along the way, the brand earned not only awards and national recognition, but something far more difficult to manufacture: trust, loyalty, and genuine emotional connection with its community.

Today, Balsamo oversees culinary development, operations strategy, company culture, and long term brand direction across the company’s expanding portfolio. Yet despite the growth, accolades, and industry attention, he remains grounded in the same principle that defined the company from the beginning:

Great restaurants are not built on food alone.

They are built on people.

And for Chef Nick Balsamo, success has never been measured only by packed dining rooms or awards. It is measured by the team members who grow alongside the company, the regulars who become family, and the moments created around the table that keep people coming back long after the meal is over.

Ray Ganske has never been the loudest person in the room. He is the steady hand behind the scenes, the systems thinker, the operational backbone, strategic counterweight, and leadership balance that helped transform a grassroots popup into one of San Diego’s fastest rising independent restaurant groups.

A United States Army veteran and accomplished business leader, Ganske serves as managing partner of Where to Eat California and Rosemarie’s Buns & Brews alongside fellow managing partner and executive chef Nick Balsamo, where he oversees business development, organizational infrastructure, operational systems, and long term growth strategy across the company’s expanding portfolio.

Long before the company earned national recognition, Ganske stood alongside Balsamo during the earliest and most uncertain stages of the business. The two first met nearly two decades ago while serving together in the United States Army, forming a bond rooted in discipline, resilience, loyalty, and shared ambition. That relationship would eventually become one of the defining strengths behind the company itself.

Where Balsamo brought relentless culinary creativity, emotional brand identity, and visionary energy, Ganske brought structure, strategic discipline, operational clarity, and executive level organization. Together, the partnership created the balance necessary to transform a chef driven food truck concept into a scalable restaurant organization capable of rapid retail growth.

Professionally, Ganske built a successful career in the technology and cloud infrastructure sector, developing expertise in enterprise operations, systems optimization, partnerships, organizational scaling, and strategic growth leadership. Over the years, he held leadership positions across high growth technology companies, becoming known for his ability to streamline operations, build efficient teams, and create systems designed to support aggressive expansion. (linkedin.com)

That experience became instrumental during Rosemarie’s formative years.

As the company evolved from popup tents and mobile kitchens into multiple brick and mortar locations, Ganske helped engineer the infrastructure behind the scenes that allowed the brand to grow rapidly without losing consistency, culture, or execution. From operational frameworks and financial oversight to leadership development and systems integration, his influence helped shape Where to Eat California into a polished and scalable organization while preserving the grassroots authenticity that made the brand resonate in the first place.

Inside the company, the partnership between Ganske and Balsamo is often described as complementary in every sense. One pushed creativity, instinct, and brand energy forward; the other sharpened the systems, strategy, and organizational discipline necessary to sustain it. Together, they built a company that blends chef driven creativity with operational precision, emotional connection with scalable structure, and independent restaurant culture with long term vision.

Under their leadership, Rosemarie’s Buns & Brews expanded from a Bay Park popup into one of Southern California’s most recognizable emerging restaurant brands, earning Yelp Top 100 Restaurants in America honors for two consecutive years and Best Burger in San Diego recognition from San Diego Magazine.

Yet despite the rapid growth and accolades, Ganske’s leadership philosophy has remained grounded in the same principles that shaped him in the military years ago: accountability, consistency, loyalty, and trust.

Today, he continues to help guide the strategic direction and organizational growth of the company while building a culture centered around people, performance, and long term sustainability.

For Ray Ganske, success is not measured solely by expansion or awards. It is measured by building something lasting, building something real, and helping create a company that employees, guests, and communities genuinely believe in.