Is it possible to create a better house cut fry? For Jesse Konig and Ben Johnson, co-founders of Jesse & Ben’s and Swizzler, the answer is a resounding yes. Over the past decade, running food trucks and restaurants to launching in grocery stores, Jesse and Ben have made it their mission to elevate Americana classics, especially everyone’s favorite, the house cut fry.
Jesse’s and Ben’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2013 during their Junior year at Wake Forest University, where they started selling hot dogs and house cut fries to their fellow students. While the idea was simple, the desire to create something exceptional was already taking shape. After graduation, Ben–originally from McLean, Virginia—saw Washington, DC, as an ideal place to bring their vision to life.
In October 2014, Jesse and Ben launched their first food truck, named Swizzler, after the swizzle cut on their gourmet hot dogs, and joined Union Kitchen’s shared manufacturing facility to set up their commissary operations. The first truck grew into multiple and by 2020, Jesse and Ben opened their first storefront in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, DC. This was followed by stadium concession stands in Capital One Arena (Wizards), Nationals Park, and, most recently, Northwest Stadium (the home of the Commanders).
Through all of this, Jesse and Ben developed an intimate understanding of what people want. Their operations gave them direct access to their customers, allowing them to constantly hear feedback and learn what it means to serve a better house cut fry.
At the same time, they were also learning from another type of customer, the restaurant. Food service clients have different needs—the fries have to hold up under various cooking methods, stay crispy for longer periods, and maintain their fresh look and flavor when served in bulk. In solving their own restaurant needs, Jesse and Ben were able to build a better food service product. They were their first customer. If it didn’t work for their own operations, it wasn’t going to work for anyone else’s.
Working with Union Kitchen’s team, Jesse and Ben were able to translate these many learnings – from managing cold chains to product positioning and pricing – into a winning line of frozen house cut fries. Within a few months of launching in the summer of 2024, their food service fries were picked up by two national food service distributors, Sysco and U.S. Foods and their grocery line landed in Whole Foods Market, MOMs Organic Market, and hundreds of others in the Mid-Atlantic. And it’s not just industry buyers who are excited, the line of house cut fries have outsold the category average in some retail locations by 4x.
Turns out, it is not only possible to make a better house cut fry, but it is something people really want.
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