About
I spent a decade running New York restaurants. Now I build the AI tools I always wished I had. Here's the long version.
The operator years
My first job was washing dishes at Panera Bread. I was 15.
In my early twenties I found Toastmasters and went all in. I founded three clubs, trained more than 60 members, and served as an Area Officer. Learning to explain things to a room full of people turned out to be the most useful skill I ever picked up.
Then I moved to New York and spent the next decade running restaurants.
I worked my way up to Assistant General Manager of The River Café in Brooklyn, a $10 million restaurant with a team of 70. Before that I was Operations Manager at Rossopomodoro, where I grew revenue from $3 million to $3.5 million in a year and cut labor costs from 45% to 33%. The average check went up more than 10% too.
And at every restaurant I managed, I was the tech guy. I edited the menus in the POS. I configured the backend. When the system crashed in the middle of service, I was the one who got it back up. At The River Café I even wrote the crash guide.
“Mr. Peggins is one of the most reliable and well-mannered people I have met in culinary hospitality, and he would be a great asset to any entity he chooses to work with.”
Scott Stamford, General Manager, The River Café
The AI pivot
In 2023 I had my AI moment.
The first time I had a real conversation with an AI model, my mind was blown. This was nothing like a Google search. I was actually thinking through a problem with a machine.
So I went deep. I took courses on prompt engineering and use case development. Then I launched my own Introduction to AI course on Udemy.
Teaching made me want to build. I learned how to code in Python. I earned a machine learning certificate from Stanford Online. Then I started shipping my own projects to GitHub, and I haven't stopped.
“He not only stays ahead of the latest advancements but also knows how to implement them effectively.”
Peter Fishman, Consultant, Marwood Group
What I’m building now
In late 2024 I stepped away from restaurant management to build full time.
Today I build AI tools for restaurants and other small businesses. Think of a chatbot that actually knows your menu, or an assistant that handles the repetitive office work. I also train teams, so the tools actually get used.
And yes, I still work the floor at a restaurant in Brooklyn. On purpose. It keeps me close to the problems worth solving and honest about what a busy Friday service really feels like.
Restaurant people and tech people tend to talk past each other. I speak both languages.