Alpenglobe makes dome-shaped dining shelters designed for mountain resorts, ski areas, and upscale restaurants -- creating intimate, weather-protected outdoor dining experiences that feel genuinely magical. I came in just before COVID as a founding partner, brought on by a close friend and collaborator to help develop the concept from the ground up. These days there are Alpenglobes at more than 50 venues across North America.

The Work

I named it, branded it, and built the entire go-to-market strategy from scratch. The name came on the drive home from Mt. Hood one winter evening -- hypercolor alpenglow blazing on the snowy Cascade volcano in the rearview mirror after a day of skiing. I'd been straining over the naming process for weeks at that point, and it was one of those bolt-of-lightning ideas I knew was right the instant I said, "Alpen...GloBE! That's IT!" aloud. We never looked back, and not to brag, but it’s still one of my personal favs.

From there I developed the full brand system, designed the website, e-commerce, sales collateral, and product marketing, and targeted major mountain destinations: Park City, Deer Valley, Aspen, Big Sky, Jackson, Telluride. A 2.0 version using higher-grade sustainable hardwoods is now in production and showing up at some of the world's premier resort destinations. Keep an eye out for them, you’ll see them around.

Where it Went From There

The globes themselves turned out to be only part of it. Café Galleria in Midway, Utah has been the mothership venue since the beginning, and for six years I've run their reservations program myself, because I designed it. Pricing, timed seatings, the seasonal push and pull of demand. This work was essential to learning how this business actually operates, and mastering the nuances and complexities of this niche industry.

Running that program also made one thing obvious: no booking software out there fits how a fleet of dining globes runs. So I built one. AOS Logic is a reservations and revenue platform I designed and coded end to end, and it launches its first full season at Café Galleria this October.

I didn't plan for a naming project to turn into six years of operations and eventually a software company. But here we are, and it’s been a blast.

What I Delivered

● NAMING

● BRAND STRATEGY & IDENTITY

● WEB DESIGN & E-COMMERCE

● PRODUCT MARKETING & COLLATERAL

● RESERVATIONS OPERATIONS

● SOFTWARE DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT

Takeaway

Sometimes the best projects find you at the intersection of everything you love -- design, architecture, mountain culture, brand strategy, and product development, all while working with good friends. Bingo.