04/25/2026
I lost a member of the Wild Ox team this week.
My brother-in-law, Bart, never clocked in and never made a drink. Most of our customers never met him, and most of our team never got the chance to either. But there would be no Wild Ox without him, and I want people to know that.
He came into my life when I was still in diapers. I’ve never not known him. From the very beginning, he was just always there. Like another older brother to me. At times even a second dad.
When I was young, I told him I wanted to own something in food and hospitality. Most people would smile and forget it. Not Bart. He held me to it. For over 20 years, he kept asking, pushing, reminding me. Even when I lost sight of it, he didn’t.
My weaknesses were his strengths. The things that slowed me down came naturally to him. I grew up watching him build and remodel houses, just figuring things out and making them work. And I leaned on him a lot. He was always my first call when I needed help bringing something to life.
When the opportunity came along to buy a beat up old trailer, it was the first time I’d really tried to pursue something on my own. The dream I’d had since I was a kid. I just wanted to fix it up a little. He had other plans. He was full speed ahead. He gutted it and rebuilt it into something I was proud of. Something that changed my life.
Second trailer, same story. First call. No hesitation. And he kept showing up after that too. Working full time, facing the hardest fight of his life, it didn’t matter. He showed up and somehow still outworked all of us.
Wild Ox exists because he believed in it long before it was real. Long before I knew how it would work. Long before there was anything to show for it. I’m reminded of him at each location because he had a hand in all of them. He didn’t just believe in the business. He believed in me. I loved him, and I know he loved me. I’m going to keep building, keep pushing, and make him proud of what we created together.
