Alumnus Ryan McLean has leaned on DU and Daniels network to grow Mountain Crust
A pizza is only as good as its ingredients. A business is the same way but substitute the sauce and cheese for a head chef and COO.
Ryan McLean (BSBA 2016) can attest to the value of both things.
The Daniels College of Business alumnus turned pizza entrepreneur has seen it all over the past decade in charge of Mountain Crust. McLean and his team have cooked for thousands of weddings and private events, deployed a fleet of catering trucks and built their own venue on the southwest side of Denver.
Aside from wood-burning stoves, much of this expansion has been powered by current Daniels students and alumni, many from the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management.
“There’s no way we’d be where we are without the connections of DU,” McLean said. His team works closely with the career services and advising staff at the Knoebel School, offering students internships each summer. From there, word of mouth takes over. Interns share their pie tossing experience with other friends, and the cycle continues.
McLean’s dream for Mountain Crust began when he was still a Daniels student. He was a finance major with a sustainability minor, unsure of his path forward. A connection with famed (and now retired) Daniels professor Stephen Haag lit the flame on the idea that would become Mountain Crust. Even as a teenager, McLean loved making pizza and started by throwing free pizza parties (with donation encouraged) in his family’s backyard. He wasn’t sure if it could become a business, but Haag’s support gave him the confidence he needed.
By his senior year, he was all in. The business quickly grew from weekend farmers markets to hundreds of weddings each spring, summer and fall. This year, from mid-September through October, the company catered 128 different weddings.
“We’re crushing, it’s been wild,” McLean said with a laugh.
Mountain Crust has around 20 full-time employees, with about 20 more staff members that regularly help with events. Included in that is a cavalcade of current Fritz Knoebel students and recent alumni.
“I have stayed with Mountain Crust because we are continually growing at a rapid rate, and I’m committed to seeing that through and making sure this company stays consistent in our offerings,” she said. “On top of that, Mountain Crust has the best company culture I could’ve ever dreamed of. I truly love my job every day and feel grateful that I can say that.”
This summer, Mountain Crust had three interns from the Knoebel School, each of whom expressed an interest in working for the company after completing their degree. The pipeline from Daniels to McLean’s growing pizza empire is strong.
“I attribute that to great culture. We’re normal humans, we’re not corporate at all. We let everyone have a lot of fun at work. We’re Mountain Crust.” he said.
While the steady flow of interns has proven valuable for the company, Vanderburg said it also was crucial to her growth in the hospitality space.
“Ryan was willing to share every piece of knowledge about starting a business to encourage me to learn and grow professionally and personally,” she said.
Now, current interns are exposed to the same crash course in hospitality, seeing every aspect of a growing business.
“You can cook in the kitchen, run back-of-house on events, learn about food ordering and vendor relations. You can also shadow front-of-house duties like talking to clients, giving tours at our venue, being trained on sales and invoicing,” Vanderburg said. “Mountain Crust is built for multi-dimensional employees. We encourage our team to learn every part of the business so that they can go forth and bring value and knowledge to the company, or future careers of their own.”
As Mountain Crust winds down for the winter, McLean switches his focus from the grind of the event season to business growth. A year after launching its 175-person event venue and commercial kitchen, Mountain Crust expects to grow even more at their current venue space. Business is busier than ever, but McLean’s passion still burns bright.
“Obviously with growth comes a lot of [other things]. For the most part, I have been able to stick to what I love the most, which is throwing parties,” McLean said. “That’s the whole goal of this business, having fun, throwing parties and being with clients. And I still get to do that every week.”