By Sean Rinn

John Espejo moved to San Francisco from the Philippines at 11 years old dreaming of owning his own business. 

In middle school, he sold NBA cards, Pokemon cards and wrestling toys in the school yard. In high school, he was the snack dealer in passing periods having the hookups on Capris Suns, Cup of Noodles and frozen burritos. As a young adult, he went to auctions to buy cars so he could sell them. 

In 2009, when a space on Balboa Street was for sale, Espejo continued his entrepreneurial streak as he “took it and figured it out from there,” creating a neighborhood staple burger restaurant, Uncle Boy’s. 

Uncle Boy’s is a classic burger joint with San Francisco sports decor hung all over the walls. It was created by a man with no experience in the culinary world. He said that at the time of purchasing the location they reside in today, Espejo was “not a chef by any means,” and “never officially studied culinary or anything like that.” 

He drew inspiration after seeing other businesses have success with the similar small size of the space he acquired. 

“It was honestly a total leap of faith,” Espejo said, referring to opening a restaurant. 

He would need to keep faith in himself as obstacles began to stack in front of him. 

“I quickly learned, and still am learning today, that whether you think it’s easy or not, whether it’s burgers or anything else, running an official legitimate business is not easy.” Espejo said. “That’s kind of how we got started. Just took a leap of faith and from there I learned as I went.” 

The biggest test for Espejo as Uncle Boy’s owner was in the initial stages of building and designing the restaurant with “literally no knowledge of how a kitchen operates.” 

After a year of working with designers to square away permitting requirements, Espejo admitted that one of his biggest financial mistakes was picking the location. 

“It’s a two-story building and installing a hood vent in a one-floor building is expensive enough, but a two-story building made it a colossal cost for sure.” 

Taking on financial adversity before even opening doors to customers didn’t faze Espejo. 

“I was already committed. I was committed, so I wasn’t going anywhere,” he said. 

Uncle Boy’s would be open for 10 years before facing a challenge they would share with the rest of the world: COVID-19. 

“The first few months were tough,” Espejo said. “I didn’t know what was going to happen for us, because we were all asked to shut down.” 

As the world learned more about what people could and could not do under lock down, Uncle Boy’s survived because it was already designed for to-go orders. Most of its customers opted for delivery and pick up before because that was the only option anywhere, but obviously with everyone forced indoors, business suffered. 

“Business-wise, it affected us for sure, but you know, I can’t even complain because some of the other restaurants shut down,” Espejo said. “They didn’t even have the option because they weren’t quite set up to do to-go and things like that. Other places didn’t survive the pandemic, and so it’s a blessing for us that we were able to survive the small loss of business. I’ve never complained about that. That moment. The fact we survived the pandemic. I will always be grateful.” 

Despite all the hardships Espejo has dealt with as owner of a restaurant in the City, he is grateful to San Francisco for giving him so much of what he has and making him the man he is
today. 

The University of San Francisco (USF) has given Espejo notable positives in his life, like being the place he was introduced to his wife and giving him a consistent stream of customers from its students. Like a moth to a flame, USF students go to Uncle Boy’s because of the quality burgers and because they are open late on weekends offering a nice snack after long nights at the library or the bar. 

Unfortunately, despite the family-friendly atmosphere fostered by Espejo who has helped his community by donating food to people on the streets who need them, Uncle Boy’s suffered burglaries as recently as last September. What hurt the burger joint’s owner most wasn’t a loss in funds, but his pride. 

“I feel like my pride and my ego was more of what took damage when we would get robbed. That pride in me like no one should be robbing me,” Espejo said. 

Uncle Boy’s now has a gate in front of its storefront to protect the glass and limit easy access into his restaurant. 

Espejo’s pride gave him confidence to start a business with no prior knowledge, and that for any first-time customer, he recommends the OG Burger, which is a classic cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles. He said it will turn a first-time customer into a regular. 

“There’s no better way to judge a burger restaurant,” he said. “You can’t judge it over all the specialties. I feel like you need to judge it on the most basic burger.” 

Once the OG classic burger is judged worthy by a new customer, Espejo reveals he is most proud of his favorite “El Jefe” burger, which is a wagyu patty with lettuce, tomato, bacon and pepper jack cheese topped with their special house Spicy UB sauce. Lumpia, a starter that is a favorite in his native Philippines, is also served. 

Uncle Boy’s is located at 245 Balboa St., near Fourth Avenue. Learn more at uncleboys.com.