New Consultant Interview: Matt Kirk
Recently, John’s brother, Matt Kirk joined our firm, immediately adding a layer of expertise to our team’s approach to client care. We caught up briefly with Matt for this short interview:
K&K: Matt, when you joined the team, you immediately relied on your past experience as a business owner, can you speak to this?
MK: Sure! For many years I’ve practiced real estate, just not the type you would expect. My business for a long time revolved around securing prime parking and negotiating with venues for my thriving food truck: Federal City Brothers Sausage and Bratwurst Sandwiches. And let’s face it, when you run a small business, there’s a lot of skin in the game. I feel like this heightened awareness of risk and risk assessment is essential to defending our clients.
K&K: What skills did you find most transferable to what you now do with our firm?
MK: As with all real estate, location is everything. In joining Kilner & Kirk, I’ve transitioned my eye for identifying where the best spots will be for selling during the lunch rush or happy hour beyond my own business to help our clients. When you buy real estate, everything matters: from traffic patterns, to understanding Metro volume, to knowing where the competition will be, and even figuring out what side of the street gets the most sun in the winter months. If you leave it up to chance, you’ll get burnt.
K&K: You won a pivotal contract with the Zoo. How did you manage that?
MK: Years ago I negotiated a deal with the Smithsonian Institute to secure a permanent spot to operate my food truck at The National Zoo. Landing this contract was a great success for the business because the Zoo was shutting down most of its in-house food service and replacing it with Fed City Bros. and four other trucks. Rather than negotiating for prime parking locations in the city, it was now important to find a good spot near a popular attraction in the zoo. The real estate on the inside of the zoo was a big deal, and it didn’t get better than being right next to the Great Ape House. Zoo security told me the gorillas became a little more animated after we moved in - it turns out giant primates love the smell of Italian sausage!
K&K: These days, instead of serving sausage to the good people of the DMV, Matt helps his clients find their own prime real estate. Whether you’re hoping to grow your family, ride off into retirement, or even start a business, Matt looks forward to putting his skills to work for you.
