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We sat down with Top Chef Spike Mendelson and got the dish on his new D.C. eatery, Good Stuff. What inspired Spike to open his own burger joint and who were the special guests that came to Good Stuff's launch? Find out below!

How did the idea for Good Stuff come about?

The whole family has been in the business for generations, fine dining to worlds fair, it's consumed us our entire life. I wanted to be able to do something with my family that would be fun and less maintenance, like opening a burger place. But the maintenance turned out to be just as much as any restaurant! We wanted to create a brand around my grandfather -- what he likes to eat and what I like to eat. His favorite saying when something is really, really good is, it’s “Good Stuff.”

Why did you choose to serve burgers?

I love burgers. Everyone loves burgers. We like coming up with new ideas for burger toppings. Burgers are "in" and I think they always will be. Hand made burgers, handcut fries, and handspun shakes -- how great does that sound?!

Did your experience on Top Chef prepare you for opening your restaurant?

Oh, absolutely. The amount of marketing and publicity you receive just being on the show, it really brands you as a chef. Also, working with other chefs on the challenges helped me think of ideas for my menu at Good Stuff. Everyone has ideas and you always learn from everyone.

What roles do your family members play in the buisness?

We are all directors of everything! We run around like crazy doing every station, every single job, so we all know how everything is done in case someone doesn't show up. But seriously, my father and brother-in-law work on the finances, my mother is the general manager, overseeing everything, and my sister is the genius behind marketing and PR. We hired my cousin Bess from Montreal to do the interior design, and we hired two great guys we know that are in Nashville, Billy Ivey and Ted McCoig of Ivey McCoig Creative Partners, to brand the restaurant. It's def a family affair!

What advantage/disadvantages to family-run buisnesses?

You mean any fights yet? :) Everyone has an opinion and everyone thinks they are right, but that's family, what are you going to do?! In the end it makes a better product and restaurant experience for customers. We all are experts in different fields, I'm a chef, my mom is a perfectionist, my father is financial and front of house, my sister is marketing and PR...so we try and pull together and make sure we listen to each other so we can be better in each of those departments. We have our moments, but it's family, so you yell and then you go to mom's house for dinner.

Before your opened the restaurant, what was the research process like?

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