We ’ re just getting started
AJ Capital ’ s Ben Weprin is committed to authentic hotelkeeping and the desire to go big .
by Jeff Weinstein , editor in chief
BEn WEprin is making no small plans , and when he says this you can ’ t help but believe him . The 37-year-old founder of AJ Capital Partners , Chicago , who many industry thought leaders in the U . S . call a rising star , has a hit on his hands with Graduate , a local , experiential brand for big college towns . Five Graduates are open , another five are coming this year in markets that include Ann Arbor , Michigan , and Berkeley , California , and 10 more are in the pipeline . He ’ s a substantial investor in Auberge Resorts ( his first investment in Q4 ’ 08 ) and the general partner / developer in multiple other hotel investments , more recently the iconic Pontchartrain in New Orleans , which he is repositioning for an imminent re-launch . Forever brimming with optimism , Weprin seems to know no end to possibilities and is building his Chicago-based team with a similar outlook .
“ I want us , as a company , to be the most
“ the thing that keeps me up is dreams . they don ' t let you sleep . they say i ' m Just so excited about What We ' re going to do .”
26 HOTELS April 2016 www . hotelsmag . com