About
Ten years running my own operation. Now on your side of the table.
Who I am
I’m Guy Moss. In 2015, I started Sir Hummus in Amsterdam — and for the next ten years, I never really stopped opening things.
Sir Hummus wasn’t one opening. It began as a market stall in London and a bike-delivery experiment in Amsterdam. Then a pop-up. Then a restaurant in De Pijp. Then a second, bigger location a few streets away. Later came a new concept, Sir Pita.
Each one was its own project: its own space, permits, contractors, budget and opening day. In between, there was also a full renovation of a running restaurant - which I do not recommend as a hobby.
Why Ready to Open exists
That first opening took a year
A year of confusion. A new city. A new language. New rules. The architect spoke design. The contractor spoke construction. The gemeente spoke paperwork. Nobody at the table had sat on my side of it before.
Every decision felt expensive and urgent
We got there. But I never forgot what that year cost, or how much of it could have been avoided with better coordination, clearer decisions and someone experienced holding the owner’s overview. Ready to Open exists so your first year does not have to look like mine.
Ten years of proof
Ten years. More than 1,300 Google reviews at 4.7. For over a decade, Sir Hummus ranked among Amsterdam’s top 100 restaurants on Tripadvisor.
What the numbers mean
Those numbers are not only about the food. They represent years of service: teams moving through the same space, suppliers arriving every week, systems being tested under pressure and customers choosing to come back.
A place does not last ten years because everything was perfect on day one. Ours certainly was not. It lasts because the operation keeps learning: fixing what slows the team down, improving the layout, strengthening the systems and making hundreds of better decisions over time.
But the earlier the important decisions are made well, the less expensive that learning becomes. That is the part I help with now.
What those years taught me
I know what it feels like to open the door on day one and realize the project is not really finished. I have made layout choices that saved us every lunch rush - and others I would undo tomorrow.
I have taken the 6 a.m. call when something leaked, negotiated with suppliers who knew more than me until they did not, and learned that a beautiful space that does not work under pressure is not done. It is just decorated.
I am at my best in the space between the big idea and the practical details: translating between people, asking the question nobody has owned yet, and keeping the project pointed toward a place that can actually open and operate.
How the chapter ended
Sir Hummus was a dream I had, built and got to live for ten years — which is more than most dreams get.
After ten years, the restaurant chapter came to an end. I left it with plenty to be proud of, a few things I would do differently, and a much clearer understanding of what hospitality projects need from the owner’s side.
Ready to Open is the next chapter: taking everything those ten years taught me and putting it on the owner’s side of the table, for people opening their own place.
How I work
Direct. Practical. Calm when the project is not.
I would rather tell you an uncomfortable truth in week two than watch it become an expensive one in week ten.
I am optimistic about good concepts and allergic to wishful planning. Those two things go together better than people think.