From corporate life to the burger business

It’s not every day you meet someone who’s swapped boardrooms and city stress for spatulas and smashed patties but that’s exactly what Annabelle Moore did. After years of working in the Corporate world, Annabelle decided to make a move and relocate to Suffolk and raise a family. Her journey into hospitality wasn’t exactly planned.

Fast forward a few years, and she now owns not one, but two thriving food brands by the name of Cottage Kitchen, a boutique catering company, and Jack’s Burgers, the famous hit burger spot in Southwold.

What started as a small burger joint has now grown quickly into Jack’s Burgers, a full-on restaurant that’s now feeding hundreds of people a week and drawing visitors from across Suffolk. All while sticking to Annabelle’s original values: local produce, real ingredients, no faff, no fluff.

Building Jack’s Burgers

Annabelle helped grow the brand from a small modest food joint to a full-scale restaurant that now serves hundreds of customers a week in Southwold and beyond. Under her leadership, Jack’s has become known not just for amazing food, but for doing things the right way. That means working with Suffolk-based suppliers, keeping waste low, hiring locally, and focusing on community over expansion at all costs.

“We’re not trying to be fancy,” Annabelle says. “We just want to serve great food, do it properly, and support the people around us. That’s always been the goal.”

A new kind of entrepreneur

What’s refreshing about Annabelle’s story is that it didn’t start with investors, pitch decks, or a background in hospitality. It started with a woman that was not in her twenties but later on in life, after raising a family and stepping away from the nine-to-five and quietly building something real. It’s a reminder that entrepreneurship doesn’t have an expiry date.

“You don’t need a big tech idea to build something successful,” she says. “You just need to know your strengths, trust your gut, and not be afraid to start small.”

It’s the kind of success story that feels grounded and kind of inspiring too.

For Annabelle, small turned out to be mighty. With two growing food businesses under her belt and no signs of slowing down, she’s proof that career pivots can happen anywhere and at any point during your life. Entrepreneurship can happen on your own terms.

Be sure to not miss out on Jack’s Burgers.