For Ion Aimers, it’s onwards and upwards, always.

As the owner and founder of The Works, a chain of off-beat gourmet hamburger bistros, Aimers is continuously moving forward. The Ottawa start-up is one of the fastest growing companies in the city, and Aimers has no intention of slowing down anytime soon.

But not everything he touches turns to gold. He’s had his share of setbacks and flops, but continues to plough forward, ready to tackle something new and take a risk.

Aimers’ beginnings in the ground-beef business began modestly in 2001, when he first opened The Works in a tiny bricked space in New Edinburgh. What the restaurant lacked in physical space, it made up for in originality.

Decked out as an industrial factory, The Works offered Ottawa a unique dining experience, serving hefty burgers topped with every whacky thing from peanut butter to Kraft Dinner.

Success propelled the business quickly, with The Works now present in nearly each part of the city. And as Aimers boosts his restaurant tally from five to nine in the span of a few months, including venturing beyond the borders of burgers, there’s growing momentum behind Ottawa's hamburger king.

A BURGER WITH YOUR BEER?

“The burger concept had been in my mind for 20 years before it came to fruition,” admits Aimers. In his youth, the Montreal-born teenager was known to host dinner parties for his friends, where he’d serve burgers to his beer-guzzling guests. “Very few 18-year-olds have dinner parties,” he says. “Most have ‘Let’s get drunk’ parties. But I would provide food first and use my friends as guinea pigs.”

From there, Aimers continued to think of the future, while planning his approach with tremendous deliberation. Stints owning and managing other restaurants bought him time as he continued to develop his ideas for The Works.

His preparation paid off. Every detail is in place at The Works, from the factory-style décor (featuring walls of repurposed brick, strewn with random knobs and faucets that stick out haphazardly) to the zany names of menu items (like Steamrollers, a stuffed tortilla appetizer) to the light bulb salt-and-pepper shakers that sit atop the iron-branded wooden tables of the dining room. Nothing about the restaurant was accidental, but exactly how Aimers intended it to be.

So far, Aimers has definitely made a strong case for the value of this approach. With chain-wide sales of $8.5 million last fiscal year, The Works has once again landed itself a spot on the Ottawa Business Journal’s list of fastest growing companies, where it stands out as the only food-related business on a roster dominated by tech and consulting companies.

FIVE FOR FIFTY

With big plans on the horizon, Aimers is about to push himself even further. He has set a goal to have 50 restaurants open within five years, taking The Works not just outside Ottawa, but outside the province as well.

“I have a plan,” says Aimers. “But that plan is more about people than it is about money or location, because I feel the concept would sit well anywhere.” With that in mind, Aimers is currently negotiating with a group from Montreal, which fits with his desire to keep his initial expansion within reach.

In Ottawa, Aimers is treating Hunt Club and eventually Barrhaven to the world of gourmet burgers. While a Barrhaven location has yet to be secured, Bank Street in Hunt Club was made home to The Works’ sixth location in mid-December.

BEYOND BEEF

Having already relocated his original New Edinburgh shop to a bigger space in Manor Park, Aimers now has plans to return to that small building for a new adventure, hoping for some of the same magic he had there nine years ago. Only this time, he’s banking on a different product: pizza.

Slotted to open early this year, Zazaza will serve gourmet pizza in a style similar to The Works. Although Zazaza’s concept will be very different from The Works’ industrial image, guests can expect to see similar creativity in everything from décor to menu terminology. “We’ve learned what works with burgers and what works in Ottawa,” says Jeremy Strong, The Works’ cleverly titled Commander-in-Beef. “Now it’s just a matter of seeing if that can translate to pizza.”

Despite his many business plans, Aimers has ambitions beyond the restaurant world. “I have a lot of things I want to do," he said. "I want to walk from Kathmandu to the base of Everest. I want to canoe down the Amazon. I want to sail or row across the Atlantic.”

True to form, Aimers has big plans for the future. Whether it be plans for the day or for his life, there’s only one way: onwards and upwards, always.