Our Story

The story of Fortune Favors is a tale of passion, dedication, and a love of good food that started in Madison, Wisconsin. 

Our co-founder, Eric Rupert, began his culinary journey at a young age. His skills flourished as a baker and pastry chef at Ovens of Brittany, eventually leading him to the renowned Madison Club. Eric's passion for cooking grew, propelling him to become co-chef at L’Etoile. After two years there, Rupert opened his own restaurant, Kafe Kohoutek, in the historic train depot on West Washington Avenue, before moving on to other culinary ventures. He continued on to Atlas Pasta on Monroe Street, and the Opera House on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, before returning to L’Etoile in 2001. His culinary career continued at the Opera House, and a return to L’Etoile before transitioning to a corporate culinary role at Sub Zero Wolf. Eric’s journey eventually led him to Epic Systems Corp, where he continued to share his famed candied pecans with his coworkers.

It was at Epic Systems Corp. where fate intervened, and Eric met his future business partner, Jess. 

Jess Benish has a degree in Russian Language and Literature and a professional background in management. She previously worked as an IT Implementation Specialist at Epic, and later returned to the corporation in their culinary division, climbing to Team Leader and Service Manager. She bonded with her colleague Eric over their shared love of creating good food. She was a fan of his candied pecans, and they often joked about quitting their jobs and going into “the pecan business” full-time.

In 2017, Jess left Epic to work as a stay-at-home mom… which lasted approximately 48 hours, until Eric reached out to her with a proposition:

“What if we actually did this?”

So, as fate would have it, in 2018, they embarked on a new adventure — starting a small business specializing in candied pecans. Together, with Eric's oldest son Kellen, they opened a neighborhood shop on Madison’s east side, quickly gaining a loyal following.

As the store thrived, Sam McDaniel, a seasoned food and hospitality professional, joined Eric and Jess in 2019 as Director of Community. Sam has a solid track record of improving community well-being, having served as the Food Pantry Coordinator for the Goodman food pantry. Now, as the CEO of Fortune Favors, Sam's expertise has been instrumental in expanding the brand's presence on a national scale

The rest of our rapidly-expanding team is made up of a group of passionate food lovers. We've come from varied paths, but it is the service to our customers and to each other that drives us. We're trying to build the kind of place we all want to work for, one nut at a time.