Ben Weprin is the founder and CEO of Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners, a dynamic organization of counter culture hospitality and real estate investors and operators with the collective goal of acquiring, repositioning, and developing highly desired hospitality assets and prestigious resort destinations.
After graduating from the Haslam College of Business in 2001, Weprin worked in Chicago as a real estate broker. Amid the turmoil of the memorable last quarter of 2008, he began to raise the capital to buy luxury resorts, figuring the downturn would make them a bargain. Founding AJ Capital Partners—the initials standing for “adventurous journeys”—he began projects in Chicago, restoring the Hotel Lincoln, Chicago Athletic Association, Soho House, and Thompson Chicago. The current portfolio includes projects throughout Chicago, as well as the iconic Pontchartrain Hotel in New Orleans and the Thompson Nashville in Nashville’s Gulch neighborhood, among others. Other projects in motion include the Armory in San Francisco and Nashville Warehouse Company.
Weprin’s newest concept, Graduate Hotels, builds on the appeal of returning to the alma mater (and the eternal demand for sporting events). He currently owns and operates 18 hotels in vibrant cities such as Ann Arbor, Michigan; Charlottesville, Virginia; Eugene, Oregon; and Providence, Rhode Island. An additional 16 hotels are in development both domestically and internationally, including cities like Nashville; New Haven, Connecticut; and Cambridge, United Kingdom.
In 2019, AJ Capital Partners announced plans to open Graduate Knoxville on Cumberland Avenue, just steps away from UT. In partnership with Peyton Manning (’98), Graduate Knoxville will include Saloon 16, a western-inspired watering hole.
Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Weprin earned his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He currently resides in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood with his wife Mary Ann (’02) and their three daughters.
After graduating from the Haslam College of Business in 2001, Weprin worked in Chicago as a real estate broker. Amid the turmoil of the memorable last quarter of 2008, he began to raise the capital to buy luxury resorts, figuring the downturn would make them a bargain. Founding AJ Capital Partners—the initials standing for “adventurous journeys”—he began projects in Chicago, restoring the Hotel Lincoln, Chicago Athletic Association, Soho House, and Thompson Chicago. The current portfolio includes projects throughout Chicago, as well as the iconic Pontchartrain Hotel in New Orleans and the Thompson Nashville in Nashville’s Gulch neighborhood, among others. Other projects in motion include the Armory in San Francisco and Nashville Warehouse Company.
Weprin’s newest concept, Graduate Hotels, builds on the appeal of returning to the alma mater (and the eternal demand for sporting events). He currently owns and operates 18 hotels in vibrant cities such as Ann Arbor, Michigan; Charlottesville, Virginia; Eugene, Oregon; and Providence, Rhode Island. An additional 16 hotels are in development both domestically and internationally, including cities like Nashville; New Haven, Connecticut; and Cambridge, United Kingdom.
In 2019, AJ Capital Partners announced plans to open Graduate Knoxville on Cumberland Avenue, just steps away from UT. In partnership with Peyton Manning (’98), Graduate Knoxville will include Saloon 16, a western-inspired watering hole.
Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Weprin earned his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He currently resides in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood with his wife Mary Ann (’02) and their three daughters.
Bengamin J. Weprin
2016 Alumni Promise Award Winner
2016 Alumni Promise Award Winner
