After several quarters that fell short of financial expectations -- due in large part to an underperforming consumer business -- Kaplan left Cisco in February. Then in April, Cisco unceremoniously dropped Flip and restructured its consumer business, lopping 550 heads in the process.

The Melt's menu will have five soup-sandwich combinations, each costing $7.95. Kaplan plans to open five restaurants in the Bay Area by Thanksgiving, and 25 across the country by the end of next year.

In keeping with the high-tech spirit of the Bay Area and Kaplan himself, The Melt will tweet its specials on and offer a smartphone app that allows customers to place an order. The app will also allow The Melt to track the customer's location and time meal preparation at the closest restaurant to the customer, so it's fresh when they arrive.

Kaplan likens The Melt and grilled cheese to his Flip videocam: "Both are all about making memories," he said to Bloomberg Businessweek. "When I think about having a billion people eating grilled cheese, I think about a billion happy people."

As for Flip itself, Kaplan said its demise is disappointing. He says he was contacted by several banks and private equity firms soliciting his assistance in acquiring Flip assets from Cisco as Cisco prepared to just shutter the operations and eat the whole $590 million spent on Pure Digital and its flagship product.