1
00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:10,559
Speaker 1: It's that time, time, time, time, luck and load. So

2
00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:13,240
Speaker 1: Michael Verie Show is on the air.

3
00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:15,840
Speaker 2: Live rob Television SETI at Hollywood.

4
00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,759
Speaker 1: No men come and listen to the story about the

5
00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,000
Speaker 1: man name or them out there barely keptus, Damia said.

6
00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:26,920
Speaker 1: Rustle Bar is our guest ringos text next to me,

7
00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:31,480
Speaker 1: Chinas and so much more. You were talking about building

8
00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:34,480
Speaker 1: a culture and how proud you are of the people

9
00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:36,919
Speaker 1: you have that have been with you as many as

10
00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,680
Speaker 1: thirty it's from day one, literally from day one, and

11
00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,360
Speaker 1: and that's unheard of in the hospitality industry. You and

12
00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:45,640
Speaker 1: I have had conversations about Johnny Carabba. I think one

13
00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:48,400
Speaker 1: of the reasons Carabas is a special restaurant, a special

14
00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:54,160
Speaker 1: company is his ability to retain employees for their entire careers.

15
00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,840
Speaker 1: You go to the Carabas on on Voss and there

16
00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,720
Speaker 1: are multiple waiters there who have children and who are

17
00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:03,840
Speaker 1: also waiters there. It's a career, not a job for

18
00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:06,320
Speaker 1: kid after they finished high school. He keeps his people

19
00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:08,360
Speaker 1: for a long time, and you do too, and there's

20
00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:10,240
Speaker 1: reasons for that. You create a great workplace. But I

21
00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:12,160
Speaker 1: interrupted you. I had to work against the break, go

22
00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:13,240
Speaker 1: ahead and finish that.

23
00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:13,800
Speaker 2: One if you would.

24
00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:16,960
Speaker 1: What was I saying, Well, I don't remember, we're both

25
00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:20,920
Speaker 1: we both have dementia. You were talking about Heather starting

26
00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:22,440
Speaker 1: with you since she was eighteen. You're talking about a

27
00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:26,679
Speaker 1: culture and a business that will last beyond your time

28
00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:27,199
Speaker 1: all lesser.

29
00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:31,560
Speaker 2: Yes. So I was talking about these chains that come

30
00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:33,520
Speaker 2: and go, and there's so many of them. They start

31
00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:36,000
Speaker 2: off at a certain level of quality, and then they

32
00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:39,120
Speaker 2: get taken over by private equity and these accountants start

33
00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:42,960
Speaker 2: driving the brand saying, look, if we just cut a

34
00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:44,760
Speaker 2: little bit here, we'll be able to save X dollars.

35
00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:47,000
Speaker 2: And they'll do it and they'll see the results, thinking well,

36
00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:48,760
Speaker 2: we can probably cut a little more here or there,

37
00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:50,960
Speaker 2: and before you know it, you don't even recognize the

38
00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:55,080
Speaker 2: brand anymore. And so I would just share a story

39
00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:57,200
Speaker 2: about that recently with Heather, and I said, you know,

40
00:01:57,280 --> 00:01:59,360
Speaker 2: we need to get some watches and I need to

41
00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:01,520
Speaker 2: pass them out to my leadership team. And on the

42
00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:03,280
Speaker 2: face of it, it says these to say, not on

43
00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:06,840
Speaker 2: my not on my watch, because whoever takes over the

44
00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,359
Speaker 2: reins will have to make big decisions and the last

45
00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:12,280
Speaker 2: thing they want to do is make a decision that's

46
00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:15,720
Speaker 2: going to drive the business down and change what made

47
00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,440
Speaker 2: it successful. There's a to share something different with you.

48
00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:21,840
Speaker 2: There's a restaurant in fort Worth. You may have heard

49
00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:26,400
Speaker 2: of it, Joe T. Garcia's yep, of course. They've been

50
00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:28,720
Speaker 2: in business since like nineteen eighteen or something like that,

51
00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:32,120
Speaker 2: and this third generation running it. And you know, when

52
00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:34,119
Speaker 2: we do site selections, not that we're going to fort Worth,

53
00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:36,160
Speaker 2: but when you do site selections, you kind of want

54
00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:38,280
Speaker 2: to look at alcohol cells for the restaurants that you're

55
00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:41,440
Speaker 2: going to be here, And just out of curiosity, I

56
00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:46,600
Speaker 2: was looking at their alcohol cells and they're tremendous, soul,

57
00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:49,560
Speaker 2: tremendous in fact that their alcohol sales in one month

58
00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,200
Speaker 2: is the equivalent of five or six gringos alcohol sales

59
00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:56,280
Speaker 2: in a month. It's phenomenal. And they're cash you only business,

60
00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:57,000
Speaker 2: which is wild.

61
00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:00,720
Speaker 1: But anyway, No, I'm just I'm just probably I'm sorry,

62
00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:04,640
Speaker 1: I'm spellbound. Yeah, wow, i'd slinging a lot of booth.

63
00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:06,200
Speaker 1: That is slinging a lot of booth.

64
00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:06,440
Speaker 2: It is.

65
00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:10,760
Speaker 1: So tell me about a mistake you made when you started.

66
00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:11,280
Speaker 2: I'd love to.

67
00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:13,280
Speaker 1: I know you're good at that, but I want you

68
00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:15,120
Speaker 1: to tell me about a mistake you made No, you

69
00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:16,880
Speaker 1: know what, I'm going to go back. You always tell

70
00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:20,400
Speaker 1: the story about having to give up the keys to

71
00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,840
Speaker 1: your vehicle and a what a humiliating moment that was,

72
00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:26,160
Speaker 1: and how you draw on that energy a lot to

73
00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:26,840
Speaker 1: guide you now.

74
00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:30,440
Speaker 2: Well, yes, in my twenty so I lost my house

75
00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:32,760
Speaker 2: to foreclosure when I was twenty six years old, I

76
00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:35,080
Speaker 2: returned a vehicle because I can no longer afford the

77
00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:37,200
Speaker 2: PM here at twenty dollars ninety one cent payment. It

78
00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,360
Speaker 2: was a fort Bronco and I remember dropping off of

79
00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:43,440
Speaker 2: the dealership and then walking away from it and then

80
00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:45,920
Speaker 2: turning around at it to look at it one last

81
00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,400
Speaker 2: time and telling myself inside, I'm down, but I'm not out.

82
00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:52,640
Speaker 2: And I think that all too often people define themselves.

83
00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:56,520
Speaker 2: They defined themselves through failure. And really you're supposed to

84
00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,680
Speaker 2: fail forward, as as John C. Maxwell said, failing forward

85
00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:02,240
Speaker 2: you learn from those mistakes to not repeat them, but

86
00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:04,720
Speaker 2: find the lesson in them. And there's so many of them.

87
00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,480
Speaker 2: And we, for example, and you know, we had opened

88
00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:10,960
Speaker 2: Gringos Seafood Kitchen that what was it? My two point

89
00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:13,960
Speaker 2: eight million dollars seafood platter next to Gringos Mexican kitchen

90
00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:15,720
Speaker 2: in Stafford and we closed it a year and three

91
00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:18,920
Speaker 2: months later. And one of the things I didn't like

92
00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:21,560
Speaker 2: about that particular location besides they didn't have the seals,

93
00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:24,760
Speaker 2: was that we were next to the feeder road and

94
00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:27,080
Speaker 2: the road was just drove me crazy. I mean when

95
00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:28,840
Speaker 2: you were sitting out there, it was just very, very loud.

96
00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:33,039
Speaker 2: So when we opened up Jimmy Chongos Katie in twenty thirteen,

97
00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:37,680
Speaker 2: we purchased some real estate not on the freeway feeder road,

98
00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:40,480
Speaker 2: but just set back just a little bit. Well, we

99
00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:42,480
Speaker 2: may have set ourselves back just a little too much,

100
00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:44,920
Speaker 2: and so in the future we will never make that

101
00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,880
Speaker 2: mistake again because it can be very costly, and we

102
00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:50,919
Speaker 2: will always only do freeway locations for the most partners

103
00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:55,040
Speaker 2: where within a master plan development that has enough traffic

104
00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:57,520
Speaker 2: to support at Gringos. But there's a lot of benefit

105
00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:00,560
Speaker 2: to being on a freeway. I know that b not murking,

106
00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:04,960
Speaker 2: but Waterburger cells on freeway locations versus off the beaten

107
00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,680
Speaker 2: path are just drastically different. So you know, if you're

108
00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:10,400
Speaker 2: going to make the investment, you definitely want to make

109
00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:12,120
Speaker 2: sure you maximize its potential.

110
00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:14,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, I learned that one the hard way. I used

111
00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:17,440
Speaker 1: to say that the RCC was one thousand feet from

112
00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:19,800
Speaker 1: being the hottest place in town.

113
00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:23,239
Speaker 2: Exactly, if if only.

114
00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:29,479
Speaker 1: Yeah, So when you look at today how you lead,

115
00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,320
Speaker 1: you lead a big operation, you have a lot of employees.

116
00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,000
Speaker 1: When you look at how you lead today, how is

117
00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:36,440
Speaker 1: that different from when you started?

118
00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:41,040
Speaker 2: Well, I I definitely am not as involved in the

119
00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:44,480
Speaker 2: day to day operations as I used to be. It's

120
00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:47,599
Speaker 2: more the larger picture of you know, future site developments.

121
00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:53,480
Speaker 2: I enjoy always being involved in some way. But you know,

122
00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:55,640
Speaker 2: we men, you rolled out items. I like to get

123
00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:59,920
Speaker 2: involved in that new drinks, just giving feedback and you know,

124
00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:02,520
Speaker 2: we have fun. We'll meet in the in the back

125
00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:05,160
Speaker 2: kitchen area of our corporate office and we'll put a

126
00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:07,200
Speaker 2: couple of dishes out there or drinks, and we just

127
00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:11,280
Speaker 2: go to town and we try to you know, go

128
00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:14,320
Speaker 2: with the majority of feedback as far as you know

129
00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:17,599
Speaker 2: what's hot, what's not, and and you know, just be candid.

130
00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:19,279
Speaker 2: I think all too often a lot of people are

131
00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,960
Speaker 2: afraid to be candid. And there's nothing wrong with it.

132
00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:27,159
Speaker 2: I mean, your your opinion matters, and we want everyone

133
00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:30,080
Speaker 2: to know that. So even our corporate office staff that

134
00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:31,400
Speaker 2: They have a lot of input in what we do,

135
00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,920
Speaker 2: just because they're there trying it and letting us know

136
00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:35,440
Speaker 2: what they think.

137
00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:40,320
Speaker 1: Is that I always wondered about this because I get

138
00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,320
Speaker 1: to see my people face to face. Jim works from home,

139
00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:46,599
Speaker 1: but we communicate thirty times a day. Is it hard

140
00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:50,800
Speaker 1: having started with just you and a cook? Is it

141
00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:54,080
Speaker 1: hard having grown to the point that you have employees

142
00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:56,880
Speaker 1: that you don't get to see or see very often.

143
00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:00,359
Speaker 1: And your name, you know, Gringo's text Maxx is Russell

144
00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:03,120
Speaker 1: Leabarro and everybody knows it, and somebody could walk in

145
00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:05,560
Speaker 1: and you know, we're going to have a bad experience, right,

146
00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:07,800
Speaker 1: Everyone's going to have a bad experience on occasion. Is

147
00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:10,640
Speaker 1: that hard for you? Having to let go of that

148
00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:13,480
Speaker 1: level of being able to see every person that comes

149
00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:13,880
Speaker 1: in the door.

150
00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:17,440
Speaker 2: It's I really did enjoy when we had three locations,

151
00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:20,040
Speaker 2: four locations, five, you know, where I could visit every

152
00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:23,640
Speaker 2: store every almost not every day, but almost every day,

153
00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:28,400
Speaker 2: and and uh interact with the staff, And that's mostly

154
00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,680
Speaker 2: what I enjoy them, you know, doing. But as we've grown,

155
00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:35,000
Speaker 2: it's it's changed a lot. I enjoy giving preciates whatever

156
00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:38,000
Speaker 2: I visit. When the restaurants right before opening and talking

157
00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:41,320
Speaker 2: to our servers, uh, you know, the the frontline, uh team,

158
00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,440
Speaker 2: that they can impact a visit, you know, in a

159
00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:47,360
Speaker 2: positive or negative way. Just they have that kind of power,

160
00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:50,080
Speaker 2: you know, and so uh you always have to make

161
00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:54,360
Speaker 2: the story about them and how it impacts them, because

162
00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:56,480
Speaker 2: it's not it's not you can't tell them, hey, we

163
00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:58,080
Speaker 2: need you know, sales, or we need to make that

164
00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,240
Speaker 2: summer dollars or whatever. It's it's how does it impact them?

165
00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:03,200
Speaker 1: And I always like to tell our servers that, you know,

166
00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:06,040
Speaker 1: hold right there working, we're gonna we're gonna come back

167
00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:07,680
Speaker 1: to I always like to tell our servers so that

168
00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:09,280
Speaker 1: you and I don't forget that since we those seem

169
00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:09,800
Speaker 1: to forget everything.

170
00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:10,280
Speaker 3: Hold for.

171
00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:17,480
Speaker 1: Russell Lebarro is our guest Ringos texmex dot com is

172
00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:19,560
Speaker 1: his website. That's where you can buy the book, talk

173
00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:23,240
Speaker 1: about the book in a moment. That's where you can

174
00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:27,400
Speaker 1: learn about his restaurants, his story, the family story, the

175
00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:30,520
Speaker 1: business story, the the story of the people who work there.

176
00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:33,480
Speaker 1: He also owns Jummy Chonga's. You said, I always tell

177
00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:36,040
Speaker 1: employees that, Yes, So I always.

178
00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:39,760
Speaker 2: Like to tell our servers, uh. At during appreciate that,

179
00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:43,839
Speaker 2: you know, working at Gringos. If they don't make the

180
00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:48,839
Speaker 2: company part of their long term career, I want the

181
00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,360
Speaker 2: experience to be one of the best that they've ever had,

182
00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:56,760
Speaker 2: and I want them them to continue developing and mastering

183
00:08:56,800 --> 00:08:58,800
Speaker 2: a skill set. And it's really a skill set of

184
00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:02,120
Speaker 2: communication with the public, because it's something that's being lost

185
00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,160
Speaker 2: because of technology. Everyone has their face and their phone,

186
00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:09,720
Speaker 2: and so that they can really take these these skills

187
00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:14,240
Speaker 2: that they're learning and apply them in their future careers.

188
00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:16,520
Speaker 2: And they're all going to have one. I tell them, Look,

189
00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:18,640
Speaker 2: thirty years from now, forty years from now, you're going

190
00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:20,559
Speaker 2: to be somewhere in the serf that's either on the

191
00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:22,640
Speaker 2: ground or six feet under. But you're going to be somewhere.

192
00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:28,040
Speaker 2: And so why not start creating tomorrow today? And you

193
00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:32,200
Speaker 2: can do that just by working somewhere like a restaurant.

194
00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:34,360
Speaker 2: I mean, it's a beautiful thing, it really is. And

195
00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,439
Speaker 2: we have a lot of servers that earn let's say,

196
00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:41,839
Speaker 2: one hundred dollars tip and I always tell them, listen,

197
00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:47,720
Speaker 2: you earned it, yes, But it wasn't just the service.

198
00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:50,920
Speaker 2: The service was important that at the end of the day,

199
00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:54,760
Speaker 2: just like that receiving that one hundred dollars tip made

200
00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:59,599
Speaker 2: you feel good. You did something so well interacting with

201
00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:01,920
Speaker 2: this game that you made them feel so good that

202
00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:03,760
Speaker 2: they were willing to part ways with that one hundred

203
00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:07,000
Speaker 2: dollar bill. And and you'd be surprised how many servers

204
00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:10,120
Speaker 2: receive one hundred dollar tip. And it's it's incredible and

205
00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:13,120
Speaker 2: and that's part of the culture that that uh it's

206
00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:17,199
Speaker 2: infectious obviously, and and uh for good reason. But I

207
00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:19,840
Speaker 2: just it's just a wonderful thing to create a working

208
00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:25,679
Speaker 2: environment where excellence is our motto and always trying to

209
00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:30,320
Speaker 2: improve at every level every single day. And and as

210
00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:33,720
Speaker 2: long as we continue doing that, it's like a person

211
00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:36,560
Speaker 2: in a relay race. There's no way you can lose

212
00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:39,120
Speaker 2: that race if you've been given that lead unless you

213
00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:43,240
Speaker 2: back down and and and and uh don't continue moving

214
00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:46,160
Speaker 2: the same way. But uh, we we just have a

215
00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:49,440
Speaker 2: wonderful team. And I couldn't speak, you know, about them

216
00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:50,800
Speaker 2: more highly than they are.

217
00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:52,839
Speaker 1: But they flout you.

218
00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:53,760
Speaker 2: And I love that.

219
00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:57,040
Speaker 1: Russell Lebar is our guest. I do want to say

220
00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:02,400
Speaker 1: thanks to Oracle. They have a product called NetSuite, and

221
00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:06,920
Speaker 1: they wanted business owners to know about it and they

222
00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:10,880
Speaker 1: knew we were doing business interviews over the years, and

223
00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:15,800
Speaker 1: one of the guy who's responsible for NetSuite with Oracle

224
00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:20,160
Speaker 1: is a fan of our show and loves what we

225
00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:24,160
Speaker 1: do and said, we'd like to sponsor your business interviews.

226
00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:28,800
Speaker 1: Why not. You can get the cfo's Guide to AI

227
00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:34,360
Speaker 1: and Machine Learning at NetSuite dot com slash Berry my

228
00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:38,800
Speaker 1: last name, NetSuite dot com, slash berry. And the idea is,

229
00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:41,880
Speaker 1: if you've got data all over the place, and like

230
00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:44,439
Speaker 1: Russell Lebarro, needs to make a decision quickly, you need

231
00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:49,160
Speaker 1: your data quickly. You need AI, you need machine learning.

232
00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:52,000
Speaker 1: You need that technology because you have manual intry of

233
00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:56,160
Speaker 1: everything in manual retrieval and manual processing, and you can't

234
00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:59,640
Speaker 1: get your information fast enough. To get the cfo's Guide

235
00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:03,040
Speaker 1: to AI and Machine Learning, go to NetSuite dot com

236
00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:08,280
Speaker 1: forward slash Barry my last name, Russell. When you talked

237
00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:14,240
Speaker 1: about servers, you have employees from uh, you know, bartenders

238
00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:18,240
Speaker 1: to what used to be called waiters servers. Many of

239
00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:21,960
Speaker 1: those become managers and on a when you hire somebody

240
00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:25,360
Speaker 1: or the kitchen do you have or when you did

241
00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:28,120
Speaker 1: hire at that level, Now that's for your managers. Do

242
00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:30,880
Speaker 1: you have kind of a process that's important that you'd say,

243
00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:33,360
Speaker 1: here's the fundamentals of hiring good people.

244
00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:36,760
Speaker 2: You know, some people interview very very well, as you

245
00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:41,480
Speaker 2: can imagine, but you know, sooner or later, whatever their

246
00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:44,240
Speaker 2: personality traits are, they come out. But at the end

247
00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:46,760
Speaker 2: of the day, I don't think there there is such

248
00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:48,959
Speaker 2: thing as a bad employee. I really think that's just

249
00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:54,319
Speaker 2: bad leadership. And and I think that we've just done

250
00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:58,080
Speaker 2: a good job at weeding out individuals that just don't

251
00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:02,000
Speaker 2: really fit us. And that's a good thing. I mean,

252
00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:05,079
Speaker 2: we've had people come and go, but a lot of

253
00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:07,839
Speaker 2: times they just can't. They don't buy, they don't drink

254
00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:11,240
Speaker 2: the kool aid, so to speak. But yeah, we we

255
00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:13,640
Speaker 2: just I think my management team overall does a great

256
00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:16,800
Speaker 2: job because there is a certain you know, image you

257
00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:18,920
Speaker 2: want to portray, you want your staff to portray. And

258
00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:23,000
Speaker 2: you know, we've we've changed the way we've you know,

259
00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:26,040
Speaker 2: our standards have changed, only not because we wanted them to,

260
00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:29,000
Speaker 2: because society has just evolved. There was a time where

261
00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:33,400
Speaker 2: you couldn't even have tattoos, you know, but or even

262
00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:36,880
Speaker 2: other things that you know, we've had to change or

263
00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:41,880
Speaker 2: adapt to because as times are changing, whether it's you know,

264
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:47,079
Speaker 2: something like tattoos or just just quality of life schedules.

265
00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:50,760
Speaker 2: I mean, we're doing things that are unheard of twenty

266
00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:55,400
Speaker 2: thirty years ago. So you know, we we we listen

267
00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:58,199
Speaker 2: and we try to pay attention to what's going on

268
00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:03,480
Speaker 2: within the industry to remain competitive, because we all, at

269
00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:05,719
Speaker 2: the end of the day, compete by comparison, and we

270
00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:08,559
Speaker 2: want to make sure that you know, we're doing what

271
00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:11,600
Speaker 2: is expected out in the out of the marketplace.

272
00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:16,079
Speaker 1: I was at your Katie location my good friend Stephen Woodard,

273
00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:21,520
Speaker 1: DPS trooper. A lot of folks know Woodard, and it

274
00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:25,080
Speaker 1: was a Saturday, and went out to see North Shore

275
00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:29,240
Speaker 1: play in the state semifinal, which they shockingly did not win.

276
00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:31,040
Speaker 1: They were expected to win state this year. It's a

277
00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:36,880
Speaker 1: strong team. But afterwards, the stadium was not far from Gringos,

278
00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:38,520
Speaker 1: and I said, let's go to Ring Gringos, and of

279
00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:41,320
Speaker 1: course he loves Gringos. And we're there and there was

280
00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:45,960
Speaker 1: an employee, very pretty light skinned black woman, I forget

281
00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:48,840
Speaker 1: her name. She could be a model, and she had

282
00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:51,000
Speaker 1: something on her hand that looked almost like a cast

283
00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:55,240
Speaker 1: and her arm I can't remember, And I said as

284
00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:59,920
Speaker 1: I'm sitting there, what happened? And she said, oh, nothing,

285
00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,880
Speaker 1: I have a tattoo. We're not you know you're not.

286
00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:05,880
Speaker 1: We're not allowed to show our tattoos at work. And

287
00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:07,600
Speaker 1: she doesn't know that I know you. But I took

288
00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:10,560
Speaker 1: the opportunity to say, well, I think the owner probably

289
00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:16,200
Speaker 1: has a concern that employees make a positive reflection and

290
00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:19,960
Speaker 1: some people are bothered by tattoos. But I thought that

291
00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:22,480
Speaker 1: was a pretty bold thing, because that's saying, yes, you

292
00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:25,000
Speaker 1: can still work here, but there are things that may

293
00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:30,080
Speaker 1: upset some customers, and it's important that you project the

294
00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:32,000
Speaker 1: right image. I don't know how you came to that conclusion.

295
00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:33,080
Speaker 1: I just thought it was pretty bold.

296
00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:37,480
Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, like I said, our dress code has changed

297
00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:40,960
Speaker 2: quite a bit, so but it's still still positive.

298
00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:44,840
Speaker 1: So we talk about making tough decisions, and everybody wants

299
00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:49,840
Speaker 1: to be the person who makes good decisions, tough decisions,

300
00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:55,040
Speaker 1: but it's not easy to make tough decisions, and so

301
00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:58,160
Speaker 1: the rubber hits the road when a tough decision might

302
00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:01,440
Speaker 1: cost you money. So so coming up, I'm going to

303
00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:04,880
Speaker 1: ask you about what was probably a tough decision for you,

304
00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:07,000
Speaker 1: and maybe you made it easily, but it would be

305
00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:09,240
Speaker 1: for a lot of people because it's a decision that

306
00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:12,240
Speaker 1: costs you money, but it's probably turned out to be

307
00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:14,640
Speaker 1: the right thing for your business. Russell Lebarro our government.

308
00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,440
Speaker 2: A recession is when your neighbor loses his job.

309
00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:22,680
Speaker 1: A depression is when you lose your Richard Michael Berry.

310
00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:25,880
Speaker 2: And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses.

311
00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,920
Speaker 1: Russell Lebarra is the founder and owner. I don't know

312
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:32,920
Speaker 1: what is Tyler's chairman of the board. I think Jonathan

313
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:37,200
Speaker 1: Kim's the president maybe CEO of Ringo's text Mex. But

314
00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:39,840
Speaker 1: his business card does not say CEO or chairman of

315
00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:42,720
Speaker 1: the board or anything else. It says Master Enchilada Roller,

316
00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:48,000
Speaker 1: which is designed to reflect his position that I am

317
00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:50,600
Speaker 1: the guy that can go in the kitchen and wood

318
00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:53,320
Speaker 1: or clean the floors, or wipe down the restrooms or

319
00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:55,640
Speaker 1: whatever else. And I love that approach about him, the

320
00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:59,320
Speaker 1: servant leader. I wanted to ask you about a tough decision,

321
00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:02,160
Speaker 1: and we all talk about tough decisions. You know, you

322
00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:04,760
Speaker 1: have to make the tough decision. Everybody says that, but

323
00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:07,520
Speaker 1: it's not until you say, hey, sometimes you got to

324
00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:11,000
Speaker 1: kick your kid out because they there's a failure to launch,

325
00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:13,000
Speaker 1: and they're not they're not leaving. Sometimes you have to

326
00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:16,520
Speaker 1: say something that makes someone angry. So I told you

327
00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:20,520
Speaker 1: I was at Katie Location with Stephen Woodard, my DPS buddy,

328
00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:23,159
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks ago after a football game, and

329
00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:27,240
Speaker 1: we're sitting there and he was driving me. So I

330
00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:30,359
Speaker 1: wasn't driving, so I could drink more than I would

331
00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,000
Speaker 1: have if I was driving. In fact, my rule with

332
00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:36,880
Speaker 1: my wife is her rule is you can go anywhere

333
00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:38,800
Speaker 1: you want, you can drink as much as you want,

334
00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:41,640
Speaker 1: but if you're drinking, you can't drive. And so Uber

335
00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:43,800
Speaker 1: is my friend, or if I'm going with Uncle Jerry

336
00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:45,120
Speaker 1: or someone else, I ride with them.

337
00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:48,200
Speaker 2: And so I had.

338
00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:53,320
Speaker 1: I can't remember. I want to say. I want to

339
00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:56,479
Speaker 1: say it was that that orange crush margaerite. Y'all had

340
00:17:56,480 --> 00:17:58,119
Speaker 1: a specialty marguerite at the time. I don't remember what

341
00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:00,720
Speaker 1: it was, but I had the specially margerite and then

342
00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:03,840
Speaker 1: I had another one. No, I didn't. I had beer

343
00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:07,720
Speaker 1: that day. I had two beers, and so I had

344
00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:09,719
Speaker 1: two beers and I'm ready to have my third one.

345
00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:13,000
Speaker 1: And we've been there for a while and I'm not driving,

346
00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:16,920
Speaker 1: and I'm completely loosid and I ordered another one and

347
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:20,200
Speaker 1: she said, I'm sorry, sir, I can't give you a

348
00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:24,280
Speaker 1: third drink. And I looked at her like, you're joking,

349
00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:28,120
Speaker 1: right am I slurry? And I said, oh man, I've

350
00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:30,199
Speaker 1: been here long enough to process this. And by the way,

351
00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:33,000
Speaker 1: I'm not driving. She said, I'm sorry, I can't, and

352
00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:36,800
Speaker 1: I thought, you know, I can respect that because business

353
00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:40,000
Speaker 1: liquors where people make their money, especially in text mex

354
00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:42,240
Speaker 1: To have a policy, and I'm sure you must have

355
00:18:42,359 --> 00:18:44,960
Speaker 1: problems with people being drunk to say, we're a family

356
00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,920
Speaker 1: restaurant and we're going to choose to lose the marginal

357
00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:52,359
Speaker 1: money that you would spend because at the point at

358
00:18:52,359 --> 00:18:55,200
Speaker 1: which you get drunk and some people would cause a problem.

359
00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:57,840
Speaker 1: That's a decision of business owners should be willing to make.

360
00:18:57,960 --> 00:18:59,720
Speaker 1: Customers can choose whether they like it or not, and

361
00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:02,480
Speaker 1: they choose not to come back. How tough of a

362
00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:03,399
Speaker 1: decision was that for you?

363
00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:07,960
Speaker 2: Well, it all I has to do with liability. So

364
00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:13,800
Speaker 2: our drink policy is no more than four and the

365
00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:16,439
Speaker 2: one of the drinks you had must have had contained

366
00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:19,760
Speaker 2: two shots in it. But it's easier to manage when

367
00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:23,040
Speaker 2: the policy is consistently across you know, twenty something locations.

368
00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:25,240
Speaker 1: Russell, I need you to answer the questions, but not

369
00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:28,440
Speaker 1: out me on what was in my glass. I like

370
00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:30,160
Speaker 1: to tell my story the way I want to tell

371
00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:30,680
Speaker 1: my story.

372
00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:34,600
Speaker 2: Well, it's for drink minim. She did it right, and

373
00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:38,280
Speaker 2: as much as I love you, we couldn't bend the

374
00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:40,520
Speaker 2: rules for you, because then I'm sending the wrong message

375
00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:41,280
Speaker 2: to the entire staff.

376
00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:43,720
Speaker 1: She didn't know who I was, but it didn't matter that.

377
00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:48,120
Speaker 1: The point was she enforced the rule and I respected

378
00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:50,600
Speaker 1: that there was a rule. Now, listen, there will be

379
00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:53,359
Speaker 1: people who like to go in and get hammered, and

380
00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:56,080
Speaker 1: they would say, I'm mad at you. You didn't sert. Well,

381
00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:58,200
Speaker 1: guess what. You don't have to eat there. There's a

382
00:19:58,280 --> 00:19:59,959
Speaker 1: text max on every quarter. You can go somewhere else.

383
00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:04,960
Speaker 1: I respect businesses that are upfront, have their rules, articulate

384
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,480
Speaker 1: their rules, and stick to their rules because it's part

385
00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:13,040
Speaker 1: of a bigger business concept. Hey, some people aren't good

386
00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:16,480
Speaker 1: for our restaurant. We also don't want pedophiles, rapists, or

387
00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:18,520
Speaker 1: neked people in here, no matter how much they're going

388
00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:21,560
Speaker 1: to spend. I mean I respect that, I really do.

389
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:24,359
Speaker 1: I think that's a hard thing to do. That's the

390
00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:27,359
Speaker 1: quote unquote tough decision, and you may lose money in

391
00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:29,600
Speaker 1: the short run to make more money to be a

392
00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:31,560
Speaker 1: place that people want to go because you do the

393
00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:34,359
Speaker 1: right things. I'll give you a good example our mutual friend,

394
00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:40,000
Speaker 1: Beaver Applan. I asked Beaver one time. I said, y'all

395
00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:44,440
Speaker 1: don't allow eighteen wheelers at BUCkies and I would have

396
00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:48,320
Speaker 1: to think that they buy more gas than anybody. Why

397
00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:51,160
Speaker 1: don't you let them in? And he said, families don't

398
00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:55,320
Speaker 1: want to be at a truck stop, and truck stops

399
00:20:55,400 --> 00:21:00,520
Speaker 1: tend to attract certain things around the truckers, not the

400
00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:03,440
Speaker 1: truckers themselves that families don't want to be around. And

401
00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:05,440
Speaker 1: so in order to be what we are, we have

402
00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:08,440
Speaker 1: to give up that revenue stream in order to get

403
00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:10,960
Speaker 1: this one over here. And I thought, wow, that's the again,

404
00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:13,440
Speaker 1: tough decision, but the right decision.

405
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,080
Speaker 2: Right. That's the third model at the end of the day,

406
00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:18,680
Speaker 2: that's a model.

407
00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:23,479
Speaker 1: So you read a lot of books because you are

408
00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:26,800
Speaker 1: always reading something and always quoting something from what you're reading.

409
00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:31,240
Speaker 1: How do you choose what books you're going to read

410
00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:34,560
Speaker 1: and what is your time of day you read? Because

411
00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:36,760
Speaker 1: a lot of people say to me that they would

412
00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:40,120
Speaker 1: like to read more, and they'll say when do you read?

413
00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:41,879
Speaker 1: And I tell them I read on the pot, I

414
00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:45,480
Speaker 1: read before I go to bed. There's certain times that

415
00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,240
Speaker 1: I read that if I didn't read a book, i'd

416
00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:53,160
Speaker 1: be reading my phone and doom, scrolling Twitter or whatever else.

417
00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:55,040
Speaker 1: And I get more out of reading. But have you

418
00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:57,800
Speaker 1: made a time or when when is your time to read?

419
00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:01,960
Speaker 1: Because I know you're a big reader. Well, thank god

420
00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:05,639
Speaker 1: for audio books. But from my house to my office

421
00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:08,040
Speaker 1: is about a thirty minute drive, so you can knock

422
00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:11,600
Speaker 1: out quite a bit of a book just listening on

423
00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:12,320
Speaker 1: the way to work.

424
00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:14,680
Speaker 2: So I do that a lot. But I mostly listen

425
00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:19,800
Speaker 2: to autobiographies of people I admire, and that's where I

426
00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:23,119
Speaker 2: get a lot of my wisdom, if you will. But

427
00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:26,800
Speaker 2: there's some really great material out there. There is a

428
00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:27,800
Speaker 2: lot of great material.

429
00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:32,120
Speaker 1: And I find, you know, the term self help has

430
00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:34,800
Speaker 1: a bad meaning, and there are guys who are you know,

431
00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:38,040
Speaker 1: it's a whole industry like wellness, and I think some

432
00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:40,919
Speaker 1: of it is complete pablem But I find there are

433
00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:44,040
Speaker 1: certain people that are very good at explaining things in

434
00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:45,879
Speaker 1: a way that I can read it and apply it

435
00:22:46,359 --> 00:22:50,560
Speaker 1: and make minor improvements to my life. Exercise is very

436
00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:53,160
Speaker 1: important to you. Fitness is important to you. Good health

437
00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:55,800
Speaker 1: is important to you. Was that always the case or

438
00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:58,160
Speaker 1: was there a moment where you made a conscious decision.

439
00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:04,679
Speaker 2: It's mostly been the case throughout my life, but there

440
00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:08,080
Speaker 2: was a time in my thirties where I would say

441
00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:10,000
Speaker 2: that my core was not where it should have been

442
00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:13,680
Speaker 2: and I had back problems. And ever since then, I've

443
00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:17,800
Speaker 2: done sit ups consistently and I've never had a back

444
00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:21,000
Speaker 2: problem since. So I like to keep the core up.

445
00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:25,159
Speaker 2: For sure. I don't do is. I don't run like

446
00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:25,760
Speaker 2: I used.

447
00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,679
Speaker 1: To, But no, I'm convinced is bad for you. None

448
00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:31,520
Speaker 1: has had so many back problems from running. I think

449
00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:37,520
Speaker 1: running is absolutely horrible or just absolutely horrible. Tell me

450
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:40,640
Speaker 1: a restaurant that you've eaten that recently. I've got about

451
00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:43,160
Speaker 1: thirty seconds in this segment. Tell me a restaurant you've

452
00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:45,080
Speaker 1: eaten that recently that impressed you.

453
00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:52,760
Speaker 2: Milton's in the Village, Rice Village, owned by Benji Levitt.

454
00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:58,240
Speaker 2: He converted a restaurant the second floor he had opened

455
00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:00,600
Speaker 2: up a different concept and then closed it shortly after,

456
00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:05,000
Speaker 2: but just reopened it as Milton's Italian restaurant, and I

457
00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:08,440
Speaker 2: probably had the best lasagna that I've ever had anywhere.

458
00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:11,800
Speaker 2: But then I went there last night with some friends

459
00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:17,240
Speaker 2: and they didn't have the exact same lasagna they had.

460
00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:20,400
Speaker 2: They had a vegetarian style lasagna last night. I didn't

461
00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:22,720
Speaker 2: order for that reason. So I'm gonna go back and

462
00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:26,160
Speaker 2: get the the bolonaise version of it if he will

463
00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:29,600
Speaker 2: was because it feels excellent outstanding.

464
00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:33,639
Speaker 1: Benji is unafraid of the radar restaurant who opened or

465
00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:38,480
Speaker 1: closed a restaurant Milton named for his grandfather, Milton Levitt.

466
00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:42,119
Speaker 1: We're talking to Russell Ibarra Ringos texmex dot com and

467
00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:42,879
Speaker 1: we'll continue that.

468
00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:45,639
Speaker 3: We're gonna add a little bit about these oar houses

469
00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:46,600
Speaker 3: I know all about.

470
00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:48,439
Speaker 1: Ramon wants to know what around the.

471
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:52,560
Speaker 3: World is whistling bungholes, spleens, splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey riders,

472
00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:56,520
Speaker 3: Whosker doos, whosker don'ts nips and dazers with it without

473
00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,439
Speaker 3: the scooter stick or one single whistling kiddy chaser.

474
00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:07,200
Speaker 1: Russell Levarro, my friend, mentor and the owner of Gringo's

475
00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:11,280
Speaker 1: Text Mex, is our guest. You mentioned that you had

476
00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:14,440
Speaker 1: a great meal at Milton's, which Benji Levitt has in

477
00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:19,760
Speaker 1: Rice Village. You sent me an email of a conversation

478
00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:23,400
Speaker 1: between you and Michael Sambrooks, who has a text Mex

479
00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:27,840
Speaker 1: joint called Condente, and he is following your lead, which

480
00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:31,440
Speaker 1: makes you a mentor of his also and at I

481
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:35,520
Speaker 1: guess that location he has created similar to your Plato Soldado,

482
00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:39,280
Speaker 1: which gives two dollars per plate to Camp Hope and

483
00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:41,480
Speaker 1: ends up being hundreds of thousands of dollars and it's

484
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:43,840
Speaker 1: a lot, a lot of money every year just off

485
00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:47,080
Speaker 1: people ordering that dish, and he's doing a Bandera plate,

486
00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:55,359
Speaker 1: which very very similar. When people ask you're always talking

487
00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:59,560
Speaker 1: to another restaurant owner, and often it's someone I think

488
00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:02,040
Speaker 1: you're hoping to learn from. You were talking to me

489
00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:07,119
Speaker 1: about the the rich Carlton CEO or the four Seasons.

490
00:26:07,119 --> 00:26:10,760
Speaker 1: I can't remember but four seasons. And yet some of

491
00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:14,720
Speaker 1: the time it's a one, one shop small business owner

492
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:17,959
Speaker 1: that's meeting with you. What do people ask you when

493
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:19,920
Speaker 1: they meet you and they want to learn from you?

494
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,040
Speaker 1: What kind of questions do you typically get?

495
00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:26,000
Speaker 2: Well, I mean a lot of them want to know

496
00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:29,159
Speaker 2: if if their cost of goods are lining up with

497
00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:32,239
Speaker 2: the industry standards, and of course everyone's standards are going

498
00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:35,800
Speaker 2: to be different depending on their overhead. But I met

499
00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:41,000
Speaker 2: recently with a a It was a Puerto Rican Honduras

500
00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:42,960
Speaker 2: type restaurant up on the north west side of town.

501
00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:46,720
Speaker 2: The owners reached out to me via Instagram and and

502
00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:48,560
Speaker 2: wanted to set up a meeting, so we did at

503
00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:51,240
Speaker 2: my office, and they were just curious about a lot

504
00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:54,440
Speaker 2: of things. You know, they're not where they want to be.

505
00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:56,600
Speaker 2: Their cost of goods are way too high, their labor

506
00:26:56,680 --> 00:26:59,120
Speaker 2: is way too high, and their prices are just way

507
00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:02,879
Speaker 2: too low. So that's probably the reason. But I've had

508
00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:07,400
Speaker 2: several young entrepreneurs reach out to me. One of them

509
00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:12,200
Speaker 2: was on Vierto Martinez that owns Space City Video downtown Houston,

510
00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:15,120
Speaker 2: and his story is unique and it's a prime example

511
00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:19,640
Speaker 2: of what it takes to become successful. So this young man,

512
00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:24,360
Speaker 2: about thirty four years old, he bought a burger franchise.

513
00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:27,679
Speaker 2: It was an Israeli burger franchise called Im the Letter's

514
00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:30,280
Speaker 2: im Burger, and they started popping up all around the

515
00:27:30,359 --> 00:27:32,560
Speaker 2: United States. I think they had eight hundred franchises sold

516
00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:37,280
Speaker 2: or something. But he opens four months before COVID, So

517
00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,479
Speaker 2: he's basically dead in the water before he got started.

518
00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:44,919
Speaker 2: And so when final that he was able to open up,

519
00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:47,760
Speaker 2: of course, never did the sales he needed to do.

520
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:51,920
Speaker 2: He ended up deciding to close the restaurant and was

521
00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:54,640
Speaker 2: basically handing the keys to the landlord and say, look,

522
00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:59,439
Speaker 2: I can't make it. But he had noticed that there

523
00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:03,439
Speaker 2: was this new trend of tacos going around called Biddi

524
00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:09,960
Speaker 2: of Tacos and it's basically, my kids are good. Okay,

525
00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:13,680
Speaker 2: well well yeah, so uh, you know, it's like a Cassidia,

526
00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:16,359
Speaker 2: but you know, you get some consumme to dip your

527
00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:20,359
Speaker 2: taco in. And he so he opened up this place

528
00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:24,640
Speaker 2: called Space City Video and it's a small restaurant in downtown,

529
00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:30,960
Speaker 2: but he, uh, he is doing incredible, incredible numbers, and

530
00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:34,200
Speaker 2: he's already looking for his second location in Parland. And

531
00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:36,600
Speaker 2: so we've been kind of Jonathan and I both have

532
00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:41,320
Speaker 2: kind of been guiding along to help him negotiate the

533
00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:44,680
Speaker 2: lease or look at the terms and uh and have

534
00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:48,000
Speaker 2: a plan going forward. But we love doing stuff like

535
00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:51,760
Speaker 2: that for people, and you know, and and never really

536
00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:55,440
Speaker 2: expecting anything back except maybe a free free taco or something,

537
00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:58,960
Speaker 2: but you know, and then I had another gentleman from

538
00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:03,800
Speaker 2: up in the king that owns local cantina and he

539
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:07,720
Speaker 2: has a restaurant there on the lake and he is

540
00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:10,680
Speaker 2: doing it really, really well, and he reached out and

541
00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:13,000
Speaker 2: we've met several times. I've taken him to the Rockets

542
00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:18,200
Speaker 2: game now and and but I love surrounding myself with

543
00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:22,200
Speaker 2: young entrepreneurs because sometimes I wish I could go back

544
00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:25,640
Speaker 2: and start all over again, because it's been fun and

545
00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:29,360
Speaker 2: and it's it's it's even it's it's a lot more

546
00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:32,480
Speaker 2: fun in the early days because it's new. It's it's

547
00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:34,560
Speaker 2: like a child when you're you know, he's growing up.

548
00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:37,360
Speaker 2: Everything around them is new, and so in business, you

549
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:41,160
Speaker 2: know that there's something really sweet about that, and I

550
00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:43,840
Speaker 2: miss that. So I guess that's one of the reasons

551
00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:47,720
Speaker 2: why I have an open line all the time to

552
00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:51,000
Speaker 2: entrepreneurs that want to get started and and help them

553
00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:51,840
Speaker 2: as much as I can.

554
00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:59,880
Speaker 1: There's also something invigorating about the passion of a new own.

555
00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:03,480
Speaker 1: You know that I've known people that had a day job,

556
00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:06,600
Speaker 1: but they cooked on the weekend or at night, and

557
00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:09,080
Speaker 1: they were good at it, and they save up and

558
00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:11,640
Speaker 1: then they quit their job, which a man is such

559
00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:13,360
Speaker 1: a hard thing to do. You know, you've got to

560
00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:17,000
Speaker 1: steady income and they you know, they're people. What people

561
00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:19,640
Speaker 1: don't realize is when you show up first day to eat,

562
00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:22,400
Speaker 1: you don't realize that that was just a shell. You know,

563
00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:24,239
Speaker 1: they had to build all this stuff out and then

564
00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:26,600
Speaker 1: to make all those decisions. Now, finally we're ready, we're

565
00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:29,960
Speaker 1: opening up. You know how exciting. You've told the story

566
00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:33,640
Speaker 1: before on you know, opening the blinds on your first

567
00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:35,480
Speaker 1: day and waiting on the first car to come in

568
00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:37,080
Speaker 1: and you were going to serve them and you had

569
00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:40,680
Speaker 1: your kitchen guy in the back. There is something really cool.

570
00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:43,120
Speaker 1: You use the word sweet, which I think is is

571
00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:48,160
Speaker 1: is the right term. There's something cool like, uh, you

572
00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:50,800
Speaker 1: know when I talked to Crockett or Michael's friends and

573
00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:52,280
Speaker 1: I asked them, you know, what are you going to

574
00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:54,640
Speaker 1: do this summer and what are you studying and what

575
00:30:55,080 --> 00:31:00,760
Speaker 1: and just hearing there their kind of nervous but ambitious optimism.

576
00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:04,280
Speaker 1: It's it's invigorating. It's it's good for me, it's good

577
00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:04,760
Speaker 1: for the soul.

578
00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:07,920
Speaker 2: It really is it really is.

579
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:11,720
Speaker 1: You were supposed to say more than it really is.

580
00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:14,560
Speaker 1: You're supposed to add something to that. That's that's how

581
00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:16,080
Speaker 1: the interview format works.

582
00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:22,080
Speaker 2: Well, I'm practicing, so I love it. I love it.

583
00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:26,200
Speaker 1: How do you decide where to put a new location?

584
00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:30,200
Speaker 1: Because and the reason I ask is, you've been very

585
00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:34,320
Speaker 1: successful at location selection. And it's not just a you know,

586
00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:37,800
Speaker 1: put your finger to the to the wind. There's a

587
00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:42,720
Speaker 1: text mex Joint on every corner already. There are competing concepts,

588
00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:47,000
Speaker 1: there's a lot of other restaurants, there are many choices.

589
00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:50,840
Speaker 1: Have you learned over the years kind of this is

590
00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:51,840
Speaker 1: what works for us.

591
00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:58,760
Speaker 2: Well, Like I mentioned previously, freeway locations will always be

592
00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:02,840
Speaker 2: for us now. But as far as expanding the Gringos chain,

593
00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:09,440
Speaker 2: we we we have Houston pretty much covered. I mean

594
00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:11,200
Speaker 2: we could there are some spots we could probably put

595
00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:14,280
Speaker 2: other locations, but we're starting to venture outside the market.

596
00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:18,560
Speaker 2: We're going to be opening in Sybelo, Texas or right

597
00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:22,640
Speaker 2: outside of San Antonio shirts and then in Kyle, Texas

598
00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:26,720
Speaker 2: as well, both on nine thirty five, and then we're

599
00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:29,440
Speaker 2: looking at a couple other places, one outside of Austin,

600
00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:31,800
Speaker 2: but will always remain in the suburbs. That's kind of

601
00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:33,840
Speaker 2: our lane of.

602
00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:34,280
Speaker 1: This and.

603
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:41,160
Speaker 2: Well, well for lots of reasons, but one is a

604
00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:45,200
Speaker 2: lot more families in in the suburbs. There's the real

605
00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:48,520
Speaker 2: estate is a lot less expensive in the suburbs. And

606
00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:52,880
Speaker 2: and mostly because it's an underserved market with the level

607
00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:57,760
Speaker 2: that we bring to the market to the marketplace. Because

608
00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:03,080
Speaker 2: I would much rather, you know, be a big fish

609
00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:04,760
Speaker 2: in a small pond than vice varsa.

610
00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:09,760
Speaker 1: So uh wait right there, wait wait wait wait right there.

611
00:33:09,960 --> 00:33:12,800
Speaker 1: Russell Lebara, as our guest, will continue our conversation with

612
00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:16,480
Speaker 1: him coming up. H