1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: It's that time time, time, time, luck and load. Michael 2 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:17,439 Speaker 1: Verie Show is on the air. Fat, drunk and stupid 3 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 1: is no way to go through life. 4 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,160 Speaker 2: Stuck. I'm shaking the dust of this crummy little town 5 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:22,800 Speaker 2: off my feet and I'm gonna see the. 6 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:25,119 Speaker 1: World all my friend. 7 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:31,280 Speaker 3: Hello, old frig gass water type. 8 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: That is a Yes, we believe it is by I'm 9 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: going steady, nice French kiss. So everybody does that. Yeah, 10 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 1: But Daddy. 11 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 4: Says, I'm the best daddys A careful man. There's the 12 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 4: beverage there. 13 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: Everybody down. We gotta what on the telescope, sir? What 14 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: the wide five world of sports that are going on? Tipsy? 15 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: Yesterday we were discussing sugar prices vis a vis corn prices, 16 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: and that one of the factors that drove Coca Cola, 17 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: the largest purchaser of sugar in the world at one point, 18 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:34,319 Speaker 1: to abandon the cane sugar that made it so delicious 19 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: to which we had grown accustom our entire lives. When 20 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: they switched to corn syrup decades later, we all pined 21 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: for the good old days of cane sugar, and that 22 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 1: what had occasioned that was that sugar prices had risen 23 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:57,840 Speaker 1: so high for a number of different reasons that they're 24 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: higher here than anywhere else in the world, which is 25 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: why some food manufacturers have moved operations outside the United States. 26 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:11,520 Speaker 1: Because if your greatest product, your greatest input is sugar, 27 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: and you pay more for it here than elsewhere, at 28 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 1: some point the economies of scale make sense to move 29 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: operations where labor is cheaper, regulations are fewer, taxation is lower, 30 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: and oh, by the way, the product that you are 31 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: finishing off for your end consumable costs a lot less. 32 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: It's almost a no brainer. We're driving businesses out of 33 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 1: the United States. I received an email from a fellow 34 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 1: who said, you need to talk to Kelly ray Lean. 35 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: I don't know if I'm pronouncing her last name correctly. 36 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 1: She had a rum distillery in San Leon and she 37 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: had called in yesterday, but we were in the middle 38 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: of our conversation with Terry and we didn't get to 39 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: talk to her. We asked her to call back today 40 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:00,840 Speaker 1: and Kelly is on the line. Kelly, first of all, 41 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:02,360 Speaker 1: how do you pronounce your last name? 42 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 5: Yeah, you were right, It's Raylen. 43 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: Okay, so tell me about your rum distillery. 44 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:13,680 Speaker 4: We started the room distillery in two thousand and five. 45 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 4: My husband Matt and I we did it just because 46 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 4: we're we're kind of into pirates. 47 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:19,839 Speaker 5: We still are. 48 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:22,639 Speaker 4: I came from the wine and spirits industry. We worked 49 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:26,359 Speaker 4: for distributorship for ten years. I'm a wine sammier, and 50 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:28,919 Speaker 4: we saw that there wasn't a lot of there was 51 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 4: a good rum made in the United States. And then 52 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 4: I had kind of seen what had happened with craft 53 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 4: beer because I used to sell it back in the 54 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 4: day when you couldn't sell a craft beer, and the 55 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 4: next thing, everybody wanted them. And we thought that I 56 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 4: used to. 57 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 5: Work for Republic Public Coverage. 58 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 4: Now it's our NBC. 59 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:49,320 Speaker 2: Yeah. 60 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 4: Yeah, they're the two big ones here. 61 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:51,840 Speaker 1: Okay. 62 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 4: So yeah, So we had this great idea while drinking 63 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 4: bad room one day that we're. 64 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:57,839 Speaker 5: Going to make American made room. 65 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 4: Why isn't there American made room because we grow sugarcane, 66 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 4: you know, right here Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Gulf Coast. And 67 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 4: we thought, geez, that makes sense, but why isn't anybody 68 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 4: doing that? And we found out the main reason has 69 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 4: to do with the rum subsidy that goes two RUMs 70 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:17,720 Speaker 4: made from the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and 71 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 4: we're like, ah, there's a tax cover over. And that 72 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:24,120 Speaker 4: was why there's really at the time, back in the 73 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 4: early two thousands, there really weren't any rum companies here 74 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:29,719 Speaker 4: in the United States anymore. It it all shifted to those 75 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,839 Speaker 4: two islands, those couple of islands because there's a there's 76 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 4: a big tax advantage. 77 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:37,480 Speaker 1: So they're playing pull on, hold on, Kelly. This is 78 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:42,600 Speaker 1: one of those things that people don't know. And so 79 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:44,800 Speaker 1: you think, well, what if I were to want to 80 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 1: buy an American made role. Let's say I'm in a 81 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:52,960 Speaker 1: pro American mood. I've bought my American made furniture from mac. 82 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: I want to buy my American made rum. You know, 83 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,119 Speaker 1: Americans just don't make any room anymore. And people don't 84 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 1: realize how tax policy and subsidies and governmental intervention drive 85 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 1: things like that. It's not that there aren't people willing 86 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 1: to do it. There isn't the expertise, there isn't the product. 87 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: It is that governmental intervention drove the American maker out 88 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: of that market, and you would never know it. It's 89 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 1: one of those hidden it's one of those hidden awful 90 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 1: things where government MUCKs everything up. Okay, but you said, 91 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: you know what, what the heck, we're going to do 92 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: it anyway. 93 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 4: Well, yeah, Well we were a bit naive because at 94 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 4: the time we maybe didn't quite understand the ramifications of 95 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 4: the tax cover over and it amounts to about four 96 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:41,159 Speaker 4: to six dollars per bottle once it goes through. Because 97 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:43,840 Speaker 4: I can't we couldn't sell our stuff direct to folks. 98 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 4: We had to put it through the three tier Nuxtual 99 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 4: kind of four tiered system America. 100 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 5: I'm very familiar I know you are with with with 101 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,720 Speaker 5: the Rednanck Country Club. Yeah, so it was one of 102 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 5: those things that we realized, wow. 103 00:05:57,200 --> 00:05:59,720 Speaker 4: We can't, we can't compete. I mean, your price point 104 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:03,920 Speaker 4: right off the bat, just because of taxes, your price 105 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 4: point is going to be four six dollars more on 106 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,640 Speaker 4: the shelf than something else. And then not to mention 107 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:11,760 Speaker 4: the fact that we're little. So when I was buying molasses, 108 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,040 Speaker 4: I wasn't buying you know, millions of gallons. And when 109 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 4: I was buying yeast or bottles for instance. I mean, 110 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 4: if if you're buying, if you have a big contract 111 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 4: and you're buying a million bottles, you get them for 112 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:24,680 Speaker 4: next to nothing. When you're forced to buy a truckload, 113 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:27,960 Speaker 4: you're paying you know, three four, five times what the 114 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:28,920 Speaker 4: big guys are planned. 115 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 5: So it was just it was it was eye opening 116 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:32,239 Speaker 5: to say. 117 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: The least, from whom did you buy your sugar? 118 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 4: We bought I don't even know the name of the 119 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:42,000 Speaker 4: company anymore. I want to say we went through kind 120 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:45,719 Speaker 4: of a middleman. International Molasses, I believe, is who we used, 121 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 4: and they were initially just a food company, but we 122 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:52,839 Speaker 4: convinced them to We had we had looked at a 123 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,599 Speaker 4: distillery down in South Texas, but they were only doing 124 00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:59,159 Speaker 4: a lower grade molasses that had a lot of sulfur 125 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 4: in it. So when you make products from that without 126 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:05,279 Speaker 4: actually treating the molasses, you end up a real like 127 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:09,080 Speaker 4: skunky kind of tasting product because it's got the sulfur 128 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 4: in there. 129 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: So we were interesting books. That is true about my 130 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: best friend uncle Jerry. Jerry McGill has a company called 131 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: Liquid Assets and they are a distributor and he is 132 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: known online as doctor Drinks. He does the drinks for 133 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: some of the major restaurant companies in the country and 134 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 1: he will create a pina colada, for instance, just for them, 135 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: but he imports. He imports. What is the stuff that 136 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 1: goes into margarita wine ave? And he'll talk about you know, 137 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: he'll lay out three different things and have me taste it, 138 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 1: and you know, what do you think? And I can 139 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 1: tell that I don't like I don't like item number one, 140 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 1: but I don't know why I don't have It's like 141 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:56,320 Speaker 1: I know what music I like and what I don't, 142 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 1: but I don't have the music theory to understand why 143 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:01,200 Speaker 1: I don't like it. I can I don't like it, 144 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 1: but I know I don't like it intuitively, but I 145 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:06,120 Speaker 1: don't know why. And he'll say, well, it's skunky because 146 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: of this, or it's just that's this. What do they 147 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 1: do to the molasses that kind of finishes it, that 148 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: makes it clean and not so old? I'm sorry? Yeah, 149 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: hold tight. I could talk to you about this all day. 150 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:23,320 Speaker 1: I love these stories. It's cleans it clings key, It's 151 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:29,760 Speaker 1: Bunber Girl and the Boy. I like like a Berry's show. Ye, 152 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:35,560 Speaker 1: we'mon throwing Little Andrew's sisters in. There's some sweet little 153 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 1: old lady out there listening right now. She's a widow. 154 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: She's sitting in the she might you know what she 155 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:44,959 Speaker 1: might have taken over the lazy boy that her husband 156 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:48,840 Speaker 1: sat in for years. You walk into enough old people's 157 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:51,520 Speaker 1: homes you find that the old man has to I mean, 158 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 1: he's got the king chair and she got some little cloth, 159 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:57,600 Speaker 1: you know, kind of comfortable chair, but it ain't his. 160 00:08:58,559 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: And sometimes when he goes, she says, you know, I'm 161 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:06,079 Speaker 1: not it make sitting his share. This is comfortable. Yeah, 162 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 1: there's some sweet little old lady out there. It's a 163 00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:11,360 Speaker 1: weirdo woman listening to our show, my favorite kind of listener, 164 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 1: and she says, dog, I knew I like that, Mike. 165 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:18,920 Speaker 1: They're playing The Andrews Sisters Harold. Harold's been dead for 166 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: ten years, but she's thinking how nice it would be 167 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:23,000 Speaker 1: to tell Harold and Andrews Sisters were playing. And remember 168 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 1: that time we went to the Sock Coffin and they 169 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:27,280 Speaker 1: played that and we danced, and I swear I was 170 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:29,000 Speaker 1: afraid he was going to get me home late because 171 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:31,440 Speaker 1: it's a carburetor or something something wrong with his engine. 172 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:33,160 Speaker 1: I couldn't remember. But we broke down on the side 173 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:34,400 Speaker 1: of the road. But that guy was so nice and 174 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:36,000 Speaker 1: picked us up and brought us home. And my dad 175 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:39,960 Speaker 1: never knew and I never got in trouble. Kelly. What 176 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:41,560 Speaker 1: was the name of your room again? 177 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:44,840 Speaker 4: It was rum? 178 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:47,640 Speaker 1: Oh you didn't hire a consultant for that name. 179 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 4: No, we, shockingly we did not. We were not marketing 180 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:53,160 Speaker 4: people at the time. 181 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:55,440 Speaker 5: And I don't know, I don't know if we're a 182 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:56,160 Speaker 5: lot better. 183 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:58,480 Speaker 1: At it now. But what are you doing now. 184 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:01,520 Speaker 4: We're actually retired? 185 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:05,679 Speaker 1: And was the intention to make this rum? I mean, 186 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,360 Speaker 1: was this was a financial thing. This wasn't the hobby thing. 187 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:09,960 Speaker 1: You intended to make a go of this? 188 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:12,200 Speaker 6: Yeah, it was. 189 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 4: My husband kept his job. My husband the chemical engineers 190 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:18,560 Speaker 4: undergraduate degree. He did keep his job because the room 191 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:22,160 Speaker 4: company surely wasn't paying all the bills. But no, it 192 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 4: was it was to to grow something to sell it. 193 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:27,640 Speaker 4: And we all in the buildings, the property, everything outright. 194 00:10:27,679 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 4: And a funny thing yesterday when you were talking about 195 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:33,760 Speaker 4: the sugar and mentioned me and everything, I called a 196 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:35,559 Speaker 4: few times, but then I couldn't because we were actually 197 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:37,720 Speaker 4: in a meeting with some folks that are buying all 198 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 4: of our equipment. 199 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:41,839 Speaker 1: So and is there intention to move the equipment or 200 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:42,960 Speaker 1: to run the distillery there? 201 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 4: No, the equipment's going to be moving, so it's actually 202 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:48,319 Speaker 4: going to Central America. 203 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:51,600 Speaker 1: Oh well, is uh do you still a buccaneer bar? 204 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:56,680 Speaker 4: Well, the bar was really the tasting room portion of 205 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:59,120 Speaker 4: the distillery, so so know that that closed. In order 206 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:01,640 Speaker 4: to keep that open, I would have had to get 207 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 4: a mixed beverage license, and then I couldn't sell my 208 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:06,680 Speaker 4: own We couldn't sell our own product there. Then, because 209 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:08,680 Speaker 4: of the way the Texas liquor laws are and stuff. 210 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:11,520 Speaker 4: Without the distillery, I couldn't keep the I couldn't keep 211 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,440 Speaker 4: the buccaneerbar open without the distillery, because that's all we 212 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:17,640 Speaker 4: sold there was railing products. We made rum. You mentioned agave, 213 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:19,839 Speaker 4: and we made blue agave. That was we were the 214 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:22,720 Speaker 4: first people in Texas to make blue agave and one 215 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:24,360 Speaker 4: of the first in the country to make blue agave. 216 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:26,680 Speaker 1: And what makes blue agave blue agave? 217 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:30,480 Speaker 4: Well, you can't call it tequila if you don't make 218 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:33,520 Speaker 4: it in that particular region in Mexico. And since we 219 00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:38,559 Speaker 4: are clearly not in that region, we could. 220 00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:41,959 Speaker 1: Call why did you how do you know that? How 221 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:48,000 Speaker 1: do you know that? Huh, you're a tequila fishonado? You 222 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:51,320 Speaker 1: like the when did you become a tequila fishonado? Just 223 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 1: so I just roughly huh four to five months ago. Okay, 224 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:58,320 Speaker 1: all right, so Ramon agrees with your opinion. I'm sure 225 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,520 Speaker 1: you feel you've had a ringing indoor from Ramon on 226 00:12:01,559 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 1: the issue good of tequila. Okay. I have a buddy 227 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:09,040 Speaker 1: named Morgan Weber who's gotten real big into this mescal thing. 228 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:10,880 Speaker 1: I don't know if you follow that very much, but 229 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:13,079 Speaker 1: that's a big thing from the hoity toity Marpha folks 230 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:15,720 Speaker 1: who like to act like it's the Aspen of Texas. 231 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:17,600 Speaker 2: Yeah. 232 00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:20,280 Speaker 4: Yeah, mes Call is a different type of agave that 233 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 4: it's all in the same kind of family, but you 234 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:23,839 Speaker 4: use a different plant and then with mes Call they 235 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:26,400 Speaker 4: smoke it. So that's why it has that Real people 236 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:28,440 Speaker 4: that like Scotch tend to like mess Call for that 237 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:32,040 Speaker 4: reason because it's got that kind of smoky taste in textures. 238 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: So I want to do an anatomy of an American 239 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:39,600 Speaker 1: enterprise that government contributed to, maybe not solely, but contributed 240 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:42,319 Speaker 1: to driving out of business, because I think you could 241 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:45,840 Speaker 1: see this in almost every industry where we've watched Americans 242 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:49,079 Speaker 1: exit the industry and foreign companies take over to sell 243 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 1: US products, so that we are becoming primarily a nation 244 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:55,160 Speaker 1: of consumers, not of makers, and that bothers me on 245 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:57,760 Speaker 1: a number of different levels. Yes, but so you're working 246 00:12:57,800 --> 00:12:59,960 Speaker 1: at Republic. Well, let's go back where were you born. 247 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 4: I was actually born in Michigan, basity. 248 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:07,720 Speaker 5: Michigan, Okay. And then I got here the day after 249 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:09,559 Speaker 5: my wedding at twenty years old. The day after my 250 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:11,240 Speaker 5: wedding at twenty years old, and moved and moved to 251 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:12,319 Speaker 5: the Houston area. 252 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:15,520 Speaker 1: And that's the same fella. 253 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:16,560 Speaker 4: Yeah, the same guy, yep. 254 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:20,680 Speaker 1: And what's his name? His name is Matt and what 255 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:21,720 Speaker 1: brought you out to Houston. 256 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:26,000 Speaker 4: He's a chemical engineer, So he went to Michigan Technological 257 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:29,079 Speaker 4: University up in the up and we met when I 258 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:30,839 Speaker 4: was in high school and he was in college at work, 259 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:35,760 Speaker 4: and when he was interviewing, we kind of wanted to move. 260 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:37,959 Speaker 4: I don't like cold weather, and I lived in Michigan, 261 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:40,280 Speaker 4: so that was kind of rough, and we lived in 262 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:42,640 Speaker 4: a small town and we really just wanted, you know, 263 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:44,959 Speaker 4: see what's out there and something bigger. And so when 264 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:47,440 Speaker 4: he was interviewing, when he was in college about to graduate, 265 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:50,360 Speaker 4: he was kind of picking some areas and Houston was 266 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:53,360 Speaker 4: one of them. And given the chemical industry and oil 267 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:54,920 Speaker 4: and gas industry. He's been in the oil and gas 268 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:57,440 Speaker 4: industry for the past twenty ish years or more. But 269 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:00,400 Speaker 4: he just retired to just a couple months ago. And 270 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:03,360 Speaker 4: that's why we picked Houston because it was a it 271 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:05,120 Speaker 4: looked like a lot to do and it's I'm glad 272 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:07,040 Speaker 4: we did because we're so close to so many things 273 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:09,160 Speaker 4: and there's just a lot more opportunities. 274 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:14,600 Speaker 1: To And did it start in San Leon the business? Yeah? No, No, 275 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:17,240 Speaker 1: did you first come to Sanlyon or where did you move? 276 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:18,240 Speaker 2: No? 277 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:20,480 Speaker 4: No, we lived We used to live in like clear Lake, 278 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:24,000 Speaker 4: So we moved kind of to we first, like right 279 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 4: from the bat, we lived kind of el meat a 280 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,600 Speaker 4: mall area back in the back in you know how 281 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:31,800 Speaker 4: old I am, back in ninety one, so we lived 282 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 4: We lived on meat a mallish area in ninety one, 283 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 4: and then we moved to clear Lake a few years 284 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:37,760 Speaker 4: later and had a house there and we live in 285 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:39,760 Speaker 4: League City now. We've been in League City for twenty 286 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:40,280 Speaker 4: two years. 287 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:46,280 Speaker 1: So like it did you did you? How long? When 288 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:47,640 Speaker 1: did you go to work for Republic? 289 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:52,880 Speaker 4: Well, it was a republic It was Shapps, It was 290 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 4: a Julia SPP's was the name of the company then 291 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:58,800 Speaker 4: and it was wine and beer, and that was in 292 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 4: ninety five. I want to see ninety five. I started 293 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:04,440 Speaker 4: after I had finished putting myself through U of H 294 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:07,880 Speaker 4: and everything. I was supposed to actually go to law school. 295 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:11,800 Speaker 4: Had my major is political science, and I had done 296 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:14,440 Speaker 4: a lot of pre law, and I kind of signed 297 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:16,800 Speaker 4: up for the l set and was doing all these 298 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:18,320 Speaker 4: things and looking into it, and then I saw how 299 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 4: much it was gonna cost, and I was like ouch. 300 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:23,400 Speaker 4: And I got this job offer to sell wine. And 301 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:26,960 Speaker 4: I had just started getting into wine and beer tasting 302 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:30,040 Speaker 4: thanks to Wines of America, a little wine store that 303 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:32,600 Speaker 4: we would go to because get this, they had free 304 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:35,880 Speaker 4: free tastings and we were poor, poor married kids. 305 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:37,040 Speaker 1: Was it on Shepherd? 306 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:40,040 Speaker 4: Yes, it was, yeah, I. 307 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:42,440 Speaker 1: Used Scott Scott was the owner. Scott Scott was my 308 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:43,760 Speaker 1: next neighbor. O. 309 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:46,360 Speaker 3: The girls all get pretty at closing time when you're 310 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:48,560 Speaker 3: listening to the Michael Berry Show. 311 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:55,680 Speaker 1: Why how you doing? My libertarian friends? 312 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:55,960 Speaker 2: Now? 313 00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:58,320 Speaker 7: If you like me, the liquors store is your best friend. 314 00:15:58,760 --> 00:15:59,920 Speaker 7: That's why you buy your. 315 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:03,760 Speaker 8: Paper rolling products, your cigarettsts, your discount. 316 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 7: Beverages, your money or us is big and all kinds 317 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:07,200 Speaker 7: of things. 318 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:09,160 Speaker 8: I know, when me and wat Tussa drive down there, 319 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:11,360 Speaker 8: the man always put a dog bone through the window, 320 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:11,880 Speaker 8: foll and. 321 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:12,760 Speaker 1: She's so appreciative. 322 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:13,440 Speaker 2: You know. 323 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:15,480 Speaker 7: The other night, me and my friends were sitting out 324 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:18,480 Speaker 7: here on the porch looking at TV, sitting in the recliners, 325 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:19,360 Speaker 7: having a good time. 326 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:21,160 Speaker 1: And who come over here but the. 327 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:25,080 Speaker 7: Brazil headed lady and she had stole, shoplifted whatever you 328 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:27,560 Speaker 7: want to call it, some moonshines. 329 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:28,800 Speaker 1: Do y'all know what that is? 330 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:32,360 Speaker 7: It come in like a pickle jar something, and I 331 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:34,800 Speaker 7: didn't know what it was for, and it smells. I 332 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:39,080 Speaker 7: took me a big old gulf of that child. Next 333 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:41,640 Speaker 7: thing I know, I went ass up, face down on 334 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:44,800 Speaker 7: the concrete, throw me at the mouth, talking all out 335 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 7: my head. And she said, girl, you're not. 336 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:49,040 Speaker 8: Supposed to just guzzle it. 337 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 1: You're supposed to mix it with something. 338 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:52,520 Speaker 7: But somebody should have told me this. 339 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:56,040 Speaker 1: You made an ass clown out yourself. 340 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:59,160 Speaker 8: I like a liquid that tastes good, a liquor that's 341 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:03,120 Speaker 8: cold looking. It flow through my blood stream and goes 342 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:07,159 Speaker 8: straight to my nucleus with kumberums and just make me happen. 343 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:14,800 Speaker 1: Gonzalez, our friend, the drummer, from the Lineup Band in 344 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:17,960 Speaker 1: Galveston is our guest. Thanks for holding on man, what 345 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:18,360 Speaker 1: you got? 346 00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:21,720 Speaker 6: Hey, Michael, thank you so much. I hope you're having 347 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:22,320 Speaker 6: a good summer. 348 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: Yes, like you, I was. 349 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:27,040 Speaker 6: I was not a camp kid, but had lots of 350 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:28,960 Speaker 6: friends that did go and was able to study and 351 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:31,119 Speaker 6: see what you liked about it. But they didn't like 352 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:33,639 Speaker 6: about it, but all in all great experiences for him. 353 00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:37,120 Speaker 6: So this a few weeks back, I was asked to 354 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:39,399 Speaker 6: be a part of a golf tournament. And this is 355 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:43,040 Speaker 6: a it's called Camp Corral and it's Marvin Cercy who 356 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:46,120 Speaker 6: owns Golden Corral here in Dalason. It has been supporting 357 00:17:46,119 --> 00:17:48,440 Speaker 6: this for many, many years, but this year he said, 358 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:50,959 Speaker 6: really I want to do something different and instead of 359 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,800 Speaker 6: giving money to the national circuit, just have you parleyed 360 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:56,760 Speaker 6: into something bigger than Jalveson can do. And what this 361 00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:59,280 Speaker 6: does it sends kids to camp that have lost their 362 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:02,800 Speaker 6: mom or dad service or have been injured and cannot 363 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:04,600 Speaker 6: don't have the means to send their kids to camp. 364 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:07,240 Speaker 6: So Camp Carroll picks up that ticket. It's about twelve 365 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:08,920 Speaker 6: hundred dollars or so to send a kid to camp. 366 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:12,000 Speaker 6: And I had a very good experience. They build lifelong friends, 367 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:14,480 Speaker 6: like you mentioned before, and so it was an honor 368 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:17,560 Speaker 6: to help them with this golf tournament here at the 369 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 6: oldest country club in Texas and Galveston. We are a 370 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:23,800 Speaker 6: little bit behind the eight well because it's coming up 371 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:27,000 Speaker 6: so quick, but we're going to do okay with teams, 372 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:28,840 Speaker 6: but we could probably use a few more. And I 373 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 6: don't know if any listeners are willing to and we 374 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:34,400 Speaker 6: even do like three hundred hunt dollars whole sponsorships, but 375 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:37,399 Speaker 6: you know, if they want to participate, we'd love to 376 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:39,520 Speaker 6: have it. We're looking to build this until yearly saying, 377 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:43,800 Speaker 6: but it's going to be August fourth, Monday morning at 378 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:44,960 Speaker 6: the Galveston Country Club. 379 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:50,160 Speaker 1: Duly noted my friend, I hope you are doing well. 380 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:54,240 Speaker 1: We'll see you down there soon. Let's go to Albert, 381 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:57,959 Speaker 1: Albert eure up, sir, Hello, Michael. 382 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:01,240 Speaker 2: You know we talked out all this flood going over 383 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:05,800 Speaker 2: in the Hill Country. I think Harris County is setting 384 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:09,159 Speaker 2: us up for a similar situation with all the development 385 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:12,919 Speaker 2: and concrete being poured over on the west side of 386 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:16,400 Speaker 2: Harris County where the rice fields used to be. There's 387 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:19,560 Speaker 2: no rice fields anymore. Basically to say all it is 388 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:21,440 Speaker 2: is concrete, and all that's going to be is runoff, 389 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:24,879 Speaker 2: which is basically what caused all the flooding in the 390 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:30,840 Speaker 2: Hill country is runoff. There's no ground absorption, and seems 391 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:35,240 Speaker 2: like our county officials don't care. I once had a 392 00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:39,119 Speaker 2: ken Fokemone went to one of the flood meetings. He 393 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:41,879 Speaker 2: directly asked him whether they knew how much water is 394 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:46,560 Speaker 2: going to be added to the bayou system, you know, 395 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:48,439 Speaker 2: with all the concrete, and they just looked at him 396 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:50,359 Speaker 2: like deer in the headlights. 397 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:54,840 Speaker 1: I don't know if you saw recently the Harris County 398 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:58,400 Speaker 1: Flood Control District, I can't remember if it was, Oh 399 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:01,680 Speaker 1: it was, I think as the names Bob Rehack, he's 400 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:05,080 Speaker 1: one of those guys Bob showed, Bob Rehacked Marissa Hanson, 401 00:20:05,119 --> 00:20:08,000 Speaker 1: one of these assists journalists that's out there just doing 402 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:11,280 Speaker 1: all the digging that none of the professional journalists will do. 403 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 1: And he learned that the head of the flood control 404 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:21,479 Speaker 1: District had sought over eight thousand dollars to go to 405 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:26,680 Speaker 1: a conference at the Urban Land Institute. Well, they broke 406 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:31,440 Speaker 1: down what the expense request was for it was over 407 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:34,880 Speaker 1: two thousand dollars for a flight, Well, they found out 408 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:38,119 Speaker 1: you could the flight on Southwest was one hundred and 409 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 1: seventy bucks. It was over two thousand dollars for rooms. 410 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:46,240 Speaker 1: They found out the room was two ninety nine a 411 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:48,800 Speaker 1: night because Urban Land Institute had a block, which is 412 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,400 Speaker 1: what you do when you have a conference like that there. 413 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:54,239 Speaker 1: It was all you could have gone for probably one 414 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:58,000 Speaker 1: thousand to fifteen hundred dollars, and she asked for eight thousand. Now, 415 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:02,840 Speaker 1: is that the reason we have no, not that specifically, 416 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:07,280 Speaker 1: but it's representative of a pattern and a mindset, and 417 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 1: the mindset is to be wasteful with your dollars. You know, 418 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,320 Speaker 1: if you ever read The Millionaire next Door, you see 419 00:21:16,359 --> 00:21:21,800 Speaker 1: the stories about people that are a millionaire and you 420 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:24,800 Speaker 1: wouldn't know it because they weren't the CEO of a 421 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:27,960 Speaker 1: major company or an inventor or a tech millionaire. They're 422 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:29,879 Speaker 1: people who work for a living and save their money. 423 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 1: They do not engage in ostentatious displays of expenditure. They 424 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:42,400 Speaker 1: don't spend money on things that they don't need. They 425 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:45,000 Speaker 1: don't buy more than they need. They don't buy a hire. 426 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:51,720 Speaker 1: They drive reasonable cars, not fancy, showy cars, and they 427 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:55,680 Speaker 1: just don't waste money. When you waste the taxpayer's dollars, 428 00:21:56,400 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 1: as we're seeing in that case, then it means you're 429 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:02,760 Speaker 1: wasting the taxpayers dollars. 430 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:10,440 Speaker 9: If you've ever done a bonehead thing at work, Eddie 431 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,639 Speaker 9: Martini at our quarterly meetings gives out the Egghead Award 432 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:17,080 Speaker 9: for the dumbest thing done. No matter how dumbest thing 433 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:21,760 Speaker 9: you do, I have just outdone your dumb thing. I 434 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:27,440 Speaker 9: turned down the audio in my ear and the vocal 435 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:32,320 Speaker 9: on my mic because I wanted to call the Naedville 436 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 9: Little League baseball coach during the break. I got so 437 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:40,119 Speaker 9: enthralled in that phone call and had all my levels 438 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:41,520 Speaker 9: down that I didn't. 439 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:47,159 Speaker 1: Even notice that we were back from break. Whereupon I 440 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,640 Speaker 1: hung up the call, quite fascinated in the journey that 441 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: the Nadville Little League kids have taken, having had no 442 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:59,120 Speaker 1: queue in my ear, because did I mention I turned 443 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:03,240 Speaker 1: all my level down. And I pick up my phone 444 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:07,280 Speaker 1: and I see a message from Hermone and I see 445 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:11,640 Speaker 1: an email that says, are you coming back from. 446 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 3: Oh, Micky, go listen to this season Radio? Michael Berry. 447 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:23,520 Speaker 1: Kelly Raylene is our guest. She founded along with her husband, 448 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:28,280 Speaker 1: Raylene Rum, and I think it's fascinating to drill down 449 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:32,480 Speaker 1: and get granular into the details of the rise and 450 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:39,359 Speaker 1: fall or the organic ending of a dream, an American dream. 451 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,840 Speaker 1: This is exactly how other American dreams are launched that 452 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:50,399 Speaker 1: go international, whether it be Apple or McDonald's or Microsoft 453 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:54,199 Speaker 1: or you name it. We shouldn't be putting impediments in 454 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:58,159 Speaker 1: the way to our success while doing things that encourage 455 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:02,399 Speaker 1: businesses born here to move abroad or that kill business 456 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:05,080 Speaker 1: this born here, all right, Kelly. So you're working at 457 00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:09,480 Speaker 1: Republic Distributors and you get the bug. You you want 458 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:13,560 Speaker 1: to have your own brand of your your own product. 459 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:16,560 Speaker 1: Let's talk about the nuts and bolts and dollars and 460 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:21,520 Speaker 1: cents of how that worked. Oh man, it was. 461 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 6: It was hard. 462 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:25,560 Speaker 4: We were only in our gosh what we were in 463 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:28,560 Speaker 4: our early to mid thirties, and we don't have kids, 464 00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:32,360 Speaker 4: and my husband's really good with finances, and myself too. 465 00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 4: We live within our means, like really live within our 466 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:36,879 Speaker 4: means and drive these cars and all that stuff. So 467 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:39,679 Speaker 4: we had a decent amount of cash sitting around and 468 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:41,560 Speaker 4: we thought, you know what, let's uh, let's make this 469 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:44,679 Speaker 4: work for us. And so we bought some property and 470 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:48,240 Speaker 4: we started a business plan and then started just working 471 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:50,480 Speaker 4: on getting the permit state, federal. 472 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:52,919 Speaker 1: You bought the property in San Leon. 473 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:59,280 Speaker 4: Uh huh, yep, do you? Oh, it's not Acres Stanleyon 474 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:02,480 Speaker 4: he Sanley On Baycliff. Everything's done by kind of like lots, 475 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:05,040 Speaker 4: like trailer lots. So we've got I think we have 476 00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:11,480 Speaker 4: nineteen lots or something like that. Okay, they're decent size 477 00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:12,120 Speaker 4: there twenty. 478 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:14,920 Speaker 1: I want to say, how did you choose that? 479 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:21,760 Speaker 4: Well, we needed somewhere that was unincorporated because what we 480 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:24,960 Speaker 4: found we were looking in Keema League city places like that, 481 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:28,040 Speaker 4: and the issue there is going to be that you know, 482 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:30,840 Speaker 4: have state, not a state in county, but then you 483 00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:34,080 Speaker 4: also have city taxes and then the regulations there were 484 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:36,280 Speaker 4: boodles more of them when you're looking at doing something 485 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:38,639 Speaker 4: within the city limits. And that's why we discovered that 486 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:41,439 Speaker 4: a lot of businesses put their business right outside of 487 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:41,880 Speaker 4: a of. 488 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:42,520 Speaker 5: A city limit. 489 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:46,400 Speaker 4: And an unincorporated area, which is Sanley On Baycliff is unincorporated, 490 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:49,040 Speaker 4: it's just it's county. And we wanted to be near 491 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:52,440 Speaker 4: the water because we're pirates, we're into rum, we're sailors 492 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:54,520 Speaker 4: all that kind of fun stuff, and so we wanted 493 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:56,640 Speaker 4: to be close to the water. And then just two 494 00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:59,640 Speaker 4: blocks from the property we bought was our favorite place 495 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:01,680 Speaker 4: in the world, which was destroyed and Hurricane Nike, which 496 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:04,560 Speaker 4: was the family on Marina, which they affectionately referred to 497 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:06,760 Speaker 4: as the Buccaneer Bar, and that was our hangout. So 498 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:08,800 Speaker 4: we bought lamb two blocks in there. It's now the 499 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:10,280 Speaker 4: site of a Peer six restaurant. 500 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:15,800 Speaker 1: So, oh, my friend Ray Briers the Pipe Yard, Inc. 501 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:18,199 Speaker 1: He's a he buys themselves pipe all day long. I mean, 502 00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:20,960 Speaker 1: entire pipelines across multiple states. A fascinating business. I'll call 503 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:22,960 Speaker 1: him and just ask me, tell me about his latest deal. 504 00:26:23,359 --> 00:26:25,040 Speaker 1: But he is a he gets all the deals done 505 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:27,800 Speaker 1: at Pier six. He loves Pier six. Yeah, all right, 506 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:28,720 Speaker 1: so's a great place. 507 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:29,040 Speaker 4: Yeah. 508 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:30,480 Speaker 5: And that used to be the Buck that used to 509 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:31,399 Speaker 5: be the Samley a Marina. 510 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,280 Speaker 1: Oh okay. And then but you did never move there, 511 00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:38,400 Speaker 1: you just hold on to the property. Yeah. 512 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:38,720 Speaker 2: Yeah. 513 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:40,840 Speaker 4: We bought the property back in I want to see 514 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:42,639 Speaker 4: two thousand and five, two thousand and six and started 515 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:44,800 Speaker 4: building everything out and then got the rest of our permits. 516 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:46,680 Speaker 4: We've got our fed permitt in six and I want 517 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:48,640 Speaker 4: to say we've got our date permit and the lad 518 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:51,320 Speaker 4: O six are the first of seven. And that's when we. 519 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:52,280 Speaker 5: Started going ahead and. 520 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:56,320 Speaker 4: Distilling rum and then eventually we made the Blue Agave spirits. 521 00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:58,560 Speaker 1: And vodka and whiskey to put this in and all 522 00:26:58,600 --> 00:26:59,159 Speaker 1: the while we just. 523 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:00,240 Speaker 4: Saved up along the way. 524 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:10,399 Speaker 1: Yeah, when you say saved up along the way. 525 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:09,120 Speaker 4: We would buy equipment as we as we could afford it. 526 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:11,199 Speaker 4: And you know, the first thing was the still, and 527 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:13,639 Speaker 4: we did take out a loan. We took up a 528 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:16,600 Speaker 4: loan for equipment. And then when we finally were able 529 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:19,080 Speaker 4: to get the laws changed to allow us to drink 530 00:27:19,119 --> 00:27:22,040 Speaker 4: our own product on site, sample and serve cocktails and 531 00:27:22,119 --> 00:27:24,440 Speaker 4: sell bottles there, we went ahead and really hit the 532 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:26,919 Speaker 4: bullet and we built the building next door to the factory, 533 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:29,320 Speaker 4: which was the Buccaneer Bar, and for that we had 534 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:31,520 Speaker 4: some many of our own to finance that, but we 535 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:33,680 Speaker 4: needed a loan for that, so we did take out 536 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:35,760 Speaker 4: a loan for that, and then over the course of 537 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:38,040 Speaker 4: the next few years we just buckled down and I 538 00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:40,560 Speaker 4: did never pay myself and we paid off the loans 539 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:42,760 Speaker 4: pretty quick within a few years. 540 00:27:43,359 --> 00:27:47,080 Speaker 1: Well that's usually the case, isn't it the entrepreneurial that's 541 00:27:47,119 --> 00:27:49,600 Speaker 1: what my husband had, have a job. It's exactly that 542 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:52,760 Speaker 1: is exactly right. People, don't people have this idea when 543 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:54,720 Speaker 1: you show up and you look around and you multiply 544 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:57,080 Speaker 1: how many people about what you're spending. Oh, they're getting rich. 545 00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:03,000 Speaker 1: Most businesses are if at best, they are staying afloat. 546 00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:05,760 Speaker 1: And you find out that it took twenty years to 547 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,000 Speaker 1: save up the amount of money to open the door. 548 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:11,399 Speaker 1: There is a spouse that is still working, they've cashed 549 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:14,240 Speaker 1: in their retirement. It's all on the table. So when 550 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:17,639 Speaker 1: you write that whimsical review because somebody was having a 551 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:19,320 Speaker 1: bad day or you were having a bad day and 552 00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:22,600 Speaker 1: want to be a critic, what that's doing to somebody. 553 00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:25,920 Speaker 1: It's for somebody that's never everybody should own a small 554 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:28,960 Speaker 1: business because it really gives you a whole new perspective 555 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:32,680 Speaker 1: on life and what it's like as an experience there. 556 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:34,560 Speaker 1: So then when did you close shop? 557 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:40,600 Speaker 4: We closed in February of this year, so just recently, 558 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 4: I mean I've still had some operations going on, possibly 559 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:46,240 Speaker 4: in the late February early March, as far as just 560 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:48,600 Speaker 4: kind of closing out some more inventory, and then we 561 00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:50,040 Speaker 4: just kind of had a free for all. It was 562 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:52,680 Speaker 4: a lot of locals and stuff and a regular customers, 563 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:55,920 Speaker 4: everything off the walls and furnish, you know, all that 564 00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:58,280 Speaker 4: kind of fun stuff. A lot of people wanted specific things. 565 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:00,760 Speaker 4: So that went on probably through through March. 566 00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:02,520 Speaker 1: And what is the next phase for you? 567 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 4: You know, we're just kind of we have a lot 568 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:10,240 Speaker 4: of ideas and my husband is a master of spreadsheets. 569 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:13,040 Speaker 4: He's got spreadsheets and all sorts of crazy stuff that 570 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:14,440 Speaker 4: he's going to do and this, that and the other. 571 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:17,200 Speaker 4: But we're really just kind of taking a little moment too, 572 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:20,920 Speaker 4: because I was usually working sometimes you know, seventy hours 573 00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:24,360 Speaker 4: a week, usually fifty sixty easily, and he had his 574 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:26,960 Speaker 4: real job, you know, in the in the oil and 575 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:29,160 Speaker 4: gas world, and then he did a lot of work 576 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:31,600 Speaker 4: for our business too, come down on Saturdays and helped 577 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:35,000 Speaker 4: bartend and he did all the heated the crazy stuff, 578 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:39,880 Speaker 4: the taxes and tabc ttv irs. So it was it 579 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:40,800 Speaker 4: was a lot of work. 580 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:45,320 Speaker 1: Just the compliance portion. I used a lawyer named al 581 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,200 Speaker 1: Van Huff and he does he represents specs, so he's 582 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:51,160 Speaker 1: forgotten more about the liquor industry than I'll ever know 583 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:56,680 Speaker 1: it's It was amazing to me when we started michael 584 00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:00,920 Speaker 1: Berry moonshine, and our idea was, moon shine is five 585 00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:03,200 Speaker 1: percent what vodka is I don't know. The number was 586 00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:05,880 Speaker 1: very but if we could find the power of our brand, 587 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:09,600 Speaker 1: So if we could, if we could develop a following 588 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:14,040 Speaker 1: of moonshine, we could pivot to vodka, which is just 589 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:18,400 Speaker 1: multiple washes of moonshine, which is a much more popular category. 590 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:20,480 Speaker 1: So if we could make it in moonshine, we could 591 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:23,280 Speaker 1: kill it in vodka. And so that was the plan. 592 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:29,560 Speaker 1: But we outsourced our production to a facility that didn't 593 00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:32,200 Speaker 1: mind the shop and it exploded and almost killed one 594 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:33,120 Speaker 1: of my best friends. 595 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:33,520 Speaker 6: In the world. 596 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:36,240 Speaker 1: I lost the stomach for it, and he didn't want 597 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:38,360 Speaker 1: me to this day, he wishes we'd get back into it. 598 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:41,080 Speaker 1: And it burned ninety five percent of his body. But 599 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:44,200 Speaker 1: he loved it. He lived it. He was the face 600 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:47,040 Speaker 1: of our brand. And I said, Darren Whitakerser's saying, and 601 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:50,280 Speaker 1: I said, no, Darren, I talk on the radios what 602 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:52,200 Speaker 1: I do. I want no part of that ever again. 603 00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:56,000 Speaker 1: And he was there sampling some new flavors. But it's 604 00:30:56,040 --> 00:30:57,960 Speaker 1: just one of those things to get that call and 605 00:30:58,040 --> 00:31:01,360 Speaker 1: rush to the hospital and meet my buddy, and he 606 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:02,840 Speaker 1: you can't go in and see him, and he's all 607 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:07,440 Speaker 1: burned up. And all the regulatory all the restrictions, the 608 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:11,000 Speaker 1: comptroll or the all of the nonsense that you have, 609 00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:14,600 Speaker 1: it's a wonder anybody stays in business. Kelly ray Leane, 610 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:17,720 Speaker 1: You're wonderful. Thanks for being with us and sharing your story. 611 00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:19,200 Speaker 1: Thank you.