WEBVTT - GREG PLUMMER - Creamy Cajun Pasta 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:03.519 Welcome to another episode of Eating Wall Broke. I'm your host, 0:00:03.560 --> 0:00:07.200 Colleen Wit and today we have special guests Greg Plumber 0:00:07.240 --> 0:00:11.360 in the building, CEO and managing partner of Concord Collective, 0:00:11.560 --> 0:00:14.720 and enjoy repeat. I'm really excited about having him here 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:17.240 today because he has to be one of the most 0:00:17.320 --> 0:00:21.480 impressive entrepreneurs of the season that survived the pandemic and 0:00:21.560 --> 0:00:25.680 did it on a Kobe Bryant, uh, Steph Curry, Clay 0:00:25.720 --> 0:00:30.000 Thompson level. Yeah, I'll take it. Thank you so much. 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:33.240 Thanks for having me. And we're talking hospitality industry today, 0:00:33.280 --> 0:00:36.120 so we're gonna be eating real good this This this 0:00:36.479 --> 0:00:39.320 has a lot of moving parts. I would like you 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:43.559 to tell me what are the ingredients? Sure, well, Colleen, 0:00:43.600 --> 0:00:46.760 thanks for having me. I really appreciate you for bringing 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:50.199 me in today. So today we're making a creamy Cajun pasta. 0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:53.280 Creamy Cajun pasta. I would say creole, but I'm not 0:00:53.360 --> 0:00:59.000 creole and I'm not Cajun, but just creamy pasta, very 0:00:59.040 --> 0:01:04.040 comfort food. Feeling good when you were broke, Yeah, well, yeah, absolutely. 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:05.960 I always wanted to eat good, no matter if I 0:01:06.000 --> 0:01:07.560 was broke or if I had any money, So I 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:09.440 still like to eat the same type of things. I 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:10.800 get to eat out and get to try a lot 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:13.120 of different food down, but I like to eat the 0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:15.440 same thing that brings me comfort and it reminds me 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:17.720 of something that takes me back to like a nostalgic place. 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:20.000 So yeah, I mean when I was growing up, I 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:21.679 did a lot of cooking. But when I when I 0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:25.480 think of broke in the real true sense of it, uh, 0:01:25.560 --> 0:01:29.040 it's college, and it's right after college when you needed 0:01:29.040 --> 0:01:31.120 to be able to stretch, to stick to your ribs, 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:33.280 whether he was drinking or whatever. If you had a 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:35.480 couple of people over the house, you wanted something that 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:37.600 you can go a long way and then everybody just 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:39.520 be like, oh yeah that was cool, whether it be 0:01:39.680 --> 0:01:41.800 you know ladies or you know, your buddies or whoever 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:44.480 you wanted to impress them. So and I've always been 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:46.840 one that I really liked to, you know, kind of 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:49.840 treat my friends well. So you know, yeah, even if 0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:51.680 I'm broke, you know, back in the day, I would 0:01:51.680 --> 0:01:53.560 spend my last just trying to make sure everybody else say, 0:01:53.920 --> 0:01:58.160 I mean that's that's the truth. Though. Yeah, Well, well 0:01:58.320 --> 0:02:01.800 we'll see you gotta you gotta tell today ingredients. We 0:02:01.920 --> 0:02:06.680 have a chicken. We have some bell peppers, yellow peppers, 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:11.200 red peppers, green onions, white onions, and Dowe sausage. We 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:15.160 have some heavy cream. I want to see. I hate 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:20.560 heavy cream. We have some crisscoat garlic, and then you 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:24.119 know any kind of creole ss with tony statuaries today 0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:27.160 chicken stock just for a little, you know, to cut 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:29.480 the heavy cream. It's crazy. I kind of have the foresight. 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:33.120 You didn't like it. And then and then there's nodles. 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:42.480 Have some noodles here as well, this sausage and had sausage. Yeah, 0:02:42.880 --> 0:02:45.360 and I'm not you know, so so this is the 0:02:45.400 --> 0:02:50.160 meal is super confident, filling. And then you know, let's 0:02:50.200 --> 0:03:14.440 get to it. Let's get to it. My problems, my problem. 0:03:14.480 --> 0:03:16.600 So I'm really excited to try this dish. Go ahead, 0:03:16.840 --> 0:03:21.080 let's start awesome. Well, let's let's heat our paying first. 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:25.360 Are you used to working with electric? Not really, but 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:28.560 I'll make it work. I like my paying hot, so 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:30.440 I'm gonna turn it up hot. Put oil in it, 0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:33.880 not too much oil, because we're gonna brown the meat first. 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:40.400 Now you're you're from the hospitality industry, absolutely so, did 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:43.080 you spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Yes, 0:03:43.240 --> 0:03:45.400 I mean, I'm spend time in the kitchen. When I 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:49.080 was a kid, I was really fascinated by cooking and 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:52.760 watching cooking stuff and uh and then you know, working 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:56.440 in restaurants. My first jobs in restaurants, well, one of 0:03:56.440 --> 0:03:58.760 my first job was at a golf course concession stand 0:03:58.760 --> 0:04:02.920 in Detroit, and uh, after that, I went to work 0:04:02.960 --> 0:04:05.560 in restaurants downtown. I worked in one of the busiest 0:04:05.600 --> 0:04:09.840 restaurants in Detrode from fifteen as a bus boy hostess. 0:04:09.880 --> 0:04:12.320 And it was amazing to see how like how much 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:14.760 energy came to a restaurant and whether people were celebrating 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:17.160 the birthday or you know, just getting the lunch or 0:04:17.200 --> 0:04:19.279 having a meeting. You know, it was all around food. 0:04:19.440 --> 0:04:21.920 So it kind of clicked to me. And you know, 0:04:21.960 --> 0:04:24.559 ever since then, I just really kind of been really 0:04:24.560 --> 0:04:28.120 into it. And I went to college and when I 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:30.479 was in college and morehouse you know, would try to 0:04:30.480 --> 0:04:34.480 work different jobs, whether it be entertainment, internships, or you know, 0:04:35.080 --> 0:04:37.440 working for a family longer had a uncle down there. 0:04:37.440 --> 0:04:40.240 It was doing well at the time, and he let me, 0:04:40.560 --> 0:04:43.240 you know, kind of work for him, and you know, 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:47.480 always would end up going back to restaurants. So so 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:51.119 for our listeners, because I don't think I was able 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:54.520 to share with you guys what Concorde Collective is, what 0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:58.480 enjoying repeat is. Can you break it down for everybody 0:04:58.640 --> 0:05:01.719 so that they can kind of I have an idea 0:05:01.920 --> 0:05:10.160 of yeah, yeah. So Cancre Collective is a restaurant hospitality 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:13.120 company based in Los Angeles, and we operate bars and 0:05:13.160 --> 0:05:17.320 restaurants and airports, and we have over thirteen locations today 0:05:17.360 --> 0:05:19.600 at l a X. So if you travel to l 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:23.640 a X, hit us up um and you know from there, 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:27.000 you know, uh, we also have restaurants outside of airports 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:28.720 that we're working on and soon the launch in the 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:35.279 very near future restaurants. That's correct, That's crazy. It is good. 0:05:35.320 --> 0:05:37.160 I mean I worked at l A X. I started 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:39.640 my career in two thousand five and I came in 0:05:39.680 --> 0:05:42.839 as an assistant manager after leaving MORGANE. Stanley. I was 0:05:43.240 --> 0:05:46.599 unhappy as in finance, and I thought that you don't 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:48.799 want to do something. I really got it got me going. 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:51.520 I got a chance to meet a friend of mine's 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:54.839 father who was in the business. He interviewed me, said 0:05:55.040 --> 0:05:57.520 you can have a job, but you know, just be careful. 0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:00.719 This is not glamorous, is not what you probably expected 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:03.080 to be, but you definitely have a job. We definitely 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:05.719 did to help. And I was like, and you were 0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:09.120 a manager at a concession standard. I was the lowest 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:12.880 of the lowest manager and I was the assistant manager, 0:06:13.000 --> 0:06:17.120 closing manager who you know basically you know, worked on holidays, 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:21.120 airports between seven So I worked on holidays. You know, 0:06:21.240 --> 0:06:24.599 there was no there was no like regular days off. 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:27.000 My days off for Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the middle 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:29.600 of the week. So as a young guy trying to 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:32.640 figure out l A and then try to also navigate 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:38.000 uh a career, I just kind of buried my head 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:40.160 and worked and we had a lot of fun. And 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:42.360 you know, I still have my fair share of fund 0:06:42.360 --> 0:06:45.120 but I did a lot of work. Yeah, and how 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:51.120 do you go from that to phoning all these concession stands? Like, well, 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:54.440 what happened in between? So in between U and you 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:56.839 got I got a chance to continue working for the gentleman, 0:06:56.960 --> 0:07:00.000 my mentor, and through CMS, the company I used to 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:01.960 work for, we were able to go from being a 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:05.400 small you know operator at l A X with you know, 0:07:05.440 --> 0:07:09.880 four or five locations to ultimately growing the company from 0:07:10.560 --> 0:07:14.560 two thousand uh eleven to two thousand and sixteen to 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:17.360 nineteen locations. And I was a big part of that 0:07:17.400 --> 0:07:21.840 growth with my dear friend and his son or and 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:24.640 you know, really we had to prove ourselves and we 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:27.920 were competing against much larger companies. So and then also 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:29.880 as a small business, you get to you know, touch 0:07:30.040 --> 0:07:31.760 a lot of parts of the business. You don't just 0:07:31.840 --> 0:07:33.880 work in one focus that's my job. I go home. 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:36.480 We were thinking big, big time, and like how do 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:38.600 we get to the next level. It required us to 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:40.320 do a little bit everything, even if we don't want 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:42.480 to do it. I hate to bring up the racing, 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:44.640 but where are you guys all black? Or yeah? I 0:07:44.640 --> 0:07:48.760 mean so your boss at the time was black. Most 0:07:48.760 --> 0:07:50.920 of the employees of minority. So the airport, they have 0:07:50.960 --> 0:07:55.360 a program called the a c dB Airport Certified Disadvantaged 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:59.320 Business Enterprise. So that is a program that really promotes 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:03.840 women and minority own businesses being included in contracting opportunities 0:08:03.840 --> 0:08:09.480 and airports. So for the a c d D program, uh, 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:11.480 you know, you have to be a minority and a woman, 0:08:11.520 --> 0:08:14.680 and you have to obviously go through certain certifications to 0:08:14.760 --> 0:08:18.720 get to make sure you meet the requirements. And um, 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:21.400 he was a c d V company and he eventually 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:26.440 sold his business. No, I like it hot as long 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:29.120 as everyone can still hear you. It isn't too hot, 0:08:29.280 --> 0:08:35.720 it's too high bloody, be louder. Uh I like it hot, 0:08:36.400 --> 0:08:38.959 And uh probably people like what are you doing that? 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:41.959 So yeah, a c d VS for people that don't know. 0:08:42.080 --> 0:08:45.439 There are opportunities for women's minority own businesses to get 0:08:45.480 --> 0:08:48.960 into the airports. Yeah, but do you have to have 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:52.640 a lot of money to get in there? Like shooting people? See, 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:55.120 that's a that's a tricky thing. And you know there 0:08:55.120 --> 0:08:56.839 are a couple of ways to get into it. But 0:08:57.160 --> 0:09:00.760 you know, access the capital is really challenging for minorities 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:03.920 in general, and then a lot of predatory lenders out there. 0:09:04.000 --> 0:09:07.720 But if there's a will, there's a way. And you know, 0:09:07.760 --> 0:09:10.319 I think there's a bunch of access to capital now 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:12.120 and a lot of resources out there for you to 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:15.040 learn where to go get those things. And I want 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:17.240 someone that I always love to talk to people and 0:09:17.320 --> 0:09:19.199 kind of like give my story because I didn't come 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:22.360 from money. I didn't have money, I didn't have someone 0:09:22.360 --> 0:09:23.800 to say here's a bunch of money for you to 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:26.960 go start a business, and you shouldn't wait for that. Um. 0:09:27.080 --> 0:09:29.520 But I fast forward, you know, really working for that 0:09:29.600 --> 0:09:32.560 company taught me everything I did. I learned on someone 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:35.120 else's tign And that's what they tell you, like, don't 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:36.280 go out there and say I want to start my 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:38.559 own business, but you really haven't worked in that and 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:41.440 you gotta learn what's going on. You gotta learn what 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:45.520 the opportunity is and then how you can provide about 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:48.360 I just had to be a sausage. My hands a 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:51.600 clean on. So we're mixing a sausage of the chicken 0:09:51.600 --> 0:09:55.480 out any season that with the creole season, season with that, 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:57.160 and I had a little more at the end. Just 0:09:57.200 --> 0:09:59.000 brought it off the chicken and we're gonna put it 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:02.160 to the side to find the vessel to put into 0:10:02.200 --> 0:10:07.280 the side. You can use uh, you can use my 0:10:07.320 --> 0:10:12.840 plate for now because I want to get so Yeah, 0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:16.720 so you know, fast forward that company. He ultimately had 0:10:16.720 --> 0:10:19.360 a chance to sell his business, which is great because 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:21.080 a lot of people don't get a chance to realize that. 0:10:21.520 --> 0:10:24.599 He sold his business in two thousand sixteen. That was 0:10:24.640 --> 0:10:26.360 the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, trying 0:10:26.400 --> 0:10:28.920 to get everything ready to package up for him to 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:33.920 realize his goal. His goal was to realize success. I mean, 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:36.079 he's been operating for a long time. He had really 0:10:36.160 --> 0:10:38.120 took a lot of risk and it was time for 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:41.520 him to kind of focus on retirement. And you were 0:10:41.559 --> 0:10:44.440 the guy that had to package it. Me and the team. 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:46.040 It was a team of us, but I was a 0:10:46.040 --> 0:10:48.280 big part of the team. And we were obviously cleaning 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:50.960 cleaning up a lot of things, things that really need 0:10:50.960 --> 0:10:53.240 to be fixed that weren't you know, getting his real 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:56.360 value to go in and tweet those things, change brands. 0:10:56.679 --> 0:10:59.080 If we had a location that wasn't doing well, we 0:10:59.120 --> 0:11:00.640 had to change in something than that was so you 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:02.800 get the real value for it. Because it's the real 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:06.120 estate is really real estate in the airport, so it's 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:08.200 a different type of sense of real estate. But the 0:11:08.240 --> 0:11:10.800 better the real estate, the more valuable it is from 0:11:11.000 --> 0:11:16.200 operating standpoint, when you're talking like I don't know if 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:19.320 the correct terms are like retail on hospitality, but don't 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:21.120 you guys look at it by like the square foot 0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:23.480 is like how much money you produce per square foot? 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:26.160 Is that how it works that retail typically does that, 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:30.320 but for restaurants is a little different because yes, you 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:32.880 want to maximize the revenue and square footage, but you 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:35.559 also have a lot more components, Like there's a lot 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:38.880 more labor intensive to to to execute a restaurant. It's 0:11:38.920 --> 0:11:42.319 a lot more equipment to execute the restaurant and the retail. 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:44.920 You get products that are finished and they come in 0:11:44.960 --> 0:11:46.840 and as much stuff you can fit in the box 0:11:47.080 --> 0:11:50.000 that someone want to buy, you do it. But for us, 0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:52.160 it's about getting the right product mixed and being able 0:11:52.200 --> 0:11:54.559 to execute in an airport in the time, we managed 0:11:54.559 --> 0:11:56.440 to be able to get people to the destination without 0:11:56.960 --> 0:11:59.640 being angrier way too. So it's kind of like a 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:04.480 a little dance that we do. But it's fine if 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:06.080 you like, if you look at it that way. I 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:09.679 worked at McDonald's once, and uh, I wasn't successful at all. 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:12.720 I wasn't even successful waitressing. I learned that food and 0:12:12.800 --> 0:12:16.080 me in that business was way too much pressure. There's 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:17.960 some things that I'm just not good at, and that 0:12:18.120 --> 0:12:21.560 is those those two jobs I would feel horrifically well. 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:24.280 So you got to we have a great personality to 0:12:24.360 --> 0:12:27.240 be able to serve. So I think I leave you 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:29.560 to your table. You know, if you're not into and 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:31.840 you're not into it, and that's the that's the real 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:34.480 driver to it. I think anything you do got to 0:12:34.520 --> 0:12:37.360 be passionate ball yea, even even if you flip in 0:12:37.400 --> 0:12:39.200 burgers like you gotta be. I want to make this 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:41.080 burger so good, like I don't want to eat it 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:43.800 my guys. I see him with guy's a girl thinking 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:46.120 they're cooking, and it's a lot of pride that goes 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:48.640 into that. So I always love it. And I agree, 0:12:48.840 --> 0:12:52.000 something's not into I'm not into. I wasn't in the finance, 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:54.199 so it didn't work for me and I was miserable. 0:12:54.679 --> 0:12:57.440 Couldn't pay me to go there. Uh, And I was 0:12:57.600 --> 0:12:59.120 you know, late, and I wouldn't be in the best 0:12:59.200 --> 0:13:02.520 version of myself. So I think you gotta be into 0:13:02.559 --> 0:13:06.800 whatever it is you do. You went to school for business, Yeah, um, 0:13:06.960 --> 0:13:08.800 did you foresee that you were going to be an 0:13:08.880 --> 0:13:11.680 entrepreneur because he said you went straight into finance. You 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:13.400 know what the funny thing is, whether I knew it 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:16.160 or not, I was an entrepreneur before I really like 0:13:16.520 --> 0:13:19.280 I thought about it, and I in college, I mean 0:13:19.600 --> 0:13:22.720 well before that, in high school, me and my brother 0:13:22.760 --> 0:13:25.439 and my best friend at the time. We threw um 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:27.640 one of the largest parties in the city of Detroit, 0:13:28.320 --> 0:13:31.959 and everything you could imagine went wrong. We had We 0:13:32.000 --> 0:13:35.280 had done an incredible job and promotingly hit every venue, 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:39.719 Every school from every neighborhood came. But I didn't think like, oh, well, 0:13:39.760 --> 0:13:45.680 I'm putting this from creating a really hostile situation. Yeah. 0:13:45.720 --> 0:13:48.240 So we actually had one of the few parties at 0:13:48.240 --> 0:13:51.160 this place called the Bella Casino. You been how old 0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:54.680 were you when you did it? You had at the casino? 0:13:55.040 --> 0:13:58.320 It was it was the call that casino. What so 0:13:58.360 --> 0:14:01.120 we had? You were talking about a house. We got there, 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:05.080 It's February. It was a Valentine's Day party. We handrew 0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:09.439 a flyer like hearts with a little SPECIs like come 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:12.400 to my party. I wish I could find but we 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:15.720 passed them out. We had a huge turnout, and then 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:18.520 you know, obviously people start fighting and shooting. People were 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:21.160 dancing in the trade. We danced, so I mean, you 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:23.880 guys had the hustle and all that. This guy was 0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:26.480 dancing with this girl and he punched a hole in 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:28.720 the wall. So I'll see that and like, oh, they're 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:31.400 gonna charge us for that. We got there to night 0:14:31.440 --> 0:14:34.120 of the menue. I don't want to overcook this, and 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:37.400 they say you can't take money to do it. So 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:39.480 all the things that could went wrong went wrong and 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:41.240 then we end up still walking away with a little 0:14:41.280 --> 0:14:43.000 money and we paid it out. We had to fix 0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:45.880 the grass, got beat up. It was it was kind 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:49.960 of a mess. It was kind of as they were shooting. 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:53.640 Thank you, and you guys are only six. Where were 0:14:53.640 --> 0:14:57.320 your parents? They were there? But you know, I beg 0:14:57.360 --> 0:14:59.760 my dad he was a police officer, and I beg 0:14:59.800 --> 0:15:01.920 my had to give me the money to do the 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:04.560 party because I needed like I thought I had the 0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:07.000 money and it was a shorts so I'll go to 0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:10.080 him and my uncles are like, yeah, that's the plan, 0:15:10.200 --> 0:15:12.120 and like I don't know, this sounds kind of crazy, 0:15:12.480 --> 0:15:16.000 but they took a chance and we got their money back. Okay, perfect, 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:18.160 And then we had so you are a real entrepreneur. 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:22.840 You know, it wouldn't have lc anything like that. And 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:25.960 then in college we threw parties, were parties and we 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:29.480 did promotion. We passed off flyers. We passed off flyers 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:32.080 for some big promoters that I won't name that never 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:34.240 paid us, so we got a chance to learn earlier. 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:38.200 But being an entrepreneur was you know what we should 0:15:38.240 --> 0:15:41.160 do better to to kind of better serve the guests 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:43.240 of the clients. So yeah, all right, so this is 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:51.160 about brown got the boom. Okay, we'll use this. Oh yeah, 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:53.720 you can use that one. So I only get all 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:55.480 the grease of it because I want to use some 0:15:55.520 --> 0:16:00.280 of that for these veggies. So next to was edges. 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:03.520 It's okay, we'll get that. Always make a mess. I 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:07.800 the cleanest guard, one of those people like I cook 0:16:07.840 --> 0:16:11.720 and clean at the same time. Right, I don't, but 0:16:12.200 --> 0:16:15.480 you have to. Okay, So now you got the veggies, Okay, 0:16:15.520 --> 0:16:17.480 I want to do I want to do these first. 0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:22.880 Let him sweat a little bit and man and I 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:25.160 challenged him for all you listeners. I was like, can 0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:27.560 you make this dish in under fifteen minutes? So he's 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:30.520 under a lot of pressure right now, pressure as he 0:16:30.600 --> 0:16:36.360 told his story telling telling an impressive story. So the 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:39.600 thing that caught my attention about you was I was 0:16:39.640 --> 0:16:44.280 reading that during the during the pandemic, when most people 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:49.720 were crying like myself, I was in fetal position, like, 0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:53.200 oh my gosh, my business is going under in micro Sacks. 0:16:53.200 --> 0:16:56.040 I had an events company, so needless to say, it 0:16:56.120 --> 0:17:00.480 shut down really fast. Um, you were you were out 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:04.880 there working and I guess looking for your next opportunity 0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:07.800 or was it just a natural pivot? Like what was happening? Um? 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:10.480 I remember being at the conference that the industry conference 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:15.040 we had. I'm just Sautetia Peppers. So we were at 0:17:15.080 --> 0:17:18.080 the industry conference and then everything was kind of We're 0:17:18.200 --> 0:17:21.600 riding high and then come home, people started getting sick 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:24.000 and I was working on I was doing some consulting 0:17:24.040 --> 0:17:25.440 at the time, and I was with a dear friend 0:17:25.440 --> 0:17:28.159 of mine up in San Francisco. And then we were 0:17:28.200 --> 0:17:31.240 at a restaurant which is a missing Star restaurant, the 0:17:31.280 --> 0:17:34.480 Angler and his beautiful restaurants. You're hard to get a 0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:37.440 seat in there. But we're on business in San Francisco, 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:39.320 and we look around, were only person in the restaurant. 0:17:39.359 --> 0:17:43.000 We're like, this is scary. And then later that night 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:48.320 the mirror San Francisco Learning breed shut down San Francisco, 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:50.119 so we're like, can we get home? And I was 0:17:50.119 --> 0:17:52.600 the first city to shut down, if you remember. So 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:54.719 I went home and I was still kind of like, uh, 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:58.520 what's gonna happen. And then immediately overnight, you know, air 0:17:58.560 --> 0:18:02.040 traffic really kind of shut down down across the country, 0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:04.520 which is our business. Yeah, you're in the airport and 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:07.160 our businesses struggling. Beforehand, we were having a hard time 0:18:07.240 --> 0:18:10.560 just trying to get, you know, things on the right track, 0:18:10.600 --> 0:18:12.800 because when you open a new business, they're always gonna 0:18:12.800 --> 0:18:15.040 be things you need to correct. So this kind of 0:18:15.040 --> 0:18:17.240 took the wind out of ourselves. And you guys opened 0:18:17.320 --> 0:18:19.639 right before the pandemic. Yeah, you know, we open right 0:18:19.640 --> 0:18:21.480 before the pandemic. And then you know, we opened and 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:25.800 to know, we opened two dollars eighteen, like end of 0:18:25.880 --> 0:18:29.399 two dollars eighteen, a year before the panic. So you know, 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:32.879 I was a partner and I wasn't very involved, but 0:18:32.920 --> 0:18:35.840 I was also doing consultant, trying to get new opportunities 0:18:36.359 --> 0:18:39.480 and trying to chase new deals. And then everything kind 0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:43.200 of came to a screeching home. So when I say yeah, 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:44.960 I was really affective because we had to all go 0:18:45.080 --> 0:18:48.960 home and I'm thinking on stuff, what's gonna happen. But 0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:52.440 then at the same time, we were doing, uh, myself 0:18:52.480 --> 0:18:55.920 and some other partners mine, we're working on golf course project, 0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:58.960 Ratio Park golf course, and we're supposed to take over 0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:04.719 Mark and they're like, well the golf course closed down, 0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:08.960 you can't take over, okay. So we end up taking 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:13.040 over into April when they started to reopen and quickly 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:18.440 got it going in April. The golf courses were the 0:19:18.520 --> 0:19:21.200 first thing to open the city. Well everything else, the 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:24.359 grocery stores, with everything, other venues. Because we're outdoors, I 0:19:24.400 --> 0:19:26.760 didn't know that. Yeah, it was people are allowed to 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:30.760 go play golf, and golf just skyrocket. But then I 0:19:30.840 --> 0:19:32.719 had no idea that was the place to be at 0:19:33.000 --> 0:19:38.600 this whole time. It was and golfing, and we were 0:19:38.640 --> 0:19:42.040 there and I spent time there, and then we were 0:19:42.040 --> 0:19:44.280 working on like okay, how do we take advantage of 0:19:44.280 --> 0:19:47.240 the opportunity. We can't start construction, And we found a 0:19:47.240 --> 0:19:51.439 contract with the l a Homeless Authority UM which has 0:19:51.560 --> 0:19:55.560 lost of and they had a project for people experiencing 0:19:55.600 --> 0:19:59.080 homelessness to take them off the street, and they interviewed 0:19:59.119 --> 0:20:03.200 us to do meals for these individuals that they had 0:20:03.200 --> 0:20:06.920 housing hotels doing so the government. You know, we're a 0:20:06.960 --> 0:20:11.000 government contractor. So it's like, okay, how are you government 0:20:11.000 --> 0:20:13.920 contractors because of l a X. Yeah, we're Yeah, our 0:20:13.960 --> 0:20:19.200 businesses we operated government control facilities. You know golf course 0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:20.800 is owned by the city of l A. I didn't 0:20:20.800 --> 0:20:22.800 know that. Yeah, for the most part. And then also 0:20:22.880 --> 0:20:24.960 you have the airport, which is owned by the city 0:20:24.960 --> 0:20:28.640 of la So I say government contractors, yet we work 0:20:28.680 --> 0:20:31.320 with government instince. Okay, So we got there where we 0:20:31.359 --> 0:20:32.879 want to be. We don't want to get too soft 0:20:33.720 --> 0:20:38.959 because boom, your favorite part of it? First? Wait, did 0:20:38.960 --> 0:20:43.600 you add green onions? Gotta keep it? Okay, So guys, 0:20:43.640 --> 0:20:47.959 you just sautay the garlic onions, peppers. He's adding the 0:20:48.600 --> 0:20:53.440 chicken stock just a little. You're a real chef man. No, no, 0:20:53.520 --> 0:20:56.480 not at all. I definitely do not cook like this 0:20:56.600 --> 0:20:59.440 at home. You gotta start. I'm going to I'm gonna 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:02.200 take this. Whenever there's a really good dish, I try 0:21:02.200 --> 0:21:04.440 to pretend like I created it in front of my husband. 0:21:04.800 --> 0:21:07.119 He's gonna like this because we got we have a 0:21:07.160 --> 0:21:13.160 special type of taste, but betrayed. We all know there's 0:21:13.160 --> 0:21:15.120 a lot of lorries in our house. We're like, we're 0:21:15.240 --> 0:21:18.760 very colorful taste for us better word. Really, I feel 0:21:18.800 --> 0:21:23.760 like Jamaicans have more a little heavy. There we go. Man, 0:21:24.480 --> 0:21:27.960 I hate heavy cream, frost, build the sauce left the store, 0:21:28.040 --> 0:21:32.920 barg alfredo sauce. You know that garlic onions, You got 0:21:32.960 --> 0:21:36.720 the peppers. So you're gonna like basically give all the 0:21:36.760 --> 0:21:41.720