WEBVTT - Mecha Noodle Bar’s Blueprint for Giving Back 0:00:01.200 --> 0:00:07.119 Welcome to Bloomberg Intelligence. BI provides research on industries, companies 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:10.960 and expert topics, delivering key data from BI analysts and 0:00:10.960 --> 0:00:19.680 they're given industry. Now Here is your Bloomberg Intelligence research team. 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:23.360 Welcome to Chopping It Up Episode eight. I'm your host, 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:25.960 Mike Allen. I'm the senior restaurant and food service analyst 0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:28.760 at Bloomberg Intelligence, and it's my pleasure to introduce this 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:32.479 week's guest, Rich. Yes, Rich is the co founder and 0:00:32.520 --> 0:00:38.760 CEO of Metcha. Uh hey doing today, Rich, fantastic, happy 0:00:38.800 --> 0:00:42.000 to be here, Thanks, Thanks for thanks for joining me. 0:00:42.840 --> 0:00:44.680 It's been it's been a busy week for both of 0:00:44.760 --> 0:00:48.440 us at a restaurant finance and development conference. Um so, 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:50.879 I really appreciate your time. So, so why don't we 0:00:50.920 --> 0:00:53.479 start by you just kind of letting the listeners know 0:00:54.440 --> 0:00:57.800 about Metcha, you know, talk about the cuisine, a service type, 0:00:57.840 --> 0:01:02.440 price point, anything else that that you think is important 0:01:02.480 --> 0:01:05.440 for the for the listeners to know. Yeah, I mean 0:01:05.520 --> 0:01:08.679 Metria can be summed up in three words, foam, ramen, 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:11.440 and cocktails. We focus on those three things in a 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:14.600 design forward space with a full service bar, a full 0:01:14.640 --> 0:01:17.679 service restaurant service. However, also can be quick service in 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:20.000 terms of grabbing a bowl and going at the end 0:01:20.000 --> 0:01:21.839 of the day, we always talk about about a bowl 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:24.880 and a stiff drink. That's Metria with some great hip 0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:30.080 hop vibsh That sounds like it's right up my alley, 0:01:30.160 --> 0:01:33.720 so I have to get over to Metcha. It's it's 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:36.760 it's everyone's alley, man, everyone's out. I'm telling you, I 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:38.440 don't care if it's a fifteen year old or fifty 0:01:38.440 --> 0:01:40.360 five year old. You know, heads bob, and they smile 0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:43.360 when they when they taste that braw that's awesome man. 0:01:43.480 --> 0:01:47.000 And uh and where you located throughout Connecticut and recently 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:49.200 opened up in Massachusetts. So we have five locations in 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:52.320 the Connecticut market. Recently opened up in downtown Boston and 0:01:52.400 --> 0:01:56.800 Seaport and also Brookline as well. Okay, very cool. So 0:01:56.880 --> 0:02:00.560 what what where did the name come from? So I'm 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:03.360 actually the co founder, my best friend since childhood as 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:06.600 the founder. He started Metcha in two thirteen, and you know, 0:02:06.720 --> 0:02:09.040 his goal was very simple. He wanted to create a 0:02:09.160 --> 0:02:12.280 mom and pop restaurant that had clean bathrooms. So we 0:02:12.400 --> 0:02:14.919 took that inspiration to create the name. And the name 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:18.080 Mitcha breaks down to mom and pop in Vietnamese. So 0:02:18.080 --> 0:02:23.280 we put him together and MITCHA was born. Very cool. Uh. 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:25.680 And so you grew up in the restaurant business, but 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:29.480 your career journey really wasn't a straight line. So uh 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:32.799 kind of time to talk about how you got here. Yeah, yeah, 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:34.160 not at all. I mean, at the end of the day, 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:36.040 the food service business, I always say it was my 0:02:36.080 --> 0:02:38.640 greatest teacher and the reason why it's been teaching me. 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:40.560 So as I was five years old, my dad was 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:42.520 an immigrant to this country from day a car Republic, 0:02:42.639 --> 0:02:45.520 and he opened up a Delhi. So I was five 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:47.600 and I was the kid who was going to work 0:02:47.600 --> 0:02:49.760 before going to PM kindergarten. You know, I was on 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:51.840 the milk create, I was behind the register. Um. I 0:02:51.840 --> 0:02:53.560 grew up in that Delhi, and you know, I learned 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:56.200 a lot about people. I learned a lot of hospitality. Um. 0:02:56.240 --> 0:02:57.880 And because I learned all that, I swear it off 0:02:58.080 --> 0:02:59.640 and I went to college and I said, you know what, 0:02:59.680 --> 0:03:01.680 I'm going to be an attorney. Uh. And I did 0:03:01.680 --> 0:03:04.640 an internship. I remember my first summer after a freshman 0:03:04.720 --> 0:03:06.160 year at n y U, and I said, this is 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:09.200 not for me, absolutely not. Um. So I pivoted and 0:03:09.240 --> 0:03:11.480 I went into pre business at n y U, and 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:13.640 to make you a long story short, graduated and did 0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:17.320 some investment banking, a little private equity work, and still found, like, 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:19.400 you know what, this is just not for me. Uh. 0:03:19.600 --> 0:03:21.800 Took one more pivot before getting a restaurants, which was 0:03:22.320 --> 0:03:26.640 doing some nonprofit work helping diverse communities get jobs on 0:03:26.680 --> 0:03:28.680 Wall Street, believe it or not. And it was amazing 0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:30.960 and it was fulfilling, and it was everything I wanted 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:32.480 it to be, but it just wasn't enough. I didn't 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:34.079 wake up every day if you know, like you know what, 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:36.080 I'm making the impact I want to make. So I 0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:38.040 called them my dad and said, hey, you know you've 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:39.680 been visiting me at n y U every year for 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:42.400 the last four years. We go to the best restaurants 0:03:42.440 --> 0:03:44.600 in the city. Like there's a there's a love and 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:47.200 art to this industry, and I want to apply that 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:50.040 to your Delhi, meaning I want to take that soulful 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:52.800 Latin cuisine that we eat and grew up eating in 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:54.200 our home and I want to put in a full 0:03:54.240 --> 0:03:56.280 service environment with the bar. And he said, you know 0:03:56.320 --> 0:03:58.200 you've never steered yourself wrong. Come home and give it 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:00.480 a shot and that's on his own, which was our 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:03.680 very first restaurant was born back in two thousand eleven. 0:04:06.240 --> 0:04:10.200 Very cool, And that's a good segue into my next question, right, 0:04:10.240 --> 0:04:14.200 because charitable charitable giving is key to the d n 0:04:14.280 --> 0:04:16.200 A of the Metro brand. So can you talk a 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:19.400 little bit about eat Justice and and how that's how 0:04:19.440 --> 0:04:22.200 that got started and now it's evolved. Yeah, it's not 0:04:22.240 --> 0:04:23.960 just key of the brand. Is the reason why we exist. 0:04:24.279 --> 0:04:25.719 And the reason why I say that is at that 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:28.880 first restaurant was just me and myself, uh concurrently my 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:31.640 business partner. He was working inside of his family's like 0:04:31.760 --> 0:04:35.080 little nanager square foot mom and pop Vienamese restaurant, and 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:37.000 he evolved out of that after seeing me kind of 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:39.360 take the jump on my own and started Metcha in 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:42.360 two thousand and thirteen his own and at the time 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:44.960 there was no Roman in Connecticut whatsoever, and he felt 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:46.840 like there was a big opportunity to scale the business, 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:49.200 but he needed some help. He needed somebody with a 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:52.840 more finance background and operations background, and he turned to me. 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:55.680 But there was a precondition to being his partner. There 0:04:55.760 --> 0:04:58.080 was two One was to see a spiritual coach which 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:00.159 he saw just to make sure meet him on the 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:03.280 same page interest of energy and intention. But the second one, 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:05.240 which we always tell people was that we had to 0:05:05.240 --> 0:05:07.279 find a way to get back. We will not grow 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:09.760 much unless giving back because as part of our DNA. 0:05:10.440 --> 0:05:12.520 So when I joined, you know, that was a leading 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:15.320 thought process for us. And what we came up with was, 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:18.040 how can we leverage the existing revenue stream of our 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:21.120 business to do good in our community? Right? Restaurants generate 0:05:21.200 --> 0:05:23.200 a ton of revenue, right, and if there's a way 0:05:23.200 --> 0:05:25.800 to leverage that to make an impact, then that's why 0:05:25.839 --> 0:05:28.800 we want our restaurant brand and our restaurant company to grow. 0:05:29.440 --> 0:05:32.000 So we created in Justice and been rolling ever since. 0:05:33.160 --> 0:05:38.440 Very cool. Um, you know, I'd imagine that this drive 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:42.960 sales and creates a more loyal employee base. Um. Can 0:05:43.000 --> 0:05:46.200 you talk about how you know, I guess, how you 0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:50.719 raise the money and um, how the employees have some 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:53.839 say and where the money goes. Yeah, I mean you 0:05:53.880 --> 0:05:56.400 started with the guests. That's outside in. We'd like to 0:05:56.400 --> 0:05:58.640 talk about Injustice from the inside out, right, So the 0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:01.160 inside out meaning is the company intention first and foremost 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:03.200 to give back. So the way the company does that 0:06:03.400 --> 0:06:06.000 is by adding fifty cents to every bowl around and 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:08.960 we sell each month, and that fifty cents is collected 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:10.800 throughout the entire month, and at the end of the 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:14.040 month is donated to a nonprofit in the local community. 0:06:14.480 --> 0:06:16.200 The reason why I say it's inside out is because 0:06:16.240 --> 0:06:18.920 it starts first with our intention and our commitment to 0:06:19.080 --> 0:06:21.800 highlighting on our menu. Hey, we're increasing everything fifty cents. 0:06:22.200 --> 0:06:25.600 The bowl says fourteen and then a little asterisk and uh, 0:06:25.880 --> 0:06:29.160 the justice purple as fifty cents. And that starts with 0:06:29.279 --> 0:06:32.120 us as owners and as leaders. But from there, that 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:34.680 fifty cents and where it goes is actually determined by 0:06:34.760 --> 0:06:38.120 the restaurant staff and the leadership. Each person, whether you 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:40.960 are a general manager or a dish washer, has the 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:43.920 opportunity to say, hey, I cared deeply about this cause. 0:06:44.320 --> 0:06:46.839 Here's a community or a group of people or nonprofit 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:49.400 doing really great work in this space. Can we raise 0:06:49.480 --> 0:06:52.240 funds for them? And our answer is absolutely uh. And 0:06:52.400 --> 0:06:54.560 we ask that person who makes the nomination to be 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:56.719 part of the process. Right, we want you to engage 0:06:56.760 --> 0:06:58.520 that nonprofit. We want you to really learn about what 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:00.880 they do so that we can better spread that message 0:07:00.880 --> 0:07:03.240 to not only our staff, but to our guests as well. Um. 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:05.680 And you know each month that that my mouth has 0:07:05.839 --> 0:07:08.560 has changed from the first very first campaigns about three 0:07:08.560 --> 0:07:14.840 thousand dollars and our last campaign just cracked twenty dollars. Awesome. Um. 0:07:15.600 --> 0:07:17.640 What are some of the charities that your employees have 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:21.720 picked over the last year. I mean, they ranged the 0:07:21.760 --> 0:07:24.400 gamut because that's the beauty of the whole idea of 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:26.600 putting it back in their hands, right, it's the human experience. 0:07:26.720 --> 0:07:29.760 Every single person cares about something different. And as much 0:07:29.800 --> 0:07:31.840 as it's amazing to rally behind a single cause like 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:35.280 some companies do, we like to celebrate our staff and 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:38.400 we have this ethos that says, be excellent BU and 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:39.920 we see this as a way of leaning into that. 0:07:40.000 --> 0:07:41.400 You know, b excellent means do the best that you 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:44.800 can possibly do every day. But BU means don't don't 0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:47.680 hide behind what you care about and and don't conform to, 0:07:47.960 --> 0:07:49.800 you know, a generalist idea of what it means to 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:52.800 be charitable. UM. So, I mean, most recently we did 0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:55.320 one with the Catalyst Foundation. It was actually our very 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:59.280 first international campaign rates and what the Catalyst Foundation does 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:01.880 is that the aim to stop human trafficking and they're 0:08:01.880 --> 0:08:05.000 based out of Vietnam, so we have that all the 0:08:05.040 --> 0:08:08.120 way down to cancer, which is a big one. UM 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:11.640 Special Disabilities was one of our favorite ones. There's a 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:16.040 local nonprofit of fair Field and they hire UM students 0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:19.160 with certain learning disabilities to make dog treats. Uh So 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:21.560 it was a great way for us to lean into 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:24.440 the dove levels in our company, to lean into education 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:27.000 in our company, and ultimately able to touch and feel it. 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:29.239 Because they're in fair Field and we operate in fair Field, 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:30.960 we were able to go down there and it kind 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:33.319 of helped make treats and interact and it was probably 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:36.520 one of the most fun campaigns that we've done. That's 0:08:36.640 --> 0:08:39.360 very cool, man, And I'm blessed to work for Bloomberg, 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:42.760 a place that that UM you know, has charitable giving 0:08:42.920 --> 0:08:45.679 really in its d n A right and and UM 0:08:45.880 --> 0:08:49.000 they're very generous generous with their donation matches every year 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:51.880 and you know, they'll give us a day off to 0:08:51.920 --> 0:08:54.040 work in a soup kitchen and different things like that. 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:57.079 So I think it creates a lot of loyalty to 0:08:57.200 --> 0:09:01.040 the brand for the employees, right. So, uh, I decided 0:09:01.080 --> 0:09:04.400 assume the same thing for you and uh, it's very 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:06.319 important in a tight labor market. So do you have 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:10.240 any turnover data that you'd like to share? Remember to 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:12.360 do is something that we're actually working on. We just 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:14.800 hired you know, we're emerging brand. Right, We're at seven units, 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:17.200 so we just hired our director of HRS. I don't 0:09:17.200 --> 0:09:19.360 have the exact figures, but what I can definitely tell 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:21.400 you is that beyond a shot of a doubt, it 0:09:21.480 --> 0:09:23.120 makes an impact. And I'll tell you why. I can 0:09:23.160 --> 0:09:27.280 give you an actually anecdotal experience. Very recently went out 0:09:27.320 --> 0:09:29.680 to Brookline to Massachusetts, and we were talking to the GM. 0:09:29.760 --> 0:09:32.120 They're just asking your kind of how it's going and 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:34.920 you know, being out of market, and she raised her 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:37.520 hand and volunteer to move from the Haven to Brookline 0:09:37.559 --> 0:09:40.120 for us. Uh. In that conversation really kind of she 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:42.240 turned and said, you know it's great. I love it. 0:09:42.679 --> 0:09:45.160 Um working Justice is doing is a big reason why 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:47.719 I'm here. But I want to do more right. I 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:51.360 want you justice to evolve from simply adding fifty cents 0:09:51.400 --> 0:09:55.680 and raising funds, raising awareness to making it a facilitated 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:58.480 process where not only myself and my staff can volunteer 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:01.640 that month with the organization. So to me, that's how 0:10:01.760 --> 0:10:03.840 everything I need to know about the power of each justice. 0:10:04.120 --> 0:10:06.640 She's not just thinking about her four walls or operation. 0:10:07.000 --> 0:10:08.679 She's thinking about how can I make an impact in 0:10:08.720 --> 0:10:11.880 that community. And when you are interconnected in so many 0:10:11.920 --> 0:10:13.880 different ways and and kind of have your feet on 0:10:13.880 --> 0:10:16.400 the ground, I think it makes it a stickier value 0:10:16.400 --> 0:10:19.480 proposition to the employee as beautiful man. And and like 0:10:19.600 --> 0:10:24.040 I mentioned earlier, you know brands that that have charitable 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:26.120 giving in their DNA. You know, out of the companies 0:10:26.160 --> 0:10:29.120 that cover I think shake Shack, you know, UM with 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:31.719 their donations off their concrete sales that they've been doing 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:34.960 from day one, is one where I'd imagine it definitely 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:39.360 boost your sales as well. And and from what I understand, Uh, 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:42.199 you're looking to grow pretty significantly. So can you talk 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:45.800 a little bit about your development goals for metcha. Yeah. 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:48.760 The development goal is, uh, you Justice will grow as 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:51.920 Metric grows, So that means match is donna grow because 0:10:51.960 --> 0:10:53.760 we want to make this impact as big as we 0:10:53.840 --> 0:10:56.079 possibly can. And uh, to kind of lean into what 0:10:56.120 --> 0:10:58.920 you were talking about. The gen Z another example actually 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:01.360 from Vegas right in Tony and the last night we 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:03.800 went out to our own dinner at MAT thirty two 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:06.439 and we were sitting next to two I would say 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:10.640 about year olds, UM, and we just got to chat 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:13.120 with them, uh, and they asked us what we did, 0:11:13.200 --> 0:11:15.040 and we explained to them, you know about matchup is 0:11:15.120 --> 0:11:17.160 then the third and of course what's the first thing 0:11:17.200 --> 0:11:19.520 they do. They pull out their cell phone, right and 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:22.280 they go on to our Instagram and the very first 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:25.160 thing that they click on is a video of an 0:11:25.200 --> 0:11:29.000 e justice campaign reveal and it was us UM giving 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:32.240 out a scholarship to Latino Scholarship Fund students and that 0:11:32.440 --> 0:11:34.840 was the video. That was the little thumbnail that they 0:11:34.920 --> 0:11:37.400 clicked and they watched it and that was the conversation. 0:11:37.720 --> 0:11:39.800 So to me, that tells me everything about you know, 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:42.400 that generation and what they want to be connected to it. 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:44.800 What they noticed right there. They're not going to notice 0:11:44.880 --> 0:11:48.000 that perfectly built bowl and that the photo that you 0:11:48.080 --> 0:11:49.640 took of it, but they're gonna notice what is it 0:11:49.760 --> 0:11:51.880 you're doing for the community, What is the bigger purpose here? 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:53.959 How can I be connected to it? UM? So we 0:11:54.080 --> 0:11:56.400 think about it as you know, if we have seven 0:11:56.480 --> 0:12:01.040 matches that's raising dollars, imagine when it's at and fifteen. 0:12:01.520 --> 0:12:04.800 We actually recently, just recently, the last campaign wrote the 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:07.640 half million dollar mark. So since we started Adjustice, we've 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:10.679 raised a half million dollars of impact in our local communities. Um, 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:12.559 so we want that to be a million to three 0:12:12.640 --> 0:12:15.440 million or more. So that's gonna mean opening in DC, 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:17.760 that's gonna be I mean opening you know throughout the 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:24.079 Eastern Seaboard and possibly beyond. Right. Um, yeah, that's awesome. Um, 0:12:24.600 --> 0:12:26.720 it's a great way for you to to expand your reach. 0:12:26.760 --> 0:12:31.360 It's it's uh and it's just fantastic what you're doing. Uh. 0:12:31.480 --> 0:12:33.720 So you mentioned d C, Are there any other areas 0:12:34.360 --> 0:12:36.160 that you're looking to expand any plans to come to 0:12:36.240 --> 0:12:39.680 New Jersey? New Jersey is something that's on the list 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:42.079 along that side a lot of others, right. Um, So 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:44.280 you know, we're definitely thinking about, you know, that kind 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:48.000 of Eastern corridor d C, Connecticut, Boston, but you know, 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:50.000 there's a lot of other parts of this country that 0:12:50.120 --> 0:12:52.679 we think would be really fun and exciting to bring 0:12:52.760 --> 0:12:55.320 this to write. Whether it's something a little bit further 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:58.400 south to Charlotte or a little more west like Denver 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:01.840 or even Ohio. Um, you know, in the Midwest. Ultimately, 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:04.439 we always tell people that, you know, we sell hugging 0:13:04.480 --> 0:13:06.880 a bowl and I don't care where you live. Like 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:09.559 a hugging a bowl feels good and it makes you 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:12.240 feel good. So if we can bring that experience to 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:14.680 other parts of the country, UM, there's no real limit 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:18.840 as to where we may want to go. I'd imagine 0:13:18.920 --> 0:13:22.599 college towns would would be a pretty attractive spot for 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:26.439 you if if the if the real estate price makes sense, yep, 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:30.080 it's college towns, it's young professionals, and then it's families. 0:13:30.520 --> 0:13:34.280 Because our average guest pre COVID was nineteen. You know, 0:13:34.440 --> 0:13:36.320 with the environment that we're in, we're at twenty three. 0:13:36.679 --> 0:13:39.280 But twenty three is affordable for a family as a 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:42.559 once a week, twice a week take auuption UM. So 0:13:42.679 --> 0:13:44.760 you know, we really are able to service a big 0:13:44.960 --> 0:13:48.719 breath of different guests and different life cycles that they're at. Um. 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:50.320 And because of that, you know, it kind of really 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:52.679 opens up the white space for us across the country 0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:57.080 in different communities. Cool, very cool, And uh have you done? 0:13:57.280 --> 0:14:00.400 Do you have a kid's menu? If families are important? 0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:02.640 You know what what do kids tend to order from? 0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:06.559 Macha don't need one don't need one. Noodles and broth. 0:14:06.720 --> 0:14:09.840 Think about it, right, every kid loves spaghetti, every kid 0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:12.760 loves noodles. So when you take that noodle experience and 0:14:12.920 --> 0:14:16.440 drop it into like an unctuous salty ramen broth, I mean, 0:14:16.520 --> 0:14:19.080 there's just no way that you know, you can lose um. 0:14:19.200 --> 0:14:21.200 So you know, we do have a chippy ramen we 0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:23.760 call it, but it's basically ramen within now toppings. But 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:25.880 the kids that can have whatever they want, right they 0:14:25.920 --> 0:14:28.480 want chicken, if they want flam meat balls, if they 0:14:28.520 --> 0:14:31.080 want half an egg. But ultimately, you know, you give 0:14:31.120 --> 0:14:34.040 a kid a bowl of broth and noodles and watch 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:37.280 and that is your kids bending at the other day, rightful, 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:38.960 do you do? You get a lot of orders for 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:44.000 no green stuff. That was my son's favorite order pretty 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:46.600 much anywhere we went, no green stuff, you know. Yeah, yeah, 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:48.560 that's how we keep it basic noodles and broth. Right, 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:50.640 it's the it's the heart of the bowl and let 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:54.800 them add to it from there. Great, and it's uh 0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:57.800 and is it took table service? Fast casual? What's the 0:14:58.960 --> 0:15:01.120 It's what you wanted to be, right. It is a 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:04.200 full service restaurant. There are servers there is a full bar, 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:07.280 but because of the nature of the cuisine, you know, 0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:10.680 Raman being you want to devour in seven minutes piping 0:15:10.760 --> 0:15:14.040 hot uh. And then the snacks are are bows and dumplings. 0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:16.200 So two or three bites, you know you're done with 0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:18.280 your bow or you're dumpling. You can be in and 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:20.480 out less than a half hour we'd like to say 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:23.160 twenty minutes. Or you can take it and turn it 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:25.200 into an hour hour and have dinting experience. Right. We 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:28.360 have twelve to sixteen small plates and our menu. You 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:30.760 can order four or five of those, uh and consider 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:32.480 it like a top of style experience where you're all 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.400 sharing um. So you know there's a gennatic fertility and 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:38.400 how the brand is used depending on the moment in 0:15:38.480 --> 0:15:42.920 time and the consumer. Very cool and so being a 0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:46.080 full service restaurant, are you employing tablets or server handhelds 0:15:46.160 --> 0:15:48.000 or is that something you plan on doing in the future. 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:51.360 I know that that's been a big movement over the 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:53.720 last couple of years as as wage rates have gone 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:56.280 up in the industry. Yep, it's actually a really a 0:15:56.360 --> 0:15:59.640 proud moment of my meaning we transition to handhelds about 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:02.560 two years ago, right before the pandemic um And it 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:05.200 was something that we resisted for a while because we're 0:16:05.240 --> 0:16:07.880 people first, right, we always say profits matter, but people 0:16:07.960 --> 0:16:10.520 matter more, UH, and we felt like a handheld is 0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:14.560 an excuse to make profits matter more, meaning a handhels 0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:18.040 about efficiency, handheles about execution, and what it does is 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:21.040 for most parts, it makes UH staff members and team 0:16:21.080 --> 0:16:23.840 members have their nose in the screen and not really 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:26.080 connect with the guests in front of them. So you 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:28.680 really thought about how do we train against that, how 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:31.040 do we train to use the efficiency of the handheld 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:34.000 but not take away from the human experience. And I 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:36.920 can honestly say we've been quite successful. You know when 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:38.800 we do some of these hires. We've been building our team, 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:41.120 we hired ahead of ops. You've had a director of 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:44.960 training HR director. We tell them coming to our stores 0:16:45.320 --> 0:16:47.160 and let me know if this is for you, like, 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:50.080 just come in and eat, have the full experience, and 0:16:50.280 --> 0:16:52.320 time after time after time, when the things we get 0:16:52.360 --> 0:16:55.520 back is how engage your staff is. I cannot believe 0:16:55.840 --> 0:16:58.400 how much they care, how excited they are to be there. 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:00.840 And I asked the question about the handheld, like how 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:03.680 was the handheld and three times or three times it 0:17:03.760 --> 0:17:05.800 was I didn't even know it was there. So we 0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:09.240 make sure that they're trained to interact, answer questions, make 0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:10.800 sure that you have all the information you need to 0:17:10.840 --> 0:17:13.720 make your menu decision. Make your decision, and then we 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:15.800 pull out the handheld from our back pocket and use it. 0:17:16.240 --> 0:17:18.879 But we never approached the table with the handheld in 0:17:18.960 --> 0:17:22.800 our head. Leading with efficiency, that's great, and I'm sure 0:17:22.840 --> 0:17:25.520 the servers love it. They could carry cover more tables 0:17:25.600 --> 0:17:29.119 and or more in tips, right and uh, you know, 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:31.040 and and to your point, service is so important. I 0:17:31.320 --> 0:17:32.920 went out to dinner with my son last night and 0:17:33.680 --> 0:17:35.720 we had a great experience, you know, and and and 0:17:36.000 --> 0:17:38.560 uh and it was because of the server. We had 0:17:38.600 --> 0:17:40.200 been to the restaurant a lot of times. You know, 0:17:40.320 --> 0:17:43.800 it's a good, good spot, uh, quality food. But he 0:17:43.880 --> 0:17:46.440 made it special because he he was on top of 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:48.680 h he was on top of his game. Anytime we 0:17:48.760 --> 0:17:50.840 need a drink, as soon as you finished drinking, was 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:54.040 at the table. Anything you needed, uh, he got with 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:56.760 a smile, joked around with us, had a good time, 0:17:56.800 --> 0:17:59.520 and it really made it a great experience, you know. 0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:02.920 So so it's it's definitely critical. Can you talk a 0:18:02.960 --> 0:18:07.080 little bit too about uh, other technologies that that you're 0:18:07.160 --> 0:18:11.040 implementing in the restaurant. You know, a lot of times, um, 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:14.280 it's harder for some of these established brands to start 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:17.920 implementing technology because they have to redo some of the 0:18:17.960 --> 0:18:20.760 mistakes they made in the past. And from from a 0:18:20.840 --> 0:18:23.320 lot of the emerging brands we speak to, it's it's 0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:25.960 kind of easier to start with a blank slate almost. 0:18:26.080 --> 0:18:28.199 So can you talk about some of the other tech 0:18:28.240 --> 0:18:31.679 initiatives you have going there and metcha? Yeah, I mean 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:33.840 we're we're testing a lot of stuff because we're truly 0:18:34.280 --> 0:18:36.080 on that cust of emerging. You know, we just went 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:38.480 out of market for the first time. Um, so it's 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:40.680 it's a really fun time to see what's working and 0:18:40.840 --> 0:18:43.399 what's not working. So I would say, you know, beyond 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:48.080 the transition to the handhelds and the tablets at the table, uh, 0:18:48.240 --> 0:18:50.320 you know, we're we're looking at ways to leverage things 0:18:50.400 --> 0:18:53.480 like wisely, uh, to you know, better improve the guest experience. 0:18:53.520 --> 0:18:56.359 And I'm not talking just about the host management you know, 0:18:56.560 --> 0:18:59.200 part of the software. I'm talking about the guest sentiment, right, So, 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:01.280 how are the guests, you know, viewing their experience and 0:19:01.320 --> 0:19:03.280 how are they talking about your experience? And how can 0:19:03.320 --> 0:19:06.080 we use that information and data to improve within our 0:19:06.119 --> 0:19:08.560