WEBVTT - Reinventing the Restaurant 0:00:15.356 --> 0:00:23.956 Pushkin. Anthony Strong got his first restaurant job when he 0:00:24.036 --> 0:00:24.756 was in high school. 0:00:25.516 --> 0:00:28.516 It was like day one in a kitchen. Really, I 0:00:28.556 --> 0:00:31.436 was like, oh, this is my jam right here. And 0:00:31.476 --> 0:00:35.116 then I proceeded to cut like four of my fingertips 0:00:35.116 --> 0:00:37.996 off on a box grader that same day. 0:00:38.156 --> 0:00:42.556 So his fingertips healed, and he worked his way up 0:00:42.556 --> 0:00:45.236 in the restaurant industry, moved from his hometown to New 0:00:45.276 --> 0:00:48.036 York City and then to San Francisco, where in two 0:00:48.036 --> 0:00:50.316 thousand and eight he got to do what so many 0:00:50.396 --> 0:00:52.716 chefs dream of doing, and what he himself had been 0:00:52.796 --> 0:00:55.956 dreaming of doing for decades. He opened his own restaurant. 0:00:56.196 --> 0:00:57.316 It was called Prairie. 0:00:58.036 --> 0:01:01.676 It was eighty seats, We had three different charcoal grills 0:01:01.756 --> 0:01:06.036 and full bar. It was busy, it was really well received, but. 0:01:06.036 --> 0:01:08.556 As a business, as a way to make a living. 0:01:09.236 --> 0:01:14.076 Sucked paper thin margins. A high labor business, very high 0:01:14.116 --> 0:01:18.116 labor business. You're spending a ton of money on very 0:01:18.196 --> 0:01:25.396 expensive ingredients. It's a very packed, very competitive sector, so 0:01:25.436 --> 0:01:27.476 it's hard to it's hard to stand out. 0:01:27.836 --> 0:01:30.876 It's a classic restaurant story and one that ultimately led 0:01:30.916 --> 0:01:40.036 Anthony to try something really different. I'm Jacob Goldstein, and 0:01:40.076 --> 0:01:43.276 this is what's your problem. My guest today is Anthony Strong. 0:01:43.636 --> 0:01:47.316 He's the chef and owner of Pasta Supply Co, a 0:01:47.396 --> 0:01:51.476 retail store and restaurant in San Francisco. Anthony's problem is this, 0:01:51.996 --> 0:01:54.716 how can you make a new kind of restaurant, one 0:01:54.716 --> 0:01:58.476 that serves good fresh food at a reasonable price and 0:01:58.996 --> 0:02:03.716 actually works as a business. Anthony's quest started during the pandemic. 0:02:04.036 --> 0:02:06.876 He closed his restaurant Prairie, and he started trying to 0:02:06.876 --> 0:02:09.836 figure out how to create something simpler, something made for 0:02:09.876 --> 0:02:13.316 a moment when people were not gathering indoors. One day, 0:02:13.556 --> 0:02:16.556 you saw the answer sitting by the curb outside his house. 0:02:19.996 --> 0:02:25.516 My neighbor across the street had a vintage VW van 0:02:25.836 --> 0:02:30.236 and VW camper like an eighty two, and she actually 0:02:30.356 --> 0:02:33.356 caught me out there with a measuring tape standing outside 0:02:33.356 --> 0:02:37.236 of her van to see if I could get seventy 0:02:37.356 --> 0:02:40.036 inches is all you need from back of seat to 0:02:40.116 --> 0:02:43.436 back of seat to make a comfortable, you know, dining situation. 0:02:44.916 --> 0:02:47.116 She came out and she's like, excuse me, hey, what 0:02:47.756 --> 0:02:49.796 are you doing. I'm like, mind if I look in 0:02:49.876 --> 0:02:52.516 your van, by the way, are you selling it? She wasn't, 0:02:53.476 --> 0:02:55.916 but I was able to figure out that I could 0:02:55.916 --> 0:03:01.556 build a table for four that would be pretty comfortable 0:03:01.716 --> 0:03:06.316 inside of a similar model, and found one on Craigslist, 0:03:06.836 --> 0:03:08.596 drove up to Oregon with a friend to get it, 0:03:08.676 --> 0:03:11.996 and then built the thing out with a pretty like 0:03:12.196 --> 0:03:15.676 you'd be shocked, very surprisingly comfortable dining room. 0:03:16.116 --> 0:03:17.836 And the dining room is a table in the back 0:03:17.876 --> 0:03:18.396 of a van. 0:03:18.756 --> 0:03:21.716 Just to be clear, So the dining room when you 0:03:21.756 --> 0:03:24.956 know these old vans, they have that sliding door, and 0:03:26.116 --> 0:03:28.596 the dining room is just inside the sliding door, right 0:03:28.636 --> 0:03:30.276 in the middle, and the back is where I built 0:03:30.316 --> 0:03:34.516 the kitchen. I had a charcoal grill that rolled out 0:03:34.596 --> 0:03:37.316 and a whole kitchen set up, and I did two 0:03:37.356 --> 0:03:41.756 seatings of four people a night. I think the menu 0:03:41.836 --> 0:03:45.436 started around somewhere just above one hundred bucks a person 0:03:45.756 --> 0:03:49.076 and ended up being close to two hundred of person. 0:03:49.156 --> 0:03:53.996 Pretty high end, very high end, particularly for the fact 0:03:54.036 --> 0:03:56.356 that it's in a van down by the very Did 0:03:56.356 --> 0:03:57.636 it work as a business. 0:03:57.916 --> 0:04:01.356 It worked. It worked as a business because because there 0:04:01.436 --> 0:04:04.676 wasn't any overhead and it was just me and one 0:04:04.716 --> 0:04:08.156 person helping to clean a van and prep. But the 0:04:08.516 --> 0:04:11.756 important thing about it is It got me. It sort 0:04:11.756 --> 0:04:15.236 of snapped me out of restaurant mind, the sort of 0:04:15.556 --> 0:04:21.996 like herd mentality of the standard model of restaurant, which is, okay, 0:04:21.996 --> 0:04:24.436 you need to have eighty seats and a full bar, 0:04:24.956 --> 0:04:28.636 and a restaurant that has a host and a wine 0:04:28.676 --> 0:04:32.476 person on the floor and all of these moving parts 0:04:32.516 --> 0:04:36.556 that it takes to orchestrate, you know, a semi fine 0:04:36.596 --> 0:04:40.156 dining restaurant. So I sort of realized that maybe there 0:04:40.156 --> 0:04:42.196 could be an option outside of that. 0:04:42.356 --> 0:04:45.316 Anthony wound up opening a new restaurant in San Francisco 0:04:45.396 --> 0:04:48.516 in March of twenty twenty three. It was called Pasta 0:04:48.556 --> 0:04:51.956 supply Co, and he was really trying to do something different. 0:04:52.236 --> 0:04:55.116 To understand how and why this restaurant is different, I 0:04:55.156 --> 0:04:57.996 asked Anthony to take me through going to eat dinner 0:04:57.996 --> 0:05:00.756 there and to tell me all the ways Pasta Supply 0:05:00.836 --> 0:05:04.636 Co is different than the traditional nice restaurant experience. 0:05:05.716 --> 0:05:09.796 Will you start by not making your reservation? We don't 0:05:10.156 --> 0:05:14.676 take reservations. We're walking only cutting out having to pay 0:05:14.716 --> 0:05:15.916 a reservation platform. 0:05:15.996 --> 0:05:19.636 What's it cost to pay a reservation platform? Like you're 0:05:19.636 --> 0:05:23.876 talking about like open table or rezi right, like these 0:05:23.996 --> 0:05:26.876 kinds of online platforms where you make a reservation online. 0:05:26.996 --> 0:05:32.156 Yep, yep, my old place. We're spending twenty five twenty 0:05:32.196 --> 0:05:35.796 seven hundred a month. Wow, because you pay a fee 0:05:36.076 --> 0:05:41.676 and then you also pay per reservation, and if you 0:05:41.716 --> 0:05:45.516 want more visibility on their platform, you pay an additional 0:05:45.676 --> 0:05:46.756 marketing package. 0:05:46.836 --> 0:05:50.956 So okay, so I don't make a reservation. I walk 0:05:51.036 --> 0:05:55.596 into your restaurant pasta supply co. Just in terms of 0:05:55.636 --> 0:05:58.516 what I see when I walk in the door, how 0:05:58.596 --> 0:06:00.156 is it different than a traditional restaurant. 0:06:01.836 --> 0:06:04.716 Yeah, when you walk in the door, it's very clear 0:06:04.716 --> 0:06:08.196 that you're eating an apasta shop. You see a huge 0:06:08.236 --> 0:06:11.476 retail display with tons of fresh pasta for sale, like 0:06:11.556 --> 0:06:15.956 thirty different kinds and twenty ish different sauces to work 0:06:15.996 --> 0:06:18.716 with and all sorts of fun you know, ingredients for 0:06:18.756 --> 0:06:19.236 the kitchen. 0:06:19.436 --> 0:06:22.236 It's like basically one side of the restaurant is essentially 0:06:22.276 --> 0:06:24.436 like a deli counter. Right, there's like a glass case 0:06:24.476 --> 0:06:26.676 and there's pasta in it. It's sort of a hybrid, right, 0:06:26.676 --> 0:06:29.716 there's like tables and then there's kind of a retail 0:06:29.756 --> 0:06:31.956 store in the same space. Tell me about the business 0:06:31.956 --> 0:06:33.356 thinking behind that setup. 0:06:33.516 --> 0:06:36.036 The reason for doing that was to have a business 0:06:36.036 --> 0:06:38.316 that could stand on two legs and be a little 0:06:38.356 --> 0:06:42.356 bit more durable long term. You know, in a restaurant, 0:06:42.836 --> 0:06:45.636 you're trying to make all of your money by filling 0:06:45.716 --> 0:06:49.556 up seats from hopefully the minute that you open until 0:06:49.596 --> 0:06:52.276 the minute that you close at night. The reality is 0:06:52.316 --> 0:06:55.196 the middle fills in pretty quickly and everybody's trying to 0:06:55.276 --> 0:06:58.676 fill early sittings or late seatings. And you know, with 0:06:58.756 --> 0:07:00.876 all of the resources that it takes to pull off 0:07:00.876 --> 0:07:03.356 a restaurant, like, making money that way is tough. 0:07:03.436 --> 0:07:05.436 I mean, it is amazing when you think about it. 0:07:05.516 --> 0:07:08.796 Like you got to pay rent, you know, for being 0:07:08.836 --> 0:07:14.516 there all the time, which in San Francisco is especially significant, 0:07:14.556 --> 0:07:19.396 right an expensive place to rent a shop, and for 0:07:19.476 --> 0:07:23.556 a restaurant, there's like maybe four hours of the day 0:07:23.636 --> 0:07:26.796 when you're actually making money, right and the rest of 0:07:26.836 --> 0:07:28.716 the time the space is just sitting there and you're 0:07:28.716 --> 0:07:29.356 paying for it. 0:07:29.556 --> 0:07:31.716 Oh, it's crazy, it's so onch So. 0:07:31.676 --> 0:07:34.356 That's like a thesis, right, you have this thesis. Well, 0:07:34.396 --> 0:07:37.476 maybe if we could be selling fresh pasta all day long, 0:07:38.636 --> 0:07:42.116 that'll help bring in money at you know, three in 0:07:42.156 --> 0:07:45.676 the afternoon when we'd be making zero dollars otherwise. Is 0:07:45.756 --> 0:07:46.316 that working. 0:07:46.956 --> 0:07:50.476 It's working really well. Yep, yep, you know, I'm I'm 0:07:50.556 --> 0:07:56.436 shocked at how well it's working. And in fact, we 0:07:56.556 --> 0:08:00.076 have people coming in all day long grabbing stuff to 0:08:00.116 --> 0:08:00.756 work with at home. 0:08:01.076 --> 0:08:04.196 So okay, So first thing I see when I go 0:08:04.556 --> 0:08:06.636 to your restaurant is it's not just a restaurant. It's 0:08:06.676 --> 0:08:09.596 a store. Good, We've got that. What else when I 0:08:09.636 --> 0:08:11.316 get to the restaurant? What else is different? 0:08:11.836 --> 0:08:14.356 When you get to the restaurant, you're greeted by a 0:08:14.476 --> 0:08:17.916 host at the door, which is totally normal, right, but 0:08:17.996 --> 0:08:21.396 that host is standing right at the door usually outside 0:08:21.676 --> 0:08:24.436 the host asks you for your order, we give you 0:08:24.436 --> 0:08:27.876 a menu, and we talk to you about food right 0:08:27.956 --> 0:08:32.196 up front, and we get your whole order right there. 0:08:32.236 --> 0:08:34.916 So that's a little more like a what would typically 0:08:34.956 --> 0:08:37.076 be a fast casual thing. Right. That's a little bit 0:08:37.116 --> 0:08:40.396 sort of like at a Chipotle or a Sweet Grain 0:08:40.476 --> 0:08:42.996 or something, Right. I mean, that's the kind of as 0:08:43.076 --> 0:08:45.316 a diner had that kind of experience. 0:08:45.876 --> 0:08:50.236 Why, yeah, kind of. You know, I was really interested 0:08:50.236 --> 0:08:54.236 in coming up with a model that could be casual 0:08:54.796 --> 0:08:59.516 but wouldn't make you like get a number on a 0:08:59.556 --> 0:09:02.716 stick and go bust your own table, right, like I want. 0:09:02.916 --> 0:09:05.676 We wanted to give a few more service touch points 0:09:06.516 --> 0:09:11.036 than than that, And so when you order with our host, 0:09:11.796 --> 0:09:15.356 you get the kind of the front end of the 0:09:15.396 --> 0:09:18.516 dining experience out of the way right away, right and 0:09:18.556 --> 0:09:20.916 then when you sit down at your table, the wine 0:09:20.996 --> 0:09:26.116 hits the table ten seconds later, your salad and your 0:09:26.116 --> 0:09:30.756 other appetizer hit a couple minutes after that, and then 0:09:30.836 --> 0:09:34.076 we land passes on your table within you know, fifteen 0:09:34.076 --> 0:09:36.876 minutes or so. It's like it just goes so much, 0:09:37.396 --> 0:09:41.156 so much more efficiently, And you know, it's not for everybody, 0:09:41.156 --> 0:09:45.156 by the way, Like we're definitely not the towel over 0:09:45.196 --> 0:09:45.636 your arm. 0:09:46.116 --> 0:09:49.516 I'm an impatient diner myself. I'd way rather walk around 0:09:49.556 --> 0:09:51.756 the block when my pasta is cooking than sit at 0:09:51.796 --> 0:09:54.676 a table. But I'm curious, as you say, not everybody 0:09:54.756 --> 0:09:57.876 like that. It's non traditional for a nicer restaurant, Like 0:09:57.956 --> 0:10:00.036 why did you make that particular choice. 0:10:00.436 --> 0:10:04.756 We chose to do that because it cuts on average 0:10:05.636 --> 0:10:09.356 twelve to fifteen minutes we found of dead time. I'm 0:10:09.436 --> 0:10:12.156 off the front end of every seating. 0:10:11.876 --> 0:10:14.316 So the dead time is a person just sitting there 0:10:14.356 --> 0:10:16.436 at the table and nothing's happening. 0:10:16.356 --> 0:10:18.396 Just sitting there. In fact, In fact, that's when you 0:10:18.436 --> 0:10:21.036 start catching up because you're out to eat with your friends, right, 0:10:21.116 --> 0:10:24.476 and you're sort of looking at the menu and you're 0:10:24.556 --> 0:10:27.476 sort of talking about how your day went. Then the 0:10:27.876 --> 0:10:30.396 server checks back in to see if you want stiller 0:10:30.476 --> 0:10:32.676 sparkling water or you want to start with the beverage, 0:10:32.676 --> 0:10:36.076 and then you say, hey, just a second, yeah, sure, Yeah. 0:10:36.236 --> 0:10:38.916 It's like, oh my god, it's excruciating for a restaurant. 0:10:38.956 --> 0:10:41.876 You're just sitting there watching the table be dead, and 0:10:41.916 --> 0:10:45.676 so in a in a restaurant, we're constantly on people 0:10:45.716 --> 0:10:47.836 to get those orders in as fast as possible. 0:10:47.916 --> 0:10:51.196 Right. It's sort of analogous to the to the restaurant 0:10:51.196 --> 0:10:52.956 being empty most of the day. 0:10:53.276 --> 0:10:53.436 Right. 0:10:53.516 --> 0:10:56.156 This is now you're at key time, you know, a 0:10:56.196 --> 0:10:58.436 few hours of the day when you can actually make money. 0:10:58.796 --> 0:11:00.676 But that table is just sitting there and you're not 0:11:00.716 --> 0:11:01.476 turning it over. 0:11:01.636 --> 0:11:01.876 Right. 0:11:02.356 --> 0:11:05.476 You want to maximize the percentage of time when somebody's 0:11:05.516 --> 0:11:08.196 at a table that they're eating and drinking. You don't 0:11:08.196 --> 0:11:10.996 want them filling up a table when everybody wants to 0:11:11.036 --> 0:11:13.636 eat and not having food in front of. 0:11:13.636 --> 0:11:19.476 Them, right, right, actual active engaged customer time, Yes, and 0:11:19.716 --> 0:11:25.796 we're able to price more competitively because of it, which 0:11:25.876 --> 0:11:29.916 is something that is huge in a city as expensive 0:11:29.956 --> 0:11:34.956 as San Francisco. You know, a normal fine dining or 0:11:35.036 --> 0:11:39.476 semi fine dining restaurant, you're seeing pasta prices way up 0:11:39.676 --> 0:11:44.116 past the mid twenties these days, and you're paying for 0:11:44.196 --> 0:11:44.676 that debt. 0:11:44.716 --> 0:11:47.676 Thirty bucks for a bullet pasta would make me very sad. 0:11:48.316 --> 0:11:53.116 Yep, it's it's pretty tough. So our version is cutting 0:11:53.196 --> 0:11:55.076 off some of the some of the bs off the 0:11:55.076 --> 0:11:55.796 front of the dinner. 0:11:59.516 --> 0:12:01.996 We'll be back in a minute to discuss, among other things, 0:12:02.116 --> 0:12:07.116 one of the most interesting complicated dynamics in the restaurant business, tipping. 0:12:16.916 --> 0:12:19.956 Now back to the show. So, so let's talk about 0:12:19.956 --> 0:12:22.316 the menu. So I before I even walk into the restaurant, 0:12:22.316 --> 0:12:25.796 I'm looking at the menu. How does your menu look 0:12:25.836 --> 0:12:27.876 different than a typical restaurant menu. 0:12:29.116 --> 0:12:33.996 So our menu is just two or three salads, that's it, 0:12:34.156 --> 0:12:38.396 five or six pastas, we change them pretty regularly, and 0:12:39.476 --> 0:12:44.196 no entrees. We're not trying to promise the world to people, 0:12:44.316 --> 0:12:47.996 you know, we can't. We're not going to roast a chicken. 0:12:48.156 --> 0:12:50.836 So what is having a smaller menu do for you? 0:12:51.476 --> 0:12:55.276 As a business, So the smaller menu is all about 0:12:55.396 --> 0:13:01.196 efficiency and doing more with less. You know, our we're 0:13:01.236 --> 0:13:05.956 a pasta shop. Our entire focus is pasta is using 0:13:05.996 --> 0:13:10.596 that one product, and we're not getting in a chicken 0:13:10.716 --> 0:13:14.716 and brining it and having it take up space overnight 0:13:14.836 --> 0:13:17.716 in the refrigerators so that the skin can dry out 0:13:17.756 --> 0:13:20.316 a little bit and then roasting that. Like all pastas 0:13:20.396 --> 0:13:23.796 are literally just like boil, cook them with the sauce 0:13:23.836 --> 0:13:26.476 for a minute or two and then they get sent 0:13:26.516 --> 0:13:28.836 to the table. So we just see a lot more 0:13:28.836 --> 0:13:33.756 efficiency from like really focusing on specializing on that one 0:13:33.836 --> 0:13:35.116 really high quality product. 0:13:35.156 --> 0:13:37.356 You're basically a pasta factory. 0:13:38.036 --> 0:13:41.076 Little pasta factory, and in fact it's everything is right 0:13:41.116 --> 0:13:43.036 on display there and people love it. You know. I 0:13:43.716 --> 0:13:49.876 really wanted to bring some wow moments to a retail storefront. 0:13:49.916 --> 0:13:52.236 And when people walk in and they see the pasta 0:13:52.476 --> 0:13:55.076 being made right in front of them on these on 0:13:55.156 --> 0:13:58.676 these machines with conveyor belts, it's like it's so exciting 0:13:58.716 --> 0:14:00.876 for them, it's so fun. It gets engaged in their food, 0:14:01.556 --> 0:14:07.076 which actually brings up another point, which is we don't 0:14:07.196 --> 0:14:13.756 make any pastas by hand. Okay, you know, I in Italy. 0:14:13.796 --> 0:14:17.276 You've got like ten grandmas. I've gotten to sit at 0:14:17.316 --> 0:14:20.036 a lot of tables with you know, half a dozen 0:14:20.116 --> 0:14:22.596 or so grandmas sitting around a table making tiny little 0:14:22.636 --> 0:14:25.596 tourdolini with their hands, right. And you know, for us, 0:14:25.836 --> 0:14:28.676 when we first opened, we were making some you know, 0:14:28.916 --> 0:14:35.356 very labor intensive, tiny, tiny handmade shapes and you spend 0:14:35.396 --> 0:14:39.596 like two hours making a dozen or so orders of something, 0:14:39.756 --> 0:14:42.956 so you sell out immediately. And I really didn't want 0:14:42.996 --> 0:14:44.996 to be the place that had to charge forty dollars 0:14:45.036 --> 0:14:50.556 a pound for some precious boutique product. Right, So we 0:14:50.596 --> 0:14:55.716 make thirty different shapes using this huge extruder machine, and 0:14:55.756 --> 0:14:58.876 also another one that makes rolled in filled pastas with 0:14:58.916 --> 0:15:03.516 all these cool conveyor belts. It goes, it goes really fast. 0:15:03.556 --> 0:15:05.316 So what do you charge? What's a bowl of pasta 0:15:05.396 --> 0:15:06.716 cost at your restaurant? 0:15:07.436 --> 0:15:11.036 All of our pastas are I think right now twenty 0:15:11.036 --> 0:15:12.916 one dollars in lower on the menu. 0:15:13.676 --> 0:15:16.076 So just to go back to like the arc of 0:15:16.396 --> 0:15:19.476 my meal at Pasta Supply Co, I've I haven't made 0:15:19.516 --> 0:15:21.916 a reservation, I've showed up, I've seen that it's a 0:15:21.916 --> 0:15:27.876 retail store. I've ordered before I sit down it's a 0:15:28.036 --> 0:15:34.276 small menu. Once I sit down, is it just like 0:15:34.356 --> 0:15:36.556 a normal restaurant? What's different? Once I sit down? 0:15:37.236 --> 0:15:40.556 Once you sit down, it's basically like a normal restaurant. 0:15:40.676 --> 0:15:43.676 It was kind of surprising to me how normal it 0:15:43.716 --> 0:15:49.436 felt just after having people order it the door. It 0:15:49.556 --> 0:15:53.116 just feels normal. The food hits the table, we bring you, 0:15:53.116 --> 0:15:55.276 you know, your water and your wine, and you can 0:15:55.316 --> 0:15:58.676 easily get another glass of wine without getting up and 0:15:58.716 --> 0:16:01.636 going to a counter or anything weird like, and it's 0:16:01.676 --> 0:16:06.076 a pretty normal feeling, you know, restaurant. It's It's funny. 0:16:06.076 --> 0:16:09.756 A friend of mine was like, hey, like you got 0:16:09.796 --> 0:16:12.756 to keep your business model to yourself, right, Like that 0:16:12.876 --> 0:16:15.116 whole order at the door thing, Like that's a that's 0:16:15.156 --> 0:16:17.876 a gold mine, dude, Like, don't tell anybody about I'm 0:16:17.876 --> 0:16:21.476 like no, no, fact, Like please, restaurants, please just start 0:16:21.516 --> 0:16:24.516 doing this. It works so much better. And the more 0:16:24.636 --> 0:16:27.956 acclimated people get to this type of thing, the better 0:16:27.996 --> 0:16:30.396 it is for all of us. We kind of need 0:16:30.396 --> 0:16:31.836 to snap out of it a little bit. 0:16:31.996 --> 0:16:35.556 So then my meal is done, I get the check. 0:16:36.236 --> 0:16:39.156 How does the check look different than a typical restaurant check. 0:16:39.996 --> 0:16:42.716 Well, the check looks quite a bit different because it's 0:16:43.156 --> 0:16:46.436 very much more affordable than you would normally find in 0:16:46.476 --> 0:16:49.676 a city like San Francisco. And then we also add 0:16:49.676 --> 0:16:56.316 on a service charge. Ours is pretty modest fifteen percent, 0:16:56.516 --> 0:17:00.636 and we right now we're still leaving the option to 0:17:00.836 --> 0:17:03.876 add an optional to add a gratuity. 0:17:04.036 --> 0:17:07.916 But the fifteen percent is basically is basically the tip. 0:17:09.156 --> 0:17:10.636 It's basically in lieu of tips. 0:17:11.036 --> 0:17:13.556 Yeah, yeah, yeah, in live tips. So that is a 0:17:13.596 --> 0:17:16.956 whole thing, right, like tipping is a whole thing. It's 0:17:16.996 --> 0:17:19.476 a kind of a uniquely American thing, right, you go 0:17:19.556 --> 0:17:23.076 to restaurants in other countries, it's not customary to tip 0:17:23.156 --> 0:17:25.116 in the way that it is here. Why did you 0:17:25.156 --> 0:17:26.036 make that choice? 0:17:26.516 --> 0:17:30.796 I made that choice on principle the whole system is 0:17:30.876 --> 0:17:34.676 messed up because not only does it create a huge 0:17:34.876 --> 0:17:39.356 wage disparity between a lot of front and back of 0:17:39.396 --> 0:17:43.236 the house employees in a single restaurant. 0:17:42.756 --> 0:17:44.996 So the people getting tipped end up making a lot 0:17:45.076 --> 0:17:47.396 more than the people working on the line in the 0:17:47.476 --> 0:17:48.716 kitchen or washing dishes. 0:17:48.796 --> 0:17:51.956 Oh yeah, yeah yeah. I remember at times when I 0:17:52.116 --> 0:17:55.676 was a chef of a restaurant working eighty hour weeks, 0:17:56.076 --> 0:18:00.476 I'd make less than a server who worked for a 0:18:00.556 --> 0:18:05.116 few shifts on a really busy section. So you know 0:18:05.236 --> 0:18:11.396 that just that just doesn't work really, And also it 0:18:11.476 --> 0:18:15.916 creates a creates a vibe I guess you know in 0:18:15.956 --> 0:18:20.396 the in the in the customer and server relationship that 0:18:20.676 --> 0:18:26.356 is just generally unhealthy. It leads to things like, yeah, 0:18:27.116 --> 0:18:29.636 I'm not sure how into tipping out want to get? 0:18:29.716 --> 0:18:30.436 It's a pretty hot. 0:18:30.836 --> 0:18:35.116 It leads to like sexual harassment being normalized, right, I mean, 0:18:35.436 --> 0:18:36.836 I don't know if that's what you were thinking of. 0:18:37.676 --> 0:18:41.956 It leads to like power dynamics and gender dynamics in 0:18:42.036 --> 0:18:45.796 particular between the customers and the servers. That can be 0:18:45.836 --> 0:18:46.676 really unhealthy. 0:18:46.876 --> 0:18:48.236 It's a very unhealthy thing. 0:18:48.436 --> 0:18:52.076 Yeah, And so how does the service charge work in 0:18:52.156 --> 0:18:56.396 terms of employee compensation? Do you just pay the staff 0:18:56.436 --> 0:19:00.156 a higher wage than you otherwise would or does that 0:19:00.556 --> 0:19:01.876 how does that work? Yep? 0:19:02.036 --> 0:19:06.956 We we pay the staff a higher wage and are 0:19:07.036 --> 0:19:10.716 able to factor in, you know, things that most normal 0:19:10.756 --> 0:19:15.396 businesses do when they decide compensation, like tenure and performance. 0:19:15.476 --> 0:19:18.116 So, okay, so you have created this restaurant that's different 0:19:18.116 --> 0:19:20.876 in a lot of ways than a traditional restaurant. Right, 0:19:20.916 --> 0:19:25.396 there's no reservations, half retail, you order when you get there, 0:19:25.476 --> 0:19:27.956 it's a smaller menu. The service charge is baked in. 0:19:28.996 --> 0:19:30.356 How's it working as a business. 0:19:31.236 --> 0:19:35.236 It's working very well. Yep. We're paying people well. Our 0:19:35.316 --> 0:19:39.076 costs are significantly lower. Let me put it this way. 0:19:39.116 --> 0:19:42.676 I haven't skipped a paycheck since we open. 0:19:42.476 --> 0:19:44.876 You personally, because you mean, there's always enough money to 0:19:44.916 --> 0:19:47.516 make payroll, so you can pay yourself and everybody else. 0:19:48.036 --> 0:19:52.276 Yep, yep, And that's rare for a lot of restaurants. 0:19:55.436 --> 0:19:57.436 We'll be back in a minute with the lightning round. 0:20:06.916 --> 0:20:08.956 That's the end of the ads. Now we're going back 0:20:08.956 --> 0:20:15.796 to show. Let's finish with a lightning round. Okay, answer questions. Okay, 0:20:15.876 --> 0:20:18.676 that are kind of fun. What's the hardest thing about 0:20:18.716 --> 0:20:22.716 cooking for customers out of a van? Yeah? 0:20:23.596 --> 0:20:29.676 Uh, being the chef, Saintmelier, and server and the guy 0:20:29.756 --> 0:20:32.876 who's trying to fight off the seagulls all at the 0:20:32.876 --> 0:20:33.316 same time. 0:20:35.796 --> 0:20:37.956 The seagulls I didn't think of as one of the 0:20:38.076 --> 0:20:40.516 challenges of selling pasta out of a van down by 0:20:40.516 --> 0:20:42.556 the bay. Who's your favorite character in the Bear? 0:20:43.516 --> 0:20:48.236 Oh? God, favorite character in the Bear would be the 0:20:48.276 --> 0:20:51.396 Sioux chef, just like young going at it. 0:20:51.676 --> 0:20:54.916 Yeah, neurotic, but in the most charming way. It's kind 0:20:54.916 --> 0:20:55.636 of what I'm going for. 0:20:55.836 --> 0:20:59.116 Definitely neurotic. She's like, she's like straight out I know her, 0:20:59.436 --> 0:21:02.036 you know, I know, like so many of her in 0:21:02.076 --> 0:21:02.556 our business. 0:21:02.796 --> 0:21:06.036 She feels very real, doesn't she feel very real? 0:21:06.396 --> 0:21:07.556 She really really is. 0:21:07.836 --> 0:21:10.876 Yeah, what's one thing I can do to cook better pasta? 0:21:11.476 --> 0:21:15.876 Mmm? So you need to take it out of the 0:21:15.916 --> 0:21:20.196 water a minute even two minutes ahead of time, and 0:21:20.276 --> 0:21:22.716 give it enough time to get to know the sauce 0:21:22.756 --> 0:21:25.076 in the pan, pull it from the water, hold on 0:21:25.116 --> 0:21:27.676 to some of that cooking water, some of that pasta water. 0:21:27.676 --> 0:21:29.436 It's like gold. It's got all the starch in it. 0:21:29.476 --> 0:21:31.356 And you can add small amounts at a time to 0:21:31.396 --> 0:21:34.916 the sauce. But like giving those two the sauce in 0:21:34.956 --> 0:21:38.236 the pasta time to cook together in the pan, will 0:21:38.316 --> 0:21:42.436 like adhere the sauce to the pasta properly and just 0:21:43.156 --> 0:21:45.956 make a significantly better product. 0:21:46.156 --> 0:21:49.196 I feel compelled to say that my wife already does that, 0:21:49.316 --> 0:21:49.956 but I do not. 0:21:50.436 --> 0:21:53.116 Okay, point to her, Yeah, yeah, point to her. 0:21:54.196 --> 0:21:57.076 What's the most underrated pasta shape? 0:21:58.036 --> 0:22:00.876 Ooh, dang, that's a good one. Let's see here. It's 0:22:00.876 --> 0:22:05.156 such a heated topic for me, So honestly, like underrated 0:22:05.636 --> 0:22:12.396 pasta shape is rigatoni. It's a hollow, straight tube, but 0:22:12.436 --> 0:22:16.276 that's like typically ridged on the outside, right, And I 0:22:16.316 --> 0:22:19.316 feel like rigatoni is something that you know, it's just 0:22:19.356 --> 0:22:23.356 sort of seen as basic like spaghetti, right, but but 0:22:23.556 --> 0:22:27.716 it holds the juicy sauce inside so that it just 0:22:27.796 --> 0:22:31.116 like snap when you snap into the pasta just gushes 0:22:31.156 --> 0:22:34.396 into your mouth, and that like delicate little ridge on 0:22:34.436 --> 0:22:37.236 the outside gives a little bit of tongue tickle and 0:22:37.316 --> 0:22:40.116 helps it adhere to the sauce. Like it's such a 0:22:40.196 --> 0:22:44.436 it's such a like common yet just absolutely lovely shape. 0:22:44.476 --> 0:22:47.476 Well, I gotta ask, what's the most overrated pasta shape? 0:22:47.756 --> 0:22:50.796 Oh? Man, what's the most overrated pasta shape? Oh? Dude, 0:22:50.956 --> 0:22:54.196 angel hair? What is up with angel hair? Passa? It's 0:22:54.276 --> 0:22:58.396 so thin? Like, okay, I get thin and delicate right like, 0:22:59.076 --> 0:23:03.356 But there's so many better thin and delicate pasta shapes 0:23:03.556 --> 0:23:07.636 that are long and slurpable, that don't just disintegrate and 0:23:07.716 --> 0:23:10.956 sauce immediately. Angel hair not into it. 0:23:11.036 --> 0:23:13.436 Yeah, I feel like there was a weird angel hair 0:23:14.036 --> 0:23:16.276 bubble in maybe the nineties. 0:23:16.356 --> 0:23:17.036 It was very nicety. 0:23:17.076 --> 0:23:18.156 You don't know how old you are, but I will 0:23:18.316 --> 0:23:20.916 have to remember. Yeah, what are you going to go do? 0:23:21.036 --> 0:23:21.516