WEBVTT - Abandoning Tradition in the Hospitality Space 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:04.160 This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Bloomberg 0:00:04.240 --> 0:00:08.159 Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. Let's get a 0:00:08.240 --> 0:00:10.960 read on the state of the hospitality industry, and we 0:00:10.960 --> 0:00:13.320 have the two perfect guests to do that with. We're 0:00:13.400 --> 0:00:16.439 joined by Todd English. He is master chef and partner 0:00:16.520 --> 0:00:20.280 of the English Hospitality Group. Also with us is Keith Burkhard. 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:22.880 He is Chief of staff over at the English Hospitality Group. 0:00:22.920 --> 0:00:26.720 Of course, it's a leading global operator, owner and developer 0:00:26.960 --> 0:00:30.680 of restaurants, hotels and nightlife venues. Great to have you 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:32.720 both with us and Todd. I want to start with 0:00:32.760 --> 0:00:35.440 you because I see in your notes that you're abandoning 0:00:35.479 --> 0:00:41.560 the traditional hospitality business model. What does that mean? Um, well, 0:00:41.600 --> 0:00:44.240 you know, I think we have you know, just sort 0:00:44.240 --> 0:00:47.879 of in all my years of going through the business 0:00:47.920 --> 0:00:51.640 of of of restaurants and owning small restaurants and then 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:56.320 being involved at hotels and casinos and various aspects of 0:00:56.400 --> 0:01:00.400 how people dined in the various venues. Is I think 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:04.480 what you're seeing in many ways is a shift in 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:09.560 in sort of the expectations of the customer. Um, certainly 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:15.960 they're uh pent up right now, especially coming out of 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:19.800 pandemic because there are pent up pins up. Um need 0:01:19.880 --> 0:01:22.399 to be out and the social and get out of 0:01:22.400 --> 0:01:24.560 the house. And you know, I think maybe there's even 0:01:24.600 --> 0:01:28.000 more appreciation for what restaurants are doing today in the 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:32.160 hospitality industry because, um, you know when people who had 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:34.759 to sit around for a year or two years without 0:01:34.800 --> 0:01:36.839 being able to go out, and I think they realized, Wow, 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:39.520 we really missed this part and we are these gregarious 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:42.920 creatures that need to go out and socialize. Yeah, I 0:01:43.560 --> 0:01:46.839 hear that. Hey, um, I should know Todd is joining 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:48.680 us on the phone from l A. Keith, you're joining 0:01:48.720 --> 0:01:51.760 us from Thailand. So, Keith, we really appreciate you staying 0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:54.000 up late to join us here on Bloomberg Business. We 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:55.760 come on in here, Keith Burkard, you are chief of 0:01:55.800 --> 0:01:58.280 staff at English Hospitality Group, and weigh in on what 0:01:58.360 --> 0:02:00.920 you were just hearing from Todd, because yeah, I want 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:04.400 to hear how the landscape looks right now as we 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:07.560 are all satisfying that pent up demand to get out there, 0:02:07.560 --> 0:02:11.400 because hey, as we learned today, it's pretty still pretty 0:02:11.400 --> 0:02:16.400 hard to find employees out there for these properties. Yeah, 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:18.480 I would say that's one of the biggest challenges right 0:02:18.560 --> 0:02:21.960 now in hospitality and that goes for all, um you know, 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:25.560 to to your hospitality groups, not to specifics um to 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:31.520 certain ones, but really identifying what your strengths are in 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:34.880 whatever hospitality venture you have, you have to make sure 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:39.400 you surround it with the right amenities and amplification that 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:41.880 the market is looking for. And that goes, you know, 0:02:41.960 --> 0:02:46.200 not just domestically in the United States, but internationally. As 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:49.760 Todd was saying, what what areas are you focusing on 0:02:49.840 --> 0:02:53.440 and how are you creating that consumer volume on a 0:02:53.480 --> 0:02:57.359 consistent basis? And so Todd, I want to go back 0:02:57.360 --> 0:03:00.200 to the phrase you used, pent up demand do When 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:03.520 I hear pent up, it's sort of implies a burst 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:06.360 and then a sort of a fade. And obviously, I 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:09.800 mean this conversation that we're having, it's uh, against the 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:12.880 backdrop of a lot of recession fears, and I'm wondering, 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:16.440 you know, how you're thinking about the economic environment as 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:19.240 you expand I mean, I think, yeah, Keeps and Eye 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:22.920 have this as our daily conversation on many different fronts 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:26.400 that as far as is uh, you know, we and 0:03:26.440 --> 0:03:28.720 I certainly you know, we were very fearful of this 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:32.639 sort of recession or pending recession, you know, hitting um 0:03:32.760 --> 0:03:36.320 the fact that yes, at some point, the new the 0:03:36.680 --> 0:03:39.800 newness or the reintroduction of being able to go out 0:03:39.840 --> 0:03:45.560 again and and socialized and being restaurants. UM. Change Obviously 0:03:45.640 --> 0:03:51.680 the economic uh you know uh decreased as far as 0:03:51.720 --> 0:03:54.320 you just people being afraid of sending money again and 0:03:54.360 --> 0:03:59.480 going out. So UM, I think all those having said 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:02.560 I yet to see a lot of that slept yet, 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:05.400 and I don't think we've seen it in even our restaurants. 0:04:05.440 --> 0:04:10.520 But you know, we are very treading, very cautiously, treading 0:04:10.600 --> 0:04:13.520 very cautiously and looking at every aspect of the business. 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:16.640 You know, I think he does that, you know, the 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:21.640 signs and codes of every day, you know, getting sort 0:04:21.640 --> 0:04:24.440 of the idea of getting making sure they were not overstaffed, 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:29.279 making sure that we watch all our numbers very closely. 0:04:29.720 --> 0:04:31.039 I taught I want to go back to something that 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:33.039 you said before we went to break and it's the 0:04:33.080 --> 0:04:36.640 idea of not necessarily seeing softness anywhere around the world. 0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:39.600 What can you tell us about regional differences here in 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:41.279 the US and outside of the U S when it 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:44.479 comes to demand. Um, As we do sort of get 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:50.599 through this reopening here. UM. I think, well, that's a 0:04:50.720 --> 0:04:53.720 very interesting question, but I think it's it's spit in 0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:59.520 the a couple of categories, depending on sort of the 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:02.160 the type of cuisine the restaurant. It is sort of 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:05.640 the the neighborhood you're in, you know, if you look 0:05:05.640 --> 0:05:09.479 a sort of South Florida now or where you know, uh, 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:11.800 you know in on beach area that you know. Obviously 0:05:11.960 --> 0:05:17.640 there's certain categories of UM of of types of restaurants. 0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:20.240 They're always going to kind of flourish because depending on 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:25.360 the clientele, their economic situation, UM, whether they have kids, 0:05:25.400 --> 0:05:27.120 they don't have kids, you know, that kind of thing, 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:30.000 how how that plays out, and sort of what they're 0:05:30.080 --> 0:05:33.039 daily average way of leading is UM. So, you know, 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:35.560 I think what we try to do is diversify as 0:05:35.640 --> 0:05:39.279 much as we can in our portfolio. All the restaurants 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:42.680 we listed are all across all categories from you know, 0:05:42.720 --> 0:05:47.600 from luxury to to uh more fast casual UM and 0:05:48.200 --> 0:05:52.160 I think, you know, giving people different options helps us 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:58.760 maintain a pretty consistent um UH business. Depending on what's 0:05:58.760 --> 0:06:00.520 going on in the world, we always to have some 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:03.120 category that will be filled in one way or the other. 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:06.920 So let's talk about the cannabis category because it is 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:11.480 like that transition. That transition this definitely called my eyes. 0:06:11.520 --> 0:06:15.760 So tell me about Last Leave, Keith, come back in here, 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:19.760 so as I understand it. Uh, you have mac and cheese, 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:25.119 pasta olive oil. Tell me tell me about that endeavor. Sure. 0:06:25.160 --> 0:06:29.559 So Last Leaf was general you know, kick started during 0:06:30.120 --> 0:06:33.240 COVID because we knew that there was a large consumer 0:06:33.279 --> 0:06:37.400 based at home and consumers in the cannabis world did 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:42.279 not have other optionality in the space, and we focused 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:46.760 on primary food groups, not focusing on gummies, chocolates, um 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:51.400 and traditional cannabis consumption uh Todd you know, had a 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:55.919 lot of connective uh components to cannabis throughout the years, 0:06:56.200 --> 0:06:59.680 and we said, all right, what type of products are 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:05.160 humors touching on an everyday frequency? And those were oils, spices, rubs, 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:09.039 et cetera. And we created lastly, which is cannabis and 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:14.400 fused primary food group edible products. And we've been very 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:18.840 successful as these touch and have a micro dose and 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:24.280 component to it with both THHC, CBD, CBNU. And we 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:28.200 know that this industry is slowly evolving, especially in the 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:32.320 pharmaceutical industries. H They see it as a threat because 0:07:32.720 --> 0:07:35.400 it comes from a natural source versus some of the 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:40.040 inorganic compounds, and it actually works. It actually works, we're 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:42.960 finding in most categories. That's so interesting time. I mean, well, 0:07:43.000 --> 0:07:45.800 go ahead, sorry, go ahead, No, No, I mean, I 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:48.520 just I think also one of those ways that you 0:07:48.600 --> 0:07:52.040 can I it's always really started out this whole idea 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:55.080 that's really the health benefits and things that we've been 0:07:55.120 --> 0:07:58.560 approached by all sorts of different in all sorts of 0:07:58.560 --> 0:08:03.840 different categories, you know, from doctors, from medical facilities, from 0:08:04.160 --> 0:08:07.600 children's hospitals, etcetera. So I think, you know, that's a 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:11.000 huge category that I think is still being discovered. And 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:13.560 I said, you know, I think that is getting m 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:16.480 played down by the big farm. You know, big farm. 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:18.160 It doesn't want to it's getting threatened by it a 0:08:18.200 --> 0:08:22.360 little bit. And so we are big fans of those 0:08:22.400 --> 0:08:25.800 components of it as well. Hey, Todd, when when you 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:27.840 look out across and I like, I don't mean this 0:08:27.880 --> 0:08:29.960 in a pejorative sense, but literally like you're you're trying 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:34.200 to build an empire here. You know, you want restaurants, hotels, 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:39.199 nightlife events, ghost kitchen venues. You've got the cannabis element 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:42.079 to here. When you look out across the different properties 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:46.840 you have, where are you seeing the biggest area for growth? Um? 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:52.600 You know, I still there's still huge, huge, uh. From 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:58.200 the standpoint of of convenience in meaning food the delivery 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:03.480 that we still haven't seen the interesting come down. Um. 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:06.200 So this would be the ghost kitchen side of things. Yeah, 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:08.800 ghost ghost kitchen. But how do you how do you 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:11.920 replicate what you do what people have come become accustomed 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:14.599 to visiting your restaurants, how do you replicate that in 0:09:14.640 --> 0:09:17.080 a delivery sense in a ghost kitchen because it's more 0:09:17.120 --> 0:09:18.840 than just the food when you have that experience in 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:21.200 one of your restaurants. What is a ghost kitchen? Can 0:09:21.240 --> 0:09:24.320 we just define that first? Okay, Yeah, that's a good question, Todd. 0:09:24.360 --> 0:09:28.160 You want to take you want to take it away? Yeah? 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:31.400 That that was started I think by travelers. Yeah, from 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:35.800 Travis from Uber. Yeah, Travis Kline with cloud kitchens correctly, 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:38.120 and he did cloud kitchens. And then so the whole 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:41.760 term ghost kitchens meaning that it was a secret place 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:45.160 that people made food or a warehouse that necessarily was 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:48.160 not seen by anyone. It was just a place where 0:09:48.200 --> 0:09:50.560 they had a kitchen so that their turn ghosts not 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:53.520 being seen. Basically, the idea is to create it exclusively 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:56.160 for delivery, so you have, you know, the food being 0:09:56.200 --> 0:09:57.800 made in a place that doesn't actually look like a 0:09:57.960 --> 0:10:02.040 kitchen or look like a restauran. Yeah, not a restaurant. Yeah, 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:04.200 it's just the kitchen and we're in a warehouse, you know, 0:10:04.280 --> 0:10:06.880 with less ranked and less overhead. And that's a good 0:10:06.880 --> 0:10:08.920 idea that you can blow the truck into or the 0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:11.800 delivery guys who get into and out easy. So, Keith 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:13.920 as as chief of staff, how are you really leaning 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:17.280 into this idea of of of delivery and and creating 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:19.920 this creating this sort of sort of extension of the brand. 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:27.240 It's a good, good question. Uh. Basically, what we're doing 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:31.240 is we're partnering with really strong operators, not both in 0:10:31.280 --> 0:10:35.240 the US but globally because you need to have the 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:40.360 right technology partner wherever you do this. But Todd has 0:10:40.400 --> 0:10:43.199 built i would say at this point, over a hundred 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:47.040 brands in his career. So for us, this is a 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:50.960 quick little pivot for Todd, especially to position a lot 0:10:51.040 --> 0:10:54.760 of brands on all different cuisine fronts, which makes Todd 0:10:55.679 --> 0:10:59.400 really really strong chef not not know, because he's not 0:10:59.440 --> 0:11:03.800 one to mention. He has multiple different skill sets and 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:08.719 we have approximately nine to fifty brands that we can 0:11:08.760 --> 0:11:12.719 put into these technology platforms. And also you see that, 0:11:13.360 --> 0:11:19.520 you know Amazon, you see Walmart retailers. The food delivery 0:11:19.559 --> 0:11:24.360 on the grocery front is changing dramatically as Well's interesting 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:28.760 and another component where Todd has already been thinking. Todd's 0:11:28.800 --> 0:11:31.320 Todd's a very interesting creature. He's tend to twenty years 0:11:31.520 --> 0:11:34.120 ahead everyone else in the food space. Well, we love 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:36.240 having you guys on. That's the voice of Keith Burkar, 0:11:36.320 --> 0:11:39.040 chief of staff for English Hospitality Group. Also Todd English 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:42.520 Master chef and partner at English Hospitality Group. I really 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:46.200 appreciate you guys taking the time and joining us this afternoon. Katie, 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:48.440 that is gonna do it for Bloomberg Business Week on 0:11:48.440 --> 0:11:50.839 this Friday, August five. Thank you so much for us 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:54.800 and for kids. Really appreciate it. You're listening to Bloomberg Radio.