Tim Niver: The Unfiltered Truth About Food, Hospitality & Survival

0:000 secondsReal quick before we dive in, if you’re a regular here, consider pulling up a seat to the Patreon. The seat, the table, the kitchen. Three tiers starting
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0:2121 secondsWelcome to another episode of the music podcast show.
0:3030 secondsI am your host, Ed Porter.
0:3434 secondsThis is the place for full music and culture. How do you all connect?
0:4040 secondsOh, dude. I’m going to watch it now. I think it’s dope.
0:4343 secondsWelcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of the Taste Music here Food Podcast Show. I am your host Ed Porter and this is the destination for
0:5252 secondsfood, music, and culture and how they all connect. My guest today is uh first
0:5959 secondsand foremost is a friend of mine and and I and I say that with with all the love in the world. This is a is a good dude.
1:061 minute, 6 secondsUm he’s a very knowledgeable dude and uh he has what I call one of those vibes you
1:141 minute, 14 secondswant to be around. And so uh we talked about doing this for for a minute now. And I’m glad we are here to do it today.
1:221 minute, 22 secondsBut before we get started and jump in, I have to attempt to pay this gentleman the respect he so greatly deserves. And I’mma do it with this intro here.
1:331 minute, 33 secondsToday’s guest is one of those hospitality voices who doesn’t just talk about restaurants, he tells the truth about them. He has built rooms that
1:421 minute, 42 secondsbecome memories. rooms where people fall in love, break bread, argued over cocktails, discover new flavors, and
1:511 minute, 51 secondsleft like they belong before they ever sat down. From the early days of Tong, from the early days of Town Talk Diner
1:591 minute, 59 secondsto the strip club, Meat and Fish, Saint Dinette, Mucci’s Italian, and now Netherland. He has helped shape the Twin
2:072 minutes, 7 secondsCities dining conversation with equal parts craft, cander, human, and refusal to take the funk. But what makes him powerful isn’t just the restaurants.
2:172 minutes, 17 secondsIt’s the way he talks about hospitality as a living thing. Something emotional, fragile, cultural, economic, and deeply
2:242 minutes, 24 secondshuman. At this table, we always say food is more than just what’s on the plate.
2:302 minutes, 30 secondsAnd music is more than what comes out of the speakers. Food is what we consume.
2:342 minutes, 34 secondsMusic is the vibration we live by. And today’s guest has spent his life studying what people consume when they walk into a restaurant. Comfort, ego,
2:432 minutes, 43 secondsattention, nostalgia, escape, identity, and sometimes the hard truth. Please welcome to the Taste Music here podcast
2:502 minutes, 50 secondsshow, restaurant tour, podcast, provocator, hospitality truth tech, and my friend, Mr. Tim Kny.
2:582 minutes, 58 secondsWow. Thank you so much. That was beautiful. Thank you.
3:043 minutes, 4 secondsyou you uh that was beautiful. Thank you so much. You got me welled up a little bit.
3:093 minutes, 9 secondsThat’s the great thing about this platform is I I get to really intentionally tell people that I
3:183 minutes, 18 secondsrevere and have genuine love for exactly how the world sees them.
3:243 minutes, 24 secondsYeah. And we very few we very rarely get to absorb how we present to people.
3:343 minutes, 34 secondsIt’s usually when it’s some [ __ ] do we hear what people think, right? But never the things the all the things all
3:423 minutes, 42 secondsof the uh uh the stuff that you do in the dark and all the things it takes up to be whoever you are and do the things
3:503 minutes, 50 secondsyou do. A lot of that goes unnoticed and unseen and unrecognized. And so it is uh you know I think it’s imperative that
3:583 minutes, 58 secondsthat we need to absorb some of that [ __ ] and take take a moment as doers we’re so busy doing that we never really relish
4:064 minutes, 6 secondsin the moment. They used you know our parents used to say the small wins right there’s no such thing as a small win. A win is a [ __ ] win and you have to
4:154 minutes, 15 secondscollect as many as you can because the losses are going to be there for sure. Yeah.
4:194 minutes, 19 secondsSo I think about tomorrow.
4:214 minutes, 21 secondsAbsolutely. I got to go tomorrow and I got to do it again and I, you know, it doesn’t it doesn’t really rest. So,
4:294 minutes, 29 secondsum, it is hard to stop. Um, I I certainly love being recognized and and and feeling needed.
4:384 minutes, 38 secondsMhm.
4:404 minutes, 40 secondsUh, so yeah. Yeah, you hit me good with that, dude. That’s cool. Absolutely. I mean, great.
4:474 minutes, 47 secondsAll right, so let’s I can’t imagine anybody writing that about me, honestly. But, you know, at the same time, I’ve been around and I’m, you know, I’m trying to be a good person.
4:554 minutes, 55 secondsYeah. Trying. Yeah. Trying to do it. Here’s the deal.
5:005 minutesSo, let’s let’s jump in before Cool.
5:035 minutes, 3 secondsYou know, you you had a wild wild, you know, hospitality journey.
5:105 minutes, 10 secondsBut before we get into the resume, which is super duper extensive, uh I I want to know this. What
5:195 minutes, 19 secondswhat did restaurants give you emotionally before they ever gave you a career?
5:325 minutes, 32 secondsUm, a sense of organization, a sense of uh um purpose.
5:415 minutes, 41 secondsUm they gave me um you know like um a a way to be
5:525 minutes, 52 secondsgave me a way to be and and something to put my attention on. I think that’s how it started early. Mhm.
5:585 minutes, 58 secondsUm but emotionally I it was even before restaurants that I was connected to like the idea of service and the idea of
6:086 minutes, 8 secondsuh hospitality with the with my folks and then I realized there’s a profession upon which you can apply those skills
6:166 minutes, 16 secondsright so I emotionally connected to food and the and and and service and hospitality at home.
6:256 minutes, 25 secondsYeah.
6:266 minutes, 26 secondsYeah. the care we gave, you know, before we went out in the streets, the care I was given, the the emotional attachment
6:356 minutes, 35 secondsto what it is to like sit with family and eat and have it be a center when we had time to do that when every
6:426 minutes, 42 secondsfamily always did that or always, not every family, but you know, the kind of normaly and then
6:506 minutes, 50 secondsum I think the other emotional once I got into restaurants, it was it was kind
6:566 minutes, 56 secondsthe aspects of team and uh my response of you know continuing to serve like not
7:057 minutes, 5 secondsonly like others but like the people I worked with like so like I really believe that my
7:127 minutes, 12 secondsand I have some weird maybe attachment things but the people I work with are kind of my best friends.
7:177 minutes, 17 secondsAbsolutely. And so like in the moment when we do things together that are hard like this, you know, it was I think those are the those moments when you get busy and you
7:267 minutes, 26 secondstalk about it and you you know when you’re slow and you talk about whatever it is. I think you know the I get emotionally connected to the idea to to the people.
7:347 minutes, 34 secondsMhm.
7:347 minutes, 34 secondsIt just is like trying to and the differences amongst them. So it was really easy to connect kind of emotionally to the people I worked with.
7:427 minutes, 42 secondsAnd I think you know the people in this industry are so unique and so kind of like you know some some of us are
7:517 minutes, 51 secondsmisfits and some of us are you know wanderers and some of us are you know all of us are misfits you know. Right. But in a different way right you know.
8:018 minutes, 1 secondYeah.
8:028 minutes, 2 secondsUm so it’s it’s really cool to to have always really enjoyed the people that I work with. It’s the best. It’s the It’s the absolute best part Yeah.
8:118 minutes, 11 secondsof it all. Yeah. True.
8:138 minutes, 13 secondsI You know, a lot of people say don’t work with people you love, too. But I just I just think how do you stop that from happening, you know? Like how do
8:218 minutes, 21 secondsyou stop yourself from like loving a dude, you know? Like I love this person, man. you know like and how do you connect
8:298 minutes, 29 secondsthe I I think the the true sance in any
8:378 minutes, 37 secondsmedium whether whatever career path it is have to have a a level of vulnerability
8:458 minutes, 45 secondsand when you have that level of vulnerability it’s hard to not leave with your heart. Yeah.
8:508 minutes, 50 secondsSo you you know it’s I understand how pay people can’t do it like me.
8:548 minutes, 54 secondsYeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don’t expect you to do like me. That’s fine. Like this is how I do it. Like this is how I am and it’s my it’s my build.
9:029 minutes, 2 secondsYeah. Absolutely. We we are all a uh a combination and a culmination of places and spaces we’ve been. We were just
9:109 minutes, 10 secondstalking about off camera off camera about you know the industry at large and culture being like the number one driver
9:189 minutes, 18 secondsof good and or bad uh you know habits let’s call them.
9:259 minutes, 25 secondsWhat has and a lot of people get, you know, talk [ __ ] on, you know, uh, fast-paced,
9:339 minutes, 33 secondscasual or quick service restaurants, but most of them have the culture dialed in. Whatever that culture is is dialed in.
9:409 minutes, 40 secondsWhat have you learned? What did you learn at McDonald’s that you carry into what you do every day?
9:489 minutes, 48 secondsYeah. Um, I think it was, you know, I cooked, right? I would I didn’t really work the front. I cooked. So just seeing
9:569 minutes, 56 secondsum even the way I also emptied the truck, right? So like in fact my first job McDonald’s was Sunday mornings you’d get
10:0410 minutes, 4 secondsthe truck and the truck would pull up for the week and they they shoot the conveyor belt and they’re just whipping boxes at you and you’re like, “Oh, these.” So you’re like boom, boom, boom.
10:1410 minutes, 14 secondsyou know, this shelf over here and then you’re like behind and trying to just like physically catch up to the work and then the truck uh comes out the
10:2310 minutes, 23 secondsother side with another conveyor belt towards the freezer outside and they’re just shooting boxes at you. Everyone has a code. Everyone has a stack. Everyone has a place for it to be in a reason.
10:3610 minutes, 36 secondsAnd if nothing else, McDonald’s told me about me and how to have it all set. So it’s automatic.
10:4510 minutes, 45 secondsMhm.
10:4610 minutes, 46 secondsCuz we were still kind of cooking then, right? So it was they they they’d fire a dozen six, which means dozen
10:5410 minutes, 54 secondscheeseburgers or hamburgers and then six Big Macs cuz it’s double the burger.
10:5810 minutes, 58 secondsLike just keep just fire a dozen six until they tell you to stop, you know?
11:0211 minutes, 2 secondsWe’re like And I I clicked with that. I clicked with what the window had for me and then the tempo.
11:1011 minutes, 10 secondsMhm.
11:1111 minutes, 11 secondsWhat you know, don’t stop. Okay, don’t stop. So, there’s a lot there. I also
11:1811 minutes, 18 secondslearned some things not to do, like date the manager.
11:2611 minutes, 26 secondsI’m sure I’m sure that died many moves later, though. That I’m sure I’m sure there was some carryover in that.
11:3311 minutes, 33 secondsListen, let’s just say this. In the hospitality industry, you know it like I know it and most people that are in it know, it’s nurses and doctors, okay?
11:4111 minutes, 41 secondsIt’s just it’s no different. It’s it’s it is what it is. It’s hard to and you know it’s not you know it’s the wrong
11:4811 minutes, 48 secondsthing to do because you cannot escape that person if something ever goes ary.
11:5411 minutes, 54 secondsHowever, you spend 99% of your time with the same group of people. It’s hard again for emotions to not to to not bubble up. Good, bad, or indifferent.
12:0512 minutes, 5 secondsIt’s a thing. We’ve all done it. We’ve all had everybody I know has had a nightmare story about it.
12:1112 minutes, 11 secondsHey, you learn and you learn soft skills.
12:1312 minutes, 13 secondsYou learn you learn and you but you’re with people that you’re also like have a [ __ ] ton in common with.
12:2112 minutes, 21 secondsYeah. So, I mean I I found a lot of uh intrinsic qualities and and uh the dancers of the night. We kept the same
12:2912 minutes, 29 secondsschedule, you know. So, once you move once you graduated from servers and hostesses, you move right to strippers.
12:3612 minutes, 36 secondsThat’s the uh that’s the that’s the that’s the next level. Wow.
12:3812 minutes, 38 secondsYou don’t work in the same building, but we keep the same hours.
12:4312 minutes, 43 secondsVegas did Vegas did show me a bit of that. Now that of course they did.
12:5012 minutes, 50 secondsAnd honestly, in some of the best conversations and funnest times were with somebody who
12:5712 minutes, 57 secondswas entertaining me and it was lovely and like so perfect and nice and even sweet, you know? Maybe that’s what I got
13:0613 minutes, 6 secondsout of it. But I love happens the right way sometimes too. You know, love is like I think it’s the most unsto I think it should be if
13:1413 minutes, 14 secondsit’s not for you, it should be the most unstoppable force and one that you let just wash over you completely.
13:2113 minutes, 21 secondsUm that’s that’s how I feel about love for sure. I just love it and that’s I there is no stopping it. It is one of
13:2913 minutes, 29 secondsthe I call the big four universal languages and um unmistakable and uh everybody knows what it feels like to to
13:3713 minutes, 37 secondsfeel that. However, we can’t choose where the love is directed. That’s that’s where we run into issues.
13:4413 minutes, 44 secondsSometimes you uh you know you you you love what you love, right? And it’s not necessarily
13:5013 minutes, 50 secondsthe thing. However, and that goes for everything, even even this industry.
13:5613 minutes, 56 secondsLike I I I I love it wholeheartedly. I even though I mean it is what either it’s in you or it’s not like you can’t
14:0314 minutes, 3 secondsyou can’t fake it. Um we can all we all say we want to you know do something else. However,
14:1014 minutes, 10 secondsthere’s nothing else because nothing else will feed your soul. There’s a very appropriate feature that we all like
14:1714 minutes, 17 secondsreally had to take into consideration in our industry and we did it way too late and we kind
14:2414 minutes, 24 secondsof made chefs celebrities and idols and put them up on um these pedestals
14:3114 minutes, 31 secondsand many of them were not ready or acting appropriately or had the toutelage where being non-toxic
14:4014 minutes, 40 secondsum or inapprop appropriate, you know, and I’m nobody’s perfect, like you say, but you know, I think we’ve built on on
14:5014 minutes, 50 secondsthat change. Um, and I I it’s so much cleaner and, you know, like we don’t hear every
14:5814 minutes, 58 secondsconversation at work, but it’s just so easy to keep it away from work. Yeah. No, for sure.
15:0515 minutes, 5 secondsIt’s so easy to you can do what you want, like you say, but it’s so easy to keep it away from work, you know? I just I agree. But it takes a little bit of uh
15:1315 minutes, 13 secondsa a little bit of a lot of bit of common sense actually.
15:1915 minutes, 19 secondsSo, and unfortunately common sense is not a common control. Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. Discipline is key. Discipline is key.
15:2715 minutes, 27 secondsOkay. We’re going to jump into a segment called Cold Truths. Here we go. Every flavor tells a story.
15:3315 minutes, 33 secondsEvery story holds the truth. This is Cold Truths presented by Just Fruit Sorbet Ailier. The new standard in sorbet. Pure fruit. Thoughtfully crafted
15:4215 minutes, 42 secondsfruit at its most honest. Chefdriven small batch sorbet is made with real fruit, organic ingredients, and flavors designed to hit like the perfect record at the perfect moment. It just us.
15:5415 minutes, 54 secondsCool.
15:5415 minutes, 54 secondsSo, we’re going to jump into a segment where I think it’s like, you know, the cold truth. Like, this is this is the fun
16:0116 minutes, 1 secondpart. The cold truth. How do you deliver the cold truth? Can you make it pretty?
16:0616 minutes, 6 secondsCan you say it so it doesn’t Absolutely. You know, like those are the things.
16:1016 minutes, 10 secondsHere’s the cold truth, but I don’t want it to hurt too bad. Absolutely. Okay. Dope.
16:1816 minutes, 18 secondsSo, here I’ll give you this one cuz it’s it’s prettier cuz you just talked about pretty. All right. So, what we’re going to do is
16:2516 minutes, 25 secondswe’re going to Is this is this tempered properly? A little bit. Okay. So, we’re going to taste the sorbet.
16:3216 minutes, 32 secondsUm, and then I’m going to ask you a question that is going to require I’m I know I’m going to get it anyway, but I’m going to just say it. Require your 100% cander and honesty.
16:4316 minutes, 43 secondsOkay.
16:4416 minutes, 44 secondsOkay. So, uh, the flavors we have today are eng I think this is the first week I know.
16:5116 minutes, 51 secondsOkay. So, we have carac cara orange and cacao cacao cacao sorbet. It’s a fair trade cacao.
17:0317 minutes, 3 secondsI’m glad it’s fair trade, Ed. Yeah, it makes a difference.
17:0817 minutes, 8 secondsIt does. It’s one of those words you hear that I never know.
17:1017 minutes, 10 secondsBut it’s a real thing. It’s a real It’s not a buzz word. It’s a real thing.
17:1617 minutes, 16 secondsSo, no dairy 100%. Um, and Caracara orange um is is a
17:2317 minutes, 23 secondsvarietal of oranges. It’s usually the pink flesh colored ones. This is my favorite one so far. Okay. Hey, what do you want to know?
17:3117 minutes, 31 secondsAll right.
17:3317 minutes, 33 secondsWhat do you think about this sorbet? Is it good? Mhm. Okay. I want a little more. You ready? Yeah, I got it. Is there more? Is that it?
17:4117 minutes, 41 secondsYeah, I got more for you. I got tons.
17:4317 minutes, 43 secondsYou can have as much as you want. You can have as much as you want. Okay, good.
17:4717 minutes, 47 secondsIs work life is work life balance realistic and hospitality or is it mostly fantasy?
17:5517 minutes, 55 secondsWell, you have to be good enough to run the ship well enough so that it can be your reality. If you’re not in control of it, it’ll be in control of you.
18:0318 minutes, 3 secondsWell stated. Well stated. I think like when we you you grow
18:1218 minutes, 12 secondsin uh tenure as well as uh in responsibility in the industry
18:2018 minutes, 20 secondssomewhere along the lines uh you you’re it’s really not you usually it’s it’s your your outside
18:2818 minutes, 28 secondssphere of influence your circle. They think that the amount of time spent at
18:3518 minutes, 35 secondsthe craft or what you’re doing at work should dissipate. However, the higher you climb, the the more your responsibility then the more your your
18:4418 minutes, 44 secondsyour internal responsibility for not only what you’re doing but for the people that are connected to what you’re
18:5018 minutes, 50 secondsdoing. So as as a manager and god forbid, you know, as a owner operator,
18:5818 minutes, 58 secondsthe sense of respons for the good ones, the sense of responsibility you feel for every soul in that building is something that keeps you up at night. It it can’t
19:0619 minutes, 6 secondshelp but do that if you really truly care and most people don’t get that.
19:1119 minutes, 11 secondsYeah. Um you know own it is a living breathing thing. you you know like the business is
19:1919 minutes, 19 secondsabout the people who are helping you you know have the business you know that you can’t do it without them. So the like
19:2719 minutes, 27 secondsthe heartbeats there’s a lot of heartbeats you know like it’s you know it’s never just nobody does this alone
19:3419 minutes, 34 secondsright but you know there’s a point of you know making sure
19:4219 minutes, 42 secondswhile things are never really done that you’re at a place that you’re in you’re in control of it so that you I
19:5119 minutes, 51 secondsmean number one that probably means that you’re good like flying over the battle we don’t you know there’s and being able to watch what’s going on,
19:5819 minutes, 58 secondsyou know, confidently is really the goal.
20:0220 minutes, 2 secondsIt just so happens like that that can happen and you can still be in your business. You can kind of like be there and be like, “Yeah, assessing this is
20:0920 minutes, 9 secondshandled. I’m extra, right?” and knowing it and being able to like step out
20:1720 minutes, 17 secondsuh out of service like I have for the past couple months to do a a consulting gig which benefits my business and my
20:2520 minutes, 25 secondshome. Um uh you you have to it’s just important
20:3220 minutes, 32 secondsto be able to uh extend what you do and um work some hours and understand what the what what
20:4020 minutes, 40 secondsthe what the uh what the drawbacks are to the job like you know it could be this like we got broken into or whatever but
20:4820 minutes, 48 secondsyou know like everything’s just ongoing but you have to be able to also separate and you and you have to have people help
20:5520 minutes, 55 secondsyou do it while you’re away. It should act like when you’re there. Mhm.
21:0021 minutesAnd if you’re not confident in that, you are probably sleeping less. Absolutely. Okay. Took me a minute to get that.
21:0721 minutes, 7 secondsNo, no, no. You You landed the plane, though. All right. I’m going to land the plane now, too.
21:1421 minutes, 14 secondsAll right. That was cold truth presented by Just Sorbet Ailier, where the flavors are cold, but the conversations are honest. For more info, head to www.justfruitsorbay.com. justfruits.com.
21:2621 minutes, 26 secondsAll right.
21:2821 minutes, 28 secondsUm, let’s talk into I’m going to I like doing these parallels between uh food
21:3521 minutes, 35 secondsand music because so this is how this all came about. I don’t even know if I ever told you this. Why this whole platform exists is so I got into food to
21:4421 minutes, 44 secondspay for studio time. I’ve always done music since I was a kid. how I always
21:5021 minutes, 50 secondslooked at the the industry in ways that were associated to music. So, how I
21:5721 minutes, 57 secondsremembered recipes, I would make songs out of them. And then looking at the structure of a perfectly crafted song, it’s a lot of similarities between like
22:0622 minutes, 6 secondsbaking with breads. So, the the building blocks of certain things are there. Now, you can mix around the order of them,
22:1422 minutes, 14 secondsbut they are still prevalent. You know, you have to have those things. And so because of that, I I like to give some parallels always where people might not
22:2322 minutes, 23 secondssee them, but then once you say it, it’s like, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. It’s there. It’s glaring now. So, you know, restaurants have a
22:3022 minutes, 30 secondsrhythm, right? So, a diner, a diner rush has tempo. Dining room has bass, treble, silence, chaos, and release.
22:3922 minutes, 39 secondsYou can feel when a room is in pocket.
22:4322 minutes, 43 secondsyou can damn sure feel when the whole band is offbeat, right?
22:5022 minutes, 50 secondsWhat What’s the music of a great dining room in your opinion?
22:5722 minutes, 57 secondsI remarked a couple times when I was at St. dinette. um couple services there
23:0423 minutes, 4 secondsand and more than a couple, but there were a few moments where I stopped and I
23:1223 minutes, 12 secondssaid, “This is the exact restaurant I dreamt about having
23:1923 minutes, 19 secondsbecause the music and the tempo of the guest seating and the tempo of the service and the way that everybody was
23:2623 minutes, 26 secondson and everything just clicked.
23:3123 minutes, 31 secondsAnd the steward was happy and the prep cook was happy and the threeline cooks were happy and the expediter was kicking it out. People you could see people kind
23:4023 minutes, 40 secondsof like rolling their eyes back in their heads because of flavor.
23:4423 minutes, 44 secondsThe vibe was right. you know, it was usually some sort of, you know, like smooth electric smooth
23:5223 minutes, 52 secondslike uh, you know, neo R&B or something like that. And and just kind of like how things glide along in that moment.
24:0324 minutes, 3 secondsRecently in my this consulting gig I’m doing, we got we went through so much chaos. We got to a weekday
24:1024 minutes, 10 secondsand I and then, you know, I had a pretty strong pre-shift meeting and I felt like we were locked in. I know it’s funny to say cuz everybody says it, but I did. I
24:1824 minutes, 18 secondsfelt like, all right, you know, we I’m on message. I’m on point and and then then service happened and we’re into it. It’s about 6:30.
24:3024 minutes, 30 secondsThings are kind of clicking along and I’m looking around. And I’m like, “Nobody’s coming up to me for anything, you know, like h.” So I stopped in the
24:3924 minutes, 39 secondsmiddle of the room and I’m just sort of in the middle of the room. And I and I just looked around for a minute and I’m like, “Okay,
24:4824 minutes, 48 secondsthis is it.” So I went and got in the chef. I went and got him, you know, bam, come out here. And I walked him out of the dining room. I’m
24:5524 minutes, 55 secondslike, “Okay, just stand here for a minute. Be quiet. Look around.” I mean, he’s like, “What? just just like watch the room, right?
25:0325 minutes, 3 secondsAnd I’m like, “That’s it. That that I’m like, you got it.” He’s like, “I got it.” He kind of looked at me weird. I’m like, “No, that’s it.” Yeah.
25:1025 minutes, 10 secondsThat that’s that’s this is how I should feel. Absolutely. Absolutely.
25:1425 minutes, 14 secondsAnd I And you know, we connected on it, but you know, it’s kind of like like why the hell am I standing out here? But I’m like, you got to see it. Yeah.
25:2225 minutes, 22 secondsYou got to feel it. And there’s a moment and you kind of It’s like going down the It’s not like a ride and you’re on Whoa.
25:2825 minutes, 28 secondsYeah. That was it. being able to stop and notify yourself that you’re doing it. Yeah.
25:3525 minutes, 35 secondsIf if what we cons if food is what we consume and and music is the vibration
25:4225 minutes, 42 secondsthat that that drives us, what do you think people are truly consuming when they come to let’s say
25:5225 minutes, 52 secondsand let me tell you, let me preface why I asked that question.
25:5625 minutes, 56 secondsI think in my opinion your superpower is in curating a vibe. Like going to
26:0526 minutes, 5 secondsMucci feels like I’m in your living room. Yeah. Yeah.
26:1026 minutes, 10 secondsAnd that’s intentional and that but that’s that’s a harder thing to to do. All my people can deliver.
26:1826 minutes, 18 secondsThey’re the best. That there’s a casual nature about the professionalism we offer. And and what I mean by that, when
26:2526 minutes, 25 secondsI say that, I mean I I feel I feel welcome into your home. So it’s a it’s a transportation that happens,
26:3326 minutes, 33 secondsa teleportation that happens when you cross that threshold and there’s it’s a vibe. And then god forbid I walk out to the patio, that’s a whole another it’s a
26:4226 minutes, 42 secondswhole another thing. So that is a uh it’s a it’s it’s Yeah. It’s it’s truly a a a feat that
26:4926 minutes, 49 secondsmost places and I’m not talking about the core. I’m not talking about aesthetics. It’s a vibe and and if you know, you know. If you don’t, you don’t.
26:5926 minutes, 59 secondsSo, it’s really cool. You know, I look around in my own place. I’m like, “Oh my god, I got to fix that. I got to fix that. I got to fix that.” But then the
27:0527 minutes, 5 secondslights go down, the door opens, and my attention on some of those details goes away cuz we’re just, you know, welcoming
27:1227 minutes, 12 secondspeople in, you know, and that’s and that’s real. It’s kind, hey, how you doing? You know, it doesn’t it’s just it’s real. This is a real interaction.
27:2127 minutes, 21 secondsand I want you to have a good time. I don’t need to be your buddy. Mhm.
27:2427 minutes, 24 secondsBut you’re going to get real for me and I ain’t changing it, right?
27:2727 minutes, 27 secondsYou know, it has a personality, um, a persona, but it’s not a person.
27:3327 minutes, 33 secondsUm, yes, I lead that. Yes, I I offer that. I can show people how to make that
27:4027 minutes, 40 secondsfeeling happen. They can or can’t do it themselves. That’s possible. People have said to me that,
27:4927 minutes, 49 secondsyou know, you can tell it’s a niver restaurant.
27:5327 minutes, 53 secondsAnd those that’s one of the nice compliments I’ve enjoyed cuz that means that they know I’m there but I’m not there.
28:0028 minutesMhm. Culture. It’s cool.
28:0528 minutes, 5 secondsThat’s a cool That’s a cool It’s a cool thing. And then I’ve been lucky enough to pick some of the shittiest spaces
28:1328 minutes, 13 secondsin the wildest locations with the weirdest facets and uh you know offered what I felt fit
28:2328 minutes, 23 secondson that pallet and like you know the room gives me this. So I wasn’t bucking what the room gave me. I went with what the room gave me.
28:3228 minutes, 32 secondsYeah.
28:3328 minutes, 33 secondsAnd I have a brick building with a a restaurant with no sign open for 10 years. And it was because I couldn’t afford it at the beginning. And now it’s
28:4128 minutes, 41 secondsjust like, should I put up a sign? You know, I’ve been here 10 years. I don’t know. Right. Yeah.
28:4628 minutes, 46 secondsI don’t know. But I like telling the story.
28:4928 minutes, 49 secondsNo, it’s a it’s a it’s a great story, and it’s a it’s a real story.
28:5228 minutes, 52 secondsYeah. And it’s still hard to afford
28:5428 minutes, 54 seconds[ __ ]28:5528 minutes, 55 secondsAbsolutely.
28:5628 minutes, 56 secondsLike every day. But um it’s kind of it’s a there there is there is a thing I do.
29:0529 minutes, 5 secondsIt’s a let me confirm to you and I’ve said this to you before so it’s not the first time but it’s working. It it does it really
29:1329 minutes, 13 secondsNo, it’s really a thing. So, like it’s a it’s a it’s a value ad to be welcomed
29:2129 minutes, 21 secondsinto a place to where I know that I’m going to feel a way
29:2929 minutes, 29 secondsbase, you know, that it’s, you know, that’s a that’s a that’s the thing. We can talk about mama’s ragu being better
29:3629 minutes, 36 secondsthan my mama’s ragu or we you know you didn’t like this or that but it’s still like I’m still going to treat that moment with the same sincerity like oh
29:4329 minutes, 43 seconds[ __ ] I’m sorry that didn’t work out like you know like in the problems is like the opportunities and I’m not saying that like a business thing but it’s like
29:5129 minutes, 51 secondsyou know that’s where you see who we are. Absolutely. Absolutely. Like we took care of that. Yep. Yeah. And you know we did enough too.
30:0030 minutesAbsolutely. Yeah. It’s a mistake.
30:0330 minutes, 3 secondsYou know, so there’s some honesty there, too. Like I ain’t go further than that either. You know, we have our own boundaries. It’s like so too small to like give on everything, right?
30:1030 minutes, 10 secondsAnd I think that’s still part of the hospitality. Very true. Very true.
30:1330 minutes, 13 secondsCuz I think we we just there’s a certain amount you can give and then there it there is a line.
30:2030 minutes, 20 secondsIt’s a great segue into this. And now I’ll preface this with so I was a guest on Neverland and um we we had uh I had a great time. Thank you.
30:3130 minutes, 31 secondsAs you will. You’re right.
30:3330 minutes, 33 secondsAnd um we part of the conversation where we’re talking about crossing a river.
30:3930 minutes, 39 secondsAll right. So, uh there’s a difference in in in rhythm in St. Paul versus Minneapolis. A a a glaring difference.
30:4830 minutes, 48 secondsAnd for whatever reason, there’s this invisible force field in the middle of the Mississippi
30:5630 minutes, 56 secondsthat keeps people from it’s a it’s a you know, one side inter. It’s like it’s like the little spikes when you go to return the the rental car that you know don’t back up.
31:0631 minutes, 6 secondsIt is. Oh, it’s scary, too. Like, can I actually drive over those? Exactly.
31:1331 minutes, 13 secondsExactly. And so there’s there’s a difference in rhythm between the two.
31:1731 minutes, 17 secondsHow would you describe the differences through food, though?
31:2531 minutes, 25 secondsas someone who’s played in both cultural mix. There’s more of a cultural mix in Minneapolis in a way, especially in the
31:3131 minutes, 31 secondsthe finer dining and or like, you know, um um just just the mix, right? You know,
31:4031 minutes, 40 secondsthere’s a couple and then I think that just the the depth overall, you just get more opportunity to be able to kind of
31:4731 minutes, 47 secondscart around and go a bunch of places in Minneapolis. you know, it’s a bigger city and that is the obvious part of it.
31:5231 minutes, 52 secondsIt’s just bigger. I think the thing about St. Paul though is while you while it’s different than
32:0032 minutesMinneapolis, it doesn’t mean it’s any less than.
32:0432 minutes, 4 secondsAnd that this is a vibe that you should jump onto every once in a while.
32:1032 minutes, 10 secondsI agree. And I think it’s I think it’s a progressive uh city
32:1732 minutes, 17 secondsuh leaning leaning, you know, blueco collar and and and kind of there’s a certain toughness
32:2532 minutes, 25 secondsum in St. Paul. The neighborhoods are strong. People you that the neighborhoods really care for each
32:3232 minutes, 32 secondsother. We see this in Minneapolis too of [ __ ] but you know, it’s just in a more kind of calm way, right? It’s just but
32:4032 minutes, 40 secondsum culinarily, you know, with Oberine and Gusgus and um Murio and Hiasin
32:4932 minutes, 49 secondsdescribing, you know, that level of restaurant, we’re really actually starting to become a nice little enclave
32:5732 minutes, 57 secondswhere you can do the nicest things in kind of a more chill way. Like the people around you are more chill.
33:0433 minutes, 4 secondsIt’s not about seeing be seen maybe as much. It’s more about going to a place, right?
33:1233 minutes, 12 secondsAnd so I think there’s maybe more of um um charm in that kind of sincerity that
33:2033 minutes, 20 secondsthat St. Paul offers that that’s a a benefit and a difference.
33:2633 minutes, 26 secondsI encourage people and that’s this is where that’s only one level of restaurant that’s only Jones in the park, you know, like I mean there’s everything has its
33:3433 minutes, 34 secondsown attitude and it’s very personal over here.
33:3633 minutes, 36 secondsAbsolutely. Absolutely. There’s um I I found this and you see it was a hot button thing cuz this
33:4533 minutes, 45 secondspeople reacted like Yeah, they it was that was new. The [ __ ] went nuclear.
33:4933 minutes, 49 secondsIt did. It literally did. And and you know um I it’s surprising to me cuz I really uh I really like the difference.
33:5833 minutes, 58 secondsI I And I understand that that rap that river is between us, but everything is really so close.
34:0534 minutes, 5 secondsYeah. I mean it’s really so close. So, it’s a bad excuse unless you live in a diner, then nothing’s closed.
34:1134 minutes, 11 secondsThere’s there’s no reason. And I I think the having the the the difference um uh
34:2034 minutes, 20 secondsit’s New York City versus Westchester County. Mhm.
34:2434 minutes, 24 secondsYes. It feels different. It definitely does. Sometimes I want that change of pace. Yeah. Actually, a lot of times. What are you looking for?
34:3134 minutes, 31 secondsYeah. Exactly. So, I want to And that is okay. the the level of quality doesn’t diminish because you took a you know you you jumped in the car. Yeah.
34:4034 minutes, 40 secondsWe have some of the best restaurants in this maritage. I mean the the the thought process behind you
34:4734 minutes, 47 secondsknow only planning your sandbox. I don’t that’s li that limiting mindset is just not for me. And so I always tell people
34:5534 minutes, 55 secondsto go go venture out. people that have that live in an area and haven’t surveyed within a 25 mile radius of
35:0335 minutes, 3 secondstheir little their little group is that’s uh get out there sand game,
35:1035 minutes, 10 secondsyou know, and then go eat somewhere, man. Like, you know, there’s the the river is beautiful down there and taking I mean, it’s a great city.
35:1935 minutes, 19 secondsYeah. Yeah.
35:2135 minutes, 21 secondsDon’t be like don’t be sitting on your couch like dumping on us. We’re going, listen, we are going to help the cause.
35:2935 minutes, 29 secondsWe’re going to we’re going to do we’re going to do some dinners and we’re going to make and it’s going to be of Minneapolis only on the other side of the river.
35:3735 minutes, 37 secondsI think that’s great.
35:3835 minutes, 38 secondsI think it’s a good thing. And we’ll do the reverse, too. I think that’s great. We can we can spearhead this movement. I love it.
35:4435 minutes, 44 secondsYeah, I’m all about That’s a great idea. I’m with it. I’m with it. Well, no.
35:5035 minutes, 50 secondsWhat have you learned about uh about class, race, and money and access through dining rooms?
36:0336 minutes, 3 secondsYou’re burning up my material for my next episode. Listen, I’m going to tell you my answer. You know, you can expect what you get by zip code.
36:1336 minutes, 13 secondsyou can expect where you get where the entitlement and the the privilege are used differently.
36:2036 minutes, 20 secondsUm, and uh, you know, I it’s it’s easy to see, you know, like there’s certain
36:2836 minutes, 28 secondstowns in certain places you you know what you’re going to get in terms of a guest.
36:3536 minutes, 35 secondsAnd often times when the guest is on average, you know, a little more wealthy, there there’s a different level
36:4336 minutes, 43 secondsof privilege that comes with that expectation. It’s not necessarily all like cultured. Mhm.
36:5036 minutes, 50 secondsBut um you know I really think you know it’s almost by zip code you can tell the difference how people are going to act, what they’re going to do, what they will
36:5736 minutes, 57 secondsdo, what they’ll eat, what they’ll share with you. Mhm. Yeah. Is that a good answer? No, that’s the that’s the honest answer.
37:0537 minutes, 5 secondsAnd that and and just so I asked that question to give people an insight, a little bit of insight what a restaurant
37:1337 minutes, 13 secondstour thinks about before he even signs a lease. So these are things that already this has already gone over like a smart
37:2037 minutes, 20 secondsperson would the reason why it’s the reason why whole foods are in certain places. Let’s just let’s put it like that. So B and C and D locations.
37:2837 minutes, 28 secondsThey all it all factors in. All right.
37:3137 minutes, 31 secondsI’m going to do something that you probably shy away from and run away from like the [ __ ] plague. I’m going to talk about some of
37:4037 minutes, 40 secondsyour Let’s go there.
37:4237 minutes, 42 secondsI want I want to talk about I’m going to talk about some of your accolades because again I think this is
37:5037 minutes, 50 secondsfor anybody listening out there that maybe are is just starting in the the hospitality world or or could be a
37:5737 minutes, 57 secondsseasoned vet and and and maybe is at a stalemate or or or you know thinking about what their next step is whatever
38:0538 minutes, 5 secondsthe case may be. I think a lot of insight could be had from talking about where you were, the things you’ve done,
38:1438 minutes, 14 secondsthe things you’ve accomplished, and then where you’re going. And I I the best thing we can do as someone who has
38:2138 minutes, 21 secondsdedicated their life to doing anything is to impart in 100% brevity all of the
38:2938 minutes, 29 secondsthings honestly. So, co-founder of Mucci’s Italian, that’s a James Beard Awards semi- finalist
38:3838 minutes, 38 secondsmultiple times. And this is Oh, one time.
38:4038 minutes, 40 secondsNo, one time. One one time. One time. One time. Okay.
38:4338 minutes, 43 secondsOne time. But it it was like the everything. It was really validating. Thank you. Okay. For for outstanding hospitality.
38:4938 minutes, 49 secondsSo, the reason why this is why that’s a that’s a huge that’s a huge compliment. Thank you, sir.
38:5438 minutes, 54 secondsCo-founder of St. Dette in the strip club Meat and Fish. two of the most influential restaurants in mo modern St.
39:0239 minutes, 2 secondsPaul dining history for sure. Um, you helped lead the revival of Town Talk Diner, one of Twin Cities most iconic restaurants and cocktail destinations.
39:1239 minutes, 12 secondsCocktail program was off off the chain.
39:1639 minutes, 16 secondsYou’ve, you know, you’re one of the most respected hospitality leaders in, I would say, the Midwest, but for sure in
39:2439 minutes, 24 secondsthe Twin Cities. um the host of Never Knland, which is one of the best I believe realest
39:3239 minutes, 32 secondsconversations between um hospitality uh individuals that is in the market. Um
39:4139 minutes, 41 secondsyou’ve done so many different and [ __ ] you’ve you’ve had the helm of some of the most iconic restaurants uh in the
39:4939 minutes, 49 secondscountry. I mean, some of the the biggest and best. um all of those things when you think about all the things that you
39:5739 minutes, 57 secondshave done and accomplished and I know you don’t I don’t know you don’t think about the you don’t think you don’t think about it in that way as far as accomplishment
40:0740 minutes, 7 secondswhen all of those different things the future of leadership for you and how
40:1440 minutes, 14 secondsyou view what the next level is for yourself and for the people that are on this journey journey with you.
40:2540 minutes, 25 secondsHow do you internalize where you were, where you are, and where you want to be?
40:3740 minutes, 37 secondsWell, I did exactly what I wanted to do, exactly what I wanted to [ __ ] do it.
40:4240 minutes, 42 secondsI am I have that privilege. So, where I was is everything to where I am.
40:5240 minutes, 52 secondsUm, and th those are all building blocks. Yesterday was a building block,
40:5840 minutes, 58 secondsyou know, like it’s a it’s a big tall brick building and we’re lugging those
41:0541 minutes, 5 secondsbricks to the top now. So, um, where I’m going is still unknown, but I’m going to go
41:1341 minutes, 13 secondswherever the [ __ ] I want to go, and I’m going to do whatever I I want to do. Mhm.
41:1841 minutes, 18 secondsUm, I can do more than I’ve done and I want to do something else.
41:2841 minutes, 28 secondsUm, I’m still um understanding myself
41:3641 minutes, 36 secondsand all the things that it takes to find the path. You you know, at whatever age you’re on, there’s still a path. There’s
41:4441 minutes, 44 secondsstill a way to walk. um you can’t lean on what you’ve done in my opinion. It just helps prop up where you’re going, right?
41:5341 minutes, 53 secondsSo for me, um I see a lot more and a lot different. I see travel. Um
42:0142 minutes, 1 secondI I see, you know, I don’t see opening more restaurants at the moment, but that’s not because I don’t want to do it. I have so many burning ideas in my
42:0942 minutes, 9 secondshead, right? So maybe focus focusing that with somebody.
42:1542 minutes, 15 secondsOkay. Um, but um I I I really like where I’m at. I got to take some time off last
42:2242 minutes, 22 secondsyear and not have to do it as much in a weird twist of like after closure not being financially ruined. And I had a
42:3042 minutes, 30 secondsmoment to gather myself. And what I realized is that I was in some pieces, but also that I, you know, like I was able to look at each of those pieces and
42:3942 minutes, 39 secondskind of understand how I was going to even though I’m built rebuild it again.
42:4242 minutes, 42 secondsRight. So looking ahead is really interesting for me. I don’t know, but I’m having fun kind of picking and choosing with whom.
42:5342 minutes, 53 secondsAbsolutely. And where and why, and that feels good.
43:0043 minutesYes, sir. Yes, sir. You’ve had concepts that hit, concepts that closed, and concepts that became part of Twin City lore.
43:1043 minutes, 10 secondsWhich one taught you the most? I think they all hit. I think they were all excellent restaurants. I think they all hit.
43:1743 minutes, 17 secondsI think I didn’t open up a bad restaurant.
43:2143 minutes, 21 secondsI think what happens is sometimes um you know, Maven is the best example of the worst type of failure because it
43:2943 minutes, 29 secondshappens so quickly. Uh but that restaurant was so [ __ ] cool. I love the food. I love the chefs. Love the
43:3643 minutes, 36 secondspeople we worked with. But the way that just rolled out and the timing of everything was just off.
43:4343 minutes, 43 secondsSometimes you’re ahead of the curve, right? And so before your time, Aquita is one of those things like that was way it was way ahead of it.
43:5443 minutes, 54 secondsYeah, exactly. It was way ahead of its time for the for now it would it would kill but it would kill
44:0244 minutes, 2 secondsit would it would it would slaughter right now.
44:0444 minutes, 4 secondsYeah. So, it’s it’s a it’s it’s a it’s a wild ride, man. Um I think you can’t like
44:1244 minutes, 12 secondsrest in um you successes are built on failures. Yeah, for sure.
44:1744 minutes, 17 secondsOkay. So, you know, and while and while actually after that things kind of diminished for me, like I had to pivot
44:2444 minutes, 24 secondsquick and save it with my with Muji like a Trtoria Mucci, which is, you know, the great uptown version of that and we were just getting clicking
44:3244 minutes, 32 secondsand then CO hit, you know. So there’s some like unbelievably wild [ __ ] that goes on while you’re
44:3944 minutes, 39 secondsdoing an unbelievably wild indust like opening up a restaurant and it did it did code me a little bit towards okay
44:4644 minutes, 46 secondsyou know caution and understanding what’s coming up and what your exposure is and then you think about physical
44:5444 minutes, 54 secondslongevity you know what you’re able your body is going to be able to produce you know like
45:0145 minutes, 1 secondI am maxed right maxed. But also, um I’m I get to fight hard.
45:0845 minutes, 8 secondsYeah. Yeah. That’s that is the the uh the beauty in in the fact that
45:1745 minutes, 17 secondsyou do get to, you know, you get to throw those punches. I do. I’m in the ring every day, dude. Absolutely.
45:2345 minutes, 23 secondsI have thrown myself right into the fire. Absolutely.
45:2645 minutes, 26 secondsI didn’t even know I had no idea what I was going to be doing. I did, you know, like I did. Yeah.
45:3345 minutes, 33 secondsBut also like holy [ __ ] You know what that you know what it taught that taught me like going into a situation that I did not that that I had
45:4145 minutes, 41 secondsno real part of creating you know and having the the lack of financial risk over my head
45:4745 minutes, 47 secondsyou know and and trying to find you know like a center and meeting people at the same time as you’re like you know trying
45:5645 minutes, 56 secondsto get you know 170 covers and and 95 minutes you know seated and fed. Um,
46:0446 minutes, 4 secondsyou know, I done some [ __ ] man. I done some [ __ ] I’m still doing it. Like, that’s what I say to him. I’m like, I’m
46:1046 minutes, 10 secondsI I hear you servers, you know, cuz I do it and you see me at your tables. I cleared that [ __ ] I cleared that [ __ ] I
46:1946 minutes, 19 secondscleared that [ __ ] I cleared that [ __ ] I’m not paying you to watch me do it, right?
46:2346 minutes, 23 secondsYou know, but I’ll do it for you cuz that’s why we don’t go down. 100%. We don’t go down. 100%.
46:3046 minutes, 30 seconds100%. You’ve gone on record a numerous amount of times stating that the the restaurant industry at large is in trouble.
46:4146 minutes, 41 secondsMhm. What about that trouble do most people just don’t believe or understand?
46:5046 minutes, 50 secondsYes.
46:5046 minutes, 50 secondsOh, believe it or not. When you say most people, you mean outside of the industry? A little bit of both because some, you know, a lot of people are looking at, you know,
46:5946 minutes, 59 secondswhat’s going on through rosecolored glasses, not understanding or the brevity of the situation.
47:0547 minutes, 5 secondsI’ve always believed if you’re good, you’ll be okay. I And I still believe that if you’re good, you’ll be okay.
47:1147 minutes, 11 secondsPeople will recognize you. People will take the time. They will value you. And if you’re good, you’ll be okay. That’s really general.
47:1947 minutes, 19 secondsUm, you know, uh, money is staying money.
47:2447 minutes, 24 secondsUm, so, uh, higherend concepts do do have people that can participate in
47:3247 minutes, 32 secondsthem. If they’re smaller and a little more boutique, um, those those places can exist. Uh, the middle is the problem.
47:4247 minutes, 42 secondsThe middle where um there is a sameness and there’s no differentiation.
47:5147 minutes, 51 secondsSo, if you have a differentiated concept and you’re in the middle, you’re going to be way better off kind of like service level, right? Right.
47:5947 minutes, 59 secondsBut, um, if you’re in the middle, you have to be sole price protective.
48:0548 minutes, 5 secondsUm, but if you have differentiation, you’re better off.
48:1048 minutes, 10 secondsAnd then there’s always a market for, you know, like the super casual, the popups,
48:1948 minutes, 19 secondsthose things that are kind of, you know, once in a whiles that people can be successful at because they’re pinpointed, targeted, pre-ordered.
48:2848 minutes, 28 secondsUm, that type of thing.
48:3148 minutes, 31 secondsSo, it by segment really, I think the middle is [ __ ] No, for sure. And it’s just there’s, you
48:3848 minutes, 38 secondsknow, if you have the same and we have the same [ __ ] on on a menu that a lot of other places do, but we deliver in a different way, right?
48:4548 minutes, 45 secondsSo that our differentiation and the way our services or the way we treat people or whatever helps our food be even better and vice versa, right? So we have
48:5448 minutes, 54 secondsthat for us and it’s also like a cuisine everybody finds comfort in, right? But, you know, the middle is going to be a tough it’s going to be a
49:0249 minutes, 2 secondstough hall because, you know, burger joints, they’re everywhere. Even pizza joints, they’re everywhere, you know.
49:0949 minutes, 9 secondsUm, it’s it’s tough and it’s not necessarily one thing. It’s a multitude of factors.
49:1849 minutes, 18 secondsSo, if we were looking at it being like CO, that was one thing that obviously decimated it. But now that we’re out of
49:2549 minutes, 25 secondsthat, you know, the food cost is out of out of control. Um there’s a lot of
49:3349 minutes, 33 secondsfinancial uh pressure put on businesses to uh pay for social features. Mhm.
49:4249 minutes, 42 secondsUh we’re the ones paying the taxes that get us all the things that we’re affording for the people in the state of Minnesota
49:4949 minutes, 49 secondsand we’re paying for it and it’s not ne upfront. and it’s not necessarily completely recognized that way. That program you got I pay for
49:5749 minutes, 57 secondsand I’m okay with it. But also the pressure on a business to take care of that for society is
50:0550 minutes, 5 secondsreally a tough call. It’s it’s a really tough call. Yes.
50:0850 minutes, 8 secondsAnd then um you know anytime anytime there’s a increase in whatever food cost
50:1550 minutes, 15 secondsor whatever the state always you know the prices go up, you’re charging more.
50:2050 minutes, 20 secondsThe state always ends up getting more money. The government ends up getting more money. It It just keeps growing. Yeah.
50:2850 minutes, 28 secondsIt’s tough.
50:2950 minutes, 29 secondsIt is a tough thing. What in your Oh, and the ice machine broke. Exactly.
50:3350 minutes, 33 secondsYou know, that’s $5,000.
50:3850 minutes, 38 secondsExactly. Yeah. Yeah. No way. No way around it. In your opinion, what breaks first in a restaurant? the money, the
50:4750 minutes, 47 secondsstaff, the owner or the belief. What breaks first?
51:0151 minutes, 1 secondThe money, the staff, the owner. What’s it just or the belief?
51:0751 minutes, 7 secondsOh, [ __ ] If you don’t believe, you’re done. Um, you never should have opened in the first place. Get the hell out of town.
51:1551 minutes, 15 secondscuz you’re going to just that commitment.
51:1951 minutes, 19 secondsUm, and I don’t mean you need to go all the way down, but you know, be honest with yourself. If you don’t believe in this thing, you won’t be able to sell it.
51:2751 minutes, 27 secondsYes. You won’t be able to get help with it.
51:2951 minutes, 29 secondsAnd if you don’t believe I I think that’s probably it. I mean to rank them.
51:3551 minutes, 35 secondsAnd then uh money because people don’t plan enough. They don’t have enough to plan enough. The risk is not always worth a reward.
51:4451 minutes, 44 secondsUm um the owner, you know,
51:5351 minutes, 53 secondsdefinitely a huge factor, right? Cuz everybody’s like, you know, one of the most visible owners.
52:0152 minutes, 1 secondSo sometimes it’s only about the money.
52:0352 minutes, 3 secondsSo that you know, like what what what are the beliefs of the owner and are they actually what’s on the ground?
52:1252 minutes, 12 secondsYeah. kind of like that orders maybe. No, that’s great. That’s great.
52:1652 minutes, 16 secondsWhat do you want people to say about the rooms that you’ve built well after they’re gone?
52:2752 minutes, 27 secondsHuh?
52:3352 minutes, 33 secondsJust that it felt like a place they always wanted to go back to.
52:3852 minutes, 38 secondsYeah. I guess that’s the biggest compliment you can be paid, right? Yeah.
52:4152 minutes, 41 secondsis I want to go back there. I miss it. Absolutely. Absolutely.
52:4952 minutes, 49 secondsWhat’s one lesson younger operators should learn or can learn from someone
52:5752 minutes, 57 secondslike yourself without having to bleed for it?
53:0253 minutes, 2 secondsWell, I’m bleeding for the fact that I didn’t grow up in a in a real technology forward era.
53:0853 minutes, 8 secondsUm, and that my brain doesn’t necessarily work in that vein very well anyway, the way I’m formed. Yeah. Or deformed.
53:1953 minutes, 19 secondsSo, so I’m catching up on the things that I think are necessary that I know for the rest of my career. And I’m having to I’m jumping ahead to AI tools
53:2853 minutes, 28 secondsand I’m early on kind of understanding it, but I am jumping ahead to using some of those things cuz it it allows my
53:3553 minutes, 35 secondsbrain I can spit out what my brain is saying and have it be some extra bandwidth. Yeah. And and I need help if I’m being honest.
53:4353 minutes, 43 secondsSo, um, you know, being being in the numbers, the know the numbers and then understanding that when you close the
53:5153 minutes, 51 secondsoffice door, the numbers don’t matter when you’re on the floor. Yeah, facts.
53:5553 minutes, 55 secondsFacts. Here’s the other thing I’ll say to that about being uh uh you know, pre Michael J. Fox’s internet. Um
54:0554 minutes, 5 secondsthe soft skills that that an operator has that you know, if [ __ ] went left right now, breaking out the crash kit
54:1554 minutes, 15 secondswith the uh old credit card slider thing that kids have never seen in their life, they would shut down. Yeah.
54:2254 minutes, 22 secondsYou would you would kick into another gear like okay we knew we know how to salvage this a lot most people who don’t who you got a pen and paper dog exactly I
54:3054 minutes, 30 secondscan take the same information you can sign that we can make a contract on this guest receipt right here problem here’s the thing that connection wouldn’t even happen
54:3954 minutes, 39 secondsthat would be the last thing they would think they could write it down holy [ __ ] I can write it yeah yeah yeah pen and paper never never goes out of style
54:4854 minutes, 48 secondsnever goes you’re not leaving here without paying You might get a little discount because I don’t I charge you for tax or something. We’re not messing with that
54:5654 minutes, 56 secondsnumber right now. But I still pay the tax, but you know, like I’ll take that.
55:0055 minutesAbsolutely. Absolutely. What does Tim Nyiver still want to build?
55:1155 minutes, 11 secondsI just don’t want to ruin what I built.
55:1355 minutes, 13 secondsUm, I feel like I feel like u there’s been a it takes maintenance to kind of,
55:2155 minutes, 21 secondsyou know, remain relevant. Uh, uh, do do something that’s, you know,
55:2955 minutes, 29 secondsstill within the vein of excellence that you consider for yourself. Um um I I
55:3755 minutes, 37 secondsthink we’re always building and maintaining our reputation and uh finding ways to become a better better
55:4555 minutes, 45 secondshuman. So honestly, if I’m if I’m not working on myself and building a better me, then I’m doing it wrong. And that’s
55:5455 minutes, 54 secondsreally all I should care about is just building me, you know, into like a better better person. Not that I’m not that it’s there’s something like majorly
56:0256 minutes, 2 secondswrong, but it’s just, you know, like continue to just, you know, you know, do the things I believe in and and doing the right way and and be the right guy
56:1056 minutes, 10 secondsfor others. You know, as I get older, I feel like I’m, you know, could lose my filter a little bit and I just want to make sure that I’m I’m understanding uh
56:2056 minutes, 20 secondspeople younger than me. Um, you know, I just want to build myself. I think that’s really all you can do is like take care of you cuz if you don’t take
56:2856 minutes, 28 secondscare of you, you ain’t doing [ __ ] for anybody else.
56:3056 minutes, 30 secondsAbsolutely. Great point. All right, before I let you go, we’re going to jump into a segment that I call Where are we going?
56:3756 minutes, 37 secondsThe lightning round. Okay, the lightning round. I’m going to ask you uh some questions and they’re quick fire
56:4456 minutes, 44 secondsquestions. You tell me the first thing that that kicks into your mind. This is going to be viral. I hope so. That’s I hope I’m not.
56:5356 minutes, 53 secondsNo, no, you’re that. Hear that? All right.
56:5656 minutes, 56 secondsAll right. Dish you wish people respected more. Who? What? Dish you wish people respected more.
57:0957 minutes, 9 secondsI don’t understand the question.
57:1157 minutes, 11 secondsName one dish you think that people should respect more.
57:2557 minutes, 25 secondsRoast chicken.
57:2657 minutes, 26 secondsOkay, great. One Twin Cities restaurant that deserves way more love than it gets.
57:3457 minutes, 34 secondsTrue Chow. Okay.
57:3657 minutes, 36 secondsMost underrated thing in restaurants right now. Feeling considered.
57:4557 minutes, 45 secondsThis feels a lot like Family Feud right now. Yeah.
57:5057 minutes, 50 secondsIs that wrong in the uh what’s it with the fast money round? Okay. All right. Yeah.
57:5457 minutes, 54 secondsUm one thing every chef should understand about the front of the house.
58:0458 minutes, 4 secondsOne thing. Yeah. Yes. Just Yes. Just one.
58:1458 minutes, 14 secondsWe want We want to work with you. Do you really? Yeah.
58:1858 minutes, 18 secondsWe want to work with you. We want We want to want to work with you.
58:2158 minutes, 21 secondsWe want to want We want to Okay, there. We want We want to want to We need to want to work with you. That’s more like it. Somewhere in there.
58:3058 minutes, 30 secondsOkay. We’re developing this.
58:3158 minutes, 31 secondsThere we go. There you go. Okay. What’s your shift drink of choice? Tequila. Oo. No wheels.
58:3858 minutes, 38 secondsNo wheels hurt. Okay. I’ll get Okay, I got a follow-up question. This is This is This is the It’s the end all end all questions.
58:4658 minutes, 46 secondsIf we brought you back on this show five years from now, what’s the restaurant prediction you’re making today that everyone thinks you’re crazy for?
58:5858 minutes, 58 secondsThat we’ll [ __ ] survive.
59:0059 minutesYeah, that’s a crazy that’s a crazy uh we will [ __ ] survive. We will we we will not let go.
59:0759 minutes, 7 secondsWe will not let go. It is impossibility.
59:1159 minutes, 11 secondsNo, a a human has to do this job. Yeah, a human will be doing this job. People need this. It’s social.
59:2259 minutes, 22 secondsIt’s exchanging um values.
59:2959 minutes, 29 secondsuh in the in the same room without knowing somebody who’s next to you exchanging their values, you know, like it’s it’s it’s it’s one of the only
59:3859 minutes, 38 secondscommon spaces where people get together and kind of share space and do something that’s necessary for their bodies. Absolutely.
59:4559 minutes, 45 secondsIt’s not going nowhere.
59:4759 minutes, 47 secondsAgreed. Agreed. All right. Tell everyone listening to the sound of our lovely voices and they can see our pretty faces. tell everyone where they can
59:5659 minutes, 56 secondsfollow you um and get in touch with the universe that is Nyiver.
1:00:011 hour, 1 secondYeah, sure. Um well, I am Tim_y on Instagram and also Nyivernland, my
1:00:101 hour, 10 secondspodcast. Those are the best places to reach me. We’re on Spotify. We’re on Apple Music. We’re all over the place with the podcast. Um and or just hit me
1:00:201 hour, 20 secondsup at the restaurant cuz I’m actually there. Yeah. Yeah.
1:00:221 hour, 22 secondsA little less right now cuz I’m doing something else to support the fam, but um you’ll feel me when you walk in, let me know. Absolutely. Absolutely.
1:00:301 hour, 30 secondsAnd reach out. Yeah.
1:00:311 hour, 31 secondsLike you want to talk some [ __ ] Yeah. We can we can talk.
1:00:351 hour, 35 secondsThat’s a fact. That’s a fact. If if if you like or got any value from content like this, please like, comment, share,
1:00:451 hour, 45 secondstag Niver. He loves the He loves all the [ __ ] Um listen again. I appreciate you all out there. This has been the Taste
1:00:521 hour, 52 secondsMusic Here Food Podcast Show. I’m Ed Porter. Till next time, peace. This is the Thank you. Thank you.