Andrea Chaires

00:00Welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio, the tastiest hour of talk in Music City. Now here's your host, Brandon Styll. Hello Music City and welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio. My name is Brandon Styll and I am joined by Jen Ichikawa. Hi Jen. Hi. So excited to have you here. This is a fun, fun, fun, fun episode. We had, and I kind of introduced, we have a wish list of a bunch of people we want on the show and we're emailing people and you have reached out to Andrea over at the Rose Pepper and she said, let's do it. And today we get to talk with Andrea from Rose Pepper. I don't know. This was so much fun. It was so much fun.

01:00I think I said it during, but she really did take me to church. Like as a woman in the restaurant industry, I was like, damn, she's, she's very cool. She's such a bad ass. That was, she was awesome. Yes. And if you are, I'm not even going to tease it. I will just say, listen to the whole thing, listen to the entire episode because I think the last 10 minutes, it always gets that way. We start off, we get to know each other and like the last 15 minutes of every episode, I feel like is when you get really down deep and it's so much fun. Yeah. Well, and I mean, not to ruin the surprise, but if there are any single men out there. And so this is going to be on YouTube. So you can watch this. You can see the video, go to our YouTube channel, hit the subscribe button because then you will get the videos as soon as they come out. Also, if you're listening to this, whatever way you're listening to it, subscribe because today is Sunday. We're putting the episode out on a Sunday.

02:02And if you didn't know that, then you may be looking for it on Monday and you get it a day early. Tonight is talking shift. We're going to be talking shift from a little nine to 11. So if you're listening to this and it is Sunday tonight, go to the Nashville restaurant radio Facebook page and we're going to be talking shift. We've got Corey Coleman, who's the director of operations for all of the corner pubs and Eskina Cantina. We also have T Roy McFarland, who is he's the unofficial Lord Mayor of Germantown. So we will probably have some Germantown news and he is an all round goofball in one of my favorite people. He's hilarious. So he's going to be on our show as a guest host tonight. And then we need you, the listener to be calling in and telling us your restaurant stories. I'm dying to hear stories about last night's Garth Brooks cancellation. People coming into downtown, just angry and wet and ready to go. Yeah, I'm sure there was a lot of a lot of stuff going on happening last night.

03:02Lots and lots of stuff happening last night. I'm telling you, OK, we we don't have a particular on brand today. So what we're going to do is we're going to tell you about Cytex. Cytex are some of my favorite people out there. Ross Chandler and Cytex. They have been our personal Lennon company for our restaurants, Green Hills Grill, Ameribowl for years. And we when we switched to them, they were so head and above transparent. They let you know exactly what's going on. The quality of their Lennons are fantastic. Their drivers are amazing and they bring you suggestions. Hey, you should try a mat here or you don't need a mat there. Or have you tried this sanitizer? Because they do offer sanitizer, too. They have uniforms. We are going to be out there right now. We are going to be testing out their new uniforms at the Green Hills Grill. It's a moisture wicking uniform like that line cooks can wear that has holes, breathable holes in the back. So they're super cool and comfortable.

04:03We're going to be testing them out at the grill. So that's going to be awesome. I cannot wait to tell you all about how that works and in this crazy world. So you need to go to our website, sorry, which is nationalrestaurantradio.com and you need to click the sponsors tab, find Cytex, give Ross Chandler a message, call him and check him out. Just learn about what they're doing with your Lennon business. But I do. My last thing I want to say is complete health partners. If you are a restaurant and you need to have your staff tested for COVID, complete health partners is your people. They have a concierge service. They can come to your restaurant and test everybody and get your results back very fast. In this crazy time right now, I the other day was not feeling well. I have a cold right now. I mean, see in my eyes, my voice is like off. But before I went to work the other day, I had a cold. I went and got tested. But I called Christian Ruff and I said, hey, man, I need to get tested. What are you doing? It's just swing by West Nashville. It's in a church across the street from their West Nashville location.

05:06You just drive up, you get the test, you talk to a doctor and 15 minutes later you have the result, which I was negative. I was really happy about that. If you are subscribed to them, so if you're a restaurant and you use complete health partners for your primary care services, they offer this to restaurants. So any person that works there can come get tested whenever they want. It's a great, great opportunity. So check them out at completehealthpartners.com or again, if you go to our website, nashrestaurantradio.com, you can click on the sponsors tab and find complete health partners. Right now with this COVID resurgence, you need somebody like that really to partner with instead of like, where do we go? Oh, we're now way beyond what we're going to do. You need to get a hold of complete health partners right now. So Jen, I know you've got a million things you're about to go off and do, and I hope that you have a wonderful night and I hope everybody out there has a wonderful week.

06:06Let's jump in with Andrea. Let's go. We are super excited today to welcome in Andrea Chárez, is that right? That's correct. She is the owner of Rose Pepper Cantina. Welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Co-owner along with my mother, but I do most, I run everything. We got that straight. You know, we had this, Jen and I sit around and we kind of talked about who were the most interesting people that we just like want to get to know. And we always talk about your signs and we talk about Rose Pepper and we love Rose Pepper. Plus throughout the pandemic, you were all over the news and you were doing all kinds of amazing stuff. A lot of people give me a call. I think just I always have my phone in my hand, so I think that makes it a little bit easier. But yeah, so it's I run all of our marketing and advertising material and that's and I mean, I don't I don't write at all. I pull from different sources and if I pull from a source, I tag them and all that kind of thing.

07:08But but I write a lot of them. But I handle the social media, do it every day. And I also help to run the restaurant with the assistance of a very strong team of managers. And it's it's been really exciting. I took it over about gosh, I can't believe it's been seven years ago that I mean, it does not feel like that. So Rose Pepper has been around a lot longer than seven years. Let's this was your father's company. This is your father's business, right? Yeah, that's correct. My father, my father started Rose Pepper in 2001. That's going to be 20 years this October, which is pretty exciting. He opened that 2001, but his father started Es Fernandes, which was previously El Taco, which was the first fast service Mexican restaurant in Nashville. So yeah, so El Taco branched off of him, him and his partners branched off. And one of his partners was, was the Taco Bell guy, Graham Bell, I think his name is something Bell.

08:09And so he went off to Taco Bell. And so my grandfather turned El Taco into Es Fernandes, which was had a few different locations, I think. But the one that I grew up knowing was the one on Gallatin over where they're building some condos now across from the Home Depot. And so that my father bought that in 1994. We didn't live here. We lived in California. And my dad was like kind of going through a career change and just decided that he was going to just commute between Nashville and California and went and bought Es Fernandes, and then decided to open Rose Pepper, later Fu Bar, which is now Cobra. And yeah, so my family's been all over the east side of town since the 1950s. Since like the mid 1950s, mid to late 90s. I'm a newcomer. I'm a relative newcomer. It's really been exciting. What part of California again? I'm from Riverside, California. I was living in LA, working in LA. You have some people in Riverside, I think.

09:11Oh yeah. The 91 freeway is something that nightmares are made of. Van Buren, right? Van Buren Street? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. For days. Yeah. I used to drive on Van Buren when I was afraid of driving on the 91 freeway. When I was like 16 years old and brand new, I was like, I'll just take Van Buren all the way. And you got the orange fields right there. There's all kinds of citrus fields all throughout that area. That old Riverside stuff is like so cool. I kind of came up in the Corona area that was just dirt. It has since been built up. When we moved out there, I mean, there was literally just a circle K and dirt. And now it's all built up and it's amazing and yeah, I mean, I haven't been home in a couple of years. Probably going to go home for Christmas this year. It's probably one of the closest thing to have like living country life, you know, because you have like Lake Elsinore there and- Norco. We're right by Norco where they still have like horses on the sidewalks. Oh yeah. Yeah. That's the whole thing. That's the closest thing we get to being out in the country.

10:11So you moved here. So your father passed away. Yeah. My father got sick in 2014 and it happened really, really fast. He had been sick before and had gone into remission. He was cancer and he got into remission for so much longer than anybody really anticipated to the point where he was thought that maybe it was like not the right diagnosis. And then, man, I tell you just like, I think it was three weeks from end to end. And it was, yeah, I was at a work conference in Vegas and I flew out from the conference. And you know, we didn't really know what we were going to do at that point because, you know, dad, I had spoken to him before when I was like picking a law school. I went to law school. What was your chosen profession before becoming a lawyer? Well, I was in marketing and advertising for a number of years. I worked as an in-house counselor at an advertising agency after I became a lawyer.

11:13I was in marketing and advertising before I went to law school and then I went to law school and then I came back and was in-house counsel for marketing and advertising. Okay. As an immigration attorney. My interests are varied. So I was doing that. And we were, you know, all in the hospital, we're at Vanderbilt, incredible, incredible team at Vanderbilt who just did everything that they could for my father. And I had spoken to him before about, you know, he's got this business, it takes care of the whole family. You know, what if something should happen to him? Because like I said this and I was like, you know, heaven forbid if something happens to you, it's going to be me. You know, it's going to be me. We both know. And he was like, don't worry, nothing's going to happen. And then of course, that's how it worked out. But you know, we had a chance to talk when he was in the hospital and, you know, it was just kind of like, yeah, you're going to have to take care of everybody. Can you do it? And I was like, I'll figure it out. Why? Why? Are you the oldest? I am the youngest, but I am, my mom says that I'm like, that like, I'm like half alien, like nobody really knows.

12:22I'm kind of always I'm like, I'm the only person in my family that's lived anywhere but California. And I've lived in several different states. I've lived in a couple of different countries. I've just kind of always been like all over the place and was like very precocious at a young age. I skipped two grades, graduated when I was 15. I have a BFA from Tulane, I have a JD from George Mason. So like, I'm always just kind of all over the place. But I, you know, not for nothing, I have a lot of confidence in myself, my ability to like be open and to learn like, I don't think that I know everything. I know that I don't know everything, but I know how to ask questions. I know how to figure out who the good people are, who the smart people are, who the capable people are. And I trust my instincts and I'm very good at managing large groups of people, large amounts of personalities. I've been doing that for decades. I feel like I do a lot of those similar things. I am totally, if there's nine people in a room and something happens, I'm the first one to go, okay, let's do this.

13:24I'm okay to step right up. I am not the one who like insists on being the leader. But like, if a leader is needed and there's not one around, I'm absolutely happy to step up. Yeah, that's how I am too. And I wonder, like one of the questions I had for you too is I, Brandon and I talk about this a lot. I definitely suffer from some version of imposter syndrome on some scale. I can't imagine being a lawyer and in marketing and all of that. And then, oh, now I now I own a restaurant and I've never like, what was that like for you? Did you suffer from that? To start, it was terrifying. It was a big ask. And I have to, you know, looking, knowing what I know now, seven years down the road and looking at this, you know, optimistic young girl. And it's like, man, she has no idea what's in store. But like, that was honestly at the time, it was like, you have no idea what's coming. And it's going to be like, just stick with your instincts of like, you know, ask the questions and observe processes and all that kind of stuff. So I'll tell you at the beginning, like just the first six months, literally, when I didn't know anything, I knew like one of the managers who I think used to work at the Greenhouse Grill.

14:34What is it called? Greenhouse Grill? The Green Hills Grill? Yeah. Kerry Taylor. I think a million years ago. But she's been there. She's been at Rose Pepper now since I think 2001, 2002. Yeah, she's incredible. But so she was one of the first people that I met. And she was just so capable and like aware of all of the different processes. And she's very, was extremely supportive. And we really hit it off right away. And yeah, and so slowly, I just kind of like, I literally just took like the daily audits and was just staring at them and trying to comprehend them. And I said, you know what I'm going to do? Just in my downtime, I'm just going to sit here, I'm just going to retype all of these because it's going to come to me. The information will open up. That's the thing you can always trust is that the system will tell you what it is and it will tell you what it means if you just observe. And so that's what I did at first. And I just sort of was figuring out what does this audit mean? What do these numbers mean? Like, not just what do they represent, but like, what do they mean as far as the overall health of this business and the workers that they're attached to?

15:38And you know, these sales figures and how much is this person selling versus why is this person selling double what this person is selling? Is it just their hours? Is it capabilities? Like this kind of a thing. And I did that for just the first eight months, just with all the paperwork. And then I said, okay, put me in. I worked as a food runner, I worked as a host, host a lot of the time, honestly, I'll cover a whole shift anytime. I love it. That's fun. Isn't that the funnest thing? Yeah, I love it. And it sets the tone for the whole thing. For the whole restaurant. I mean, it's such a, you know, it's not, yeah. It's not a throwaway position at all. And so I, when I go and I manage, I am like at the host stand and I'm running around and I am running tables. I served a little, I didn't want to take anybody's money and it was terrifying. But like, I'll jump in. If it's real bad, I'm like, throw me a two top, just a two top, but I'll help, you know. And so yeah, so I did a lot of that. For a couple of years, I was doing like rate, like put me on the schedule.

16:38It's like, put me on a food run ship, put me on a whole shift. Like I need to understand what's happening here. And that really was a huge thing because I don't come from a hospitality background. You know, so many people have been doing this for so long, especially the GMs and all these, you know, and it's like all of these industry terms that I'd never heard of. What's a family meal? Like this kind of thing. And like, these are things that people have spent years in and I didn't have any, and I didn't want to be an interloper, but I own the fact that I'm in charge. And so what I've tried to do, you know, and it's maybe a little quirky because I don't come from a traditional hospitality background, but what I've tried to build is a really strong group that is treated respectfully, you know, no offense to anybody in the past, but like I know that Rose Pepper was a little bit of a boys club. It really isn't anymore. It is very much a matriarchy. I love that. You know, and it's just like, I just don't tolerate. There's a lot of things that I think some people could tolerate that I don't. I run, I run a pretty tight ship. I feel like, like it's a lot of fun and I'm, you know, I'm very flexible and I try to be really understanding of people and their lives and their, you know, their schedules and their kids and all that kind of stuff, as long as it's respectful of my business and everybody's working together.

17:51But I have some pretty strict limits about certain, about certain things that, you know, I think that's good too. Yeah. I mean, I think that that's one of the things you've got to do in this industry. where it's changing is that we've, it's not a boys club. It's really for everybody. And you've, you know, I think that you've got to hold set boundaries and hold people accountable for their actions. Yeah, definitely. So I really like that. But in between doing all of that, I saw an opportunity with the sign because my dad had never really changed the sign. I think he had changed it a couple of times and then somebody like rearranged the letters and he got really bad. And so we never changed it again. Um, like, like moist or somebody, you remember back in the day with moist, you changed my sign like twice. Um, it was actually pretty cute. Um, but yeah, I saw an opportunity there. Um, and you know, I don't even know that it was me, um, that came up with that first idea. I think it was, there was a really nice lady, Molly Jones, who used to work as a bartender and then she was managing the social media at the time.

18:52So it was like not even a year in, I think, um, and she suggested it was a lime shortage and she suggested the first joke that we put on there, which was we caused the lime shortage. And I thought that was hilarious. And we like looked around and you know how it is in like a big restaurant with lots of old stuff around us. Like, are there even letters anymore? And I found this, this blue milk crate with the letters, the cardboard dividers, cardboard covered in cobwebs. I can't believe it was still there. I'm sure it was like 10 or 12 years old. Um, and so I dusted it off and I put the joke out there and I just thought, yeah, we should do more jokes like this. So when she had to leave the position, cause she had another child, I was like, I can do this. Like this is, I love one liners. Like I love jokes. I was, I was saying to you guys when we spoke just briefly before that there's that meme about what's the most on brand thing you did as a child. And mine is that I used to have a big tall piece of plywood in my bedroom covered in like silly bumper sticker lines.

19:56You know, like if at first you don't succeed, do it the way your wife told you to, which I didn't even know why it was funny at the time when you're like, you know, 12 and 13, but I, you know, that's a knee slapper. And so that really became a very organic transition into, uh, I knew what our social media was going to look like. I, I understood my father's brand when I took it over, which was, you know, a funky eclectic vibe is what he always used to say. And I said, okay, well, we need to evolve that into now, which is, uh, I agree that our aesthetics are probably the same dorm room chic. I like to call it, um, lots of, lots of beaded curtains. If I could have a six foot tall lava lamp in there, I would, um, I could have all beanbag chairs. I absolutely would. Um, and so I turned it into that, but then also like a feeling, you know, is like, that's, that's a big thing about going to a restaurant, especially one like ours, um, is, is this feeling you want to capture this good time, this funny laughing, you know, I play lots of music that I love. Uh, so lots of nineties and early two thousands jams, um, and it's for me.

20:59And I think people pick up on that, you know, I think people pick up on the vibe that you're trying to create, you know, and mine, especially is this sort of like, you know, party you went to in your early twenties. That's like pretty chill, uh, but a good time. Well, that's the thing I think sets rose pepper apart a little bit is it has a lot of dividers as far as like the seating area goes, you can say or another, but there's no bad seat, you know, like everybody's happy to be there. So there's no bad seat. Like everybody is having a good time, even if you're, if you're alone for one minute, you won't be like there, you're always on a wait. So yeah, we, we are, it's, uh, it's been interesting, you know, before, before, so when I, I came in and I took over and I started implementing little things and, and like I said, I'm not this person that comes in who doesn't know what they're talking about and starts telling you to change this and change that, um, you know, it was very, it was very slow. I don't think I made a suggestion for anything until at least a year when I was like, okay, now this needs to happen. This isn't right. Like I've seen enough to know, like this isn't quite right. And thankfully, you know, and I'm also like very open when my managers, if I'm like, if this is a bad idea, come tell me, like, but this is what I'm, this is what my observations are telling me.

22:06Um, but, you know, and so I made lots of decisions about like helping to improve the weight, like nobody's coming up, you know, when you're yelling their name for the weight, why don't we get buzzers? Why don't we get the brightest buzzers on the market? I can't use them now because, you know, you know, like at the time they lit up like Tron, like little like Ironman hearts. Um, I guess people were like, this is so bright. I can't, oh my God. I was like, yeah, that's so you don't miss it. And we don't have any delay in seating you, so, you know, things like that. And most of the time those have really worked out. But yeah, it was like, it's been, it was so packed and it was, it was great. What a wonderful thing to have happen. And I was very lucky enough to, I think, meet my energy at the right moment of like Nashville's growth, um, to where, yeah, my sort of sensibility helped to increase sales by about 20% net. Um, and I've kept them there. Oh my God, which is insane. It hasn't really gone up a whole lot since then, but I'm not sure we're capable of producing a whole lot. Well, I think it's, you know, one of the things I like to do is think outside the box.

23:07I like to think in a different way and I want to lead people in a different way. And I think it's really interesting hearing your story that you came in with this optimism of, Hey, I'm going to take this thing over. I want to do it. Well, I'm not going to walk in day one as if I, I own the thing. I know everything. I'm going to take six months to a year. I'm going to learn it. And then I'm going to start looking at the obvious things. I think that people who are in the industry, if you're a 20 year vet walking into that scenario, I think you fall back on some of the fundamentals and things that you've done in the past. But I love that you just see things that are right out in front and go, Oh, you know, people are not coming fast enough for yelling. Let's get the gigantic colored buzz. Like those are pretty, you know, kind of like, that's a normal thought from anybody. But if you're in the industry, sometimes you can out think the room and you miss stuff. Yeah. I think it definitely helped quite a bit coming in with this sort of like naive, like, well, is it weird if we do this?

24:09Is it weird if we do something like this? Like, I'm just trying to solve this problem. You know, but thankfully, thankfully, I think what's really key here, though, is the only reason that works is because I have a very strong team of managers who have all been there. You know, I think the one that's been there the least amount of time is like eight years. So of my I think I've got like four managers. Like, yeah, the one that's been there the least amount of time is eight years. There's a good amount of trust that you guys work. Yeah. And I mean, I'm not going to say there wasn't like there were some issues, you know, I clashed with the GM that was there and he is no longer there. And, you know, and it was a little bit of a like, hey, I've been here a long time and I was like, yeah, but I know what I'm seeing. Yeah. Tell me I'm not seeing what I'm seeing. So. Like, that's how that's going to go, you know, and I wish him all the best and all of that. But it was like, it's not the easiest thing coming in, you know, as a woman with no experience in something. And like, I don't even remember how long it was a year and a half, two years in, you know, somebody's like, well, I've been here a really long time and this is how this thing is supposed to work. And he's saying, no, I trust the evidence of my eyes and my brain.

25:17And you're not right. You got to go. Yeah, you need a perch right now. I love it. Yeah, it was really it was really tough. But I, you know, but for the most part, everybody that was there, that, you know, their information, their feedback resonated with what I was thinking and what, you know, not just like, yes, but like, yeah, that makes sense. That's smart. Like, that's good for business. That is going to incentivize people to come here. That's going to incentivize workers to enjoy working here. You know, it's like you gotta use your chance. So how do you think that your background and your the previous five years, the first five years uniquely set you up for March 13th, 2020, when we understand that, hey, we got to close the restaurants, no, no in-house dining. Everything has to be to go in delivery. What was your what was when you first heard this, you probably saw it coming. You were thinking about it, probably planning about it. What's the first thing that you did on March 13th when like, hey, everything's closed down on same day?

26:23What did you do? We had started to pivot before that because we were starting to get like I we I laid out our menu onto one page that they would be disposable like right away. And you remember, we got like a little bit of a break, right? Because there was the tornado. And so it was everybody was thinking about the tornado and it's like, oh, what's this like other stuff we're hearing about this coronavirus? You know, that's sort of on the outside of things. But so I do think that we got like sort of a little bit longer. But so what we did, you know, we had to shut down and I had to just immediately start scrambling because I know, you know, I mean, I know how much it keeps the cost to keep that operation running and that kind of income. I wasn't sure where we were going to go. So I went first to the bank and just like, I might need a credit line for a minute. Thankfully, we didn't end up needing it at all, which was amazing. We I will admit that for so the first day they shut us down. They said we were, you know, we were to go only. I said, OK, managers in kitchen and like half the kitchen staff come in.

27:23I, you know, I made sure that the managers reached out to everybody and said, we're going to just try to figure this out very quickly and we'll try to bring people back in as soon as we know what is even happening right now. And so for I think it was only like two or three days, it was managers only. And then we started bringing people back in. But it was a nightmare the first day trying to move to a to a to go only system. Right. So real quick, we put up on the sign. You know, call the governor and ask him for to go margaritas, because in my mind, I'm like, none of this works without to go alcohol. True. You know what I mean? Like none of this works without to go alcohol. So I put that on the sign as mostly a joke. But but later, actually, the governor came in and I spoke with him briefly and he said, yeah, we got a lot of calls because of that. That's oh, wow. I didn't. That's so I did not realize that was going to happen. But, you know, thanks for the to go booze. That was very helpful for us. And that came along pretty quickly. I think it was like not even a week. And you know what? It was really hard.

28:24I was sitting there to, you know, trying to think of the systems that would make it work, you know, put all the to go stuff in the bag and then staple the receipt and put it on this table or all that kind of stuff. And the first day was pretty rough, but we had it pretty well figured out. You know, we figured out, you know, like, oh, we can't do plastic bags. We need paper bags and we can write big names on them. And we'll put these dividers in them and we'll do this and all this kind of stuff. And all this kind of stuff came to me every night when I would go to sleep after, like, the long rush of the day and think, oh, this is what we need to do. This is where we need to put these orders and these orders, which is thankfully something that is like right in my wheelhouse is like I am a solver of problems. People, all of my friends, if you have a problem you can't solve, you call me. That's just who I am. I'm not great at a lot of things, but I'm very good at fixing things. That's my wife's least favorite quality that I possess. Because I can't just listen. She tells me something and there's no possibility of me saying, oh, wow, tell me more. I'm like, well, if you did this, this, this, this, and then she's like, stop.

29:26Yeah. My husband does the same thing. Brandon and my husband are very similar people. And so I have to think about what I tell them. I've tried. I've learned that, like, do you want solutions or do you just want me to listen? I've learned that. But it's hard because I still want to solve it. That's it. You know, I cracked me up by one of my best friends. Tracy Raines is formerly Director of International Disaster Relief for American Red Cross. And now she works with the International Rescue Committee. So she's extremely capable person and she's been all over the world. And I remember one time we were sitting there having some drinks and she was like, you are so capable. If I was like stuck on the side of a mountain and I could only get a text message out like I would text you because we were watching that show. What would you do or how would you survive or something? And I was like, yeah, I mean, that's probably a pretty good idea. I mean, I think I'd be able to organize it. You know, I'm not trying to say like there's a lot of things I'm very bad at. I cannot keep my house clean. You are seeing a very small sliver, but it's a very messy room. You know, there's a lot of things I'm not good at, but I can solve problems.

30:30And so that was that I definitely used every last bit of my solutions oriented brain. I made little pen holders so that all the pens would be separated from each other. I made clean cups, dirty cups. I got a remote viewing system so people could hold up their IDs so that we wouldn't have to touch their IDs, you know, and some of those solutions were better than others. But you were trying. I tried. I did. I tried really hard. Yeah. I was like not going to give up. This is like, this is the business that takes care of my family. And so I work very, very hard to make sure that it's okay. And so, yeah, so that's what we did. And we just pivoted, you know, constantly. And when the to-go alcohol came to be, we were already really busy. And I have to say that that is, you know, partly us, but partly where we sit in the market, right? We're Mexican food. We're comfort food. We're at a fairly relatively low price point. We're probably a little bit higher Mexican food pricing than some of the other places, but like we are right in the middle of that comfort food. And that is exactly what people wanted at the time.

31:32So we were slammed like right, right at lockdown. We were doing insane numbers. And we were all on our feet, you know, for so many hours. And thankfully, because we were that busy, we were able to bring anybody that wanted to come back, came back. We offered everybody the opportunity to come back. Not everybody did because some people wanted to be home. Some people, you know, had things they, other things that they needed to do. But we offered everybody to come back within, I think it was like two weeks. Like not, not, not a lot. And it was, you know, I was super happy that we were able to do that for the people that wanted to be able to come back. And they made some money. Like I also, that was another thing that I instituted was the mandatory 20%. I was like, I'm not fooling around with this. These doors are closed. You are giving 20%. It is a service fee that is being passed to the, to the servers. Like we are not going to, I literally only just took it away like a week ago. Nice. Yeah, that's right. I was not going to fool around.

32:34And then when the to-go blues came along, it was like the wild west. It was amazing. We were selling, we were selling like literally gallon jugs of margaritas. And the ABC came to us first, right? They didn't go to anybody else before they, before they released any of that guidance. Right. So they come to us, this guy comes in, very sweet guy, but like a gun on his hip. And he's just like, you can't sell a gallon of margaritas. And I was like, okay, I mean, he's like, you can sell as many as you want, but they have to be individual servings. And so that's what we did. And that's what we still do. You know, the individual servings. Meanwhile, everybody's out there selling like carafs and all kinds of stuff. Because we sell so much, we got to be, you know, we got to be set to a different standard. That doesn't seem very fair. It's fine. Look, I'm a lawyer. So like, I'm more than happy to play by the rules, you know? Do you know what your highest like margarita per guest count was? Like, was it some person, you know? At the time we were doing, I came up with a fantastic idea of margarita snack packs, where you would get four margaritas, which is a pitcher with a queso or guacamole for 40 bucks, which is like, it's like half off the queso basically.

33:49Because I didn't want to risk like discounting the margaritas. And then they're going to say that I'm like, you know, fooling with it and all this kind of stuff. So like, you know, I can win by following rules. You just got to tell me what the rules are, for the most part. As long as the rules aren't like too, you know, too difficult. But for the most part, I'm pretty, I'm willing to play ball. So, you know, and we sold, you know, we just sold them in four packs. And people would say, why can't you put it in one big thing? We said, it's the ABC thing. And people got it. People don't really mind. You just got to kind of tell them. But when it was like, there was no guidance. I was like, yeah, get us some gallon jugs, man. 200 bucks. Give me. And it was a hoot. We had some one woman drove from Brentwood called us and she's like, I'm coming. I'm going to get a big order. Like, I just want to let you know. I'm like, okay, yeah, just come. It's fine. Everything is done really quickly. And she got a ton of food. And she got four gallons. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. The pitcher is half a gallon. Yeah.

34:50Yeah. So she bought eight pitchers. Oh, my goodness. They were having a real party. So, yeah, we did some amazing numbers before all that guidance came out. We're going to take a quick break to hear a word from our sponsors. Trust 20 is the new standard of restaurant safety and diner comfort. Trust 20 restaurants are part of a national network of restaurants that meet a high standard of cleanliness and safety, giving diners confidence in the measures you're taking to keep them safe. Trust 20 restaurants receive expert guidance, operational resources, and benefit from diner-focused promotion on behalf of Trust 20 network of participants. So how do you get certified? It's easy. First, go to trust20.co and request a certification appointment. Then a Trust 20 specialist will reach out and arrange a visit. The specialist conducts a 60-minute review and consultation according to Trust 20 tactics. If adjustments are needed, the Trust 20 specialist will provide guidance to assist. Now that you're certified, have peace of mind that you're doing everything you can to keep your restaurant safe and start enjoying the benefits of Trust 20 certification.

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38:07You can order through your phone app or online. They truly are WhatChefsWant. Check them out at WhatChefsWant.com. That was you guys pivoting. I remember like when the margarita, not margarita, to-go alcohol stuff came out, because I followed you all forever. I mean, it's funny when I moved here, I moved here right before you did about eight years ago. When I got here, I would say like a year and a half in, I started seeing your sign on Pinterest and then I'm from Florida. And so I would see my friends from home like reposting this and I was like, that's my neighborhood. I live half a mile from you. I would walk there all the time. So I followed you guys forever. And I remember seeing the way you change, like at one point you also offered like patio seating, but it had to be, you were still socially distanced and you were just all the time. It was a very clear, this is what we're doing now. This is what we're doing now. This is what we're doing now. And I think that's really important during the time of corona because people do need to kind of, whether they agree with the limits, the mandates, whatever.

39:15Right. And it was very like, look, I'm not here to post about what the rules are. I'm just telling you what the rules are. I'm just giving you an opinion about the rules. I'm just telling you, these are the rules. I have a business to run. You will operate by these guidelines or you won't be dining with us. And it was not easy. And I felt the best approach, at least the way I would want to be approached, is to just be straightforward. And there were some nights that we could not keep up and the service suffered and people had huge weights and this kind of thing. And we were very upfront about it. I was just like, hey, man, we did our best. It didn't go so well last night. If you're one of the people that waited an hour and a half for your food, I would just like to apologize. But we're working on it. These are the things we're doing to try and make it better. And we hope that you'll dine with us again. And people were pretty cool about it, honestly. And that worked out really well. There was a couple of times when the, what was it? Oh, it was, I'm sorry about that, where the mask mandate.

40:20Came in for the patio or we were doing patio seating or something. And somebody like threatened the staff. And I had to get security in for a couple of weeks. Yeah, there was, you know, I hate to say it, like the during the whole like riots and things and the Black Lives Matter movement, which I fully support. And, you know, I thought about putting something on the sign. That was a big thing, right? And I just was like, in this neighborhood, in this climate, I was just so worried for the staff or something like that, just to make myself feel good about putting something on the sign. And so instead, I donated $2,500 to the ACLU and didn't do anything. And so then all of the people, all the liberal people, of which I am one, like really jumped all over me for not doing it. And I was like, man, I got a pregnant 17-year-old working at the host stand. I am not going to subject her to some crazy person coming in, you know? And like, and I just, you know, and, you know, regardless of like, keep politics out, like, you can do your best, you know, you do your best.

41:22But like, that was a tricky time. And to be doing that along with all of the COVID stuff was mind blowing. Like, it was just, it was so intense and it was so much. And it was all I could do to keep up. And so, but I feel pretty good about how it all worked out. I mean, everybody got their food and, you know, we respect everybody that comes in. Like, and so we work really hard to just make sure that it is a good environment to come into, you know, the guidelines are socially distanced. Oh, we were super lucky to have my bar manager, Drew Pate, who's been with me for 16 odd years or 15 years, something like that. He has a really good friend, Leslie Waller, who's with Metro Health Department. And she was like on my speed dial the whole time. And it was so phenomenal to have, because I could say, hey, you know, what do you think about this layout? Do you think that this is safe? What do you think about these practices? Do you think that these are safe? Like, you know, if an employee was exposed to this kind of thing, we could talk about, you know, what do we need to do?

42:23Is there, this is who they worked with. This is, this person was on this side of the building. This person was this side of the building. Like, what do you think? And that was, I mean, huge, huge to have that sort of, you know, confidence of somebody who's doing that. So it's like, there are things that I'm good at, you know, and solving problems and building this thing and trying to keep a big picture view kind of thing. But only, you know, I can only be as good as like the people I'm interacting with. And thankfully, I've had a lot of very good ones. Ben, your interactions have been really, really good too, if you're basing them on your sign. And I want to go over some of my favorite designs from 2020 and 2021. Hey, going back, not, not going through a window. I've been doing this. There are times I'll like come up with a joke and be like, do I have to put that on the side? I've done so many. You go back to like, gosh, when is this? August 21st, a year ago, there's some pores in this house.

43:26Yeah, I was like, is this okay? I was like asking my assistant. I was like, is this too risky? Yeah. How'd you come up with that though? Is that just like something that you? I don't even remember. Did I read it or did I say it? I think I said it. I think I just came up with it. Because I love a pun. I mean, who doesn't love a good pun? Half of them signs are puns. I think that I wrote that one. These can't be the same men Dolly begged Jolene not to take. I've already posted that. I keep an eye out for just things that speak to me. I try to always, it's tough out there because people will be reposting other people's jokes. And so I'll do like a quick search. Either it'll come up with somebody's name and I'll try to tag them. Or if I do a search for it and then I've got all these different people, it's really hard to find. But I always try to credit the appropriate person.

44:30Did you put something out there this morning about the Garth Brooks concert last night? I wanted to and then I was trying to write some stuff. And it just like what I was like, it was something like, I was going to do something about like, if he doesn't play thunder rolls for the first song. Well, I tweeted this morning, not getting tickets to the show was the best unanswered prayer I could have gotten. Yeah, I was trying to come up with something and then I was just tired and it was hot. Can you imagine though? I mean that just, I think they rescheduled it for Sunday night, but I saw so many people, so many videos of people just under the structures and like out it in together. You know, I didn't even know he was doing his thing. I knew that he was doing something stadium. I didn't know it was this soon. And yeah, I just can't even imagine. I wonder how many people are going to go.

45:32The Instagram stories were so funny. It was like getting ready for Garth Brooks. And then like an hour later would be like, just kidding. And like, at that time, whenever there's weather like that, I'm like, if I'm not at the restaurant, which I wasn't because I ate some hot chicken and it did not go well for me. I was texting with the restaurant. I was like, don't see the, you know, the section of the patio without a roof on it. If you guys know that already, like, and get everybody away from the edges of the patio. Like, and then I'm just like watching feverishly on the cameras to make sure it's okay. But yeah, that's I thought about it. But I just couldn't come up with anything that was like a good thing. And you only have so many characters, right? It's well for the sign. Yes, but I'll still I'll post if it's too long, I'll just do post. Yeah, I try to do the sign because it is a nightmare to change. I try to do like once a week, maybe twice a week tops. Um, uh, so otherwise I'm doing, I do about, I don't know, like maybe, you know, the sign is about once a week, maybe twice a week of the remaining posts, around 80% of those are going to just be fun.

46:43And I'll, and I'll tie them in to, you know, and there's, there's absolutely a strategy there. You know what I mean? Like on starting Thursdays, you're talking about drinking, you know, and partying Fridays and Saturdays, Sundays, you're talking about brunch and being lazy. Sundays, you're talking about margaritas. Um, you know, Tuesdays, you're usually talking about tacos, that kind of thing. And so you got to try and spin. Either you find something funny and you spin it into that messaging, um, or you do a product post, which is like maybe 20% of the time. I love last year's Thanksgiving post where you said, a socially distant Thanksgiving is everything I never knew I always wanted. I love that setup that never knew I always wanted. Um, I use that a lot, like I use that a lot and I use, what's the other one I use all the time? Um, oh, I forget what it is, but there's a few setups, but yeah. I mean, I'm not wrong. No, I think it's like, there's never, I've never been so like, I read that and I was like, gosh, that is so spot on. I've been doing this a long time.

47:49I got my finger on the pulse. Do you remember your first one? The first one was we caused the line shortage. Oh, okay. It was the very first one. Yeah. I don't remember the one after that. And there are times, you know, when I go back and I'm like, that is funny. I'll like forget about it. That is very entertaining. I am good at this. That was a little esoteric, you know, but yeah, I love, I mean, it's, it's the best part of the thing. It definitely is like, it can get to be a lot sometimes. I mean, that's every week, once or twice a week forever. There's no time off, you know, and I try to like, sometimes I'll like try to have one in the, in the hole, especially if I like want to go on a vacation or something like that. But like, they just get stale to me really fast. And so like, I want it to be funny. Everything that I put on there, I think is funny. And I have a great sense of humor. So yeah, this is funny. And now all of you think so. When it started going viral and stuff like that, I was just like, I love that.

48:57I like constantly tell people I'm funny. And my husband's like, if you have to tell everyone you're not though. I'm like, no, it's just you that thinks I think I'm funny. No, but I am though. I am. I'm good about it. I am well past the time of my life of being a shrinking violet and not owning things. Like there are some stuff I'm really good at and that's one of them. They don't all, they're not all bangers. I get it. They're not all everybody's sense of humor. I get it. And sometimes, you know, I definitely there's a brand voice. Like that's not my voice up there. That's like a little bit brighter, positive, optimist. You know, I'm all of those things. But like, I've got like a little bit of dark side. But I don't really put a lot of that on the side because the sign has its own voice. And it's something that's come to me over the years. And I know it when I see it kind of thing. But I promise you everything I see on there, I think it's hilarious. This one speaks to me at so many levels. It says, my favorite childhood memory is having energy. The one, oh, I think it was a Thanksgiving one a few years back.

50:00Thankful for ibuprofen. What if UFOs are just billionaires from other planets? Oh, that's such a good one. That's somebody else wrote that one. I don't know who because it's all over Twitter. But I was just like, that one was one I think I was like not around. And I was like, I had to because normally I do it myself or my assistant does it. And he was like out of town. So I was like, I always pay one of the staff if they're going to do it. Because it's so hot up on that up on that ladder. And that it's like a tunnel that street. And it's just there's no air going on that street. So he was paid a good amount of money to go change that sign. And I was like on like a Monday or something. I was like, oh, you got to put this one up there. This is too good. You got to put this up. So yeah, I was going to put something up this weekend. And then I just ran out of time about the Olympics. And I was going to do the youngest Olympian was born or said want to feel old. The youngest Olympian in Tokyo was born in 2009. Oh, God. I still have time to put it up, though, because the Olympics are still going on.

51:04So I'm going to put it up this week. Wow. Yeah. Preview. I like never feel old. That actually did make me feel a little old. I know, right? My niece, niece-in-law, she's she's at the Olympics. She's an Olympian. Wow, that's amazing. High jump, I think, is what she's there for. I'm so excited for her. That's so impressive. I have no athleticism or interest in being athletic. That's very impressive. No, I do not. I can barely get through shifts anymore in my heels. I'm like, I'm going to have to start wearing flats. I wear like I wear non slips. I wear like shoes, the manager non slips, the Delilah style. That's like an inch and a half. I've worn that. Yeah. And I love them. And I've gone through three pair of them. And it's the only shoe that I wear. But man, it's not hurt. I was pregnant. I was eight and nine months pregnant working managing in the restaurant. And that to me felt Olympian. Oh, my God. You were. I had my phone in my pocket. The first days of the pandemic, I had my phone in my pocket. I did over 20,000 steps.

52:07Oh, I bet. I always have my phone. If it's like a sync of the mile or something like that, my phone handy so I can look at my steps later. And man, it's intense. Can we talk about your tattoos? Sure, if you want to. I'm looking at you here. I got to check out your house. You've got and you've got. What is that one on your arm right there? This is just a little graffiti thing that I used to walk past when I was working in LA. It says, I love you Garth. And he's got a real long tongue. And I don't know, I thought it was really sweet. This is, do you recognize this? Are you old enough? I'm probably not. Excalibur? No, it's Fifth Element. The movie. He's not. I'm not. No, I'm definitely not. I just, that wasn't, I didn't, no. And then this one is, this 47 is fun. So this one is the little bubble that you have to fill in when you're taking the bar in Virginia.

53:07It's the 47 on there. And I, when I took the bar, it is super intense. You have to wear a suit. It's two days, eight hours a day. And you study for an insane amount. It's just the hardest thing. My brother's doing it now. And he- You taking bar three? He's in Florida. He did, he took the bar during COVID, which was like a whole mess because the bar system in the bar association in Florida, like had a bunch of mess-ups. So he was supposed to retake it. Turns out they never got his paperwork this round. Yeah. So now he has to wait until February and he's pretty worried. The, the testing prep company that I went with, Barbary, it is very expensive, but their slogan is do it once, do it right, and never do it again. Yeah. Thankfully the company is allowed because the bar association messed up, not my brother. They were like, hey, we're good. You can just take it again. Like, we're not going to charge you again. So I don't know what you use. Yeah, but it's just take it again. Like it's nothing.

54:08So this one was, yeah. So we filled this in and then I was after the bar, I was driving around Roanoke where I took it and I was like, I'm going to get a tattoo. I'm going to get a bar tattoo just to commemorate this moment. Like the first tattoo shop I see. And then I saw a sign in front of a place and it was like a plywood with spray paint on it. That's like chips tattoo, but it was like TAT and the number two. And I was like, no, I'm okay. I'll get this. I'll get a tattoo later. I got this one in LA after I passed. Yeah. So that one was a hoot. But yeah, I got a bunch of them. I don't know, man. I just get these things now. I'm fat. I have zero tattoos and I kind of want a tattoo. So I like to hear what other people got on them. So when you start out getting tattoos, you get like the most like meaningful, think about researching people and that's great. And I've had some really good ones. This one was a Nashville one, Ty Orton. She's great at every style. This one, I thought I was like so, so tough because I was like, my assistant came in with some coffee and I was like, I don't even feel it.

55:14I was like, you know, he always taught like all my tattoos hurt terribly. And I was like, I don't even feel it. Like, you know, I'm like one of those people now where I don't feel it. And she looks at me, she's like, I sprayed you with the numbing spray. And I was like, oh, I guess I'm not as badass as I thought. That's smart. But it's great. It's beautiful. But honestly, I get all kinds of stupid stuff. Just, you know, just whatever. Like you get the stuff that's meaningful. And then after a while, you just kind of get what you think is cool. And from your buddies, I mean, it's Nashville. So everybody knows 10 tattoo artists. Yeah, I had the opposite. My first tattoo was like, I was 18 and I just wanted to get one because I was 18. So that was my first one that I got. I was 18. I wanted to get one. It's my tramp stamp. Mine's on my hip, but it's pretty terrible. I either want to get it covered or like into something else. Oh, really? Oh, it's so bad. But the rest of them, the ones I got in Nashville are really good. The ones I got in Florida look like Florida. That's commemorating a time in your life. I mean, it is. Just embrace life and go and just go full bore.

56:18That's kind of always been my motto is to just embrace things and go for it. Okay, so we're getting kind of, I told you we can start talking and we could do this for like three hours. This is so much fun. As we start talking, you're like, wow, we are so far into this conversation. If people are still listening at this point, do you have anything at Rose Pepper that is like secret? Like you go to like In-N-Out in California and it's like you got to order it animal style with this, this and this. Is there anything that if I'm, if I'm still listening to this interview and I come to Rose Pepper, is there like an off menu, anything that's like the best thing that I need to know about that I should be able to order there? Well, here's what I'll say. First of all, of Mexican food, it's like 10 different ingredients made 50 different ways. Yes. So if you can dream it, we can do it within the scope of that thing. Now we do still do green burritos with just, it's our, just our green chili along with, with some like rice and beans and a burrito.

57:25That's from the people, the Espinandos people who where they used to make those. The real, if you want the real Espinandos, if you've got to go to Roy's, what's it called? Roy's meat service or something. It's on the East side. And I think one of my aunts is like making a bunch of Espinandos stuff for them. Okay. We don't really talk, but, but I understand that they're good, but we'll make a green burrito for you. And, you know, we, I know there's like one other appetizer, what is it? Is it the Gringos? I'm not sure, but like, you know, it's basically, if we made it before and we still have those ingredients, we'll make you whatever you want. But the nice thing and the thing that I've sort of embraced with this particular restaurant concept, you know, especially now going on 20 years is this is like a nostalgia brand. Like I don't really have any plans to like do anything different. Like these are good things. People have been eating them for a long time. They're very, very tasty. And I understand and appreciate that certain restaurants like innovation is the name of the game as far as the food goes. But also like when I go to visit, you know, New Orleans, where I went to undergrad, I am going to Palace Cafe for the crab meat cheesecake that I had when I was 20 years old.

58:32Like that's what I want. That's what I'm coming for. And I think that that's sort of like where we are in the market. It's like, you know, we, we are making the same stuff because it's good food. And so if there's anything I used to make, you know, that isn't, I haven't really taken a whole lot off the menu, honestly. Do you, where do you like to go eat? Like if you were going out to eat, what's your favorite place? I mean, I'm at the restaurant. So like a lot of times I like to go to 210 Jack across the street. That is everyone's answer. Oh, really? It really is. Let's see. Where else do I like to go though? Eastland Cafe is now Samurais, but I used to love going to Eastland Cafe. I just went to Once Upon a Time in France for the first time and it was wonderful. I really want to go there. That's been on my list. I went right when they opened because they don't do reservations and it was delicious. It was so, so good. Ooh, where else, where else? You know what I think that I've just built up in my mind that I had years ago in downtown and it was so good.

59:36It was right before like a tool, not tool concert, but what's his face? It was at the Palm. We had the Seafood Tower and it was exquisite. And I keep saying I'm going to go back. It's almost my 42nd birthday this coming week. And I was like, I'm going to the Palm and I'm having the Seafood Tower. But now I'm starting to doubt myself because what if it's not as good as I remember? And then the only other place, Juicy Seafood. I love me some King Crab Legs. Oh, really? Who doesn't love King Crab? No, no, I'm with you. I love King Crab Legs. I just, I've never been to Juicy Seafood. That name just scares the hell out of me. I know, crabs are really scary looking, but they're delicious. It's so good. I love that the only place in this interview that you've doubted yourself is on the Seafood Tower. Yeah. Everything else, you're like, I'm good. I just don't want to be disappointed. And it was like three years ago now. And but like when I remember it, it was amazing. We're not going to mess anything up.

01:00:38What if we ask our listeners to like message you, go to the Rose Pepper page and message the best Seafood Tower in town? Yes. Isn't the Palm, because the Palm is a national chain and we want to support local. So is there a locally owned and operated restaurant that does the best damn Seafood Tower? Or who's going to put one together? Somebody damn it, put one together for Andrea and make her a Seafood Tower for her birthday. Yes, I'm for it. Yeah, you're only 42 once. I am 42 right now on the notes. So we are right there. I can't believe you didn't know my Fifth Element tattoo. I know, right? You're 79. Yeah, I'm going to take your exenial card. I am an exenial. We are exenials. What day is your birthday? What actual day? August 5th. August 5th. You're Leo. I know. Yeah, but like, yes, but also no. I mean, like I got a Taurus rising, I got a Capricorn moon.

01:01:40I do not have to be the center of attention. I can't help it if people look at me. That's a pretty Leo statement. Don't hate me because I'm beautiful. I prefer other people to be the center of attention. I only know that because my wife and son are both Leos. Oh, really? My son is the 12th and wife's the 15th. My mom is a Leo and there's this book, I think it's Suzanne White, where she mixes like Western astrology and Eastern astrology. And so it's like the Chinese year that you were born in. So I'm a Leo goat. My mom is a Leo dragon, which is like amps up. And my mom is like what I think of with a Leo, you know, delicate, feminine, gorgeous, you know, and everybody's flocking to her. Like men fall over themselves to give my mom everything that she wants in life. Which must be great. But like, that's what I think of when I think of a Leo. Do you have that scenario happening? Are you married? No, not married, no kids. It's not my thing.

01:02:42It's not for me. So do you have like men falling all over? Do you have a lot of scooters? Do you have a boyfriend? Most men are afraid to talk to me, honestly. Why is that? I don't know. Maybe it's the eyeliner. But most men are like... It's the eyeliner. I love you. For real? Yeah. Honestly, for real, most men are like... No, I believe that. I feel like direct women have a really hard time because I'm direct too. And I feel like whenever I am direct, especially in front of men, I'm immediately questioned or they try to knock me down. I'm super direct. I'm successful. I was successful before this. I'm successful now. I own two homes. I foster dogs. I have 40-some odd employees. Well, 60-something employees. I'm trying to get some barbacks. If you guys have any barbacks, send them my way. Probably get a phone, Lauren. That's the only thing we're missing. That's the only thing that I don't have. If you're a barback, give her a call. Yeah. I think those things are really attractive qualities.

01:03:43I don't know why. But that's because you are... And I feel like you and I talked about this before. You are comfortable in who you are as a person, Brandon. And so men that are not or men that feel they need to have some level of power, that just does not... And I think a lot of it, not even necessarily power, I think gender roles aside, I think that a lot of men do like to be around somebody that they feel like they are protecting. And that doesn't mean that I don't have a need of protection, but it doesn't seem that way when you meet me. Right. Well, you have a full life. So a man is in addition to that, not like a piece that was missing in that. Yeah. If I don't need anything, I would love... Look, it's also... Never mind the barbacks. If you are willing to deal with us, let me know. Do we have your wish list though? Because we don't need just anyone applying here. I mean, you got to have your own. You got to have your own life. You got to have your own... You have like age restrictions? Like, no, not really.

01:04:45Height restrictions? No, not really. I mean, all I really care about is somebody that is smart, can keep up, is not scared. I'd be nice if you're attractive. But at the same time, that's just like an initial thing. You meet somebody who's initially cute and then they say something, you're like, you're hideous to me now. And then you say it like you didn't think much of, but then they'd say something incredibly smart. I like very smart people. I like people that can keep up. And I don't disdain anybody that can't, but if you want to date me, you got to be able to keep up. I can't keep doing this himbo thing. That's something that's from my youth, is dating himbos. What's that? He's a himbo, but a guy? Yeah, very sweet. I usually end up dating very good looking, very sweet, not very smart guys. And I can say that because I haven't dated anybody in over a decade. But like, yeah, that's just not, it just doesn't work. It just doesn't work for me. I'm interested in doing it, but it's just like everybody would rather go for somebody that doesn't have a personality like mine.

01:05:51And that's fine. I don't necessarily blame him. There is somebody from high school. I'm not going to share this so that somebody from high school been hollering at me. He works at a hedge fund. He's getting his pilot's license. We'll see how that goes. He was super sweet. He was the class president. And this is a guy that you are kind of thinking about talking to, or you're just kind of- He's just been hollering at me on Facebook, but we'll see. Does he live in California? No, he lives in Pittsburgh now. Okay, so still different area code, which is tough. No, that's- If he can fly, then he could just hop on my airplane. And if I had to draw a picture of my first perfect relationship, it would be like meeting up with somebody a few times a week, and having dinner and maybe staying the night one time. But I don't want to live with anybody. I don't want anybody to live with me. I don't want anybody in my house. I hate to say it, but it's like I'm 42 now. I'm pretty set in my ways now. Something pretty extraordinary would have to happen for me to be willing to sort of change the thing at this point.

01:06:57I just don't really subscribe to this idea that you have to be partnered up. I think it's great for people that are. I don't necessarily need that. Yeah. You know who you kind of remind me of? Who? I know it's random because you're like, nobody, because I'm an individual. No, no. Have you ever been to the Germantown Pub? Have I been to the Germantown Pub? I don't know. I don't think so. Germantown Pub is right there at Corner Monroe and Rosa Parks. And there's a woman who owns it. Her name is Naima Walker Fierce. I love her name. She is. And she was an attorney. Yeah. She was a silent partner in the restaurant. How cool. Operations guy. And the guy like flaked on him and was doing a bunch of crazy stuff. Yeah. And she like came over and started operating the restaurant like five years ago. Oh, wow. And she's an attorney. Yeah. Restaurant operator. Oh, I love that. That's so funny. And she's like our age. And she's just like killing it. And she's so amazing.

01:07:58She's so she has much energy. I love just sitting and talking to her because ideas come out of her brain so fast and furious. Yeah. And you just kind of remind me of her because she's strong. She's confident. And she's an attorney. But she just said, I'm going to do this restaurant thing. And she kills it. Yeah, man. I mean, right? For anybody out there listening, it's like, look, if you got the brains and you trust yourself, then do it. Then trust yourself. Trust your instincts. And if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. But that was always a possibility. If you don't do it, it's definitely not going to work out. Right. So. Well, that was almost like our so that what I do at the end of every show is I ask our guests if they wouldn't mind taking us out of the interview with and I'm going to give you a second to think about it. So I'm going to open the floor to you, Jerry's final style. Okay, say whatever you want to the city of Nashville, the restaurant people listening. And you can talk for as long as you want. Say whatever you want.

01:08:58I don't care. But you get to take us out before we do that. I want to tell you. Thank you so much for taking this time with us today. I have enjoyed every single second talking with you and just to get to know you because I obviously Rose pepper is so iconic, but I don't you're not that I don't see you all the time. So learning your story has been so interesting to me. And I just I'm honored that you took the time. Both of us appreciate it. I appreciate it. Keep a pretty low profile. And I don't know if that is a hangover from, you know, doing something that I wasn't super comfortable with and not wanting to mess it up and sort of trying to keep low profile. But even so, seven years down the road, that's sort of there's a there's a brand face. And then there's me and I'm not, you know, I'm not hiding from anybody. But like, they're two distinct entities. That's why I like as soon as I was like, yeah, I'm happy to talk. And yeah, I mean, I guess the thing that I would say is that I know that I am in a lot of pretty distinguished company in the national restaurant scene.

01:10:01And there's a lot of really amazing people and a lot of really amazing concepts. And I feel really, really lucky to be a part of that and to contribute in the way that I think that I do. And so I guess I don't know, because I would just say that it's a really great place to be doing the thing that I'm doing. And I always feel like people like you are very open and welcoming. And I think it's a really good place to sort of just wildly do the most bold thing that you can think of to do. And and it has like not a terrible shot of working out, or at least I've been lucky enough in that regard. So it's been really great talking to you about it. And I really appreciate you reaching out. You're right. The pleasure is all on the side of the table. I loved this so much. I have like a thousand more questions for you, but none of them are about the restaurant. So I'll just. Well, anytime. I'm around, man. I have your email. Bring your kid. They love looking at all the lights. I will.

01:11:01I think that's why people bring their kids is because they can just grab everything. Well, we have another podcast that we host. It's called Talk and Shift. Oh, nice. And it is Sunday night. This Sunday night, tonight, because this is a report on Sunday. I'm going to put this out tonight so people know this is on Sunday. It is live from nine to eleven. And it's a call in show where anybody can just pop on like you are right now. And we're telling restaurant. We're telling restaurant stories. We're giving advice. We're having conversations. Well, that sounds great. So I don't know what you're doing tonight from nine to eleven. If you want to jump on, you're welcome. Jen, you can ask her whatever you want. If you want to come back. If I'm sober and awake, I will. Most of those things have to be true. We'll see. Now, you want to the awake thing is good, but you know, not everybody is going to be sober on this on this podcast. The point is to have a couple of drinks and come on. And you shouldn't really say. Yeah, don't get don't you get me started now.

01:12:04Don't get me in trouble. Well, Andrea, thank you so much for taking time with us today. And we will definitely be up to you soon. Follow Rose Pepper at Rose Pepper Cantina. It's at the Rose Pepper at the Rose Pepper at the Rose Pepper, because they are the Rose Pepper. And if you are an attractive, most hopefully attractive, intelligent guy that, you know, yeah, you know, a grown up wants to hang out. And yeah, he was a grown up and can handle a strong one. You should go to the Rose Pepper also and just look up Andrea. She's amazing. It's a pleasure, you guys. Thank you so much. Thank you. You too. Thanks. Bye. Oh, my gosh. That was so much fun. I'm telling you, I could have talked to her for like two to three hours. I know. I definitely I'm so glad I have her email address. She's going to hate me in like a week. No question.

01:13:06Yeah, I'm totally going to be going by there. I want to eat the green burrito that she was talking about. I just want to support them more. Like I live an hour away, I feel like from East Nashville. But like, I just want to go there and eat because she was so like she's just such a badass. I don't know. I just I really fell in love with her. Yeah, their staying power in Nashville is pretty remarkable. And they have my favorite chips for the chips in casa because they're the fried tortilla. So when I lived in East Nashville, I would walk there and get that too often. And now that I live so far away, I miss it so much. You're like on the opposite end of the world in downtown Franklin. I know. I'm so far. Well, we thank you for taking the time today to listen to the show. We hope that you guys are being safe out there. Love you guys. Jen. Keep lifting each other up, y'all. We'll talk soon. Bye. Bye.