Ben Powell

00:00Welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio, the tastiest hour of talk in Music City. Now here's your host, Brandon Styll. Hello Music City. Welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio. My name is Brandon Styll and I am your host. We are coming at you today with a good one. We are talking with Ben Powell, who is the co-owner, founder at Fable Cocktail Lounge. So Fable is kind of in the Vanderbilt area right off of West End Avenue and they've got so many different bars. This is one you're going to want to watch on YouTube because he takes us through and does a full tour of the restaurant on the interview. So it's a lot of fun and if you haven't been over there, this place is really, really cool.

01:01Fable Lounge. You got to go check it out. It's where Jed's used to be, over there back behind, I think it's a Jason's Deli now. Anyway, excited to have you here today. I have been just out of town, cannot wait to postpone the roundup another week. It'll be coming out next week. I have been in many states, been all over, and I'm excited to get back to a little bit of normalcy and I'm coming at you right now from Boston, Massachusetts, but that does not stop me. The show will go on. We will continue to bring interviews to you, our people in Nashville and all over the country who are listening to this podcast. Again, we thank you so much for listening. If you would click the subscribe button, however you are listening, you will get these in your inbox whenever they come up. Today I am running solo, no Jen on the show today. She was taking care of her kiddos when we recorded this. She is unable to be there, but we did have a chance to talk to Ross over at Sitex for an on-brand.

02:06Let's jump in with that right now. Ladies and gentlemen, we are excited to welcome back to Nashville Restaurant Radio, Ross Chandler from Sitex. What do you know, Ross? How are you, Brandon? It's been a very busy week. It's been a lot of fun. How are you? I'm with you, man. It's been crazy. Can you believe the holidays are approaching? It's crazy. It's absolutely crazy. You know, and I'm going to jump right in here because we have so much to cover. In our last on-brand, I was joking and I said, you actually, I talked to you and you were actually feeding the linens into the iron and you said, yeah, man, sometimes got to roll up our sleeves. I have heard that there are linen companies that are dropping off letters to restaurants saying, sorry, we can't deliver you linens today. We don't have people. We can't keep up with this. Are you hearing about any of that? Are you getting people calling you? Yes, we've been getting, yeah.

03:07So you're not wrong. That is happening. There are, there are people in the Nashville market that are getting letters from their supplier or being told by their supplier that they just can't come. Are you one of those companies dropping off letters? We have not dropped off any letters. No, we are, we are grinding it out and making it happen. We are a make it happen kind of company. So, you know, get it to you. We'll get it to you. How are you making that happen? How are you guys able to do it? Yet other people are having to drop off letters. Well, so for one, the team here, man, I can't overstate it. We are kind of one big family. We're a third generation family owned company and we just kind of, we just kind of get it. You know, we, everybody's got chip in sometimes, you know, they're the whole like, that's not my job. We don't say that. There's another saying that we have that, you know, we, we talk about like there's, there's no us and them or they and us type thing.

04:08It's a, it's a, it's a we type thing here. So yeah, if, if I got to go out into the plant on a Saturday and throw a linen, I'll do it. If I, you know, whoever on the leadership team needs to, you know, load their vehicle down with some linen and get it out to a customer, you know, we just, we just figure it out. You know, it's right now between the growth and some of the labor challenges and some of the other things that we're continuing to face, it just takes all of us. And we would, we know that this is not permanent. We know this is just kind of like a thing that's happening right now. We're going to ride the wave out, you know, and whether that means longer days, earlier mornings, whatever, we're going to make it happen. Our customers should be none the wiser of us running around screaming and with our hair on fire from time. Well, I think, you know, it's like, you know, to assimilate that to a restaurant, sometimes a leader in the building, a general manager, a director of operations, kind of a guy.

05:11When you're in the building and it's going down in flames, you got to just jump in. I got to bust tables. I got to run food. I got to, I'm sometimes I have to wait tables. I had a bartend. I got a bar back. There's no job in that restaurant. I won't do. And that's kind of it. I'm not going to a table going, well, my server wouldn't do that. So you're not going to get your food. There's no way I'm going to do that. And I think it sounds like you guys have that culture that it doesn't matter if you don't have enough people, you're going to get enough people that care to get in there and make it happen. Because you know what? Your restaurants can have people there anyway. And you guys make commitments that we're going to have Lenin there. It's got to be there. Am I right on with that? They're exactly right, man. You got to got to make it work, got to make it happen. So if you are out there and you want to work with a linen company who is willing to do everything they possibly can to ensure that you get your product and it's a high, high quality product and it's at a very reasonable price, give Ross a call.

06:15It may be loud when you call him. He may be, you know, throwing linens through an iron, but his number is 270-823-2468. Or you can visit them. If you look at the banner right here on the screen, you will see it says www.citex-corp. That's S I T E X dash C O R P dot com forward slash careers. You can come work for a team like this. Everybody wants to work for the guys where the leaders are not afraid to roll their sleeves up and get in and do it because that's just that's a culture. That's a thing. That's a can do attitude and we love it. And I appreciate all of your hard work and we just appreciate you guys. Thank you so much, Ross. Yeah, Brandon. We appreciate you guys. Thank you so much. All right, buddy. All right. Take care. We are super excited today to welcome in Ben Powell, who is the owner and operator at the Fable Lounge. What's going on, Ben? It's another day in paradise. It's a beautiful day.

07:16Pandemic still going strong. Everyone's feeling good about life and that's what we have a bar to indulge in every bad decision you're about to make. So we're excited about it. It's a good day. So you're, you're encouraging the bad decisions. Yes, absolutely. It's what we do here. Absolutely. Has the pandemic affected you? I mean, are you are you right now is staffing an issue? Are you where are you guys sitting right now? So the ripple effect of a pandemic has had several issues. The first and foremost, obviously, we opened at the end of January 2020, just in time to shut down for a cataclysmic event. And so obviously, that is a deterrent for social gathering places to indulge, especially with restrictions and people's concern, the welfare of their health. The current challenge is definitely staffing. We have the gift of guests coming in, but it's what I call the champagne problems. I'd rather have an issue where I guess coming in and having an amazing time and struggling to find quality and amazing individuals that want to work and be at work.

08:21So right now, staffing is the new kind of paradox that has come out of all of this right now. But we have an amazing team. The challenge is finding the right individuals to support that team. Well, while we're here, while we're talking about it, if you what positions are you looking for? Let's just let people know if you got people out there who are who are rock stars that want to come work with you. How do I get a hold of you? What positions do you need? So essentially at the moment, what we're currently looking for is the talented of hosts. We treat the Fable Lounge here, we'll turn it around. You check in like you're coming into a hotel. So every guest comes in and they go through a check in process. And this is so that we can make sure that they go to the environment they want to be in because at Fable, there's something from everybody. It's essentially from the intimate rendezvous of the dining room to a bar where you can be seen to a mezzanine piano lounge, to the relaxation of sitting on Chesterfield couches as well as an outdoor Scotch and cigar pavilion. So it's really indicative that there is something for everybody.

09:24So I'll walk I'll walk and talk as we're going through it. The restaurant is not open, so some of the lighting will be a little wonky. But while we're talking, we're walking through it. But host is one of the most important positions from my background, from where I came up in different areas, coming from, you know, making sure that guest care is always at the highest caliber. And that's one of the key things that my business partner not completely believe in and making sure that everyone has the most amazing spectacle. So I'm going to turn some lights on here. So first and foremost, is a high quality individual for a host. And they then are basically the ambassador to everything that we've got. So over here and I'm going to turn the camera this way. Let me know if you can see what. So this is the intimate rendezvous of the dining room, four foot tall booth and banquettes over there. For the people that are listening to this and not watching, this is a beautiful dining room. And that wallpaper is really cool, too.

10:26I really like that wallpaper. And there's little booths that people can sit in. It looks super intimate, almost romantic. And then there's a really nice set of chefs bar right there. That's the actual bar that is one of the bars. So that's where you go to be. You go to be seen and and do all that. Now that we're back in 2019, you can dance on it. Don't quote me on that. But nonetheless, this piano lounge where royalty sits and the piano man tickles the ivories to make you feel good about every bad decision you're about to make. Additionally, this is Miro Miro on the wall. You can take the greatest selfie of them all. And then we have we have our grand staircase in which we are ascending. The ascension process is the best part of all of it. And this year is the storybook walkway where all my closest friends and family hang out. So all of my friends and family, that guy right there, that's me. Then over here is a lovely horns you have. Yes, thank you.

11:29Then the this is I don't know if they can see this lighting, but that is a 3D cutout of what the restaurant looked like before the restaurant was closed. That's done by local artist, Holly Carden, who did that. But then we come through the archway. Oh, well, lots of lots of natural light in here. That's beautiful. Yeah. So the captain's table out there is the Scotch and cigar pavilion, the legendary bar itself, and then, of course, the most romantic spots are the lounge. And then we have a humidor to also sell cigars. And then out of all the artwork in the building, this is actually my favorite bunny butt. So that's where we end up at. So that's a quick tour. So the host becomes one of the most in integral parts of the system because everybody needs to be somewhere. And from that, it's absolutely important that we make sure we get people to where they want the kind of social styles that people would do, even in a wedding setting. You know, like if I put Uncle Frank with Aunt Jane, the whole wedding is going to be canceled because they're going to freak out.

12:33So you want to make sure you're pairing the right kind of guests and that intimate care servers are always in need as well as high quality bartenders. We currently tell over 60 plus cocktails on menu. Our lead bartender, Erickson's son, Eric, and my business partner, John, are currently cultivating so that by November we will have over 100 cocktails on this list. So it's an ambitious program and it's one of the opportunities to learn with some of the best individuals of minds in Nashville when it comes to that, because Erickson's son, Eric, just won Nashville Lifestyle's best drink of 2021. So very honored. Yeah. So what was the best drink of 2021? Where did he make it? It was called Take a Beat and it's a 17 part cocktail series in which if you've ever seen Willy Wonka when the girl takes the gum and all of a sudden it's like breakfast, lunch, dinner, like all these things. This cocktail is for dessert. Yeah, exactly. So, and then unfortunately it didn't go as well for her.

13:35This one ends well for it. So you were getting all these different rich notes and the drink as it went down your palate was constantly evolving and changing. So absolutely incredible cocktail, which will be firmly on the list this fall. So yeah, we're very honored and grateful to have this kind of talent here. So this is the first time that I've ever had a guest on the show actively walk me through the building to see everything that's going on. And I can't wait for you guys out there to watch this at our YouTube channel. And you can see the full, full building here. So let me just, if I'm a host, right? Or a maitre D, is it a maitre D or is it a host? Well, essentially maitre D is the correct terminology. Um, and between myself and another gentleman by the name of Sam, um, we, we are the maitre D's, but having high quality, high caliber individuals that can do that, it's one of the most, like I said, it's every position matters, but I fervently believe that getting that initial moment in time, when you walk into the restaurant as one of the most important ones in there and far too often, I think we've all had the experience where we go into a restaurant.

14:47We're excited. Um, it's our, you know, it's our, you know, 15th date and you want it to go well. You want to impress and you go in and all of a sudden it's like, what? Like, Oh, I'm sorry. Did I interrupt you? My bad. I was coming into, you know, so I think all of us have unfortunately been victims of what I would consider to be lackluster, um, hospitality. And so that's why that initial reading of someone coming in and people being excited and wanting to get you to where you will move your vibe for that particular evening is. So, yeah. So that's, that's, that's so vital. I just, I just actually hired a maitre D at, uh, one of my restaurants, Maribol, I got him from new Orleans and he was at, uh, commander's palace. He got, he just started two weeks ago and it's, it's amazing how much that first impression when you walk in and I know where you guys are located, you walk up and you see the big balcony and there's like the yard and you kind of walk up to the front and you're excited.

15:48We're going to come here. We're going to do this thing. And then you walk in the front and you get some lackluster like, Oh, how many? And then look at you or you, or there's like three servers standing around talking to the host. And you're like, excuse me. And they're like, Oh, so well, thanks for interrupting me. You're like, I'm sorry. I'm just the guest. Like, and it's to find that person who can really, really excel has been, um, one of the challenges. That's what it's, it's, uh, it's very, very, very important. Where did you learn that? Where did you, somebody taught you that, like, where did that come from? This is, this is John, my business partner, everybody wave. He's the one who helps you make bad decisions. So that's him down there. And this is our courtyard and yard. So, um, all, all the intro. Um, so I was fortunate, um, to be New York and right place, right time landed, um, with the restaurant that just opened that eventually became a Michelin star restaurant. And when you have pleasure working in Manhattan where everything is a killer be killed kind of situation any day of the time, um, and that level of guests care, there was a maitre d that worked at this restaurant and his name was Ian.

17:06And this guy could move time and space like no other. And this restaurant, it's New York could only seat about maybe 70 guests. And he could move through every guest and, you know, like they'd have a reservation at eight o'clock and he would somehow convince them that nine 30 was a better time. While they were sitting there and doing all that. And the only way this guy was able to pull this off was because he was charismatic, he was empathetic and sympathetic to everyone, you know, need to do that. So that was kind of the key cornerstone of seeing that. And just by natural proximity of it's easier when you have the ability to kind of transform how, just like you hired the gentleman from New Orleans, when you have that opportunity to literally make that change, that then cuts completely across the entire element of a guest experience. That's when you see it just works. Like it's not a complicated thing. Um, but unfortunately it's something that is easily dismissed. Um, and I think that actually even goes back to the era of 2008, especially when, you know, recession, um, when you were looking to cut a lot of these individuals, um, and they just kind of stuck and it's unfortunate.

18:20Um, I mean, yes, I'm not expecting it. I want to be like Downton Abbey style of service. Like, well, we're going to live on property and we're going to make things happen, but essentially it came from, you know, seeing the immediate response. Uh, one person comes in and gets that kind of reading. The next person comes in and it doesn't, and it's possible. You can literally see the difference between the two experiences out of the gate, so absolutely. That's a, it's an interesting person to find. So if you're that person out there right now and you have that spirit of service and you want to work more as a concierge, right? Where you're people are coming in, you're identifying what type of experience you have because you have multiple experiences you can have in this one building. And then they're kind of navigating you to the right place to kind of make your evening perfect. If you're that kind of person, go see Ben Powell over at fable lounge. Now you guys are located in the. I know it's kind of in between Centennial Park and Vanderbilt. Is that what it used to be? Jed's that used to be a place called Jed's, right?

19:21Yeah, it was a, yes, absolutely. It was a sports bar known as Jed's. Um, and then over here just for lab mark reasons, um, let me actually turn the camera around. There you go. That's one of our views from our balcony here. So, uh, looking great at the Marriott, Vanderbilt, and then that's the holiday and Vanderbilt. Correct. Absolutely. So we're looking right at that. Um, and so we're just right off of 28th and Poston or 28th and West end. Um, so it's a great location right by Centennial Park. And it's exciting with all of the changes that they'll be doing. Um, so yes, before Jed's was a restaurant called the Acorn and then before that, I believe it was a karate studio and then a daycare. I mean, it's been through, it's been through some stuff. So it's gone through some changes. So when did, when did you move here? How long have you been in Nashville? I moved out here in 2014. Um, and I chased a bad idea of a girl. She left. I stayed. Um, no, she was an amazing young lady.

20:22It didn't work out. Um, but nonetheless, I loved Nashville so much, enjoyed it, and then had the good fortune of meeting my business partner, John, the John one we waved, um, down there downstairs earlier, and, um, he had, um, this great idea. He said, you know, my, uh, my dad wants to open a pizza franchise and he wants us to open it and said, man, that's awesome. I'm all for it. Except for the part where it's a pizza franchise and your dad. Otherwise I'm in, you know, um, so essentially we sat down like, all right. What's the one thing we feel that's missing in Nashville? And it's not a, you know, right, wrong kind of situations. Where do we want to hang out? Where do we want to be? And so fable is an agglomation of our minds kind of coming together, like from the style of bar, you know, the style of food, from the style of seating, all the arrangements. So downstairs, um, you know, the, the seating is very similar to that of the New York style restaurant that I was in. Um, and it worked great right up until pandemic.

21:22Otherwise it was amazing experience. So, you know, um, but, um, nowadays people prefer to be spread out. So we're very fortunate that we have as much space as we do where, you know, someone can start in the dining process. And then as things lighten up upstairs, then they feel more comfortable coming up. So we're very fortunate to be able to have something for everybody within all that. So from 2014 to 2020, were you working in restaurants? What were you doing for a living here? So, uh, yeah. So essentially I've bounced from New York and Philadelphia. When I came out here, I had just finished up an amazing stint at the hotel industry. Um, which I happened to be a part of from 2008. There were the second largest facility in banquets in Philadelphia at the time. And when 2008 hit, there were 27 food and beverage managers. They laid off 23 of them. Um, so I was one of the last man standing. So I officially received a title known as Lord Supreme Commander of the hotel at the five o'clock PM, which was really exciting.

22:24Except Lord Supreme Commander. Yeah, absolutely. At a hotel after five o'clock. So people would call complaining about their, you know, dirty linen. I'm like, dude, I don't know where that is, but I've got wine. What do you feel like? Um, so, and it was set, it was seven restaurants effectively. Um, all the, yeah. So definitely a high, steep learning curve on how to manage, you know, all of that out there. So when I came out here, I was a bit tired of the hotel industry in terms of how they were treating, um, their brethren in the food and beverage industry. So, um, was fortunately picked up by the cheesecake factory and had, and had never been in one. It wasn't, um, my normal cup of tea, but had the opportunity to go in and was blown away by, I mean, it's a casual 3000 menu item thing before billion desserts. And I was impressed. And they're a multi-billion dollar international conglomerate, um, independent entity. And so I was like, all right, let's, let's see what they got. Let's see what they can learn. Cause I'm always passionate about learning and doing things.

23:26And so from that moment in time, um, that's where John and I actually met. Um, from there, um, it was one of those challenging shifts where I think we've all been there, especially in this industry where it didn't matter what you did, it was just going down with the ship. The ship was sinking and you can't bail enough water. Right. Exactly. So nonetheless, it was one of those fun, fun times. And so that's when John presented the dad and pizza, pizza plan. Um, but it reached a point that it was like, Hey, if we're going to do this, we need to step back to line level positions. And so we were fortunate to, um, know one of the individuals at Morton's a steak house downtown, um, right off of seventh and church. And so we kind of got back into line level positions. Ironically fun fact, this is where the industry always gets fun. Moving millions of dollars for another company as a manager pays less than working as a server in a high end steak house, just fun fact, less hours. That's how it works.

24:26So it's just, yeah, it's the nature of the business. So yeah, so I think it's one of those elements where, you know, it's one of the allures of this business is that, you know, rather than sitting in an office cubicle and doing things for so long, you can definitely move around. So, um, let me ask you before you get going, let me ask you when you were at the hotel and you had the seven restaurants and you were the Lord master, supreme commander, uh, after five, that's a butchering of your title, but it's pretty damn cool. What advice, what did you learn? Like, what is the, what is the key to, to doing that? Like, what's the one thing that you didn't know that if you were to give advice to somebody who was running something like that, what's the number one thing that you had to do? There several things spawned out of this, but the big one is what is predictable is preventable. Meaning if you can get your data sets correct, and in the sense of theoretical, perpetuals, those kinds of things.

25:30So created what is known as a living inventory when you're running seven different outlets and the nice thing about the internet is anything you want to learn. You can't. So I never learned Excel, never learned any of that. And, but I would say I'm decent. I can color code stuff, but nonetheless, the, the important thing is that if you can get your data sets correct and start to see the patterns of product that are being moved and all that, you can diminish your waste by a ton and it's helpful if you've got a chef that also is like, why are we buying 400 chickens? If we're only selling two to throw away 398. So product waste in this industry is one of the Achilles heel of it. And so when you're running that many outlets, if you can hit the number stacks and be able to get inventory and ordering down, that's going to alleviate the frustration of staff, because if you're running out of something every two minutes, it just makes them inferior. And then the other, the other piece of this that worked out well, especially in the hotel and what we do here is you empower certain individuals to make game time decisions when one restaurant is 32 floors above you and you're using 1978 antiquated elevators that are powered by a hamster that died three weeks ago.

26:51It takes a minute to get up there. So tell you what, you could have permission to make a judgment call. Someone didn't like this dish. Just take it off. Tell me about it, but just go ahead and get out of the way, as opposed to making a guest wait 20 minutes while some only guy in the building is trying to get up there and talk about it. So those are the, I would say, but that's the biggest thing is what's predictable is preventable. If you can alleviate the known and be ahead of it, there's no reason to be surprised about it. Like, for example, we've got a party coming in tonight. Everything that party need was printed yesterday so that we're not going, Oh man, where is it? You know, like we're already ready to go for all that. Well, proactivity and identifying things. I liked what's predictable is preventable. I always tell every manager in any busy night, anything that we're doing, I go go, what is what at seven o'clock when the shit is hitting the fan, what are the things that you don't want to have happen? Nobody wants me to walk up to you and say, excuse me, you're out of paper towels in the bathroom, but you can fix that right now.

27:53You can go do all of the things. You can make sure we're stopped and are you ready? Are you ready? So that in that moment, you don't have to do things you can do right now, which I think is what you're saying. And, um, yeah, that's good stuff. That's, that's really, uh, that's good. And what are the same question from the cheesecake factory? Did you learn anything from the cheesecake factory? I think that sometimes you've got these big corporate restaurants and they have all these systems and processes and you always take something from them. Um, and I think, yeah, and ultimately that is true. And I think it's one of those, um, one of the biggest things is that in all the restaurants I've learned, I've definitely learned something, but I think the best and most impressive thing with cheesecake factory is probably their efficiencies, their ability to take one thing and stretch it out over like 80, you know, like you, they can figure out so that they're not having to stack up on product. Like there's no reason to buy 15 different kinds of chicken. We can get two and make it work in 12 different dishes.

28:54And yellow squash will go in seven. Yeah. It's cross pollination. Correct. Absolutely. So that was probably one of the more impressive, you know, metrics of it. Um, I think where they also excel is they've, they've tapped into a psyche in which works amazingly well where no one knows what they want to eat. Well, I'll tell you what they most likely have it. So, you know, I think that's an impressive and ambitious thing and it's, it's served them well. Um, but I think that's one of the biggest things of learning is that, you know, cause oftentimes it's like, you go into the fridge and you're like, Oh, it's something to eat. And yet after you've been replacing the cheesecake factory, no, no, no. I got an apple, I got butter and I got, uh, you know, bread crumbs. Oh, I got you. Like whatever that is, but you can make something. Um, so I think it's, it's an impressive thing as well as their consistency factor. I think that's one of the hardest things to hit is when you're making by scratch dishes, it's hitting that consistency. Um, because all of a sudden everyone gets an opinion like, you're like, okay, easy killer.

29:56Uh, so that's usually how it works out. But yeah. No, that makes sense. So you went to, you left there, you went to Morton's, you worked line level positions, like you said, when did the idea for fable and the, I, the name, the fable lounge, where did that come up? Who, whose idea was that? And what is the, like the meaning around it? I think I have an idea, but I want to hear it from you. We're going to hear Ben answer that question and many more right after a word from the people that make this all possible. We're going to start today off with complete health partners. You've heard me talk about them for months now, and they are the real deal. I've been to see them and it is just so easy and so convenient. Let me tell you right now, hiring employees is so difficult. You've got to be able to offer all the benefits and major medical just sometimes isn't in the cards. That's where complete health partners walks right in. They have three convenient locations right here in middle Tennessee for $50 per employee, you get unlimited urgent or primary care visits.

30:57That's unlimited. You also get COVID testing and vaccination services offered at a discounted rate for the businesses that are enrolled in complete care. So much better. If you have somebody test, if you have somebody test positive and you have to test your entire staff, if you're a complete health partner, a member, you get discounted rates for that entire thing. Also, people get hurt at work. You got to send them in. Don't send them to the ER. They just need to get some stitches. Call complete health partners. They're the people that help you. You got to check them out at completehealthpartners.com or you can go to nashvillerestaurantradio.com, click the sponsors tab and click the complete health partners to get directly to them. Complete health partners. Go check them out now. I've also been talking about neat mixology for quite some time now. And they are killing it. Work with them. Both of my locations. I've got several, several people who listen to the show who've let me know that it has been a godsend to them. They will come in. They will do your counter physical inventory.

31:58They'll enter your physical inventory into whatever system you use. They will run an analytic on your PNL, let you know what their thoughts were. They will also place your orders for you and they will complete a drink menu for you seasonally. I just got my fall menu at both of my restaurants and it looks amazing. So impressed with what they're doing. Plus he teased a couple of weeks ago that they're going to be doing a buy-in, a co-op type situation where they're going to be working on lowering your prices for the liquors that you use the most. This is the time guys. You've got to check out Neat Mixology. Follow one Instagram at Neat Mixology or give Jordan a call. His number is 615-973-4511. I don't think I mentioned they do all of this for only $500 a month. That's it. $500 a month. That's less than $3 an hour. You can't find a bar manager for that. So give them a call. Neat Mixology. I also really want to tell you guys about Sharpier's Bakery.

33:02If you are still, if you're making bread and it's becoming too cumbersome or you're buying frozen bread from your broadliner, you don't have to do that. One thing we've learned throughout this pandemic is supporting local is more important than ever right now. And Sharpier's is celebrating 35 years of delivering fresh bread to restaurants six days a week. You can check them out at sharpiers.com. That's C-H-A-R-P-I-E-R-S dot com, or Aaron Mosso is waiting for your phone call at 615-356-0872. Buying fresh bread from a local baker is a lot less expensive and easier than you think. So go check them out right now. When did the idea for Fable and the name, the Fable Lounge, where did that come up? Who, whose idea was that? And what is that? Like the meaning around it? I think I have an idea, but I want to hear it from you. So, um, so John and I, um, it was, it was working out nicely where both of our relationships at the time were systematically ending at the same time.

34:06Um, so we ended up moving in together and so we were actually at one of my, uh, favorite bars, beer cellar, um, at the time and, and we were sitting there hanging out, um, yeah, yeah, exactly. So that's where I'll give the homage, uh, where we move on in, in time. So, um, so we were sitting there and basically, you know, everything that had been talked about, um, in terms of what we've talked about was it's a myth, it's a legend, it's impossible, can't be done. It's a fable. And basically Fable is a supernatural story, um, that typically leads to happy endings, um, and we're a lesson of some sort, correct. And so essentially from that moment in time, we then sat down and built the logo, um, we designed the F and at that time it was a wax seal, um, at that particular moment in time, but we sat down and designed that once for, uh, myself, once I've got the design elements, it's easy for me to start building the menus and some of the imagery that comes in, um, John, um, is more a legend in, you know, food and beverage in terms of seeing the essence of a spirit inside a bottle and, you know, helping to create that and look at that.

35:21So it's very much yin yang kind of tandem situation. Um, but it was just kind of like one of those rift of names where you're sitting there and, you know, it comes together and that's where it works out. And here he is again. I'm going to say hi. Yeah, say hi. There you go. We're, we're just hanging out here. What's up, John? He's just casually putting away some beverage order right there. So, uh, just hanging out, doing some things. So, yeah, but one, um, but that's where, that's where essentially the name came from. And then from that, um, you know, you imagine you're trying to pitch before a fable ever exists or, you know, some of these peaky, so, um, it's like great Gatsby meets Alice in Wonderland, um, roaring 20s style, something for everybody. Like it doesn't make any sense. Like you're trying to compel this. Um, so we digitally created all the fable, um, at a different layout and different time. Um, and over the course of it, um, we became much more ASAP in terms of, that's why you'll see the animal characters.

36:25That's why you'll see all that. Um, but what's the beautiful thing about it is it works for everybody. Um, because once you build that world, it makes sense. I mean, it's no different thing. Like, uh, oh, there's a mouse, there's a dog and there's a, then there's a talking dog and there's a duck that talks all of a sudden, yeah, makes sense. No problem. Yeah. And that's where, you know, once you create that world, everything else tends to fall into place and make a little bit more sense. So, but that's what it is. Find the location. Sorry. How'd you guys find this location? I mean, because it's, I'm curious because that location, I worked with the husband and wife team that was the acorn. Uh, I've been to Jed's many times and, you know, kind of as a couple of different things, do you have any trepidation going into a spot that was something else? Was something else? Because your clientele there, you've got a little bit of that West end. You're kind of by brick tops. People can know where you are. You're not, do you get any tourists or is it mostly Vanderbilt? Like who, who is your clientele? And I guess going into that building, was there any trepidation going into that building?

37:27You know, it's funny, actually I love the building and in my mind, I was like, Oh, previous restaurant. Great. Cause we looked at other things, um, several other things. And John was the master of, um, finding these, you know, spots and locations. And there were a couple of things right off of printer's alley, kind of where black rabbit is, there were a couple of spots there, but the, to upgrade the power sources, you know, for kitchen and everything else was just going to be an astronomical cause. And I'm thinking, Oh, this is great. So already a previous restaurant, no big deal. You just plug and play, maybe paint some stuff, um, that hat. So learn that lesson the hard way. Um, that's not how it works. Um, permits in 2000 are slightly different than what they are in 2020. Um, so it took a lot more upheaval and getting things squared away in terms of coming from Philadelphia and New York, where the turnover on restaurants is high. It's more, it's more like a psychological thing. People remember there was a restaurant there.

38:28So they're, Oh, I'm going to go back to the restaurant there, you know? And so, yes, obviously Jed's very different than Acorn was, um, and Fable is different than all of them, but nonetheless, that's where, you know, people go, okay, this is a spot to go to. Um, we're great friends with the individuals next door, the local, um, cause we had this synergistic, um, kind of clientele, people going to see live music, people coming to us for a different kind of experience. So to answer your question, what's interesting, we have the good fortune of 21 year olds that have more sophisticated palates than I ever did in my thirties, um, who were drinking these 15 to 16 part drinks, like emotional intelligence with the mezcal that's smoky, that dances across the palate and the nutmeg to flourish off the thought. And then on top of which it come to, to smooth it all out. Like what just happened here? And yet they love it, um, as well, all the way up to 85 year olds and 90 year olds. We have the luxury of future leaders of the country and the future kings and princes of Hollywood that grace our establishment, um, and everyone else in between, so we were fortunate where the prince and the pauper come to Fable and we treat them all like the royalty.

39:41And so there is no true demographic. Um, we're able to be purple, especially in this polarizing climate of, you know, right, left and all that. So everyone, as long as you are an amazing individual and treat our staff, well, Hey man, you're cool. Like everybody's fine. And that goes back to what we talked about earlier is that moment in time when someone walks through that door is getting them into the environment. That's going to be the best feel on. That's what allows that kind of comfort level for everybody and being able to meet some amazing individuals. So we're very fortunate that a lot of our guests have become the best of friends who've never met each other until they came here to Fable. I can imagine that I can imagine. It seems like because you're in the location, you're going to get a good mix of all different types of people. And I think it kind of seems to me like the bar you would stumble on and you'd or the restaurant you would stumble on and you'd kind of come in and you would go, and then you would just fall completely in love and you kind of like, this is my place now.

40:45I wasn't want to tell everybody. I don't want it to get those line outside. You want to keep it to yourself because there's so many cool things going on inside the building. And you have a cigar, a spot to smoke cigars, which is so rare. Yeah, no, absolutely. Um, actually we can thank John for that because I'm a smoker. Um, and I was just asking if we could have like 10 feet covered, you know, just for my smoking brother. And he's like, well, just make the whole pavilion work out. So it's, it's absolutely incredible because, um, it's kind of, it's nowhere near like, you know, a true cigar bar, like 3000 cigars, you know, 15 from Cuba fell off the back of a truck. It's not like that. It's a very manageable list in which for someone who's interested in trying for the first time can get a cigar that's flavored, like, okay, you know, this is fun, um, to people that really enjoy smoking cigars and can come and hang out. But, um, it's, it's definitely an amazing experience. It's a huge value added for a lot of the guests. It didn't realize, Oh, let's start with dinner.

41:46I'll hang out in the lounge and then I'll go outside. And, uh, it's what we call the trifecta. A lot of people hit three different locations while they're here at fable rather than doing what I call the Nashville pop and stop where it's like, let's just keep next bar, next bar, next bar, or you can just stay here and you don't have to wait on Uber or Lyft and you can just enjoy everything and we'll just walk 20 feet and all of a sudden you're in a fairly different environment. And you don't have to deal with the stepping out. If you can go to three different bars in one spot, it's not like going downtown. You're not where you just assholes and elbows. Every single person smashed into this super spreader that is Broadway. I mean, it seems like a perfect place to go like right now and going forward. Who's your chef? So our chef is a chef, Craig Hansen. He hails from the muddy land of the Northwest called Seattle. Um, and he is, um, basically a product from, he worked at several different major seafood and steak steak houses over from the Palisades to, um, Ruth, Chris, to, um, many others, as well as Landry's as well as cheesecake factory.

42:56So he's one of those individuals that has like that kind of like, you don't see it coming, but he can like, all of a sudden like, Hey, what do we think about? Get the Caesar salad. He's like, all right, well, California's on fire. That means remains spiked to the root. Therefore now like, you know, like price it all out because he's so in tune to what's local, what's fresh, what's available, what isn't, and the timing of all that. And it's a Testament to his passion for his craft and everything he goes through. So it's really incredible, um, experience on that. So what would you, what style of cuisine would you say that he cooks? Would you say you have their fable? So fable is what we call when it comes to food, it's the capitalization on the familiar. So our big thing, um, is, uh, we have charcuterie boards. So what is also translated into Lunchables for adults, because at no time in history, cheese and crackers, man goes together, um, much, much sexier than, um, you know, Lunchables, but nonetheless, that's it's a impressive, um, board selection, seven different cheeses from around, um, the area, as well as three different artisanal meats.

44:02And then the option, um, to enhance that package with nuts, olives, those kinds of things, then our top is style in a lot of our, um, smaller plates. So from whip goat cheese and artisanal flatbread, um, to a grilled cheese and tomato soup. So the idea is taking the comfort foods that you recognize and then elevating it to the next level. Um, our burger is one of those dishes. You're like, yeah, yeah, we've got a burger. It's okay, man. This burger will melt your soul. Like it's one of the most incredible burgers out there. Um, absolutely amazing. Oh no, this shows up. Well, let's see if we can find this for you real quick. Um, all of our tech that we use in the restaurant educates our staff in terms of what the dietary restrictions are and everything. So let me see if I can pull this up so you can see a picture of this burger and see the majesty of it. So for those listening where he's literally walking through the restaurant, he's pulling up to what I assume is like a POS system or something, a computer, maybe.

45:03Yes. Oh no. And he's good angle on that. Yeah, I can see that. It looks like a POS system. Who do you, who do you use for your POS? So currently, can you see the burger? Uh, kind of. I can see it. It looks like it has a, your logo emblazoned in the top. Yeah, absolutely. So that's there from lemon chicken to diver scallops to an orange Miso salmon. So beautiful. So what we do, um, one of the biggest challenges in any restaurant is the training side of trying to get everyone trained up, um, cheesecake factory. It was like a two and a half week training process between classroom to this of that. Um, and for those that are not aware of it, um, servers in this country earn their money through tips. Um, hourly is not something they do. And unfortunately, um, it's a lost, um, piece of knowledge that is not taught in elementary schools in this country. Um, that when you are indulging in the hospitality world, tips go a long way.

46:05So anytime you stop the process of someone's revenue, someone's earned money, um, yes, paying them a powerful seven 25 an hour or whatever, isn't quite cutting the same metric, what they're used to making. So design, we piggyback on a system called light speed, building background slides that can be pulled up. So any drink, the cocktail will immediately pull up and the recipe will be there, um, especially when you're dealing with a program like us, all the wine lists, the flavor profiles, as well as where it's from, all the history on the. Okay. So we have lost Ben and, um, I'm sure he must've hit the X button on his phone, but we will catch up with him here in just a second. When he jumps back on, I'm sure he'll be back on very shortly. Good time for me to take a sip of tea. And there he is. All right. Mr. Um, apparently I'm talking about proprietary information, seasoned assist. Um, so ultimately all of that, um, helps speed up the process, um, in which staff can learn the servers walk around with handheld iPads so that way they can interact and if need be, um, can show the guests those dishes if they're not familiar with, you know, what kind of cheese or what that means.

47:23So it's a little bit more of an engaging experience. It's kind of my blending of true AI where, you know, you just door dash ordering it to here's an interactive experience on what you can learn for. Um, but what it does is it really puts the empowerment into the staff's hands or we start saying, you know, what do you like to drink? Oh, like, you know, tequila. Okay. Do you like Blanco? Do you like mezcal? Like where do you like smoke? Do you like spicy all of a sudden? They're creating a pathway in which they can start to guide the guests to the correct moment. Um, within that, but the only way you're going to be able to do that. It's not memorize 50 wines, 12 different beers and do all that because that's going to take too long and plus 60 cocktails, here's the top five. Here's the top 10. No, these become familiar with them. Feel a couple of talking about it. And then all of a sudden you'll naturally over the course of time, you know what it all is. Absolutely. So that's what that means. And so you use light. So every server has an iPad and this is your POS system is from Lightspeed.

48:28Yeah, Lightspeed. Um, so they were a retail, um, company first, and, um, that definitely shows up a backend reporting. So, um, in the beverage world, uh, we use something called quarter rounds or, you know, a half, um, in retail world, they never designed shirts to be bisected into quarters or halves or any of that. So it's got like every POS system out there. There's pros and cons to it. But the reason why I gravitated toward Lightspeed at the moment was because we were able to upload these slides that could be, you know, 3d pressed or looked up, that's cool. And so like bartender can literally make 10 drinks in a matter of moments, as opposed to having to find a book, look it all up in the system, they can find all the information on them. You know, it's really cool. Uh, there's a guy, he runs Wicked Tasty. His name is Dan Burkhard and he has a, he has something called menu. And it's menu by Wicked Tasty. And he creates these QR codes that you can do.

49:29And it pulls up all those slides that guests can, it's a super cool program. Um, not a sponsor, just he's a friend and I like to tell people about it. So Ben, thank you so much. I mean, we're running out of time today, but this has been so much fun. Just kind of learning about fable and what you guys do there. I have to ask you, I saw you did a video where you basically read Jack and the Beanstalk. Yeah. It was in April of 2020. I imagine you guys opened January of 2020 April hits and you're like, well, shit, um, let's just start making, let's, let's, let's get our name out there. Right. Was that the point of that? Are you going to do more of those? That was so, so, so good. Well, we, uh, it's interesting. Yes, you're actually right. It was born out of, um, especially when the sun sets, I wake up. So like, this is like very early in the morning for me. This is like, you know, what did someone consider like pre-dawn?

50:32Um, so when the sun sets, my voice actually gets deeper. It's a fun time. Um, and so people were constantly, yeah, thank you. Um, so ultimately it's one of those things where people wanted us to do, you know, stories for them. And so obviously during the height of quarantine, it was easy to kind of put all that together. Um, and they became known as fable after darks. Um, so while we're here at the restaurant, there's about three or four, we call them table of tales. The most popular one being about green charge cruise, um, which is a legendary, you know, um, exquisite event, which then led into, uh, one of our most successful milestone events called the emerald ball. Um, and then coming up on October 2nd is prom for adults, the enchantment under the sea, um, and where you can finally get the spike punch, right. Get it going. So there'll be that's happening at fable on October 2nd, 2021. Yeah. On October 2nd, 2021 here at the fable lounge, the enchantment under the sea ball, the moment of a lifetime in which you will cross the teal turquoise carpet and be greeted by Triton and his mermaids, uh, for those that have VIP tickets, you'll be given immediately one of the prom sponsored cocktails, as well as a place to get photo booths, prom puzzles, all of that.

51:49And then of course the dance floor and a DJ, uh, spinning the tunes that, you know, mesmerize the soul across all the generations and of course, everything else that we do inside the fable lounge. So, um, definitely we have like a DeLorean out front. Good, good reference. I'm glad you caught that. That is a shout out to, uh, back to the future. My good friends, doc and Marty and everyone else involved. Um, but it's a, that's where they kiss for the first time at the enchantment under the sea ball. Exactly. It's what's going on. It's what spawned generations and lifetimes from everybody. But, um, this is not so much a direct link to the, uh, back to the future. Uh, it's more for comfort dolls. So yeah, but absolutely. That's a good, good catch on the reference there, sir. But I love that idea. That's so, do you just have, are you just creative like that? Do you just like have, are you just kind of like the operator and owner that just likes to have fun and this likes to throw cool parties like that because you enjoy it or is it like, uh, Hey, this will be a moneymaker or you're just like, Hey, look, let's just invite a bunch of people out to do something that's out of the ordinary that we're all going to have a blast at.

52:54Like, what's your motivation? Well, I think, I mean, yes, I mean, it's more of what we do is we field test certain that we bought, we even see what works. So, um, and what we discovered was doing these events, people came out. And I think, especially in natural, everyone likes an event. Um, and it's one of those things where I feel like restaurants could be like, yo, we're doing full beer, full price beer Mondays. And I feel like restaurants would actually see an uptick and guests come to you because two dollars extra Mondays. Yeah, exactly. Like, I think it's one of those things that Nashville is, um, especially just love events, like who's playing, where are you going? You know, all that, if you're just open, like everyone's like, eh, it's good. Um, so it's really one of those things that the milestone events, we also do tasting events, we also do that. And they're absolutely fun for us. Um, and it's a great time. It's a great kind of guest appreciation as well. Um, and I'm fortunate to be surrounded by so many talented and like-minded individuals where we just start spitballing and eventually from that comes an idea.

53:57Um, and then we kind of reverse engineer all of it to make sure we've got all these elements in play and everything that happens. So we had just finished up Midsummer Nights Gala, uh, where fortune tellers were happening, someone spinning fire and twirling swords. And it was very much a carnival meets, um, uh, you know, the gypsy style lifestyle, um, which, you know, when it's baking hot summer, it's fun. You just kind of go out there and hang out. So each of the milestone events, you know, prom is obviously a little different than costume competition Halloween at the end of the month from Masquerade New Year's Eve ball. So it's creating these moments, these iconic times where it's like, again, our guests know that you're going to have elevated experience. You're going to have a good time. We're going to take great care of you, but here's something a little bit different than just running the bill going out on a Saturday time environment. So, yeah. That's so fun. I think it's innovative. I think it's, I think that that's the thing that restaurant tours need to stop the grind. It doesn't feel like a grind when you do things like that, like coming in every morning, unlocking the door, turning off the alarm, walking around to see what the night previous night's clothes look like or staying there until the last drunk person leaves, there's there.

55:09It can be a grind, but when you do enchantment under the sea ball prom night, all of a sudden it gives you something to look forward to every day and to plan and to think about and to get vendors involved and to build strategic partnerships and all of that stuff kind of comes from that. And I think that's so much fun. Yeah, absolutely. It's fantastic. All right. Well, Ben, it's a, what do you got coming up? Let's do some plugs for you. Any of you've got the October 2nd enchantment to see how do people follow you? Do they find you, you have an Instagram, Facebook, do you have a TikTok? What are you doing? We, we sell drugs. No, I'm kidding. Basically we've got, let's see here. We do, we have Instagram, which is on Facebook, which is at Fable Lounge in Nashville. And then additionally, we do our website, which is fabellounge.com. So you can go to either one of those tickets are available for that. In fact, pre-sale started this past week, VIPs know and certain things like that, but anytime someone can go to our website and access getting the tickets for all of it.

56:24Um, then from there, Halloween, um, is coming up. It's costume competition. I gotta tell you, these trophies are sexy, but, um, either way, let me see if I can find it easier to show you this way in the dark catacombs of life. Um, so going into a dungeon, it's what we do. Um, that's why it's something for everybody, for those of the creatures of the night versus everyone else on the other side of that. So, um, we pulled this up for you guys here. I'm going to put this episode out way early on YouTube. I'm going to put it out like, but way before it comes out, I'm going to put it on YouTube, just so the random YouTube followers can, uh, can see this. Cause this has been fun kind of following you through the restaurant as you're kind of showing it. It's pretty cool. Oh, wow. I love that. Yeah. You see that problem for adults. Yeah. So that's that one. And then, um, this is the costume competition on Saturday, October 30th.

57:27And then from there, um, we have New Year's Eve masquerade ball. Um, so all of these have been, um, and more than of course, um, the table of tales, which is the, um, basically the Emerald ball, which is what helped kick off a lot of this, um, stuff and excitement through all of it. So, yeah. Awesome. Well, Ben, thank you so much for joining us today. I can't wait to check back. I want, I, I may want to go to the actual enchantment under the Steve ball. It sounds like a lot of fun. If I can talk my wife into it. You should totally do it because it's the one time you can finally take the date you've always wanted. There you go. And you can, I never went to, I never went to prom. So that's the whole thing. Neither did I. That's why, for purely selfish reasons, I, uh, I threw one. Yeah. I did throw the prom party. Yeah. Absolutely. Well, that's awesome, man. Um, go check them out on Instagram, check them out on Facebook, the enchantment under the Steve ball, Halloween, new years, lots of fun things coming up at the fable lounge, Ben Powell, thanks for taking the time for Nashville restaurant radios today.

58:35Absolutely. That's a pleasure. And have a wonderful day, everybody. Cheers. And there you have it. Ben Powell on Nashville restaurant radio. Thank you guys for hanging out and listening. I hope that you guys are being safe. Love you guys. Bye.