Charlotte Miller

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01:23Welcome 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 will be joined with Jen Ichikawa once we start the episode. The intro today is all me. We are going to be speaking with our new friend, Charlotte Miller, who's kind of an old friend. I mean, we've been talking for what seems like years to try and get on the show, to do something. We had some big important conversations we wanted to have, and now she's hosting a symposium with fellow Doms for Le Dom Discoffier. She is going to be hosting three separate symposiums, desegregating Nashville's food scene. An anti-racism brunch and dialogue series will happen on March 26th, April 23rd, and May 21st, and tickets are available now. They're $50 a piece. You can go to Eventbrite, or you can go to the Le Dom website to get them, but this conversation we had today was so fun. Charlotte Miller, if you don't know who she is, is the owner-CEO of Yay Yays on Jefferson Street. She is big into brunch, and she's full of energy, full of life, and full of history. Her grandmother, great-grandmother, grandmother, great- grandmother was Yay Yay, and Mama Blanche, and she just celebrates all of their history, and their energy, and their love of service. Jen, at the end of this episode, she goes,

03:23you always fall in love with people in these interviews, and you found the person today. We just had so much fun talking to Charlotte. She's just so vibrant, and had such a great time, and it's so fun, again, being in studio talking to people. Hopefully, you can tell the difference in the quality that's happening right now. So, I didn't know what to expect in this interview, but we certainly ended up having a really, really good time. Monday, we are getting into maybe Tuesday, Monday or Tuesday. I don't know exactly which day. March 1st is the day, which is Tuesday. We're gonna have Ben Ellsworth, and Ben is the owner, he's the founder, CEO of GigPro. GigPro is gonna be a new sponsor of ours, and I cannot wait to tell you all about what GigPro has to offer, and what they do, but Ben's gonna be our story of recovery for the month of March. So, Ben is five and a half years sober, and his story is interesting, very, very interesting, and I'm so excited to put this out there. We recorded it last week, and it's a long interview, but we really, I think that we touch on some of the most important topics that are happening in the restaurant industry right now, so please stay tuned for that. Later in the week, next week, we are, next Friday, we are going to have Sheila with CORE, and Sheila is the executive director, and she is amazing, and we had such a fun conversation, and we have got five interviews next week that we're gonna be doing, so stay tuned, stay tuned, and we are gonna be putting them out there. I'll be posting teasers on the YouTube channel, as well as on our Instagram page, so follow us at Nashville underscore restaurant underscore radio. I post most of my teasers on my Brandon underscore NRR, so it's at Brandon underscore NRR for Nashville restaurant radio. Go follow that account, and on the stories there, as I usually post fun in-studio moments

05:25and little, hey, I put this episode out early, you should check it out, or what you should really do is, wherever you listen to your podcast, you need to like and subscribe. If you go on there and leave us a five-star review, that would mean the world. If you love the podcast, it's a little ask. Obviously, follow us on the socials to keep up with what we're doing, but subscribe, hit that subscribe button, because sometimes I just put out episodes randomly, like yesterday, with the episode for the Giving Kitchen. Quick 20-minute episode, but good important information in there. We are gonna have Jen back on the show here when she comes to town, but lots of good things happening over here. I will tell you on Tuesday all of the interviews that we're doing coming up. If you go visit NashvilleRestaurantRadio.com, I may post some teasers there, too. So, without further ado, let's jump in with my co-host, Jen Ichikawa, with our conversation with Charlotte Miller. Super excited today to welcome in Charlotte Miller, and Charlotte is the CEO, owner, chef at Yayay's and Mama Blanche. Mama Blanche's? It's my great grandmother's name, too. Both my businesses are named after my great grandmothers. That's so sweet. I love that. On both sides. I love that. So, Yayay's? Yayay's? Tell me about it. Yayay's is named after my mother's grandmother, and she was not much of a cook, but she was known for her quality level, and she was known for putting together a good time. And her nickname came from, when my aunt would see her, she would say, oh, that's Miss Lady, because she was always so put together, but she couldn't say Miss Lady, so it came out Yayay. Which is funny, because so many different cultures actually call grandmothers Yayay, including Swahili, Greek. So when we tell people that my great grandmother's name is Yayay, they automatically ask me where I'm from. Oh, really? Yes. And I'm like, national. Nothing exotic or anything. Just Yayay. Are you what they would call a unicorn? Were you born in Nashville? I was not born here. I've been here since I was three. My

07:47sister and my brothers are unicorns. Okay, so we had this conversation just a little while ago, and I've lived here for 33 years. You're here now. So I feel like I can say that I'm from Nashville, right? You are on the side that everyone else in the city is on, and I just want to remind him that he's from California. So I just. I was born in Mississippi, and I spent like a year there. I don't remember anything. Everything for me has been Nashville. Yeah, I mean, me too. For all of my formative years, I mean, I learned how to speak in California. I went to school right around the corner from here. I went to school at Aiken. Did you really? Yes. Oh, wow. Clegg. It was my kindergarten teacher. I had birthday parties at the Dragon Park. Oh, we went to the Dragon Park like two weeks ago. And we had so much fun. That's awesome. Yeah. Climbed over that they closed it for a long time. Did they really? I have Yeah, they closed it. They redid the whole thing. I have six and eight year old boys. So we did a day that I was kind of cold that day we went out with like just played we played hide and seek on the big the whole I'm so old. I remember when they opened it. And they had like pieces and it come different parts and then they had the mosaic put on it. I know the woman that did the mosaic because I I reached out to her to do the mural for Soi and we ended up not doing a mural. But not yet, at least.

08:59Well, we're excited to have you here today. And we've been we've been like on the cusp of hooking up and doing an interview for what seems like a year and a half. Absolutely. It has to have been like, Hey, I see you and then you see me and then tag back and forth. And then there's things like tornadoes and COVID and things like that. Well, I came in a great time because now we have the studio whereas before this was all virtual. So it's more fun to do. I think so. So much more fun to do it live. But I want to go back to days for one second, we don't have to do it for too long. But I want to say what you're doing that follow you on social media is so the descriptor of yeah, is having fun and doing you're like doing that like That was the whole dream of it. So when I sat down with my partner, Jason once we were sitting on a couch where I just cooked dinner. And we were talking about the hospitality business, we were talking about what it's like, you know what I really hate? He goes, what I go, I hate being invited to parties, specifically parties of color. And the service is horrible. The drinks are horrible. The food is even worse. And when there's no space that feels elegant.

10:08And anywhere close to what I was providing for other people, because I've been doing it for a long time. I've been doing it myself for 20 years and also work at the Hermitage Hotel as the banquet chef. And so I saw that and I was like, I'm just tired of it. He goes, he wouldn't be great to have our own place. I go, we would be let's get our own place. And he goes, what? Yeah, we should do that. We should definitely open up our own business. And he was telling me this story about him tending bar, and how he was in the weeds. And it was such glee on his face. That I thought of no one. No one actually enjoys being in this except for crazy people. And exactly. Exactly. I love it. I love it when we get really busy. And I get out of it. And you start especially when the team is all working together. And you feel as if you're in the trenches with everybody. Everybody knows their place. And you come out and everybody's alive. And everything is great. And everybody's happy. You feel that adrenaline rush. And I saw that in him. And I thought, oh, he gets it. We should go into business. So the next day, I went to the county clerk's office the next day, like you say, Hey, look, I'm gonna throw this out that we should just do this the next day. I was like, I've been playing around with it for a while. Because I'd already had mama Blanche. And I was, and I kept having people call and ask me, where should I host a party? And I was like, why am I sending business to someone else? This is stupid. Go find a spot and keep your business here. So when I went to go look, I went went got the, the business department the next day, we were at dinner. And I said, So here, we're in business now. And he goes, What? I go, Yeah, I told you, we were you said you wanted to do this? Well, we're going to I'm doing it. And you don't have to do it with me, but I'm going to do it. You said you wanted to because okay, I'm for the down for the ride. And we had a tornado, which got rid of the first building. And it was just like, Whoa, there it goes. It was very Wizard of Oz.

12:08And then and then I kept saying, Okay, well, we'll recoup. And then he kept telling me, you know, this is this thing called Corona. And I was like, Yeah, I know about beers. And he was like, No, no, no. Like, keep your eye out. And then COVID hit. And we got locked up. And that's when I was like, Okay, if everybody's put on time out, that allows us to catch up. Yeah, because usually in the kitchen, you don't get a chance to think strategize or anything. And if you don't have a team, and I didn't, it was just me. And him, we had the luxury to sit down and to plan. And I went into planning mode. I went through Pinterest, I looked at pages of different art. I looked at what I wanted. I thought about menus. I read books, I sat in every free virtual conference they had online. I did all the stuff on the EC. And I was just waiting. I love it. I was just waiting to find a space and Mignon from cupcake collection called me and she goes you still looking for a building? And I said yes. And I actually met Bob Bernstein before he just wasn't interested. It was his building at Jefferson Street. And he had run into some issues with some culturally insensitive naming of the place. And I just think that I knew he didn't come from a place of hatred or came from a place of what he thought would be good. And he just got bad advice. And I felt bad for him. And I kept saying, You just want you just want to get an institution, or you, you want to get some kind of absolvement, because I think people thought the worst of him. And it wasn't there. It was just, you just was literally just blindsided. And just Bob Bernstein, for those who are like, who's Bob? He's a CEO on bongo Java, right? He's bongo Java. Yeah. So and we got it in the meeting together. And he said, Well, what I always wanted for the space, and it was pretty much the same thing I wanted. And I said, Well, we don't want anything different. So let me do it.

14:08And he said, Okay, wow. He is this all I wanted was for the neighborhood to come back. You know, he's from Nashville to his kids go here. Yeah, it's kids go to human fog. My sister actually teaches them. That's what we're actually we are. And I said, Great. So many guys said, So what are we going to do? And I said, Don't worry. I had a little plan. I've been booking and writing for almost a year. And I had stuff bought and in my garage ready to go. I had menus written, cost it out. I had worked on plans. I made contacts with people. I had already done menu testing. And in three months, we were open. Wow. I am so in love with that story. Because I was I was on here talking kind of doing the same thing to a degree with a podcast. But I told people I said, This is the time. This is it. Everybody who wants to go do something to say I don't have the time. I have this dream. I have this passion. I don't have the time. And I went, This is the time. You have the time. Somebody I said, We're about to see the people who are serious, the people who were using this as an excuse. 100% because the people who are about their craft, and we're serious about it, when they got put on time out, they still figure out a way to get better at it. And still do it.

15:26Well, they took it as an opportunity. Absolutely. I said, I've been saying this the whole time that this is your opportunity for leadership. Like no, but I said, the true leaders, the true thought leaders are going to come out of this thing. Because there's no book, there's no book that says, This is what you do in a pandemic, right? There's no, there's a lot of people out there that can read a book on leadership and then go into a building and lead people. But the true leaders are the ones who said, Okay, this is happening. This is how I'm going to pivot. This is what I'm going to do. When this thing's over, we're gonna go. I wish I had a dollar for every time I said the word pivot. How many times I've said the word pivot? Yeah. Or thank God, I didn't drink every time we took one. I quit drinking right before the whole thing started. Oh, so I have like the people were so funny because when the insurgent thing happened, people like, Oh, there goes my dry January's like I did dry 2020. The whole year, I started not drinking. I'm a social drinker. So for me, it was fun. So I didn't want to drink anymore. I was like, this is horrible. I can't go anywhere. I actually kept thinking I would pay $20 for someone just to make me a drink. I would just want to watch someone make it and bring it to me. I'll be so amazing.

16:42I was just waiting for when the restaurants reopened and everybody was making these at home like seven ounce pours to go to a bar and be like, Come on, man, I'm It's funny, because I did a podcast of another one is these bartenders said the same thing. They said that when people came out of the pandemic, they're like these drinks are they're like, no, that's the way they've always where you've been pouring your own right. And that's the problem. You're heavy handed with that. And that's not I mean, if you want to do that, I'll do that. You just got to say, put three times the liquor in there and I'll charge you for it. But I mean, it's not a thing. So well, going back to the story of yeah, yeah. So that's when I, I knew that I had lots of different pieces floating around that I needed to put all in one spot. And yeah, yeah, he's allowed me to do that. When I left cooking and I thought I was gonna never cook again. I was the worst Cisco rep the history of Cisco reps. I'm not kidding you. Did you work at Cisco? Oh, after I let her think, I thought, okay, this time for me to grow up now. And you're supposed to go to work from nine to five. And I'm going to go sell food for people.

17:44When did when did you do that? Let's see here. About four years ago. Okay, it was horrible. I was the worst. I was the person to come in and go, oh, that's the salad dressing. Let me show you how to make it. And I would tell you about the blood orange and the Dijon mustard and the champagne vinegar and olive oil, but not the great olive oil, because you don't want to overpower. And my boss was like, no, no, no, we want them to buy everything from us. And I go, but then all the food would taste the same. And that doesn't make sense. Why don't we? Why don't we all want the food to taste the same? And so and I was really bad. Like if you said, order butter, I would order you butter. You're like, no, no, no, I meant margarine. I was like, that's not butter. That's not butter. You can't do that. You can't call something that it's not. I was just and I would do that and cheap grease. Yeah. Or I would go and see people's kitchen and they would say, I need help costing out menus. I say, great. And I would go home and just do their entire catering menu. And they're like, that's the one we pay you for. I need you to come by my restaurant later on today. I got stuff for you.

18:49And I would do that would come by and I was like, oh, they're like, oh, we're going to get inspected. Can you come through? And I was like, yeah, I'll come through. I'll help out. They're like, that's not supposed to do. So I knew after Cisco, I didn't want to. I didn't want to do that. Which is weird, because I'm going to tell you, I think that's what a good rep does. I think a good rep goes in and cares about the customer cares about their business and wants to teach them how to do it the best way. So it's funny that like, that's not what you're supposed to do. But that to me is exactly what you should be doing. I was like, if I had a rep and I did have reps, that's what I want. I would not want them to come in and just take my order. Just sell you. Oh, you want the you know, whatever ranch I'll tell you this and that I need that. So when I left, I was like, what do I really want to do? I had a friend who worked at the EC and she said, I have an idea for you. She goes, I've seen you bounce around and stuff, and you're a great cook, because you always volunteer. What do you think about food insecurity? And I said, I don't know anything about food insecurity.

19:53So I was going to go learn. And I went to the food project, which some makes me very sad now, because Halu just passed away. And what I learned from her was how to take every little piece and watch how she patchwork that into a whole network. And then I watched how she took people or whatever they could give, whether it was 15 minutes or a whole week, she took it and took it with such joy. She took everything with her and I was like, OK, that's interesting. And then I also saw how food insecurity impacted people directly and how and how it hurt them and how it stigmatized them. So that was one thing that was in my head. And then somebody posted in the Nashville professionals group that he just want to teach cooking classes, and I still didn't know what I was doing yet. And that's how I'll do that in the meantime.

20:54And it was for a group called Project Return. And Project Return is a nonprofit that helps people restore their life after they've been incarcerated. And when I walked into that space and I said, OK, where are we teaching? She goes, I don't know. You got to design it. And I go, wait, what? And she was like, yeah. And I go, great. I went and got my old culinary books from NECI doing Culinary Institute. And I said, if I could have somebody come into my kitchen with basic knowledge, what would I want it to look like? And those little things like I want to make sure they were serve safe. Yeah, I want to make sure they knew how to talk to people. I knew how I wanted to make sure they felt confident enough and some of the lingo. So there was a lot of French terms. I also make sure they had basic kitchen skills. And I wanted them to feel needed. And one of the things we did was we added a brunch component to the class.

21:57And every class hosts a brunch for the people in the building and they decorate. They do the mini themed out depending on what month it is. We do basic cooking classes, all this stuff that we do in the lab builds on those building towards that brunch. And when I did that, I saw a difference in people and I said, oh, this is this is what cooking could do. This is what food can do, because I also had to check my own privilege because I would say and ask people questions like, what is your food history? What do you remember your mom cooking for you? And they looked at me like I was crazy. And to hear other stories, for example, two gentlemen telling me that they used to eat cornstarch in the projects so they would stay full. So you walk around and you just eat cornstarch and I was like, that's not real. I was like, you're not fooling me. And they're all people like, yeah, Charlotte, that's real.

23:00Like, oh, OK, or having somebody come off death row and trying an eggs Benedict that he cooked for his himself. And the reason why he got put on death row, again, because of racial. In disparities and. Mr. Connelly had been in there for almost longer than I had been alive almost. And to watch him eat eggs Benedict, this is what freedom must taste like as what I missed out on all these other little things. It hit me in a way where I realized that food was more than just. Nourishment, it was what I always thought it was, which was a central part of community. And then if I could figure out a way to bring that community back to a community. We could build a community. And that's what it was. Wow, that's amazing. I mean, that's that's that's like the best story I've ever heard for somebody coming up with a restaurant like that's amazing.

24:03So now my space does everything from we teach out of that kitchen because that kitchen is in the bubble. So I don't have to worry about people who've been incarcerated so they can come right in and use a real kitchen. That space is used for political groups. It's used for campaigns, so you can come in and see your councilman sitting down on a cup of coffee. We do meet and greets. We do Action Mondays. We do book clubs. We do liquor tastings. We do wine tastings. We do bridal showers and stuff. And we do lots of art. We have lots of art on the wall. People are all local artists. So and that's just been in three months. I'm blown away over here. So we just kept building. Just kept building. We're not done yet. No, we're close to it. I can tell, you know, I think that these in-studio interviews are so much better because I can see like in your eyes, you know, like when you're when you're like, I see the passion and the empathy that you have for people just in wanting to do this.

25:11It's it's it's inspiring. I hope so. I always tell myself I'm not that good of a person. And that's why I always say I'm not that good of a person. But my father always said that a life well lived is one that's well loved. And I was well loved and I just felt as if my community had not been. And as of late, it has not been. I grew up in Nashville, like I said, and I never felt Nashville feel this disconjointed and this split. Before. Well, that's a great segue into talking about. So you are you you're a member of the Dom? I was actually one of the founding members of the Dom's when they first started years ago. I was it was me and a couple of other women. And I actually got a scholarship from the Dom's when I went to culinary school, which is the reason why I was interested, because if I had not gotten that scholarship, I wouldn't be able to go to NECI. That's incredible. You're hosting a symposium at Yayay's and it is going to be a three part series.

26:17Correct. The first of this three part series is going to be on March 26th. The second is going to be on April 23rd and May 21st for number three. The topic is desegregating Nashville's food scene, an anti-racism brunch and dialogue series. Of course, that'd be a brunch with me. I was going to ask. So like when I met you all those years ago, you talked about brunch all the time. Love brunch. You love brunch. What is the passion behind brunch? Because I don't have to get up early to eat breakfast and I can drink. OK, I can have a little bit of everything and no one judges me if I want to have steak and a cheeseburger or pancakes. I can have it. So it's the options. It's a limitlessness. I love the options. That's why I liked football back in the day, because you could drink whiskey at 9am on a Sunday and nobody would be sitting in a parking lot cooking brats. And, you know, you're drinking out of a handle of makers and you're like, this is normal. This is tailgating. This is which is also my other passion.

27:18I mean, brunch and tailgating. It makes sense. Yes. You start the day off that way. The rest of the days. I always feel sorry for people. They're like, oh, I was going to have a horrible breakfast. You know, what about Mosa? Bloody Mary doesn't. Yeah. So the symposium is supposed to be fun. It is supposed to be fun. When I came up with the idea, it was such a weird thing. It would happen during the whole, like during Covid again. This is what happens when I get put in time out. And I saw this stuff where people talk about, you know, can't breathe. George Floyd and stuff. And I was like, I cannot hold this anymore. I have a 24 year old son and I cannot. Continue to feel that in my own country, my son and myself and my brothers are not valued the same way. And at that time, I just shut down. I said, I told my friends, I said, don't call me. Don't don't ask me to absolve you of your guilt.

28:21Go get your people, because my people are ones who are getting killed. And I just can't talk about it anymore. And I didn't want to talk about it. And then I saw a bake sale. And it was for Gideon's army. And it had all the usual suspects in it. And I called Nancy, you know, who's my mentor, really. Sometimes like you need to pass somebody. You can just bounce ideas and see if you knew. But yes. And I said to her, I said, am I crazy here? I go, but I'm sitting here worried about my son getting pulled over. Who's an Eagle Scout played lacrosse college student. And the response from my community, my direct community, my fellow chefs was to bake me a cookie. And I said, does that feel the same? Does that feel like that has any gravitas as to what my real pain is right now? And she said, oh, no, I think I think you think you're right. That said, but I don't want to come in and stomp on it and be a contrarian and also don't want to discourage the fact that they felt the need to reach out.

29:33Sure. And I go, but I don't know what that looks like yet. And she said, go back. Think about it, write some more. I wrote a couple of letters. I did not mail these. And Nancy said, what about us having a conversation like we're having right now? And I said, that's what we need. We need a real conversation. And so she applied for a grant. And we sat down and we talked about it in pieces. And we got the grant money and we went to our doms. And right at this time, the doms was starting to transition down to diversity inclusion also. And we said, well, we've been talking about doing this. Can we do it together? And the doms being the great women that they are. Absolutely. Let's do this. Yeah. And everybody jumped in. And we just kept going and using contacts and getting sponsors. And I'm so excited about having people come in and having the conversations because the conversations I'm already having for people in that neighborhood because I didn't grow up in North Nashville.

30:38I did not. And to have the older people come in and tell me their stories. And it was one of excellence and joy and not one of downtroddenness. I don't think that's a word, but one of of pain. They lived a life and lived it well. And I kept saying, like, where is this disconnect? And I kept hearing, especially during the elections, what do black people want? And I kept saying, the fact that you ask that question means you already don't see me as a person because I want what you want. Yeah, I want clean water. I want great schools. I want infrastructure. I want homelessness to go away. I want people to be fed more than anything else. I just think it's ridiculous that in America or in this world, the way we have as many calories as we have available, we do not have a plan or a way for people to eat.

31:41And even worse for children. And as much as we claim, we love children. And the priority that we have kids who are malnourished or are in food deserts and only get real meals when they go to school. And those are the kind of things I kept saying, I want what you want. So why don't you see me the same? And then I thought of all my experiences, almost 20 years in the food industry, literally a wrap around the world and how consistent it was. I was never treated the same and I was seen the same. And I said, well, let's have a conversation about that. Let's have a real conversation because we are having a conversation in bubbles. We're not having it with each other. No, I so I'm hoping that the alcohol and the brunch will help soften the blow for these conversations. It's stuffed in and.

32:42And. Yeah, talk about difficult things to talk about, but they're not. That's how my family does it. We're a good Catholic family, good Southern Catholic family. You eat a lot, you drink a lot, then you have the discussions. So that's one thing I've had to learn how to do is to have those discussions without drinking. It's so funny because I almost feel like during my drinking years, I could drink and not have to have those discussions. And when I stopped drinking, I became present and that fog lifted and you start seeing things and you go, oh, I can't escape, you know, the George Floyd that whole time. Like, I was going to go. I can't escape that. I can't go drink and just forget about it. Like I had to lean in going through that during covid. We were all locked up. Yeah. We were literally just, you know, put in time out mother nature. Put us in time out. And there was no place for us to go. So there's so many other ills that came to that we got. We couldn't, like I said, couldn't put away, couldn't hide from. And this was the one that they hit home for me.

33:45And I said, I'm not doing anything. Well, let's do this. Hey, we're going to take a quick break to hear a word from our sponsors. So after having Cam and Nicole in studio from the Red Perch, they gave quite the ringing endorsement for my good friend Jason Ellis over at Supersource. He's one of those guys that every single person I talk to that works with Jason Ellis is like, man, I love the guy that sells my dish, jeans and chemicals. Jason Ellis is amazing. And I didn't even know that like that existed for most of my career, that there was a guy that did the chemicals and dish machines until I came across Jason Ellis, because he brings service. He also doesn't bring a contract. It doesn't make you sign up for five years. He earns your business every single week. I thought Cam said it best in the interview and he said, Jason's like a member of our team. He comes in, he stocks the shelves, asks what else we need. Like, he's there like he's a member of our team. Is your dish guy like that at all?

34:47I didn't think so. You need to give Jason Ellis a call. His number is 770-337-1143. And he is the real deal. He's with SuperSource and he will come to you and set you up the dish machine, set you up with all of your chemicals. He is the man. Jason Ellis, 770-337-1143. Call him today. Seeing as though GigPro is starting next week, I'm going to go ahead and set you up to let you know about our next episode with Ben Ellsworth and what they're doing over at GigPro. After years of spending too much time and money on useless staffing software, chef Ben Ellsworth knew something had to change. Of necessity, GigPro was born. GigPro was the on-demand marketplace for hospitality staffing. We're changing the way people work and hire. Download the GigPro app today to get help you need. GigPro has an exclusive promo code for Nashville Restaurant Radio listeners to sign up.

35:50Here's what you do. You go to go.gigpro.com forward slash n r r b i z. You're going to get your first gig on them. That's up to a $200 value. So go to go.gigpro.com forward slash n r r b i z. You get your first gig to $200 on them. So you've got three separate brunches, right? So people can sign up for this. If you go to. Eventbrite, it's on there, but at Lay Dom, Nashville, can you get tickets at L.E.S. D.A.M.E.S. And the first one will be the history of African-Americans and food in Nashville. Says Nashville's food history, how race played and continues to play a role. And Alice Randall will be the one who will be speaking toward to that, which we are very lucky to have. She's just amazing wealth of knowledge. And that was another thing I had to realize, too.

36:53I was like, I can't have this conversation. In front of people, because I get too emotional and I don't have the skill set. I said, I don't know how to unpack this. I don't know how to figure out things like what I found out. Like I said, I felt that Nashville had changed different, become different, but I didn't have any data or anything. It was Nancy who found out that Nashville has become the most the sixth most segregated city in America. I didn't know that when I when I started this. I didn't know that till you. I was this day years old when Nancy told me that. I go, wait, what is that? I was like, because everything for me had been anecdotal and nothing had been substantial with data. And so when we started going through the data, I said, hold on a second. This is real now. Like it became I was like, I don't I don't know how to fix this. I need a professional. So that's when we started reaching out to people like Dr. Gerald from Everybody Versus Racism, talking with Equity Alliance, Gideon's Army, as well as professors. And then also asking people their own experiences and walking into spaces.

37:57And that was another thing, too. I got called out for that because I had always worked at the top of the game. And I actually was asked, how many people have you worked with like you? And I've never worked with another black woman except for Miss Brenda. But she was like, I've never worked with another black woman in ever in 20 years as a chef ever, even when I traveled. And I thought about that and I was like, why are we not? And then I thought about when I go out to eat, when I was asking my friends, let's go to this place, go to this place. And they would say things like that place isn't for us. They don't want us there. I don't know what you're talking about. They want me there. They don't know somebody. And then they're like, oh, they want you there because you're one of them. But they do not want us there. And I had to unpack that and all the different things. And then when I would hear stories like what happened recently and Midtown and then hearing other bouncers and bartenders, they're different stories. I don't know what happened.

38:59Oh, so there was a DJ who was playing hip hop music. Oh, I did hear about this. Yeah. Oh, yeah, with the manager. Yeah. Yeah. Came out and said, yeah. And I was just like, I'm not surprised. Listen, that's nothing to really. I should be surprised at this point, but I'm not. I'm like, yeah, that sounds about right. And I go, why? Why do I allow that to happen? Why do I say, yeah, sounds about right? Why do we why do we just scoot underneath the rug? And the DJ, whoever it was, I can find his name. Bravo to him. Like walking out on it, because I don't know. I would have. I mean, I'm going to be honest. There were many times in my career when I could have walked out and called people racist and did not want to rock the boat because I wanted to move further along in the system. Right. That's and that's not good. Yeah. But that's kind of what, you know, in the book, how to be an anti-racist. He says there's no such thing as I'm not racist. That's not a that's not a phrase that means anything. You're either racist or you're anti-racist.

40:02There's no I'm not racist because if you're not racist and you're not going to say anything about it, you're allowing it to happen henceforth. You're not anti-racist. You're just allowing these things. And I think everybody in me, I don't for sure myself in the past have been guilty of that, of not saying something. When I I'll just turn my head. That's not something that's me versus stopping somebody in their tracks and saying, that's not OK. Like you're asking the question, which is the next part. I said, looking at the space and asking who's not in the room. Yeah. And why are they not in the room? And that was that was the next step for me. And my business partner, Jason, like I said, we were talking about doing a gaze. He was the reason why I started asking that question, because he was like, you don't ever go to the side of town anyway. So ask yourself why we're not in your, you know, why they're not over there and and why we're not. And I said, OK, all right. And that and I it was definitely one of those.

41:03Oh, OK. Yeah. Like they're just definitely spaces. And. The way it was described to me pretty well by a woman recently, she said, it's taxing because we have to put on a front as black people because we know more about white people than they know about us. So we have to always adjust to them. And it's exhausting. So when I finally want to go out, I don't want to have to continue playing that game. Sure. And I was like, oh, OK, that makes sense. I guess it is exhausting. She's like, yeah, all day long, I go through microaggressions. I don't want to run the risk of doing it one more time. And then I thought to myself, we have an incredible, intelligent, great population. I mean, 40 percent of Nashville is minority. I was like, why are restaurants not looking like that? That was one of the things we talked about, my my social media. One of the things I'm most proud of is that in both spaces I've created.

42:09And by accident, I've created spaces where I walk in and you can't tell a demographic. And I love it. I mean, I'll have an old person, young person, a hipster, or they call him that anymore. You know, a skateboarder. And I mean, like even our space, we had a skateboard posse on Saturday, and then I had Uncle Neers and Jack Daniels yesterday. And then I'll have a book, a book signing with somebody from CNN and then turn around and we'll have a church group come in with their book. And I'm like, I love that our space feels comfortable enough for everybody to come in and feel welcome. And I love that. And I don't know how to market that, teach that or make other people find it as important as I do. I think it's important that. Each individual person looks in the mirror and makes their own decisions as to what they need to do, and I'll explain that. We can all be advocates to tell other people what we need to do, but until people start looking in the mirror and I'm a big fan of a guy named John Miller and he wrote a book called QBQ and I reference it all the time.

43:17He's been on the show twice, but his whole thing is not is not asking the they questions, it's asking the putting yourself in the question. So that was that Leo Tolstoy said that because it's easier to change is to change the world than it is to change yourself. So why would say what can we do to get those people to stop being racist? And you got to go with those people looked in a mirror every day. Every single person said, what can I do today to be an anti-racist? You started your death, you started thinking that if you just change yourself and you led by example. I think the world would be a lot better place. So that was exactly one of the things we were putting inside the workbook. So we're hoping that when people come to the symposium from different groups because everybody should say quite a few groups have lineups. Take it back to your lineup. Take it back to say, OK, let's ask yourself this question. You know, pose this to you. How do you treat people like you don't have to answer, but just take it back to your to your staff members. And we're hoping that that will sort of pollinate and get spread that way.

44:21And people start asking themselves a question. You don't say, you know, we're not putting you on trial. We're just hoping that somebody else will come back and ask you the question. Doing that self, like I said, doing the self work and seeing what it looks like in your property. I think about Terrell from Butch Town Hall and Liberty Common. And I remember him telling me because I had to get rid of because I had to tell my salespeople that I wanted some some different looking people in all the pictures because everybody looked the same. He goes, and I was tired of the same people at all of my pictures. And I wanted to kiss him when he said that. I was like, thank you. We're all not size two and blonde hair. Like there's a group of us come to your restaurant all the time. We love it. And thank you for acknowledging us and seeing us. That's why I love the word namaste. I see you. I see the God in you. I see a special part of you. And that's what I want other people to feel when it comes to my spaces.

45:22But I also want to feel that myself when I come into your space, that you see me. And I have to give him credit for that, because I was like, that was totally I was just like, oh, you get it. Yeah, you get it. So to back to the symposium a little bit, because I want to talk about all three of them. Right. So the first one is going to be Saturday, March 26th is from noon to two. And if I want to go to that, how much is it? Is it says fifty dollars to 150? Is it fifty dollars per session? Yes, it's fifty dollars per session. OK. So you can pick which one you want to go to or go to all three. I would recommend all three, right? They're going to lead into each next one. Right. The second one is going to be specifically like why we aren't in those spaces, why we're talking about, you know, the actual anti-racism. And then the third one is a call to action. And we're hoping to get somebody from Uncle Nearest to come and talk about their initiative, as well as Jack Daniels, who we just had the fire and talk about it yesterday. Their new initiative on specifically how to get people of color into the food and beverage industry.

46:25And Ladobs has been similar with that mission with women, because for the most part, we're not in there. And it is cost prohibitive. A lot of times for culinary school and things like that. So that's what these symposiums are. It's like, OK, first of all, here's a history. We're recognizing a problem in number two. We're going to talk about that. Go ahead. Number two is Saturday, April 23rd from noon to two brunch time. Integrating your business, bringing inclusion to the front and the back of the house. That's the official title of. Date number two, date number three is going to be Saturday, May 21st from noon to two. Practice radical hospitality. Welcoming black and brown people into white businesses and white people into black and brown businesses. It's also goes the other way. Integrating. Yeah. Because I've been in places, too, where people like, I don't want them in here. Like, whoa, if it was the other way around, we would fill away. So why? Especially now that I, like I said, I'm on Charles Street.

47:26People like you see somebody with a with a baby stroller walking their dog on Jefferson Street. Oh, it's coming. Better get ready for it. It is coming. Now you get to be with it or against it. But one way or the other, as is Nashville, as 12 South. It's coming. Oh, yeah. Progress. It's going to happen. You're going to be with it or you can't. So I highly recommend getting on the forefront. That's it. You have such good vision. I mean, like with what Yayes and everything you're doing, I love. I love your that you just take action. Sometimes, you know, wait around for somebody else to do it. Is that what can I do? What can I do to create this? I'm going to go tomorrow and do this. What can I do to bring this about? What can I do to create this? That's strictly my mother. My mother cannot sit still for anything. She has always been that action. Be about it. Don't don't talk about it. She's like, everybody can talk. Let's see what you got. And so for me, it's the same thing with people. I'm like, OK, as much as I talk, I work just as much.

48:28So, yeah, you've always, always worked. I guess I was like, I'm a mother. I can say I do love what I do, though, and I'm very blessed that my skill has allowed me to give back in a way that feels bigger than just cooking, because I thought I was going to be a lawyer. And then I was like, oh, God, I would cry all the time. And I was like, I couldn't. And the kids. Why? Oh, I was I was such a big baby. Oh, God. Biggest heart ever. Oh, do you think like I kept thinking about if I messed up a case or something and they had to go to jail for forever because of me, I would never be able to live that. High stakes. Yes. High stakes. You can serve somebody a bad meal and invite you back. And it's like, yes, sometimes. And then I got into the catering part. And then that became high stakes, too, because people get married once. Yeah, they're celebrating. Exactly, exactly. So that became part of it, too.

49:28But to be able to be a part of people's joyous times is probably the best thing ever. The most part. So people usually go out. They usually go out to celebrate. They're looking to go out to have a crappy time. Well, I think that people go out for numerous reasons. And the thing that we do in the hospitality industry is I have no clue why you're coming in the door. So when you when somebody walks in a door and I'll tell you an example, the other day I was at the Green Hills Grove and I had a party of five women came in on a Friday night and they all walked in at the same time and they said, good evening. How are we doing? And they said, we're doing great. And I go, there's five of you and you're all here at the same time. Like, wow, this is amazing. And I go, you're going to be too loud tonight. We're going to have fun. And they wait. So I took them back to the table and I came back and checked on the midway through their meal. And they all had these martinis and they were laughing. And I got one of them, another glass of wine. And I just just said, thank you guys for being here. This is so much fun having you because I just genuinely am excited that they're here to do that. And on the way out, the woman stopped and she said, thank you. We had so much fun.

50:33I said, great, so I'll see you tomorrow. And she goes, no, tomorrow we're burying my husband. And we just needed this was this was his favorite restaurant. We just needed a moment. And it's like even in that moment, us in the servant, we have such an amazing like that's what we do. Our power to turn somebody's day around. And the second you walk up with some sort of a prejudice or this table like, no, no, no, you have no idea. Our heart of a servant is somebody that wants to. When you walk in this door, when you leave here, you're going to be in better spirits. You're going to be happy. And I love the word nourish. That's actually one of our words for a gay. So the three words we picked was gather, nourish and indulge. And the reason why I picked nourish is because it meant more than just feeding you and that like your soul. Yeah, like it's it's it meant like I hit in the spots and places that felt empty that I could fill in. I could fill in the little crevices.

51:35And that's what I want. And the other, like I said, indulge was the other one because it felt radical as black people to say, I'm not going to sit around here and be like, oh, what was me? I'm going to tell you, I'm a damn good time. And you're going to watch me do it. Despite everything else that's going on. No, I love that. Yeah, I can't remember where I read it. I feel like I read it in Glennon and Doyle. But she said there is something or Glennon Doyle. There was no such thing as other people's children. And it seems like that's kind of what you embody in the community. Like, there's no such thing as anybody else. We're all we all want the same. We all want to be together. That's what radical hospitality is. So when we were talking about that, I said I wanted that third supposed is about radical hospitality. And again, going back to something my father taught me, Catholic of a recovering Catholic. But one of the things they said is we have a vocation and you give of yourself. And I kept thinking about the word generosity and the first part of generosity, selling like jeans, giving yourself.

52:38And my dad was saying it doesn't count if it doesn't hurt because then you didn't give anything. You have to sacrifice something for love all the time. It has to hurt a little bit. You have to give up something to show that sacrifice. And that was what Jesus did for us. And that is what you have to do for whoever it is you love. At some point, you have to give something. And I thought about all the sacrifices my mom made, all the sacrifices my parents made, sacrifices that the people before us came, specifically like civil rights and all those other things that the women in for now is like they sacrifice something for the love of someone else. They didn't even know that's radical hospitality. I'm I love that. I'm sitting here taking that in because. It's so true, like it's so true if it doesn't hurt, like you've got it. There's a sacrifice. It's not just, oh, I've got a million dollars. Here's a quarter. Oh, I did something for you. It's like it's got to.

53:38Well, there's that Bible story, too, about the woman that gave all of her pences. And she was higher in the kingdom than right. Right. Yeah. I don't know. I made like a bunch of Bible references today, oddly. It's a Catholic girl of becoming out. I'm Jewish. I. Everybody. I read proverbs on a regular basis. I love the wisdom. I didn't go to Catholic school my entire life, so the indoctrination is real. The guilt is Catholicism is real, too. Yeah. So you said that because Jason, my business partner, is Jewish. Yeah. And he said, oh, it's a guilt on you. Guilt is because, oh, he goes, whoo, he goes, Jewish and Catholic boy. That's right. That's our meeting ground. It's just the I have to like I I verbalize it constantly. And I'm like, I'm not going to wear that. I'm not going to wear it, but I have to say it out loud. If I feel guilty about something, I shouldn't. Like, it's very hard for me. Oh, my mother is great at it. Like they all are. Oh, my God. They all are sick. I'm attempting to not be that way to my kids. Oh, I'm good. I tried not to do it for my son.

54:40I do stuff like call your mother because my son just went to New York. I was like, oh, you love New York. That's great. You should call me sometimes. Let me know you're still alive. My daughter, they're 14 months, my twins, right? And my daughter just recently started saying, yeah. And she goes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm like, you can't already sound like a Jewish New Yorker, though. Like you're too young to already be like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we're good. I'm like, baby, let's give it a few years, honey. But I know she's getting it for me and my mom. So I'm sure they do mimic everything. Yeah, I know. They they watch. That's another thing, too. Like I watch like my son, my own son growing up now. And I was books that he bought me for Mother's Day. And yeah, yes. And one of them is a woman has better sex underneath socialism. And I was like, that was a Mother's Day gift. And I was the one year I had the spot. Now, like, that's kind of all I was. He was like, he felt completely comfortable. And the other gift he gave me was a Jack Daniels belt buckle. Jack was always my drink, by the way.

55:44I was a big Jack guy. I love Jack. I love what they've done. They've with the like I said, was uncle nearest helping them. And then as well as giving money to help bring more people in. I also love how inclusive they've been. A lot of companies and stuff did not embrace LBGQ right away. And they did. And they marketed to them directly. And they were not afraid of it. They put rainbows. They put Jack Daniels in rainbows. And I was like, way to go. Yeah. Heck yeah. Yeah. Everybody should enjoy it. Like I said, radical hospitality. So one of the ways I want people specifically in our industry to kind of break those barriers is I feel like we hear the same names of restaurants all the time because they have a lot of staying power. And because they're great. There's nothing wrong with this. But that being said, like, I feel like I bring up I attempt to bring up all of our my husband is Japanese. And I'm always bringing up our favorite tiny Asian spots that nobody has ever heard of or they've heard of. But they're really tiny hole in the walls.

56:46So I would love for you to share some of your hole in the wall restaurants that isn't in the main conversation, but that people should go to. I guess he. Well, I will. I love doing so. Let me say that. Yes. If you're not eating and shopping on Nolensville Road, you're not a foodie because there's so much great stuff going on. There's a place called Korea House that I was one of my proudest moment. We had a little barbecue on the table and she comes up to me and she's like, oh, that's cooked really well. I was like, thank you. I was like, was it good? Like, did I do this right? And I'm like, yeah, so that's one of my places. What else do I like? I love Bach Box. Bach Box is really good. Oh, I love Bach Box. Really good. I like the kale salad, like all the little things go with it. I have not been. You know, it's only lunch. Yeah. 11 to three. Isn't their sandwich like the thing, right? Well, I love I actually love the roasted chicken and the kale salad. Like I bring people and it looks like this green chimichurri situation.

57:46Well, I can be so so good. And it is really good. So is Korea House. We've been there a bunch of times. Yeah, it's great. I like tacos. Mariscos. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's I always know them by the colors. Of the building, like I like the yellow gas station. When you come down underneath the hill by by the by the zoo on the right hand side. And they have a peanut sauce that I didn't even know was peanuts when I had it with the cilantro and stuff, and it was amazing. There's a Kurdish place over there that's fantastic. What else do I love? I used to well, I haven't been in the new international market, but when they closed down for a while, I went and bought a T-shirt because that was my introduction to food as a kid. My parents went to Vanderbilt and my mother did. My dad was already back. Was working at the time. But we didn't have we didn't go to get happy meals. We would go to international market because you could get a chicken on a stick, fried rice and an egg roll for like little kids for like a dollar.

58:53So that was our happy meal as kids. And we were good. That's awesome. We would go to the international market. And I loved it. And it was like one of those things that opened us up. And because we lived in Vanderbilt, I got exposed to all these different cultures because my mother would say stuff like, you be quiet. You eat what they eat. You know, that's the end of it. So I was eating fufu from Mimouna from Nigeria. I was eating, you know, curries and stuff from Malaysia, because that's what kids in my class are aching. They're all international. That's what they're eating. If you go to their house, you eat what they eat and you better not be rude about it. And that just exploded my palate, which is another thing that I do. Is I do lunches for King's Academy. It was another one of those things. I got stuck in Covid when I was like, I do not understand why kids do not have better meals at lunch in schools. And I got a picture to figure out a way to do it. So I only test it. And so now I'm testing it. And let me just tell you, those kids are eating shepherd's pie.

59:56They're eating soba noodles, mushrooms. They're eating kale salads. They're eating today. They had pad thai and with baby bok choy. Yeah. I'm getting hungry. And I loved it because I keep telling people that stop and for everybody, stop thinking you know who they are. Let them prove it to you first. Don't tell me a kid doesn't eat vegetables. Let him prove it to me first. Sure. And it doesn't just because he doesn't eat one vegetable doesn't mean he doesn't eat another. Yep. I'm more than likely if your kids don't eat vegetables, it's because you don't. I feel the same way. Or we allow them to write. You know, we we vegetables are now kids like, I don't like this. I'm like, you're not getting up. You're not getting on your game until you eat it and at least appreciate it. Right. I need you to eat that and understand it. And then most of the time, like, oh, it's actually pretty good. I just think kids react to how we react. So like my kids are young, no question. But like we my husband, we eat tofu a lot.

01:00:59We you know, we we eat curry a lot. And so I give it to the kids. And my mom's always like, they're not going to eat. I'm like, they don't know that it's not dino nuggets. They don't know that it's not scrambled eggs. They just know that mommy and daddy are giving it to them and mommy and daddy are eating it. And so they're going to eat it. So, yeah, I think if you just and if you explore the palate, is also scientifically speaking, the kids going to want everything sweet anyway. Yeah, it's fatty. If you do not explore a palate with a child and let them try different things, different textures. Yeah, it's another thing to like all the kids like it because you put everything out of a can. Yeah. Give them some fresh vegetables. Yeah. Well, we did baby lead weaning, which is like it's so scary. I'll be honest, like I think it's so scary because you're giving this like six month old something he could choke on. Like it is so scary. My sister had a baby, Jeb, and he's four now. We had him all during Covid. Jeb is allergic to all nuts, dairy and eggs.

01:02:01I've got the nuts. But it's funny because I was like, OK. And I was going, I was like, I'm a chef. It's fine. Dairy, eggs and nuts. You're like, ah, here's a piece of romaine lettuce. But it's funny because when we figured that out, then I was like, he had to eat vegetables. Yeah, he had to. Vegetables, fruit. Yep. Yeah. So he didn't know any better. And because once he stayed with us for Covid, he learned about snacking for my sister. But we're like, you've ruined him. We had him eating well stuff. But, you know, because when you start a kid that way, my kid has always been a foodie. Imagine that. But well, he didn't have a choice. He really didn't. It really was. But the thing is, like, he's super thin and he's like very particular about it. That's enough. But he will taste stuff. And he's always been open to trying new things. And I think that's also one of the things we teach a kid. When you take him to have tofu, curry and all those things, you're opening them up to different cultures and you're opening up to different flavors and you're teaching him.

01:03:03It's OK to try something different. And that's the reason why I wanted their meals at King's Academy to reflect that also. So they're eating things like tandoori and they're eating stuff like couscous and naan. And like these kids, like I want them to to think about, where does this come from? Where does this mole come from? What what's in this? And ask those questions. What I think, too, is like, I think it's the easiest way to get to know somebody. It's the last thing you leave. It's the last thing. I mean, think about it almost. There is not a single culture, no matter where you come from. You don't give up your food. You figure out a way to infuse it or to keep a part of it. But culturally speaking, some part of the ways is food. And it's usually kept by the women. Yes. The women's are usually the four are usually the keepers of that. And I'm really worried specifically for my my food culture, because we don't cook anymore.

01:04:03And that's both men and women. We just don't cook anymore. So I am terrified to think about all those great little things that my grandmother, the mama Blanche did. Those pickles, those little things that are gone. Like there's some things I don't know how to do. Like I said, I'm going to spend a whole summer trying to figure out how to make her plum jelly. My grandmother's plum jelly. But those are all food culture things that make up who we are. And what more things? Like you said, your family is part of eight Japanese and you want your kids to know that and taste that and be a part of that, which also goes back to like that whole thing, too, about being seen. Like when people say, I don't see color, because that's not a compliment. No. What you're saying is you don't see me. Right. Yeah, I don't count until I look like you. And, you know, I am a white woman and I'm I have tried really hard to become anti racist. And it's there are moments where that has been uncomfortable. And I have lost friends and that is OK. But I've been a part of one of those moments.

01:05:04Yeah. So it was it was amazing. It was during a meeting. It was very uncomfortable. But. But it needed to be said. And anyway, so now having biracial children who at this point, we don't know if they're going to be white passing or not. They certainly have Asian features. They certainly have some of my features. Either way, I they have four names like both of the twins have four names. And we did that because I am Jewish and I wanted them to have a Hebrew name and I wanted them to have a Japanese name. So they they have the kind of like Americanized name that my husband and I picked, which which is Noel. Right. We just I love Christmas. So we need to know. But you love I also go to church. I'm a mix of a lot of things. But anyway, we did that intentionally so that no matter what they decided to be as they grow up, they have the identity of both cultures behind them and that they know that both of those cultures are represented in them. In us, we want them to. And that is so lucky. It's such a privilege.

01:06:07It is. It absolutely is. I think about my grandmother, Ye Ye and my great grandmother, Ye Ye, where that wasn't a thing. And her daughter was born with blonde hair and blue eyes. What up lies? But blonde hair and married a black man and had my mother who had blonde hair, blonde curly hair. I was a black woman in Vicksburg, Mississippi. And I cannot every day imagine what kind of holy hell that must have been in the 60s. They have an entire family that look like that and constantly getting barraged on both sides and not only getting that hit, but being able to embrace it, grow from it and excel. And so, yeah, it's you talk about, you know, facing, you know, whatever. It was never an option for her. Right. Because she was like, first of all, on your driver's license in Mississippi, a little dab will do you. Yeah. It doesn't matter what you look like. Yeah, a little dab will do you.

01:07:07But also, why would I want to take that part away from me? And that's another thing, too. So Caroline actually is the other speaker on our first symposium. And she wrote during the George Floyd thing, she was about how the color of her skin is the color of right. And she'll be one of the people talking about that history and on that first symposium and stuff and how that impacts us. Wow. So I say it's not good. I will say it's going to be it's going to be good, thoughtful conversations. And I I'm going to try and be there for all three. I'm going to try and go to all three. I think I'm going to try to go for all three. Yeah, you're going to be there all day. Well, one of them is on my son's birthday and it's a Saturday. And I don't know if that's birthday party day and as much as I want to go. I think we're going or we're trying. We're thinking about actually live streaming them. Oh, that's incredible. Because somebody else said that this is too important not to. And I didn't I didn't think about that at all when I was doing it. Right. Well, so if you record them, I work, you know, with let Dom when D Patel was the president.

01:08:11I mean, we did the table talk series last year. And so they've just sent them to me and I've broadcast them on our network because I want to support everything that the Dom is doing. If they record them and it's something I can do, I'd be happy to release them as a podcast that kind of let people know. I think it's an important conversation. Yeah. I thought so. Like I said, I I'm hoping that it's not the end of the conversation is beginning of a conversation. Yeah, 100 percent. That's what I'm hoping for. Well, I'd like us to get off the top six list. Yeah, that'd be great. Yeah. Out of the top 10. Let's get out of the top 50 because Nashville is like so natural was the second friendliest town in America. Right. And I was like, what are you talking about? Like, yeah, we're friendly. Everybody. Yeah. And then I saw that. And then when that hit me, I kept walking into places and I do that. I do the count and I go, oh, it's just me. OK, this is what they're talking about. All right. This is exactly what they're talking about.

01:09:15Well, I tell you, I have had so much fun having you here in studio and we'll have to have you back after the symposium is over. I think we have some of these conversations. I would love to have you back. And let's talk about let's continue the conversation. Yeah, I will say, I don't know if I'm the best person for the conversation all the time, but I definitely know there's some people out there. We can bring some more people in. We got an extra microphone over there. I cannot believe I'm actually admitting that I don't know everything. And you have it on. I haven't recorded there's going to be a couple of people going to play this back to me. Should we make a little clip of it? A real thing you can sell it to. Like, see, I don't know everything my wife says. And she's like, well, my wife says to me, like, OK, I'm wrong. I'm like, oh, wait, what did you just say? My husband does that to me. Come back. Yeah. My partner, Jason, does that to me. That's why I have two husbands, my husband, husband and then him as my work husband, because I'm never wrong with him. It's like it's so rarely am I wrong with him with my husband I live with that I see all of the time.

01:10:18I'm a little more wrong. Oh, yeah. My boyfriend will all wrong all the time. Yeah. But yeah, this is partner Jason's. If he says something and I'm in, I'm wrong. It doesn't happen very often, but it does. There's a list. Well, I'll tell you. So I know Brandon pretty well. And he does love to like fall in love with something every day. And I watched him fall in love with you. Like I was watching this story. I could see it, his body, all of it. I'm like, oh, he found it today. It is Charlotte today. I was so happy that you found it. Do you have a say? I'm very excited to be the person who's bringing it to people. And I'm so excited that. My belief in humanity and belief in the people around me was true, that they would accept it and that they would do so lovingly coming from me and other people and that they would do the work. And I, for the most part, I haven't had anybody go, why would you want to do that?

01:11:19That sounds crazy, but no one has said that. They're like, oh, that's a great idea. How can I help? Yeah. I mean, yeah, there's a lot of people that want that. There's a lot of people that want that. And it is a tough conversation to start. And I'm glad that you're doing it. And we're here for it. Great. I don't know how we can help. We want to do want to do it if we can air it, if we can have more conversation. We love it. Get on Eventbrite, get tickets, people and bring. This is what I'm hoping for. I'm hoping for servers. And if you have a restaurant and you're not going to go pay for the tickets for a supervisor, the person who takes the resume, takes the the host, pay for three or four people in your business to go and they'll get the swag bag to see other people. And it is not a conversation on the stage with just the people. It is an open conversation. I want to hear from the top to the bottom, more importantly, the bottom, what they're experiencing, what they're what their experiences have been. And talk about it. And I want them to know that.

01:12:20So I'm hoping that businesses who say, how can we support? That's a great way to support. Buy tickets for the people who do the daily work, the people who are in it every day. I think I was just thinking, I was like, oh, I've got to. I've got some people I want to send, not for any, but just because we can do that. I think it's such a great conversation to start. And I would like some of my leaders to be a part of that. Charlotte, one of the things that we do on this show is that at the end of every show, and you kind of just did, I hate it with the end of people feel there, people feel the end of the show. And I was like, damn, she's killing it. We like to let our guests take us out. So whatever we at the end of the show, whatever you want to say, as long as you want to say it, whatever it is, kind of Jerry's final thought style. We like to turn the mic over to you to take us out of this interview. Whatever you want to say, hospitality in Nashville is listening. Go. For all the people who are doing hospitality in Nashville, first of all, thank you. No one else says it to you.

01:13:24I know it's a thankless business. And I know that you give of yourself over and over and over again. And you don't feel as if anyone gives back. So I'm saying thank you for all the ones who don't. And what I'm also asking you is to give just a little bit more and open up a little bit more on how you can truly be inclusive by looking at yourself and every day. Think about what's the one thing I could do to make another person happy. How can I anticipate one person's needs? Really be empathetic about that. And if we all do that, if we all anticipate each other's needs, what would our world look like? I love it. I think that's a beautiful way to end a fantastic conversation. Charlotte Miller, thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. Thank you. All right. Big, big thank you to Charlotte Miller for coming on the show, telling her story and talking about her upcoming symposium with Le Dom Discoffier.

01:14:31Thank you again, Charlotte, bottom of our heart. We really enjoyed that and are looking forward to doing it again. I got so much more we can talk about. I look forward to joining you at the symposium, as well as talking about it after the fact. Big important conversations that need to be had, especially in our city and our industry. So thanks again for coming on and bringing some of that stuff up. It's sometimes difficult to talk about, but I think it's very important that we do. All right. Well, we hope that you guys are being safe out there and love you guys. Bye.