Dry January Market at Killjoy Conversations

00:00Welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio, the tastiest hour of talk in Music City. Now here's your host, Brandon Styll. Hello Music City and welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio. My name is Brandon Styll and I am your host. We've got a bonus episode today and we are powered by Gordon Food Service. It's just going to be me today and let me tell you what I did. I went to the Dry January Marketplace held at Killjoy and oh my gosh, it was so much fun. So many vendors, so many mocktail people, THC, CBD beverages, authors of books, merchants, just all kinds of people.

01:00The community was really incredible. I was blown away. I didn't know what to expect. I brought my podcast equipment. I was there as the first time I've actually been somewhere as Nashville Restaurant Radio, just talking to people and as people came by our table and I shared this table with Fat Bottom Brewery. So I brought Fat Bottom Brewery with me so that they could try everybody on their brand new Hop Fizz and this product is amazing. Everybody loved it. You can pick it up through debt, but we had this table and I brought a couple microphones and I said, hey, as people come by, maybe I'll interview some people. We'll have a good time and we did that. It was so much fun. So the episode today, this is a bonus episode, the last Dry January episode that we're going to do and I'm going to tell you the first person we talked to was Rachel Reynolds and Rachel is the Director of Marketing over at Curious Elixirs and these products are so good.

02:01They have so many amazing mocktails. You got to check them out. They're not distributed, but you can get them here. She's local and they're really, really good. We also speak to the next guest that we have and I don't know how I'm going to do this. I'm just going to play them back to back to back. This whole episode stays me brought to you by Fat Bottom Brewery, so there's not going to be commercials. We're just going to roll through it and so there's kind of like just these individual little five minute interviews, right? So the first one's Rachel Reynolds. The second one is a woman named Nicole Prentice and she is an author. She wrote a book about sober lifestyle. She's a life coach and a sober coach. She was so sweet. She was right next to us and I was just the kindest person. I really liked what she had to say about everything here in her little five minute interview. So much fun. The next person we talked to, his name is Ryan Holding and he is going to be the proprietor at the Passage Cava Bar, Passage Cava Lounge.

03:01It's over there by the East Side Bowl and this is a Cava Bar, not Cava as in like C-A-V-A, Cava as in K-A-V-A, which is a non-alcoholic drink that kind of makes you feel happy. It doesn't have THC and he explains more of what that is, but a lot of cool stuff going on in the Cava community. I didn't know about this, but now I got some Cava. I tried it. It was pretty good. I definitely was impressed by what Cava was and it's something you learn more about. It's not like you don't get high, but it's just a mood elevating kind of a beverage and I'm here for it. The next person we talked to, his name is Joel Wilson and Joel is a long time friend of mine. This was just a fun conversation about all kinds of stuff. Just life, all kinds of stuff. He's the owner of a company called The Literal Creative and he does videography, all kinds of fun stuff and just a fun conversation with Joel. Nice to catch up. Then we speak with Michelle and she is the sous chef at Miele and this was a quick conversation.

04:08I think it was like four minutes, but she was doing a little something different this dry January and I thought that was interesting and I said, hey, you're a restaurateur. Let's hop in here and let's talk. So that was really fun. The next guest we're going to have, her name is Christine Miles and Christine is Miles Hospitality Marketing. So she was there, she's a lifelong non-drinker, just does not drink and she was at the dry January market. I work with Christine on a regular basis at my restaurants and do we have a quick little conversation about kind of what's going on and what her take is on the dry January market and that was a lot of fun. We're then going to talk with Rachel Adams, who's the director of marketing for Fat Bottom Brewery. She was the one who was there with me. We kind of talk about what this hot fizz is and then what they're doing after dry January. What are they doing in February and what do we call February? Is it something, anyway, February, are you going to go drink their Daisy Hazy IPA, which comes out January 25th? So you could still go to the tap room, try the Daisy, drink the hot fizz, do the whole thing or even go to Teddy's Tavern downtown.

05:15We talked about all those things in this little interview and the final person that we speak with today, his name is Ted Plisco and Ted is the field sales manager for a company called Better Than Booze and this guys, this is, this is a really, we just spoke with Calexo and this guy is the sales manager for this company Better Than Booze and they're a THC CBD cocktail brand. They also do a line that is non THC CBD, but they're distributed here in town by Lipman Brothers. Everybody loves their product. Probably the most well known and it's local. So it's a Nashville product and really impressed by this stuff. So go check it out, call your Lipman rep, call Ted, but all that information is going to be in this episode. So I'm super excited to bring all these to you. Like I said, I'm just going to run all of them back to back to back. Want to say special thank you to Stephanie, my amazing sister over at Killjoy.

06:16What they're doing over there is really special and the community aspect of what was going on there on Saturday was really special. I've never really been a part of a community like this and I'm part of a non drinking community. Like when I go to meetings, but this was a non drinking community of people who were uplifting each other and it wasn't, it was just an elective. It didn't matter if you were sober, if you're a Kelly sober, if you were whatever you were, it was a very accepting place for people who are like minded, who wanted to get better in their life, who were challenging themselves. And it was really refreshing and so much fun. And I just think it's so cool that Stephanie's creating Stephanie and John, her partner are creating this environment over there that makes that it normalizes it a lot. And it was just, it was a great time. So if you haven't been over to Killjoy yet, go check them out.

07:17They're right off of Wedgwood and 65 right over there by the soccer stadium. So check them out, Google them, find them on Instagram, follow them, some really good stuff. And if you want to go test out some of this non alcoholic products, head over to Killjoy. Thank you guys for listening to this episode. Let's jump right in. So we are here live at the Dry January Market outside of Killjoy and I have Rachel Reynolds and you're with Curious Elixir. What do you do for Curious Elixir? I'm the director of marketing. Director of marketing. So this will be really easy. Tell me about Curious Elixir and what you guys do. It's a great pleasure to do it. It was founded by a good friend of mine, his name is J.W. Wiseman, about eight years ago. So we're one of the OGs in the space. We have been around and I remember when he first told me he was doing this, I was like, is this a thing? Like, I'll be honest with you. You know, I was working in the music industry, I was in a whole other world and I have watched his company grow and grow and grow.

08:21I just started working with him last year and it is such an exciting space to be in and it's so wonderful to see so many people wanting to choose honestly a healthier alternative and what sets Curious apart is that J.W., he's a cocktail nerd, he used to own a bar. Really? Yes. Like cocktails are a craft to him. He's an artisan, right? Like a musician, like a painter and so our drinks are very complex, they're very layered. They're incredible. Thank you. Like, I've tried several of them and there's eight different ones? How many are there? There are eight. There's eight different ones and they're labeled number one through eight but they're all different. They taste like a craft cocktail. They're pre-made. They're easy. They're easy. So all you have to do is invert the bottle, pour it in a glass over ice and you've got a delicious cocktail at the end of the night to relax and we find that most of our customers, they're not booze-free entirely. They're just taking a break on weekdays or just drinking a little bit less. I mean, it's for everybody. Now, let me ask you this question. If I go to a restaurant and I want to order one of these, can I, do you sell these in restaurants?

09:27Absolutely. So we are in a lot of restaurants in New York City because that is our home base but we are a small self-funded company. Oh, wow. Yes. So we haven't taken any investor investment money yet and so we are just growing slow and low but it's incredible to see. Most of our business is direct to consumer but yeah, we are sold in bars and restaurants. Are you sold, are you distributed here in Nashville by anybody? No. Because you're self-distributed. For the most part. We have some small distributors but like we're at the Blue Note in New York. We're at like very well-known restaurants. Oh, yeah. It is pretty incredible. Well, the product is fantastic. So a lot of my listeners are restaurant owners and people that would hear some of that curious elixirs and they said, wow, I'd love to check that out. How would they be able to do that? Wholesale at GoodBusiness.Works. Okay, Wholesale at GoodBusiness.Works and then you can come by and sample people, right? Absolutely. So if you're a restaurant and you're like, hey, look, these mocktails are tough. I sell some sometimes. It's not an everyday thing but it'd be really great if I could open one and sell it and now they stay fresher, longer.

10:30It's a whole thing. You could check out Curious Elixir and it is, they're delicious. I keep going back over there to try them like, can I have one more sample of the number four? Well, what I love is people are coming up and they're trying three to five flavors. They're not just walking away after one because all of the flavors are bold and intriguing and adventurous but like if you're an owner of a restaurant, well, if you're an owner of a bar and it's like slammed, these are so easy. It's just such a great option for quick serve. It's like a bartender's best friend and if you own a restaurant that uses really quality ingredients, we use organic juices and roots and herbs and spices. You don't want to put the pressure on your kitchen to make extra stuff so you can make mocktails, right? That's a true story. So you can serve this drink and still feel good about the quality of ingredients that you're still hitting that high level. Well, I'm so glad you came over to talk to me. This is so fun. We're doing podcast live at a market. This is the first time for me doing this. You're doing a great job. Never done this before. This is fun. We are having so much fun. Thank you for joining us today.

11:31My pleasure. Thanks for having me. This is so much fun. All right. Absolutely. And if you really do want to get in touch with us, go to CuriousElixir.com. There's numerous ways you can get in touch. There's a contact us page and it'll get to the right person. CuriousElixir.com. Yeah. So we are now joined. We're here at the Dry January Marketplace right outside of Killjoy and we're joined with Nicole Prentiss. Hi. Thanks for having me. We're excited to have you here. So you are an author and you wrote a book called 100 Proof. Your triple distilled guide to reinventing your relationship with drinking and rediscovering a happier, healthier, wealthier self. That's the side, I think, to the non-drink. People don't realize how much more money you save not drinking, plus also the money you save from not making bad decisions on purchasing on Amazon when you're drunk. Yeah. I think it's way more than that. You become more creative, you have more ideas and more energy, and then you can...

12:32I've created a new business from it. I have clients who get promoted because they're showing it more at work. It's being the version of yourself that can create more success, which brings in wealth. A hundred percent. So just by being better, by not drinking, by learning... So you're a coach. I am. You coach people on how to live an alcohol-free life. What's the biggest advice you could give somebody right now? I work with clients who are using alcohol to cope. It's because they are stressed after a long day of work, and they have a lot of anxiety, and they don't know how to turn off their mind, and they use drinking to do that. Yeah. So the biggest advice I can give someone is find tools that can help you to regulate your nervous system and release stress in a healthy way. Yes. All of that. Give me an example of something somebody could do. Meditation? Yes. Journaling? Breathwork is one of my favorite techniques, and my clients resonate with it as well. It's using your breath to help you to down-regulate your nervous system and to feel more relaxed and calm.

13:37And it works amazingly. If you've never done breathwork or meditation or just stopped in deep breaths, it really does work, and it's fast. It's very fast. You don't have to do it for 30 minutes. Like five minutes, three minutes, just a few deep breaths, and you're like, wow. It's like the greatest thing. I agree. And I love how you can take it anywhere with you, because anywhere you are, you can just stop for a moment and breathe and feel completely better. And it's socially acceptable. It is. That it is. You know what else it is? It is free. It is free. It doesn't cost anything to breathe. Most of the time. I don't know where it would. So you have a book, and it is called 100 Proof. If I have listeners that are like, hey, that sounds really interesting. I'd love to learn more about what she does. Where can I purchase this book? On Amazon, you can type in 100 Proof with Nicole Prentice, and it will show up. That's N-I-C-O-L-E-P-R-E-N-T-I-C-E. Do you have a website? I do. It's nicoleprentice.com.

14:38And people can follow you on Instagram? Yes, and TikTok. Oh, you have a TikTok page. I do. What is your TikTok page? What do you do on there? Just give advice? I spend a lot of time giving advice, but I also show people what life can be like once you stop drinking. For me, that was a big part that was missing, because I was a social drinker, and my identity was tied around drinking and being fun and going out with friends, and I didn't know what life could be like. So I show people what is actually possible and how beautiful and vibrant life can be once you stop drinking. How vibrant and beautiful can life be, though? It's incredible. There are so many benefits. Of course, you have more energy, you sleep better, have better relationships, and I think One of the things I am so grateful for is I feel at peace in my body. And being able to be still and just to be present, everything, you bring more gratitude into every area of your life. I completely agree. I've been having a lot of conversations with people here today just about the idea of dry January and attempting it, and being like, well, I don't know if I can do it after this because it's just too hard.

15:45And for me, I had to mourn the idea of drinking ever again. I had to just kind of say, it's never going to happen. Once my body and my mind realized that I'm never going to drink again, it was amazing because it was like everything, all the anxiety melted away and I could just move on with my life because I had to just kind of mourn it a little bit. And now there's all these amazing non-alcoholic products that people can try or drink. We're here with Hop Fizz. Did you enjoy the Hop Fizz? I loved it. It was so good. Every time I see people, she's here in a booth, a table cut right down from us here. And every time she'll look over, she's drinking and she's like, I love this stuff. It is really good. Take some home with you. Thank you. I will. All right. Nicole Prentice, thank you for joining us and best luck today. Thank you. All right. We are back at the Dry January Marketplace, brought to you by Killjoy.

16:46And I'm here sampling people on the Hop Fizz from Fat Bottom Brewing. And I have Ryan Holding here. Ryan, what do you think of the Hop Fizz? It's been so wonderful so far. I think I've only made it about halfway, but we have been here for quite some time and tried a lot of great things. And you have a product that they sell here? Or you're about to open a restaurant slash bar that is a Cava bar. Yeah. And now this isn't a sparkling wine from Spain. No, no. So it's actually spelled K-A-V-A. And we are opening Passage Cava Lounge. And it's going to be the same plaza as Eastside Bowl in East Nashville. Nice. And what we're going to be selling is Cava, which is a root of a plant from the South Pacific Islands. It gives you a bit of a buzz without impairing you like alcohol would. And so you really get that nice, relaxed feeling without the hangover. Really? Yeah.

17:46And we're also going to be selling Kratom. We're going to have coffee. We're going to do a full training on coffee for all of our Cava tenders. So we're going to have some really good products. Also Mocktails, Kombucha. I know I'm forgetting other things, but a lot of products. Well, you have THC-infused products. Yeah. So that's actually what we're looking into right now is potentially having THC-infused where we can add it to the drink. Ooh. Yeah. And... Have you heard of the Canocane? Yes. Yes. Okay. So that's the one that's out there that I know of. That is a really good one. And I've had a couple of the THC things today as we're walking around. And so I'm feeling great. Now what is... The Cava is the warm feeling that you get from Cava. How does that compare to like a THC-derived head change? Yeah. So the great thing about Cava is you can kind of stack it. And so in Florida, there's over 200 Cava bars. Oh, wow. Yeah.

18:46And so the one I used to manage is 24-7. And so it really is like a huge social aspect in Florida. And so when you have a couple, you're just going to feel like a nice vibe. And we actually had a lot of first responders come before and during their shift because they felt that it helped with their anxiety and so they were able to focus better at work. So you can come and drink this Cava and it kind of gives you a buzz, but it's not a... And you can go back to work? Yeah. People actually chill from our Cava bar. So we're going to have really good Wi-Fi, so don't worry about that. But then also, if you want more of like a buzz feeling, you can stack it. And so you can get a really nice feeling. But the great thing is no matter how much you drink, you're still going to have... It's still going to be you. It's not going to be some crazy person. Like, if you were to drink a lot, you turn into a different person. It's still going to be you and you're still going to remember everything tomorrow without a hangover.

19:48I love that. And with Dry January, I think a lot of people right now are experimenting with not doing alcohol. And this is a great option and you can pick up lots of Cava products right here at Kill Joy, right? Yeah. And we're also going to be here on January 26th, which is Friday, this is going to be our third time serving Cava here at Kill Joy. And we kind of make it into a full event. So it's not just one drink and leave, like come hang out with us, have multiple drinks. You can kind of feel what it is to like stack the drink. Okay. January 26th, right here at Kill Joy in this area, you can come try Cava with holding. Thank you for coming by and stopping by and talking to us for a minute. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I'm excited about your new place, man. Yes. And come join us on 26th. All right. We'll see you on the 26th. Thank you. Thanks, man. All right. We are back again. We're at the Dry January market. I am here with Joel Wilson. That's right. What's happening, brother? Full on.

20:49All me. All now. Right now. So sometimes you meet people who are in this industry and we've been talking to sober and dry January people. I've known Joel. Joel was like in my fourth grade class. Back in the day. Known Joel for a long time. Yeah. Went to Grassland Elementary together. That was like at least 10 years ago. 15. 15 maybe. 15 now since we were in the fourth grade. How are you doing, man? I'm good, man. I'm really good. Life is not easy for anybody. No. But I'm doing my best. It's better for me than for most, I'd say. And so I just try to remember that and lean in and, you know, appreciate the challenge because I, you know, if it wasn't challenging, man, what would be the point? It's what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I think that's a song of some kind. Bruises or badges, scars, the signature of my struggle. Yeah, something. Yeah. All of that stuff. Yeah. Do you have any resolutions or hopes for 2024 as we're starting this new year? You know, I don't, I've kind of shied away from resolutions and adopted the resignation, the New Year's resignation.

21:58And this year, I turned 45 on December the 31st. Nice. Right. Happy, happy belated birthday. Thanks. I think that was like one, two, three, one, two, three, and then four, five for me. Yeah. Honestly, I kind of came to this revelation, right, that like, I'm trying, I don't think I was consciously trying to do this, but I found myself like going out and, you know, I don't care about staying hip necessarily. Like I'm pretty cool with being square, right? I'm with you. But... I mean, you look at me, I obviously am. That's why you're on the radio, right? Nice for radio. Sometimes, sometimes though, I would like feel like I needed to go out. Like I was like, if I'm not out and I'm not living my best life or, you know, like I'm not, I felt somehow obligated to party. Is there, is that the definite, is that FOMO?

22:59Are you the fear of missing out? I think maybe there's a bit of FOMO in there. Yeah, yeah. And so when I say New Year's resignation, like I'm giving in to, like, I don't want to say laziness. I'm not just like justifying my laziness. But let me tell you this, a couple of years ago, I got COVID on the 24th of December. This was 21. And so I didn't, like the last week of the year, I was stuck in my house. I didn't have my kids. I didn't have my family. I missed, you know, it was like remote Christmas, right? And it was kind of the best Christmas I've ever had. I love my family. Don't get me wrong. It's like, Christmas has always been going to a thousand different houses, you know, it's all scheduled. It's like wrapping a bunch of stuff and spending a bunch of money and sweating a bunch of stuff. And like, you know, I think it's basically FOMO, but it's like fear of, you know, not giving your parents and family the love that they deserve.

24:02And you want to, and it's all well-intentioned, but it's so stressful and it's so... So getting COVID is a positive thing during that time, so it gives you an excuse to just stay the fuck away. It was awesome, Brandon. Let me tell you, I had a reason to stay home. I like, I rearranged my bookshelf. I went through all my old underwear and got rid of the pairs with like the stretchy elastic that falls down, you know, like, like I did a bunch of stuff that I needed to do and hadn't done in a long time. And so now it kind of ruined me for Christmas and for everything. For every reason I would go out, I think, man, what could I get done at home that needs to be done? You know what I mean? I know what you mean, because I love that. I mean, I'm domesticated, though. Like, I don't need to go to bars. And if I go anywhere, I want to go with my wife and I want to sit and I don't I don't ever feel like, oh, I need to go do that. I'm like, I don't want it. I people say, where's your favorite place to go in Nashville? And I'm like, my couch. Right. And that is the best place in Nashville.

25:04There's probably some degree of of wisdom or experience or just old person ness. Old person ness. That's all it is. I'm just trying to frame it, you know. Maturity, maturity. Yes, yes. But but English. But like, I'm I'm I am OK with that, too. And I like to go out a little bit. But, man, I don't like to go out. Are you partaking in Dry January this year? You know what I heard about Dry January for the first time when I heard your podcast? Really? On December 30th. And so I'd never heard about Dry January. And I think now you're here at the Dry January market. I am at the Dry January market, but not because I'm doing Dry January. You know, I wouldn't call myself sober, man. OK. Sober is like this word that I associate personally with people who have declared sobriety and who have like, you know, I've got to commit to this thing that I now am this. It's a definition of who you are.

26:04And like, I'm not there. I've not hit rock bottom. I'm not court ordered. I'm not like I'm just kind of bored with hangovers. And by bored, I mean, they hurt more. Well, there's a there's a there's a term sober, curious, sober, curious. I'm curious about this lifestyle, what people do. And I don't I don't like to use the word sober either. I go alcohol free to do any alcohol. But like, I'll try the THC stuff. I don't get high either. I don't like either. I'm not I don't smoke anything. But like, oh, there's like a little something I'll do here or there. That's like a little THC infused something. I'll try that. But I was I wouldn't say I'm sober. Right. Not not even Cali sober, as they call it. Weed is OK. But like, I wouldn't even say that. I would just say I'm alcohol free. That's that's yeah. Right on. And that's what I am. And yeah, I guess I don't know what I am, but I know that I am a good guy. I'm just trying to be whatever I need to be for me. You know, and the best version of yourself, the best version of myself.

27:05Yeah. Amen, brother. And my best, my best is different at any given time based on if I've had snacks and a nap, you know, like I may not be my best, but it's the best right now. And and I think that something like this is interesting to me. All these people, they are so hip, man. There's a lot of cool people here. Yeah. A lot of really cool people. Very trendy. I came in here to Killjoy two days ago and spent an hour talking to John about crazy stuff. Like we were talking about transcendental meditation and and like how the you know, I don't even want to get into it because that's a different podcast. It's a whole different show. Wild man. We had a great talk and it was like we didn't have a drop of booze. We didn't have any kind of anything. We didn't need mind altering. Like I'm crazy enough just the way I am. I don't need to add to it with any kind of imbibe or chemical adjustments. Like I'm nuts. And it's everything I can do to, you know, pay the bills.

28:07So, Joel, let's tell our listeners, what do you do for a living? Who are you? I've got a little I like to call myself your friendly neighborhood video wizard. I've got a little video company called Literal Creative. And the name, I think, is it suggests that some things are literal and like technical. Right. But then you can leverage those technical aspects and come up with something kind of unique and creative. And I want to be that guy. I'm I'm kind of two parts. I've got a technical engineering kind of mindset. I like a good formula and a good workflow. But I also love narratives and stories and and I love to wax and spin and spiral out of out of whatever I'm supposed to be doing, you know, and get distracted. And so that's what we're doing right now. I want to my my personal life goal. I've found in 45 years has become I want to remove the hurdles between those who have something to say and those who want to or need to hear that.

29:08And I love that. I'm really good at putting people on TV. And so that's what I do for a living. I point cameras, I push buttons, I, you know, render and transcode. And animate and stream and all the things, man. So that's badass. And I've I've it's good to see you here, man. I love seeing you here. Thanks for joining the show for a little bit. Thanks for inviting me. We're doing these little five minute. Hey, come give us an update. What's happening with you? And thanks for listening to the show. Yeah, of course, thank you. We're going to bring you back some time. We'll do a full interview and learn about what you do, because I think there's a lot of opportunity, a lot of restaurants that want to create content and need somebody who knows how to do video that is interesting, that really knows. How do people find you right now? Just curiously, if somebody what is your Instagram and handle? How do people get the literal creative on Insta and Facebook? And I've got a YouTube. That's about the best way. Like, I don't really. It's a literal creative. You know, I'm just a just a small town girl living in a lonely world. I love it. But I'd love to hear from you.

30:11If you've got some questions, I would. I'll definitely continue to listen to you. I grew up in the service industry. I think that everybody should serve right. I think that there should be a thing in the states here in America. Selective service industry like driver training. You should you have to do that. Do it. Because I think that would change the world if everybody had to serve tables. Yeah, 100 percent, you know. And so I don't currently work in the restaurant industry, but I enjoy the heck out of your podcast, man. Well, thank you so much, Joel. Thank you to see you, brother. Happy New Year. Cheers. All right. All right. So we are back at the dry January marketplace. And I have ran into Michelle. Michelle is the sous chef over at Miele. Yes. And Miele is right off of Charlotte Pike. And it has been around for like 15 years. Amazing stuff going on over there. Yeah, we just celebrated our 15 year anniversary in September. Wow. So that was really exciting. And we're actually on our little winter break right now. So all the staff gets to rest and recruit and get ready for 2024.

31:14So you are taking this time to come to a dry January marketplace. Yes. What do you do in here? Well, I'm just checking out and see what is on the market. I know a lot of our people in the community are trying to do dry January or just stepping away from drinking alcohol. We actually have a whole N.A. cocktail list at Miele. So just check out and see what all the flavors are about. You're on education. You're here just to kind of, hey, this is a trend. I want to learn more about what it is. But you yourself are doing something a little different this dry January. Aren't you? I'm doing I think I've heard on social media called like a moist January. I'm doing a wet January. Yeah, a wet January. I like wet more than moist. I'm a chef. I don't mind the word moist. It's a it's a not dry January. You are educating yourself on wine.

32:15So you're taking a different approach to dry January, but you're also propelling yourself in your career and what you're doing to learn. It's an educational January for you. Yes. So I'm really interested in learning a lot more about wine as it relates to food and just like the restaurant industry as a whole. Wine is a big animal to try to tackle. But and also pairing wine with food, that you're cooking food if you're a chef and you want to pair wine with your food, like, hey, this is going to go great with this Chenin Blanc. You got to know that stuff. And yeah, and the best way to figure that out is just to be tasting it. So so it's a wet January for you. Wet January, a moist January, whatever you want to do. So it's a little bit of a different story. But I love that because I'm a big fan of education and bettering yourself in any way that it is. Some people can't drink because they have a problem and they can't have just one. But if you can and that's something that you want to do and you can learn that, then I am all about it.

33:17I'm not an anti alcohol guy. Right. I am a anti burn your life down and ruin everything that you have, guy. Understandable. So that's it. Well, how fun is it? Thank you for stopping by and kind of talking from it. And if you're out there, go see Michelle over at Miel. It's right off Charlotte. Their food is amazing. And it's so nice to meet you. Yes, thank you. Nice to meet you, too. All right. And we're back again from the Killjoy Dry January marketplace, and I'm joined with Christine Miles. Hi, Brandon. How are you doing? I'm doing great. Christine Miles is the owner of Christine Miles Restaurant Marketing. Very close. Miles Hospitality Marketing. OK. Miles Hospitality Marketing. So Christine Miles does restaurant and hospitality marketing. That is correct. I see these things. And so you're here at the Dry January because you are doing Dry January.

34:18I actually have been a lifelong non drinker. So I am thrilled that something like this exists because I cannot tell you pretty much my entire life. I walk into a party and I'm like, no, thank you. I don't want wine. You know, is there any other non? It's any a non a Bev and they're like they point you to a children's table. Yes. Basically, it's water or here's the soda. Maybe. But yes, we have cokes over there in that cooler. Maybe, maybe one. So it's been it's to see some like this and see how successful it is, is really great. I love it. And yeah, I mean, so I think there's a perception people that are doing Dry January or the people that are alcoholics or this or this. What about just people that don't like the taste of alcohol or don't drink lifelong? I am not a drinker. And that is exactly this is great. Right. That it's fabulous. And it's funny because I was telling my husband, I said, I wish I would have like I did. I felt felt so alone for so long because seriously, I would go to parties.

35:19I've been in the restaurant industry my entire career. So it was just saying. And so when you're in an industry that has there's a lot of alcohol, a lot of wine, a lot of spirits, things like that. And so I really was somewhat of a loner. And so to see this this industry that's just been embracing the non-alcoholic lifestyle, it's fantastic. So I full full disclosure, I didn't just meet Christine here. Christine works with us at my restaurants. And she's like on our leadership team. So we I see her all the time. We know each other. And she's amazing. And I've got your company name wrong. But she she does a great thing with hospitality marketing. And I'm so glad you're here. Yes, I'm thrilled to be here. I had a question for you. I was going to ask you something and I completely forgot what it was because we're like a million people staring at us right now. Yes. Telling like, what are you guys doing over here? We're recording a podcast.

36:21You were the you were the vice president of marketing for J. Alexander's for 24 years. Yes, I was 25, 25 years. Yes. Wow. It's a long time, pretty much my entire career in the restaurant industry. Yeah. It's a good run. I guess I haven't really got to sit down and go over some stories with you from those days yet. I think pretty much anyone who works in the hospitality industry in Nashville has worked at J. Alexander's at one point. AOA, AOA, AOA. There are a lot of people who are like, oh, yeah, I worked at Wiper's Road in 1991 or whatever. I was 1997 at Wiper's Road. Yeah, that was me. I could tell you that story. Yeah, there you go. So, yeah, there's there's a lot of us in this industry, which is really neat because to see how the industry has grown in Nashville and to think that a lot of people, a lot of great chefs in the industry right now had their foundations at the company that I worked with for so long. It's it's really neat. It's amazing. J. Alexander's and I'm going to love Houston's in there, too.

37:23Sure. J. Alexander's, Houston's. And they're not the same thing. I know Lonnie and and it's a whole deal. Yeah. But those two restaurants with their style, the military style of how they operated has really produced some really amazing restaurant tours. I don't want to say military, but let's just say there is a definite passion with the industry and very high expectations, a very high standards. And we held to it. And so it was really when I was interviewed, they said, this is a military style operations of a restaurant. Are you OK with that? And I was like, this is my first restaurant job. So I don't know what that means. And they were like, you're going to do exactly what the fuck we tell you to do. And I was like, OK. AOA? I'm sure they didn't use that exactly. It was. I think that's what they said. I think that was the exact words that they said when I was hired. And then I got fired like two months later because I sucked.

38:25Well, I was not a good soldier. It was a you had to lean in. You had to lean in all the way all the way. It was the whole thing. Yes. But I was a punk ass, too. Like I wasn't into that. I wasn't like a restaurant guy then. They inspired me. Right. My next job after that was Ruby Tuesdays. And I was like, what is this operation? I a little different, I would assume. I was a king over there because I put like all my sugar packets on the right. Sure. That was a whole thing. Sure. I was like, this isn't just how everything I learned at J. Alexander's is how I thought it was at every restaurant. Yeah. So when I went to other restaurants, I was like, oh, it's not like that at all. It is not like that at all. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, shout out to Jay's. Christine, thank you for joining us here at the Killjoy Dry January Market. I am thrilled to be here and I can't wait to go look and visit all the booths. We'll go visit all the booths. Great to see you. Thank you so much. We are live at the Killjoy Dry January Market. Dry January Market.

39:26I'm here with Rachel Adams. Hello. Rachel Adams is the director of marketing. Yeah. Is that the title? Director of marketing? That is my title. And you're for Fat Bottom Brewing. Yes, sir. I dragged you guys out here today. Dragged is a strong word, but yeah. Because I love you. We love you guys. I am so excited to be here at Killjoy for the Dry Market. This is so fun. And now you're on Nashville Restaurant Radio. Yes. A new sponsor. Yeah, we love it. We've been talking Dry January and you guys are here pouring the Fat Bottom Hop Fizz. I have yet to have somebody say I don't like it. One person said, I don't drink beer, but it's good. Yeah. You know, I the number of responses that I get have surprised how much they like it is, I think, the funniest reaction. I think people see it and they go, is there out? There's no alcohol in this. And it's a tall boy can that says Fat Bottom on it. And it has a picture of a hop on it. Yeah. And then they go. The thing I tell people is I go, it's like a it's like it's just a sparkling water that kind of tastes like beer. Kind of tastes like beer. It gives you that hop aroma.

40:28It gives you a little bit of a hop flavor without any of the alcohol. No sugar, no carbs. It's delicious. That's the thing. And this is this is a new like space for you guys. It is. It's a brand new space for us. So we Alex Barr, our head director of brewing operations. It's his recipe, his baby. He wanted to do it. I was honestly pretty skeptical. Did not understand it. Did not want to try it. And I love La Croix and started to really see it, started to taste it. And now I'm hooked. I love it. I drink it all the time. We drink it in the office all day. So it's been a very exciting journey. I've I've loved watching it and developing the product. I thought, you know, because every time somebody comes to the brewery and they have a meeting, like there's a beer on the table. There's always a beer on the table. And now if you work there, you can just have a hop fit. And you don't have to drink beer all day for every meeting that you have. Yeah, my pants fit great again. It's fantastic. Yeah, but I mean, we have a ton of meetings at the office. And of course, you know, when you come to the top room for a meeting, like, yeah, I'm going to have a beer, which just feels normal.

41:30Well, if you have three or four meetings at the office, it gets a little nuts. It gets a little nuts. So it's been it's selfishly. It's been a great product for us because we can, you know, like you said, have a have a hot fizz at a meeting instead. Or when we're out networking and doing things, you can have it in instead. It's a good mix in. One of the really neat things I've been talking to people here about is because a lot of people are doing dry January. I think the perception is I can't go to bars this month because I'll be tempted or I don't want to do this or they don't have options. But you have a tasting room right there in the nation. It's a really cool kind of brewery tasting room. And you can get this hot fizz on draft. So if you go with some friends to like a tasting room, you can get a pint of this poured on draft and kind of just hang with everybody. Yeah. And they feel very normal. Yeah. I mean, that was kind of the idea is one because we drink so much of it. Having on draft for us has been amazing. But being able to really give people that ritual, if you can still hang out, you can still go to a tap room and have that have that experience and still have something you enjoy.

42:33You know, you don't have to drink plain water. You don't have to drink, you know, all the diet cokes you can. It's you still get that that beer and that that feeling without, you know, without the alcohol, without the sugar and carbs. All right. Let's talk about after dry January. Let's talk about wet February. Oh, that's aggressive. So, yeah, so one. So I I am hesitant to call this Valentine's. Oh, today took a turn. It took a turn. So what do you guys have to offer? So in February, well, we have we'll have hot fizz year round. It's not just a dry January product. It'll be year round. It's great for moderation. So in February, we have our seasonal Daisy. So Daisy is a hazy IPA. Is Daisy New England style? She's real good. She's delicious. We actually Daisy Day is January 25th. OK, National Daisy Day for those who celebrate national. We, of course, do. Yes, of course.

43:34Yeah. So, of course. So Daisy is our new hazy IPA. It's our seasonal that just relaunched in January or released this January. Sweet. Yeah. So there you go. So when you're getting out and you're getting out of dry January, if you want to continue that IPA, you want to continue not or you want to start drinking again, if you want to start drinking again, we have those options available. Have those options available as well. So the taproom over at Fatbottom. This is fun. You have a place downtown. We do. We have a tavern downtown. Yes. You get it downtown, too. Yeah. You can get the you know, our stuff downtown. It is. It's a fun. It's been a interesting adventure. Teddy's downtown has been. So Teddy's downtown is really cool because I love it. We had Josh Buckley on the show. Oh, Josh. Oh, Josh. He kind of talked about if you bring your Tennessee ID in, you get a discount. You get a discount. Isn't that awesome? Yeah. Thank you for coming to Broadway Locals. We are giving it giving you a little bit of Broadway back for Locals. I love that. So yeah, giving them giving them a discount as a thank you for coming, adventuring downtown again.

44:34When you go to Teddy's or if you're going to a Preds game before the Preds game, after the Preds game swing by Teddy's and you can get a discount if you're actually from here. Yeah. Preds game Bridgestone. It's a, you know, rocks throw to Ryman. Yeah. Yeah. Real close. Come hang out with us. Come hang out with locals. See, like actual, like Nashville musicians playing their music. It's it's a fun time. And you have. Well, your rooftop bar is done by Rob Floyd, too. The rooftop is. Sip boldly. Sip boldly. Yeah. That's that's on the second floor. Rooftop is. Have you been on the rooftop? No. OK, so my favorite thing on the rooftop at Teddy's, you can see the chaos on Broadway and it's still quiet because it's it's Bridgestone in front of us. And then it's the Palm next to us. So it's it's fairly quiet up on the rooftop. So like you can have a conversation and watch the chaos on Broadway. It's fascinating. Well, I'm going to go check. I've been invited a few times to go to Rob's place and I just. It's fun. It's a fun. You know, I need to go. Listen, I get it. Nashville downtown is not necessarily natural to some people who live here. I get it. It's a fun way to get back.

45:36Well, every time I've been downtown, like the last five times I've been downtown, I've had kids with me. Yeah. Going to a Preds game or going to a football game or going to whatever. But like I always have a kid with me. I've taken my kids. OK. Yeah. Well, it's like, hey, you guys want to go to Teddy's Tavern? Like, you know, it's not a thing. So you can take your kids in there. Yeah. OK. Yeah. No, my kids have been. I feel like an asshole now. Well, I mean, for other reasons, but yeah, try a burger. Teddy's burger is so delicious. So good. Well, Rachel Adams, thank you for joining. Thank you for being here today. Hey, I loved it. I love being part of the community. This has been a really neat event. It has been. I would encourage everybody to to come out to stuff like this. It is even if you're not sober, even if you're sober, curious, sober ish. It's an awesome thing to experience and see a community to be a part of and find ways to support. And this is there's been a really amazing sense of community here. There has been. It's been a lot of people. Overwhelming. Yeah. I mean, it's been really neat and not just like dry January people, sober people, sober, curious people.

46:37I'm drinking, but I'm just curious about this stuff. Sometimes people drink that just one less calories or they don't we want to mix it in. Yeah, they just want to they want to add up some moderation options. And this has been I think it's been a lot of it's been eye opening to see how many people have been interested and wanting to do it. And the number of people who have come who are not sober, who are not doing dry January here, just coming to support their friends and find options has been really heartwarming. It's encouraging. Yeah. Well, thank you for being here. Thank you for inviting us. All right. Hey, thanks. We'll talk to you later. Sounds good. Bye. Bye. All right. We are talking with Ted Plisco. Yep, that's right. Ted, you are the field sales manager for Better Than Booze. Yes, I'm the first salesperson the company's ever hired. I came on in October because we're growing pretty rapidly and needed a presence in the market. So there's let's tell people what you do. Better Than Booze is a product comes in a really cool slender can. You've got three different flavors for four flavors.

47:37Yes. So we've got there's four flavors. There's two lines of it. We have a THC CBD infused mocktail line. And in that, we've got a rosemary, grapefruit, paloma, mint mojito with lime, elderberry, gin and tonic and a new ginger mule that we released as a limited time holiday flavor. And then in addition to the THC CBD infused, we also have a fully sober mocktail line. Oh, wow. Yes. And in the mocktail line, we've got the grapefruit, paloma, the mint mojito and the elderberry gin and tonic. That's amazing. So this product is taking off. We just had Ken Peltier, who owns Calexo, which is another THC brand on the show the other day. And it is I think this is the number one market segment that's just going to blow up. And you guys are local. Yes, that's one of the most exciting things for us is that we are a local company. We have production in Murfreesboro. And then our offices are in East Nashville, right off Gallatin Pike. Love it. Yeah. And we're last year was our first full year of sales. And so we're looking forward to a big twenty twenty four. OK, so if you're a restaurant and with Calexo the other day, and I was super excited about what they were doing, they're not distributed here in town.

48:44You guys are a local company. You have a THC CBD beverage that you can serve people, which is fantastic for dry January. And there's a mocktail, the fully sober mocktail, and the fully sober mocktail one hundred percent. And these are distributed through Libman Brothers. Yes, sir. That's right. So your Tito is your Jack, your Cuervo, all that same place. So better than booze, as much as what is the response you're getting from people here today? People are really excited about it. I think people are really happy about non-alcoholic options they can get that still kind of give them that, you know, still have a can in the hand, still drink something socially. And in addition to that, you know, I'm hoping that people will pick it up in dry January for the month. But, you know, they'll hang on to it and they'll keep drinking it. Because, like I said, we're, you know, like you said, too, we're a young company, a local company, really exciting things ahead of us. And I think the sky's the limit for us. So if somebody wanted to taste your product, yes, they said, hey, I'm just curious. I'd like to try this. Would I need to call Libman Brothers or would I need to like contact you? It would probably be better to contact me.

49:46You know, go straight to the horse's mouth. OK, so if you wanted to learn more about better than booze, you need to contact Ted at better than booze dot com. That's B E T T E R T H A N B O O Z E. Ted at better than booze dot com. That's his number. Or I'm sure you can check out better than booze dot com to learn more about the line, right? Exactly. And our hemp infused THC CBD line has two milligrams of THC and six milligrams of CBD in each can. So, you know, it's definitely on the lower end of that. Of the low dose spectrum, which is great because we kind of went for that effect. Make you feel like you just drank a glass of wine. You know, just cool, even, mellow, relaxed, that kind of thing. And, you know, we want you to be able to have a couple in a social setting, like, you know, one's not going to blow your socks off. That's really not the purpose of it. It's not what we're about. We just want to offer a social alternative for people that might not necessarily want to drink alcohol that day or if it's a lifestyle change or whatever it may be. We just want to be that, you know, that option for folks. And this will be something for dry January that works out really well and beyond.

50:48I think this is going to blow up in our market. And Ted, it's nice to meet you, man. I'm glad you're here. And thanks for joining us here on the show. Totally. Thanks for having me. Cool. OK, so that was so much fun. Thank you for listening. Hopefully you learned something there. That's going to be it for our dry January coverage. I hope that your dry January worked out well. And maybe we were able to give you some information. Maybe we're able to inspire you. Maybe we turned you off of dry January. I don't know. What I do know is that. I think it's important to define your relationship with alcohol and substances, whatever they might be. And I think it is important to be intentional with what you're doing. And if it's getting out of control, I think it's good for you to ask for help. I think that these are my opinions. And I've just seen a lot. You know, we had had somebody in one of my groups pass away the other day and as a young guy, a 23 year old kid.

51:53And that was a tough one. It's a tough one to lose somebody to this stuff. And you just see it all over. And, you know, I mean, I would never have guessed that this was going to happen. But it does. It does happen all the time. And wanted to bring some awareness around it this month. So thank you to everybody who has joined us and talked and been vulnerable and talked about what they've been through and have tried to give their. Just their two cents and just to inspire somebody, anybody to let you know that you can do it. If you think that you have a problem or anything, always DM me, please feel free. I'm available anytime if anybody wants to talk about this stuff, because it's it's important and we do care about you, especially in this industry. It's a tough industry. It's a really hard industry to to not drink because it's everywhere. And that's what everybody does. And, you know, a lot of people do it. There's a lot of people that do it every single day.

52:54So you're not alone. And if you have any questions, please find me on Instagram at Brandon underscore in our our or you can go check out Ben's friends. Ben's friends is a it's a restaurant group, people that don't drink. And you can learn about it. Pretty cool. They have a meeting every single Monday morning that you can go to. And it's no strings attached. It's not like AA. It's just it's just people in the industry that are trying to help each other for Monday because we are having our epic interview with Brian Baxter, the executive chef, the catbird seat. It's an hour and forty five. It's going to be a two hour episode when we're done with it. And I'm really excited about it. We're going to it's going to be an epic one. So stay tuned coming up. And then the following we've got Max Goldberg. It's going to be good ones. So thank you guys for listening and hope you're being safe out there. Love you guys. Bye.