Jacob Steiner

00:00Y'all, today we are talking, as always, about Super Source. And you know, one cool thing about Super Source is did you know that they develop most of their cleaning products and chemicals in their in-house facility? They're environmentally conscious and only use dyes that are safe for the employees and the environment. They carry a number of products for keeping your dishes, flatware, surfaces, floors, restrooms, laundry, basically your entire facility, clean, bright, and smelling and feeling new. This is just one of the many reasons Super Source is taking over this city for dish machine and chemicals. You need to call Jason Ellis. His number is 770-337-1143. And he would love it if you would give him a call and let him come down and just check out your operation, meet him, say hi, see if there's any way he can help. He is here to help you succeed. That's Jason Ellis with Super Source. 770-337-1143.

01:01There's a new way to drink whiskey. It's called Pony Boy Slings. These bourbon-based canned cocktails are fully carbonated and only 7% ABV. So light and refreshing, all you have to do is chill it, pop it, giddy up. Follow us on Instagram or online at drinkponyboy.com. ["Drink Pony Boy"] Welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio, the tastiest hour of talk in Music City. Now, here's your host, Brandon Styll. ["Drink Pony Boy"] Hello, Music City. And welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio. My name is Brandon Styll and I am your host. We are powered by Gordon Food Service and we're excited about this one today. Fun episode, we're talking with Jacob Steiner. He is the Robert Mondavi brand ambassador. He was in town spending some time with Jessica Hickman.

02:06She is a Constellation Brands kind of specialist, I guess, for Lipman Brothers. And then Jennifer Alexander, who's been with Lipman Brothers forever. She is the key account manager for On-Premise. So these three amazing people stopped by the studio and we chatted, it was about 45 minutes. We chatted about wine, what Mondavi's doing these days. We talked about the industry. We talked about non-alcoholic beverages and what that's doing in the industry. What a fun, a cool kind of, it was a quick thing. It was one day and then, hey, they're here and we're recording and it was just really fun. So thank you guys for coming and doing that. I hope that you enjoy this conversation. We hosted, on Thursday night, the NARA Connect event. This was the first ever NARA Connect event and there will be more and it was amazing. I want to send a thank you out to every single chef and restaurant owner that showed up.

03:07We had about, I think, 35, 40 restaurants in attendance and we had just the best time. We had 22 different vendors who were there and it wasn't, I mean, 22 vendors with 50 people wasn't, there wasn't lines at any vendors. Every vendor got to spend time and really connect. When I first walked out into the main ballroom where we were doing kind of our presentation for NARA, it was so awesome. So many hugs, so many people connecting and I got to see people I haven't seen in 10, 15 years. I got to see people I see all the time but I got to see a lot of different restaurateurs who were all kind of there checking it out and I have a big special thank you to CMB Lennon. They hosted the after party which was at Black Rabbit and it was an absolute blast. Great to see people come out for that.

04:07That's the whole point here, guys. The main thing I thought was just connection, seeing people, of course, me talking about what NARA is gonna do and I'm just excited. I'm excited for what it has to offer and what NARA can do for you. So if you're interested, go follow NARA Nashville on Instagram. We're gonna be, one of the marketing pieces that we're gonna be doing for our restaurant members is we're gonna be sharing, if you post something on Instagram and it's cool or interesting or you have a special or something, I'm gonna reshare it in our stories and that's gonna go on the NARA Nashville page. So you should be able to follow NARA Nashville and you will see all the members and all the stuff they're doing kind of culling them all into one place. Definitely go follow all of them too. Go check us out at nara-nashville.com. That's N-A-R-A-nashville.com. You can click and see who our vendor members are. You can click and see who our restaurant members are. But the goal is to build relationships. To build community and bring everybody together so that we can all succeed better and last longer and do all of the things that we all want to do and get back to focusing on really just building great clients and great customers and I don't know.

05:25It was a whirlwind night. Some really great people. Just a different kind of show. If you've been to like a GFS show or you've been to like a Cisco show or a Best Brand show or a Lippman Brothers show. There's a lot of people, there's a lot of brands. Everybody's pushing something on you and that was not what was happening here. It was a bunch of people that were just connecting. One of my favorite moments, all the vendors were set up about 45 minutes before all the other people got there and everybody was just hanging out in the kitchen at the Music City Center. And all the vendors just kind of hanging out, chatting, talking, sharing cards. How can we help each other? I mean, it was really exactly what I really wanted it to be. So if you follow us at NARA Nashville, I'll be posting lots of pictures from that event and all that stuff. Best part about it is we were able to donate to The Giving Kitchen $3,625. So that was a really cool moment to be able to donate that kind of money to The Giving Kitchen because they're doing amazing things.

06:28And we're gonna keep talking about it here. I know that's not something, I'm sorry if my intros are long and it's a, dude, we get it. It's a thing, but I wanna start promoting some other restaurants on here too, as well as these amazing vendors and bringing them all together. So let's do this. Let's talk right now with Jacob Steiner and Jessica and Jennifer, and everybody, you're gonna like this one. It's a lot of fun with Lippman Brothers and Robert Mondavia State. This is Nashville Restaurant Radio. Super excited today to welcome you to another episode of Nashville Restaurant Radio. We are kind of doing an impromptu episode today and let me tell you about our guest. We have Jacob Steiner. Did I say that right? That's me. Jacob Steiner, he is the brand ambassador for Robert Mondavia from Napa Valley. Welcome in. I gotta do my little, very excited to have you here. This is huge.

07:28We also have Jessica Hickman and she is the field sales manager for Constellation Brands. Welcome, Jessica. Love it. And last, but certainly not least, we have Jennifer Alexander. She is the key account manager for on-premise at Lippman Brothers. You get a round of applause too. Look at you. Very exciting. And then you have me. I'm Brandon. I'm here to talk to you guys. Okay, so we randomly yesterday, we talked on the phone and you said, hey, Jacob's in town. Let's get him on the podcast. Let's hang out. Tell me about you, Jacob. What do you do? What are you doing in town right now? All right, so I'm the brand ambassador for Robert Mondavia Winery. So I'm all over the country all the time. And typically a day looks like meeting up with our Constellation person here in town, our distributor partner. Jessica. And pretty much hitting the town, hitting accounts, doing brand awareness of any type.

08:32It could be doing tastings with buyers. It could be doing a dinner radio show, which is a first for me. You never know what the day is really gonna unfold to. Sometimes you just show up and you say, I'm here, what do we got in the bag? But it's always some mix of just really creating brand awareness and getting out onto the streets, talking to people who are on the floor, working in the restaurants, buying the wines, selling the wines and sharing the wines with them. Brand awareness. What do you want people to know the most? Like if you were to get across one thing about Robert Mondavia wines, about the awareness of this brand, what is it? Everything that we have in the American wine industry today is really due to the work that Robert Mondavia himself did to put American wines on the map. We had a decent little bit of wine business going pre-prohibition, but everything really shut down after that and no one really had the foresight or the kind of tenacity to go after making truly fine wines. But Robert did and he knew that we had the potential to do it and people laughed him out of restaurants when he went to taste them on American wines, but it didn't stop him.

09:41And so he wasn't just an ambassador for Robert Mondavia, he was an ambassador for Napa Valley, he was an ambassador for American wine. So really everything, all these brands we have today is due to the kind of footwork that he put in. He was an innovator, a pioneer. Oh yeah, absolutely. I love that. And how many brands are under the Robert Mondavia umbrella right now? So he started the Napa Valley brand in 66 and that's where it all started for him. And then from there- He was a Cabernet. He was Cabernet, he was Sauvignon Blanc, he made some Chardonnay. His first wine he ever released was a Gamme Rosé for like $3.99 a bottle. Yeah, now we're talking. Yeah, so, and then as he grew and became more and more successful in wine, his ideology was to put wine in front of every single person. He was an Italian immigrant. He was a first generation American, but his parents came from Italy. Wine was an everyday part of their life. So he wanted wine to be a part of everyone's life every day and he knew that he had to have wines across the spectrum and price point to be approachable for everyone.

10:46So then wines like Robert Mondavi Coastal came along and Woodbridge and they grew and they grew. So since then, the company has divested Woodbridge and Robert Mondavi Private Selection and now Constellation Brands, which owns Robert Mondavi Winery, just has the Napa Valley estate. Very nice. How did you get into this? How did, like, cause you're pretty young. Yeah. I mean, like, how did you get into doing this? You're not looking at my gray hair, which is awesome. Oh no, I have gray hair. You do not have gray hair. I got the stripes coming in. My face is white. Like, I look like a grandfather. You look like a young, hip guy. How does one get into, did you grow up in Napa? No, so I grew up in Southern California, but I've worked- What part? I grew up in Huntington Beach. Nice, I went to Westminster High School. Did you really? Yeah, right off of Golden West. Oh yeah. Yeah, I used to surf city side, man. Like I was all full on, that was my spot. I did surf team. That was my thing. You did surf team? Yeah, we did surf team. Nice. Okay, so I know where you're from.

11:47Yeah. So I grew up down there and I just, I worked in restaurants. I started in school or after school and high school. Just, you know, I was a host at King's Fish House down there. And then I stayed in restaurants through college and it was more interesting to me than what I was studying. And then I started diving into wine and doing like, just real, I wanted to focus on wine. So I moved up to Napa Valley. I was a sommelier on the floor up there for a chef. I was at the Yellowstone Club in Montana as a somm. Came back to Napa and then I joined a smaller direct-to-consumer winery where I had a similar role but we did everything private, no distribution. When did you get into wine? Like, cause I'm a restaurant guy. Yeah. And I got into the restaurant business and I was like, these are my people, like this is it. This is the thing I want to do. And then I was challenged when I was like 19s. I went to, I worked at merchants and the guy goes, what do you know about wine? And I said, red wine goes with steak and white wine goes with fish. And he goes, that's not going to cut it for what we do here.

12:49That's literally all I knew. And I bought like wine for dummies. And I was like, I learned about how white Zinfandel was made. Like the first thing was like how white Zinfandel. I was like, that is fascinating. And I just, I was hooked. And then I started doing like tastings with my friends when I was like 19, we'd like come together and do blind tastings. And that became like my passion. I did my level one song in 2003. That's how long ago it was, over 20 years ago. Like for me, it just like grew. And I realized I could never learn everything there was to know about wine. It's impossible. What was it for you? Was there a catalyst? Was like a moment where you were like, wine is the thing I want to do? I was working at this French bistro and it was in a nice part of town and people were bringing in incredible wines. And I started to get to taste Bordeaux from back in the eighties and the seventies. And I was like, oh, like this is what they're talking about when they're talking about fine wines. Like I kind of get it now. And it just, I went down a rabbit hole and I started doing the quarter masters.

13:49I did the quarter masters intro course and that was in 2018. So I passed the first two levels in 2018. And I was like, all right, I'm doing wine. This is it. So I just packed up my, I like got rid of my apartment, sold everything I could, threw everything in the back of my truck that I could fit. And I moved it up to Napa. That was 2019. And then in 22, I passed the advanced exam for the court and I've been studying for MS since. Wow. Yeah. That's not, I don't think people understand how hard that is. What about you, Jessica? Have you done the Somme test? No. Quarter masters? No, nothing? No, I haven't. I've done like the W set. Okay. And wine and like for level two in wine and level two in spirits. Oh, the L set. Yes. The W set. Yes. Which is equally hard. This is, there's not like one is better or worse, right? Yeah. I did quarter masters. Doug Frost was my teacher. Really Doug Frost? Dougie Frost. That's funny.

14:50Why? I met Doug Frost. Yeah. One of these master guys who I guess everybody knows. I don't know. What about you, Jennifer? Have you done all this stuff? Some of it, but mine is basically, takes me back to what you said. I'm gonna do something real quick. Okay, it's gonna help you. Oh, no. This is the fun part of this thing. Watch this. What am I doing? Ready for this one? I am. Now talk. Oh, it went on? It was backwards. Oh, yeah. Now you can hear in both ears. Hey, that's kinda how I roll. You got that, you're like, oh wow, you sound so much better. She was going for like the music mixer in the studio style, you know? Yeah. She was like, DJ, something. You're like this, you're like, what's up, what are you doing? Got this. What's up? Sorry, I just saw that and I was like, I'm not gonna be able to explain how to do this right now. I'm just gonna do it. So you were saying. No, I really don't know what I was saying, but. You were talking about sommelier stuff. Oh, yeah, no. What's your expertise? It's funny, we were talking about that earlier.

15:51My expertise, I think, is honestly being able to talk to a spoon. And I'm a chameleon. So I kind of, I relate that back to my theater background. But thank you to my teachers. But yeah, that's what it's all about, man. It's relationships and stuff. And you learn along the way. When I started in this business back in 2001, the guy that hired me said, do you know the difference between red wine and white wine? And I said, I do. And he goes, you'll learn the rest. You'll be just fine. And I fell in love with wine back then. I'm not color blind. Is that what you're asking me? I have more faith in her than your guy has. Yeah, no shit, right? And I'm like, come on. I at least knew white wine went with fish. Right, right? No, but I, yeah. And my family owns a liquor store. My dad does. And so it was just kind of in my blood, literally. Wow. And now we're here. And I'm perfectly pickled. I love it. Okay, so we're gonna get back to Jacob. Sorry, you guys are a fan.

16:52Do you have something you wanted to add to what he was saying? You were like. Oh, no. No, I thought, yeah, that was great. So you're working on your advanced. You got your advanced. You're working on your master now? Yeah. Tell the people, because I've had Larry O'Brien, who's the master from Kendall Jackson. He's one of the masters at Kendall Jackson. He's been on the show. He's kind of explained what it takes to become a master. What does your studying look like to become a master sommelier? It's a lot of books from all over the world. There's a few key ones that you gotta have, like the Book of Burgundy. It's like an encyclopedia of Burgundy. They have one for Bordeaux. It's flashcards, like a ton of flashcards. And it's, yeah, it's kind of like. It's a lot of blind tasting in the master. There is a lot of blind tasting. It's a three-part exam. So you have to pass theory first, which is an orated exam. You sit in front of a table of people and they just fire off questions. And if you pass that, then you move on to tasting and service.

17:53So there's always a service component too, which is, that's one of the biggest differences from doing WSET and some of the other certifications is the Court of Masters really is built around hospitality. But yeah, it's intensive. I mean, you never know what the questions are gonna be asked. It could be anything. The advanced exam could go from asking about beer to sake to whiskey to, you know, there was a picture of a river and a vineyard and it said, what is this, you know, in this vineyard? It could be anything in the world of wine. In the world of like alcohol beverage, to be honest, really. Wow. Yeah. That's fascinating. So you're in, to me, it's absolutely incredible what masters and these advanced people can do with wine and just setting a glass down and the actual idea of swirling it, looking at the color concentration, identifying the age of the wine, smelling it, identifying new world, old world, and then going through the entire process of breaking it down to saying, left side of the gervande.

18:57And like, what? How do you know what side of a river in Bordeaux this comes from? Well, in Graves, it's more of an alluvial soil and you're like, what? Super impressive. Yeah. So you're in the right job. It's a great party trick. What do you do? What's happening in the wine world right now? I know that last I remember, there was a movie called Sideways. Like 40 years ago. Is that the last movie you saw in the theater? Probably. The last wine, there's not been a lot of good wine movies. It was like the last wine movie that like changed the culture of wine. I think I was, you know, that we're not drinking any fucking Merlot, you know, like that killed Merlot. Paul Giovanni had that kind of power. I mean, did he kill Merlot at that point? And single-handedly raise up Pinot Noir to being like the number one grape that everybody wants to drink. And that's the last thing I was like, and everybody still loves Pinot and I think they still hate Merlot. There needs to be a- Merlot is on the comeback. Okay, so that's what I wanna know. What are people drinking outside of Nashville? What are they drinking?

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25:17Oh yeah, and your food. Grunberg Accounting, that's G-R-U-M-B-E-R-G accounting.com. What are people drinking outside of Nashville? What are they drinking? You guys can tell me what they're drinking in Nashville, but what are the trends in wine right now? I think if you look at the category right now, domestically for sure, Sauvignon Blanc is like the hot, the hot button right now. Everyone's drinking Sauvignon Blanc. It's probably the only category that's growing in a pretty tough market right now. Now is it California Sauvignon Blanc or is it still New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc? Cause New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc was so hot for so long. Is that still a hot thing? It's pretty hot. Yeah. Yeah. It's New Zealand, it's Sancerre, and then it's Napa. Yeah. Oh, so you're third. Yeah. Oh. We will rise up. We will rise up. So is this what you're doing? You're coming out to throw your California Sauvignon Blanc and take the Pepsi challenge with New Zealand and Sancerre? That's exactly what I'm doing. Well, let's just see, we're getting to the bottom of this thing. See? So you're coming out going, show me your, show me your Luna Nuda or whatever it is here.

26:20I don't know what they are. The New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, like they've made such a, like a distinct style that like pretty much people think of Sauvignon Blanc, they think of New Zealand. So they taste something that's not that. And they're like, oh, like. That's not Sauvignon Blanc. Hold on. Yeah, this is not what I'm used to. So it's just like, it's getting the wines in front of people and it's educating people. And that's like, that's part of the great thing about wine is wine has the unique ability to express where it came from and the time and the place that it came from. And so I think a lot of people would just kind of get pigeonholed into, I like this, I don't like that. And so that's what you're always trying to just like broaden horizons. Just, you know, say like, hey, this is out there. It may not be for you right now, but like someday it might be for you. Well, learn. It's all education. Yeah, exactly. You know, I used to, that same day that I was like, red wines go with steak and white wines go with fish. I thought, I mean, I was like 19. I thought like, well, red wines, what dudes drink and then women drink white wine. That's for girls kind of a thing.

27:22And I started really getting into white wines. I was like, white wines are just as complex as red wines in so many ways. And they're so fascinating. And once you start learning the subtle nuances between the different ones and how they pair with food, it's such a fun connection point with people too. If you're out to dinner, tasting together, talking about it, it's a conversation topic. And at the end of the day, maybe you catch a buzz, I guess. I mean, you know. That's the worst part of the day. That's not a bad day. Right? I don't know. I can never have one glass. That's why I don't drink anymore. So you're out, tasted. So what else? Sauvignon Blanc, what else is happening out there? I would say like in the, you know, kind of on the, not in mainstream of things, other, you know, like Portuguese wines are kind of picking up. They're pretty popular. They offer good value. Like Vinjo Verde? Yeah. Yeah, I mean, you can get them, you know, 12 to 17 bucks on the shelf for a bottle of wine like that. You know, super crushable. Nice. And then the reds are- Little porch pounder.

28:22Yeah, and the reds are like, they're very user friendly because they tend to be really ripe and like overt fruit to them. And so like, if you're someone who likes to drink wines from Paso or Napa, where those wines are big, you can kind of start to cross that bridge into like the European wines with these wines and they're still approachable in style. That's something. And then like Gruner is always popular amongst the Somme community. That's a great one. I love Gruner Vet, is it Gruner Vetlaner, Vetliner? Vetliner? I don't know how you say it. That was never a wine I drank back in the day. So- I'm a big fan of Sherry. I drink Sherry. Oh. Really? Yeah, I love it. Okay. Oh, Sherry. Yeah. She's like, I love that song. I almost started singing. Jessica, can you come on? What? Oh, Sherry. I actually don't know that song. You would if you heard it. It's pretty- Olive! It's the first and last time I sing on this podcast. That was great. That was great. You are a singer though, right? Oh, that's good.

29:23In a previous life, was, yes. Okay. Yes. Okay. Does Mondavi have any aspirations of going to, do you have vineyards in Italy, France? So if you can't beat them, buy them, can you just go to New Zealand and make a New Zealand style Robert Mondavi Sauvignon Blanc? I guess in theory we could, but Robert Mondavi right now is focused on really kind of reestablishing the brand to where it should be in Napa Valley. So right now the hospitality center and a state is under a massive renovation project. So it's been closed for the last two years. We'll reopen in spring of 26. So we're coming up. We're closing in on that. We just certified Tokalon Vineyard as organic. 330 acres of the 450 we own is now certified organic, which is really cool. And just, I mean, there's a lot going on.

30:24We just renovated the entire cellar. So a lot of update and winemaking equipment, all new, everything, like the last time it was updated was completely redone was the early 2000s. And you can think like how far technology has come. Just look at your phone from 2004 to now. Everything is automated. You can do all of the pump overs and everything pretty much remote. People are still on site, but everything can be done via computer. So there's a lot of innovation and investment being put into that and really just focusing on being and making the best wines that we can make out of Napa Valley. Okay. You said reestablished. Do you feel like you lost and established somewhere or what are you reestablishing? Just the name Mondavi and it's been more marketing money behind it or like, is there new wines? What are you doing? I mean, not just marketing money, but really like changing, I shouldn't say changing, but bringing back kind of Robert Mondavi winery and the Robert Mondavi name became very big.

31:28It's the biggest. It's the biggest, right? Part of Opus One and all of the... And so big that the other wines kind of overshadowed the origin story of everything. So it's kind of reminding people like, hey, everything started with Napa Valley and this is what we really wanna be known for is what we do here. What we're producing in these bottles, what we're putting on the glass right here in these restaurants. And so it's doing things like making sure that we're being sustainable. Robert Mondavi was big on sustainability, smart farming, and we've always done that, but now the next step was to take it to the organic, which is awesome. We have electric Monarch tractors that we employ in the vineyards. What is an electric Monarch tractor? Think of a Tesla kind of, but like it's a tractor. It's fully a... I was thinking of a butterfly. Yeah, me too. It's a fully electric tractor. That looks like a butterfly? Yeah. It's all right. The wings flap. The wings flap flies above and it cools it. It's kind of like an avatar thing, you know? Oh my God. But yeah, I mean, just doing like, you know, and a lot of it's trial and error.

32:32Like we're, you know, we're in a new era of winemaking. We're in a new era of everything. You know, the wine market is different. And it's just, we're trying to be the best that we can be right now. Well, I feel like there's a, you know, for me, there's a lot of local restaurants in Nashville that are like, oh geez, you know, I think like, I can name a bunch of Midtown Cafe, Mayor Bowl, Green Hills Grill, some of mine. And then you look at like Amerigo or some of these, you know, legacy restaurants that have been here for 25, 30 years, but everybody wants to know what's new. I feel like wine is the same way. You know, you have Robin Dove is like, yeah, but that was cool 25, 30 years ago. And like, what's new? And it's like, why does it have to be what's new? Why can't something that's tried and true and lasted for a long time, what am I trying to say there? That's stood the test of time. That's what I'm saying. That stood the test of time.

33:32Why do people move away from that? Do people just genuinely want something new and they want to feel like something new? Instagram, I blame it on Instagram. Is that it? I don't know, I don't know. You know, it's funny, because if you look at like, if you look at wines from like France and all over Europe, if it was new there, we'd be like, oh, I don't want that. I want the chateaus, I want the domains that have been making wines for 400 years. You know? Sure. I want Clovis Joe that was planted in 1100. But you know, in today's market, I guess, maybe it's more, you know, American wines or American drinkers, they want something new. I don't know why that is, you know? It's where I then like, go support the people that have been around for a long time, because when everybody starts pivoting to what the new hot thing is, it's like, because you had an influencer drink it, now we need to be drinking this versus, one of the things we do in our restaurants is we, you'll never learn any new ingredients there. We kind of, we serve good food people like to eat. You're going to know every ingredient, it's comforting is what it is.

34:33And we sell a ton, I was telling you earlier, we sell a ton of Kendall Jackson. And it's like, everybody, every time I get a new bar manager, they go, we got to replace this. And I go, why? They go, because there's so many new things out there. But Kendall Jackson's our number one selling Chardonnay and Sonoma Catrair, like everybody comes in, they know what they're getting, they love it. And it pairs with the food that they like, and they do it. I feel like Mondavi is kind of in that same, and this is just my perception, I'm being completely honest with you. My perception is, well, that was really cool a long time ago, but, and then do you think that the Woodbridge name, or maybe even these, the lesser quality, getting out there as a house wine on Applebee's watered down the name a little bit? I think so, for sure. I mean, it's hard to, when those wines are everywhere and they're all you see when you're in the grocery store, to the average consumer who's- At 6.99 or whatever. 6.99 to maybe 11.99 a bottle, that's what they know as Robert Mondavi. They're not upping their spending to the 35, $40, $50 range of a bottle of wine.

35:39So they're never gonna really kind of meet that, the real, the original estate. So for them, that is Robert Mondavi, and that's what they know. And it was, it was available everywhere. I mean, Private Selection was a runaway trance, it was Woodbridge, it was very successful, and it funded everything that Robert wanted to do, so. So it wasn't a mistake. No. I mean, it's... I don't know what just now happened in my house. Talk amongst yourselves, I'm gonna go find out. I'll be right back. Oh, he's leaving us unsupervised. Wow. The dog did something. Yeah, that was definitely the dog. Something crashed. Yeah. Oh no, what happened? Wow, this is fun. Yeah, this is great. Great information. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I have loved, and you have great radio voice, Jacob. I got a face for radios. Yes, yes, this is great. Forgot, we have a cat.

36:43Oh, cats will do it. This is the fun thing about recording a podcast in your home. Yeah. Having the home studio is a lot of fun, but everyone's on the cat knocks a pan off the counter, and because he likes to get our attention. Yeah, it's like that commercial that says... No one's paid attention to me for 10 minutes, I need to do something. Mine does the same thing. It sounds like they're recording in there. Yeah, it sounds like they're not paying attention to me. Let's make something really loud, crashing sound in the house. I just love our eyes, we all went... What the hell was that? All right, so now we know what's happening out there in the world, Jessica. What's happening in Nashville? What's going on in Nashville? What are people drinking in Nashville? What are the hot trends in Nashville? What's new and exciting? We were actually just talking about this. I think we are in a season, not just in Nashville, but just in general, of people who aren't drinking. It's crazy, the generation below me just does not drink anymore.

37:48They're more interested in the THC drinks or mocktails, which like... Calexo. Exactly. I think that's a Lipman Brothers product too. Lipman Brothers carries Calexo. And I think it's great that they're giving variety and giving options for people who don't drink. And as someone who is very health conscious, I think it's great that people are taking more consideration into that. But at the same time, I'm like, you guys, you should drink more, because it's hurting our business, selfishly. Fuck your health and mental, all the things. Like drink more, I need to make more money. Yeah, exactly. Like it'll put some hair on your chest, your immune system will go up. There's a reason why some of us are so much healthier than these kids who are like eating grass. Like there's a difference. Is that a thing? Yeah, I think so. Like the greens powder kind of shit. Okay. Yeah, I say that as I drank it myself this morning. But I think something that you said earlier of like, why people are always chasing like the new things.

38:53And Jacob said, brought up Instagram, we live in a world so full of over consumption and over saturation. So I think like, and it comes down, it can go from everything from like spirits brands and wines to like every damn restaurant under the sun opening up in Nashville. I think since the new year, I heard this the other day, there have been 55 new restaurants that have opened since January, just in Nashville proper. And that's crazy. And so from the restaurants to the bar scene, like we're feeling so much like depletion as far as like what the revenue is and not seeing the numbers that we have seen in the past because A, tourism is down. People aren't coming here, people aren't spending money. B, there's so many outlets for people to go to that nothing is busy anymore. Like Broadway is, and even Second Avenue is so over saturated. And I feel like all of the proprietors are feeling that. And, but they're also searching for the next new thing.

39:53And, but then you have places like Green Hills Grill, like Amerigo, like, you know, Jeff Ruby's even and SPB group, like all of these people. We're doing a wine dinner at Four Top tonight. Which is, etch, char, Amerigo, et cetera. Jasper's, all of them, yeah. But they are focused on the things that like our generation and y'all's generation are wanting something that is consistent, that you can count on. Like, yes, like there's new skews, there's new things going on. But I think one, like to answer your question, the trends are like constantly changing in a way that like we can't even keep up with. So like, there's really nothing that I think is hot right now other than tequila and THC. That shelf. Which is what your shelf is. What I have right here is tequila and THC on the shelf. Well, I don't, I've, you know, I quit drinking for different reasons. I think a lot of people went through the pandemic. And when you're at home for as long as, you know, the government would pay you to be home.

40:57I think that it was challenging for a lot of people. I think a lot of people had to redefine their relationship with alcohol because alcohol is a really easy fix for a lot of things. I don't feel well, I feel well, I'm happy, I'm sad. It's Monday, it's Friday, have a drink. You know, there's a bunch of country songs about this, but it's a really easy solution to a lot of problems. And I think that a lot of people redefine their relationship with alcohol during the pandemic, when they realized, oh shit, this is my go-to for anything that happens to me. And I'm not going to a bar, I'm getting an ounce and a half or two ounce pour. I'm pouring a five ounce glass of something and I'm drinking and going, I need another one. And then I think when they got out, they're like, oh, I have to function like a human again. And they were hung over and you feel terrible. And I think a lot of people redefine that. Plus, I think there's been that you had a lot of time to research that alcohol is poison and that you're literally ingesting poison with a group of people that sell alcohol, saying this out loud.

42:00But I mean, I think with everything that you do, you find moderation, moderation and balance. And that's, I think a lot of people didn't know how to do that. It was just one thing. So I think a lot of people are learning emotional regulation and hey, I'm going to meditate instead of have that drink. They're not completely no drinkers. THC, the legal THC has been a big deal. A lot of people enjoy it. We sell it at two of our restaurants and it does really well. But I still sell the shit out of wine. You know, I sell the shit of liquor. Liquor is, I don't sell much beer. If I'm in the beer business, I'm like, nobody's drinking beer. The calories, the whole thing. Beer, I feel like is just not really doing its thing. Liquor, bourbon, tequila and wine still do really well in my restaurants. Way better than THC, but I do sell a lot more mocktails. You know, my sister owns a store in East Nashville called Killjoy. I have been there before. My sister owns that and she is the, and she is crushing, she's doing a TED Talk next month on TEDx Nashville.

43:05She's doing a TED Talk on the whole alcohol-free movement. That's awesome. It's pretty cool. That's sick. But it is an actual movement. It's interesting to hear you talk about that because I was wondering how it's affecting your lives, this whole movement. Are you going to do de-alcoholized wine? Actually, we have, Robert Mondavi isn't doing it, but Constellation is in, what, right? Kim Crawford. Kim Crawford in the, it's looking like spring. So we're trying to have it out, which I don't even know if we're supposed to talk about that, but. No, no. Nobody's listening. Nobody's listening. Very excited to be partnering with C&B Linen. If you know me, it's my number one topic of conversation is linen companies and how shady linen companies can be. I am just disgusted with how the business practices work in this industry, which is why I was so excited when I found C&B Linen. They're out of Waynesboro, Tennessee, and they don't charge any fees.

44:05So the linen price that you have, whatever that first linen price is, that's your price. And so you may say, well, every year they must raise the price on this seven-year contract, right? No, because they don't do any contracts. There's no gas fees. There's no clean green service fees. There's no replacement cost. There's nothing. The only price you pay is the price that you pay for the actual product. I know it's too good to be true. No contracts. They do formats. They'll make custom formats for you. They do fresh linens, cleaning supplies. And guys, I just did a tour of their facility and it is immaculate. It is state of the art. I'm gonna post pictures on my Instagram. You can go find them and you can see how absolutely gorgeous this is to the point that they even wash and sanitize every one of their used laundry carts. It's just absolutely amazing. If you're looking for a linen company you can trust who wants to earn your business every single week, go back and listen to our episode with Jason Cruz, the owner of C&B Linen.

45:11Hear it from his, straight from his mouth, exactly what they do. Or you give them a call at 931-722-7616 or you can DM me at Brandon Styll on Instagram for my exclusive pricing through the Nashville Area Restaurant Alliance. Running a restaurant is tough. Staff turnover, rising costs, and the endless tasks that bog you down and take you away from what you love. Let Adams Keegan lighten that load. They're a privately held Tennessee based restaurant and hospitality focused, outsourced HR, payroll and benefits firm. The team at Adams Keegan removes the administrative burdens of HR administration, payroll benefits management, garnishments, unemployment claims, compliance, 401k, and so much more. From their proprietary HRIS platform to seamless payroll and competitive benefits that keep your team smiling, they've got you covered. Adams Keegan lets you focus on what you do best, creating unforgettable dining experiences while they handle the rest. Essentially, think of Adams Keegan as your back office HR department right here in Music City.

46:13One of the many things I love about Adams Keegan is that unlike big publicly traded companies out there, they have an incredibly high standard of customer service. And that's what we all need, is really good customer service in these areas. They don't give you a 1-800 number and make you fill out an IT ticket submission. They surround every client with a team of experts, all based right here in Tennessee. You can call them today at 615-627-0821, or visit adamskeegan.com. That's A-D-A-M-S-K-E-E-G-A-N.com for your free HR consultation and see how they can create a customized solution to help your restaurant thrive. Sharpier's Bakery is a locally owned and family operated wholesale bakery providing bread to Nashville's best eateries. They have operated in Nashville since 1986. Yes, next year will be 40 years. They're providing high quality fresh bread daily for restaurants, catering companies, hospitals, and universities.

47:16Their bread is also free from any preservatives and artificial flavors. They're right off of White Bridge Road. Erin Mosso and her team have been doing this for a long time. And you know what I love about them is that they're local and they care. They care about your business. That's like the number one thing you're gonna hear me talk about is do they care about your business? And I 100% believe that they do. If you would like to be working with a bakery that cares about your business, give them a call. 615-356-0872. That's 615-356-0872. Now you can always visit them at sharpiers.com. That's C-H-A-R-P-I-E-R-S.com. And they have pictures of all of the bread that they can have for you. And contact information, go check them out. Sharpier's Bakery. We do have a low alcohol. Yeah, the Kim Crawford Illuminate. The Illuminate, it's like 7% for the entire bottle. So it's, you know, kind of guilt free. It's nice, it's light, it's refreshing.

48:18It's, you know, but it's something definitely that I think suppliers are having to look at. And like, you know, is this something that, is this just a fad that we ride out or is this something that we really need to start investing in? And I don't think anyone knows the answer really, cause this is kind of an unprecedented time. It is. Yeah. It's interesting. I didn't know if the, I just, that's an interesting take, Jessica. Thank you. How about non-alcoholic spirits? Oh yeah. I mean, Naked and all these other brands are out there. They're doing a lot of this stuff. Do you, do you guys do well with those? And do you have any in your portfolio? We do, we do. We actually have Naked. Oh, well perfect. It's a good example to give. I find them, you know, I am a drinker. I believe in, you know, bourbon and stuff and the non-alcoholic versions, depending on what you're making with them, you can really do some stuff, you know, you really can. And even modifiers. We have a lot of great ways to make non-alcoholic spritzes, you know, with a non-alcoholic modifier and the low alcohol sparkling wines or vice versa.

49:23I mean, there's some really good stuff out there now. All right. Jager, what time is your dinner? We need to be there at 430. That's in 11 minutes. We can wrap this. I wanna say thank you so much for you guys coming in. I, we could do this again. I would, if there's probably a bunch of stuff we didn't get to that you're like, man, I love to talk about, which is why we do the Gordon Food Service Final Thought. And the Gordon Food Service Final Thought is where you get to take us out, say whatever you want. You get to be the last word of the podcast. There's no response from it. You just get to say whatever you want and then we're gonna end this thing. So say everything that you, that I didn't ask you about or that you wanted to say. And it could be literally anything. All right. Man, literally anything. Well, let's say drink more wine. Wine is an awesome beverage. It is one of the, it is the most unique beverage out here on the planet that truly has the ability to express time and place and character like nothing else.

50:25Enjoy it responsibly. Enjoy it in moderation. Enjoy it with friends and explore the world of wine. It's a lot of fun. It opens a lot of doors and have fun with it. Doesn't have to be, it doesn't have to be fancy all the time. That's what I would say. That's what I said. Doesn't have to be fancy all the time. I think that's perfect. There'd never been truer words spoken. Jacob Steiner. It doesn't have to be fancy all the time. I need a bar sticker. Should be the next Mondavi slogan. Doesn't have to be fancy all the time. Jacob, Jennifer, Jessica with a K. A lot of J's. A lot of J's. I just realized that you're all J's. That's a new wine label. Triple J podcast. I love that. Let's see, that's the name of your new, the Triple J podcast whenever you come to town. Just make it happen. I love it. Thank you guys for joining us today. Have fun at your dinner at Etch. Yes.

51:25Yes, sir. And again, thanks for coming in and thank you all out there for listening. This is Nashville Restaurant Radio. All right, well that was a lot of fun. Thank you everybody for coming by in studio and signing the door and taking photos. It was a lot of fun. And the conversation, of course, did not get to mention during the episode how much help Christine Miles was in producing the entire NARA Connect event. She is the owner of Miles Hospitality Marketing. And if you are somebody who's out there who doesn't know what your next marketing move is, Christine was the Vice President of Marketing for Jay Alexander's for 26 years. And now she is independent and she is focused on helping independent restaurants market their business. That's email campaigns, that's letters, that's social media, that's just strategy. And right now she is offering a one hour of free consultation for anybody who reaches out and says, hey, I just wanna talk about it.

52:28Sit down, gain perspective from somebody who's out there. Ton of people signed up at her table at the NARA Connect event. And all you have to do is check them out at mileshm.com. That's M Y L L S H M dot com. From there, there's a form submission. Just go in, talk to her for an hour. You'll be really glad that you did. Once again, wanna thank everybody for showing up to the event, lots and lots of fun. We'll be doing another one at the end of winter. We'll start planning that now so we can have plenty of events noticed and we can get all of you in. That was, I'm still kind of on a high from that. And I can't wait to connect with all the people that were interested in joining the Alliance. And if you are interested in joining the Alliance, go to naranashville.com, click that. There's a tab that says, hey, let's learn more information. Send me your email address. If you are an owner of a restaurant and you wanna have somebody look over everything that you're doing and identify if there's areas that you can have them save a bunch of money.

53:33And that's really what we're doing. We're seeing that with restaurant owners. We're identifying every company they're using. You do not have to use our brands. What I've done is I've negotiated really good deals with a bunch of brands that actually care about your business. And if you're already using that brand, chances are I can get you a discount just for being a member of the Alliance as we have lots of these in place. It's an easy thing. Just send a message that says, hey, I'd like to learn more and we will come to you. We'll meet with you. We'll go over exactly what we do and how we do it. And hopefully we can start saving you money immediately. That's our goal. Keep restaurants, keep local restaurants around. Take the power back from a lot of these chains that are coming into town and rising rent and rising food prices and rising everything prices. We are getting ahead of the game. And if you would like to be one of them, if you wanna be somebody who's a member of NARA Nashville, please send us a message. We would love to get in touch with you.

54:33All right, that's it. Guys, thank you for listening today. We hope that you guys are being safe out there. Love you guys. Bye.