Q Taylor and Shelby Briggs

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.

01:01Sharp Yeas Bakery is a locally owned and family operated wholesale bakery providing bread to Nashville's best eateries. They've been operating in Nashville since 1986, providing high quality fresh bread daily for restaurants, catering companies, hospitals, and universities. Their bread is free from preservatives and artificial additives. Learn more at sharpyeas.com. That's C-H-A-R-P-I-E-R-S.com. Or you can give Erin Mosso a call directly. Her number is 615-319-6453. That's Sharp Yeas Bakery. Welcome 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.

02:10We are powered by Gordon Food Service, and as always, now I can say as always, joined with our amazing co-host, what's up, Crystal? Hey, it's me. It's you. I'm here. Again, you keep coming back. I keep coming. I just- This is becoming a thing. Pulled up a cot, and I actually live here. You didn't even know. You're right down the street. Yeah, right down the street. My restaurant's right down the street. Man, we've got a great episode today. We are talking with Shelby Briggs, who is the new executive chef over at Cinema, and Q Taylor, who's one of the owners over there at Cinema with all of the Reed family, and he's also a partner in 8th and Roast. He joins us in the conversation. Yeah, Q is one of the, probably the coolest guys I've ever seen in the studio. He's one of the coolest guys I've ever seen in my life. No offense to you. I mean- He's just, I'm like, whatever you're doing, I wanna be a part of that, you know?

03:11He's right in your orbit. Yeah, like, what are you selling, coffee? I'll buy it. Which is a great quality, right? I did say that, and then I go, hey, we need to get back, because we want to sell his espresso at Mirabole, because it's a whole thing, but he's a great guy, and I'm really jealous of him right now. So the Good Citizens Coffee brand just became, I think, part of the 8th and Roast orbit, so- Really? Yeah, actually, the morning, I got an email from him right before I headed into the studio, so I didn't actually ask him, I'm not asking him about that, so I don't know. I don't know the delicate nature of that, but all I know is that he's part of the person that I'm gonna be working with in our new coffee program. Nice! Yeah, I know, coincidence. Maybe we'll talk about it. Yeah. I like that. How was your past week? We put out a massive episode last week with Gloria Johnson. Yeah. You had any feedback on that one? Okay, I've never been nervous for an episode to come out.

04:12I was nervous to listen to it. I felt it was really emotional for both of us. I mean, it's mostly fun here, and we get to talk about food, and we get to talk about business, and this is so out of the realm of what I'm super comfortable talking about, but it is the most important thing to me as a mother and a woman. I don't know, I feel like I wanna have a group session and talk to people about what they thought about it, because I mean, we were here giving our opinions, you know? It is a vulnerable process to have somebody like that in here who's very polarizing and distinctly stands up to you. I think one of the rules that you say in anywhere you go is we don't talk politics or religion, right? We invited politics into this, so whatever you may think, if you hate her listening to this, we put the risk out there that you're now gonna go, oh, that podcast has jumped the shark, I'm not listening, because they're now going into politics, and it's like, okay. I mean, if that's what it is, that's what it is. Policies affect us as business owners.

05:14100%. So that's what I'm gonna say about that. Whatever side you're on with it, I mean, unfortunately, if you don't know about the policies and how that is gonna affect you, that can affect your tax rate, that can affect your building location, that can affect how you're working with your team and your employees. So I say that there is a version of staying up to date on this stuff, especially being involved in your community. That's a huge part of being a business owner, and I think especially in Nashville. Although I don't ever wanna talk about anything divisive, because why divide a country that's already very divided? All we wanna do is provide service and hospitality to people as what we foundationally do and what we do as restaurant owners. These issues do affect us. And again, I'm a woman and a mother. These things actually do affect my kindergartener, unfortunately. So it was very, it was, I felt like I didn't finish thoughts because I had so many things I wanted to talk to her about, so I would say that.

06:19I wish I could have taken a step back and took in a breath and then finished a thought, because I did, I'm like, oh man, I wish I would have finished what I was saying because I didn't feel, and then you were like, welcome to the world of analyzing everything you say now when you listen back to it. We go back and listen to it and you're like, man, I wish I would have said, because you have the benefit of listening to it, knowing what the rest of the conversation is like and going back and going. My brain was working too much. I see her here and I'm like, she's here. When do we get an opportunity to sit with somebody? She's in front of us. Even if you go to support her at a campaign, you're never gonna get this opportunity to have her sitting right next to you. The way that I look at this is, you are a woman, you're of Mexican descent. I'm a white dude, you know? And it's like, I'm a seeker. So when she comes in here, I'm trying to learn as much as I can about everything I possibly can so that I can make an educated decision when I vote.

07:24I liked what she's doing and I'm on board for what she's doing and I selfishly wanted to learn more and I thought, hey, if we bring her in here and I can learn more, I can share with other people who might be in my same shoes, who might be like me and you're like, I just wanna learn more about this person. And I did and I learned a lot about her and I'm still a gigantic fan. I think that even more so now, I'm more of a fan. But these politicians that come in here, I don't know a ton about politics, honestly. I mean, I probably know more than the average person but if we have, I think there's a responsibility that if we have this platform and people are willing to come in and talk about what they're doing, then maybe our listeners can learn a little bit more about politics so that they can be more educated when they go to the polls. That's really the goal of what we're doing here. And with every interview that we do, I want somebody to share expertise on what they're doing.

08:25When I, back in the day when I used to sell food, I would go into these different restaurants and I'd see somebody do something and I go, why do you do it that way? And they go, what do you mean? This is the way you do it. And I went, no, no, no, no. I'm in 10 restaurants a day. I'm in all these other kitchens. I see what everybody else is doing and there's a much better way to do that. When you're in the four walls, you're not out there doing it. So being able to share with everybody what's going on is it's a real special thing that I really love being able to do. Yeah, I think you're right. I think when you feel like you're kind of in a box and you've got your blinders on, I don't know, information is key. We can make better decisions when we are informed. Like I said, it's about policy. It's not really about democratic Republican who we support. I mean, a good policy is a good policy. We tend to just are leaning towards her policy choices. So I don't know, I want people to listen to it.

09:27I want people to support her. I did see in some of the comments of our social media that people just were giving us the old, oh, she's behind in the polls kind of thing. And well, I don't know. I was expecting something like that. I was expecting more stuff, but yeah, thanks. That's why we need to get her message out. I was like, exactly why we had her on the podcast because we want to make sure people know. And this is who she's up against. She's up against somebody who's seated there very firmly and that she is trying to push a big message out. So we're trying to amplify her voice, right? Which I think this is how we're doing it as restaurant owners. We can help our, again, help our team get to the polls, make sure they know that it's a voting, what the voting time is, what, do you need a ride? Doesn't matter, are you registered to vote? We can help register our team to vote. I mean, these are little things as restaurant owners and managers we can do. I mean, that's huge.

10:28You know, I think that the thing that happened last time, when we did the city council vote, when the last time we did a local election, it rained. It was a rainy day the entire day and like half the people went to the polls. And I think the thing that I kept saying was make a plan. Make a plan like the day before or the week before, schedule yourself, like make a plan to go vote. Like, and if you see this gonna rain, get an umbrella, like go, don't let things deter you. And if you don't have a plan and it's just like a, if I have time, I'll do it. Rain is something that will make you go, ah, I don't wanna deal with it today. I'm not gonna, it's a local election. Like, this is the stuff that matters. And you know, grand scheme, country, president, yeah, that's important, but the shit that really affects us our day to day, our roads, our schools, what we do locally, I mean, all of that stuff is these type of people. It's our local politicians that really make the policy for us that makes a difference in our businesses and our lives and our children's lives and all of that stuff.

11:31Like, that's how important this is to me. And that's the local elections, I think, are even bigger than the presidential elections, in my opinion. And showing up for them and them knowing who's showing up. Like, you know, she is always gonna remember Henry Get a Red now because they had that fundraiser for her and hopefully she'll know me now as an advocate for her message if she needs to call on us. If I now, she gets elected and I have a major issue with something that I feel like I can now have a line to somebody who can, what do we do? What can we do? You know, is there a policy or is there something coming up that we can support? Now I feel more connected. You know, I have a face that I can talk to, I can email. I feel like that's invaluable. I don't feel so helpless. And I think that's huge. We all feel very helpless right now. There's a lot of that. And I think that you're 100% right. I mean, you know, that's a good connection to have and volunteer. If you're out there and you can volunteer, if you wanna volunteer, if you wanna have that, hey, I'd like to meet her and I'd like to help.

12:33Go to our website, you can sign up to be a volunteer and go help do whatever they need you to do. And that's a way you can give back. So if you're out there and you're like, hey, look, I'd like to be a part of this. I don't know what to do. Go to VoteGloriaJ, I think it's VoteGloriaJ.com or VoteGloriaJohnson.com. You just click a button and say, I'd like to volunteer and then you can go help out and do whatever that doesn't. If you don't have money, obviously she needs money, but if you don't have money, donate some of your time. Many other ways, yeah. Or just simply take 10 people or tell 10 people. She was saying about 10 people and I think that makes such a big difference. So yeah. And just a little piece like that. You did something, you're doing something for your community and I love that. Do you eat anything cool this week? Did you go anywhere to eat anything good this week? Oh man. God, I don't even remember what I ate for breakfast today. I gotta think about it. What did you eat cool this last week? I went to Fonda. Oh man. So Fonda is the new, now this was an R&D thing for me because I have a Mexican restaurant that's like 200 yards away from it.

13:39Yeah. So there's a new Mexican restaurant opens right down the street. So I'll give a couple caveats. First of all, I wanna give a shout out to Sarah. Sarah's the managing partner there and she is amazing. She used to be at the Continental and now she's at Fonda. And it's one of the most loveliest people I've met in a really long time. Got us in. Shout out to Sarah. Had to throw the Nashville Restaurant radio because it was last minute and it was at like five o'clock and I was like, hey, look, I do this show. I need to get in here. Can I get a table? Sorry, it's Saturday. You know better than that. Come on, Brandon. Well, it was. Or was it not Saturday? I think it was a Thursday. Okay. It was Thursday night. I would never do that on a Saturday. You know better than that. No, no, no, no, no. And it was at five. I went at five. Okay, that's good. So it was like an early, I'm an early eater before we went to a show. The food and it was weird being in there. It was weird being in there knowing Andy and Karen and I'm just sitting in there and I felt like an asshole. Really? This was like their dream in their life and they did all the memories they had in that building.

14:44It's a beautiful restaurant. To think that they left because they doubled the rent and this other new restaurant's there and it's just full now and everybody's eating there. I was just kinda like, something's wrong with this. Yeah, you felt that energy. I felt that energy. Sarah was amazing. Service was amazing and the food was fantastic. Okay, what did you eat? What was the order? Oh, I ordered everything. Okay, yeah. And we ordered, it's like small plates and the guy's like, hey, you should get like. So is it, it's not Spanish tapas, is it? There's tapas, yeah. I mean, it's lots of tapas. Yeah, and we ordered like eight things. The guy was like, you should, three would be good. And I was like, for the two of us? I went with Chris, who's our chef and I was like, well, we're gonna kinda try everything, dude. And we got like eight different things and they do this like guacamole that's in a molcajete bowl and there's a woman in the front and she's making it by hand and it comes out, it's huge. But I was like, we had too much food, we didn't do that. We didn't do the handmade guacamole.

15:45But the flavors were fantastic. They had crab empanadas, shrimp and hanger steak, I think it was, and then we had taquitos. There's just so many things, so many things. And it was delicious, the flavors were fantastic. I'll tell you what I did yesterday. I mean, this is a very mom thing. So we, on Tuesdays at Nectar Urban Cantina in Donaldson, they have this great space that I like dream of, this great grassy space with like play equipment and stuff for kids. They had Mr. Steve, who's a pretty popular children's rock and roll star, shout out, cause he used to work on my food truck like 10 years ago. Mr. Steve. Mr. Steve, yeah, who also has like got a really cool YouTube channel and was on Lightly 100 as like a host there and he used to do mornings with Mr. Steve. I don't know if you remember, I don't know. He definitely, he had the, he's got the niche on the drive time mom into school kind of demographic.

16:48So anyways, we went there, he rocked the house, man. It was five o'clock, there was no standing space. There were that many kids. I'm telling, talking hundreds of people on a Tuesday at five o'clock at Nectar Urban Cantina. I couldn't even walk, it seemed like, it was like a baby Bonnaroo, I'm not kidding. My daughter, he handed out silky scarves. There were bubble machines. Oh, it's like Elvis. This guy, me and my friends were like, oh, he's got it on lock. He got the bubble machine, he's handing out scarves. He knows what he's doing. Doing the hokey pokey. I mean, these kids had a freaking blast and nothing makes me happier. And then the moms were, you know, whoever was drinking margaritas were drinking margaritas on the patio. It was just the creativity of doing events like that for families is not lost on me. On a Tuesday at five o'clock, I'm not even, they were killing it in sales. So I was just like, big props to them. You know, they have a smoothie bar and stuff so your kids could kind of have stuff like that.

17:51And you know. Nectar's got the best outdoor like pad, the whole area. So they took, they take full advantage of that. So I was just, I was just admiring, you know, the food. Like I, you know, I don't go there necessarily for the food, but you know, I had a great experience. Our server was working so hard. So big shout out to her, coincidentally, name was Crystal. And I was, I saw, I was like, wait, you have my name on my, how did you know? But no, she was great. I don't know. Just the idea of giving us an experience like that on a Tuesday, you will have parents showing up with their family and all their dollars. And it was, it was pretty exciting. Mr. Steve, book him for sales in your restaurant. Oh my God. No, seriously. Yeah. He brings, he brings his entourage of moms and dads who spend lots of money. Speaking of dad shit, I picked my kids up from school yesterday and they have all their stuff. Cause the last day of school was yesterday. Oh wow.

18:52Oh man, they're home for the summer. Because it's Friday today. And the last day of school was yesterday, but I get in the car and they get in the car and he hands me a manila envelope and it says Brandon's still on it. And he's like, here dad, this is for you. And I'm like, well, that's weird. Like, why did I, what is this? And I opened this thing and it is full. I mean, there's probably 40 pieces of paper from kids who wrote thank you letters from the career day. So I was like, I knew you were the most popular. So there was 18 different people there and they had to write thank you letters to four. Dang, you won. And William said, I want to write one to my dad. And he goes, your dad has plenty. Oh wow. I apparently won career day. Cause like every kid was like, thank you for letting me talk on your microphones. Thank you for letting me do the podcasting. Thank you. There's nothing cooler than that. I kind of felt like a bad ass there in the car reading.

19:52And they were so cute. These little notes that were like, so this is the fourth graders. Are they the fourth graders? Second, third and fourth. No, third, fourth and fifth graders. Cause they do third, fourth and fifth graders. And they all came into waves. Like third graders were there for 45 minutes. And then the fourth graders, then the fifth graders. So, sorry other parents. Get more interesting jobs. Well, I, like I said, the guy to the left of me was an investment banker. And the person on the right of me was the Pinnacle Bank. And I got these microphones set up for kids and they're listening to themselves. There's a line at my table and there's nobody at the banking tables. How embarrassing. I felt bad for them. No, you didn't. I was, it was kind of cool though. I was like, that was really sweet that I got all these little, so. It's the little wins. To put a bow on it, you know. They're talking about parent stuff. Little parent wins, you know. Oh yeah. So just those things, you know, full dining. Experiences come in different types of things. You know, we can have an elevated, nice coarsed out dinner experience, or we can like make our kids be super happy rocking out to live music on a Tuesday.

20:59And that makes me also very happy. You know, we could do this all day long. We have an episode to get to. We've been talking for like 20 minutes. Oh my God, cut it out. We'll do this. Let's jump in. Let's delete all this. We just need to do this. We're sorry y'all. Enjoy this episode. Sorry Q. With Q Taylor and Shelby Briggs. Super excited today to welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio. Welcome back to Nashville Restaurant Radio. Q Taylor. Yes sir. How you doing man? I'm good brother. How you doing? Wonderful. Q is the operator partner over at Cinema as well as Eighth and Roast. And today we are introducing to the world. Yeah. Shelby Briggs. She is the executive chef at Cinema. Welcome Shelby. Thank you. Happy to be here. And now Louise is here too. She said, I'm not going to be on the show, but I can't have people in the studio that aren't on the show. So Louise, what is your, what do you do at Cinema? Do you just kind of do everything? Yeah. I work on the PR team.

22:01Oh, she's on the PR team. Yeah. I like it. Okay. So the PR team, we have PR here. Yeah. We'll let you know what to say and what not to say. We also have the amazing Crystal. I was waiting for my introduction. How are you ma'am? To say anything. I'm great. I'm great. I'm so excited. I love having all these female chefs on. I mean, is this just because I'm here or? It's a thing. Wow. So amazing female chefs in the city. Yeah. That's, is that the new thing? We just doing girls only. I hope so. Maybe. Maybe. I mean, right now I can't wait. I'm excited. I don't know you Shelby. We don't know each other outside of this first interview. So. Well, I just got to town too. Six months ago. I pride myself on knowing a lot of people. So, sorry, you're going to get to know. You'll get to know a lot more through this process. Well, if you haven't been in the kitchen at cinema, there aren't many opportunities to meet me. That sounds about right. Yeah. Spoken like a true chef. Q, how did you find her? I'm not giving up my secrets, but I know some people and they passed me her information.

23:05And you know, I reached out and had a phone conversation with her and it was immediate. I was like, within two minutes on the phone, I was like, this is the person. And there's a little connection there too. Yeah. To the Reed family. Yeah, exactly. With her work history and background, she let her speak to it a little bit more on the detail side, but our partners at cinema has eaten her food indirectly a few times in the past. So I'm glad it all worked out. Yeah, I spent about 10 years at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Florida, and the Reeds are members there. So some of their favorite restaurants are the ones I spent the most time in. So it was just something that kind of was a natural connection. So did you guys know that going into this? Was this like a, hey, I know her food, I want her, or did this all happen randomly? No, honestly, it was random. I was looking at the resume and I saw Ocean Reef Club and I was like, okay, that's interesting. This is, you know, something that's, you know, meant to be. So Shelby, how long have you been in Nashville then?

24:09So what is the? Only six months. Wow, you moved here for this job? Yeah, so in November. Awesome. And you know what's funny? Her sister lives here. Yeah, and that was unexpected. I haven't lived in the same town as my sister in almost 15 years, but she lives a mile and a half down the road from me now. What part of town did you settle in? East, yeah. Love the restaurants in there. That's where I live, yeah. I live in East too, I love it. What's your favorite restaurant in East Nashville right now? That's tough. I try to go to a bunch of restaurants. I'll try to go to like one a week and really test things out in town and you know, see how we match up and all of that. In East, I mean, I really do like Pelican and Pig. That was a good one. 210 Jack, you like that one? Oh yeah, we went, yeah. We took one of our friends there for lunch, that was great. Yeah, I just kind of explore all around. I don't just stick in East though, so. Yeah, that's good to know. You know, we had a conversation on previous episode about how East Nashville, people that live in East Nashville don't necessarily eat in East Nashville.

25:13So I was curious, I'm like, do you actually kind of go out? But I mean, you probably don't have tons of time to be going out being an executive chef. Yes. Yeah, and I also use a GPS to get anywhere. So I don't restrict myself to a certain area. I still do too, you know why? Because I like to know exactly what time I'm gonna get somewhere, like to the minute and I just feel like that GPS never like steers me wrong. You're right about that. I'll be there at 9.07. That's what I say, I'm like, I'm very specific. I plugged in this address before I left my house this morning so I knew exactly how much time I had. See, exactly. I do it for a different reason. On my Apple CarPlay, like it shows up on the dash and when I have children in the car, anywhere I go, I just put in the GPS so that it automatically answers the question, are we there yet? They can just look at it and go, oh, we're seven minutes away, okay, cool. Are we there yet? Like the kids know to just look at the dash because I don't have to answer the question, they can just go, oh, hey, Dad, why are you going this way? Like they just know. And sometimes they know that they're not there yet, they just wanna talk to you.

26:15That's a thing. Well, they're. They just wanna talk to you, God. When does it stop? That's how I feel when I see you, Brandon. I'm just like, I just wanna talk to him. That's so nice. Such a good guy to talk to. Oh, well, you're a good guy to talk to, also, Q. This is so fun. Okay, do you have questions? I see you have a little notebook there, Brandon. Yes. Okay. Do you want me to ask my first question? Absolutely, let's go. What is your favorite color? Purple. Are these literally the questions, Brandon? No, that's not the question at all. Oh my God. No, while we're going over where you're eating and where you're checking out, one of the things, if you read your bio, on the cinema website, it says, Shelby's excited about drawing inspiration from Music City and the local culinary arts opportunities she has here in town. She's excited to incorporate Music City. I was gonna ask how that's been. Have you met anybody in the industry? Have you met anybody who's reached out to you and said, hey, welcome to town? Does anybody know you're in town? Are you just here?

27:15Is this an official announcement? If you're in the culinary industry, reach out to Shelby and meet her. Well, I think that can be the official announcement, so thank you. No, I just, like I said, I do spend a lot of time at cinema, definitely keeping me busy there. But I go out to restaurants, like I said, at least once a week, which has been great. That's mostly for research, right? Seeing how we match up, how we compare, seeing the trends, what people are doing, price points, getting ideas for steps of service, different things like that, what people are doing on the beverage side, too. It isn't just about food. But I haven't really made connections yet with people in the industry. There haven't really been collaborations yet, but that's in the works. I think the Reed family and Q have a ton of connections in town. They've been here for quite some time. Everyone knows this guy. So yeah, it's just. No. We're easing into it, though. So six months, we have a lot to work, a lot of work to do in the restaurant, but then we'll start branching out. And we've done a couple of off-site events that's kind of dabbled in.

28:17You know, with the, we did the Music City Masquerade where we did a pop-up there, and I think we did a Pet Community Center thing, too. Secondhand harvest. Yeah, secondhand, yeah. You know, we did the chef dinner, so I had a course in that and met some great chefs in the area. Cool. Chefs from Margot, they were amazing. Hadley. Yes, Hadley and Lou. Yeah. Oh, awesome. Lou the Sous. They were great, they were awesome. So your meat, yeah, that's where I would say, I don't know, I would say that's where the fun, like those events where you kind of like, you get a course, but you kind of get to help other chefs, you know, plate their dishes. Like, I feel like when I was on the circuit for a while doing those, I always got the cheese course. I don't know why, but I always got the cheese course. So, and I don't know, Shelby, if you know, I run a grilled cheese restaurant. So like, we're very different in like what we do at our restaurants. I run like a quick service restaurant. So, but like cheese is like my absolute passion. So like, I just always get given some kind of a mac and cheese, cheese course, whatever. So usually my job's really easy.

29:18So it's just fun to like kind of, I don't know, like, you know, joke around with the other chefs and like, we've created such a strong bond and I feel like I want to bring you into the fold. It sounds like you want to meet people. So when you go out to restaurants, are you telling people like, oh, I'm the chef at Cinema. Like, are you saying anything? Or are you just kind of going low key? Why? They might want to know. Yeah, they might want to. I mean, I wouldn't be opposed if somebody came into Cinema and said that to me. Exactly, I want to know. I'm not big on attention. Oh, okay. So that might be why. I'm middle child, you know? Oh, you're middle child. Yeah, I was ingrained. See, I'm oldest child. I'm like overachiever. I want to be whatever you want to be. I always wanted the attention. I just never got it. I wanted the attention. Like, show me some attention. Like, eh, you're okay, middle child. No, I'm just kidding. Mom, my mom listens. It is fun though, when another chef comes in the restaurant, you kind of want to give them a little something extra. Not like you asked for that, but like, you know, they want to kind of like. You want to show off a little bit too. You want to show them what you're doing, what you're working on.

30:18They know you're eating it differently. You're examining it differently. The appreciation is different, for sure. Yeah, I mean. Absolutely. See, I think that has to be organic though. Maybe if the chef came by the table, just to check on it, and then a conversation started. Exactly. She can, but it's kind of hard to. Where they see her on the reservation list. You know, I'm not like that. I'm like, usually you're not like, oh, hi, I'm the chef at Cinema. Do you know who I am? Yeah, do you know? Do you know a shirt? Just do you know who I am? Yeah. Ask me who I am, where I work. Ask me about my job as a chef. Ask me where I work. Yeah. Yeah, but that's, I mean, that's what I like. And of course, you know, just like knowing other chefs, you kind of just enjoy a different experience, you know, when you're finding out. Yeah, well, I think it's great to have those resources too, because, you know, like I said, new in town, I'm not really familiar with the vendors yet, not all of them. So it's nice having somebody to bounce ideas off of, and, you know, see who they're using, what they're doing, if they run into an issue, you know, anything like that. It's just great to have those resources. Okay, so are you on Instagram? I am.

31:19What is your handle? What is it on Instagram? What are you on Instagram? Just Shelby Briggs? Yeah. We'll tag her on our Instagram. Just Shelby underscore, I think there's two underscores, Briggs. All right, we are going to tag you in there. If you're a chef in Nashville, send her a message and say, hi, I'm a chef in Nashville. This would be a fun way to reach out to Shelby. Yeah, maybe we'll do something on our Instagram, and then we'll tag her in it. Yeah, I mean, I don't know, it's just nice. I mean, people, and that's the thing, there's so many new restaurants opening, a lot of us switching positions here and there, like, you know, it's nice to know where everybody's at, and you never know what kind of collaborations come up that makes sense to do something with, you know? Oh, absolutely, yeah, and we have, you know, we want to start doing chef dinners, too. We were just talking about, everyone has a course, and, you know, we have this great facility, we wanna show it off, we want, you know, people to come in our doors and have some fun doing some collaborative dinners. Yeah, you guys have a beautiful open kitchen. I've had the opportunity to do an event there once where I served out of, kind of like, I guess it's like the pastry kitchen, because it's like next to the hot side, and it was a chef collaborative dinner, and it was so fun.

32:28Like, it was just so fun, like, I just, that space just has a great energy. So that open kitchen was inspired by a restaurant in D.C. called Marvin, so a lot of people were like, why'd y'all do an open kitchen? So we basically stole that idea from a restaurant in D.C. that was homage to Marvin Gaye, so. Amazing, I love that. Cinema has a lot of inspirations from that place, I don't know if it's still open, but yeah. Such a beautiful, beautiful restaurant. I mean, some would also almost even think like, this is the fancy restaurant, this is a very nice restaurant. Like, is this a restaurant we can go to on a Wednesday night, you know, like, or is this, like, special occasion restaurant? Because I know sometimes restaurants get locked in to special occasion restaurants, and then on the weeknight, it's not as, you know, you kind of don't get that same pop that just maybe can I wear jeans when I go in there, you know? Well, that's one thing that I think with this menu, we're really trying to bridge the gap. We don't want to just fall into one area like the special occasion. We absolutely want you to come celebrate your special occasions, your anniversaries, your birthdays, you know, all of that, but we also want to be that weeknight spot, you know?

33:37And I think that with the menu, we've made the conscious effort to have approachable food, to have affordable food. It isn't all on the higher price point, but you know, those times you're celebrating, you know, we have those things, too. So what would you say is the best dish for my, like, I want to come in on a Wednesday night. It's not an anniversary, it's not a birthday. What would you recommend ordering? Well, first of all, great question, the lounge, which we just started doing a lounge menu, so we have some small bites upstairs. So if you've never been in our lounge, it's a great spot, great vibe. We have amazing cocktails, craft cocktails, about 14 now, amazing bartenders, and we have the lounge menu, so a small bite. So tuna bombs would be my go-to. Oh my God, what is that? Tell me what that is. So tuna bombs, it's a panipuri shell. So if you're familiar with Indian cuisine. Ooh, like crispy, yeah. And then we fill it with the elephant tuna, cucumber, avocado, scallion, sweet soy, spicy oli. You kind of have all the flavors that you imagine in one little perfect bite of sushi.

34:37Yep. So are you guys putting any kind of liquid inside, like a traditional, like, panipuri? Just that sweet soy, just that sauce. So not the liquid, really. We just kind of glaze the tuna. So I've had the most ugliest eating experience is eating a panipuri, where it's like, it's usually like a very liquidy kind of. No, not this. Yeah, that's it. I like this version of what you're doing. I like this spin. You can still wear a white shirt. It's not cute. When you're eating, like, if you're on a date, like, oh, it's not cute at all. You can wear a white shirt and pick it up with your white shirt. Dang, a white shirt. I'm gonna challenge you to that, because, I don't know, I don't wear white shirts. I just, it's inevitable that somebody else's food's gonna get on my shirt, like my five-year-old, or I'm always doing things, like, I'm like, oh, the phone eats first, so I'm like, you know, Instagramming, and I'm not paying attention to my actual bodily, bodily, like, movements. It's a real problem. Like, I have soup on my shirt, yeah. Well, we'll get a bib for you. Yeah, I'm gonna need it. I'll bring my own bib.

35:38Yeah, thank you. Okay, so, Fancy Night, it's my anniversary. What are we, what are we getting? Like, do you have specials that kind of, a coursed-out meal, like? Yeah, we have a tasting menu, which we love doing. It's our chance to be really creative. So, one thing I really like to do is have the cooks in the kitchen also collaborate on the menu, so they get to be heard, they get to be seen, their dishes, you know, we get to try things out. Tasting menu's a great opportunity for that, so, five courses, ending with the dessert, and then we also have beverage pairings with that, that our general manager, who's a level one SOM, you know, pairs with those courses, so that's really fun. So, I would recommend that on, you know, a night to celebrate, if you're into the tasting menu. Sometimes we do ones that we wanna showcase, dishes that we wanna showcase that are on the menu, but also sometimes they're the one-off, and they're those dishes that the cooks, or myself, or sous chefs create. So, I would definitely say that for a special occasion, for celebrating.

36:38The thing about Shelby is, what I've noticed in these first six months is the leveling out of our options, meaning we have so many ways, and from a Jack of All Trades perspective now, I feel like we can kinda curate what we want to do for our customer, which was the initial goal when we first opened 10 years ago, so. Wow, 10 years. Oh my gosh, it's been that long. 10 years in June. That's amazing. Oh my God, are you guys doing anything for your 10-year anniversary, or? Yeah. They're coming on this show. Yeah. I mean, this is their celebration. Oh my God, we should have brought like a treat for them. I was looking for the cupcake. You have a cake in the back? Yeah. Yeah. I was half a sec, I was gonna go to Buttermilk Ranch this morning, and I didn't. I love Buttermilk Ranch. And we're gonna talk more about my love of Buttermilk Ranch right after these words from our sponsors. Are you looking to grow your business, or are you looking to start a business? Finding a retail spot is number one. You gotta do this.

37:39And that is why we're talking about the Chandler James retail team at Lee & Associates. Miller Chandler and Leann James are your go-to brokers to do just that. They're located downtown in the heart of it all in the Batman building, and they're serving all of Middle Tennessee. Let me tell you, both Miller and Leann are Tennessee natives, so you know they know the neighborhoods. They know they know the demographics, and they can help you find your dream location. Now here's the cool part. Chandler James can help you find and negotiate terms on your next restaurant location. They represent both retail tenants and landlords in our market, which means they can also help you with lease versus buy decisions and act as your leasing agent should you ever decide to go all in and purchase commercial real estate. If you'd like to get ahold of them, give them a call at the office. Their phone number is 615-751-2340. That is the Chandler James retail team. Give them a call today. The boys in gold are back, and we're talking about the Music City Beer Company.

38:45Yes, this is Nashville's local domestic beer, made in Nashville, by Nashville, for Nashville, and the official local beer of the Nashville SC, who are back in action. This beer is brewed for the boys in gold. We wanna tell you today about the Music City Light. This is a local domestic beer for Nashville, Music City's own local light beer in the Music City Amber, the beer for adventures in Music City. Well-rounded flavor from beginning to end that leaves you wanting more. And if you're going to Geodes Park to check out Nashville SC, you've got to order the Music City Pitch. Ice cold, refreshment, while you cheer on our boys in gold. If you're a restaurant and you'd like to pick up any of these products, you can purchase them through best brands. And if you're a consumer, wherever you consume, ask for Music City Light and Music City Amber. Please enjoy responsibly. Unleash the Wolf with Campo Bravo Tequila.

39:47Campo Bravo is a 100% agave tequila with a bold, smooth flavor, perfect for sipping neat as a shot or in cocktails. Campo Bravo is also certified additive free, which means there are no artificial flavors or sweeteners in Campo Bravo like there are in many other brands. Campo Bravo gives you all the bold, smooth flavor you want in a tequila with nothing you don't. Campo Bravo is actually truly farm to bottle tequila, meaning our fifth generation agave farmers meticulously control entire production process from the farm to the bottle to give you the highest quality handcrafted tequila. Order through best brands and please remember to drink responsibly. I love Buttermilk Ranch. I haven't been yet. That's one of the spots. That's on my list. Let's go, Shelby. I have a long list. Let's go. I'll take you. I'll let them know you're coming. I'll wear the shirt. Yeah, just wear your chef shirt. She's wearing a very sharp chef coat right now.

40:49I love when I go into a grocery store wearing this and people ask me if I work there. Oh, you know what I like to do? Yeah, that happens quite a bit. Yeah, I don't know. I have no boundaries with that. So I'll just answer the question because I'm like, I might as well. I do know where the milk is. So I'm just gonna tell you. I don't work here, but I can direct it. I don't even say that though because I'm like, I don't want to make them feel bad. And then also do they think I'm just like also doing like shopping while I'm working? I wear my height when I go to the grocery store and everybody asks. What does that mean? It means everybody asks me to get shit from shelves. Oh, that's hilarious. No matter what aisle I walk down, what happens to me? Excuse me. You also, does Brandon look like a typical manager? Yeah, absolutely. Like he's in, like you see him at Kroger and you're like, he's in charge of something. Yeah. Yeah. And it's probably these potatoes. He's the manager. Yeah. He looks like Craig the manager. He looks like a Craig the manager. Craig the manager. There he is, the produce guy right there. The produce guy. That's me. The produce rep.

41:49I was the produce guy for a long time. That was me for a long time. Yeah, see? I liked it. That's a good thing. He fell into it. Hey, so I want to change gears real quick from me being the produce guy and me being the manager. We can get back to it. Let's get back to that here in a little while. Thank you so much. So you are in Florida and you moved to Nashville to cinema. Now this is where, this is where me, I love you talking about food. I don't really ever talk about menus and food. I love like the operations. Get down the nitty gritty stuff, okay? The behind the scenes. Your chef previously at cinema was there for 11 years like that? Or nine years, 10 years? Did you have the original chef that wasn't there that long and then you had? So to clarify, when we first opened June 2014, we recruited two chefs out of Chicago. Dale Levitsky and Kyle Patterson. So that was a one, it was a one, two situation where we brought both of them in. Dale moved on, we promoted Kyle to that position. But yes, he was there since day one.

42:50So he's out. This is a big deal. Like I mean, the chef is such a massively important, it's a heartbeat of a restaurant like this. The whole menu, everything culturally, how the kitchen operates. When you're making that change, was it time? Were you ready? Yeah, I think it was. I mean, it's just, for me, it was about for us in the Reed family as well, what can we do going into the next 10 years that we feel like with all the competition and the growing restaurant challenges of Nashville, what can we do to reinvent ourselves, draw more attention to us and switch it up? And it wasn't anything from a previous reign perspective that we felt. Wasn't one specific thing like, we need to change this dish or this. It was just a general. Fresh perspective. Correct. Let's look at the couches. Let's look at the tables. Let's look at the beverage menu. Let's look at the cuisine. Let's look at private events. All the things involved.

43:51And what does the place feel like as well? In that first two minutes you talked to her, what uniquely were you looking for in this position that she had? Situations like this. Where she could, you knew she had savvy? Yep, and also she can cook her ass off. Well, yeah, I think it was also, it was that immediate connection. And whenever, so the original call, I think, yeah, it was with you and Ed Reed. And that was over Zoom. And then Sam Reed jumped on a little bit later. Which all of these things just still, it's still our dynamic. Sam jumped in a little later. He's always running around town doing something. And then I came down here, came to town and met the rest of the Reed family, Colin and Brenda. And I think that that was really, the first interaction, yeah, absolutely. But having dinner with the entire family, I think that solidified everything. And it was more so the connection. Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Oh yeah, you sprung that on me. Just a vibe.

44:51But that's great, you had no time to prepare. This was really who you were. That's great. Well, that's absolutely true. I didn't know who the Reed family was. I didn't know what name they have in town. So yeah, and then I pulled up to the house. It was dinner at their house. So that was not intimidating at all. And you know, all the pieces matter. Like when you're working with someone, what is the vibe like? Can you be candid on conversations? You wanna make sure you enjoy the person. Yeah, yeah. And so it was just a refreshing reboot. Well, and I think that's so much of your kitchen culture. I mean, you bring somebody in, are they gonna be a hit people with a switch kind of a thing? Or are they gonna be kind? And what kind of leader are they? I mean, it's a massive cultural shift changing chefs. You can always fix a seasoning, but you cannot fix somebody's personality as a leader. And that's what they're looking, I'm sure that's what they're looking for. I think they all, they found that. So when you walked into cinema day one, what did you find? Was it, were you just like, holy shit?

45:52Were you excited or were you just like, I have got so much work to do? I know. It's not a day old child. No, no, absolutely not. It's just not the way you do it. But you gotta make it yours. That's exactly right. Everybody, you could completely redesign a new kitchen. I think it's absolutely perfect. And then you leave next week and a new chef comes in, why would they ever do this? You know, it's just preference, right? 100%. So yeah, nothing against anyone who played the vital roles in cinema for the last 10 years. I'm just grateful I get to for the next 10 years and however long after that. But yeah, it was day one when I walked in, it was a Monday, we were closed. Walked around the kitchen and it's like, just asking a lot of questions. I ask a lot of questions, observe a lot. And then, you know, on the airport ride back, that's when I gave my opinions, I think. I had some notes, you know, because I also did dine there with my sister during that interview process. But yeah, coming in day one to start working, yeah, it was really, you know, I gave myself a timeline and week one was all about observing, not making any changes.

46:58You know, I didn't wanna make any changes for the first month. That was one thing, you know, like you guys said, the previous chef was there for so long and he had such a connection with everyone and it's a really big family environment, you know, team environment, very collaborative. And I never wanted to take anything away from any of that. You know, you never wanna scare people off. You wanna make sure they know you're there for the right reasons and you have their best interest in mind and the restaurant's best interest in mind. And I really focused on that. So no changes for the first month and then we started, you know, we started tweaking things. You're there a month observing, what did you see? You're just trying to. So much. What was the biggest? So much. I'm not looking for slices. Well, Brandon, she can't really say what she wants to say right now. Sure she can. Just so we're all clear. I'm a very direct on this person. Okay. Girl, please. Lay it out. Put it on the table. Lay it out on this table. Okay, so here's, for example, I was there for a month and I recognized we needed to work on fundamentals of knife skills. I recognized we needed to work on training. I recognized the front of the house staff need to learn more about the vendors that we worked on.

47:58Yes. These are not, these are not like. No. I need to work on the rodent problem. I mean, that's not what I'm saying. Maybe leave out the rodent problem thing. Yeah. Because we don't have one. Yeah. We never have. Folks, obviously. Obviously. Folks, if you're listening, we do not have a rodent. We just got 100 on our health inspection yesterday, actually. I was like, I don't want, that's not what I meant. No, no, no. Yeah, just some big things. Like you're talking about culture. Obviously that's the most important. So maintaining, but also improving. We stepped up some things on there, I feel like, and that was great. And that's really connecting the front of house and the back of house. Sometimes you see that divide, not so much anymore as you did, you know, 10 years ago or so. Yeah. But that's something I really pride myself on. So I really want to have strong relationships with the front of house team, you know, be approachable. We can collaborate as well. They're the ones greeting the guests, talking to the tables, hearing that feedback firsthand. So I really want to make sure that the servers are heard too. You know, we have a few servers who are very vocal and you know, in the moment it might be annoying sometimes but I really appreciate and value that feedback, right?

49:02It's the only thing that's going to make us better. So just, I think in terms of improvement though, steps of service. Definitely training the front of house team. We have a lot of- Reigniting that. Yeah, I have a lot of green servers and they want to be there. They want to do well, but just, you know, guiding them through that process. Q's great at that, kind of working on the scripts too and just knowing, you know, how to talk to a table, how to read your table, how to know what kind of style of service they want. Rebooting the enthusiasm, you know, because it's harder now, you know, training. Nobody wants to train anymore. You know, it's like taking the time to say, hey guys, welcome to cinema. My name is Q. I'm so glad you all are here tonight. We have a new chef in house. Her name is Shelby Briggs. We're so excited to tell you about all the new menu developments and the new items on the menu. Like, getting someone to feel the same way as I feel when I talk about our restaurant is, it's a tough job. I think there's a future in it for you. Well. I know, I was listening to him. I was like, tell me more. What are your specials?

50:02Yeah, exactly. That's amazing. Yeah, but that enthusiasm, right? And that passion, you know, having her reignited some of those things. But your servers are selling her. So she's not out there in front. So she has to give them something to work with, you know? Absolutely. They want, you know, why is she using this kind of fish? Why is this her flavor profile? Why does she like using Thai ingredients? Is it because of her travels? Which I do know, she's been to Thailand. So, because I did research, Brandon. I'm just saying, at least one of us is prepared. Thank you. I appreciate that. I asked the color question. I was ready. Purple, we know her favorite color. Purple, is it purple? It is, it is, yeah. Favorite number? Is there a favorite, you have a lucky number? So giving them the- I have an unlucky number. Well, what is it? 23. 23. That's one of my lucky numbers. Is it? 818-2332. MJ, 23. Purple, 23. Okay. Maybe she was a Pacers fan or something back in the day.

51:04That's absolutely not what it was, but good guess. Yes. Yeah. So- She doesn't watch basketball. She's like a Pacers fan. So retrain in the front of house. Yeah, that was a huge thing for you. But what were you excited to do after that first month? One thing I will say too, the team there is amazing. So I was really pleasantly surprised with the skill level of the kitchen. Those guys are awesome. They also really want to be there. They're really dedicated. And it's hard to find somebody now who isn't just in it for the paycheck. So it's really awesome. They're there every day because they want to be there because they have a passion and you can't teach passion. You can't teach somebody to want to be there to have the work ethic and they do have it. So that's awesome. That was great. And then it's just expanding on that, right? So if they want to be there, that's the hard part. And then you just give them the tools to be successful. So structure is a big one. Everyone craves structure. I don't think everyone will admit it, but they all crave it. Oh, everybody wants it. Yeah. Everybody wants to do a good job. And accountability. I really truly believe that.

52:04And accountability, yeah. And praise when it's warranted and constructive feedback when that's warranted. But giving them those tools to be successful. The recipes, the training, all of that. And just giving them the creative outlet that they all crave too. I'm gonna say something because I have been put in a position where maybe I became a sous chef maybe faster than what the kitchen thought was appropriate because I came in with a higher skill level and I kind of passed up a few other people. I went through a period of hazing that probably wouldn't have been if I was a male. Oh, absolutely. Like my car got keyed. Ingredients were being kind of like, you know. Tampered with. Tampered with. People were watching me more than I would. And this was, I was in my 20s. So I was younger. I look a lot younger than I am too. And so I think that there was definitely this kind of hazing going on.

53:05And not. I wish I was your boss. That would not fly under my watch. See, once my, I didn't wanna tell on my team though. So there was this fine line of like, all right guys, I get it. They just probably thought I came in here and I'm doing what they don't realize. They've been working here for 10 years. Why is she the one coming up? And you know, so anyways, that happened to me. And I know I've shared similar stories with other female chefs. This has happened to them. They've been promoted. That's bullying. That's not hazing. I mean, you know. If they have something out against you, that's just bullying. That's not hazing. I might look at it as, yeah, it's bullying and hazing. Emptying the hot water pot is hazing. Like that's bullying. Yeah, I mean, there was definitely like a hurdle that I had to go over. And then, you know, eventually I won them over and I still see them now at the place I used to work at and it's all good. But like, there was definitely a point of contention there. And did you ever feel, I mean, maybe not on this job, but like, it's just something that I think people are like, why her?

54:09You know, nobody kind of asks. Absolutely, yeah. And yeah, not on this job. But yeah, whenever I was coming up, and you know, I advanced pretty quickly too, but I also put my head down and work and gave it my all and like my job was my sole focus. And yeah, whenever I actually remember when I was promoted to Chef de Cuisine, you know, pretty young and one of the sous chefs at the property who was a sous chef when I entered as an entry level cook and still was whenever I was promoted to Chef de Cuisine said they hand promotions out like tic tacs. And I said, oh, you didn't get a tic tac? You know, and I think that that's why he was frustrated. Right, it's not because of- And you can feel that like talking behind your back. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. But like you're saying, you know, you have more of a focus on you and what you're doing and people want you to fail. So they can talk about that and say, I knew it wasn't gonna work. I knew it wasn't right. It was too fast. And it does make you work harder, but you know, you can use that to your benefit, which I'm sure you did as well, but it just, it gives you that fire you need because then you're focusing even more on your job, you know, and your success.

55:13But yeah, absolutely fell into that too. And I mean, this is, and I unfortunately, all female chefs, especially executive chefs have this story. It's something that in an industry where I actually feel like in Nashville, I haven't really experienced this as much, but I've also been a business owner here, not like a chef hired, a hired chef necessarily. So I don't know. I would say that I've had a really good experience with feeling the quality of balance of just gender and race. I mean, I feel like maybe it's just the events that I choose to kind of like draw myself to, but I really feel like we have a pretty strong community. I don't know, Kio, what do you feel like? Do you feel like it's one-sided in one way or not, or are we needing more of something that you kind of feel? I mean, it is a white male dominated industry, you know? So, but I kind of feel like it's been a good mix, you know, so far in Nashville, I feel like a lot of female chefs, we do have a lot of strong female chefs in town.

56:14Yeah, I mean, you know, I try to live by this thing where, you know, I don't try to pay attention to what everybody else is doing. It's really about reaching our own levels that we try to strive for. So for me, I kind of have tunnel vision on, you know, the adversity and the obstacles of our surroundings, right? I just feel like if we just continue to focus on the goals that we have, reaching the levels that we try to reach and be the best that we can be, I just try to, you know, put that culture piece in place, you know, being a black guy in this business for the last 30 years and working in places like Vegas and DC and Beverly Hills, and you know, I have to learn, I have to learn that pretty quick and learn everything fast and work harder than the people that was around me. So over time, it just tunneled things out, so.

57:14Yeah, I think what I'm getting to too is that we do have to work harder. You know, like if we're all on a lineup, like we're definitely having to run a little faster, work a little bit longer, not talk about personal things that maybe people think might, you know, like I'm not walking in there being like, I have kids and I want more kids, you know, like that's definitely- Because that's an inconvenience. Inconvenience, yeah. So it's really interesting. A couple years ago, I came to town, so I was in clubs before this, so country clubs and private resorts, things like that, and I came to town for a conference and out of, I think it was 420 people, four of the chefs were females, four of the exec chefs in that room were females. Yeah, that's not even like- Wow. You can't even say that's like some, that's like none. No, I was one of four, and I just think that was really telling too, that was really eye-opening. You know, there were some other females there in pastry chefs or sous chefs, and that's great, you know, that they were there and representing, but it's just, you know, you'll always deal with no shade on pastry chefs, love them.

58:19I have a major sweet tooth, but it's like whenever I walk in a room, it's like, oh, you're a pastry chef? Oh, you make cookies? Yeah. You decorate cakes? And it's just, it's that, it's that assuming, you know, and, you know, we just gotta move past that. I think it, you know, nothing should be assumed. We shouldn't have to fall into certain roles. Yeah, that happens. All the time. Yeah. Yeah. Are you the buzzer? No. Are you the, oh my God. No, but you're a great buzzer. I always say, I always say yes. The best food runner in that building. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I really, I really appreciate, you know, a woman chef story, because I know there's probably something, some hurdle. There's choices that I know I've personally made to not have kids until way later in life, because I was like, how am I gonna be nine months pregnant in a food truck? You know, like there's just no, I couldn't even drive the truck pregnant. Like it was dangerous to do that. So there were just certain things, there's certain sacrifices that I think have to be made and postpartum you don't know, you know, like there's so many things that I think go into deciding whether you want to be an executive chef or not.

59:31Yeah. Like that is a huge decision to make at a young age. Well, and I think that also, you know, everything you're saying is just, it's really hitting home too, because one of my mentors, one of the women I worked the closest with, Andy Van Willigan, she was my chef at Ocean Reef for about two years, but just remained a really close friend. She was Gordon Ramsay's sous chef for eight or so years, Michael Mina, a lot of work with him. And she started having kids and it was a little bit later in life. And you know, her late thirties, and she, we were working an event, we were actually doing an event with Emeril Lagasse at the Reef. And I remember we were in this, in this garage, we had, you know, played it and we were just like hanging back for a minute. And she was, she had just had her first child and they were thinking about, you know, having a second. And she's like, it's just so hard. Like, why, why do people view it like this? Why, like, I feel like I shouldn't have a kid. I feel like this and that. I said, because you became a human. You're not a machine anymore. You know, you have emotions, you have needs. That's huge.

01:00:31Other responsibilities and priorities. And she was like, oh my gosh, I never thought of it like that. I was like, but that's exactly what it is. You know, you can't always be a machine. No. And your life isn't just yours anymore. Like as a mother, you become secondary. And as a father, you have a choice to be secondary sometimes. You know, the, at the first five years of a child's life are solely dependent on the mother's ability to take care of that child, you know, specifically. So I feel until that child starts going to school and starts learning and becomes, you get that like six hour stretch where you're not responsible for your child, you are 100% always the fallback one. And I think that weighs really heavy on women. And I think when you kind of look like, wow, I can't just work 12 hours. I love working a 10 hour day. I love going in. I love being there with my team. That's just not my life anymore. And it's really jarring. And I feel like we don't talk about that.

01:01:34You know, like we just have to just be like, oh, she's just gone now. You know, it's like, oh, she doesn't work full time anymore. Oh, full time. Yeah. I mean, I'm here. This is not like here like 80 hours or more, you know. Well, I've also, you know, been a part of conversations behind the closed door where it's, you're determining who you're going to hire for a certain position. And well, are they in the prime age to start having kids, having a family? I hate that. You factor that into it too. You have to, but it's so true. And it's so gross because I hear it. I've heard conversations like that and I'm like, oh, like if you want to get 10 things done at once, hire a freaking mom. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. It's always the busiest person who gets the most done. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think this is overall culturally things that need to change in this industry. I mean, just there's race, gender, everything, but just work life balance. I mean, the expectations of working in a restaurant, because there's two shifts in a day, you work doubles. I can be there all day, but like that's an entire day and an entire night that you're gone. Even if you work two, four hour shifts, if I work from 10 to two and then from four to eight or something, which is a pretty vanilla, easy way to do it.

01:02:42But there's so much shame for just having a life. Like if I'm a kid soccer coach, right? And it's like, if I have soccer practice on Tuesdays and I have games on Saturdays and it's like, if I'm not there on Tuesday night, it's like, I feel guilt because I'm not there all the time because I have this one guy who works 60 hours a week and he doesn't have a family and that is his life. And he's like, I'm gonna save 50,000. His goal is to save all this money for the next two years. And it's like, okay, but like, that's not the expectation. Like, and that we as leaders shouldn't expect people to do that. And I don't care how short staff, like work harder to find people. You can't have people work that much and you have to have empathy for like being human. Like you said, it's not, people aren't machines. Well, have you ever left for the day or come in a little later and found yourself justifying why? Always. You know, like I'm leaving like, I'm gonna head out, but you know, I came in early today. I'm gonna be in early tomorrow. It's like, I don't have to justify. I'm getting my work done.

01:03:44You know, I'm contributing to the team. Everything's getting done. Everything's handled. You know, things are supported and covered, but why am I justifying it? And also why is it, so my husband never does that and he's my co-owner. He never does that and he always questions why I do that. Like I'll be messaging my whole management team. I'll be like, yeah, I'm doing this, this and that. Like just like, why do I have to let them know that I'm busy today? Like I'm their boss, you know? Like why am I doing that? I feel bad that I'm like, okay, and then I have to pick my daughter up, but okay, I can come right after. You know, it's like, no, why am I doing that? On Monday I did this. I was at Chago's on Monday at like noon. I was just eating lunch. I was like, I'm just gonna go in there and eat lunch. We weren't busy. But one of the servers said, did you just come in? Like, and I said, no, I've been at a meeting at 7 a.m. and then I had a 9 a.m. and then I had to do this and then I go to this, then I go to this, then I go to this, then she goes, damn, do you want some coffee? Like that's, I don't know why I felt the need to just rattle off my schedule.

01:04:45It was that, are you just coming in thing? And I'm like, no, I'm five hours in. Like I'm not just coming. Or is it that you're leaving already? I don't know why, maybe. Oh yeah, I'm leaving already. It's like 10.30. Was it 8th and Rose coffee? No, no, it was the worst coffee. It was, yeah, I'm not gonna say the brand of coffee, but we don't, it's not. It wasn't 8th and Rose. Yeah. It was not 8th and Rose. You wish it was. I like that point. I do wish it was. I do wish it was. Really quick. We're gonna make that happen, by the way. Just to make an 8th and Rose shout out, my favorite place to go in the airport, I love that you guys, how many terminals, do you have two? C terminal and D terminal. Okay, I just noticed a newer one. And we also have a fifth location that we just opened up right down the road on 21st. Okay. On 21st and Midtown. Oh, I just saw it. Yeah. That's awesome. And then we have another one on Charlotte Avenue on the west side. So how many is that now? And then our OG's still on 8th Avenue South. On 8th Avenue. That's five total. Five. So what's the goal? To keep going? To keep going, to keep growing, and to keep pushing forward.

01:05:47Dang. In all things that we're trying to achieve. I'm here for it. That's awesome. Yeah. I've always had a great experience at Atherhurst. Thank you. You guys have really good food options, too. Just love the decor. New menu. Yeah, we just changed some stuff up on that side as well. Do you do any consulting for Atherhurst, Shelby, on the menu? Just moral support for this guy. For now. There's no connection between the two. You're not bleeding over at all? Do. Not yet. That's long-term goal, big picture. You know, their chef is great, Chef Amanda, and we've definitely been in contact about a few things, but yeah, long-term. Yeah. Big plans for her. Big plans for her. I like that. That's awesome. That's amazing. That's so great. Okay. But now, you got any more color questions, or you want to know her favorite childhood memory? I know, favorite movie is a real question. That tells me so much about somebody. Okay, Shelby, what's your favorite movie? Let's go around the table. We'll just go around the table. Wait, I want- Do you even watch movies?

01:06:49Okay, I fall asleep during movies quite a bit. She's like, just say Ratatouille and you're done with it. I don't know how any movie ends. Yeah, thank you. Okay, so you understand. One of my favorites is 500 Days of Summer. I know it's an old movie, but- That's a good one. I really like that one. 500 Days of Summer. That's a sweet movie. That's a good movie. I don't remember. She's like a romantic, then. She likes the dreamy kind of love story. You like a rom-com? I like a rom-com. Okay. Yeah, Hallmark movies. Oh my God. Big on that. Okay, Christmas Hallmark movies, I will watch all year long. Yeah, don't even talk to me. What's the best rom-com of all time? Oh my God, that's a big question. We know yours is 500 Days of Summer. Is that your favorite rom-com though? Do you have a favorite rom-com of all time you ever watched? Because I have one, very distinctively. Anything where she's going back to her hometown. That's a Reese Witherspoon dream right there. I know, any Reese Witherspoon, where she's a New York executive and she's going back to her little hometown. She starts with that neglectful boyfriend. Yeah. Yeah. He doesn't see her. And then somebody finally- He's an asshole, but then the Uber driver who's really cute and he's the, yeah.

01:07:53Yeah. No, he's the old high school sweetheart, you know? But he was like- Are we writing one right now? But he had his own life too, but he came back to that hometown, you know? Just by chance. He connects her to her roots. He had a dream. He had a dream. Throw in the blank. That's my favorite. All right, Q, favorite? Favorite movie or favorite romantic comedy? Both. Let's do rom-com. I'm gonna go with How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Oh, that's a good one. I think that is just an all-time classic. McConaughey and- Oh, yeah. Goldie Hawn's daughter. Yeah. What's her name? Kate. Kate Hudson. Kate Hudson. Yes. Kate Hudson and, yeah, yeah. Versus the love fern. Oh my God, that's the funniest damn movie. I like Notting Hill and I like The Best Man. Okay. So I don't know if anyone has seen The Best Man. The Best Man. Like a wedding date also is a really good one. Yeah, wedding date is good. I like Wedding Crashers. Okay, that's not a rom-com. That's just a funny movie. I'm talking about a very specific- Can I tell you- This is so good. And it's fun. I watched Wedding Crashers like a year ago and I almost couldn't even watch it.

01:08:59I watched that a long time ago. It was funny as shit. Does it remind you of your youth? What do you mean? No, but I was like, they should be in jail. Like these are guys that strategically plan on going to weddings that aren't theirs, getting women drunk, tricking them into sleeping with them. This is like the date-rate movie. Yeah, no, it doesn't age well. It doesn't age well. Well, I was watching this like, this is really not right. Like this is a bunch of guys tricking women into sleeping with them under false pretenses. Yeah, but then one turns them, you know? One makes them really think twice. And he's a prize, I guess. All right, I'll take that movie back. It's just like a thing. I'm watching this like, how is this even a thing? I thought it was funny as shit when I first saw it, but then I watched it now through whatever lens I have and I'm like, oh God, this movie's like creepy. You ever watched your childhood cartoons and be like, this is not appropriate? Yeah. Oh yeah. Bugs Bunny is like not appropriate. You watched the OG Peter Pan movie?

01:09:59OG Peter Pan shouldn't be out anymore. Anything on Nickelodeon? Anything on Nickelodeon? It's bad. All right, favorite movie for you, Crystal? Oh my God, favorite movie for me? Favorite rom-com. Okay, rom-com, oh God. Okay, I'll stick with my same. I wanna do a Christmas one. Have you seen that Lindsay Lohan Christmas one? Yes. Okay, so good. Don't know what it's called, but she gets amnesia. Yep. We gotta look up the name of it. Because everyone has to watch it. The new version of Overboard of Lindsay Lohan Christmas. She goes to some cabin, but she hits her head and then she has amnesia and she has to re-fall in love. It was a different storyline. So that was exciting. Yeah. Not your typical. Not the one we just wrote earlier. Like, wow, Lindsay Lohan had to do this movie, didn't she? It was really, you saw the acting and I usually, it's like when they're so bad, they're good, you know? I love it. Louise, what about you? You can swing that mic over to her. Did you look up the name of the movie? Of what?

01:10:59Look up the name of the movie because I don't know where my phone is. I didn't look it up. Lindsay Lohan Christmas movie. Yeah. I need everyone to watch it and comment on her Instagram about it. Speaking of a good Lindsay Lohan movie though, Parent Trap, that's always one of my favorites. Oh, but that's a classic. The Haley Mills original though. Falling for Christmas. Right, Shelby? Falling and hitting your head for Christmas. But get it, falling for Christmas because she falls and hits her head. Cute, it's catchy. It's so bad. Another really good movie though, another good rom-com, The Idea of You. That just came out, Anne Hathaway. I don't know that one. Amazon Prime, watch it. Oh, I saw the ad for that. She looks like a younger guy. She's... Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's the whole thing. She's a cougar, I think they say. She's a cougar. All right, favorite drama. Louise, you didn't say your favorite rom-com, did you? No. I love What Happens in Vegas. Cameron Diaz. Yeah, Ashton Kutcher. I don't know, it's out of that one. That's a good one. You ever seen that one? No. Oh, it's pretty good.

01:12:00They get married and then they win the lottery. They win. They get married and they win some big amount of money and then they have to get it at null, then they fall in love. See, spoiler alert, they fall in love at the end. Yeah. Like real love. Well, now I don't need to watch it. Yeah, done. Thanks. I mean, we are ruining it. I'm sure it's on Wikipedia anyway. I can't believe I just ruined the rom-com for you. They actually fall in love at the end, like, dammit. But are they still together? I love it. Okay. Favorite trash TV that you watch. Oh, so much. I'm big into trash TV. What is your favorite trash TV? I'm a big Bravo fan, but not The Housewives. I'm like below deck, Summer House, Winter House. She's classy Bravo. I'm like trashy Bravo. I give me all the Vanderpump rules. I want the spin-off. The Valley's not that great, but like I- It's not that great, but I still watch it. Yeah. Yeah. Look at Q. What do you, you don't even know. You don't have time for this. Honestly, don't watch any. You don't have time for this. Also, you know what's really good? Don't watch trash TV. Did you guys, or I guess I should just direct it towards one person. No. Oh, do you like trashy TV too?

01:13:01I am a big fan of the Bachelor franchise. Oh, Brandon. That's trashy, right? No. No. Come on, it's not- Bachelor in Paradise is pretty fucking trashy. Bachelor in Paradise. Yeah. I don't watch that one. They're like, stop. Anyway. Let's get to real trash. Anyway, Shelby. The- That's on the major network. The McBee dynasty, real American cowboy. Have you seen that? No. No. Okay, Shelby, Shelby for real. No, it's awful. You guys can't see this. This is why we need video, Brandon. Her face just lit up. She is so into this conversation right now. She is like, her and I are gonna talk after this. Okay, calm down. You like Morgan Wallen? Okay. You know. I like Morgan Wallen. It's okay. Nothing wrong with Morgan. I mean, there's stuff wrong with him. Let's not go too far. What is the deal with you in rap music? What was that whole, they were like asking you questions on your Instagram about rap music. What was the story behind that? Hey, we're gonna talk all about rap music right after these words from our sponsors.

01:14:02I am so excited today to introduce all of y'all to a brand new linen option here in Nashville. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Tri-Tex Services. They opened in 1989 as an independently owned and operated textile linen service company serving Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. Nashville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville are their key markets that they are in. That is what is in luck for you because they service multiple industries including food and beverage, medical and industrial. They supply a wide variety of products. We got restroom supplies, all types of mats, matting, wet mops, dust mops, towels, aprons, uniforms, table linens, first aid, just to name a few. I mean, their goal at Tri-Tex Services is to combine customer service with a quality product at competitive pricing and exceed our customers' expectations every single day. That's not something you hear from a linen company. They're trying to exceed your expectations every day and I love that.

01:15:03Their company slogan is the difference is our service because they take pride in customer service. They know that's what they're known for. So go to tritexservices.com and get a free quote right there in the center of the page. Click to get a free quote or give them a call. 888-761-3238. At What Chefs Want, they deliver the seven most needed product lines to meet the unique needs of chefs and restaurateurs. From local to global and from staple items to gourmet rarities, they have the variety of products to cover all of your needs. Produce, seafood, meats, gourmet, staples, to-go, and dairy. At What Chefs Want, they're transforming food service by eliminating minimum orders, offering split cases, and providing daily deliveries with 24-7 customer support. This means chefs have the flexibility to order what they need when they need it. They experiment with new ingredients and keep their kitchens consistently stocked with fresh supplies.

01:16:04It's all about empowering culinary creativity while streamlining operations. Check them out at whatchefswant.com or give them a call at 800-600-8510. Bro, imagine the raddest blend of berries and ginger hitting you in your taste buds like a wave of flavor from the future. This gen-less fizz smacks you right in the mouth field, tonalizing your tongue while delivering that light, refreshing euphoria in every sip. The floral aroma, unique flavors, and THC infusion of our Berry Ginger Fizz makes you feel like someone should have thought of this before, right? Right? Right. Like, nobody's thought of this before? I can hardly believe it, but we did. That's insane. For real. Okay, sorry, sorry, I don't wanna interrupt. That's awesome. Go get a Cali Sober Berry Ginger Fizz right now. You can find Cali Sober at the finest liquor stores or place your order today through Lipman Brothers. We are supported by Robins Insurance, a local insurance agency providing customized insurance policies, sound guidance, and attentive service.

01:17:13Robins Insurance is the go-to agency for hospitality professionals in Nashville. Listen, Robins knows how hard industry professionals work every single day. They also know how devastating accidents can be. Be it a grease fire that damages the kitchen, a severe storm that cuts off power, or a customer slip and fall incident. Both the extensive experience and the savvy to create a policy that protects your business from accidents like those, you can rest easy knowing that the work you've put in will not be for nothing. Visit Robins' website at robinsins.com to request a consultation or call Matthew Clements directly. His number is 863-409-9372. Protection you can trust, that's Robins. This guy. Do you just know nothing about Rob? Yeah. Because I feel like there was an inside joke that I didn't get. No, I just try to integrate. You're trying to give us some culture. The culture into Robins. Yeah.

01:18:14In today's conversation, you know, is a reflection of how to lose a guy in five days. Well, yeah, you can do it quicker. So, actually though, no, what it was is you brought in all the new photographs that we have hung up in the one hallway. And he thought it was hilarious that he was asking, who's this person, who's this, I didn't know the answers, okay. I grew up on 90s country. So, I'm sorry, we have different upbringing. She's like, I thought we were moving to Nashville. That's what makes us a good team, right? Shana Twain, shout out. Love her. I saw her, what, last year, I think, yeah, right before I moved here. She's aging very well. Yeah, she is with, I'm sure, no assistants. But yeah, so it's like, I was looking at these photographs and I couldn't name the people, so then he thought it was hilarious to call me out in a video, asking about it, yeah. Okay, so do you know, like, do you, have you listened to rap music since? Or are you, have you found an angle that you kind of like, or? I mean, I get into some moods where, you know, I just wanna listen to it pretty loudly in the car, but other than that, that's in private.

01:19:18So, what do you recommend, Q? What do you recommend for the country music fan to kind of give them some cultured rap music, or just like hip hop music in general? Ooh, that's a great question. I mean, if I wanted to start people off with black people music, I would start them off with, like, you know. He said it. He said what I was alluding to, thank you. Yeah, I would start from the beginning, so I would go to the, like, I would start them out with, you know, Freddie King and Ray Charles and Sam Cooke and Curtis Mayfield, and then we'd evolve over to the Marvin Gayes of the world, and then kind of go to, you know, David Ruffin, and, you know, and then get into some jazz with Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk and, you know, John Coltrane, and then. Look at how he fluidly rattles this off. And then you kind of have to go to, like, the 80s, where you got, you know, the R&B vibes of Guy and, you know, and Prince and, you know, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, and then we ease into the 90s R&B, and that would be more like.

01:20:21Oh my God, we're just in the 90s now? And then 90s hip hop, especially. Yeah, he's taking us through the years. Are we skimming over some gangster rap early 90s? No, I wouldn't. No, but it's an evolution. Everything needs each other to evolve into what that is, right? I mean, like. No. But that's a part of cinema, too, just so you know. Yeah. But 90s, if I started someone to answer your question with hip hop, I would do more about the lyrics, so it would be more about common and. A Tribe Called Quest. A Tribe Called Quest, yeah. A Tribe Called Quest and, you know, Freddie Gibbs and Kendrick Lamar and Tupac and. Kendrick's my favorite. And, you know, get into some of my roots of Memphis, where you got like A-balling MJG and Young Dolph and so. I got tons, if we talked about, I can. I love it. We can do a separate podcast. I love it. Talking about music. This is so cool. Yeah. But then Morgan Wilding, so. We're not comparing here. We are though, Shelby. We are comparing. We'll get her there one day.

01:21:22Yeah. He was like. Our brunch playlist kind of introduced me to that, so. Yeah, yeah. Which you do like our playlist. I do, yeah. I appreciate it. And not just because he's telling me I do. Yeah. You will like, it's in your contract. You will listen to this music. I signed on that, yeah. No, it's good. It's good to be well-rounded, you know? Like, it's different and I'm sure, yeah. So what are you playing in the kitchen? What is your pre-shift? Restaurant's not open. What are we playing around the team? Okay, well there are three different speakers that go on simultaneously in the kitchen. We have a back line, a front line, and then the Garmo pastry area. So it's usually three different styles of music. Yeah. So it's a lot going on. Yeah. Sensory overload, some might say. But whenever I control the speaker, I just did actually on Mother's Day. Nice. Yeah. Well, I don't know if I'd say nice yet. You might not like the choices. Post Malone and Morgan Wallen have a new song out. So that was definitely on repeat for a minute. Hardy, love Hardy.

01:22:24Who writes all of Morgan Wallen's music. Yeah, yeah, big Hardy fan. Yeah. Ernest? Love Ernest, he's great also. Writes a lot of Morgan Wallen songs. Lives on my street. Yeah, so they're kind of the three who get the most attention on my speakers. I'm always so interested, like, it's really telling when you're like, let someone pick the music in the kitchen. It's very telling of their personality. Yeah. Because it's like, all right, this is what you're listening to in your headphones. My exec Sue's choices are a little questionable at times. Yeah. His music choices. It can get heavy in there sometimes, for sure. Yeah, yeah. Is it like metal or is it like... Okay, there are so many. It's nothing, it's not consistent. So there's some house music, there's some metal. There's a lot of like pop punk, like Warped Tour era, which I love. I love that. You know, I was a big Warped Tour fan. That's like Limp Bizkit era. Yeah, like... Link 182. Yeah. Like that kind of... Green Day.

01:23:25That's the later version. Yeah. Good Charlotte. I love A Day to Remember. One of my favorite bands, too, so. Incubus. Incubus, yeah. Look at you, you're like, Incubus. No, I love Incubus. Okay, good. Well, listen, that's mid-90s, what grunge kind of turned into was that after Dookie, a lot of that grunge slash punk kind of morphed into what all this other stuff is. Yeah, I'm a huge like system of a down fan. Oh my God, me too. That's such good pre-shift music. Yeah. I mean, it's really aggressive. The lyrics are really like a little much, but like Rage, Raging Against the Machine. You know, City House, at the end of the night, they start playing like Raging Against the Machine, at the very end of service, when it's like time to go. Like this is your exit. Yeah, it'll be like, all right, kitchen's cleaning now, you know, and they have a big open kitchen, you kind of start hearing it, you're like, all right. Oh, that's a good idea. I don't know if they still do that. I don't know if Sal's doing that still, but yeah, I noticed they did.

01:24:28I'm like, that's an interesting, awesome idea, you know? Get people kind of like, all right, music's going up, it's time to like flip chairs over the tables. All right. But that's interesting. Anyways. Guys, this is so much fun having you all here. We're almost at the hour mark. Shelby, Q, this is your time to shine. This is it. Since you said that, let me just do a PSA. So June 21st, we're celebrating our 10-year anniversary at Cinema. We're gonna do it in the style of what we do, typically for New Year's Eve, where you're gonna be able to purchase tickets online or go to our website, we'll put a QR code, and we should be finishing all of that information by the end of today. But June 21st, we're celebrating our 10-year anniversary. We're gonna do a bunch of cool in-house chef feature stations. Beverage pairings with that, yeah. You can come meet Chef Shelby? Absolutely, yeah. What a treat, right? We have a DJ, it's gonna be like a whole vibe. Will you be signing autographs?

01:25:29No, not this time. Signing menus? Yeah, yeah. We'll see what we can figure out. Taking selfies, at least? Definitely selfies, yeah. Okay, yeah. Definitely want a selfie with Chef Shelby. Yeah, we have a new pastry chef, too, Chef Kay, who's amazing. She joined the team about two months ago now, so she'll have a station. Chef Tony, our exec, Sue, will have a station. Chef Erin, our sous chef, will have a station. They're all amazing. So we're each gonna have a couple bites that pair with those different beverages. So it's kind of like a food and wine feel. That's awesome. Yeah, so we're really excited. That's a great idea. Yeah, it's gonna be really cool. That is super cool. We'll do a couple of sponsorship partnerships with some local liquor reps and do some giveaways and have a couple of cool DJs. I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, we're gonna have fun with it. It's gonna be a little party time. This is like a party. This sounds awesome. Yeah, 10 years is a big deal. We'll even do some non-alcoholic drink options as well for those who don't drink. Love that. That's my vibe right there. Yeah. Well, it's kind of like I was saying before we even turned the microphones on. I mean, you guys do such a, you're not just a restaurant. So many places you can go and it's a food, but you guys have such an experience in your place and you do such fun events.

01:26:36I imagine if somebody follows you on social media, they could keep up to date with all of these things. Absolutely, at Cinema Nashville. At Cinema Nashville. They have a great Instagram account. Do you guys do like a newsletter if you email something out? Yeah, we do. How would I get on that newsletter? Give me your email. I could go to at Cinema on Instagram and I could send you my, I could DM you my emails. Hey, will you add me to the newsletter? Absolutely, and you know what? Actually, we should probably promote if you're interested in signing up for our newsletter, but we really kind of curate our email list from our reservation, so you can subscribe when you make a reservation. Oh, well, go make a reservation at Cinema. This is the time. What are you waiting for? We didn't talk about your brunch. We gotta talk about, we didn't talk about the brunch. We talked about a little bit on the brunch, but just that, did we talk about brunch at all? We did not talk about brunch at all. That was before we turned the microphones. It doesn't count if it's, the red button's not pushed. You guys have one of the most amazing brunches in the whole city, and it's an all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink brunch for $42.99?

01:27:44Serve family style. Serve family style. Oh my gosh. So all-you-can-eat family style for $42, and then the bottomless mimosas or bottomless Bloody Marys are additional. Yes. Oh, so that's additional on top of the 42. Okay, gotcha. Wow, what's the most you've ever seen anybody eat a bottomless brunch? Oh wow. Have you ever had to cut anybody off? Probably my youngest brother who came to visit us. Okay, he was too comfortable. Yeah, he's a former professional athlete, and he can throw down some chicken. Were you nervous? Were you like, all right. No, he just, no. You're like, guys, just fry a little extra that day. No, no, but he can throw it down. But truthfully, brunch is deceiving. Most people don't eat as much as you think you're going to eat. It's heavier food too, you know, it's bread-y. Well, we're balanced. I wouldn't say we're super heavy. We're balanced now. That's something that we really wanted to focus on. That was one thing whenever I first got in and looked at the brunch menu, and it was all great food, but very heavy.

01:28:45So there weren't any lighter options. So on our new menu, we went live, geez, my days are running together, a couple months ago now, and we have a brunch salad, we have fruit, we have parfaits, we have avocado toast. So we're trying to lighten up too. So appealing to everyone. But we do have pancakes and fried chicken, and you know, all those good vibes as well. The potatoes, the bacon, the sausage. Yeah, and scrambled eggs. Cinnamon roll, bread pudding. Yeah, yeah. This is one of those things I was talking about earlier. What did you see? Yeah. And you're like, well, the brunch menu is a little too heavy, and we wanted to change it up. Yeah. That's so cool. Well, thank you guys so much for being here. The final thing that we do on the show, which I don't know if you do know that we do this or not, but you guys get to say whatever you wanna say, promote whatever you wanna promote. But you get to take us out. So we do it, we call it the Gordon Food Service Final Thought. And you guys both get to have one. Whoever wants to go first. This guy. To say whatever you wanna say, as long as you wanna say it, you get to take us out. Just another reminder that we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary on June 21st.

01:29:49It's a little bit of the things that we've done over the years and also some of the things that we're gonna be doing moving forward. We're gonna be dropping ticket sales online, hopefully by the end of today, but hopefully at the latest tomorrow. Nashville as a whole city, continue to, don't forget about the local restaurants. So if you're traveling here or if you're local, just support your local small businesses. And that's that. Yeah. I'd also say, you know, come in, see us, have fun. Book your private events with us. We've got a great space. Do a restaurant buyout. Let's do some special custom menus. Let's go. Yeah. I love it. Thank you guys so much. Crystal, do you have anything? No. I've said enough. What's that movie we need to promote? Falling. Falling for Christmas? House Party with Kid and Play. House Party with Kid and Play and then follow that up like a bang bang. Like when you eat at two restaurants, but you do a double movie.

01:30:49So yeah, House Party and then Falling for Christmas. And The Last Dragon. And The Last Dragon. And you know, let's just top it all off with the McBee Dynasty, Real American Cowboy. Yeah, so just take a day off. Take a day off. This is the hard hitting things we're talking about today on Nashville Restaurant Radio. This is what we really talk about, okay? Thank you guys so much for joining us today and we will see you guys soon. And we'll see you all over at cinema. Thank you. Thank you for having us. Bye bye. All right, wow. So thank you so much to Q Taylor and Shelby Briggs for joining us in studio. I am so jealous. I started to say this in front of the camera. I'm so jealous of Q and NBS. I don't know the way you want to look at it because I'm looking for an executive chef at Maribor right now. And I would die to have her. She's the perfect executive chef pick for them. Yeah. I mean, just perfect for them. And we're, you know, we're such a similar restaurant. And I think that cinema and I, because we're experiential restaurants.

01:31:52And obviously, you know, she's there and that's not a thing, but like, I was just talking and I was like, oh my God, I wish you were like somebody I was interviewing right now for a job because I would hire you in a heartbeat. She was so good. I know, I know. Her, you can just tell how focused she is in the kitchen and how she waited that month, you know, to not change anything and kind of gain respect from the other staff. And that's just, it's just the right way to do it, you know? She kind of reminded me a little bit of like a Julia Sullivan type, like of just like owning, just as a badass, just gets in there and just like make shit happen. Yeah, she's not trying to like be loud and boisterous about it. Like she's just focused and smart and dedicated to the craft of what she's doing. She's fair, she's a leader, like all of the things. I was just really impressed with her. I know we need to support her. So we need to go check out their, you know, they have their anniversary coming up. We need to, you know, just check out what she's doing. She's new in Nashville. And like she said, she's, you know, trying to meet people and she's trying to like go to restaurants. So like, and she's not gonna say who she is.

01:32:54You're probably not gonna know, but if you see Shelby and you're a chef, introduce yourself, she's looking for friends. I'm gonna help her make more friends. I just thought she was amazing. I enjoyed, I enjoyed learning about her and obviously having Q and just being in his orbit, like I said in the preview, Manthu's amazing. I know, what a cool team. Yeah, I mean, definitely let's go to cinema and try the new menu. I mean, like if you've been there, if you haven't been there in the last six months, you haven't really tasted her new flavors. So give them a shot again. We did like a 20 minute intro. Too long. We're gonna make the outro a little less today, but I do wanna give a heads up for next week. We have a gentleman named Larry O'Brien will be in studio. Master sommelier. Master sommelier with the court of master sommeliers, which he's estranged from right now. Yeah. But he is the master sommelier for Kendall Jackson.

01:33:55Which is a winery in California. The number one Chardonnay in the country for like 20 years. Yeah. Like they're still crushing it. He's the master sommelier there. Literally crushing it. Ah, I like what you did there. Cause grapes. I was picking up your button down. Are grapes crushed anymore? I'm just thinking of I love Lucy. Yeah, of course. Okay. I don't know. I don't know. Masseration. We've never had a master sommelier on. And then he explains. Well, there's not many. He explains what it means. There's two or 300 master sommeliers in the world. I still don't really know what it is. Eight billion people in the world. There's 300 master sommeliers. So. That's one, 1,000th of a percent of people. You're talking about the 1%, 1,000th of a percent. I feel like he should have a title. You know, like you should, I was trying to say, do I call you sir? Or like, I don't know. Sir Larry. Sir Larry. But he was very laid back. And he, you know, he did a dinner for us the night before at Mary Bowlin. It was a big Kendall Jackson dinner.

01:34:55And I got to spend some time with him. Lovely guy. Interesting, interesting cat. Anybody who can do that with the knowledge, the geographical knowledge and this, the palette, all that stuff together. He's just a fascinating guy. He has a lot of knowledge happening. It's a lot. So I wanted to get behind, like I wanted to learn about like the whole, what are you doing, man? Like, what's your story? I don't, what's the psyche behind somebody who learns that? So I'm excited to share this. It's going to be fun. I'm going to learn what a master sommelier does. This is what we do. This is, I want to know. We're seekers. We're just learning. I don't know. Like, and why do we need one? You know? We need to know about it. That's a great question. Why do we need them? Yeah. So that's next week, Larry O'Brien. He's the master sommelier. I'm going to ask him what kind of grilled cheese to pair with wine. That's a great question. I know. I like that. It's real self-serving. Why not?

01:35:56I don't know. I don't drink alcohol. So like, I'm going to, I'm going to be like, this is a recommendation from master sommelier. We have two non-drinkers as having a master sommelier. And another person to interview him. We need a third. Who's a wine guy wants to meet with? I did invite. Yeah, it would have been nice. But, so we thank you guys for listening. We'd love to hear your feedback on this episode today with Shelby and Q. Find the Instagram post and let us know what you think. Or you can go right there on Spotify. There's like a questionnaire and a poll. If you go to Spotify and listen, if you listen through Spotify, you can answer questions in a poll right there. Or our Instagram, you know? Like we'll chat back with you. Yeah, post and we may, we may talk about it right here on the show. Dang, you could be, you could be podcast famous. Which is not very famous. Which is not super famous, but a little less than Instagram famous. So, you know. It'll be fun. Somewhat famous. Yeah. All right guys. Thank you for listening.

01:36:57This, it means the world to us. And if you, wherever you listen, click that subscribe button and then you'll get notifications when new episodes come out. Like this bonus episode with Gloria, Gloria Johnson came out on Monday. If you're a subscriber, you would immediately have known that that came out on Sunday night and you got that notification. You could have listened to it early. So, subscribe where you're listening to. And we hope that you guys are being safe out there. Stay Cheesy Nashville. Love you guys. Bye bye.