Sharon Hurt

00:00Do you provide your team with health insurance? If you work for a restaurant right now that doesn't offer health insurance, do you need health insurance? Because DanMaur over at Southern Health Insurance wants to change that. If you're a local restaurant and you just, you really want to offer health insurance, there are so many benefits. Improved employee retention, you have happier team members, which means longer tenures and less training time. Smoother shifts make everyone's lives easier, meaning happier employees are more likely to stick around. When employees take care of their health, they're less likely to take sick days. This means reduction in lost productivity and revenue for your business. Fewer sick days, wouldn't that be great? You have improved morale, a healthy workplace with opportunities for growth is a happy workplace. Encouraging your team's wellbeing will result in higher morale and better work performance. Guys, all of these things, Dan offers health insurance. He offers visual insurance and dental. As well as life insurance. And guys, if you're out there and the marketplace is just too tough to navigate, Dan can answer any question that you may have.

01:05Any business, if you're a small business, it doesn't have to be a restaurant, you need to call Southern Health Insurance, 832-816-8602. If you prefer to email, you can email Dan at SouthernHealthINS.com. 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 we are powered by Gordon Food Service. We'll be joined shortly with Caroline Galzin. We're super excited to find you here. This is a Sunday. This episode's coming out on a Sunday for the Monday. I hope that you are on spring break this week and you're going somewhere really awesome because the weather here has been kind of bleh.

02:08But we got a big episode today. We're talking with Sharon Hurt. And Sharon is a mayoral candidate. She is a councilwoman at large. And this was a really fun interview. This is our first mayoral candidate that we've spoke with. And she's just amazing. I really enjoyed the conversation. We've tried to be nonpartisan when it comes to having these conversations, but I think we probably know that we're gonna follow along lines with Sharon. We're hopefully gonna bring in some more candidates so we can really ask some questions that maybe affect you. I don't know, but we're gonna enjoy it and maybe I'll learn something. Maybe Caroline will learn something. Maybe you'll learn something. But that's the goal of what we're doing here. So that episode's gonna come up here in just a moment. We will have Charlotte Miller and Kelly Martin. They're gonna be on talking about diversity, equity, and inclusion. That episode's gonna come out on Friday. We're really excited about that. And then Monday, we are gonna be talking with Will Gadara.

03:08And Will Gadara is the author, bestselling author, and former owner of Eleven Madison Park. His book is called Unreasonable Hospitality. It was our last month book club meeting. Couldn't get him in time for the book club, but we do have him coming up next Monday. So please stay tuned for that episode. That's a big one. If you haven't read the book, go read it. Go get it. You should definitely check it out. The next week, we're gonna have Alex Ballou, who is the winner of Hell's Kitchen, Battle of the Ages. He's gonna be on the show. We're really excited about that. We've just got lots of fun things coming up here for you guys. This past week was a really fun week for me. It was my birthday week. And I have to say, it was an epic birthday. We had so much fun. I had so much fun. And I just wanna say thank you to everybody who reached out and said some kind words. I was overwhelmed with people reaching out and just the, I don't know, it was just really amazing. I had the Green Nose Grill sent to the studio here.

04:10We're about to start interviewing an interview and this guy walks up and he's dressed like Elvis and he's like, hey man, are you Brandon? I said, yes. He said, great, I'm gonna come in and sing you a song. And I was like, what the hell is going on here? And singing Elvis, sing happy birthday to me. You can go to my Instagram, at Brandon underscore N-R-R and watch that video if you wanted to see Elvis singing me happy birthday and Hound Dog in studio. And you can see what genuine shock looks like on somebody's face, because that was me. I had no clue what was going on here. It was absolutely insane. So really excited to get this episode with Sharon Hurt. But I do wanna tell you, we have a new sponsor. And it's kind of a sponsors, because this is a tandem one and this is one I've been really excited about bringing to you because this could be the one. This could be the one that you pick up the phone and go, here we go. With Village Real Estate and Amanda Gardner with Foundation Mortgage have come together to partner up to work with restaurant and hospitality workers.

05:23I know, right? So if you're a hospitality worker and you don't think the dream of home ownership is something that's gonna happen for you, well, they are restaurant people. Jonathan used to work in the industry for a long time. He was at Red Phone booth for a really long time. His wife is currently in the industry. He's an amazing guy, but he wants to figure out a way to get you a house. The dream of home ownership doesn't have to be for other people. So you don't need great credit scores. You don't need tens of thousands of dollars down payment. And you certainly do not need two years of employment at one job. These are things I didn't know. I don't know what you need, but he's come in and he said, look, I can get people houses. You don't have to break an arm and a leg for this thing, which is amazing. So Jonathan Ho with Village Real Estate along with his partners at Foundation Mortgage, they have the products and intimate knowledge of the industry to help you assist in identifying properties to purchase and get you qualified for financing.

06:27I don't know what else to say. I mean, I don't think you should take chances with one of the most significant purchases of your life. You need to trust people who understand the needs of hospitality workers. You need a team of non-judgmental and flexible people who are flexible enough to accommodate any hospitality schedule. I mean, guys, that's the thing. People out there, if you're in hospitality world, oh, I'm a server. We don't got time for you. This is bread and butter. I mean, it's absolutely amazing. So here's what you gotta do. You gotta give them a call. His number is 615-483-0315. You can follow him on Instagram at Housepetality. See guys, that's his Instagram, at H-O-U-S-E at SPITA Housepetality, right? So he wants to find you a house for hospitality, but that's what this guy's doing. And I'm telling you, he's a good friend of mine. I'm really excited to bring him up here. Amanda Gardner over at Foundation Mortgage. She is at Mortgage Amanda on Instagram. And you can call Jonathan at 615-483-0315.

07:31You can call Amanda with Foundation Mortgage at 865-230-1031. This is gonna be fun. I can't wait to learn more about it. We're gonna bring him on and we're gonna ask him some general real estate questions for hospitality workers. Like, what can you do? What are the things? And I'm excited to bring that to you. Without further ado though, let's jump in right now with Sharon Hurt. We are super excited today to welcome in Sharon Hurt. Sharon is a council woman at large and she is a mayoral candidate. And I said, how should we introduce you? She says, just call me Sharon. I'm Sharon for Nashville. That's what I'm here to do. So welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio, Sharon. Thank you so much for having me. This is our first mayoral candidate we've had on the show. Yes, we're so excited to have you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me here. Well, I'm so excited to jump in and I know Caroline has a bunch of questions and I'm gonna like defer to you.

08:33I'm just gonna let you run with it. I do, I do have. Well, and it's not even so many questions. It's just more kind of conversation starters. You know, I think that we've had a few guests on the podcast over the last couple of months who, you know, obviously it's an election year for mayor. We are in such a rapidly changing city that I think that these issues are at the forefront of everyone's mind, in particular small business owners. And with you being the first candidate that we're talking to on the show, I really wanted to bring you on because you are the only person who in your announcement, as far as I could find, mentioned specifically small businesses. You know, if I may, I'd like to read a quote that you gave to the Tennessean. You said, we have a huge county and we've got to spread the wealth and not just focus on our downtown, but put money all around this entire county so everybody can benefit and that will still include our downtown community.

09:34You called small businesses and nonprofits the anchors of our neighborhoods. Why is that such an important issue for you and for Nashville? I think that it's very important for people to understand that you build cities, great cities, when you're inclusive of all. And it has to be from the bottom up and not the top down. Because what happens when you do it from the top down, the top continues to have and to get and to get and to have. But the bottom is the one that's always hurt and never having and always hurt. And we don't want that. What we really want is hurt for Nashville for real. But. A different kind of hurt. But a different kind of hurt. But our small businesses are the ones that hire our people. And we've got to have working class people in order to make the city go, people make the world go round.

10:40If everybody was the same, I don't think that we would be as colorful and as rich as we are as a city. And I don't mean rich in terms of the monetary value, but I mean rich in terms that we have the most diverse city in the state of Tennessee. Something for everybody. And I think that the anchor and the crust of who we are lies with the small businesses and the small nonprofits because that's where the work is actually done. I absolutely agree. You know, that's a feeling that I, as a small business owner, can really relate to. I think in particular through the pandemic in the last couple of years, it seems that the small businesses and the neighborhoods are really what put Nashville on the map, what attracts the tourists, what's attracted so many new residents.

11:40But then when you see where kind of some of the attention, it all seems to be on downtown. Why is that? Let me go back to the other question, please, because I think that in a small business community, small nonprofit community is what lies the heart of Nashville, and that's hope. Because this city can give people hope to be successful, hope to have their dreams come true in this city. I think that the reason why there's more talk about the bigger, because they're the ones who are basically running everything. So they're gonna have their messages at the forefront in the minds of everyone. But it's more of a small businesses, small nonprofits that exist in them. So if we all unite it and we came together to show the power and the strength, because the power is with the people.

12:47And I believe that we have to bring things back. Our, I'm just gonna keep it, I'm a basic fundamental kind of person, and I'm gonna bring it back. Because our constitution says that the government exists to serve its residents. Go ahead. I was just gonna say, you said the power is with the people, the power is with the big corporations, it seems like to me. But who serves those big corporations? Everything that they have, the things that they sell, it's the people that purchase them. Who are the consumers of all of the things that the corporations have? We just don't realize that we have the power. Well, that's what I'm saying. I don't disagree with you in that statement, but I'm saying right now, the way the balance of power is shifted, it's all at the big corporations, and it's these huge companies. How do you change that? You say, we've got to do that. If you become mayor, how do you do that? First of all, I think what we have to do is be transparent with our people.

13:51And in order to build that trust that we seem that they don't have for the government. So if we give them truth and transparency and build that trust, then they'll be open to listen to what it is that's being said. So now I'm gonna tell them, listen, you have this power. You are the ones that can make the corporations do, have, be. They are only as great as you are. I always give this analogy about basketball and Michael Jordan and the Bulls. And Michael Jordan was all downtown. He was the 50, 60 points a game every time, right? But he never won a championship until he got Scottie Pippen in the game and Dennis Rodman and Horace Grant and Tony Cucco and all of those guys. Steve Kerr. Steve Kerr. Look, I tell folks, he's west Nashville. So Scottie Pippen is the north Nashville, Dennis Rodman is my east Nashville, okay?

14:54And you get them in the game. I think you nailed that. And that's how you wake them. But somebody asked me, well, what about the people? Where do they fit in there? I said, they're the spectators. They're the ones who attend the game. And COVID already showed us that if spectators are not there, the game cannot go on. That's a damn good analogy. People, those corporations cannot be. Who's buying from Amazon? People. Right. So what are you saying? Stop buying from Amazon? Although you said transparency. No, I don't necessarily think that we have to stop buying from Amazon. But what we've gotta do is talk to Amazon and let Amazon hear what it is that we have to say. And we hear what Amazon has to say. We all can coexist here. And I think Nashville is the place. We gotta do this together. It's an all-inclusive place. And we should act as such.

15:55Yeah, I completely agree. You know, I think that there's some interesting things happening right now with how the Nashville government wants to operate and what the potential new mayor wants to do for the city versus what's happening with the state trying to take some control of the local government. A couple of questions I have about that. One is how do you think that we can, that the mayor's office can kind of coexist with the state? And what do we do about some of the state policies that don't necessarily align with our values as a city? I think that a great example is it pertains to our small businesses is the recent drag show legislation. You know, we've actually invited quite a few people to come on the show and talk about it. And we can't get anybody to come on and talk about it because people are so afraid of the backlash that they've gotten from these extremist groups, which breaks my heart.

17:00You know, I've always known Nashville to be, you know, kind of that little island that's, you know, a safer space. But I think that's the problem. Yeah. I think the problem is that people don't wanna talk about it and that's the only way we're gonna be able to, you gotta get to the root of it before you can get to the fruit of it. And it's not gonna happen overnight, okay? So we've gotta have that hard conversation. We gotta have that dialogue. In fact, sometimes messaging can be very robust in silence. As a matter of fact, if you see what it is that I am wearing today and you talked about the drag bill, is that I'm making a statement without having to say anything. And I encourage you to look at the council tonight and perhaps you might see more people looking like me or dressed like I am.

18:03If you're not, if you're listening to this and you're not watching this on YouTube, she's wearing a suit, a suit and tie. Right. Dressed like a quote unquote business man. Yes. Right. But I'm a cute business woman in my time. Amen. Oh, come on. Well, you look great in the suit either way. Thank you. Thank you. So I think that we do have to have the hard conversations and we can't expect it to happen overnight because what we are seeing is not something that happened overnight. It didn't just happen with the denial of the Republican National Convention coming here. This is something that has been brewing and has been in place. It's just now rearing its ugly head as far as I'm concerned. And that's the only way you can address those things is when it reveals itself. I can tell you that I'm always good with analogies and I was talking to a doctor the other day and we talked about boils and how boils are on the body.

19:17But when you put a heat press on the body, they come to a head. And once they come to a head, then they burst. I think that's what we have here is that we're at a point where we've got a boil and now maybe the RNC was the heat press that was on them and now it has burst. What we've got to do is make sure that it's clean and everything is taken out of it and it does not become infectious and create other boils. Do you think the path to that happening is trying to find common ground with the state legislators? Do you think it's continuing to push and stand our ground and say we will not compromise on these things?

20:20What do you think is that path? Absolutely, I think it is finding common ground. But for me as mayor, I am going to find common ground with the people that I serve because they've already said it. We've had referendums when it comes to the council and what it is that we want and what we need to do. I'm standing up and I'm standing with the people in order to do that and I'm gonna let the state legislatures know that I'm doing the same thing because that's what the constitution told us we should do. And if you go back and you read the constitution, then you should also realize that. And when you look at the demographics of our city, it's diverse and there's not a one size fit all. So you're gonna have to address people and meet them where they are. And unfortunately, because I'm sure it's been frustrating for them as well. So that's why I think this is a two way street.

21:21So some time or another, we're gonna have to find that common ground. And are we both gonna be willing to do it? So we're gonna have to recognize it and we're gonna have to admit to it and we're gonna have to be committed to changing it. Do you, you know, I know that in these types of positions, relationships are so important. And I wanna talk about that a little bit. You know, the first question I would have about that would be, do you think that there's people that are in the state legislature right now that are part of that Republican super majority that you believe are willing to work with leaders in Nashville on these issues? Or do you think that we've kind of hit a brick wall? You know, honestly, I believe we probably have hit a brick wall. However, I don't consider myself optimistic, but pep-timistic and I'm just gonna go and I'm gonna keep trying and I'm gonna keep doing and I'm gonna work at it as long and as hard as I possibly can.

22:27Because in spite of them being the super majority, they're still human and they still have a heart. And some way or another, I believe something has to get to them. It reminds me of when the voting rights of women came about in 1920 and one of the representatives was dead set on casting his vote, no. But he then heard from his mom and his mom told him to do the right thing. And with him thinking about that, regardless of what it was that his peers, his colleagues said to him, what his mother said resonated the most in his mind and in his heart. So when he got there, he did the right thing. I think we're still dealing with human beings and I am optimistic and pep-timistic about at some point in time, that's gonna change.

23:30Well, I really hope that you're right. It's definitely been a tough couple of weeks. It is and we see that this trend is happening all across the country. But sometimes people, if I can be candid. Of course. Sometimes people lash out in opposition with revenge and I don't think that they want that. I don't think that we, I think if they are trying to do what's going to make it a safer place for Tennessee, that they're going to, where do you stop? Enough is enough. Where is it that we're going to stop? Is this going to be a Ukraine and Russia type of situation here? Is that what they really want? And I don't think so. Because I think it's gonna hurt us all.

24:35I'm a member of the Rotary and we take this four way test every Monday that we meet. And it says, first is it the truth, second is it fair to all concerned, third will it be a goodwill and better friendships and fourth will it be beneficial to all? There are several Republicans and probably the majority of them in that Rotary Club. And I think that there's also, and I'm also a member of the Exchange Club where it talks about a divine responsibility. So I am leaning upon the divine to come in and address the issues that we have. And I'm just, I'm still hopeful about this city and what we were meant to be. And sometimes it takes us getting to our worst to realize our very best. I love that. Completely agree.

25:37I was gonna say, I wanna go back. We jumped right into the issues and I love that. But I kind of wanna learn more about you. You're a proud Bellevue resident. I am. I'm technically a Bellevue resident. I have a 37221 address, but I'm in Williamson County. So I'm on like in like Temple Hills area, but closer to High 100. Well, you live down, I live in the colonies. Okay, so we're, hi neighbor. Hi. How are you? I'm well, how are you? It's good to see you. I'm great. Tell me, let's learn about you. Married? I am married for 40 years. 40 years. And it'll be 41 in June. Wow, congratulations. Thank you. And we dated seven years before we got married. So I'm originally from Memphis and so is he. And we actually went to high school together, but we did not. He's a couple of years older. So the last month of my senior year, we started dating.

26:42He came home from school and we started dating, but we knew each other prior to that. And, you know, I kind of had a crush on him and he had a girlfriend and he had a crush on me, even though he did have a girlfriend, okay. Sometimes things work out for whatever reasons. It's meant to be, you know. It's just meant to be. That's why I believe in divine. I was going to say this seems to be a pattern here. It does, it does. And one of the things I want to uncover as we kind of learn about you is just how you grew up, what your thoughts are on, you know, how you are, who you are. Okay, so let me just go back, because I mean, I love to tell this story. My mother taught me a long, long time ago that you got to act like a lady, think like a man and work like a dog, okay. I love that. She was a small business owner. She was an insurance agent. She was a real estate broker. She managed her own post office, neighborhood post office.

27:43She did taxes, was a notary public and she also was a beautician back in the day. Making it happen. Making it happen. And the thing of it is is that she did not get a high school diploma until I was three years old and I am the youngest of seven, okay. And my grandfather, her father who told her that he thought that education was a waste of time, went back and got his high school diploma when he was 72. So that you're the youngest of seven. The youngest of seven. So there's been a fight in you because you had six other siblings that you were battling against every single day. How do you know me so well? And not only that, but I was born prematurely so I was fighting to live. And I've been fighting ever since. But let me just tell you about my mom and what she taught me and told me and it is make me who I am. So behind her office was a row of homes or houses I should say.

28:46Because they were all made of wood, only had a front door, not a back door, no windows, standing on stilts. And you could tell it was no heat and no air, no restrooms, none of those things. And she used to see the kids going home every day, going to school, going home. So one day she brought one of the little girls home and she gave her a bath, cleaned her up, washed her hair, fixed her up, went and bought her some clothes and she took her back home. She gave that little girl hope. She showed me that you gotta take care of people when life has given them a backhand slap. And I grew up remembering that and knowing that. When I came to Tennessee State as a bright-eyed, two week, 18 year old, I found that same hope that I'm sure that that little girl felt when she went home and knew that no matter how bad it got, there was still an opportunity for her to have and to be whatever she wanted to be.

29:59That's what Nashville gave to me. It showed me that I could be anything I wanted to be, do anything I wanted to do. There were four historically black colleges here and three of them was right here in front of my eyes that I did not realize and I saw all of these amazing people. That's the Nashville that I know and I want to restore back to this Nashville community for them to know that they have the hope and the ability and opportunity to fulfill their dreams and to have the success that they want. In spite of everything that's happening and everything that's going on, I still believe that it can be. I believe it was meant to be. You know, I'ma tell you the thing, I was there doing civil rights movement in Memphis and I came here and I saw that Nashville fights. Oh yeah. But they fight from the neck up.

31:02What do you mean by that? They use their head. Not their heart? Their bodies. Instead of their bodies and fight physically, they fight intellectually. You have some of the brightest minds here and they fought together. When it came to that civil rights movement, there was never a riot in Nashville but you had black and white folks that came together and worked together. They sat at a table and they fought it out and said, this is what we want to do. You had students that walked down to the mayor's office and said, do you think it's right for you to discriminate against us that we are unable to do things in some of our white counterparts? And they challenged the mayor and the mayor did what was right. Now I think that if they went down there fighting and using their bodies from the neck down, I don't think they would have gotten the same results.

32:06You know? And I mean, don't get me wrong, I am a man that protest was the very first public protest that the country had ever seen and it did what it was there to do. But when you think about it, it was violence that was involved. Violence that came out where we lost the life of one of the greatest Americans ever lived. Yeah. And I don't think that a life is the price to pay for something like that. And Nashville took a different approach to what it was that they did and how. Do you think the story you just told about your mother taking this young girl and cleaning her and giving her hope, do you see yourself winning the mayoral election and being up there being the mayor of Nashville, you're probably already doing it as a councilman-at-large, but do you think that's, is there some way that you're giving hope to a lot of young girls that see you up there and they're going, I can do it too?

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35:16That is What Chefs Want. So if you ever wonder why do they call it that? That's your reason. Check them out at whatchefswant.com. Do you think the story you just told about your mother taking this young girl and cleaning her and giving her hope. Do you see yourself winning the mayoral election and being up there being the mayor of Nashville? You're probably already doing it as a councilman-at-large. But do you think that's, is there some way that you're giving hope to a lot of young girls that see you up there and they're going, I can do it too? Absolutely. I mean, would that just be? I mean, of course I'm in it to win it. Of course. So, but I do, I have 13 great nieces who go to my parents' home, that's the home house where one of my older sisters still lives. And they see those humble beginnings from which I come.

36:17And even though we thought we were doing better, well, actually we were doing better than most of our neighbors in the community, but didn't realize that we were poor because we had love and happiness. Love and happiness, Al Green, you didn't get that part. She's like, went right over your head. But anyway. I was just taking it from the words. I was like, that's beautiful. I love that. And it was, but it was, we did, we had love and happiness. But back to your question. But do you think that's what's wrong with the world is that we don't recognize, you don't stop to take a moment to realize that, hey, maybe the things that we need the most are right in front of us and that we're all, that we're blessed to be in a city like this. Absolutely. That's exactly what I believe is missing and what we need to shout out. We absolutely should. And back to your question, yes, I have 13 great nieces, but I also have this little adorable girl who lives across the street from me named Darcy, who would just absolutely be ecstatic if she saw Miss Sharon as mayor.

37:37And she doesn't look like me, but she loves me because she knows that I'm gonna give her a great Christmas gift every year. She knows that every time we put our dog out, that Pearl is gonna come over there and she's gonna get a chance to love her. She knows that we love her. We were just having a conversation not too long ago on the show about why representation matters. And I think that I was saying for me as a businesswoman, it would mean so much to me to see a woman in office because that's somebody that I feel like can understand me better. Well, actually, I do feel like I can understand you better and I can relate more with more women and those underserved and those been disenfranchised, overworked and underpaid and discounted and dismissed and all of those other things.

38:38Do you think Nashville is a city that has not? But let me tell you also, women can also multitask. Women can do so many different things at one time. They're not just focused on that one thing. We understand the concept that we also have to not only have someone who can shoot the ball but somebody that can get the rebound and somebody else that can block and somebody else that can, you know, all of those things. Pass. That's right. That's the word you're looking for. That's the word I'm looking for. Pass. And someone else that can pass. Sports analogies that you, it's not gonna get by me. I'm right there with you. It's not gonna get by me. That's right. And that's exactly what we have to do. We've gotta have all of those moving parts at one time. One thing doesn't have to be exclusive of the other. We just gotta figure out how we manage it all. And we can. Women especially, I mean. We can. Most certainly. Most certainly we can.

39:38Absolutely. And we also are okay with putting other people in charge to do things that, cause we can't do it all. And we know that. So we put those people and surround ourselves with those who can do whatever it is that they want and need to do. So speaking of surrounding yourself with, you know, other people who can do the job as well. One of the other mayoral candidates, sorry, let me look at my notes here. I don't wanna get the wrong thing. Was talking about how the state is trying to intervene and cancel the mayoral runoffs. Which essentially means, winner takes all. The person with the most votes is going to win the race. Now, with a new Republican conservative entering the mayor's race, do you think that there will come a time when you and, you know, kind of some people that you have relationships with, maybe Jeff Yarbrough, Councilman O'Connell, something like that, will have to kind of say, hey, if we want to beat this conservative person, we're, one of us is gonna have to drop out and we're gonna have to come together here to, you know, kind of not split up the votes.

40:53I think we're gonna absolutely have to do that. It has gotten to that point. I think it's very critical for us to come together. And we're gonna have to put the best person forward, the one that's most electable, the one that's going to be able to serve all people. I think that if we do what we always done, we gonna get what we always got. You cannot, you cannot save the people if you don't serve them. And you can't lead the people if you don't love them. And I think that we have candidates who are focused on the city continuing the same trajectory in which it has for the past 60 years. That is antiquated draconian archaic approaches.

41:57We have to change because we are the most diverse city. The world is changing. We can look at the Grammys and see how the world is changing. And if we are unable, even though Nashville may not be Tennessee, but it is clearly not New York, LA, Chicago, Houston. DC. DC or Denver. It is time for us because we're behind, years behind of some of those other cities in having a representation that can be more inclusive. And just think about it in terms of a child. If some of these cities have had a black mayor for 10 years, and we've not, then that child is 10 years older than us.

43:10Look how far we've got to catch up. What are the ways that you think Nashville is not serving the black community and black business owners? That, you know, what could be done better? Small businesses, for sure. They don't have the resources. Our educational system, everything, the redlining we've had where people have been unable to become homeowners. You look at the, I mean, just everywhere. How do you help small businesses? As the mayor, what can you do specifically and what is your plan to help small, if I'm elected, I'm gonna do what for small businesses? So we give incentives to a lot of big corporations. Oh yeah. Who said that we couldn't give incentives to those small businesses in order for them to be able to flourish?

44:12They're the ones that are hiring all of our local people. They're the ones that are stepping up. And we give them, and not only that, but when we give to small businesses, they give back. Because they've been doing it all along. It's a natural thing, it's organic for them to do. Because when people understand what it is to struggle, they know that their role is to lift that other person up. So you, as a small business, and you become successful, you're gonna go and help someone else who has a small business because you can relate and you understand and say, let me help you with this. Because if I had it, then I could have been this, I could have done that, and I could have done the other. But if you're a person that's always had, then your goal is going to always get and not think about those. But you know, they don't seem to understand that poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere.

45:14And when you take care of the small businesses, all boats rise. I couldn't agree more. And I think that small businesses really are the soul. And the culture. I mean, Nashville is what it is today, not because we have a Four Seasons. Nashville is what it is today because of the restaurants in Hillsboro Village and the restaurants in the nations. And all these amazing, East Nashville is such a special place because really the big corporate entities haven't come and taken it over yet. I'm sure they will, but I mean, downtown is unrecognizable from what, I mean, obviously growth happens, and I get that when you grow, things happen, but. It should grow for everyone. Another, every week I hear another small business is closing because, you know, I remember when Davis Kidd Booksellers, right, was in the Green Hills Mall. Yes, yes. And it was an amazing bookstore and they had the, in Gracie's Plaza, and they had the little, the coffee shop. My mother used to love going there. She would take me there. And when it closed, there's been people say, oh man, I'm so sad Davis Kidd closed.

46:16And I go, when was the last time you were there? I know. Oh, I haven't been there. And we as people need to vote with our wallets, too. Absolutely, but people are voting with their feet. They're voting with their feet and they're moving. Right. I mean, we have this influx of people that are coming here. Exactly. And then the people are leaving, but I couldn't agree more on small businesses. But you know what, even at that, one of my favorite restaurants used to be the Bell Me cafeteria. Yeah. They had great food and it was open to everyone. And even it's in West Nashville, it's in Bell Mead, but it was a great place. And we're losing that. We're losing all of those things. And you're right. I mean, that is what made Nashville that, and people love coming to Nashville because it's a big city, but it still has that hometown feel. But now with all of the growth that we're having.

47:16It's going away. It's going away. And we've got to preserve that culture. We got to preserve what made Nashville what it is. I look at Arnold's, you know, Arnold's, Mead & Free, right? Arnolds, Roteir's. It's not just the fact that it's a local restaurant where there are local people, but you stand in that line at Arnold's. And it's not like I'm standing in line with a bunch of people that look like me. I've got construction workers. You've got all kinds of people all around you. And those people say, hey man, how you doing? That's how you connect with your community. You're at the Bell Me cafeteria, you're in line. You say hello to the person next to you, look you in the eye and say, hey man, what's going on? How are you today? That builds community, you're sitting next to people. Yeah, that's the thing. I'll give you, I went to a Nashville soccer game the other day and I was in the parking lot. It was parking in a, not the main parking lot, just in a side parking lot. And my son had said, I'm not feeling well, dad. As we're pulling up, I'm like, he's like, I think I'm going to get sick. I'm like, okay, season opener, we're pulling in. And the guy comes up and he's like, hey man, 25 bucks.

48:16And I went, you know what? I said, my son isn't feeling well in the back and I need to figure out what's going on. Do you mind if I just park? And then if we decide to stay, I'll come pay you. If we leave, then I could just go. And he goes, yeah, no problem. And I thought, there's no other city that would like, there's no city of our size where that would happen. So we go, no, dude, a few, man, give me money. You can, you know. But in Nashville, it was so freely. Or even feeling comfortable enough to be able to say so. Yeah. And I thought, I love Nashville. There's a moment there. And I get those moments all the time. But then there's a lot of moments where traffic. Right. Do you have any control over traffic if you're the mayor? Well, you know, we're gonna try. Infrastructure? We're gonna try. Well, you know, I told you. I don't know what the mayor has control over. I'm gonna raise my hand. I don't know. Can you change everything? Well, of course. I told you it's all divine. It's all divine. So it's all gonna be fixed. It's all gonna change. But let me go back to that question about the restaurants and all of that.

49:19Prince's Hot Chicken. Yeah. Everybody knows Nashville is hot chicken. And Prince's Hot Chicken. You know? That's it. I mean, that's the original Prince's too. That's the original. And you know what happened. You know the story behind it, right? The original hot chicken? The original story. How it came about? Yes. Why don't you tell us? So. I don't wanna stay here with under. Mr. Prince was someone that loved to kind of stay out a little bit past time that his wife didn't really like. Him being out so late. So she decided that she was gonna fix him one night, okay? And you know, knowing he comes in and he's probably had a. Adult beverage or two. You know? And he needed something to just kind of help balance out whatever it was that he had. So she decided she was gonna fry his usual fried chicken.

50:19But she decided to put some spices in at this time. And put that hot chicken in there and fed it to him. And he was like, man, this the best chicken I've ever had. She thought she was teaching him a lesson. And it became a phenomenon. And I'm just so happy that it has for that family. And I just wanna give a shout out to Ms. Andre Prowse Prince because her daughter passed away last week. And just wanted to acknowledge that. I did not know that story. Did you know that story? I did. Damn, I'm over two on things that she said that I didn't know that you did know. You know, that really got me thinking though about kind of, you know, the way that Nashville is changing and some of the out of control growth. The first time I ever came to Nashville was probably 12, 13 years ago, which isn't that long ago, but it feels like a really long time to me.

51:23And we stayed at the Hutton. And we went to the concierge and we said, hey, me and my husband, we weren't married at the time, but we work in restaurants. Where's the best place to go get food? He's like, all right, you want a really authentic Nashville experience. And he sent us to the old location of 400 degrees when it was on Jefferson. And we had the best time. We'd never even heard of hot chicken. It was just, it was an incredible experience and such a great vivid food memory that I still have. And I just wonder if you went to the Hutton today and talked to the concierge as a tourist and said, where should I go eat? Would they send you to? Would they still send you to these kind of, you know, authentic, independent places? Or would they say, you know, Chewy's is around the corner. I'd probably say Hattie B's is right there. Yeah, right. Which Hattie B's is great, but it's, yeah. But it still doesn't have that same authenticity and authenticity feel, you know, the food. It was a different experience. I actually remember when we were going there, there was a guy who, while we were waiting for a chicken, cause you know, you have to wait a long time, walked in and said, how long is your wait?

52:30And she said, 45 minutes or whatever. And he got on his phone and called Princess and was like, how long is your wait? And he was gonna go somewhere else. But I don't know, it just, it was, I felt like I got a sense of community, a sense of authenticity. And I don't know, is there anything that you think can be done about kind of some of the development that's happening in Nashville? Well, you know, I'm gonna tell you, one thing that we have to do, we gotta celebrate what we already have. I think we gotta embrace our legacy residents for those things that you just said. I mean, we had a movie about the Green Book and where people were traveling, going all around and Sweats was one of those restaurants that was on in the Green Book. And they actually have a copy of the Green Book that is now posted at the restaurant. But celebrate all of those things that are really, really important. People come into Nashville because they're gonna get something here that they've not gotten at any other place. And I wanted to go back, way back to where you were talking about me.

53:33So not only do I live in Bellevue and work in North Nashville, but I have a degree from Tennessee State University and I have a degree from Belmont University. So I feel like I have the balance, I have the insight and the relatability to every community. When I ran for council at large, I was the only one that had signs that were in Spanish and in Arabic. Because I wanted to reach all populations and let them know that I am for Nashville, Sharon for Nashville. Not that I am aspiring to be your mayor, but I am aspiring to make sure that every person in this city has the opportunity to be successful. And you put a referendum on the table for the new stadium. Yes. That said. I wanted to make sure that all minority contractors, women, small owned business have the opportunity to participate in this growth and this development that is going to bring billions of dollars to this city.

54:50So that right there is everything you're talking about. When I said, how do you do it? That's where you do it. You come in and you say, look, we're gonna build this $2 billion stadium. We're gonna build up the entire area around it. And you're coming in saying, okay, great. But it's not gonna be McDonald's and Burger King in there. It's gotta be locally owned and operated, minority owned restaurants and shops and then building up around it. And you put a referendum on the table to make that happen. And that is inclusion. That's amazing. And I'm so happy that you said that because I also, when Doug Kruling came in as the CEO of the airport, I went to him immediately and I said, listen, we have these disparity studies that shows that there is great disparity here. I'm encouraging you to change this. And I built a relationship and I talked to him and I held him accountable. And he was able to report last week that they have 43% of minority local businesses in this concessionaires.

55:59That's awesome. We're gonna wrap up this episode right after these words from our sponsors. We are supported by Robins Insurance, offering protection you can trust. Robins Insurance is an independent insurance agency known across the Southeast for their customized insurance policies, sound guidance and attentive service. They're also known here at Nashville Restaurant Radio for protecting some of Music City's best restaurants. Look, when it comes to insuring your restaurant or bar, you don't wanna leave the job to some strip mall insurance agency with no background in hospitality and expertise in the local market. You need someone who knows the industry, who understands your business, who will create a policy that protects your physical space and protects you and your staff too. Y'all, Matthew Clements is that guy. He's the agent at Robins Insurance for the hospitality industry. With extensive industry experience himself, Matthew has the knowledge to create a policy that'll protect you and your business no matter what comes your way. Visit Robins' website at robinsins.com.

57:02That's R-O-B-I-N-S-I-N-S.com to get in touch with him or reach out to Matthew directly at 863-409-9372. Protection you can trust. That's Robins. We are joined with Jason Ellis from SuperSource Nashville. They have been a sponsor for this podcast for almost three years. We are so honored to work with them. This is a great company and a great man. Jason, what can people expect if they give you a call? We'll come out, do a complete audit of their facility, see in which ways we could help them approve, if any, and see what we can do as far as helping them save some money. So the first thing they gotta do is just give us a call, 770-337-1143, or they can email me directly at jellis at supersourceinc.com. We'll come out, take a look at your operations, see in which ways we can help. That's amazing. So if you're out there right now listening to this, call Jason Ellis or email him today. When you hear that sound, it's probably too late.

58:03You need a guy. I wanna be your guy. I'm Kevin with Course in Fire and Security, and I'm a Restaurant Territory Account Manager. Do you know who's doing your inspections at your restaurant? Please reach out to me at 615-974-2932. I'd be glad to come out and take a quick look and look at all your fire safety inspection needs. If you're building your restaurant, we can help with that too. As far as kitchen suppression, fire extinguishers, emergency lights, we do it all, one stop, one shop. Call Kevin at 615-974-2932. Let me be your guy, Nashville. I wonder what the percentage of just local concessions, too. I mean, there's so many other locals that aren't necessarily minorities, but the 43% is huge. I still like getting off the airport and seeing a tailgate brewery versus a Budweiser. You're seeing a local business in the airport, and people are seeing them. Oh, maybe there's a store, and I'll go visit them versus the big chain.

59:05We're selling Nashville, and I think that's what we have to do. We're celebrating Nashville, and that's what we have to do. I think that's the approach in order for things to change. I know that in order for us to take care of the concerns that the people have, we've got to bring in money. So in terms of the stadium and some of the development and things that are happening and going on, it's necessary in order for those things to occur for us to have and generate the revenue that's necessary to do the infrastructure, to make sure we have the funding for our educational systems, to make sure that we are able to bring sidewalks and do all of those things. But again, one is not exclusive of the other. We all have to come together. It has to be a solidarity approach to us making Nashville all that we know it was meant to be. Can I ask a question about fundraising?

01:00:10He's like, mm-hmm. Yes, you can ask. If you must. You have to raise a lot of money to do this election. I'm gonna, at the end of this question, I want you to give any information about how people can help you do that. But there's so much conversation about fundraising and how we're gonna raise funds. How much money do you need to raise to do this successfully? And what do you spend that money on? Just curiously for me, I don't... I believe that I need to raise about a million dollars. Wow. And in raising that million dollars, that means that I'm gonna spend probably $350,000 of that on television. I don't know if you noticed already, but one of my opponents have already gone on television. Already. Wow. You know, debuted, I think, last month, which means that seven months before the election, he was already on television.

01:01:11So $350,000 for television, probably $250,000 that's gonna go to radio and media and mailers that we have to have. I've also gotta pay staff. We also have to have merchandise and different supplies and things of that nature in order to do it. So all of those things is really gonna come about because I'm not gonna be able to go and touch every 750,000 persons that are here. So I'm gonna have to be able to reach them, whether it's gonna be through television, radio, and all of that is very expensive for us to be able to do. But that's basically where the money is going to be spent. And it is going to be in terms of the marketing for this. And then, you know, we have to have poll workers. And I think we have to have money in order to be able to prepare and participate in some debates and things of that nature.

01:02:11And it's gonna require, some people have been using their monies to do polling in order to give them an edge on what they need to do and what kinds of things they need to say about their opponents. And those polls can cost you as much as $50,000. Wow. And so I don't have that kind of money. I can tell you, my opponents are probably gonna out-fundraise me, but they're not gonna out-friend-raise me, and they're not gonna out-work me. I love that. Because I am going to give it all I got or I'm gonna die trying. Okay, so like I said, at the beginning of that question, and thank you for answering that question, because I genuinely- Don't know where it goes. Yeah, I'm like, all this talk about fundraising, there's a fundraiser here at the fundraiser, I'm like, why do they need, why is there so much emphasis on fundraising? That makes complete sense. So if I'm out there and I'm a small business, and I hear you talking about, I want to support you, I want to elevate you, I'm a minority-owned business. Go to sharingfornashville.com, and that will take you to my website, and there is a donate button that you can press there, and if you want to volunteer, you can go info at sharing for Nashville.

01:03:25Info at sharingfornashville.com is an email address? Yes, that's the email address, and sharingfornashville.com is the website address. And even if you go to the website, it'll take you to all of the other sites for you to volunteer, to donate, leave a comment, or whatever. It's at the sharingfornashville.com. And do you have an Instagram page or Facebook, all the social media? I do have Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Okay, so, and that's at sharing for Nashville as well. Sharing for Nashville on all those sites. All of it. And if you're a local business owner, and you want to support this woman in her endeavors to become mayor of Nashville, go to those sites, go to sharingfornashville.com, and if it's $5, does that help? I'm trying to do a $5 holler, okay? I am doing a $5 holler, $5 counts, because the $5 is attached to one vote, just like the $1,800 is attached to one vote. So let's just say I'm a restaurant, and I want to host you in the restaurant, do a big fundraiser for the night.

01:04:27Everybody come out and meet the candidate, and we're gonna donate 20% of our sales to your campaign. Right. Somebody, you'd respond to something like that? Absolutely, we would. Info at sharingfornashville.com. I have an amazing campaign manager, Quinn Welter, and she will respond to you immediately. Oh, look at this. Quinn, you can say hi over there. She's in the corner. You want to say hi, Quinn? She's shy. Just say hi, just say hi. Hey, everybody. There it is. Quinn in the house. She is shy, but when I tell you she is a fireball, she is. I can tell that about her. She is, she's a fireball. She's got an aura over there. She does. And let me tell you, when I first met her, her hair was almost down to her waist. Wow. And she got this campaign going, and baby, she went and got that in. She's got a new attitude. It looks great. Yes.

01:05:28Very flattering. Yes. She's got a new attitude, and we're in it to win it. That's right. I love that. Yes. Carolyn, you got any more questions? I know. I know you're a very busy woman. I am very busy, but I'm going to tell you, I love this city, and I believe in it. And this city believed in me and gave me the hope and opportunity, and I want to give it back. I want to preserve that culture. I want to fulfill Nashville's promise to every block, every community, and every residence that's here, because it's what I got, that same feeling that I got when I came here, knowing what it looked like when I saw my mother give that young lady hope. That's the type of hope that I want to restore into every Nashville. I want them to know, in spite of what's happening at the state level, I believe in a Nashville that's going to give people that.

01:06:31I believe in a Nashville that's going to treat the janitor, the teacher's aide, just like they give that same dignity to the CEO or the superintendent. I think Nashville could really use a big dose of that kind of hope, especially after the last couple of weeks. So it's really great to be here with you today and for you to kind of give us some of that hope and inspiration, so thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate that. We usually finish the show off with a Gordon Food Service final thought. They sponsor that segment, but I'm going to take what you just now said, hope. You want to bring hope to Nashville, and I love that. Restore it. Restore hope. I don't want to change words in your mouth. It's here, and if you go on streets all around this city, you can feel it in the air. And people have just gotten so busy that they haven't stopped to smell the flowers, as they say, and to recognize that hope.

01:07:40You know, it's funny, because that's what we talk about on the show. I bring in local and operated restaurateurs, and I want them to share hope. I want them to share their stories of how they overcame adversity, what the city means to them, and how they're contributing to the community. And it's a real joy and a special thing to be able to sit here in the studio and talk to people and share that and build this community that we have. But you know what? Think about the people that come. We got songwriters, musicians, all that are coming here, students. We've got students that are coming to college here, coming for things that they believe can happen for them. We are going to fulfill that promise. I love it. I think we're gonna end it on that. Sharon for Nashville. Sharon, thank you for joining us today. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you. You all are great. All right, thank you so much to Sharon Hurt for joining us in studio.

01:08:43So nice to meet her and to have that conversation. We have another, we have a big conversation coming up this Friday. We've got Charlotte Miller and Kelly Martin coming in and we're talking about DE&I, diversity, equity, and inclusion. And this is, I went to this symposium last week. You may have heard us talk about it with Claire Crowell. There was this thing on March 6th. There's another one coming up. I highly recommend you go. I'm gonna be there. I would love for you to be there too. You can find tickets at laydomnashville.com. But in this episode, we're gonna talk about some things that if you didn't know, you probably need to know. What is inclusion? What does that mean? And why is it important? And how do you prioritize your time? Is it worth prioritizing your time? Because it's tough out there and there's some really neat ideas as to how to find some new workers. But this is an uncomfortable conversation that we tried to get uncomfortable and have it. And I couldn't be more excited with the way it turned out. So just excited to put this episode out. This coming Friday, it's gonna be a two episode week this week.

01:09:46And then again, next week, we're gonna be talking with Will Gadara. And makes so excited to share this interview with you. It was an awesome, I did it on my birthday. So it was a wonderful day. But guys, I hope you have a wonderful week this week. If you're on vacation, driving somewhere fun right now, I hope that everything works out wonderful and your kids don't drive you crazy and you have a blast. A quick reminder to those of you who are out there, if you are in the hospitality industry and you have any kind of substance abuse issues or you don't know if you do, but you wanna be around other people, is Ben's Friends. Ben's Friends is a new kind of meeting that you can go to. It's not an AA meeting. It's a little different. It's people who are in recovery who wanna get better. Or if you don't know if you need to be in recovery, you're welcome to join. It is every Monday at 11 o'clock a.m. at the Oak Steakhouse. Valley parking is free. You can just Valley park right there at the Westin and they'll comp the ticket for you. And there it is. You have no excuses. So Monday morning, 11 o'clock at the Oak Steakhouse, Ben's Friends.

01:10:48I wanna end every show talking about that because it's important. And I hope that if you know somebody who needs help, you can say, hey man, you should go check out Ben's Friends. It's for hospitality workers and it's on Monday mornings at 11. It's a free service. Doesn't cost a thing, but maybe it might save somebody's life. So it's good stuff. Again, hope you guys are being safe out there. Love you guys. Bye.