The Music City Roundup with Kelly and Brandon 11-12-20

00:00Hello music city and welcome to the music city roundup. My name is Brandon still and Joining me this week is the host of connected with Kelly on YouTube Kelly Sutton How are you I am fantastic it is so great to see your smiling face here on a Thursday afternoon Thank you. It's been I mean, you know what? It's been one of those days where it's like Yeah, okay. There's a lot of stuff going on, but it's 2020 So what do we expect but it's good and I'm excited to be a part of the show I love what you're doing and fun fact for everybody that's watching right now We didn't realize that we're practically neighbors. You're right down the street I can open my window and yell and you've probably hear me. That is a true story It's so funny when I first contact you I said, hey, I love you didn't go wait Do you have the gigantic skeleton out on the street like guilty? That was the thing that was the identifier as soon as I saw that I'm like Thank you live right down the road for me So I mean the fact that we're doing this and the fact that when I go back and I look at all the people that you Talk to you on a daily basis These are the people that I I know and love these are my friends in the restaurant industry from Manit to our friends at peg leg porker to so many of the people that are downtown and and working in the the food Industry right now and making it happen on our growing food scene So I just felt like this was homecoming when I saw all of the people that were connected to you I said, oh, I love these people. These are my people They are your people. There are people they're the people who make up so much of the culture of what Nashville is almost like the music scene and how those two kind of play hand-in-hand and I'm just so excited that you're able to do this and I feel like if you're watching this and you're like Hey Delia looks different That is because

02:02Delia has taken the opportunity to go and focus her time on Her work at Eater as the editor of Eater Nashville. She was on the show for 19 weeks as my co-host She was absolutely amazing. We love her to death. Wish her nothing but the best of luck and success everything and hopefully we can check in with her from time to time, but Delia is me focusing on what she's doing and we're so excited to have Kelly here with us today I have to say shout out to Delia. We shared a very cool experience together An interactive it was the chef and I and we did like this interactive dinner and we got to sit at the same table Together and we had so much fun that night She is a kindred spirit and I just love her so and I know that she absolutely loves everything that she does at Eater And her experience in the Nashville world of food is so vastly Superior to mine I can bring to you Terms she's like the expert expert expert But I just I love and respect her so much and we follow each other on Instagram So I have to send her a little DM and tell her how much I love and miss her Absolutely. Absolutely. She is a wealth of knowledge and she's out there doing her at dining with Delia Joe We're gonna talk about an event that she's doing here in just a little bit on our what's new segment but one of the things that you're kind of known for is Yesterday's typically a very big day for you as I know I've seen you for years and years on the red carpet talking to Dolly Parton you're talking to Tanya Tucker and all of the stars and That event the CMAs was last night and you were not there. What was that like for you?

03:53It was heartbreaking. Are you kidding me? It was heartbreaking Brandon? That's my world and I wasn't there It's so bad. No, you know, it was it was very interesting first time since 2013 that I have not been involved in some form or fashion of covering this It's been seven years eight or seven something like that and you know It is it's kind of like my Super Bowl this week in fact for those that aren't really in the the music world this week is the Super Bowl of country music for us because in addition to the CMA Awards you also have the BMI Awards the ASCAP Awards and the CSAC Awards. They all take place in the same week So I typically do three sometimes four red carpets in a week and It's it's crazy and amazing and then throw in top, you know on top of that. We do radio row interviews so truly this week, I'm usually doing over a 120 interviews in two three days Fast forward to 2020 where I did none It was like Well, so what am I doing with myself?

05:08So yeah, I got to watch it from home in my PJs Which was way more comfortable than being on the red carpet and a very beautiful gown It was a different experience. It was still lovely. I hats off to CMA to everybody involved It was an incredible production the fact they pulled that off Maintaining social distancing six feet apart for everybody that was on the stage, you know One I noticed that they couldn't it was so much so like you can't take a microphone and then hand it To someone else that the you know, everybody has to have their own microphone. They did tables. So it was almost like Dining occasion and every artist was allowed to sit at a table with one guest and that was it So it was like two people per table pretty much So it was very very different it was at the Music City Center versus Bridgestone Arena, but overall Watching it and seeing it come together in a national platform being on television last night It still was an incredible representation in Nashville and I was really proud. So I think it was it was beautiful again Robert Deaton has been the producer and director of that show for a number of years and he pulled off a Herculean task last night and it came off beautifully. I thought it really did come off really well, you know who I was most excited for Was the bands right? So not like the bands like Old Dominion who did win for best group, but Second year in a row. Yes, but if you watch the performances You have the main singers and then you have the guitar players and the the bands because they haven't been performing So just the bands being out there they were just so amped they were jumping around and they were all spaced out But I was like I was so I had like this warm feeling in my heart for all those guys just getting back together and Performing, you know, it was just it was it they've been waiting for this moment for months

07:11They have been waiting and boy did they like let out months of frustration It was I agree with you watching their faces watching them perform watching them in their element I think maybe that was why the performances were so great Because everybody was just so happy to be on a stage again. I I completely agree I love the format of it looked like this really cool exclusive like jazz club the setting Yeah, that they just kept was like the all these little circle tables And I love how it was like date night for so many of them, you know It was just like the artist and their wife hanging out at a table and it was like You get to have date night with all like that The cream of the crop of the country music world that was a it was kind of adorable like that with all of your buddies Yeah, it was an incredible night Eric Church taking home the honor for entertainer of the year I think that that was kind of unexpected I I know just as a CMA voter and you know being in the music community. I do not think that that was Top of mind. I don't think most people thought Eric would take that prize home I think most people thought Carrie Underwood would probably get that and I was really shocked I was really really shocked that he walked away with entertainer of the year when you talk about that category though Everybody that was nominated was absolutely deserving. They're all like just phenomenal Yeah, Carrie and Miranda and Keith and and Luke combs newcomer and then Eric Turpin and Eric walking away But if you've ever seen him live, you understand why he's incredible and he gave an incredible speech to his acceptance speech Just saying, you know being here tonight watching music being played live in with each other That was the win. So it was it was good. It was a really great night And again, this is what's really interesting me being the history nerd in music. I know it's it's weird I have a weird compulsion for that, but the very first CMA Awards in the 60s were held Just like that. It was really the tables and everyone's seated and and it was a dinner. So

09:13Wow full circle moment right that they came back to that same type of Seating arrangement and I wonder if that's gonna stay I I think personally the sound quality and the lighting of that particular area Was better than it is in Bridgestone because Bridgestone is such a huge cavernous hole that you're trying to control the sound in City center is much more confined and I just felt like the sound was way better Did you think that the Charlie pride? Acceptance speech was the most like adorable thing ever. Were you just watching that going? I want to go give him a hug Can I get the greatest moment? It was So incredible for so many reasons number one Jimmy Allen is a good friend of mine and I love him dearly and he has been through so much in his life and the fact that he got to be up there to present that award to Charlie was just like my heart was exploding with pride like I was proud sister with him, but then couple that with Charlie pride coming out and Saying I'm nervous. I I don't know you don't know this but I'm really nervous and his little hands are shaking and Reading this paper and he's listing all these people Yeah, I wanted to hug him and I I've had the pleasure of interviewing mr Pride before and let me tell you something. He's as sharp as a tack He remembers so many things and he we went into a deep dive about baseball because you know his whole dream Was to play baseball. He didn't want to sing that was the secondary career. That was plan B He wanted to be a professional baseball player so Like watching plan B come to fruition and become this mega Country star and then come full circle to get that award last night the Willie Nelson, you know it That was incredible. So yeah, it was I just loved him Charlie's awesome. So there were some pretty special moments with that show last night But I want to ask you since you were not able to be there last night. Is there

11:24So since you weren't there Is there a moment that you look back on that isn't like any Seminal moment from the CMAs that's just like one of those moments you look back on fondly That's like that was the memory for me that I can look back on that was like the most special time that you had In all of them or last night and all of them not just me. I'm talking going back Wow I would say I've had some really incredible moments One of which was I I was doing interviews and somebody came up behind me and Just hugged me and I didn't know who it was until I turned around and it was Garth and He just was like sneaking up behind me just to say hi as if I'm not gonna Stop what I'm doing because it doesn't matter I'm sorry. I'm sorry Whomever I was speaking with at that point because you were not you were nowhere near as important And so just having that moment of Surprise and the fact that he was there and I just got a chance to Love him and hug him Oh and another one that was that was huge to me and I will never forget Lionel Richie sang Penny lover to me on the red carpet That that would be a big one, right?

12:56If I could pull the microphone over here and drop it that's basically what that amounted to it was it was Lionel Richie loving country music talking about how most of his songs he felt in his heart were actually country and That he identified more with country music than he did any other type of music and then he sang Penny lover and I Don't remember what happened after that because I was pretty fresh just floating on cloud nine So when you came back down to earth Well, cool. Well, thank you for taking that little stroll down memory lane Of course, of course I mean, it's it's one of the my favorite times of the year and one of the times that we as a city Really just get to showcase How special Nashville is and we are you know on a national platform? With all the lights shining and everyone looking at us and I think that we were very well represented last night I think so too. I thought it was great and I loved Marin Morris, I thought her acceptance speeches were wonderful. Yes Yes She took the time to really acknowledge So many women of color who are in country music who just aren't getting airplay and I feel like that tide is turning and I feel like that there are so many people that are really making a concerted effort to make sure that they have equal airplay and Absolutely hundred percent. So we are going to move on to Our first segment of the show because we've got a pretty busy. We got a pretty busy show today We're just talking not paying. Yeah, what we're supposed to be talking about is fine. We're figuring this stuff out. We got this We've got we're gonna talk to Samantha Oh rich and she is the marketing director for red pebbles hospitality, which that's Adele's in 404 kitchen and Gertie's bar their fourth kitchen as well as Emmy squared So she's gonna come on tell us what they're doing some of the cool things that are happening with their company

14:58Bob from Fido is gonna come on as our local legend and at four o'clock we're gonna be talking to both Caroline Galzine as well as Charlie McPherson Caroline gals is gonna come on and talk to us real quickly about a new mask mandate that they've got over at the At Tennessee action for hospitality and we're excited to talk to her about that So we will we'll be getting into all of these wonderful things and we're gonna talk about what's new here after I Send something out really fast. I'm sorry. Sorry Kelly here. I've got something I have to send Because Love about life stuff happens and you're live and you're watching it. Yeah, we were jumping in and I said let's do this thing and then Charlie who Charlie McPherson from miracle one wines is gonna come on and he's gonna tell us which bar he is at Okay, and I'll do a shameless little plug for myself right now that if you go to Facebook We have a new Facebook group. It is called the Nashville restaurant radio insiders and on that group is where you can submit any kind of Help if you want to hey, I would like to you to talk about my restaurant anything along those lines any kind of Plugs or whatever we can do you can go to that page and You submit it there But we also announced on that page where Charlie's gonna be today and Charlie's gonna be pouring his wines They have a free wine tasting. He's pouring the rosé the Cabernet And I think a pinot noir today at this undisclosed late location, which we will disclose in ten minutes I'm excited. Do I have time to go down there or no not from where you live?

16:49Or me So our first segment which is gonna be the what's new segment is brought to you by Sitex and Sitex is a third-generation family owned and operated Lennon mats and uniform company They really are the good guys in Lennon business and they're transparent their pricing They have incredible quality in their service is second to none Please check them out at sitex dash corp comm or give Ross Chandler a call at 2708 23 2468 that is Sitex bringing you what's new so We've got a really cool pop-up on our show this past week We had Molly Martin and she's the owner of juniper green which is a pop-up in the Fairlane hotel right now She is a caterer who caters outside a citizen kitchen and they are doing a pop-up dinner this Sunday called asymmetry And it is gonna be at the Fairlane hotel, and it's a really kind of a cool Kind of this melding of different people Jessica Sloan Who's an event designer the tea huntress Sarah Scarborough and ceramics by salt there actually have custom ceramics for the food There's gonna be these there's like a tea class. They're gonna have food pairings It's totally gonna be it's two different seedings at six and eight and she described the event It sounds just like an amazing time. I mean listen pop-ups to me are so much fun because it's like it's the excitement of something new and Also falling in love with a new favorite so to me those are I love a good pop-up and this sounds like it's gonna be a Good one speaking of good pop-ups Delia Jo Ramsey has her dining with Delia Jo. She's got a pop-up that is this Sunday also It's called sound bites. I'm not sure if it's sold out, but there are six different chefs as a chef from set son I know Julio Hernandez from Mize de la Vida is gonna be there Edgar Victoria from

18:56a la brie hey So it's gonna be a secret location with a view and it is this Sunday and you can get tickets on talk Secret location, how does she pull that off? That's in think about that for a second She's basically planning an incredible dinner party and it has a view and You get to go and have all of these chefs there at your disposal like she's brilliant She's brilliant. She's got it set up. They're gonna be playing kitchen playlists from each of the different chefs as they serve the food It looks like it's gonna be a pretty great event so you can get tickets at talk zeppelin in Germantown is now open and One of the things we're gonna talk about when we bring on Samantha is Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is coming up Oh, yeah, Kelly. What's your do you like? What's your Thanksgiving tradition? They all come here all of them all the people all the humans all the humans come to you You know what? It's been so fun though that that is the one thing we live really geographically right in the middle of all of our family So it's just easier for them to come here So they come and I will traditionally Do the turkey my mother-in-law does her favorite sides my mom does sides, you know, we're cooking I mean it really is this scene from you know years gone by everybody in the kitchen all at the same time cooking and all over top of each other and Then we eat until we are just completely stuffed and usually now that's the whole thing Is there football involved? Are you guys a sports family?

20:30Yes ish my husband and his dad my father my father-in-law. Yeah, they'll watch football the rest of us Now we're we're in the other room watching Hallmark movies the Hallmark Channel the Christmas movies have already started. I mean Brandon my Christmas trees up. So I'm not saying I love Thanksgiving, but it's 2020 and I need some Christmas joy So well, it's like the other day, you know, we you mentioned earlier in the show We live next to each other you went you you go. Did you already put your Christmas stuff up? And I went I did she's like I saw it. I know it's now I can't hide anything. No, it's good No, you can't I'm right down the road Every time you go to the store Awesome, but I will say I think and I have done this in the past I have catered some things in the past for Thanksgiving and Those were kind of the best ones There was a lot of pressure that's taking off Your shoulders when you know, somebody's either doing the turkey or you're getting all of your sides taken care of that's always a really nice Option too. So I'm excited to hear more about other options for Thanksgiving Well, I'm I'm gonna be working. I am going to be at the restaurant Greeting people at the front door taking temperatures Talking to people explaining what's going on keeping people socially distant. I will be at Mayor Bull restaurant Greeting people and it's so funny because they do so much to go and delivery and it's maybe able to dine in there and people go why Why do people go out to eat on Thanksgiving? Why would you go out to eat and it's like So you don't have to cook Anything you have to get the whole family you just show up you eat and then you go back home and there's no dishes No prep nothing. You just put the credit card down and then you can watch football dessert wine

22:32And people like I I see that I see how that could be a thing I see the appeal and you're making me rethink everything that I have planned Our reservations still available by the way Yes Barely, well, we're gonna tell you right now if you're gonna go if you want to do that option if you want to dine in The 404 kitchen is doing a all-day kind of Thanksgiving brunch slash dinner, so it starts I think at 11 to 8 things what they're doing and then Adele's which is that same company st. Stephen Manit over at show Han and the Mockingbird are all doing in-house and As well as Maribel Maribel is doing it too and you can order that to go from there also So those the place you can dine in and then pick up and to go Arnold's is doing a to-go Thanksgiving dinner Juniper green who I just mentioned is doing that pop-up. They're doing a to-go Loveless cafe That was the one that I did because I'm like well five minutes from Loveless and so there was a Thanksgiving I did that And it was glorious Loveless is always a go-to. It's the it's just the best Julia Sullivan of Henry at a red is she has a company called the party line catering and They're gonna be doing a Thanksgiving dinner as well as chefs market So there's lots of options out there if you don't want to cook and you need to order it in or go out to eat And I got a lot of this information at Nashville guru calm there's a lot of great Thanksgiving options and everybody keeps adding options out there Especially in this time of kovat where if you're not getting everybody together, or you're just kind of being cautious You just need to feed a couple people. This might be a really nice option for a lot of people Well, and I think too it is a it is a good mix like even if it's just somebody taking care of you know

24:33I used to and I don't know if they still do it but bros Cajun used to do and Injected deep-fried turkey a Cajun deep-fried turkey I don't think that they're even open anymore that broke my heart because they were that was incredible and that was something so different and So out of the norm, you know, everyone has had a deep-fried turkey Everybody's done probably just a regular oven roasted, but the Cajun injected deep-fried turkey was Legit it was really really great So just having the option of maybe like you said Either getting all of your sides taken and go do a pickup with that or somebody's just cooking the bird for you And you don't have to worry about it But with loveless, I know it was it was fantastic because it was already cut too Like you didn't even I mean, it's so it's so fantastic to just pull the lids off of everything and know it's gonna be fantastic It is the best and I will say out there right now one of the things that I just if you're one of the people It's gonna be going out to eat or you're going to be ordering in to go Be kind of it's Thanksgiving and the people that are there working are there because They they a need the money and be restaurants are closed me. I'm going in because we just need people to come in and work and They're there Sacrificing time with their families in order to serve your family. So be kind have an extra little this is all brand new to so many people and when you go in places, it's so vital that you're being respectful and Wearing your mask when you go in and that is the best segue ever to our next guest Who's going to be she's probably the most talked about person on this show. Oh man Oh I'm so sorry. Hi Kelly. It's so good to see you See you. How are you? Great reading. It's always good to see you, but it's been longer since I've seen Kelly. So

26:34totally understand How are you guys? We are good girl. We are good. You're making it through we're just talking about holiday plans and all the things that are happening and and Really Brandon brought up a great point There are so many people that are gonna be maybe going out to eat or or picking something up and just the hospitality industry When you're thinking about the fact that you work so many holidays just to show some extra love and grace to all of those That are inside. They're working that day. They're giving up their holiday Absolutely. Yeah, you know, that's one of the pitfalls Unfortunately of working the restaurant industry is a lot of times you have to sacrifice Your time that you want to be celebrating a holiday to take care of other people But that's why you know, so many people in the restaurant industry have such a love and passion for it You know, it's it's those kinds of things to help make memories for other people I think this year it might be Well, I don't know. I was gonna say it might be a little harder But maybe it'll be a little easier this year because people aren't doing kind of you know, the hopefully The huge family get-togethers that they might normally be doing so I just would like to point out mr. Jim Myers wanted to say welcome Kelly And Jim Myers also wanted to say hi Caroline galson Seeing you been too long. It's crazy. This is how we see This is it So Caroline you are the president El Presidente for the Tennessee action for hospitality and you have a new Campaign, can you tell us all about it? Yes, absolutely. So We kept hearing from our members and you know, I've certainly experienced it personally as well I've talked about it on this show many times You know that people are still struggling with guests and with the mask Mandate that you know trying to get people to wear masks when they're dining in our restaurants when they're visiting our establishments

28:42So we came up with a campaign or actually fresh branding partnered with us very generously to come up with this great campaign That is called here in the south We cover our mouth and it's really based off this idea of wanting to highlight Not only is this something that we need to do for health and safety But it's also just good manners and here in the south we cover our mouth We practice good manners and wearing a mask and not are not arguing with your servers restaurant owners, whoever it may be It's just good manners be have have your nice other manners and and wear your mask politely because it's weird not to We launched last week So hopefully you have already seen or will see our signs our posters our stickers all over town Just as a friendly reminder to help us continue to operate by doing your part You know, I think what a lot of people don't realize is that When we are more able to contain the spread of kovat that equals opening the economy Unfortunately, I think a lot of people who are really big on wanting to open the economy are also people who are saying You know, we shouldn't have restrictions. We shouldn't have regulations like like wearing masks But the more that we wear masks the more that we get together And work together as a community to stop the spread the easier it's gonna be for us to open and operate You know when when a restaurant has a kovat outbreak?

30:17It's incredibly detrimental No Absolutely and and on the on-brand segment here that we're gonna do in about 35 40 minutes We're gonna talk about just kind of some of the things because I think that there's a lot of people that are still Hesitant to go out venture out to go eat and there's still some kind of unknowns We're gonna talk about just some etiquette when you do go out to eat like wearing a mask when you show up When you can take it off when you can just some of those things we're gonna talk about in our on-brand segment But Caroline, thank you so much for coming on and just telling a little about what you guys are doing in the south Thanks so much all I really appreciate the time today we love you the best What a great idea in the south we cover our mouth I did see another one I think it was earlier today. It said all we ask is you wear the mask That it's it's not a it's not a whole heck of a lot To do and like I said, we're gonna talk about that in a little bit, but we have another guest right now Let's do it. Let's do it. You ready for another guest Charlie You can only attach one set of earbuds to my Microsoft service bro, so she can see you she can hear you Well, hi Abby You are joined with Kelly Sutton and myself and Charlie McPherson is with Miracle One Wines and Where are you today Charlie?

32:06We are this is actually the third week 27 at the top of the Westin Hotel every week that we come down here. It's actually And we have our faith rosé on tap here We also have our hope our hope you know more on our left short may we have samples and we are sampling lines with folks and we're buying And hang out What are some of the best What are what are the best Wow, that's a good question You know what I would think probably just skip right past the wine and just buy gift cards to the partners that I'm working Yeah, there's a actually, you know back in the summer We there was a little bit of a push when the restaurant was really struggling when this first all started for people to go ahead and buy gift cards at the time now for restaurants when you needed revenue and Actually, I mean all joking aside that may be a nice thing to do is find out what people favorite restaurant is and If they pour their favorite wines, and if it happens to be miracle one wine that is distributed through Empire and Abby here Then even better that I think everybody goes on the winter Well guys, it's a little hard to hear you there's a lot of background noise But if you right now want free wine, we have a free wine tasting happening live And l27 at the top of the Westin hotel Go meet up with Charlie and Abby and go taste some of their wines

34:11Yes, absolutely. Please come on down. We'll see you guys. Thank you guys for doing this We love you. All right Oh my gosh, it sounded like it was really hopping down there. We're missing out. What are we doing? I don't know. That was intense. I was like, whoa, they're having a party and we're just sitting here talking They're having a party and i'm in my basement. I mean Truly somebody somebody's living it up. It's 407 and they were in wine time I'm a little jealous but I have had um, the hope wine and it is one of my faves and I I really do I appreciate all of their wines. I appreciate a lot of wine that I really like Heard um All right, so we've got in 10 minutes, uh, actually i'm sorry 15 minutes We're gonna be talking to bob from fido and we've got a couple of um Jim meyers says love you guys and then chef gary garratt says what's up brandon. Welcome kelly. Hey gary I love it. This is so fun. This is like just hanging out with your friends I mean since we don't get to see people in person very often. This is kind of my fix It is kind of fun, isn't it? I'm a i'm just a social social creature and I like to hug people and the fact that I haven't been out Hugging people lately makes me feel like i'm It's part of me that needs that I need this social interaction So this is checking all the boxes. It makes me super happy. Yeah So if you're out there and you're watching Say hello go into the comment section and say hi and we would love to uh, we'd love to hear if you have a question for kelly or When bob comes on from bongo java and fido if you want to have some for him or samantha Please feel free to just type in your question and we are happy happy happy to talk talk to you and answer the questions so charlie comes on as

36:13Owner of miracle one wines, he's at the westin at l27 right now if you want to go drink some free wine Well, let's talk about other places today. We're going to be highlighting hillsboro village And there's a few spots in hillsboro village that do happy hour. They are doing happy hour as we speak Okay, one of those places is double dogs Double dogs is where it's right next to where like boscos used to be and it is from three to seven monday through thursday They have drink specials. There is a bar in the moxie hotel the brand new moxie hotel If you're from here, that's where the parking lot used to be next to in between like cabana and sunset grill. That's now a hotel You know in time out Can we just go back to the fact that you're like where boscos was and everyone that's been here longer than 10 years But um, and then you're like and the parking lot sunset grill. Mm-hmm. Yep. Nope right there with you Yeah, I know exactly where you are. Yeah, it's it's crazy the landmarks and how they've changed and I haven't I have not been in that moxie Um, I have stayed in the moxie hotel in chicago and let me say That bar scene is insane. It's so fun. It is such a vibe and that particular location That just sounds like it's a good time because moxie hotels are known for having a good time and then to be right there I think we we got to stop by we might need to take this show on the road Hey, i'm i'm down to do a uh, we like doing remotes. They're a lot of fun. I mean look out Why not? Right? Yeah So, uh, yeah bar moxie and there's also a moxie downtown right on third avenue right down the street from um, Fgl house and they do live music. I think you have to check in to the hotel at the bar. So I mean you want to talk about Your bartenders multitasking like another jack and coke. Oh and you're in room 304. Thank you That's how they do it in chicago And when you check in they give you a medallion like a little wooden nickel thing And then when you go up to your room and you get all settled in you go back down and you get a free drink That's the most amazing thing ever brilliant and everybody do that so sidebar because this is what I do

38:22You'll you'll get used to the fact that I rabbit trail a lot But so when I was in chicago we were there and we went out and we had a concert that we were covering and Yada, yada, and then we came back and there was a line To get into our hotel There was a line to get into the bar It turned into a club brandon like wow I'm walking into moxie and it was like And the lights were going and people are like Wow, we're going to the moxie and I I was flabbergasted because you think of a hotel, you know, you think of like Uh, just you're going in and they hand you the key and you go up. This was a complete scene Every night. That's what the the bar looks like in that moxie. It was so fun. It was really really fun So that is a that is a new hotel in I mean that sounds like a blast Yeah, and if you want that kind of a blast and here's the thing I was in hillsborough village yesterday And I walked the neighborhood and we are going to do a full segment where we talk all about it but one of the things I do want to talk about is all of the The landmarks that have changed in what hillsborough village like meant to me over the last 25 years i'm showing my age Uh, but we'll get into that here in just a second hillsborough village now extends past. Um wedgewood What is that the blakemore right there? Yeah blakemore It changes You go past blakemore and there's that new e3 chop house And then there's a place called k-bobs and k-bobs orders half-price bottles of wine from five o'clock until close Uh, they also have beer of the day special So they they want you to go to happy hour somewhere else and then come hang out and close the place down over at k-bobs Well, I mean if it goes till close most happy hours are a few hours. That's like that's all night. Okay Bring your laptop if you go to vandy that that's your spot Taco mama, which is right over there next to k-bobs says three o'clock to nine o'clock tuesday

40:23half-price margaritas And around the city kind of away from hillsborough village I have to say the best happy hour in my opinion is the community hour At lochlin table, which was also voted by the nashville scene as the best the readers as the best happy hour in the city And then I always like to recommend 12 south you got to go to josephine for their cheesesteak happy hour It's always a winner Well, anything at josephine is like just a slam dunk in my book anytime that i've ever gone there Even if it's just hanging out at the bar for drinks It's phenomenal and and the atmosphere is kind of special. So yeah, I love josephine It's uh, and andy little who was on our show two weeks ago when we focused on the 12 south neighborhood Um is just he's just one of the most amazing chefs in the city and I just love what he does He cares for his staff cares for his restaurant. It's just such a beautiful place I mean, you know as much as we really cultivated our city for the music scene that same sense of community that um, we see in the songwriting community is Absolutely ingrained with all of our chefs and all of our general managers and all the people that are really making this such a foodie town And it's just awesome to watch it grow It is so Talking about hillsville village. We're gonna jump in and we're gonna jump in here in just a moment with um, bob from fido but Christy cookie company Christy cookies, I believe in nashville. This is her pin Uh, so good For 35 years christy cookie has been making the best cookies on the planet Right here in nashville tennessee you walk into the 12 south store and when the germantown store opens We'll be the first to let you know if you walk into that 12 12 south store You can smell the real butter and the quality ingredients cooking the moment you walk into the storefront And that is there a better smell than fresh baked cookies?

42:22No, I and I have to ask because i'm not sure I haven't been in there in a second But I think if i'm not mistaken They take the broken cookies and they put them they probably don't during covid but they had broken cookie samples And I used to go over there and just walk in And eat them because there's the macadamia is my absolute favorite cookie that they make it's so so good Well, you've probably done you've probably stayed in a double tree hotel over your time The cookie the double tree cookie is a christy cookie Did you know that was the first cookie in space I They sent those double tree cookies into space. I have that tin upstairs. I still have it. It's the most amazing thing so We want you to um, we want you to take a little bit of nashville home with you wherever you are listening to this You can go to our website at nashville restaurant radio.com You click the sponsors tab and you're going to find christy cookies click on that tab You can order these really cool cookie tens full of cookies and this thing has got we've got cookies They got seasonal cookies in here. They've got a cranberry white chocolate cookie that they're doing right now I know it's to die for and i've had to stop going over there and getting cookies to eat during the show because I mean, I can't do this going into the holiday season. Come on And uh, so go to the website order a tin of cookies. You can order t-shirts. They have all kinds of great things Uh, you can go to christy cookies.com or you can visit them from our website So and it truly is one of our gems of nashville if you're going to send a taste of nashville That's the one to send It sure is and um, so hillsboro village hillsboro village is uh, I like I have a Paragraph that i'm gonna talk about okay And and I have to say gary garrett says notice the tin is half full brandon Consumption yes, gary. I don't have any so I had nothing to do with that consumption. Thank you very much next week

44:25Great, whatever you want. I'll hook you up. You get a t-shirt and everything we uh, Um Yes, gary and I love the fact that it's half full not half empty. I like the positivity gary way to be Keeping it keeping it real. Yeah So hillsboro village is an urban walkable and there's more housing options than other nearby neighborhoods Hillsboro village is located between belmont university and vanderbilt university And you will see lots of college students young adults families. It's very very walkable family friendly Due to the amount of single-family homes available around the area There's a large urban park, which is my favorite park in the world the dragon park Yay, I know dragon park Has a playground tennis courts and sitting areas and if you live in hillsboro village, which I did for almost four years we had a condo like in the back parking lot of sam's in the village like literally the windows looked out over the back parking lot of sam's and I parked in your parking spot all the time when I went to sam's and I yelled at because there was always so little parking and I would park there and people come out You can't park ever going to sam Who knew that i've yelled at you before i'm sure Yeah So if you do live in hillsboro village you can enjoy 25 bars and restaurants including nashville staples like pancake pantry Fido hillsboro village has some great shopping with some great boutiques a flower shop a salon barber shops Pilates studio. It's also home to the belcourt theater Which is a theater house featuring classic independent foreign films musical performances and live theater This is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in nashville and for me special place in my heart always For hillsboro village, you know, honestly, I feel like I grew up in part of hillsboro village Um, we used to do american idol viewing parties at sam's when american idol just started

46:31So yeah, that's thrown it way back. I mean back in the days of you know, it wasn't even when carrie was on I mean like this was like before that kelly clarkson and justin gorini days But we would go to sam's and hang out and then I did hear belcourt is about to reopen if they haven't already reopened They are about to reopen and do some limited showings because of course, you know, it's been closed this whole time But it is it is so quirky and fun and beautiful and the shops over there are amazing posh I remember when posh just opened and it was brand new and it's been there It's now a staple altered state is over there, which is gorgeous If you haven't been over to check out some of the things that are happening That is one of my favorite spots and and altered state is beautiful beautiful store to go into and just Even if you don't want to buy anything you just walk in and you look around you're like, oh it feels so pretty So yeah, and of course you got to go to pancake pancake pantry at least once in your life if you live here I mean like I don't think they sign your birth certificate officially until you've eaten there at least once You got to go there at least once yeah And you know what every once in a while like if you're local and you drive by and you don't see the line just do it When I live there every morning we went to fido literally like five times a week And we got this local latte and I got an eggs mcfido I'm sure i'll tell them about that when they come on the show here in just a minute But we would walk up every day or we go to jackson's for brunch and we would see this Long line of people outside and I would be like It's just pancakes right and It would be raining and they'd just be standing outside and they don't care I one of my favorite stories when I first moved here I moved here in 2001 and um, I just started doing a tv show at the fox affiliate and my Producer at the time david dipmore who is amazing and I love him still there He said you know after we get done i'm going to take you to pancake pantry and of course I didn't even know what that meant. All right, whatever

48:33So we pull up and I see this line and I said do you want to go somewhere else and he's like no No, no, no, like you don't understand. This is a rite of passage. You have to stand in the line so as we're walking in this gentleman held the door open for us and he had on a beanie and His head was down, you know, whatever and held the door open and we walked in I said, thank you And he said oh you're welcome and we sit down And david looks at me and he said did you know who that was? and I'm like No, and he's like that was keith urban Wow Well, I said thanks so I felt okay with it. But I mean that was the that was my first real taste pardon the pun of Being in nashville and having the celebrities around and just it's not a big deal and you don't bother them and you know That whole vibe and then I think the next time I went vince was over there. I think vince holds court there a lot vince gil He holds court there as well as um, sorry vince, but noshville and green hills is like but and tom loventhal longtime restaurateur, um owner of noshville pass away this past week and we're all, uh very sad about that and just I want to say thoughts and prayers for his family and uh, um It's a tough loss for the the hospitality community, right?

49:54Uh, so back to pancake pantry and i'll say uh, that pancake pantry was sold Maybe I don't know five years ago to a gentleman named crosby keltoner Okay, and uh, he's doing a great job over there in the pancake pantry I joke I say it's just pancakes, but you do need to go if you've never been you definitely need to go um Jim meyers just said Oh my god, I just remember shooting the garbage can turkey story with you at fox I so remembered this it was some ridiculous thing that we had seen and we were going to recreate it And so we had jim come and we um, we were learning how to cook a turkey in a garbage can And I can't remember if it wasn't frying it. I think it was I think it was something different I don't remember but I distinctly remember we were like we're gonna do the garbage can turkey story I mean the the pinnacles of being a journalist Jim I mean Truly, maybe we need to recreate it It is 2020 and most of what we're experiencing is a hot mess that belongs in a garbage can snow I'm just saying it's this hot hot garbage can turkey story might have legs We absolutely and we need it. We'll just you know, we'll do this We'll bring jim on he can tell us the story next week and he can hop on the show I will dig through the archives and see if I can find any Visible footage that could actually happen. Oh look at this Nick What's up? I love you, buddy. How are you?

51:35Uh-oh now we don't need to talk about all them all the crazy all the crazy nick Pellegrino says we could talk about the savorino's sandwich gang. Do you have? Savorino's because I used to savorino's was in my front yard for three and a half years Really? Yeah, I mean because that was right there I mean it was right in my front yard and we would go there and they had these little cannolis and Uh, they had an eggplant Platini which was fantastic We love savorino's that was just awesome the gelato's Gosh, see these are the things I we're we sound like a bunch of old guys just hanging around and telling songs And jim says it was convection oven high art and drama And then nick says hey, I love you too, oh man I gotta say I Celebrated one of my pinnacle birthdays at manja with nick. He has seen me in all all forms all forms It was so much fun and yeah manja is still one of my favorite go-to's I will say if I have a group of friends and we're looking for a good time manja is a great time Uh-oh is the best off eighth avenue and nick. I believe next week. We are going to be highlighting Your whole area down there You'll be getting a call this week and I will also uh shout out nick is the one that taught me how to play bocce ball so Nice if I didn't I I still am terrible at it. I clearly need more lessons, but he's the only reason that I know anything about bocce And um, yeah, well, this is good. I love the conversation that's so much fun, but Guys I love you And they're still talking about so if you went to savorino's back today all their sandwiches were named after people oh Okay. Okay. Jim Myers had a sandwich named after him

53:38Really? See, these are the things that I I didn't get to partake in that. I don't think I was at savorino's I mean, I probably went once or twice, but I don't sound kelly's you keep going. Okay. I'm just talking so I don't remember The names of the sandwiches So i'm gonna have to include in more on that and I need to know jim meyers What's on the jim meyers sandwich that was at savorino's somebody tell me that i'm gonna Okay, nick cheats at bocce Fighting words and honor. Oh look at this Look at these next week. I'll just send you guys both a link and you can we can all jump on We'll have a big round table. It'll be awesome. This is great. This is a good time This is what nashville's all about all comers. Let's go. See this is this is what? But you know, you didn't know it was going to be like this. Did you? Oh, I did And I showed up anyway, how about that so I did then here I am I love all of this. I love you nick. I hope you're well You know, this is what's amazing about this community is just being in town for a number of years it really is it's like um it's a small family a small community family of the restaurant business so From one group to another how many people have shifted?

55:03I mean how many different places have you been a part of over the last 25 years brandon? Do you know off the top of your head? How many places restaurants, yeah, how many different restaurants have you been a part of or worked at or You know I did I did sales for 14 years in nashville. So i've probably been in over a thousand kitchens in nashville bowling green memphis noxville cookville crossville Huntsville florence decatur, you know all those places i've been in almost every kitchen in the city Wow That's one point or another. Yeah, that's incredible. I mean, that's just it though That's part of why we we're booming right now. I mean it seems like the food scene has really Elevated in the last few years, but it's just because there was all the groundwork that was laid before This supposed boom, you know, it's just like in the music industry same thing Like it's a 10-year town. I feel like that's the exact same thing that's been going on It's been years of all of these amazing people in town like bob from fido like all of these people that have been putting together the pieces and building the foundation and then New things are happening and it seems like oh wow, we're having this big foodie revelation, but it's it's been building for years It has since 2000 since the mid 2000s I think sean brock with what he did at the hermitage hotel back in the day of the molecular gastronomy And him starting to build that up Tandy really did a lot over at the city house. There were so many people pat martin when he first opened martin's Um, carrie bringle. I mean some of these people that just came in and the community was so tight And um, I remember there was a point in which f scott's was like an incubator I mean Everybody worked at f scott's at some point Uh, same with jeremy barlow's taste. He had so many people that came through taste And there's just remember taste Oh, that was a oh, that's been a minute

57:04I know and in fact, I mean even hillsboro village We got to think about driving through hillsboro village like 15 years ago 10 five years ago I mean shoot when I lived there that new building that has double dogs wasn't there. There was still the shoeshine store It was the old school building. There was a bosco's brewery sam's jackson's provance davis Davis home goods was there. Um pangea The bookseller was it the bookseller? There was the bookseller. Yeah, the bookseller was right there and then you had the sunset grill Um the trace back in the day and cabana is still hanging out over there Yeah, that's amazing And now almost every one of those are gone um we've got a new ruby sunshine where um Where jackson's used to be we have a new double dogs. There's a place called hop dotty Which is kind of a burger bar and it's uh, then there's a new place I forget what the name of the place is called Where sam's used to be but man that sam's sports bar was an absolute melting pot for chefs at 11 30 at night I mean you go sit at that bar and it was the who's who of everybody that worked in restaurants It was just amazing just an amazing town it got rowdy and loud and I liked it Jim meyers is even going more old school with um Phasons, which is I believe phase on I remember jody Joe phasons was I think where the trace was and then next to it was the iguana iguanas, right?

58:44iguana or red iguana I think it was just called iguanas. It was yeah. No, I remember That was the hot ticket you could park in one and then hop to the all of them So we've had some technical difficulties with our buddy bob from fido. Oh no, and um, he's having a hard time getting on so We do have a new guest Um, we told you we're going to bring on samantha ulrich. It's all rich and she is from red pebbles hospitality And they are going to come on as our local Spotlight every week what chefs want creation gardens Comes on and they are um, they want to sponsor a locally owned and operated restaurant And today it's a red pebble hospitality creation gardens. What chefs want it's so hard to get them both together They used to be called creation gardens. They're now called what chefs want but they will deliver your food seven days a week They are the company that cares about you. They are 100 service 24 hour customer service available to you You can place your orders later at night seven day delivery. They'll split anything that they sell And um, they are truly in business to help you succeed So give them a call 1-800-600-8510 or check them out at what chefs want.com Let's bring her in samantha Ulrich Hi samantha Thank you Hi Hi, how are you? I am so well. Thanks. How are you guys doing?

01:00:15We're good Awesome. So you are the director of marketing for red pebbles hospitality Which restaurants do you represent? So we have quite a few here in nashville. Actually, we have um adults we have the four of our kitchen girdies and separately we also have me squared which is part of the Uh pizza. That's emily hospitality group as well where we have Uh restaurants in new york dc um philly Now louisville and we're expanding kind of across the new york or the eastern seaboard Oh, wow, incredible. That's incredible So talk to us a little bit about nashville and and what happens here how it's different than some of the other places that you're seeing Like you mentioned louisville. I know louisville is coming on strong with a lot and their hospitality scene as well Yeah, so we're super excited to be in louisville. We're in the new new lou marketplace, which is awesome We have some great neighbors in there. We have a great patio space um, we have Just a ton of new vibes out there that we were really excited about We also have a few new concepts going in there from the red pebbles hospitality group as well Um, so it's just a really exciting new venture for us That's amazing That is fantastic um What do you guys I know we mentioned earlier that you were going to be doing thanksgiving at both adels and 404 kitchen Can you tell us a little bit more about that? Absolutely. So we have Dine-in service, which obviously during these cova times can be slightly limited with capacity Um, we are for the first time ever offering Uh to go service through the 404 and adels, um both doing traditional Traditional dinner turkey dinners with our you know from 404. They're awesome cornbread and um Pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes and all the fixings from there and we also have the same thing from adels

01:02:17Again, first time we're ever doing this. So as we had to kind of meld with the whole cobit and pandemic Experience with the hospitality industry is going through We're doing the to-go service which um, we're really excited to be providing for families this year Now samantha, what do people need to know if they really want to take advantage of that? I know Most of the time with with an offer of to-go. Oh, who's that? I'm, so sorry No, who is that? Hi, i'm so sorry. I was like Girl anytime a cat crashes the interview it makes it even better Okay, so tell us like what people need to know as far as getting the orders in because I know most of this is done And you've got to have a cutoff date to make this all happen 100% So make it all happen. You have to put your order in by the 21st. Okay, so we have pre-orders going I know tons of places around nashville are doing kind of to-go orders, obviously So putting your to-go order in early is probably beneficial for everyone. So the 21st is the latest cutoff date and Um, we also are taking reservations on open table and resing Okay So if you're interested people need to get on it and make sure that they have all of their information in either With the to-go or in person now. Yes. Yeah 100% So we have links on the website where you can email in put all your information in there Um, we're actually doing For those who love the 404 old fashion as much as I do we're doing that to go so you can have I know um We're doing to go in in like pint containers. So for the whole group, um We're doing those to go. We're also doing some to-go Cocktails from adele's as well. Uh, thanksgiving just got happier. I know for me, too

01:04:19This is awesome Yeah, do you guys have any other really fun things coming up on the horizon? So we do I mean, honestly our our ceo is always putting some things that into the work. So we have some fun. Um So on the me squared front the pizza front we're also doing A location in well, we have some Feelers out there in charlotte, atlanta We also have some feelers out there across the eastern seaboard So we're really excited about the future of 2021 as much as we possibly can and we're really really fortunate to be able to Expand our group during these times um our teams on the ground have been They've been The wonders of what we do. Honestly, they've been so supportive and flexible and And there for us, so we are there for them at 100 everyone's been A great team to make us propel into 2021 as we are so we're Super excited for what the future holds for the group. Um That said we also have a few new exciting projects in nashville with red pebbles we have Uh blue stripes, which is a cacao shop coming into the new I guess it's the w hotel there. Um Next to lululemon in the gulf Did you say cacao so I can go get workout clothes and then go next door and eat chocolate Oh you can okay We're on the same page right here like it's a thing look cute But make sure that you're What you really want so it comes from new york. It's this guy named obre Sorry oded oded brenner comes from the brother of max brenner with the new york Cacao shop there in union square and they had this awesome awesome like cloud. I think it's called like a cloud shake

01:06:21It's amazing. It's Oh, i'm excited. I'm there for it. I'm excited. I'm excited. Just get the neck size up at lulu When you go So we have that coming in the works. We have a few other exciting projects online as well that um, Aren't exactly nailed down yet, but some things look forward to you guys talk for a second. I got bob call me All right, bob's calling so samantha I want to know you know, it's really interesting that you're talking about this and and the fact that you guys are expanding in such a weird Time what it is about red pebbles that has really allowed you To maintain such quality with adels and four four in so many places But then also look to the horizon and see that You know there is opportunity for expansion because I I do think that that's very a very unique position to be in right now It is and I mean not Honestly, like as we know not everyone has been as fortunate to be able to stay open and expand like that. So we are um Just very thankful for the opportunities we have right now to To proceed and and be open and expand I mean the people we like I said the people behind the company are really what makes it guests behind the company are what make it I mean we have such a loyal awesome Awesome guests that come in and keep us alive Um, we have awesome teams behind every one of our restaurants We have our partners and owners that kind of know how things run and and come up with those creative ideas To keep us going so we can be more thankful and fortunate for those opportunities and the people honestly If there was one like driving factor or I don't want to say mission statement But along those lines that you feel like really has helped align red pebbles What would be one thing that maybe somebody else that that isn't in the position that they can actually start to expand But they're hoping to to turn the tables right now

01:08:23What are some of the things or maybe one thing a nugget of knowledge that you feel like red pebbles has offered? To all of those restaurant groups that somebody else might be able to take away. Oh god. I wish my ceo is on this Honestly, I think it's coming up it's just it's It's coming up with the The feeling of what people want right now, I mean, it's really just Going it's it's being flexible. It's being flexible with as a company um I you know I feel for those companies of the restaurants and the hospitality groups that Haven't had to go before and they've now had to be this to go Restaurant and they've had to do delivery and it's it's not always easy. It's like it's thankfully a lot of our restaurants have had that Experience before so we have been in that boat. But um, I think it's it's just being creative It's really being creative so I I applaud all of the restaurants and the restaurant groups right now who are are Making their spaces into different spaces. They're Being outdoor movie theaters and they're giving their guests picnic experiences socially distancing. I think that's Um super innovative and I couldn't I I couldn't apologize people more So I think it's also it's just going with what what you need to do as a company to stay alive right now And it's giving people the security and the safety that they need to feel Well, and I think that you're on when you said flexibility I think that that's really that that is the key to good innovation Especially in the time that we're in being flexible and being able to look outside the box and say okay This isn't what we can do right now, but we can do this So how do we do that? Well, and you guys are obviously killing it at that. So thank you We are trying we're really I mean we really are trying and like I said It's it's our the teams behind each one of our restaurants that are really keeping us alive. That's amazing Well samantha, you have been amazing Thank you so much for coming on and joining us for our local spotlight for today

01:10:28And if you are out there and you're looking for a great place to go eat Thanksgiving dinner or if you don't want to cook and we talked about it earlier in our whole thanksgiving package for for kitchen and adelle's You're taking reservations and you are taking to go orders Now Thank you once again for spending time with us here Thank you Thank you Bye samantha Yeah, I All right, absolutely think man That's that is a go-to if you can do a to-go order like that, especially adelle's or 404 And she said the old fashion is available. What? That's amazing. It's amazing to get i'm like do they do that in pitchers? Is that like individual six ounce drinks? That would be dangerous, but all right very tasty We have figured out some bugs here and communication and we've got bob Hello Hello Bob's here. Hey friend. How are you? I'm doing good. How are you doing? Oh, we're good, man We are good. We're figuring it all out technology. Yeah, it's it's my fault. I uh, I don't know why i'm still stuck on like You can only interview somebody in person I'm old I guess it's hard to treat, you know, i'm sitting here at fido. Like I guess it's can't teach old dogs new tricks Ah, well done Well, we just we're doing where you know, thanks bob for joining us, um, and we are highlighting hillsboro village today and I was just telling her that I lived in hillsboro village for almost four years and fido was a Every single day place for me the local latte I still create it to this day in my house every morning I get up and I make a look I make a local latte from home and you should send us a couple bucks each time, right? I Should And I even make them in my fido mug. Oh my gosh, that's incredible. Okay. So tell me what's in the local latte

01:12:33Oh local latte is espresso and then steamed milk and local honey and cinnamon There you go I mean that's it and it is There's there's all these rotating drinks that they have there and it stays on the menu It's it became we have a we used to have a barista contest every few months It had employees create these drinks And uh that one was that's how that one was created. I mean, it's so simple But it just became a standard You know, I can go to other coffee shops and i'll say I want a latte. Um, I went to eighth and roast yesterday for a meeting I said I want a latte with a little bit of honey and cinnamon and the guy goes Oh like a local latte and I went that's exactly what I want like it permeates other people know what it is We'll take all the credit we can get so Let's talk a little bit just about longevity and and how fido has become this staple I mean when you set out on this venture years again, what was it about?

01:13:38The location of hillsboro village. How did you end up where you were? Um lucky, you know, that's all I can say we um, when I first decided to open a coffee house in 92 Hillsboro village is where I wanted to be but we couldn't find a space um, and so we went and opened over on belmont boulevard In 90 we ended up opening in 93 and then a couple years later Somebody told me there was this little hair cutting place in the hillsboro village didn't want it out And did I want to buy their lease? I'm like, yes And that was just going to be 1200 square feet if everybody remembers patsy and pays here it was It was the 70s 60s hangout of dash when i've heard some wild stories about that place Um, but as we're getting ready to go, you know negotiating the lease for 1200 square feet The pet shop which was right next door, which was 2400 square feet just literally in the middle of the night just packed up and left And so the landlord called and said you want 3,600 feet instead of 1200 i'm like, um Maybe Because because you know We still get our electric bill to a place called bongo to go because that's what our place was going to be it's going to be coffee roasting in the back drinks in the front to go And um bongo to you know, number two is our second store But um, we thought about it and I just I took a chance and took 3600 square feet in hillsboro village When nobody really wanted space over here Uh, people look at hillsboro village and the city now and think it's so hot and think I got so lucky but Nobody wanted the space at the time I signed a 20-year lease With no money from the landlord. I had to do everything myself So people some people thought I was crazy, but um, it worked out Yeah, yeah I did I'd say so. Um, so you know, I I was young and didn't know any better and I figured If it didn't work out, I'd move out of town and start over There you go, but it it worked

01:15:41So you just asked kelly just asked, um samantha from red pebbles hospitality kind of What their core values were in essence, right? Is that what you were saying? Like what is your north star? What are the things and she talked about sustainability? I've always felt like every time that we when we lived there we'd walk by and I was like I don't have an apple computer I'm definitely not cool enough to go eat at fido Until I finally because you just look in the window and it's just the it's just people on their laptops I'm like I have a like I have a pc. I'm not cool and But we started going there and the eggs mcfido's is just the best breakfast sandwich. It's it's fantastic. But what are Just kind of your what is your culture and Because it's it's unique Yeah, I mean I think local lot, you know locals when you say look a lot that's part of it is being local but our um our mission statement says we expand the definition of We strengthen communities by expanding the definition of quality And what we mean by that is every one of our stores is different Uh fido is different than bongo bongo is different than our game point, you know for game cafe And every cafe we open is different because we want to fit the neighborhood. We want to fit in And also expanding the definition of quality means All our coffee is bought directly from small scale farmer groups Prices above fair trade and it's all organic We don't hugely pat ourselves in the back for that. We don't have huge signs doing that. It's the same what we do But that's that's what we do. We we think it's really important Once once you visit a coffee farm and you see these communities how poor they are And you come back and you see people paying four or five dollars for an espresso drink You realize you have an obligation to do something different. You you have an obligation to buy straight from small farmers Coffee quality people judge big, you know a number on a scale one to a hundred your coffee is an 85 or 88 I always argue that like

01:17:43What's two what's two points on a grading scale? You tell me your coffee is 98 mine's 96 But you're buying from some guy rich guy who owns all this plantation and basically have these employees under their thumb And my coffee is by i'm paying the farmers directly so they can live on their farm and own their own property And feed their own families and not have to go, you know worry about income for the rest of the year To me that's expanding the definition of quality You know what that to me speaks volumes of why you've lasted I mean whether if it's if it's something like that and the fact that those are the core values People see that people feel that people taste that and and that's why they come back and and I think that um, that is Really one of the benchmarks of why things succeed especially in nashville when authenticity is at a premium And if you can really Yeah, it'd be authentic and be yourself and that that's what wins out and and those that aren't That's why they don't last. So yeah kudos to you. That's amazing bob. Yeah. Thank you. No, we I appreciate that You know the first I do nothing about coffee when I got into this business, but I went to my coffee convention to learn And I found myself drifting to all these all these seminars about the politics and social and the economics of coffee And I came out of that like why do I want to get this business? It's very Exploitive it's very this and some guy grabbed me by the chest and he goes It's people like you who got to get in this business and change it And um, so i've i've always felt that over 20 something years. We've been operating And uh back in 99 we joined six other small road trips across the country and formed a buying co-op and together we buy coffee directly from source and You know started 99 with 40 000 pounds seven of us and now it's up to 20 I think it's 26 27 of us Buying, you know 5 million pounds a year so That to me is a huge dent. Um a huge

01:19:45Bonus that we can pay farmers directly we're cutting out a lot of middlemen and we're not trying to save ourselves money We're just trying to put some People Well, and I see I see that too in the food that you guys buy. I mean the foods you buy sustainability using um only biodegradable to go materials But you look on your menu and it's I said the eggs mcfido, but it's a it's an everything bagel with um local Eggs farm eggs and local sausage or local bacon and it's everything is I don't want to Exaggerate what we do because now not everything we do is local. We try to do as much as we can source eggs We get eggs is one thing that that's an exaggeration. We we've tried that and buying local eggs the amount we go through Just wasn't sustainable But we do we do try to buy as many meats and cheeses and and and during whatever season growing season by Vegetables locally so we do the but you know, we're far from perfect I think on coffee we do on you know, I give ourselves pretty close to a scale 10 everything else you know, we still work to improve but um, it is definitely Something we we strive for It's one of our buying decisions like we can buy this drink or that drink which is local which is this which is rad Yeah, and then post covid things are you know more difficult to source things and find things but we're working on it Um, hey probably ask you a quick question we've been reminiscing over here about the hillsboro village of old um, and I was in hillsboro village yesterday and um It is a different Look, like i'm walking through there and i'm like Where am I? I mean the villager is still there and you've got the village cleaners and I gotta give a shout out to my friends over the village cleaners because I used to see them all the time and I stopped by To go see jerry and jenny yesterday and uh, I love you guys if you're watching jerry and jenny, you're the best

01:21:49What's your take on what's happened? What what's going on over there in the village? Well, I've always thought the village was um kind of a sample of what's going on in the whole city um You know when I first moved to nashville in 88 If there was a cool hip greenwich village feeling part of nashville, this was hillsboro village And like I said, I couldn't find space here, but over the years other neighborhoods started to pop up and the village took a Dive, you know a little bit of a dip um 12 south germantown east nashville things like that But then you know you said, you know nashville came back with sunset grill came in we came in For a while the old the old provance and we started really developing this local Feeling neighborhood. It was great. Um Randy raver who used to own sunset grill used to say it was it was like a mall without it Without a common landlord. It was like we were we were all just here. We're all local shops but it's slowly changed over the years and that's um, and that's Same thing happening in every other Neighborhood becoming more regional or national Chains or or whatever you want to call them are moving in Us who else is left? Like you said the village cleaners villager the villager pancake Pancake pantry, of course cabana's been for a while Uh, but I missed a shoe shine guy, you know Yeah, my office was above him for 10 years That building, you know I was sitting in phyto my wife and I had left our condo and we were sitting there You walk in that front door. There's like a counter like a little bar area We're sitting right there and we watched the the crane take down that building we sat there and I was just like The saddest moment I have pictures of it. I was just sitting there watching it and just kind of a I can't believe this is happening. They're they're tearing down the building. We watched it from phyto. We're sitting there having breakfast Yeah, it's you know, I like I said, my office was in there for about 10 years and I knew that building was falling apart and

01:23:51Needed a heck of a lot of work. So I don't I understand it Why had it why it came down? But it's just the stuff that came in it's just it just doesn't feel to me like National anymore. It's it's that's Uh one of my feelings it's it's tougher to do business here There's so much more competition and not only that but it's people That don't necessarily live here or feel it or understand that When we all operate open businesses, nobody opened a coffee house across from the coffee house Nobody opened a burger place across from the burger It was just like this cooperative feeling like oh you're doing this we'll do something slightly different. We'll do this We'll do that and now it's It's kind of crazy But don't you feel like I and maybe maybe this is the optimist in me bob, but I really feel like that That's the flash in the pan that's going to last for a while, but I just don't feel like that's sustainable I feel like the people that are moving here It will happen for a while and it's the big shiny now But we've watched time and time again where these new ventures have come in and they really have you know They set up their stakes and they they do their thing and it lasts for four or five years But the longevity isn't there and I feel like that that's what you do so well and Others around you other people that are still in hillsboro That's going to be around for a long time. So even though right now we're seeing You say that but it's it's um Price of real estate are getting What a small business can afford yeah, like we got into hillsboro village when prices, you know looking back People think I got it first feel and I still have a great deal and I do compared to what's going on now right, but If I start to pay market rents, can I really operate this big of an operation the way i've been operating it?

01:25:39Or do I start to need to worry about every penny? Do I need to start to cut costs? Do I need to start? um Worrying about like I said everything And you know, who knows what when my lease comes up what the rent's going to be whether I can afford it um So I don't know. I mean you see restaurants closing all over town some you know during cobit a lot of A lot of places that were on the edge They couldn't make it you could blame it on covid or you could blame it on the national boom I think that's One big story doesn't get told enough is the national boom is having big effect on small local businesses restaurants retail shops everything out Well, that's one of the that's one of the main reasons why we wanted to have you on the show today Uh, we highlight a local legend every single week and you know, well, I mean the The new people get a lot of the love out there the the new right everyone's talked about the new restaurant the new thing That's coming and there are people like yourselves who?

01:26:39When you support a brand like fido when you go to fido for your coffee You're not only just supporting a local community that employs local people that is a staple in the community You're also supporting somebody who's treating farmers in a great way Somebody who's also supporting your local farmers and a local level as well as the fair trade farmers that are growing the coffee like it's so much more than just going to a starbucks like Go to the local coffee guy go to fido go to bongo java Go support them and these are your local but they live here in town They need to pay rent like anybody else and we want To keep you guys around as long as we possibly can and I can't thank you enough for coming on today Yeah, no, I appreciate I think what you said about living here is the big deals like You know basically everything I make here stays here same with all, you know And you know, there's a lot of great local coffee house When we started there was nobody around but you know, there's a lot of a lot of great ones popped up but they're Me the great ones are the ones that are local and feel local and And buy into that there's other regional and national chains that i'm like Why I don't understand?

01:27:53There's I mean there's No offense to uh some coffee houses thrown by a gas station and they opened up Doors away from two local coffee houses and I just like yeah Well, we could say it white bison opened up in 12 south and it's by twice daily And I mean you've got portland brew and frothy monkey right there and um, like go support them You know go support if you're gonna be in the area Um any other great coffee shops like so I mean in town we know that if you go to white bison that's owned by twice daily, but If you're not able to go to your coffee shop, is there any great do you have like a community of other friends that do this? frothy crema portland brew I'm, I'm, I don't want to forget somebody. Oh athen rost. I'm sure i'll forget some people um Uh dose head headquarters. It's a great one over there of charlotte uh Oh, there's headquarters in charlotte. There's athen rost another one over there in charlotte um, you know, I actually I remember a billion years ago that um, I had a date And she wanted to go to uh Uh cafe coco late at night And I go I can't go in there. She's like why not she won't support the you know competitor I'm like, no, no, no, I go in there. They're gonna think i'm spying on them And she's like you're crazy. You're crazy. I'm like, no, it's serious And I I walked in we sit down the waiter the waiter or waitress comes up and says what are you doing spying on us?

01:29:23Awesome It's like if it was for their tiramisu, then yeah, absolutely. It would be worth it. It would be worth it. That's amazing So no, I i've been to other coffee houses sometimes I You gotta support you gotta support each other because that's what it i'm the guys and athen rost had their own podcast and I was on that It was incredible that they extended that courtesy to me. So we all we all have to help each other. Yeah, absolutely Amazing guys you Thanks, I appreciate this. This is great. Sorry about the trouble at the beginning. Oh That's I i'll take that one. That one's on me. I we're kind of at the last minute here. So Okay, no problem Well, I'll tell you what We'll make it of each other. I'd love to have you on we'll do I would love to hear more about your story and kind of just more about you and what you're doing in town With a full interview if uh, if you'd like to do that here in the coming future I'll do that, but you have to promise to help me because i'm Totally not related to coffee and business. I'm i'm working on a pod. I'm trying to start a podcast All right, perfect. You're gonna have to help me with that part of it. I can do that too. I'd be happy to All right So we all help each other. I love it. There you go Have a wonderful night man, thank you so much you too. Take care. Bye. Bye All right This is amazing so great He's amazing Well, and you know the thing that's interesting is I didn't I just didn't know all of the history and the fact that he really didn't know that much about coffee and that he really educated himself about it and Figured it out. I mean that just speaks volumes To who he is and what his character is and if you choose to go to a chain over A human being like that, then what's wrong with you?

01:31:15We need to go. I know come on Right. Yeah, either one. I mean they're great people and I missed gary. I'm sorry. I missed um your comment Totally into talking to him. I've really enjoyed that that was really nice He's incredible and you know what? I just hope and pray that those people like bob the the pioneers that have been here and really made this town what it Is are going to be able to Outlast whatever we're experiencing now And if the landlord that owns that spot is watching you better cut him a deal because we need fido in our lives We do need fido in our lives and I I cherish they used to have a place down the street called fetch They had fido and then they bought like a few doors down at a place called fetch and you would go there Any given day and the line would go all the way back like to the bathroom back there like it swung around the corner You have to like get in this little back corner and stand there and We knew because we went there every day that I knew what I was getting and I would I would say honey Why don't you go to fetch and she would go get our local lattes because there's no line at fetch They didn't do food So we would go get our coffees and she would come meet me back in line and we'd have our hot coffee And then we'd get our food and it was like boom boom boom boom and It was the best you gotta we gamed the system a little bit because we were locals It's like your it was your cheers basically We were there a lot That's awesome. Yeah, those are places. Those are the places that make nashville really special That's that's I mean, I never I wasn't there that much I did I used to get my hair done at rodney mitchell salon, which is right there right beside it So whenever it was I loved it and I love rodney's still one of my dear friends But I would go and park and go to fido and get a coffee and go get my hair done And then I might have foils in my hair. I might have like a ton of you know Product in my hair and I would walk out on the sidewalk and walk over to fido with my hair You know, uh a crazy person and they were used to it at that point there because everybody did it

01:33:20So you walk in and get another coffee and go back. So yeah Well, I will tell you It was an amazing experience yesterday walking into the village cleaners Yeah, and it sounds weird But there's like a there's like a shop right there across the street from jenny's ice cream and the next that's the village cleaners the iconic neon light sign and Jerry and jenny in there and I used to see them all the time every month in november I would grow a mustache for november And jerry would always give me a 20 dollar bill and he would say Here put this towards your november thing and he would always grow a mustache with me I was in there, you know every couple days, you know, I A lot of dry cleaning but walking in there yesterday and then going Oh my god, like dude, what are you doing? It was like brandon It's like how old you know, how's william and how many kids do you have now? and I was showing them pictures and we were just like catching up and it was like I love nashville. I just It's just an amazing town and those guys are just they're just awesome They really are we live in a really special town. I hope it stays special. We have to keep it I Think it will and I have to say that that bringing on bob Was uh as a local legend was brought to you by mobile fixture and equipment company They always pride themselves on finding the best products services and communication with their clients Their focus is simple They want to provide their clients with everything they need to create a perfect meal to achieve this They have to learn everything there is to know about all parts of the food service industry from storage to handling to prep to cooking And serving the perfect meal their dedication to their clients comes first And always and I will give you a little teaser. Uh, we were talking just now about eighth and roast and q taylor is the owner over there and We are gonna have an episode next week with ben whitlock from mobile fixture And cute and q taylor we're gonna come on we're gonna do an interview with both of them

01:35:24They're long time friends and we're just gonna shoot the the bowl. We're just gonna have a fun interview It's just like us just telling jokes so I think Q i'm not I can't remember If it was kids that came on but um, he taught me how to do a proper pour over Oh, yes I was I was schooled about a proper pour over. I'm pretty sure i'm gonna go back and look at my files, but Um, yeah, once once you've had something that good you really feel like um Everything that you make at home is trash and you don't want to drink it every morning. I'm like, oh This is not eighth and roast I mean, you know, it's but it's it's just not the same so And they're there roasting the coffee like in the place, right? It's they're like smell. It's just heaven So we have one last segment to go okay, and this is our final segment of the day and this is the On brand with brandon. I like it This is brought to you by what's that? I said get on brand brandon It's brought to you by super source. Uh, they're proud to present our final segment of the day Super source is the answer to your dish machine and chemical needs in your restaurant. They have zero minimums and zero contracts and They want to earn your business Every single week jason ellis is the hardest working man in town And he's here to help save you money and increase the cleanliness of your dishes provide the best service in nashville Check them out at our website nashville restaurant radio.com Click the sponsors tab click the link for super source and you will get three free months of dish machine rental As well as 15 off your first chemical order if you visit the link in the website for new customers only Go check them out now Today we're going to kind of continue talking about what we've been talking about If you are going out to eat we wanted to give you a little bit of a guide as to what to expect What to do how to respect your server?

01:37:28Just just getting on to talking to you the guest I think that um, that is a very valid point I just was at an establishment earlier today and there were certain people that weren't on board with the mask program or Had it down here. This doesn't count people when it it's got to go over the nose It's gotta go over the nose gotta go over the nose The fact that they wear it down here drives me bonkers So it's really important when you go out to a restaurant that you wear a mask restaurant workers have to wear a mask It's mandated that they wear a mask by the health department. So when you walk in the door Have the mask on be ready if they tempt you that's a good thing They're just verifying that everybody that comes in their building is safe So when you walk into the restaurant one of the great things that you can do as a guest is to make a reservation Right now when we're seating at 50 capacity, it's really helpful if they know that you're coming So please go to open table go to resi go to talk Wherever you make your reservations check availability make reservation Let them know you're coming that way they can plan for you have a table ready for you So that they can be prepared it helps out the restaurant so much When you get to the restaurant, they're gonna greet you Maybe they take your temperature when you walk to your table you sit down at the table You're free to take your mask off once you sit down now. Here's the important thing They're gonna hand you either a single serve menu or you're gonna have a qr code on the table that you can scan and from there you can Read the menu on your phone Now one of the things that i'd recommend is to game plan game plan ahead if you know that you're going to the green hills grill And you don't want to have to read the qr code go to the go online check out the green hills grill.com Look at the menu identify what you want to eat before you go So that you don't have to worry about touching this minimize the amount of touches that you have if you can plan ahead

01:39:31you can get ahead which is Really really if that's something that you're nervous about That's a way to get around it. So being proactive can certainly help you in that regard and when you sit down And there's a lot of stuff to do right? So you have the single server menu. You've got a qr code the server walks up The server is wearing a mask So they talk to you It's hard to really sometimes understand So if you would give the server your undivided attention when they come to the table, it's very respectful Not making them repeat what they're saying two and three times because you're on your phone or you're talking They listen they do this all day long They're there putting themselves at risk so that you can have a good time and have a great experience get food They're having to wear a mask. They can't just take it off and go. Okay. Look guys. Here's what's going on Give them your undivided attention and listen. It's so important Well, and I will say this I I kind of take it one step further I usually will leave my mask on when the server is there because truly I think One of the things with mask, it's not necessarily if i'm wearing one to protect me It's to protect you if I was to happen and didn't realize So and I do this too, you know in any restaurant situation if I know i'm going to be face to face with another human I just feel like it's courtesy to have that mask on so even if I take it off and i'm talking to them or whoever I'm having dinner with I will put it back on when the server comes over simply because I want to show them You know the good grace of I want this on my face while you're talking to me So i'm not spitting my germs at you Um, but that's just me so that that's my etiquette tip for the night It's like just put it on because it it's a form of respect. I think at this point Absolutely, and if you get up to go anywhere put it back on Do you walk to the restaurant a lot of they've socially distanced the tables you sit in a in a in a separate away from everything And really throughout the dinner. It's it's pretty easy. Just enjoy your dinner like you normally would but when the check comes Leave them 25 to 30 leave a good tip. Um, and if your meal was bad, let's say you had a bad experience

01:41:35Something didn't go right Do not leave there and go on yelp and leave them a one-star review because they're terrible whatever We are all trying to make it right now and do our very best If you have a problem asked to speak to a manager And tell the manager what your problem is and if they tell you to pound sand then maybe go to yelp But everybody wants you to leave happy they all want you to leave with a positive experience and you having um Communicated accurately to the restaurant management ownership. What's going on is the way in which helps them Fix any future problems that future guests could possibly have you're not being a karen. You're not complaining Just let them know they want to know what's going they genuinely want That's what we do in the service industry who want to help you Don't leave get in your car and go i'll show them i'm gonna go on yelp and let them have it like That's not the way to do it These restaurants especially locally owned and operated restaurants right now need your support They don't need you to go on and bash them online They need every single person dining there. I actually challenge you right now to go back and find three restaurants You had a great experience at and go leave them five star reviews tonight I was about to say the same thing because you know people are 10 times more likely To jump on and give a bad review than they are a good review So if you've had great service somewhere if you've had fantastic food or something that was just stellar Go add that because yelp. I mean For all the bad things that it offers it offers a lot of great things as well So if it was a place that you just truly had a good experience within the last six months Definitely let them know about it because it can make or break I mean, it's it feels unfair sometimes because like you said a karen can get on there or even somebody that doesn't understand One star is a bad review. I've read those those are always hilarious It's like this food was great one star and you're like no friend. No one is not the best not how it works Five's good one's not so anyway that being said. Yeah, do your part and make sure that our locals are getting all the love that they can

01:43:39Well said kelly sutton, we have done it we have our first our first show together and I want to encourage people to go to youtube and Search kelly sutton your new show connected with kelly is out now you had an episode come out today. I believe It came out this morning. So we spoke with our buddy kane brown Uh kane has been a superstar as of late. He is just Incredible and one of the things that i've noticed is Things that kane did recently is partner with crown royal and crown royal does this amazing project called the purple bag project So, you know when you get a bottle of crown royal it comes in that beautiful purple velvet bag they take those and then They stuff them full of goodies and they send them to our servicemen and women overseas and it's just this little Care package a little something from home So it has you know beef jerky and it has a note and it has you know A ton of other goodies in it and their goal for 2020 was to pack Their one millionth bag and have that sent overseas So kane is helping with that initiative. It all ties in yesterday was veterans day Um, which was you know our chance to say thank you to all of our veterans and all of our servicemen and women So you can check that out go over to Connected with kelly you can find connected with kelly.com or you can go to youtube and find me at kelly sutton tv Brandon you look different right now I believe he might be gone. I don't know. I think he may have signed off guys It's just me by myself in my basement I hope you guys are having an amazing night. Thank you so much for joining us. We will be back We've got more amazing guests and i'm just excited to be a part of this new venture If you guys are listening to us Then make sure that you tell all your friends about this episode and where they can find us You can go on the facebook group as well and like it and that way you will be notified every time that we go live

01:45:41so Just get on there and like it and for everybody that's watching tonight. Have a fantastic night show love to our city Keep nashville happy and safe. We love you all everybody. Have a good night. Bye You