Brandon Styll introduces Jen Ichikawa as the new co-host of Nashville Restaurant Radio after 175 solo episodes. Jen is the digital content manager Brandon works alongside at Maribelle and Green Hills Grille, and he wanted to add a female perspective and a co-host who could push...
Brandon Styll introduces Jen Ichikawa as the new co-host of Nashville Restaurant Radio after 175 solo episodes. Jen is the digital content manager Brandon works alongside at Maribelle and Green Hills Grille, and he wanted to add a female perspective and a co-host who could push back on his point of view. In this short welcome episode, Jen shares her background in Nashville's restaurant scene, her family life, and the perspective she hopes to bring to future interviews. Brandon also previews upcoming programming including Brandon's Book Club and a new call-in show called Talking Shift.
"I think I'm the only one that went back to restaurants during the pandemic when everyone else was leaving and trying to find new places. I was like, no, that's home for me."
Jen Ichikawa, 04:35
"When you feel like the lowest person on the totem pole, how do you continue to go in every day and give your best? That's a perspective I like to offer because I root for the underdog in all situations."
Jen Ichikawa, 07:30
"In order to do good, you have to be good, whether that's at your job or your personhood or anything. To do good, you have to be good."
Jen Ichikawa, 07:51
"The restaurant industry is so family driven. It's a field you only understand if you've been in it."
Jen Ichikawa, 08:17
00:00Welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio, the tastiest hour of talk in Music City. Now here's your host, Brandon Styll. Hello, Music City. Welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio. My name is Brandon Styll and I am your host. Today is a special episode where we're going to meet somebody new and I want to tell you a little bit of the background behind why you're going to be meeting this person. So I started this podcast in March of 2012, sorry, March 12th, 2020 and I was really excited about talking and just all of these different things and interviewing people and sharing perspectives and just kind of doing a podcast. I wanted to connect people in the Nashville Restaurant community and I feel like after 175 episodes we've done, I think we've done a pretty good job of that.
01:07I think we've heard some pretty amazing stories if you go back and one of the things that I want to do is I want to constantly evolve. I want to be fresh, I want to be hot, I want to be doing the things that are going to make you interested and you're going to learn and just I want to make a great show and I feel like the thing that I'm missing is maybe a female perspective as well as another person who's in this thing with me because I feel like sometimes I do the interviews and I kind of ask a lot of the same questions. You may love it, I don't know, but I wanted to switch it up a little bit and since I've been back in the restaurants working at Meribowl and Green Hills Grill, there's been somebody that I work with. Her name is Jen Ichikawa and she is our digital content manager and we work directly together and one of the things that's been one of the funnest things about being back in the restaurant is learning more about her and working with her and as we continue to work together, I feel like we just, she's finishing my sentences.
02:17I notice we're in meetings and we look at each other and I'm like, did you think the same thing I thought? And she's like, yes, I thought the same thing you thought and it was just, it's been one of the funnest things that I've been dealing with and we talked the other day about what brought you into the restaurant business and one of the main things I did was that somebody, like this was a place that accepted me, a middle child, older brother, younger sister and I've always just kind of felt like an outcast, like I didn't belong and one of the things that brought me into the business was just that I was welcomed into the business. I was on this pirate ship and people were all the craziness that ensued and it worked for me and I kind of feel like when I'm working with Jen, that's one of the things I feel like. I feel like she knows the worst thing about me and it's okay. She's just an amazing person and I'm so excited to bring her on as a new co-host to the show. So I want to introduce you to her and I'm going to bring her on right now.
03:20There she is. Hi. Hey Jen. Hi. Welcome officially to Nashville Restaurant Radio. Thank you and thank you for all your kind words and your intro, that was very sweet. Well I meant them. I mean we constantly are in meetings and I'll shoot you a look and you'll shoot me a look and I'm like you're thinking the same thing I'm thinking, right? Yeah and I feel like other people are like what is happening? Why are they doing this? What's happening? Yeah. So I want to introduce you to our audience and just learn a little bit about yourself. So give us like the 90 second elevator speech. Tell us about yourself. Okay. Well I have lived in Nashville for eight years almost, October will be eight years and I just had twins, Noel and Ezra. So my husband, yeah they're, I'm a little biased but I do think they're the most beautiful children in the world. My husband Kenji owns a restaurant as well in Brentwood Soy Bistro and so we met working in restaurants.
04:26We, that's been our entire lives. I took two years off to another industry and obviously was, I think I'm the only one that went back to restaurants during the pandemic when like everyone else was like leaving and trying to find new places. I was like no that's home for me and I went back to restaurants. So I've been back in restaurants since June of 2020 and I think I'm not looking back anymore. So what restaurants have you worked at so far? Like what is your history here in Nashville working in restaurants? So I started at Merchants on the second floor. And then I moved to the Stillery. I opened the Stillery on Second Avenue and then after that I went back to Strategic. I did, I've done a bunch with Strategic. I did Merchants, Ariel which was their rooftop area on top of Paradise Park which I think now is all Paradise Park. I did the Band Box which was their sound stadium game and then I also got to open LaSalle which is where I met Kenji.
05:32And then I moved to Etcetera. I've been with Cork and Cow. I did St. Yeho. So I've been with all of like the major players in Nashville I feel like and then now I'm with Marable and Green Hills World. Nice. Yeah. You've certainly been around the Nashville restaurant scene. You know what's going on there. If you, I'm going to ask you this question. If you were to go and march, if you were to protest something today, if you were to go be, what's the most passionate thing that you stand up for right now? What do you believe in? Is it okay to get really political? I don't know. Say whatever you want. I would say the two things that like the hill all die on is not regards to restaurants are like women's roles in life generally and I'm very pro-women and I would say BLM. I just think that that's, I don't think, I don't think anyone else can matter. And so we recognize that black lives matter and then Latina lives and Latina lives and all of that.
06:34So that is, those are my hills I'll die on and anti-Asian hate because of course my husband is Japanese and that was just disgusting. So yes. So maybe so you're, you're active, you do have these strong beliefs and I love that about you because I share those beliefs and I can't wait to continue to do interviews with people and have you with me to interview people all the time and I love some of the feedback that you've given me on the interviews and I think you're spot on. What do you think you'll bring to the show? I think when I was listening and I was like, where can I add value? Things like that. You are a tall white man and I think that you haven't had to, and I'm not a person of color obviously, but I am a woman and women in restaurants have always been kind of like, it's getting better now, but that has always been a really hot topic. And I think just knowing that when you feel like the lowest man on the totem pole, like how do you continue to go in every day and like give your best and I feel like that's a perspective that I like to offer because I root for the underdog in all situations.
07:46And so and I'm but I'm also very decisive and I really believe that like in order to do good, you have to be good, whether that's at your job or your personhood or your anything, I just think to do good, you have to be good. And so that's and not and I just think that I can add that to to talking with people in this industry of like, you can recognize the good that they've done and how they've done it and what that speaks to about their heart. And the restaurant industry is so family driven in that we are a family together and it's so specific. Like it's a field that you only understand if you've been in it. And we've been in it in different capacities for a long, long time. So I think it'll be fun to have those differing perspectives like you did. You did the food sales, which I never did. And I think the only job I never worked in a restaurant was the kitchen because nobody wants me to do that. I'm a terrible cook. Well, that's that's OK, because this is not this is not a show about food. This is a show about food people.
08:48Yeah. So that works out. Well, that was awesome, Jen. I feel like that I feel like as we get going and as we continue to do interviews with people, we're only going to grow. We're only going to grow better and we're going to see how this thing works. And I am super duper excited to have you on. I didn't want to do a long show today. Just something to introduce you as people start listening to shows going forward. When they hear your voice, when they hear you jump in with comment, I just wanted to introduce you so that people knew who you were, what you're about, where you come from. And and we'll do this. I think that we are good yin and yang to a degree. I'm a tall, white, white, male American, you know, who's been had had the title manager in my name in my job since I was 22 years old. And I think that there's a couple of different perspectives. I tend to lean towards that side and I need somebody to call me on my shit. So I like to think you do that very well.
09:53Well, thank you. I'm really excited about it. This is the first project that I've gotten to do in a long time where I'm like, oh yeah, this is like just for me. Like it's not it's not for like my kids or my husband or my or my real job or anything like that. Like this is just like something for me, which is exciting. So I'm really excited about it. Good. Well, I'm glad that I'm glad we're able to bring that to you. So we're going to just bid everybody to do join us. We've got some amazing episodes coming up like this Sunday, Sunday night at seven o'clock Brandon's book club. We're going to be talking about the five dysfunctions of a team by Patrick Lencioni. That's going to be from seven o'clock to eight. Hang out because from nine o'clock to eleven o'clock, we are going to do we're going to be talking shift and talk and shift is our new podcast brought to you by Nashville restaurant radio. It's going to be on the Nashville restaurant radio page on YouTube and Facebook, but you're going to be able to call in the link is already live. You can go check to see you can be right here on screen talking to us, talking to the city of Nashville.
10:54What we are looking for is your stories, crazy stories, stories about Karens that wouldn't wear masks or get guests that do the craziest stuff. This is going to be somewhat anonymous. We don't want to hear the name of your restaurant. You can use your name, use a fake name, whatever you want to do, but come on and tell us these stories because this is going to be a place where servers, bartenders, managers, everybody can just listen and enjoy. We're going to put it out as a podcast afterwards on the Nashville restaurant radio network, but it's going to be called talking shift. That is this Sunday, July the 11th at nine o'clock. Go to Facebook and follow the talk and shift group as well as the five dysfunction, the Brandon's book club group, and you'll be involved with all that we are doing. Thank you for listening. We'll be back to you real soon. Thanks.