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Future restaurant opening in Calgary Canada
Hi everyone, I am about to open my delivery-only restaurant in calgary and i would like to have feedbacks about the best area in calgary for a take-out delivery restautant, (ubereats, doordash, skip...). Whats the busiest area where we can touch the maximum of population? Its a pretty large city with a different density than we used to have in vancouver and toronto. I ve heard about Inglewood. different places are available, in inglewood, south calgary and close to the ''pure casino'' between airport and dowtown, which one is the most strategic one? Many thanks.
Why aren’t rooftop bars/patios a thing in Vancouver (above 2-3 floor level)?
Travelled to Melbourne and a few other cities that had a culture of proper rooftop bars - ones on the top floor of large hotels (Brisbane), or other elevator-access rooftop bars with views. It made me realize I’ve never seen anything like this in Vancouver, the closest example I can think of is Black + Blue’s “rooftop” patio (4th floor) on Alberni, and Guu Garden on Hornby. Edit: More examples pointed out: Parq casino (restaurant/bar on 6th floor), Reflections at Hotel Georgia, Joe Fortes. Is there a reason we don’t have more of these here, with proper views?
Suspects in alleged Markham illegal casino mansion linked to B.C. casino suspects
This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 94%. (I'm a bot)
York police revealed some details of their Markham investigation in September, explaining that a guns, gangs and drug probe into illegal casinos across the city eventually led to the mansion at 5 DeCourcy Court, a $10-million property believed to be Canada's largest-ever illegal casino. Police also announced a list of illegal gambling and weapons charges against Wei, the operation's alleged mastermind, and illegal gambling charges against his wife Xing Yue Chen. There is no allegation in York police's ongoing investigation that funds invested in the hotels are connected to the alleged illegal casino in Markham. Several intelligence sources have told Global News that key players involved in the Markham network have met this year in Richmond with Paul King Jin, a notorious alleged loan shark and illegal casino operator targeted in the Sept. 18 shooting at Manzo restaurant. The connections of CACA leaders with alleged illegal casino operators including Jin and Wei appear to be in keeping with the practices utilized by Beijing's so-called United Front, intelligence sources said. High-level Chinese state officials and business leaders have reportedly traveled to Canada to visit the underground casino mansion operation allegedly run by Wei Wei, a source said.
Update notes: finished adding all the bridges, added a link to photos. I will try to format everything to be a bit nicer and/or make a copy at another location that allows for easienicer formatting. As requested by raleighspritely in the other bridges thread, this post is intended to help generally newer riders figure out specifically how to get onto each bridge in each direction, where all most of the exit options go and any other weirdnesses each bridge may have. I'll assume you know roughly where you are and roughly how to get to each bridge. Some are easy to find the entrances for (Burrard), some are weird (Cambie, southbound) and some have entrances a long way from where the cars access (Golden Ears) so if they're super weird I'll try and give you more specifics. Photos from the day showing most of the bridges: https://imgur.com/a/RvTUs0V (missing: 2nd Narrows, KSB, Canada Line, Arthur Liang) And now to talking about crossing bridges! Granville - follow the instructions for Burrard or Cambie If you insist on using the GSB (don't) SB access is easiest via Howe St and NB access at 5th & Granville Burrard Easiest to get onto IMO as the access is right at the ends of the bridge
South Bound: connection is at Pacific & Burrard, SW corner. From Beach Ave your options are up Thurlow from the east end of Sunset Beach or just along Pacific from the west end of Sunset beach
as you get to the south end of the bridge @ Cornwall you can:
go right to Cornwall & Cypress
go straight, across Cornwall
then right onto Yew
more straight to Burrard & First where you can go up Burrard St
left @ Burrard & First towards Granville Island
North Bound: connection is at Cornwall & Burrard. You can also hop on the bike lane easily at 1st & Burrard
as you get to the north end you can:
right to Hornby & Pacific
across Pacific then left onto Pacific towards English Bay
straight & up the hill along Burrard to Drake, Burnaby St, Davie St
Cambie Going southbound on Cambie is super weird to get to unless you're already on Nelson St
South Bound: access is on Nelson St @ Cambie St which downtown is running almost perpendicular to the bridge. If you're coming from the northeast you can connect via Beatty
the main exit will take you to Olympic Village Station
If you cut off early (through the flexibarriers) you can pop up Cambie to go left/right on 7th
If you stay till the station you can hang a hard left at 2nd to cut under the bridge and go to Olympic Village
or cross 2nd and take Heather St south
or continue along 2nd briefly to find yourself on Seaside Bypas
North Bound: access is at Cambie & 2nd by the VPD headquarters on 5th. It's that weird intersection of numbered streets you thought were parallel but also manage to intersect
veer left takes you onto what is technically a pedestrian only way that connects to Pacific Blvd EB, yield to pedestrians.
right takes you onto a hairpin
first right connects you to Cooperage Way/Marinaside and basically the Seawall
second right will take you up a short ramp and connect to the Smithe St bike "lane" which can be used to connect to Pacific WB, Richards or all the way up the hill past Burrard & Smithe
Lion's Gate North Bound:
climb the Causeway through Stanley Park, it's not too bad especially with the "new" fence
do a 1/2 Stanley Park loop and as you go around the right turn at what you'll think is the top of the hill you'll see a road to the left with a gate, take that and turn right when you hit the causeway
watch for the little chicane just before the bridge
descent down the north side of bridge can be a bit rough & bumpy
when you get to the north end stay right and go down the little road
if you go HARD right when it levels out you can connect to
the Spirit Trail east bound
Taylor Way which will take you to Parkgate, hang a left at the mall and you can connect to the trail over to Ambleside
if you go roughly straightl/left it'll connect onto Marine and along to Capilano
South Bound:
once you're back directly under the bridge, there's a ramp up the west side of the bridge going north, take that, it'll open up and hang a hard right to turn to face south
on exit at the pumphouse(?) you can
continue south
you'll come across a road to the right, taking it will get you to Park Dr just before Prospect Point
continuing straight takes you along the Causeway and connects onto Georgia ST
hang a 180deg right, then you can either:
cut under the bridge to go back north
go left up a fairly steep, narrow paved path to Prospect Pt
Second Narrows/IronworkersThis is one of the weirdest/awkwardest, particularly at the north end North Bound:
access is at Cambridge & Cassiar. You can connect up via Cassiar from Adanac or Bridgeway St & a small path if you're coming from Portside
as you turn right off Cassiar onto Cambridge take the small path to the left, follow the path down, along and up and it'll take you straight onto the bridge, yield to oncoming people
alternate access is a path off the left side of Fellowes st. It connects closer to the bridge deck but IMO isn't worth taking
Exits:
as you round the right turn of the ramp you can:
go left at the pedestrian controlled crosswalk and
cross Main to go west to Phibbs, A&W etc
hard left onto the bike path parallel to Main and connect to the WB bike path on Barrow st
go straight and connect to Dollarton, Old Dollarton
left on Old Dollarton then onto Riverside or Seymour River can be used for getting to Seymour Parkway, right goes up to Seymour, left can connect to Cap U
straight on Dollarton can be used for going out to Deep Cove
South Bound Access is here basically across from Phibbs. Many ways to get to it, but you've gotta get to that spot to go south. Exiting: takes you down through the trees, watch for the pair of switchbacks. You'll end up at the bottom of Skeena St.
right takes you onto the Portside bike route
left takes you up Skeena through the tunnel
turn right across the crosswalk as you exit the tunnel takes you onto the path you may have used for getting onto the bridge NB, go left to connect back to Cassiar
continue up the hill gets you to Skeena & Cambridge
it's 6 of One, Half a Dozen of the other if you're going south
Arthur Laing I regard this as an "experts only" type bridge that I wouldn't recommend to anyone not comfortable with riding in fairly close proximity to cars. There's no separated lane and just a narrow shoulder. That said, I don't feel unsafe on this bridge for some reason, but that might just be from riding it a bunch and being used to riding next to cars. Anyways, onto how to get on/off: Southbound: access is via the car ramp at where Marine & Granville all come together in a 6 lane clusterfuck that was meant to be the highway through Vancouver. Normally I access coming off NW Marine, onto the clusterfuck, pick up speed down the hill and (with a lot of shoulder checking) get across the right most lane onto the ramp. Go up the ramp and stick to the right. Exiting: things get dicey/exciting. You'll be crossing roads at speed so be shoulder checking.
Just before the car exit (and right before the overpass) you can dive right onto a pathway
going right, then right again is probably easiest for most connections here
this path can be used to go around McArthurGlen and connect to Grauer Rd and then onto Templeton to Iona
take it to connect to Airport Rd and the bit of mess of trails and eventuall down to Russ Baker Way
1st Car Right: Russ Baker Way, takes you around an off-ramp, will take you SB and connects to No2 Rd
cross Russ Baker exit (watch for cars exiting), keep going along, you can go right on Templeton and go out to Iona Beach
North Bound: you can either access off the paths off Airport Rd here or by riding north along Russ Baker Way and basically sticking right and following the signs to Vancouver. Exiting: again a bit dicey with some potential lane crossing
Sticking right takes you left and onto Marine WB/Granville
If it's not too busy and/or you brought your sprinter legs, you can hammer and cross lanes to go left at the first light and connect onto Marine
If not, carefully get to the right and make your way up to cross at the same light.
crossing over (carefully) to the left ramp will take you right and onto Marine EB. You can take your first right and go down Oak St, left on Kent Ave S and eventually connect to Cambie St. I don't know if I've taken this route more than once or twice so YMMV.
Pitt River This is one of the nicest crossings. All the recently built (or updated) bridges are really, really nice once you're on the deck (Pitt River, Port Mann, Golden Ears + Ironworkers post update). The cycle/pedestrian lane is on the north side of the span and is nice and wide. Access on the west end requires crossing Belfast Ave/Fremont Connector that loops under the bridge. Since access is all for the one side crossing my instructions are written for West->East travel but basically just do them in reverse for East->West. Coming from NW (Trabouley Poco Trail/Deboville Slough), you do a couple zigzags and hairpins and crossing Belfast St but you can see your target the whole time so this bridge is honestly one of the easiest to get onto. Coming from the SW, you go under the bridge parallel to the Fremont Connector then see the access to your left. If you were to keep going on the path instead you'd eventually end up at Deboville Slough. East end of the bridge drops you in Pitt Meadows. As you exit (eastbound) you can immediately do 180deg turn left to get onto the trails. Another left at the river to go south, north and you can make your way out to Pitt Lake on the trails. To access the trail parallel to, and on the south side of, Lougheed Highway take the left at the river then left again at Ferryslip Rd. If you go straight Old Dewdney Trunk Rd is a pretty nice ride towards Maple Ridge. Golden Ears Alright, this one is possibly the most difficult unless you know exactly where to go, partly because they're a long way along the bridge from where cars access. The Southbound Access is at 113B & Airport Way (Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows). The northbound access is at 100A Ave & 201St (Langley) Southbound
You can access the SB access either from Airport Way (coming from the west) or along Maple Meadows Way (coming from the north by Meadowcentre mall). If you're coming from the north or east you go west at the 113B roundabout, cross the road, then left at the second roundabout and hop into the bike lane. If you're coming from the east hang a right at the roundabout and hop into the bike lane.
The SB exit involves a rather fun ramp down and drops you in an industrial area. Unless you're going east, my recommendation is work your way west until you get to 98A & 192, cross to the far side then hop on the GoldenEars Greenway.
Northbound Access is at 100A Ave & 201St. You go up the multilevel round ramp. Your exit will basically be the aforementioned 113B roundabout, you can go straight through it to get onto Maple Meadows Way towards the mall, right will change into 203St as it turns north or go left and west towards the airport. Canada Line Bridge This one is on the side of the Canada Line bridge section between Marine & Cambie Station & Bridgeport Station. North connection is on Kent Ave S @ Cambie. However you have to go east from Kent Ave N & Cambie to turn south to get onto Kent Ave S and access the ramp. If you're coming down Cambie, hang a right on Kent Ave N. South Connection is at River Road and Van Horne Way. If you're going North then east, my recommendation is take Cambie north, then cut east at 59th. Kent Ave N between Cambie and Ontario sucks butt and cars are frequently impatient assholes on that section (it's also rough, needs a repave and has a lot of rail tracks). If you're going north then west you can go west on Kent Ave N and then right on Heather before climbing a bit and taking the westbound route of your choice. If you're just going north then Cambie, Ontario & Heather are all pretty good choices with Ontario & Heather being quieter. I can't remember how all of Heather's crossings are since I haven't ridden it past 59th in years. If you're going South, you can go:
west along River Rd towards the casino & Bridgeport Station
continue SW around the clusterfucks that are Bridgeport Rd, SeaIsland Way and you can return to River Rd and hop onto a gravel trail that you can take pretty much all the way to Steveston
south on Van Horne way to eventually connect onto Garden City Way. This route is about 95% bike lane but theres a one or two spots where taking the sidewalk is unfortunately the prudent choice (I think the south side of Sea Island Way for ~50m) before the bike lane reappears.
east on River Rd towards Shell Rd. If you take Shell Rd far enough south there's a gravel trail that you can use to get to Hammersmith Gate, Horseshoe Way and across to Rice Mill Rd where you can find the Massey Tunnel Shuttle (this is my quiet route to the ferry, my fast route is to hammer south on No5)
Formatting is becoming a pain because this is getting long. Sorry! Port Mann This one is like the Pitt River Bridge in that the pedestrian/bike path is only on the north/east side of the bridge deck. West access is where the Port Mann passes over United Boulevard and where Unite intersects the Mary Hill Bypass offramps. If you're coming off the bridge you can go south/west on United and eventually work your way over towards Braid Station. If you go east on the Mary Hill Bypass you can connect to the Traboulay PoCo trail, Argue St and work your way up to the Pitt River bridge. There's also a mess of trails in and around Colony Farm but you're on your own for that :) East access is a ways up a pretty decent hill at 152st/112Ave by Dogwood Campgrounds. If you're going north/west, the signage is good. Just don't take the overpass over the highway. How you get to 152/112...up to you. It's a big grid! Alex Fraser Ok, this one is another bit of a mess in terms of access. I don't think this one is technically unidirectional like the others, but I recommend riding the same way as cars are travelling and this guide will be based on that. Careful on the deck, there's a bunch of spots where you have to dodge the bases of signs and other spots where the path just shifts left/right. Southbound: You've made it over the Queensborough or come in from Richmond. You've made it onto the Annacis Channel bridge and are approaching Annacis island. You'll see a bus-stop on an island, you want to get there (if not busy, drop the curb & cut across, otherwise there's a crosswalk to use), take the crosswalk that goes parallel to the bus-only section of intersection, onto the sidewalk on the far-far side and then left and you'll see the path onto the bridge. You'll get dropped off with the choice of left or right. Left takes you towards HWY17, River Rd which are the two options for getting to the ferry (take River, it's quieter and only marginally slower). Right will take you under the bridge, and after you go past Planet Ice you can go left towards River Rd east, right-then-right to get onto Nordel north/east or just right for the Delta-South Surrey Greenway. If you're trying to get to South Surrey, go as if you're going up Nordel, get over the overpass, then take the trail that cuts back to the right. This is the North Delta Greenway and is superior to the DSS Greenway in basically every way including being WAY smoother (I ride it on my carbon road bike on 25mm tires). North Bound: Starting from Planet Ice, take the path up onto the bridge, ride across, question why you're out here and didn't just take the Massey Shuttle to get home faster... At the north end of the bridge, you'll end up next to the Annacis exit ramp. At the end of it, you want to take the small crosswalk onto the island with the bus stop, across Cliveden ave onto the island on the far side, then across another little crosswalk onto the path and hang a left. Stick to this path, you'll go back over the Annacis Channel and find yourself at a zig-zagging ramp. At the bottom of that you have the options of:hard right: path through to Hamilton Highway Park where you can take an overpass towards River Rd left then right: onto Boundary Rd then Dyke rd, you can use this to get over towards Westminster Highway via Fraserwood Way. left then left (generally recommended): take Boundary Rd north. At Boundary & Boyd you can go right to the Queensborough or left onto Westminster Hwy which you can use to get all the way to Richmond or to connect to River Rd Queensborough because New West is at a 45deg angle I'll be using "up/down and top/bottom" for this bridge because it's effectively a hill. Top is 22nd St station end, bottom is Queensborough Landing. The top connection is just below 22nd St Station. If you're coming from 22nd St station just take the bridge down, it'll drop you on Boyd St. Left takes you to QB Landing. Right takes you to...not a lot. It's narrow, you'll probably have to slow down a bunch as you pass people. If you're coming from Market Crossing area or New West (both via Marine Dr) I recommend taking the "up" side of the bridge down because it has about 1% of the traffic the "down" side does. To get to it, the access is the ramp on the "cars up" side of the bridge. Otherwise, you can use the ramp on the "cars down" side to connect to the "down" side. Either way as you're going down, watch for the hairpins at the bottom! If you're going up and heading to downtown New West take the "up" side. Head east along Marine/Stewardson. You can eventually head right down a side street to get to S&O because that's why you're in New West right? If not, you're at S&O now. Best way to get through to the rest of downtown is via the Quay. If you're going up and heading to anywhere else take the "down" side and go all the way to 22nd St Station. Right and past the station connects to 7th Ave across New West. Left you can use to get onto both Marine Dr or Marine Way to go west to Market Crossing, Big Bend, Glenlyon, River District. Straight turns into the BC Parkway and travels under the skytrain past Edmonds, Royal Oak, Metrotown stations. Knight St Recommendation: if you can, keep going west and take the Canada Line Bridge. This bridge was NOT intended for cyclists at all as you're about to learn and this section may get a little rant-y. Northbound:
Access is off Bridgeport. Technically you're not supposed to ride on the roadway, but the sign for that is so late onto the bridge you have to know this in advance unless you want to stop and lift your bike over the concrete barrier.
That said, assuming you knew to get onto the sidewalk somewhere at the start of the on-ramp before the barrier begins (it starts at a crosswalk and there's no curb cut), you'll be riding on a pretty narrow sidewalk with barriers both sides. It's rough.
You'll eventually get to an off-ramp, this is Mitchell Island. You'll need to take the crosswalk across to the left. The cut in the barrier is super narrow. Cross the island, drop the curb (again no curb cut) and cross to the next section of sidewalk. Continue north.
Next spot you'll get to gives the option of a crosswalk to the left, riding straight into a post in the middle of the path, or dodging the post and continuing straight/veering right. Go right, this takes you down to Marine Dr.
At Marine you'll find signs pointing to the Kent, Inverness & Borden bike routes
Kent involves following the path to the right and taking your first right
Inverness involves taking the couple crosswalks and getting across Marine, going under the KSB overpass, hop back on the sidewalk after the bridge and follow the signs up to Inverness
Borden I've never done, but I think involves getting across Marine, then taking the sidewalk east to the first street north
A STADIUM'S WALKABILITY: Using Google Maps, I look at each stadium's walkability and locale
Walkability is something that's important to a stadium. There has to be activity around the stadium for fans to do before and after games. A few stadiums have excellent walkability, while others are terrible. I'll analyze each stadium using Google Maps, as I haven't been to many of these places, and I'd appreciate input from you guys about other things from each stadium that add to the walkability of a stadium.
HONDA CENTER (ANAHEIM): The area around Ponda seems a little low-key. There's several microbreweries and restaurants, but they seem to be more towards the baseball stadium or on the other side of the river. Walkability seems a little limited in this regard, especially since there's a train station directly serving the stadium.
GILA RIVER ARENA (ARIZONA): Okay, this stadium gets a lot of shit for how remote it is, but it has an entertainment plaza with lots of activity right in front of the stadium, similar to LA Live. Is this plaza any fun? It looks like fun on gamedays.
TD GARDEN (BOSTON): I'm not familiar with Boston, but the stadium is surrounded by highway ramps. That being said, there seems to be a lot of action directly outside the stadium. Great for some quality gameday grub. It's all close together too in concentric avenues in a triangle-shaped block. Really spiffy.
KEYBANK CENTER (BUFFALO): Parking lots, a casino, a couple restaurants, and a huge marina. Oh, and there's a minor league ballpark. I don't know much about Buffalo, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of action. Maybe there's more than what's being presented?
SADDLEDOME (CALGARY): Served directly by rail, the Saddledome appears to be a part of the Stampede fairgrounds complex. But the Stampede is after hockey season, so aside from the museum and some country-western bars, what's there to do come gametime?
PNC ARENA (CAROLINA): .......I'm not seeing anything. There's a college football stadium, a high school football field, a large horse stable, and a tiny bistro. Help me out here. This looks really really sad.
UNITED CENTER (CHICAGO): The action seems to be several blocks away in Greektown. This part of Chicago doesn't really have the best reputation, so I'm not sure if I wanna be in this area after dark, especially since there's nothing directly outside the stadium. Walkability is pretty iffy.
PEPSI CENTER (COLORADO) There's a freakin' amusement park! Doesn't look too big but it looks like it could be fun. The stadium is also next to where the Broncos play. Doesn't seem to be a whole lot of restaurants, but there's two restaurants called Brooklyns, wonder if they're any good?
NATIONWIDE ARENA (COLUMBUS): I do believe this stadium is the crown jewel of Columbus' walkable urbanism. There's a lot to do around the stadium! Bars, restaurants, shops all within an arm's reach! This is what an NHL stadium should have. Bravo!
AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER (DALLAS): There's a plaza thingy right outside the stadium, which is neat, also there's a lot of bars and stuff a couple blocks up from the stadium. It looks very encouraging.
LITTLE CAESARS ARENA (DETROIT): I know this stadium, along with Comerica Park and Ford Field, are supposed to be catalysts to revitalize Detroit's downtown. There are tons of restaurants and bars, even a casino, and it looks like a lot of fun. I beg the question...how safe is Downtown Detroit?
ROGERS PLACE (EDMONTON): Your gaudy airplane-hangar-of-a-stadium is right in downtown, with lots of things to do all within an arm's reach of the stadium. I love how part of the stadium has a skyway over the street. A vast improvement over your old stadium, which doesn't have anything of note.
BB&T CENTER (FLORIDA): There's a large outlet mall, an IKEA, and a boulevard full of chain restaurants. Not easily accessible by public transport. Pathetic. Next!
STAPLES CENTER (LOS ANGELES): LA Live is the shit! A great place to hang out on gamedays. Lots of activities and fun to be had. Served by the LA Metro. They really knocked it out of the park here. This is peak walkability.
XCEL ENERGY CENTER (MINNESOTA): Located in St. Paul, Minneapolis' more cultured, preppy, bougie older brother. There's a neat little park area and a lot of bars and eateries along 7th Street. Looks like a fun stadium to be around. St. Paul looks bloody beautiful and the stadium is in a great location.
CENTRE BELL (MONTREAL): Well, it's Montreal, famous for its food and nightlife, and the stadium location seems to be within a stone's throw of it all. Nothing really to complain about, looks like a lot of fun.
BRIDGESTONE ARENA (NASHVILLE): Well, this doesn't disappoint. Museums, legendary music venues, plenty of bars and restaurants, and the stadium is close to it all. The stadium really set out to be part of the Music City and god damn I am envious on how great the walkability is. A+, I truly am envious.
PRUDENTIAL CENTER (NEW JERSEY): There's a few bougie breweries, some chain restaurants, a famous deli nearby, and a Planned Parenthood. It's fucking Newark. I value my life dearly. Sorry.
BARCLAYS CENTER (NY ISLANDERS): A crown jewel of gentrification. This stadium doesn't look like it belongs in the neighborhood, like it was tacked on haphazardly. I mean, there's a lot of bars and restaurants, but how many are there as a result of Brooklyn's ongoing gentrification? I look at this one rather carefully, as it feels rather inauthentic. Sorry Isles fans, I hope your stadium issue gets fixed soon.
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN (NY RANGERS): It's a stadium in Manhattan that sits on top of a train station. It's had peak walkability since it was built, although I can imagine Manhattan can be quite expensive. Literally anything and everything is surrounding the stadium. Words simply can't do it justice.
CANADIAN TIRE CENTRE (OTTAWA): An outlet strip mall and a Costco. Fucking what. Next!
WELLS FARGO CENTER (PHILADELPHIA): I understand South Philly isn't the safest of neighborhoods, but that parking lot is massive. There's a building called Xfinity Live that's supposed to be a hub for all three stadiums, with entertainment options. What is there exactly?
PPG PAINTS ARENA (PITTSBURGH): It's next to a college campus, but the fun stuff outside of the stadium seems to be in Downtown a couple blocks down. Doesn't seem like a bad time.
ENTERPRISE CENTER (ST. LOUIS): Considering it's downtown, you have to walk a few blocks to get to the fun part of town, but it doesn't seem too bad. I can't really see a whole lot, so help me out please?
SAP CENTER (SAN JOSE): I don't think they had walkability in mind when they built the Tank. Everything is very spread out, I mean there looks like to be good stuff but you have to drive several blocks down to get to anything. This stadium would really benefit from a BART extension.
AMALIE ARENA (TAMPA BAY): I'm gonna hate saying this because they're a rival team, but I fucking LOVE Tampa's Channelside neighborhood. Friendly atmosphere, lots of good times to be had, and it's peak Florida fun. This was a great place to put a stadium, it's no mystery how the Bolts packs the house every night, win or lose.
SCOTIABANK ARENA (TORONTO): What can I say? It's a stadium on the waterfront of a major North American city, downwind from an iconic world landmark and a couple blocks away from the fucking Hockey Hall of Fame. Anyone that can't find anything fun to do around the stadium is a fool. The sentiments I had for Madison Square Garden, I echo those sentiments with Toronto.
ROGERS ARENA (VANCOUVER): This area looks like a lot of fun. Gastown looks like a grand old time. There's a marina, several nightclubs and bars, and it just overall looks like I'd be entertained around these parts.
T-MOBILE ARENA (VEGAS): It's the fucking world-famous Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. Get a clue. Next!
CAPITAL ONE ARENA (WASHINGTON): It's in Chinatown with lots to do and the US Capitol building is nearby. This looks like a prime location for a stadium. Kinda confusing to consider that this team once played in bumfuck Maryland.
BELL MTS PLACE (WINNIPEG): I know Winnipeg has a poor reputation for lacking in nightlife and activities, but I'm not seeing a whole lot outside of the stadium. A bar here, and restaurant there, which is odd considering the stadium is surrounded by buildings. I expected there to be a lot more and I'm just not seeing it.
If anyone has anything to add or correct, please comment. Thank you!
Hey - Pat from StarterStory.com here with another interview. Today's interview is with Jeffrey Mora of Food Fleet, a brand that makes mobile food service solutions. Some stats:
Product: Mobile food service solutions.
Revenue/mo: $1,500,000
Started: February 2012
Location: Los Angeles
Founders: 2
Employees: 6
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?
I started my career at the world-famous Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles Apprenticing under Certified Master Chef Raimund Hofmeister. Since then I have worked in more than 22 countries around the world working for some of the world’s finest chefs from Cas Spijkers, 2 Michelin star Restaurant De Swann Hotel in Oisterwijk, to Paul Prudhomme's K-Paul's Louisiana kitchen. I was on the 92 and 96 US Culinary Olympic Teams. I have been involved in all aspects of the foodservice industry. My main focus has always been on healthy sustainable foods; working in every aspect of the business from fine dining to airport foodservice and food manufacturing. I personally took care of the Los Angeles Lakers Foodservice providing all meal periods for the team in the season for 8 years including the 3-year title run with two world titles receiving two championship rings for my efforts. My passion is volunteering for Environmental and other health-related causes. I helped coordinate one of the first sustainable dinners in 1998 with the Earth Pledge Foundation in NY, I served on the boards of American Ocean Campaign, Oceana, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and currently serves on the Boards of Jean Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society ,The Green Sports Alliance Food advisory board the Pioneers of Sustainability and the Carbon Underground. My partner and I started Food Fleet in 2012 to help mom and pop mobile food vendors work within a corporate environment. Since then Food Fleet has secured a National Contract with Sodexo, has multiple contracts with Levy Restaurants, Guckenheimer and others, providing services for Convention Centers, NASCAR, PGA, Concerts, Colleges and Universities, Hospitals, MLB All-Star Week and more. We also provide design and build services as well as food manufacturing and consulting for a number of large scale companies. Food Fleet’s growth Year after year has been at an at over 30 %. From 2017-2018 we had an unprecedented 160% growth spurt. With a team of 6, including my partner and I, we managed over 20 million in sales for our clients. As an example. We took over a convention center 3 years ago managing their food truck business. For their largest event of the year, we were up 53% over the previous year. I honestly would have to equate some of that success to the under-reporting of sales by the previous operator. But the following year we were up 19% from that figure and again close to that this year. That is due in large part to our understanding of transaction times, menu mix, the equipment in each truck or pop up and other factors.
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
We started the food truck business in 2012. We kept finding it very difficult to find locations to operate. We had a booker that we used to find our locations but fell short and we let her go. I took over our booking and found that most people did not want to book just one truck, not only that they were upset that most of the time the trucks didn’t show up or were late. After a few calls, I started saying I was with the Food Truck Alliance and had as many trucks as they wanted. I knew I could because my partner Rudy was working most events every night and establishing a relationship with the owners of a large number of trucks. I did this to ensure we would be part of the mix, as well as make a little extra money booking the other trucks. What I learned is that most truck owners while passionate at what they did, had little to no experience working in a structured corporate environment. What we also did differently then most lots/events and companies booking trucks at the time was, if they didn't make money we didn't collect a commission. I then put my 35 years of Food Service experience to work helping them with everything from food safety to insurance. We learned the real need was not only helping the trucks but providing a turnkey service for the corporations. This was a game-changer for us, we were really struggling financially. Developing this service helped keep us afloat. At a certain point the services we provided far outweighed the need to continue to operate the truck financially. My partner and I decided to seek out contracts for locations to operate at. We secured with a lot of time, effort and energy, our first contract with the Navy to put trucks on bases. This was the launching point for us. We then used that to leverage other types of accounts from Universities to B&I, hospitals, and casinos.
Take us through the process of designing and launching the business.
My partner and I were fortunate enough to bring back a former employee that worked for us when we were pretty much-doing catering and events with the truck. She was well organized and very detail-oriented. This enabled us to help further develop the systems we started using into a more formal approach… We also decided there and then we would not be charging a membership fee to the trucks to belong to Food Fleet. We felt it was a conflict of interest to have the trucks pay us to belong. We would be beholden to them and not our clients. From there we then developed a vetting system that covered all the essentials of what we required for them to meet our client's needs. The principles included first and foremost food safety, then transaction times. Those two were key factors. We did not want it to take long for people to get their food. We then added over 50 more. The other major key was the insurance piece. Most trucks only carry the min required. And little to no one carried workman's comp. Most of our clients required a 5 million umbrella and WC. We were lucky once again to find Burnie Tappel the President of Cobbs Allen Insurance Burnie is a third-generation Lloyds of London insurer that only dealt with risk management. They were experts in Oil and Gas and risk Management. He liked the challenge of trying to insurance us nationally for what we were trying to do. He was able to help us find a policy that met our client's needs. We were then able to offer the clients a larger pool in which to choose. Having them to help us understand liability and indemnity issues along with a lot of other contractual obligations that would need to be met was critical. They have been a key part of our growth and a partner we couldn't do without. Once we had the basics secured, all three of us set out to accomplish different tasks. Carly worked on the website and booking platform we were going to use. Rudy worked on Logistics as well as local regulatory compliance issues operating in multiple states. I worked on the vetting systems, insurance piece and securing the contracts. I will tell you were ran more than we walked and had to clean up and fix more things along the way. We still are. Our financial model was a simple one, don't spend money we don't have or will have. We didn't take out a loan or even credit cards, We only used debit cards. Only 2 years ago did we get Credit cards and within the last 6 months got a second one. I understand the term other people's money but we didn't look to borrow or bring in investors. Not that we were not sure of what we had or what we were doing, we needed to understand better what we had and what we were doing. The model that we started with has changed and evolved many times over the years. Honestly, we didn't want to be beholden to anyone.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
While there were others doing what we were doing, I noticed early on what the key difference was. Others were in the booking / Broker business, and the tech business. Most if not all of them were not in the hospitality business. This is the key factor. Being in the business for 35 years I understood what our customers and clients really wanted and needed. I knew how to come up with solutions for their problems. We were in the hospitality business, were in customer service. It's what this business really is. Working on trucks and understanding how to operate then for many years really helped us. Understanding how to use my experience, and being able to relate that to our clients made the difference. I came to find out more than anything that even to this day no one really understands the business and more importantly they don’t want to. Our first real call for consulting along with design and build came from my old Olympic team manager. He was the Sr VP of food and beverage for Pinnacle entertainment at that time. They operated 19 casinos. He also had been the Corporate chef for Disney, opened Epcot, Sr VP at Darden for Red Lobster, CEO of the California Culinary Academy, worked in a leadership role at Levy Restaurants. He called me because he had no understanding at all of the food truck business and needed help. He is one of the most brilliant talented people in the hospitality business and he called me for help. I realized more and more that this was the norm. Most thought in the traditional manner of Brick and Mortar, when it came to start-up costs, daily costs P&L. it is not the same at all and that where most go wrong. For lack of a better word, I was able to crack the code and translate it into language they could understand. More importantly, they did not want to have to deal with the trucks or the owners. They were happy to have someone else do it for them that they knew understood what they wanted and needed. We provide world-class customer service. The highest quality mobile food solutions for events and catering were professional and respond to all inquiries by the end of the day no matter what. We pick up the phone and talk to people to connect with them, as well as better understand their needs. Our employees are not allowed to text or email clients or vendors until they have spoken to them and established a relationship with them. All our staff comes from the hospitality business they aren't salespeople or tech people, they all have worked in restaurants, B&I, hotels, etc. How can we truly help our clients when we don't understand their business. We fully understand their financial models and requirements. We then expanded into Design and Build food Manufacturing and consulting. Due to my background, network and expertise we were able to grow our business exponentially. When we got on the phone with clients they not only understood that we knew what we were talking about. They had trust in us to take care of their needs no matter what. Of course a lot of things we had some limited experience in the beginning. But I knew if we said, we could deliver we would. More often than not, my team has to hold me back from bringing in more business.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
I have to assume everyone exaggerates and embellishes here a bit. But the truth is the future looks bright. We are tightening up all our standard operating procedures and our quality assurance specs along with our policies. Since every client is different this is a constantly changing and evolving area that we work on weekly. Implementing new policies and procedures goes along with that. Things come up all the time that we address and add into our policies and procedures We have been preparing for a large expansion for the past year and are working toward taking that next step. We are not the same as any other business. We have a number of different models and services based strictly on each client and location account. No two of our client's contracts are alike, so we have to be able to adapt to their individual needs. This makes having the same margins a bit more difficult. Our model is scalable and can be done globally and we are working toward that goal.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
Start with a partner that has your back, this is step one. My partner is the most loyal honest person I have ever met. I am lucky to call him my friend and partner. We both have struggled financially and emotionally through this whole process. We both have ebbed and followed when one of us was going through a rough patch the other picked up the slack no questions asked. Then bring in a team of caring and passionate people that love this business and understand what it means to be in it. This will help you avoid a lot of mistakes. When you find the right person to vest them in with benchmarks and goals. It was the best decision my partner and I made. Now we have a core team where each of us has finally developed into our roles and each complement the others skill set. That doesn't happen too often. While we have made a few mistakes they were all short term ones. For example, taking an account that we felt was going to do well financially and it failed miserably and quickly. That comes back to one of the lessons. We do learn by our mistakes. At this point, we have pretty much seen it all. We can tell our clients what the pitfalls are as well as the pinch points. Lost money made money hired the wrong web developer, hired the right one small little things. Dumb luck, being at the right place at the right time. That honestly has been one of our biggest assets.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
We have tried a number of them and currently, our VP of Ops found us a platform that we use. She has been able to make it work for us till now. We will have our own tech platform within 60 days. This will be a game-changer. Our business is so unique we have tried to find third party solutions but nothing that has worked for our needs. We have spent 2 years searching for a solution and finally decided to do it ourselves. This is once again where dumb luck and being in the right place at the right time comes into play. I found our builder, Freshin Up while having a bowl of Ramen in the Tokyo airport. We were at the counter eating and talking to the guy next to us, and it came out what he did. We continued to talk until my flight was leaving. He was heading to Thailand and I just came from there. We connected when we got home. I sent him the specs of what we needed, and they were the only company that truly understood our needs. They got what we were trying to accomplish and had a team that we're able to think the way we did.
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
Both my partner and I were fortunate to be around the great Phil Jackson on a daily basis. He was more than me. That being said, Phil was an inspiration, along with countless other mentors and friends. They have been way more influential to me than any book or podcast. Chefs and Coaches are in many ways exactly alike. They both lead a team of people. They both have to train, coach, mentor, listen, care, and teach. They are only as good as their weakest link. Chefs also say we are only as good as our last meal. They succeed and fail daily, learn from it and move on. Chefs, coaches, and players all have good and bad days, when you go home at the end of the shift or game it's over. Tomorrow is another day you get to prove yourself again. It’s great. When I was an apprentice there was a banquet chef named Jimmy Wong. Jimmy was the finest banquet chef I have ever known. The Century Plaza where I trained served on average 3,000 meals a day in banquets. It was the flagship of the Westin hotel. The Corporate chef brought Jimmy to the hotel when it opened as one of his anchors. Jimmy was from Hong Kong by way of Vancouver Jimmy was a legend, to say the least. Every Chef that wanted to be an executive chef for Westin had to come through Jimmy's station, if he did not give them the thumbs up they never were promoted. Were talking about some of the most iconic chefs of the day. All thinking they knew more than him and wondering why they had to have his approval. Most learned quickly that they were not in his league and couldn't keep up. The corporate chef knew the real money in every hotel came from banquets without that they would fail and lose money. Banqueting supported most of the specialty and fine dining restaurants in the hotel. If the chef didn't get that then they were out. Jimmy was fearless doing 1000 breakfast and 1000 lunches or more by himself almost every day. When I first started at the hotel they had me in one of the restaurants. Every day when I came to work I would clock in and go and say hello to Jimmy, then go to work. The others always said Jimmy is a hard ass, he won't show you anything, he is old school send you to go get something, then make the sauce while you were gone. I was not going to let that happen to me, I realized it was more often times the lack of respect they paid him. I found out Jimmy's routine every morning like clockwork he would show up at 5:50 am set up his station, then clock in at 6 am and go get a cup of coffee and sit for 10 minutes to figure out his day. At 10 am he would take lunch no matter how busy. I would come in and watch how he set up, draw diagrams of where the pots and pans went and what he would do to get ready. On my first day working at Jimmy's station, I came in at 5 am and set up the station. When he walked in at 5:50 it was ready to go. He smiled from ear to ear, he checked it and then clocked and invited me to go have coffee with him. Needless to say, he taught me everything I know about large events. This comes back to another lesson I learned from him. If he didn't respect someone or thought they were a shitty cook, he would call them a shoemaker. One day I asked Jimmy why. He said because they stopped learning and caring about being a good cook or chef. If you stopped caring and learning about cooking you were done with that, then you might as well become a shoemaker since your not going to be a cook anymore. Lesson don't rest on your laurels or past always be willing to keep learning. You will never know it all. The real joy is learning something new. I have been going to MIT for the last year to recruit as well as learn. Nothing has made me happier than to have the ability to be around such brilliant creative minds. The future of everything is there. I am lucky to have the opportunity to take advantage of it.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
Do what you say you’re going to do. Never apologize unless you have a solution to the issue. Otherwise, it's just an empty apology. No one wants to hear that unless you can follow that up with what you're going to do to fix the reason you're apologizing for. My father taught me two important lessons that I live my life by. “Be nice to everybody, give them the shirt off your back, but if they fuck you, hang them by their balls.” That is simple direct and to the point. “Pick the hill you want to die on.” That means is that battle worth going down for, or do you let it go and move on. There are a great number of them that you will say that's the hill, but make sure it is for something your willing to lose it all for. Only care what your friends and family think the rest doesn't matter. Never let others drag you down. Try and lead whenever possible, following leads to mediocrity, and zero creativity. Always look at the whole chessboard and think 5 years ahead, Certain things you need narrow focus on, but someone has to think long term and strategy. If you cant you will get passed by very quickly. There is always someone that is going to try and copy you or take it to the next level. It's the nature of all things, stay ahead of them by being an innovator and not a follower. Be willing to go all in, and not worry about failing. I throw 100 things at the wall, and from that, I really do get a few amazing ideas. Just because it didn't work at that time doesn't mean it wasn’t a good idea. Be willing to hear everyone out on any crazy idea they have. That what changes the world. If you can figure out how to make money and do the right thing, there is nothing better. You will be a lot happier and create a more sustainable business. If you work and care about what you do, the money will come, it always does. Always hire people that are smarter than you, and you won't have to work as hard. Always bring a gift with you to give to whoever your meeting, and make it personal from you. Not something generic. If you make something special, then make it for them, it shows you care. Lastly, “have fun, laugh a lot, enjoy what you do” otherwise why bother. If I can't have a good time doing it the chances are others won't as well.
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
Were always looking to hire when the right person comes along. We want talent creative innovative people that want to have fun enjoy life be a part of the greatest industry in the world. I tend to go to MIT and try and talk kids out of going to work for investment bankers, private equity, etc. Bringing food always helps at the job fair.
Where can we go to learn more?
Your local post office wall, or the Cook county correctional facility
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Wealth Formula Episode 195: Wealth Secret #1: Know, Like and Trust!
Catch the full episode: https://www.wealthformula.com/podcast/195-wealth-secret-1-know-like-and-trust/ Buck: Welcome back to the show everyone. Today my guest on Wealth Formula Podcast is my very good friend and partner Tim McLeary from Western Wealth Capital. Tim has been involved with the financial services in real estate industries for 25 years before joining Western Wealth Capital. His resume is extensive including oversight of more than a billion dollars in assets at TD Bank Financial Group and that was of course before our current run at Western Wealth. Now he is Vice President of Investor relations at Western Wealth Capital and he is obviously you know the face that many of you who have been an Investor Club already have seen and met in person if you've come to our meetups in Phoenix in Houston and of course he'll be in the next one as well. Tim, welcome to Wealth Formula Podcast man. Tim: Yeah thank you Buck. Buck: So you know obviously you know we've been talking within investor club and you know pretty much every day with regards to properties that we're looking at etc, but it's great to finally have you on the program to kind of you know expose everybody who's not necessarily part of the investor club to what you guys are doing. So everyone you know obviously people in the investor club already know at least you through the webinars. They may not have seen your pretty mug like you can on the video version here, but tell us a little bit about your past and you know how you ultimately ended up from you know these positions where more traditional financial market into multifamily real-estate. Tim: Well this is always a common theme and I've always worked in an environment dealing with or connecting with people and institutions anywhere from as you mentioned TD which is you know institutional money management business development leadership with the major chartered financial banks. So again the common denominator is the ability to connect with people and my last position from my last job you know I was pretty darn comfortable feet up you know not being challenged, golfing a couple times a week sometimes I would play these sound like their president real calm and actually wanna one of my good friends a gentleman I used to play a little hockey with in the past because that's what we do up here in the frozen tundra is play a lot of hockey, he was the CFO of actually a very large local developer and he had just joined this small little firm in Vancouver called Western Wealth Capital and at the time and I think this nuts he went from you know CFO of again one of the largest developers in Vancouver just real estate company called Western Wealth Capital and out of the blue he gave me a call and introduced me to the CEO of Western Wealth Capital, Janet LePage and that meeting I basically sat there and said I'll do whatever it takes to come and work with his organization. I just knew it was a rocket ship, she's an amazing lady and then I met David Steele the other co GP and that was two and a half years ago and I loved every day and I'm learning as we go as well too and it's been a phenomenal ride and I'm looking for the next 10 or 15 years. Buck: So you know obviously you're smart guy and you're heavily involved with day-to-day operations and yet God you know really your pulse on every part of this business so when you look at it from that perspective and you know what's going on in the economy etc, why multifamily real estate right now? Tim: Well you know multi family is kind of the darling play in that real estate asset class right now you know more and more people and groups are running to this asset class and there's you know a couple simple reasons you know one there's you know multifamily is a very low risk profile asset class you know you look at the stock market and the fluctuations you know I'm still a junkie I look three or four times a day to see what the Dow and Nasdaq are doing but they're basically up and down with the Dow and Nasdaq and you know the market that general market that really depends on I say it is moved from a fundamental market to an emotional driven market you know it depends on tweets from certain people then also you know market move one way or another you know where as you know multifamily is just it's boring it's a real boring asset class but again it's also something you can touch and feel it's not emotionally driven it's you know it's real property it's something you can touch and feel and then you know also plain and simple, people need a place to sleep and a multi-family provides that. You know there's a thousand people moving to Texas a day, they need somewhere to sleep and you know and this is the reason why we love Dallas and Houston you know there's more and more employers moving from the west coast you know to you know to these states such as Florida and Texas and Arizona and all those new new workers need to need a place to sleep and multifamily provides them affordable place to live you know it's very much workforce housing and that's what we look for. And then lastly cash flow I mean you have a low risk profile asset class and and then you're receiving a yield I mean it's basically the best of both worlds. Buck: Yeah I mean you know I think the the thing that you said that really resonates with me in general and I've said it on the show number times recently is that boring is good right, it's good boring is good this is and take it from a you know a serial entrepreneur type guy myself I mean I've chased enough shiny objects and what's always amazing to me through that period over the last decade is that through everything that has failed and that has gone well, one thing just keeps doing well it's boring but it's called multi-family real estate and that's been my experience you know. So again just advice to just general advice not financial advice don't stay away from something cuz it's boring. Don't go chasing things because you look bright and shiny they look exciting because weather exciting there's inherently more risk. Boring is good. But let's talk about the Western wealth capital because when you think about the Western Wealth Capital model you know it is quite opposite from some of the more boring ideas of when you think of REITs and stuff, it's actually pretty electric. I mean Ken McIlroy who we you know we had this meet up as you recall it was about a year ago in Phoenix Scottsdale and Ken was there and Ken was obviously has known Dave Steele for you know a very long time and they're friends you listen to what you know Dave had to say and he called it a quote money machine right, and that's pretty high praise from a guy like Ken you know and a lot of people trust can I trust Ken. So what exactly is it you know that makes this machine what it is? I mean it's annualized returns of 30 percent for investors through all divestments and you know the speed at which things are working. What is it that makes this different? What is this money machine? Tim: Well firstly I mean that super high praise from a guy like Ken I mean he's had massive success in this space and you know as you mentioned Dave Steel can go way back and that's huge praise from Ken and that was fantastic when he did say that. Our model you know is pretty simple you know what buck really what it comes down to his execution of her plan you know. I'm a big believer and you know you may have the best business plan on the planet the best digit whatever it is but if you can't execute guess what it's useless and you know our our system our process is repeatable scalable we execute on day one and that means day one of take over when we take over a property but before we take over a property you know we already know what color we're gonna paint the building, we know what the pool furniture is going in, we know what the monument sign is gonna look like, you know the Landscaping's been you know taken care of, the leasing office is basically going to be remodeled as well on day one you know we're putting fliers under the doors of the tenants and we're saying hey do you want an ensuite washer and dryer you know all the statistics that we read that that was the number one ask from tenants is an actual ensuite washer and dryer and it's mind-blowing to me that property owners out there that have pre plumbed washer and dryers but actually don't put watch her dryers and you know we simplistically threw a flyer on the door and said if you will it would like a in-suite washer and dryer you know for an extra forty or fifty dollars a month just to let us know we'll install it and on Tuesday you'll have a washer and dryer, the balance a month no charge but you know as of the next month you know there will be a forty or fifty dollar charge and you know what you got to look at is that the installation that washer and dryer for for you know four-year $50 a month based on a cap rate it works out to about an increase in equity on a per door basis of about ten thousand dollars. And again like you said it comes down just simple math and then you know we throw in our goal start renovations where you know we can turn a unit and about you know eight days at a cost of about 60 to 50 to turn that and you know if we're charging a hundred and twenty-five dollars for that goal style renovation you know based on a certain cap rate buck you again that per door you know equity in valuation has gone up by $30,000. So it really what it comes down to simplistically math and the ability execute and that's something that we're good at both. Buck: Yeah you know the way I think about it in and tell me we think of this analogy because you know, listen at the value add real estate is not a new concept you know there's a lot of opportunity for a long time, but to me what the difference when I look at it is that most value add operators and I'm talking about even you know a lot of well-known ones they're really operating at a boutique type level of business right, I mean they're sort of like the you know the if you look at in terms of restaurants they're the cafe around the corner run by the mom-and-pop and you know they've got an idea and they you know they run it well they get some good stuff going on they get nice ingredients but the reality is there they may not be infinitely they may not be running it quickly and as profitably as it can be. What's remarkable to me when I look at what you guys have put together there is you've got effectively a you know a McDonaldization right like a you've taken something, a substrate like apartment buildings you know 25-30 million dollar 70 million dollar apartment buildings and commoditized the turning of those in such a manner that it literally reminds me of a Mcdonald's type you know or you know some kind of industrial boom boom boom boom get it done kind of thing and whereas you might think well that's not gonna you know result in as good a product, the reality is the repetition the repeating the same thing over having the same type of you know operations over and over make you better and better and faster and that I just don't see anywhere else and I'm curious kind of what if that's the same you know what you see is the difference from others. Tim: Yeah we're constantly working on our processes and you know you said it's repeatable and scalable and you can call the McDonnells ism theory but you know that that's what drives us very much and again you know it does come down to execution as you mentioned you know there's a lot of syndicators out there that really say they're in our space or they’re in the value-add space you know but they really don't spend that equity they don't have that team in place that can actually execute and that's one thing that's different about Western Wealth Capital is you know Jan and Dave do spend the money we do have the right people in all of the asset locations that we are situated and and we're not happy with six out of ten you know we live in a world where ten out of ten makes make sense. Buck: The other part that I think is really different is speed right, because and again from from the standpoint of a guy who's interested in looking at things from you know mathematical way I mean I like equations I like things that have definitive you know ways of looking at things, the one thing that people don't usually think about is speed right. So you're going to do this at scale you're going to turn this you're gonna get so much you know increase in apartments and net operating income but if you can contract the amount of time it takes to get there you've effectively doubled your return and that presumably is a you know that that's why you're getting the kind of returns you are I mean don't you think that speed is probably the variable that is most unique? Tim: Very much so and how I look at that is you know we're a very conservative organization all of our models are they're cookie cutter we were big believers and under promising and over delivering you know Janet's math background she’s a computer scientist by trade exactly you know it's very math based you know we have a Wow program we had a while but 1.0 we now but while 2.0 but so what we're trying to do is just increase the speed of how you know how quick we execute and really what that comes down to Buck is you know for our investors is we're you know we're de-risking their investment from day one. We're increasing the value of that property so quickly that we are literally moving the cap rate from let's say by a five to six or six and a half because of the execution of our business plan. Buck: There's another part of that speed and you know that that that's really pertinent to investors and that is the idea of getting your money out of the deal we always talk about in terms of Western or in terms of the Wealth Formula you know mass times velocity times the leverage so velocity being like how quickly you get your money back out of a deal. One of the things I think is really interesting is the use of the supplemental loan program. Can you explain kind of how that works to people who don't know about it and you know some of the advantages of doing that. Tim: I mean just very high level you know when we buy a property and we're gonna use some round assumption numbers here but let's say we buy a building for twenty million dollars you know we're typically using agency debt, the lender will actually provide us with a loan you know 100 percent valuation of that property loan to cost and so let's say the full twenty million dollars however they will not you know of course fund us that full amount. Typically it ranges anywhere from you know based on our models sixty five to up to seventy two percent you know of that LTC. Then as we create that value in that property as we execute and at the speed that we do or you are you know we creating value quickly we can go back after twelve months to our lender and instead of doing a whole refinance package which typically is quite expensive we just go back and and have our lender revisit the financials and basically pull a supplementary, so again if that building goes from 20 million 25 million, they will release anywhere between 65 to 70, 72 percent of that additional five million dollars in equity that we've created what we do with that equity well we give it back to our investors. So our whole model is and we've again under-promise and over-deliver here but you know what we pro forma is to return 50 percent of the investors equity between a 24 to 36 month period and then another 25% so up to 75% between a 36 and 48 month period and then up to a hundred percent of their original equity back between a 48 and 60 month period. So they still retain their original percentage ownership in the building the same number of units, however as you just mentioned Buck what it does do is it puts money back into their pocket a lot quicker. They can in turn reinvest that into something else and you know again the velocity of their money is in the velocity returns. Buck: And that's really the key you know is that the cash out refi model is nothing new, but you usually don’t see it for about five years and then you get you know maybe you get a refi and hopefully you get your capital back out of the deal and you've got what we call infinite returns but what we're talking about here is really unique because I know you mentioned 24 to 36 months just looking over the history it looks like the average has been about 18 months where investors are getting about 50 percent of their capital back and then you know a year later whatever they're getting over the next year or two they're getting the rest of it back. By the way the model does not allow for a split until then so in other words the operators not getting paid you know and any part of the equity until a 100% of capital is returned. Well what that does is it allows you to take you know not wait for years but wait you know assuming it's 18 months 24 months whatever and if you get if you invested a hundred grand take 50 grand back and put it into something else now you've got an opportunity to make money in two places at the same time with the same capital and that's where the numbers really go off the hook right that is kind of the the thing and then as Tim mentioned it's also derisking. So tell us a little bit about like you know kind of your track record in terms of doing this kind of stuff. Tim: Well I mean I'll tell you a little story about one of our investors you know he started with us it's actually five years ago now we're six year old company but it took about a year of research for him to give us his his first dollar but so it's been about five years ago he started investing with us he spread $750,000 you know throughout a couple of deals he started coming in and you know we do the dip your toe in with a certain amount and then you know the investment level got a little bit larger and so his total investment you know with Western Wealth Capital was $750,000 and you know he's funny he comes to offer wine and cheeses and he basically said I'm not gonna give you any more money I'm done but I promise you this what I'm gonna do is every single penny that you give me I'm gonna reinvest it. So you know through all of our refis are just divestments dispositions which we've had 31 to date so every penny he's given back to us he's actually equity level and ownership of properties with us is just now under four million dollars five. Buck: So seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars total investment over like you know spread over several deals or the last five years is not worth about four million bucks. Tim: And he's just continuing to roll it yeah he's doing. Actually should I should ask him and I show the top the pin but he loves to talk probably I should take him on tour with me. Buck: I want to get him on the podcast. That comes out to roughly an eighty nine percent annualized return on capital. Well what's interesting to me is that with you know these kinds of returns people assume there's got to be a lot of risk right I mean how do you hit thirty percent annualized returns how's this guy get a nine percent annualized return, but in fact you know the two elements and you've alluded to this before that tend to theoretically make these opportunities even more stable than most offerings is that first you know you've obviously got a heavy capital expenditure budget because this whole thing is about turning you know really neglected properties into really high quality properties, if anybody's ever been on a Western wealth tour you'll see it's just amazing, but so it's a huge you know it's a it's a big investment up front that's raised from the capital from the equity. But one of the beautiful things about that is hey you're not you know we're not gonna just try to expect that we're gonna generate all this income from the property right and that creates this level of cash that's sitting up front. That is one thing that in my mind significantly de-risks the opportunities is that there's a huge capital stack sitting there waiting, but then there's also the other idea that where as we're driving equity into this and we're making a profit hopefully by driving cap rates up dynamically in real time, you're essentially creating you called it de-risking the property right I mean those are the two main elements, is that kind of how you see it in terms of mitigating risk? Tim: Yeah hundred percent I mean not only mitigating risk but also you know it comes to returns you know when we model a property and then when we send her a basically executive summary though you know we're not showing 30% returns and that's what we've actually achieved in our past, we've had 31 dispositions for an average hold period 29 months for an average return of 30 percent annualized so we're not showing that you know what we're basing our math typically is working out between 17 to 20 percent annualized returns based on the property very conservative based on how the performance exactly you know when we have a property with say 200 units we're not saying we're gonna execute our value add proposition on 80% 85% we're saying we may do sixty sixty-five percent. And that's where we come up with these 17 to 20s you know plus our refinance of 50, 75 and a hundred you know but again the whole goal Buck comes down to is again under-promise and over-deliver and as well as you can and under-promise and over-deliver but you better be able to execute and and the speed and again we're very good at we're obsessed actually that's the word we use we're obsessed with execution. Buck: That's pretty obvious. How big, because we talked about how this has been, this has been a lightning bolt of a business in terms of growth. How much how much property is under management now? Tim: We're just under 16 thousand units. Buck: And what does that come out to in dollars? I’m putting you on the spot but you move so quickly. Tim: So last year actually 2018 we purchased 16 buildings. In 2019 we purchased 19 buildings. Our goal this year is 24 you know however you know we do have you know different sources of that's gonna be a billion dollars we're nowhere well we're over 2.2 billion 2.2 billion. Buck: Okay so we've got all this good stuff going on and there's skeptics out there and for good reason that say well gosh you know what's you know what are you gonna do when the market changes I mean we talked about some of the things that you can do to de-risk that like you know you're decompressing your own cap rates by creating this dynamic you know driving of net operating income but what happens in that scenario and typically you know a cycle like that might last a couple years. If you have a situation where you decompress cap rate so and you you're certainly in a position to be safe because you got about a bunch of money in the bank you know you've driven up your income, but then what do you do then to to you know to try to maximize yield? Do you just you know hold on to the property and and wait for better days or what do you do? Tim: I guess the worst-case scenario is as you mentioned you sit in cash, again, we're a bit unique we don't have to borrow our capex we raise our capex so you know we'll sit on a lack of cash you know if required we can still continue implementing our value-added program because again you know in a crunch period of time try and get money from a bank or your agency you can't so all of a sudden syndicators just have to stop we raise that capex so we can keep going if we want but I mean worst case scenario is is we sit in cash flow you know but we also what we look at is in the markets that we deal is you know or where we have assets for the markets that we really like is you know we take a real look at the A type of properties existing or being built and you know we love buying buy a right you know a C or C plus type of building right beside an A because you know the individual is that you know that's paying 20 to 50 a month for an eight hundred square foot a type of property you know when that market does change you know are fifteen hundred and fifty dollar 1100 square but newly renovated unit plus completely upgraded and amenities is it gonna look fantastic and save that individual seven hundred dollars a month. So you know again it comes down to de risking and your investment and you know that's one of the aspects that we look at is that a type of property in the area but again worst-case scenario is yeah yeah we stuff it full only cash flow. Buck: So I mean just to be clear we're talking about C-C plus you know probably now what you guys call C me it's probably more C plus moving it up to like a B-Bplus in it you know like you're in a area or something like that is effectively the idea you know speaking of the markets though one of the things that I think is how you know when you right now I've been saying one of the most critical aspects of buying real estate right now is picking the markets because you know when times when things are hot and things are you know markets are flying that's when you get like these you know you get these tertiary markets that are people start chasing yield where in situations where you know if the market turns there's really no natural growth there, there's no not new industry there's not that I mean how much of that goes into market selection can you kind of talk about your process there? Tim: Yeah you nailed it Buck you know we're seeing a lot of other firms you know chasing yield, chasing returns, there's a lot of equity out there but there's also a lot of kind of startup syndicators trying to make a mark and so they're trying to chase returns and and what they don't see in what we see with we know over a hundred transactions maybe, they don't see the deal flow that we see you know we're seeing 22 to 30 deals in about twelve different cities a week but you know we see other firms you know buying in those first rate markets and that you know we'll never do that you know you know. So when the market does correct you know the place to such late such as you know Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix these these markets that are in your top five to ten type markets for economic growth when there is a correction, yeah they may correct a little bit however if you're buying in a market at right now is ranked number fifteen fifteen sixteen seventeen and it's there now just because it's kind of you know, when the market does turn guess what's gonna happen it's gonna go from fifteen sixteen to thirty thirty-one. You know our philosophy isn't you know we don't buy and cross your fingers and hope that the market goes up you know that is just not our value proposition again we're going to markets that are stable strong economic growth there's companies moving there and then basically it comes down to executing your model. Buck: Yeah and you know and I think that's an important thing. There is this constant sort of tension between finding yield but also staying within markets that have strong job growth and you know population growth. And so the nice thing about you know major markets you know you know Houston and Phoenix and some of these markets that are you know they're not New York and LA but on the other hand they're growing like gangbusters they at the end of the day even if you have a change in sort of the overall real estate market you have this this other opposing force which is the growth in population and that isn't gonna presumably that's not going to stop people are moving there for a reason. Tough economic times they're only gonna make them move there even more. Tim: Just a funny story Buck I was talking I was in Calgary last week which is a part of Canada, talking to a farmer last week and he explained this this way Tim he says I have a chicken and I want to make sure my chicken is laying eggs but in the long run I want to make sure my chicken’s safe at the end of the day. It's so simple and you're giggling but really that's what it comes down to. I want my eggs but I want to make sure you preserve my chicken and that's definitely Western Wealth Capital. Buck: Capital preservation. For a group that's plugging out those kinds of numbers capital preservation you know being part of the equation is a nice relief as well. So tell me what's the plan again for this year 2020 west from wealth capital? What Mark do we looking at? What's the goal? Tim: Well I you know we're currently in five markets I just discussed San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, second largest owner operator in Phoenix there's about twelve cities that know we followed very closely our goal for 2020 is to add two new cities so that means not you know not to have assets and five to have have them in seven you know the type of you know type of markets we're looking at is you know whether we're looking to Nevada so we're looking at Vegas we're looking at Denver of course at Denver Florida many centers and Florida as well to you know Washington, Washington State, Seattle, Portland, Nashville as well too. So you know we have a six member acquisition team and we always joke I'm not sure who lives in airports more of them or them or myself but we're kicking a lot of tires, but the goal is again here to be into you know two new cities we just don't move in a city unprepared we do a lot of homework we do a lot of back check. We don't you know we actually are before we move in a city we don't want to buy one building we're gonna go in and typically buy three buildings you don't you know we want to get you know we want to have a thousand fifteen hundred units. Buck: That's part of the exit plan too. I mean and and that's one of the things that I think is important to one of the reasons that you end up getting paid more for these is you're not selling when building at a time you're wrapping it up to like seven or eight buildings at a time and selling it at a premium to a big you know to a big institutional buyer. Tim: Yeah and for numbers we're probably looking at I gained one a month so probably twelve twelve deals this year so for on a deal full perspective so another ambitious ambitious goal first rate. Buck: I’m just curious one thing and I don't know how much you've actually looked into it but it's funny that you mentioned Vegas behind I brought that up too because I remember the economist that we had at our last meet of in the growth in in in you know just in people moving into Vegas is insane right, well the question is is it real this time right? Tim: It is you know you look at the the jobs I believe it you know not that long ago over sixty percent was you know in that hospitality sector I believe that's under forty percent now you know so that just shows that there is there's other types of opportunity now in Las Vegas and it's not solely dependent on the casinos and you know and again it's you know it's another state. Buck: It’s just one of those things where it's like what's the difference between living in you know in a climate wise say Las Vegas Nevada in Phoenix Arizona and people are in Phoenix is growing very quickly and then Vegas all of a sudden now they've got a you know they're gonna have a football team they have an NHL team it's starting to seem like a normal thing to live in Las Vegas. Tim: It's like anywhere Buck, it's any state or city you live in there's tremendous opportunity in great pockets I've I know a lot of people that live in Vegas and you know you joke the first question is about the strip and it's like any city you live in they all just kind of chuckle and say you know we may go this trip once a quarter you know it's like me going downtown for dinner with my family it's right you know it's the same concept. Buck: Well Timmy I don't want to keep you too long. It's been great to have you on the show and for those of you who want more of Tim you can read about them you know Western Wealth Capital website otherwise you can join Investor Club if you are an accredited investor and that's where Tim frequently does webinars for us. Tim again I want to thank you it's great to have you on the show finally. Tim: Thank You Buck, I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. Buck: We’ll be right back.
Hey - Pat from StarterStory.com here with another interview. Today's interview is with Jeffrey Mora of Food Fleet, a brand that makes mobile food service solutions. Some stats:
Product: Mobile food service solutions.
Revenue/mo: $1,500,000
Started: February 2012
Location: Los Angeles
Founders: 2
Employees: 6
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?
I started my career at the world-famous Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles Apprenticing under Certified Master Chef Raimund Hofmeister. Since then I have worked in more than 22 countries around the world working for some of the world’s finest chefs from Cas Spijkers, 2 Michelin star Restaurant De Swann Hotel in Oisterwijk, to Paul Prudhomme's K-Paul's Louisiana kitchen. I was on the 92 and 96 US Culinary Olympic Teams. I have been involved in all aspects of the foodservice industry. My main focus has always been on healthy sustainable foods; working in every aspect of the business from fine dining to airport foodservice and food manufacturing. I personally took care of the Los Angeles Lakers Foodservice providing all meal periods for the team in the season for 8 years including the 3-year title run with two world titles receiving two championship rings for my efforts. My passion is volunteering for Environmental and other health-related causes. I helped coordinate one of the first sustainable dinners in 1998 with the Earth Pledge Foundation in NY, I served on the boards of American Ocean Campaign, Oceana, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and currently serves on the Boards of Jean Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society ,The Green Sports Alliance Food advisory board the Pioneers of Sustainability and the Carbon Underground. My partner and I started Food Fleet in 2012 to help mom and pop mobile food vendors work within a corporate environment. Since then Food Fleet has secured a National Contract with Sodexo, has multiple contracts with Levy Restaurants, Guckenheimer and others, providing services for Convention Centers, NASCAR, PGA, Concerts, Colleges and Universities, Hospitals, MLB All-Star Week and more. We also provide design and build services as well as food manufacturing and consulting for a number of large scale companies. Food Fleet’s growth Year after year has been at an at over 30 %. From 2017-2018 we had an unprecedented 160% growth spurt. With a team of 6, including my partner and I, we managed over 20 million in sales for our clients. As an example. We took over a convention center 3 years ago managing their food truck business. For their largest event of the year, we were up 53% over the previous year. I honestly would have to equate some of that success to the under-reporting of sales by the previous operator. But the following year we were up 19% from that figure and again close to that this year. That is due in large part to our understanding of transaction times, menu mix, the equipment in each truck or pop up and other factors.
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
We started the food truck business in 2012. We kept finding it very difficult to find locations to operate. We had a booker that we used to find our locations but fell short and we let her go. I took over our booking and found that most people did not want to book just one truck, not only that they were upset that most of the time the trucks didn’t show up or were late. After a few calls, I started saying I was with the Food Truck Alliance and had as many trucks as they wanted. I knew I could because my partner Rudy was working most events every night and establishing a relationship with the owners of a large number of trucks. I did this to ensure we would be part of the mix, as well as make a little extra money booking the other trucks. What I learned is that most truck owners while passionate at what they did, had little to no experience working in a structured corporate environment. What we also did differently then most lots/events and companies booking trucks at the time was, if they didn't make money we didn't collect a commission. I then put my 35 years of Food Service experience to work helping them with everything from food safety to insurance. We learned the real need was not only helping the trucks but providing a turnkey service for the corporations. This was a game-changer for us, we were really struggling financially. Developing this service helped keep us afloat. At a certain point the services we provided far outweighed the need to continue to operate the truck financially. My partner and I decided to seek out contracts for locations to operate at. We secured with a lot of time, effort and energy, our first contract with the Navy to put trucks on bases. This was the launching point for us. We then used that to leverage other types of accounts from Universities to B&I, hospitals, and casinos.
Take us through the process of designing and launching the business.
My partner and I were fortunate enough to bring back a former employee that worked for us when we were pretty much-doing catering and events with the truck. She was well organized and very detail-oriented. This enabled us to help further develop the systems we started using into a more formal approach… We also decided there and then we would not be charging a membership fee to the trucks to belong to Food Fleet. We felt it was a conflict of interest to have the trucks pay us to belong. We would be beholden to them and not our clients. From there we then developed a vetting system that covered all the essentials of what we required for them to meet our client's needs. The principles included first and foremost food safety, then transaction times. Those two were key factors. We did not want it to take long for people to get their food. We then added over 50 more. The other major key was the insurance piece. Most trucks only carry the min required. And little to no one carried workman's comp. Most of our clients required a 5 million umbrella and WC. We were lucky once again to find Burnie Tappel the President of Cobbs Allen Insurance Burnie is a third-generation Lloyds of London insurer that only dealt with risk management. They were experts in Oil and Gas and risk Management. He liked the challenge of trying to insurance us nationally for what we were trying to do. He was able to help us find a policy that met our client's needs. We were then able to offer the clients a larger pool in which to choose. Having them to help us understand liability and indemnity issues along with a lot of other contractual obligations that would need to be met was critical. They have been a key part of our growth and a partner we couldn't do without. Once we had the basics secured, all three of us set out to accomplish different tasks. Carly worked on the website and booking platform we were going to use. Rudy worked on Logistics as well as local regulatory compliance issues operating in multiple states. I worked on the vetting systems, insurance piece and securing the contracts. I will tell you were ran more than we walked and had to clean up and fix more things along the way. We still are. Our financial model was a simple one, don't spend money we don't have or will have. We didn't take out a loan or even credit cards, We only used debit cards. Only 2 years ago did we get Credit cards and within the last 6 months got a second one. I understand the term other people's money but we didn't look to borrow or bring in investors. Not that we were not sure of what we had or what we were doing, we needed to understand better what we had and what we were doing. The model that we started with has changed and evolved many times over the years. Honestly, we didn't want to be beholden to anyone.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
While there were others doing what we were doing, I noticed early on what the key difference was. Others were in the booking / Broker business, and the tech business. Most if not all of them were not in the hospitality business. This is the key factor. Being in the business for 35 years I understood what our customers and clients really wanted and needed. I knew how to come up with solutions for their problems. We were in the hospitality business, were in customer service. It's what this business really is. Working on trucks and understanding how to operate then for many years really helped us. Understanding how to use my experience, and being able to relate that to our clients made the difference. I came to find out more than anything that even to this day no one really understands the business and more importantly they don’t want to. Our first real call for consulting along with design and build came from my old Olympic team manager. He was the Sr VP of food and beverage for Pinnacle entertainment at that time. They operated 19 casinos. He also had been the Corporate chef for Disney, opened Epcot, Sr VP at Darden for Red Lobster, CEO of the California Culinary Academy, worked in a leadership role at Levy Restaurants. He called me because he had no understanding at all of the food truck business and needed help. He is one of the most brilliant talented people in the hospitality business and he called me for help. I realized more and more that this was the norm. Most thought in the traditional manner of Brick and Mortar, when it came to start-up costs, daily costs P&L. it is not the same at all and that where most go wrong. For lack of a better word, I was able to crack the code and translate it into language they could understand. More importantly, they did not want to have to deal with the trucks or the owners. They were happy to have someone else do it for them that they knew understood what they wanted and needed. We provide world-class customer service. The highest quality mobile food solutions for events and catering were professional and respond to all inquiries by the end of the day no matter what. We pick up the phone and talk to people to connect with them, as well as better understand their needs. Our employees are not allowed to text or email clients or vendors until they have spoken to them and established a relationship with them. All our staff comes from the hospitality business they aren't salespeople or tech people, they all have worked in restaurants, B&I, hotels, etc. How can we truly help our clients when we don't understand their business. We fully understand their financial models and requirements. We then expanded into Design and Build food Manufacturing and consulting. Due to my background, network and expertise we were able to grow our business exponentially. When we got on the phone with clients they not only understood that we knew what we were talking about. They had trust in us to take care of their needs no matter what. Of course a lot of things we had some limited experience in the beginning. But I knew if we said, we could deliver we would. More often than not, my team has to hold me back from bringing in more business.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
I have to assume everyone exaggerates and embellishes here a bit. But the truth is the future looks bright. We are tightening up all our standard operating procedures and our quality assurance specs along with our policies. Since every client is different this is a constantly changing and evolving area that we work on weekly. Implementing new policies and procedures goes along with that. Things come up all the time that we address and add into our policies and procedures We have been preparing for a large expansion for the past year and are working toward taking that next step. We are not the same as any other business. We have a number of different models and services based strictly on each client and location account. No two of our client's contracts are alike, so we have to be able to adapt to their individual needs. This makes having the same margins a bit more difficult. Our model is scalable and can be done globally and we are working toward that goal.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
Start with a partner that has your back, this is step one. My partner is the most loyal honest person I have ever met. I am lucky to call him my friend and partner. We both have struggled financially and emotionally through this whole process. We both have ebbed and followed when one of us was going through a rough patch the other picked up the slack no questions asked. Then bring in a team of caring and passionate people that love this business and understand what it means to be in it. This will help you avoid a lot of mistakes. When you find the right person to vest them in with benchmarks and goals. It was the best decision my partner and I made. Now we have a core team where each of us has finally developed into our roles and each complement the others skill set. That doesn't happen too often. While we have made a few mistakes they were all short term ones. For example, taking an account that we felt was going to do well financially and it failed miserably and quickly. That comes back to one of the lessons. We do learn by our mistakes. At this point, we have pretty much seen it all. We can tell our clients what the pitfalls are as well as the pinch points. Lost money made money hired the wrong web developer, hired the right one small little things. Dumb luck, being at the right place at the right time. That honestly has been one of our biggest assets.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
We have tried a number of them and currently, our VP of Ops found us a platform that we use. She has been able to make it work for us till now. We will have our own tech platform within 60 days. This will be a game-changer. Our business is so unique we have tried to find third party solutions but nothing that has worked for our needs. We have spent 2 years searching for a solution and finally decided to do it ourselves. This is once again where dumb luck and being in the right place at the right time comes into play. I found our builder, Freshin Up while having a bowl of Ramen in the Tokyo airport. We were at the counter eating and talking to the guy next to us, and it came out what he did. We continued to talk until my flight was leaving. He was heading to Thailand and I just came from there. We connected when we got home. I sent him the specs of what we needed, and they were the only company that truly understood our needs. They got what we were trying to accomplish and had a team that we're able to think the way we did.
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
Both my partner and I were fortunate to be around the great Phil Jackson on a daily basis. He was more than me. That being said, Phil was an inspiration, along with countless other mentors and friends. They have been way more influential to me than any book or podcast. Chefs and Coaches are in many ways exactly alike. They both lead a team of people. They both have to train, coach, mentor, listen, care, and teach. They are only as good as their weakest link. Chefs also say we are only as good as our last meal. They succeed and fail daily, learn from it and move on. Chefs, coaches, and players all have good and bad days, when you go home at the end of the shift or game it's over. Tomorrow is another day you get to prove yourself again. It’s great. When I was an apprentice there was a banquet chef named Jimmy Wong. Jimmy was the finest banquet chef I have ever known. The Century Plaza where I trained served on average 3,000 meals a day in banquets. It was the flagship of the Westin hotel. The Corporate chef brought Jimmy to the hotel when it opened as one of his anchors. Jimmy was from Hong Kong by way of Vancouver Jimmy was a legend, to say the least. Every Chef that wanted to be an executive chef for Westin had to come through Jimmy's station, if he did not give them the thumbs up they never were promoted. Were talking about some of the most iconic chefs of the day. All thinking they knew more than him and wondering why they had to have his approval. Most learned quickly that they were not in his league and couldn't keep up. The corporate chef knew the real money in every hotel came from banquets without that they would fail and lose money. Banqueting supported most of the specialty and fine dining restaurants in the hotel. If the chef didn't get that then they were out. Jimmy was fearless doing 1000 breakfast and 1000 lunches or more by himself almost every day. When I first started at the hotel they had me in one of the restaurants. Every day when I came to work I would clock in and go and say hello to Jimmy, then go to work. The others always said Jimmy is a hard ass, he won't show you anything, he is old school send you to go get something, then make the sauce while you were gone. I was not going to let that happen to me, I realized it was more often times the lack of respect they paid him. I found out Jimmy's routine every morning like clockwork he would show up at 5:50 am set up his station, then clock in at 6 am and go get a cup of coffee and sit for 10 minutes to figure out his day. At 10 am he would take lunch no matter how busy. I would come in and watch how he set up, draw diagrams of where the pots and pans went and what he would do to get ready. On my first day working at Jimmy's station, I came in at 5 am and set up the station. When he walked in at 5:50 it was ready to go. He smiled from ear to ear, he checked it and then clocked and invited me to go have coffee with him. Needless to say, he taught me everything I know about large events. This comes back to another lesson I learned from him. If he didn't respect someone or thought they were a shitty cook, he would call them a shoemaker. One day I asked Jimmy why. He said because they stopped learning and caring about being a good cook or chef. If you stopped caring and learning about cooking you were done with that, then you might as well become a shoemaker since your not going to be a cook anymore. Lesson don't rest on your laurels or past always be willing to keep learning. You will never know it all. The real joy is learning something new. I have been going to MIT for the last year to recruit as well as learn. Nothing has made me happier than to have the ability to be around such brilliant creative minds. The future of everything is there. I am lucky to have the opportunity to take advantage of it.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
Do what you say you’re going to do. Never apologize unless you have a solution to the issue. Otherwise, it's just an empty apology. No one wants to hear that unless you can follow that up with what you're going to do to fix the reason you're apologizing for. My father taught me two important lessons that I live my life by. “Be nice to everybody, give them the shirt off your back, but if they fuck you, hang them by their balls.” That is simple direct and to the point. “Pick the hill you want to die on.” That means is that battle worth going down for, or do you let it go and move on. There are a great number of them that you will say that's the hill, but make sure it is for something your willing to lose it all for. Only care what your friends and family think the rest doesn't matter. Never let others drag you down. Try and lead whenever possible, following leads to mediocrity, and zero creativity. Always look at the whole chessboard and think 5 years ahead, Certain things you need narrow focus on, but someone has to think long term and strategy. If you cant you will get passed by very quickly. There is always someone that is going to try and copy you or take it to the next level. It's the nature of all things, stay ahead of them by being an innovator and not a follower. Be willing to go all in, and not worry about failing. I throw 100 things at the wall, and from that, I really do get a few amazing ideas. Just because it didn't work at that time doesn't mean it wasn’t a good idea. Be willing to hear everyone out on any crazy idea they have. That what changes the world. If you can figure out how to make money and do the right thing, there is nothing better. You will be a lot happier and create a more sustainable business. If you work and care about what you do, the money will come, it always does. Always hire people that are smarter than you, and you won't have to work as hard. Always bring a gift with you to give to whoever your meeting, and make it personal from you. Not something generic. If you make something special, then make it for them, it shows you care. Lastly, “have fun, laugh a lot, enjoy what you do” otherwise why bother. If I can't have a good time doing it the chances are others won't as well.
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
Were always looking to hire when the right person comes along. We want talent creative innovative people that want to have fun enjoy life be a part of the greatest industry in the world. I tend to go to MIT and try and talk kids out of going to work for investment bankers, private equity, etc. Bringing food always helps at the job fair.
Where can we go to learn more?
Your local post office wall, or the Cook county correctional facility
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below! Liked this text interview? Check out the full interview with photos, tools, books, and other data. For more interviews, check out starter_story - I post new stories there daily. Interested in sharing your own story? Send me a PM
CBC Goes Full Retard Publishing Stories About "Racism" and "Race"
CBC Goes Full Retard Publishing Stories About "Racism" and "Race" Nov 2, 2018 Hate messages show up on University of Manitoba campus http://archive.is/xx6d3 5 reasons why everyone should be talking about The Hate U Give http://archive.fo/NzpPl 'It's draining': Winnipeg man hopes for more awareness after racist run-in http://archive.fo/9ti3U Nov 3, 2018 Why a Toronto-area school board can't force out a trustee accused of racism and xenophobia http://archive.is/RE60G Nov 4, 2018 How right-wing populism is returning to its fascist roots http://archive.is/sJOb0 Nov 5, 2018 Drake blocked from Vancouver's Parq Casino, claims it was 'profiling' http://archive.is/AWLmu Nov 6, 2018 Parents renew calls for controversial York school board trustee-elect to resign http://archive.fo/NR8TH Nov 7, 2018 'We shouldn't be forced to move to certain areas of the classroom': U of M Indigenous students http://archive.is/8rbAn Nov 8, 2018 Q&A: Lori Wilkinson explains why 'It's OK to be white' posters are not OK http://archive.is/i6iJL Nov 9, 2018 'The entire company is toxic': Allegations of abuse, harassment at Stella's chain surface on social media http://archive.is/InSeY Nov 10, 2018 'Really toxic': Abuse allegations continue to dog Winnipeg restaurant chain Stella's Cafe http://archive.is/Vvgv0 Nov 13, 2018 Meet Raven Wilkinson, the black ballerina who blazed a trail long before shoes came in brown and bronze http://archive.is/IO46X Nov 14, 2018 Grieving Inuit families blame racism of health-care workers for deaths of loved ones http://archive.is/XD7tA Nov 15, 2018 Federal government issues permanent postal ban on hate speech publication http://archive.is/GS5Wg Pat Lorje resigns from Montgomery community association board, citing 'racist attitudes' http://archive.is/1MZ3g Toronto anti-carding activist stopped by police in Vancouver http://archive.fo/6cQec Nov 17, 2018 Multiculturalism 'makes our province a better place,' says Sask. award recipient http://archive.is/aQsB3 Nov 19, 2018 University of New Brunswick nursing school should have mandatory course in Indigenous health, says instructor http://archive.is/BGHiP Nov 20, 2018 'It is our story': Why a contest inspired by Viola Desmond was cut short http://archive.fo/L5xWF Nov 21, 2018 Kelowna Sikh leader urges people to speak up about racism after gurdwara hit by graffiti http://archive.is/rNC6J Police officer denied promotion because of race, hearing told http://archive.is/IZknG Nov 22, 2018 TRC heard concerns about coerced sterilization of Indigenous women, says Murray Sinclair http://archive.is/BfuqQ Nov 23, 2018 Quebecers among Canadians most likely to believe racism is decreasing http://archive.is/SAx0b Alberta government 'censored' Indigenous book, undermining reconciliation in schools, author says http://archive.fo/1AZjr Nov 26, 2018 Nearly two-thirds of Quebecers support public-sector ban on religious symbols, poll finds http://archive.fo/d6VrL Nov 29, 2018 Hate crimes surge in southwestern Ontario, Statistics Canada says http://archive.is/crN4B Nov 30, 2018 Peewee hockey game in Neepawa turns ugly as fans hurl racist taunts at First Nations team http://archive.is/G0lo9 Edmonton hotel accused of racial discrimination against 4 young men http://archive.is/KA8ln Windsor health centre provides 'culturally safe' space for Indigenous people http://archive.is/LeTFN Dec 01, 2018 'We have let you down': Stella's owners post video, take out full-page apology ad after harassment complaints http://archive.is/CjUUD
CBC Goes Full Retard Publishing Stories About "Racism" and "Race"
CBC Goes Full Retard Publishing Stories About "Racism" and "Race" Nov 2, 2018 Hate messages show up on University of Manitoba campus http://archive.is/xx6d3 5 reasons why everyone should be talking about The Hate U Give http://archive.fo/NzpPl 'It's draining': Winnipeg man hopes for more awareness after racist run-in http://archive.fo/9ti3U Nov 3, 2018 Why a Toronto-area school board can't force out a trustee accused of racism and xenophobia http://archive.is/RE60G Nov 4, 2018 How right-wing populism is returning to its fascist roots http://archive.is/sJOb0 Nov 5, 2018 Drake blocked from Vancouver's Parq Casino, claims it was 'profiling' http://archive.is/AWLmu Nov 6, 2018 Parents renew calls for controversial York school board trustee-elect to resign http://archive.fo/NR8TH Nov 7, 2018 'We shouldn't be forced to move to certain areas of the classroom': U of M Indigenous students http://archive.is/8rbAn Nov 8, 2018 Q&A: Lori Wilkinson explains why 'It's OK to be white' posters are not OK http://archive.is/i6iJL Nov 9, 2018 'The entire company is toxic': Allegations of abuse, harassment at Stella's chain surface on social media http://archive.is/InSeY Nov 10, 2018 'Really toxic': Abuse allegations continue to dog Winnipeg restaurant chain Stella's Cafe http://archive.is/Vvgv0 Nov 13, 2018 Meet Raven Wilkinson, the black ballerina who blazed a trail long before shoes came in brown and bronze http://archive.is/IO46X Nov 14, 2018 Grieving Inuit families blame racism of health-care workers for deaths of loved ones http://archive.is/XD7tA Nov 15, 2018 Federal government issues permanent postal ban on hate speech publication http://archive.is/GS5Wg Pat Lorje resigns from Montgomery community association board, citing 'racist attitudes' http://archive.is/1MZ3g Toronto anti-carding activist stopped by police in Vancouver http://archive.fo/6cQec Nov 17, 2018 Multiculturalism 'makes our province a better place,' says Sask. award recipient http://archive.is/aQsB3 Nov 19, 2018 University of New Brunswick nursing school should have mandatory course in Indigenous health, says instructor http://archive.is/BGHiP Nov 20, 2018 'It is our story': Why a contest inspired by Viola Desmond was cut short http://archive.fo/L5xWF Nov 21, 2018 Kelowna Sikh leader urges people to speak up about racism after gurdwara hit by graffiti http://archive.is/rNC6J Police officer denied promotion because of race, hearing told http://archive.is/IZknG Nov 22, 2018 TRC heard concerns about coerced sterilization of Indigenous women, says Murray Sinclair http://archive.is/BfuqQ Nov 23, 2018 Quebecers among Canadians most likely to believe racism is decreasing http://archive.is/SAx0b Alberta government 'censored' Indigenous book, undermining reconciliation in schools, author says http://archive.fo/1AZjr Nov 26, 2018 Nearly two-thirds of Quebecers support public-sector ban on religious symbols, poll finds http://archive.fo/d6VrL Nov 29, 2018 Hate crimes surge in southwestern Ontario, Statistics Canada says http://archive.is/crN4B
Hey - Pat from StarterStory.com here with another interview. Today's interview is with Jeffrey Mora of Food Fleet, a brand that makes mobile food service solutions. Some stats:
Product: Mobile food service solutions.
Revenue/mo: $1,500,000
Started: February 2012
Location: Los Angeles
Founders: 2
Employees: 6
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?
I started my career at the world-famous Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles Apprenticing under Certified Master Chef Raimund Hofmeister. Since then I have worked in more than 22 countries around the world working for some of the world’s finest chefs from Cas Spijkers, 2 Michelin star Restaurant De Swann Hotel in Oisterwijk, to Paul Prudhomme's K-Paul's Louisiana kitchen. I was on the 92 and 96 US Culinary Olympic Teams. I have been involved in all aspects of the foodservice industry. My main focus has always been on healthy sustainable foods; working in every aspect of the business from fine dining to airport foodservice and food manufacturing. I personally took care of the Los Angeles Lakers Foodservice providing all meal periods for the team in the season for 8 years including the 3-year title run with two world titles receiving two championship rings for my efforts. My passion is volunteering for Environmental and other health-related causes. I helped coordinate one of the first sustainable dinners in 1998 with the Earth Pledge Foundation in NY, I served on the boards of American Ocean Campaign, Oceana, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and currently serves on the Boards of Jean Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society ,The Green Sports Alliance Food advisory board the Pioneers of Sustainability and the Carbon Underground. My partner and I started Food Fleet in 2012 to help mom and pop mobile food vendors work within a corporate environment. Since then Food Fleet has secured a National Contract with Sodexo, has multiple contracts with Levy Restaurants, Guckenheimer and others, providing services for Convention Centers, NASCAR, PGA, Concerts, Colleges and Universities, Hospitals, MLB All-Star Week and more. We also provide design and build services as well as food manufacturing and consulting for a number of large scale companies. Food Fleet’s growth Year after year has been at an at over 30 %. From 2017-2018 we had an unprecedented 160% growth spurt. With a team of 6, including my partner and I, we managed over 20 million in sales for our clients. As an example. We took over a convention center 3 years ago managing their food truck business. For their largest event of the year, we were up 53% over the previous year. I honestly would have to equate some of that success to the under-reporting of sales by the previous operator. But the following year we were up 19% from that figure and again close to that this year. That is due in large part to our understanding of transaction times, menu mix, the equipment in each truck or pop up and other factors.
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
We started the food truck business in 2012. We kept finding it very difficult to find locations to operate. We had a booker that we used to find our locations but fell short and we let her go. I took over our booking and found that most people did not want to book just one truck, not only that they were upset that most of the time the trucks didn’t show up or were late. After a few calls, I started saying I was with the Food Truck Alliance and had as many trucks as they wanted. I knew I could because my partner Rudy was working most events every night and establishing a relationship with the owners of a large number of trucks. I did this to ensure we would be part of the mix, as well as make a little extra money booking the other trucks. What I learned is that most truck owners while passionate at what they did, had little to no experience working in a structured corporate environment. What we also did differently then most lots/events and companies booking trucks at the time was, if they didn't make money we didn't collect a commission. I then put my 35 years of Food Service experience to work helping them with everything from food safety to insurance. We learned the real need was not only helping the trucks but providing a turnkey service for the corporations. This was a game-changer for us, we were really struggling financially. Developing this service helped keep us afloat. At a certain point the services we provided far outweighed the need to continue to operate the truck financially. My partner and I decided to seek out contracts for locations to operate at. We secured with a lot of time, effort and energy, our first contract with the Navy to put trucks on bases. This was the launching point for us. We then used that to leverage other types of accounts from Universities to B&I, hospitals, and casinos.
Take us through the process of designing and launching the business.
My partner and I were fortunate enough to bring back a former employee that worked for us when we were pretty much-doing catering and events with the truck. She was well organized and very detail-oriented. This enabled us to help further develop the systems we started using into a more formal approach… We also decided there and then we would not be charging a membership fee to the trucks to belong to Food Fleet. We felt it was a conflict of interest to have the trucks pay us to belong. We would be beholden to them and not our clients. From there we then developed a vetting system that covered all the essentials of what we required for them to meet our client's needs. The principles included first and foremost food safety, then transaction times. Those two were key factors. We did not want it to take long for people to get their food. We then added over 50 more. The other major key was the insurance piece. Most trucks only carry the min required. And little to no one carried workman's comp. Most of our clients required a 5 million umbrella and WC. We were lucky once again to find Burnie Tappel the President of Cobbs Allen Insurance Burnie is a third-generation Lloyds of London insurer that only dealt with risk management. They were experts in Oil and Gas and risk Management. He liked the challenge of trying to insurance us nationally for what we were trying to do. He was able to help us find a policy that met our client's needs. We were then able to offer the clients a larger pool in which to choose. Having them to help us understand liability and indemnity issues along with a lot of other contractual obligations that would need to be met was critical. They have been a key part of our growth and a partner we couldn't do without. Once we had the basics secured, all three of us set out to accomplish different tasks. Carly worked on the website and booking platform we were going to use. Rudy worked on Logistics as well as local regulatory compliance issues operating in multiple states. I worked on the vetting systems, insurance piece and securing the contracts. I will tell you were ran more than we walked and had to clean up and fix more things along the way. We still are. Our financial model was a simple one, don't spend money we don't have or will have. We didn't take out a loan or even credit cards, We only used debit cards. Only 2 years ago did we get Credit cards and within the last 6 months got a second one. I understand the term other people's money but we didn't look to borrow or bring in investors. Not that we were not sure of what we had or what we were doing, we needed to understand better what we had and what we were doing. The model that we started with has changed and evolved many times over the years. Honestly, we didn't want to be beholden to anyone.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
While there were others doing what we were doing, I noticed early on what the key difference was. Others were in the booking / Broker business, and the tech business. Most if not all of them were not in the hospitality business. This is the key factor. Being in the business for 35 years I understood what our customers and clients really wanted and needed. I knew how to come up with solutions for their problems. We were in the hospitality business, were in customer service. It's what this business really is. Working on trucks and understanding how to operate then for many years really helped us. Understanding how to use my experience, and being able to relate that to our clients made the difference. I came to find out more than anything that even to this day no one really understands the business and more importantly they don’t want to. Our first real call for consulting along with design and build came from my old Olympic team manager. He was the Sr VP of food and beverage for Pinnacle entertainment at that time. They operated 19 casinos. He also had been the Corporate chef for Disney, opened Epcot, Sr VP at Darden for Red Lobster, CEO of the California Culinary Academy, worked in a leadership role at Levy Restaurants. He called me because he had no understanding at all of the food truck business and needed help. He is one of the most brilliant talented people in the hospitality business and he called me for help. I realized more and more that this was the norm. Most thought in the traditional manner of Brick and Mortar, when it came to start-up costs, daily costs P&L. it is not the same at all and that where most go wrong. For lack of a better word, I was able to crack the code and translate it into language they could understand. More importantly, they did not want to have to deal with the trucks or the owners. They were happy to have someone else do it for them that they knew understood what they wanted and needed. We provide world-class customer service. The highest quality mobile food solutions for events and catering were professional and respond to all inquiries by the end of the day no matter what. We pick up the phone and talk to people to connect with them, as well as better understand their needs. Our employees are not allowed to text or email clients or vendors until they have spoken to them and established a relationship with them. All our staff comes from the hospitality business they aren't salespeople or tech people, they all have worked in restaurants, B&I, hotels, etc. How can we truly help our clients when we don't understand their business. We fully understand their financial models and requirements. We then expanded into Design and Build food Manufacturing and consulting. Due to my background, network and expertise we were able to grow our business exponentially. When we got on the phone with clients they not only understood that we knew what we were talking about. They had trust in us to take care of their needs no matter what. Of course a lot of things we had some limited experience in the beginning. But I knew if we said, we could deliver we would. More often than not, my team has to hold me back from bringing in more business.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
I have to assume everyone exaggerates and embellishes here a bit. But the truth is the future looks bright. We are tightening up all our standard operating procedures and our quality assurance specs along with our policies. Since every client is different this is a constantly changing and evolving area that we work on weekly. Implementing new policies and procedures goes along with that. Things come up all the time that we address and add into our policies and procedures We have been preparing for a large expansion for the past year and are working toward taking that next step. We are not the same as any other business. We have a number of different models and services based strictly on each client and location account. No two of our client's contracts are alike, so we have to be able to adapt to their individual needs. This makes having the same margins a bit more difficult. Our model is scalable and can be done globally and we are working toward that goal.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
Start with a partner that has your back, this is step one. My partner is the most loyal honest person I have ever met. I am lucky to call him my friend and partner. We both have struggled financially and emotionally through this whole process. We both have ebbed and followed when one of us was going through a rough patch the other picked up the slack no questions asked. Then bring in a team of caring and passionate people that love this business and understand what it means to be in it. This will help you avoid a lot of mistakes. When you find the right person to vest them in with benchmarks and goals. It was the best decision my partner and I made. Now we have a core team where each of us has finally developed into our roles and each complement the others skill set. That doesn't happen too often. While we have made a few mistakes they were all short term ones. For example, taking an account that we felt was going to do well financially and it failed miserably and quickly. That comes back to one of the lessons. We do learn by our mistakes. At this point, we have pretty much seen it all. We can tell our clients what the pitfalls are as well as the pinch points. Lost money made money hired the wrong web developer, hired the right one small little things. Dumb luck, being at the right place at the right time. That honestly has been one of our biggest assets.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
We have tried a number of them and currently, our VP of Ops found us a platform that we use. She has been able to make it work for us till now. We will have our own tech platform within 60 days. This will be a game-changer. Our business is so unique we have tried to find third party solutions but nothing that has worked for our needs. We have spent 2 years searching for a solution and finally decided to do it ourselves. This is once again where dumb luck and being in the right place at the right time comes into play. I found our builder, Freshin Up while having a bowl of Ramen in the Tokyo airport. We were at the counter eating and talking to the guy next to us, and it came out what he did. We continued to talk until my flight was leaving. He was heading to Thailand and I just came from there. We connected when we got home. I sent him the specs of what we needed, and they were the only company that truly understood our needs. They got what we were trying to accomplish and had a team that we're able to think the way we did.
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
Both my partner and I were fortunate to be around the great Phil Jackson on a daily basis. He was more than me. That being said, Phil was an inspiration, along with countless other mentors and friends. They have been way more influential to me than any book or podcast. Chefs and Coaches are in many ways exactly alike. They both lead a team of people. They both have to train, coach, mentor, listen, care, and teach. They are only as good as their weakest link. Chefs also say we are only as good as our last meal. They succeed and fail daily, learn from it and move on. Chefs, coaches, and players all have good and bad days, when you go home at the end of the shift or game it's over. Tomorrow is another day you get to prove yourself again. It’s great. When I was an apprentice there was a banquet chef named Jimmy Wong. Jimmy was the finest banquet chef I have ever known. The Century Plaza where I trained served on average 3,000 meals a day in banquets. It was the flagship of the Westin hotel. The Corporate chef brought Jimmy to the hotel when it opened as one of his anchors. Jimmy was from Hong Kong by way of Vancouver Jimmy was a legend, to say the least. Every Chef that wanted to be an executive chef for Westin had to come through Jimmy's station, if he did not give them the thumbs up they never were promoted. Were talking about some of the most iconic chefs of the day. All thinking they knew more than him and wondering why they had to have his approval. Most learned quickly that they were not in his league and couldn't keep up. The corporate chef knew the real money in every hotel came from banquets without that they would fail and lose money. Banqueting supported most of the specialty and fine dining restaurants in the hotel. If the chef didn't get that then they were out. Jimmy was fearless doing 1000 breakfast and 1000 lunches or more by himself almost every day. When I first started at the hotel they had me in one of the restaurants. Every day when I came to work I would clock in and go and say hello to Jimmy, then go to work. The others always said Jimmy is a hard ass, he won't show you anything, he is old school send you to go get something, then make the sauce while you were gone. I was not going to let that happen to me, I realized it was more often times the lack of respect they paid him. I found out Jimmy's routine every morning like clockwork he would show up at 5:50 am set up his station, then clock in at 6 am and go get a cup of coffee and sit for 10 minutes to figure out his day. At 10 am he would take lunch no matter how busy. I would come in and watch how he set up, draw diagrams of where the pots and pans went and what he would do to get ready. On my first day working at Jimmy's station, I came in at 5 am and set up the station. When he walked in at 5:50 it was ready to go. He smiled from ear to ear, he checked it and then clocked and invited me to go have coffee with him. Needless to say, he taught me everything I know about large events. This comes back to another lesson I learned from him. If he didn't respect someone or thought they were a shitty cook, he would call them a shoemaker. One day I asked Jimmy why. He said because they stopped learning and caring about being a good cook or chef. If you stopped caring and learning about cooking you were done with that, then you might as well become a shoemaker since your not going to be a cook anymore. Lesson don't rest on your laurels or past always be willing to keep learning. You will never know it all. The real joy is learning something new. I have been going to MIT for the last year to recruit as well as learn. Nothing has made me happier than to have the ability to be around such brilliant creative minds. The future of everything is there. I am lucky to have the opportunity to take advantage of it.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
Do what you say you’re going to do. Never apologize unless you have a solution to the issue. Otherwise, it's just an empty apology. No one wants to hear that unless you can follow that up with what you're going to do to fix the reason you're apologizing for. My father taught me two important lessons that I live my life by. “Be nice to everybody, give them the shirt off your back, but if they fuck you, hang them by their balls.” That is simple direct and to the point. “Pick the hill you want to die on.” That means is that battle worth going down for, or do you let it go and move on. There are a great number of them that you will say that's the hill, but make sure it is for something your willing to lose it all for. Only care what your friends and family think the rest doesn't matter. Never let others drag you down. Try and lead whenever possible, following leads to mediocrity, and zero creativity. Always look at the whole chessboard and think 5 years ahead, Certain things you need narrow focus on, but someone has to think long term and strategy. If you cant you will get passed by very quickly. There is always someone that is going to try and copy you or take it to the next level. It's the nature of all things, stay ahead of them by being an innovator and not a follower. Be willing to go all in, and not worry about failing. I throw 100 things at the wall, and from that, I really do get a few amazing ideas. Just because it didn't work at that time doesn't mean it wasn’t a good idea. Be willing to hear everyone out on any crazy idea they have. That what changes the world. If you can figure out how to make money and do the right thing, there is nothing better. You will be a lot happier and create a more sustainable business. If you work and care about what you do, the money will come, it always does. Always hire people that are smarter than you, and you won't have to work as hard. Always bring a gift with you to give to whoever your meeting, and make it personal from you. Not something generic. If you make something special, then make it for them, it shows you care. Lastly, “have fun, laugh a lot, enjoy what you do” otherwise why bother. If I can't have a good time doing it the chances are others won't as well.
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
Were always looking to hire when the right person comes along. We want talent creative innovative people that want to have fun enjoy life be a part of the greatest industry in the world. I tend to go to MIT and try and talk kids out of going to work for investment bankers, private equity, etc. Bringing food always helps at the job fair.
Where can we go to learn more?
Your local post office wall, or the Cook county correctional facility
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