Why Most Restaurants Fail and How to Pack Your Venue | Felix Sama Podcast #6

This week, we sit down with David Klemt of KRG Hospitality for a candid conversation about why so many venues struggle to attract customers, create consistent traffic, and build successful event nights.

If you're a venue owner, promoter, DJ, entertainer, or anyone involved in the hospitality industry, this episode is packed with valuable insights, real world strategies, and practical takeaways. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

The Felix Sama! Drop in it right about now.

SPEAKER_01 0:07

What's going on, Mi Hente? It's another DJ Felix Sama podcast show. And if you're a bar owner or manager or you're an FMB, let me tell you, you're gonna want to listen to this podcast because we're gonna spit out a lot. I mean, a lot of valuable information how to pack a place with hospitality strategy and keep your customers on repeat, which is really one of the most important things. KRG hospitality works with bars, restaurants, hotels, nightlife venues, lounges, and entertainment spaces. Some of their work focuses on venue content development, hospitality strategy, guest experience operations, brand positioning, programming, revenue improvement, uh, team systems. What don't you guys do? Seriously. With me right now, I've got David Clinton from KRG Hospitality Company. Like I tell you, they help these guys. They help, you know, and a lot of people don't even know that this service exists. Yes, there is a consulting firm that can help you with your bar, restaurant, lounge, whatever you may have that you're struggling with. Um, Dave, you've been in the business for a while, man. Welcome to the show, first and foremost. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 1:27

Thank you for having me. I'm I'm doing great. How are you?

SPEAKER_01 1:30

Amazing, bro. Like this, this is the kind of talk I like talking. You know what I mean? I like I like club talking. You know, I'm I I'm a I'm a DJ by trade, right? I've done radio my whole my whole life and TV. Um, I've helped venues pack, you know, from 500 to 1500 people. Um, we've done the big concerts, and um there's a lot of things that happen behind the scenes that people really don't pay attention to, and I want to bring some of those things to life. You know what I'm saying? So you you bring a rare mix of nightlife experience, hospitality, strategy, media insights, consulting knowledge, and all of that. So I say that because I want to fireball some questions to you, man. Um, and and I've always said a DJ is not there to play songs, the DJ programs the emotional temperature of the room from your side. How does entertainment affect guest experience and revenue?

SPEAKER_00 2:28

I mean, that's the million-dollar question, isn't it? How do you get that million dollars with the from all your guests? And a big part of that is programming, and that's also the guest experience, which if you don't nail the guest experience, you won't have guests. But entertainment, I mean, this this works for essentially every category. We look to to nightclubs because we think, okay, entertainment, programming, big show, big party, but a promotion is programming, and your your menu is part of your promotion, it's part of your your billboard, if you will, to bring people in. So it's all programming and there's entertainment possibilities everywhere. And it doesn't have to be always over the top. Like you and I have talked before. I to put it in buckets, I look at spectacle and I look at scene. It's it's a very simplified way of looking at it. But spectacle, look at the $10 million supposedly build-out for the Omni A chandelier that comes into the crowd, it dances, it lights up, it fogs everybody. People love that when it comes into the crowd and fogs them. But then look at, you know, uh a Denver nightclub that has a dope drum and bass night that's more scene, where those guests know that spot. They're in the community, they support the community. This is where other communities come to support each other, they gather, they that's their spot that takes a while to build spectacle. That's you know, Miami, Las Vegas, Chicago, those kinds of nightclubs where these are largely driven by one-off parties on paper, but they are constantly doing these huge parties because it's the spectacle that keeps people coming in, and that's why I kind of separate them because spectacle is very expensive for an operator. Scene is expensive in a different way because you have to retain all these people. So entertainment really can't be explained simply, and there are so many facets to it, but it can make or break you, and it does solidify where you are in the industry. I also break it down into different types of institutions when you achieve that status. Are you a spectacle institution? Are you precision? Or are you a soft institution, which is not a not an insult to call somebody soft in that case, because that means that you are an anchor in your community. People know you're there, they come to you, they trust you. That's the big thing is that they trust you with their time and their money and their experience. Spectacle is, you know, a big nightclub or a a really cool boutique hotel that has staying power, where precision is like look at like Death and Company. There really wasn't, you know, a a if you want to call it a chain of cocktail bars before. There's chain restaurants, and that took them a decade to start expanding. That's precision, that's patience. So there's all these different aspects of nightlife and entertainment and just the the categories within nightlife. Like I said, a restaurant can be a nightlife.

SPEAKER_01 5:41

Yeah, without a doubt. They they they could have you know different themed out nights. Now, has has the style of the way nightclubs operate changed since you know 15, 20 years ago? Um, I I know I've heard conversations of people telling me, well, these young kids, man, they ain't really drinking like they used to. You know what I'm saying? Like these kids, they're all they're doing is drinking water and soda. So we're jacking up the prices on that in order to, you know, compensate for for not. So what are you seeing out there? You're you're in the war zone every day, bro. Like, what are you what you seeing out there, bro?

SPEAKER_00 6:16

It's it's interesting what's going on. I would say festivals have really changed nightlife because in certain destination markets, which I don't even like that phrase. I don't like you know, primary, secondary, tertiary. It's kind of disrespectful to to do that to other markets, but you know, people are younger people in particular are experiencing nightlife and artists differently. They have no problem going to a festival and spending three days listening to their favorite artists, they're just running around in fields and it gets crazy. And I think some of that does then translate to their expectation in a nightclub. It's like, well, why can't I have something similar to that? I just saw Sophie Tucker at a at a festival. Why can't they do that show in this nightclub? And why can't I treat the same? Why do I have to get dressed up and do VIP to get a good experience? I want to wear you know shorts and cool shoes and a casual top that still looks good and treat this like a festival. And as far as the drinking, one of my really good friends in this industry, just a good friend and a cool guy, Fine Sedgwick, he's one of the people behind Baxis, B-A-X-U S. They they deal with high-end spirits and kind of auctions, but also they verify that these things are real, but they study these trends because they have to. I mean, it's it's the it's their industry. And they don't necessarily agree, and Finn doesn't really agree that people are drinking less, they're drinking differently. And so that's another part of this whole angle with entertainment and promotions. Do you know your identity as the operator and your brand? Does your team understand that? Do you know your guests? And do you know why you're doing this promotion or throwing this party? And do you know which guests you're targeting with it and the ROI you want from that? So, yeah, you have a cool menu. Have you looked at it in the past three months, the past six months, the past 12? Does it still relevant? Are people not really buying what you're selling because it's the wrong mix? So when you look at your mix, if something's not selling, get rid of it. Like, I'm sorry that your repens are gonna be happy with that, but they have to adapt with you too. Like, all right, I'm sorry, but I'm not you know, I'm not gonna say any brands, but you know, X brands flavored vodka is not moving. Well, then we don't like discounting, but figure out a way to get rid of that product and still get some money back on it and don't bring that back.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

Talk to your why would you want it on the menu if it's not selling? That makes no sense whatsoever. But it happens. I don't know, if it's a high-priced liquor, and every now and then, even though it's expensive, it sells. You know what I'm saying? Like maybe in that scenario, I I might keep it on the menu. But besides that, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:15

But it happens, and there's and there's different reasons, you know. Maybe one of your managers got hooked up by this rep because he brought this in, or you know, yeah, maybe it does happen, or you know, it's this rep just really is a good salesperson, and they're like, no, no, you trust me, this is the the hot thing. But you have to go into your numbers, you have to go into your data and go, okay. Let's make this simple green, yellow, red. Green are rock stars, these sell, these make me money, awesome. Even like you said, if it's occasional, but it's you know, it's ace of spades, and you can sell it for a thousand dollars at the table or more. Great, then keep it. If it's not really costing any money to have that on the shelf or in your lockup, great, who cares? If it's yellow, maybe this was a really high performer at one point, it's starting to slip. So, hey, let's keep an eye on that. Let's maybe do a promotion around this. Again, we don't like discounting, it's just giving away money. So, figure out how you can bundle this or draw people in with it, get the rep involved.

SPEAKER_01 10:11

Listen, most venues do not have a location problem, they have an entertainment problem. The night feels slow, the music misses the crowd, the lighting feels way flat, the promotion is weak, the room has no clear identity. That's where Dama Entertainment Consulting comes in. I'm Felix Dama, we help nightclubs lounges, restaurants, and venues turn slow nights into signature nights. We study the room, we identify the right audience, we build stronger theme nights, we bring in the right DJs, live dance, hope, and entertainment. We improve the sound, lighting, visuals, music programming, marketing, promotion, and customer experience because a great night is not one thing. It is the right mix of energy, strategy, talented, productive and promotion. When the room feels alive, people stay longer, they spend more, they come back and they bring their friends. Stama Entertainment Consulting gives your venue a real entertainment strategy. That guesswork. If your venue has flownights, empty dance floors, weak themes, or no reason for people to return. Let's fix it. Book a venue strategy call today. Stama Entertainment Consulting. Let's pack your place.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

Then get rid of it. It's just taking up space in your lockup on your back bar, and it's not making you money. It's costing you money because it's just sitting there. You already paid for it. So figure out a creative way to get rid of it. If you have to discount it, then fine. Like figure something out. But you you'd be surprised. But this goes into everything. Look at your numbers, look at what you're doing. If something's not working, then sure, do an autopsy, figure out why it's not. But while it's not working, figure out if you're gonna save it or just move on. Like that's that's really what it comes down to. But as far as the drinking issue, you have to even be careful with your what you're charging for waters. I mean, some venues, you know, we do not hand out you know anything but bottled water, and you're gonna pay for that bottled water because it's bottled water, and we only maybe hand out a glass of water if you know not necessarily the operator maybe overserved. Yeah, I mean, yeah, they they came in overserved. It's not your fault, perhaps, but okay, we caught this. This person needs to be slowed down. In this case, maybe we'll, you know, move them somewhere where they are kind of by themselves, still being observed, but you know, somewhere safe, but maybe they don't need to set the ball right now because they're not having a great time. And yeah, they can have a glass of water. We gotta you know try to help out here. But you know, charging there's a there's a place in Vegas right now that's in some hot water because they are asking for community support because they're struggling. But when they started changing some things up, which I think caused the struggle, they also started charging people quite a high price for bottled water. And people got mad and like, well, I'm not coming back now. Because like you already have these high prices here. I'm not giving you almost 10 bucks for a water, like, absolutely not. I'm not doing that, or not like a little bottle of water.

SPEAKER_01 13:21

Yeah, so it's just gonna be for a bottle of water to build it. That'd be the first.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

Like, you you really have to know your guest, and you have to know why. Like, why this party? Why this?

SPEAKER_01 13:41

Here you go. Give me the facade that that water is extra, extra.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

Here's your water, and I but hey, if you have a cool presentation for your water, like this is a an aside, but no joke. Like, five, six years ago, Francesco La Francone, a big cotton guy, but huge in the the global scene, took me to a water tasting. And I was like, there is absolutely no way that there's a a water somalier and a water tasting. Nope, I'm wrong. There are water somaliers and there are all these details.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

I I believe it. Alkaline, you got all different types of water, spring water, you know what I mean? Like, they're all out there, man. So yeah, I I think that makes a difference.

SPEAKER_00 14:24

Yeah, and do a presentation then. Like, I would laugh. Like, you've been in nightlife. I've I've been and I'm in nightlife. If you sat me in VIP and you brought me a really cool water presentation, I'm laughing, I'm taking pictures, and I'm telling everybody like you have got to get the this water presentation. It's hilarious. Yeah, I can see that happening.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Now, when I when I go into a venue and I do my throwback nights, I focus on the DJs, the live band, predominantly the entertainment, and then I focus on the visuals. Um, we focus on the sound. If there's needs to be an upgrade, we have sound companies that we work with RCF, uh Daz, there's quite a few of them that we work with. Those are two of our favorite ones. Um, and I know every DJ in South Florida, so I know exactly if I'm not gonna be doing the event, who to put in there to fill the room, providing obviously the promotions and marketing um is executed properly, which we handle as well. So promotions, marketing, DJ, light sounds, and visuals is what I focus on. What do you guys mainly dig in when you first get into a venue? Like, how do you dissect it and dissect it? And and and then the other question is um how much consideration do you take in how much do you take into consideration what an owner, what type of theme that an owner wants to do versus what he should do?

SPEAKER_00 15:54

So this is a pretty big question. So I for us, so I'm gonna try to narrow this down. So a lot of times during assessments, we've already been in conversation, we've already been gathering documents, we actually create access points to trade information back and forth so we can even do this remotely. But a lot of times, my business partner Doug Radke, who is headquartered in Toronto, he's the founder, he's been doing this since 2009. He'll be pouring over financials because, of course, we're gonna learn a lot through the financials, and we have to know where you need help really. And a big part of that is let's look at the revenue. Where is it going? Where are we missing this? And when I come in, particularly for nightlife, yeah, I'm gonna look at your audio system, I'm gonna look at your lighting. I want to talk to the people who are running both. If it's the same person, fine, but I'm gonna try to figure that out. I want to know the zones. Like, how does this is anything blown? Is anything off? Are levels not doing well? I had a I have a client that one of the venues, the DJs are constantly redlining, and it it drives them nuts, and it happened in front of me three or four times. They're like, you need to turn it down. Like they kept being like, Yeah, sure. And then 30 seconds later, it's up again, and there is a spot where there was that the music was really harsh, and that will drive somebody, as you know, out of the venue, out of the space, takes them out of the experience. Oh, yeah, it can make them feel sick or anxious or even angry, and they associate that not with the DJ and not with the music, it's the operator's fault. Like, I don't like how I felt here. This place isn't good. So I'm looking at that, I'm observing, so I'm watching how the servers are interacting with guests, interacting with each other, interacting with leadership. I'm watching leadership. It's you've seen casino, it's like you know, the the pit boss is watching the dealer, and the eye in the sky is watching everybody, and I sort of have to be the eye in the sky when I'm doing an initial assessment because I need to watch what's going on. I'm watching guests. Are the general admission guests having a good time? Are they interacting with each other? Are they joking around? Are do they look happy like they're having fun when they're interacting with staff? Does anything change in the demeanor? I'm watching all of this, I'm watching the VIPs. Like, are these VIPs are they actually bored right now? Are they just trying to look like they are too cool for this spot? And I'll I'll even walk up and introduce myself and be like, hey, I you know, work with the venue, I just have a couple questions, and I can suss out pretty well. Like I've I've been that directly, do you like working here? Because I've I've seen some people like you know, they maybe you're just having a bad day. And that's the other problem with this, is not problem, but it's something we have to keep in mind. If I'm assessing you on that night, that's a snapshot. I'm I'm upset, I'm assessing you know, this four-hour window, if let's call it that window, and maybe your server is this is their ninth day shift in a row. They are they are so close to burning out, and so I have to take that into account. So I'm you know, I'm talking to leadership about each person, like, hey, you know, I noticed this. Is this person usually like this? Or you know, who are your rock stars? Who are you having maybe some issues with? You know, is there any gossiping going on? I'm trying to figure out all of this during assessments, and that's also why these are ongoing. We're having conversations, you know, whether it's through Zoom or phone calls, or I'm in your venue, Doug's in your venue, like we're doing in-persons. It's it's a lot of information gathering. So we're looking at every aspect. If you are a brand new operator, like you want to build this from the ground up and you come to us.

SPEAKER_04 20:00

Entertainment. Entertainment.

SPEAKER_00 21:19

We are not starting with a business plan. We are pressure testing your concept before we really see you spend any money. Because we our our goal really, and I'm sure a lot of strategists have said this, but we are trying to protect your money, and we are trying to increase the survival rate for all of hospitality. Because it's it's brutal out there, it is cutthroat. I know consultants who say we don't have competitors, we're all peers, and I'm sorry, but you have competitors. And in some cases, not even the ones you think but are your competitors. But the last thing we even do is a business plan, so we're looking at everything. So we're you know. We're assessing your personality. Like, and it's not a not a bad thing. There's not a there's not really someone who I would say you should not be in this industry. It's how do you fit in this industry? So, you know, if you want to be the the cool person who's like, wow, like that guy or that woman owns a a nightclub, and it's like the hype the hot nightclub here, and you're gonna be the cool person, you can be that person, but you also have to be honest where maybe you don't really know operations or you don't know hospitality, then you have to let work with us to help you build the team that lets you be the face, and let's be honest, the person signing the checks, and the operations are handled by other people, and the hospitality is trained by people who know it alongside us so that we can get everything right.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

So it's everything you help with the staffing, uh the hiring of the management team, and you all the nuts and bolts. You guys just go in, ham, and and you, you know, if that's what someone wants.

SPEAKER_00 23:07

I mean, some people like the team. Oh yeah, some people like I have my it's actually one of our it can be one of our biggest nightmares is to hear I already signed a lease. And it's like, oh, okay, well, then we have this, we hope this is the right spot because that's another part of what we do really early on, is we do feasibility studies, which is beyond what we call our roadmap, our roadmap pressure tests. And that's like, okay, is this concept the right concept for this place? And let's look at, you know, kind of cursory does this work. But a feasibility study, we look at here's, you know, as an example, here's the total accessible market. That this is everybody who lives here, and then it's okay, of these people, this is realistically, and we do a lot of conservative numbers because we don't want to go, oh, look at how impressive your spot's gonna be. You should definitely spend more money. That's not how we do this. It's conservative numbers. If you beat those numbers, awesome. That's fantastic. We want to see that. But then it's of this total market, this isn't realistically who you're actually targeting, and of that target, this is who you're gonna get, and this is maybe how often you're gonna get it. So it gets that granular, and like I said, the business plan is the last thing we even generate for you because we want to get through everything else, so we have all of this information. It does look overwhelming at first, but the business plan is really another map, and that is not just for the bankers, not just for investors, but that when we hand everything off to you, it's overwhelming. It is this is an overwhelming business, especially for a new person or a new venue. Even if you're a veteran operator, a new spot, this is new. You can look at it and go, okay, where am I supposed to be? And it actually also informs you, not just the investors, of where you're supposed to be. So it's a it's it's all intermingled.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

Hospitality is very hard to it. You know, how long it's gonna take to get a certain percentage of a profitability right now.

SPEAKER_00 25:10

Oh, yeah, we do projections, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

So what what would you say would be a a comfortable profit margin uh for for a business owner that hires you on? What are you looking to get them so that they're in a safe space and not working 24 hours a day? You know, what what what what's what's the outcome?

SPEAKER_00 25:30

That's the big one, is also what you just said about their time, but I'll I'll address margins first. And I mean right now we're looking at what people are trying to get, you know, four to six to eight percent profit margin, which and that that's that's considered like okay, well, at least you're there. I mean, we would like to see 12%. We'd love we'd love to see 15%. If we can get above that, then I think we have more than paid for for what we uh what you've had to to bring us on for. I mean, ideally, we want to be over 20%, but that is that's a that's all systems firing perfectly and being incredibly systemized, and that is following a set plan, but also constantly looking at your numbers and analyzing things. I mean, a business plan has to be updated. And a lot of operators don't do that. That that's not hospitality, that is most industries. Are that once the business plan gets funded, let's call it, that doesn't get pulled out again. Like that not by most people, but yeah, that's a living document to us. It's like, okay, what has changed that is now affecting this business model? Is it good or bad? And now how does that change our mission? How does that change every system really within this? So that needs to be updated with leadership and need to be brought in the conversation and say, okay, how are we gonna adapt to this? And a huge part of that is what you just said: not having to live this business 24-7. Because if that is what happens, you have not given yourself your dream, you have given yourself a job, and a very difficult job, and in a lot of cases not a rewarding job because if you can't step away, your employees get to step away. It's it's brutal. So we we tell our and it is you don't get it, you know, within the first three months, but our goal, one of our goals, is to be able to have an operator at first take a week-long vacation. Like, which a lot of operators right now are probably rolling their eyes or they're laughing, like, I can't take a week off. It's like that's a problem. And then really another huge goal is that what if you could take two weeks off a year and not have to check in on your email. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

What if you can if you're delegating the right way, there's no reason why you can't do it whenever you want, bro. You know what I mean? You have to be replaceable. That's the way I look at it, man. You have to be replaceable.

SPEAKER_00 28:08

That's another big part of it.

SPEAKER_01 28:09

It doesn't solely rely on you. Um, that's the I think that's the best business model to have, as far as I'm concerned. And here's the other thing just because the place is packed does not mean that it's making profit. So uncover that a little bit. And how how is that and what needs to be fixed in that scenario?

SPEAKER_00 28:30

So I I've written some articles addressing this, and as has Doug, and he's got his own podcast. It's it's I have a podcast too, but it's talking to guests, and Doug addressing our hacks and his name for uh Doug's first book, and I took over when I when I came on, and and my format is more I'm interviewing others, just like you're doing. I mean, I'm curious about every aspect, so I want to bring in all types of people. I just spoke with Allegory DC, and you know, I've talked to all different spirits brands and chefs and operators, but busyness is it's a trap. And we've talked about this in articles. I've got something coming out where I'm addressing this directly, but yeah, it it looks like you know, you you walk out of the office, and really another trick here is you need to have set office hours for your leadership team. They cannot be locking themselves in during peak hours. They need to be watching your floor and interacting with guests and staff and other leadership. But busyness is a trap because you're like, look at this place, it is wall to wall. There's a line outside of people who legitimately can't get in right now because I would be getting a visit from the fire marshal and I don't want that. I must be killing it.

SPEAKER_07 29:49

And it can be tempting to be like, well, I don't want to look at my numbers because partially the ultimate ticket master, ultimate dance and free stuff like it. Friday, August 28th, though. For more information, go to dancenowamerica.com.

SPEAKER_00 31:09

Maybe that's not a habit that you have, but also partially because we don't want that illusion shattered. Like, I want to be the best business person. I don't want to look at my numbers and go, oh man, yeah, we were packed, but we did not make anything per square foot. We didn't make anything per guest. We got propped up by some VIPs, and that's great, but we have to look at okay, like, did we not should we have done a pre-sale? So we have revenue coming in before we even have people forming our line before our doors are open. Are we charging enough at the door? What do our numbers look like because of what we're charging? Have we actually decided we're gonna put two bucks more on every drink on this menu rather than targeting specific drinks for a specific reason? And now our numbers are down because people are like, I'm not that's the threshold. I am not paying that much for your drinks. I'll pre-game before I get here, I'll take an edible. Like before I give you guys this extra two dollars for drink, and it and it happens.

SPEAKER_01 32:09

So business taking an edible.

SPEAKER_00 32:14

I mean, I'm not gonna judge people's decisions, it's all good for you. It's it's this happens. It's another it is one of the reasons that people point to saying people aren't drinking because they're you know doing this, and it's like they still want to drink, it's they want to drink better, and that's been a a trend since the cocktail revolution or the renaissance, you know, from 2006, people have gotten smart, they want to drink better, they want to feel less of a hangover because they were drinking cheap stuff. It's not you drank too much, it's usually the additives in whatever you're drinking are way beyond what you should be consuming, you know, the number that you're consuming, and that's why you don't feel very good. But busyness is a trap. You actually have to look at all your data. Like, are you doing uh a Y report? You know, looking at snapshots throughout the night, and when you Z out, are you really digging in and doing a shift report? Like, do you have a shift log? Like, hey, you look at fine dining, and you can you can learn a lot from fine dining as far as just the sheer amount of data that they have collected for decades. I mean, handwritten in books that people would probably murder someone to get their hands on, you know, back in the day because that is that valuable. They have all types of information in there. They'll put the weather in there. Like, this is the weather, this is who came in, this is what got spent on, this is how much money we made, this is what we made in profit, like this is what the costs were. They have all this. You can do the same exact thing with the POS, it's just that you have to know what to pull from a POS system because that's gotten daunting. Because it's it went from we can get some data to here's all of the data, and you probably don't need all of this data, so now you have to figure out how you're gonna set this up, which is where having a POS partner that comes in is very valuable, and you can absolutely negotiate for that, and you should be. You shouldn't just pick this POS because my buddy said it works, and then they're not, and then they don't you know commit to coming in to do the install, to do training, and just sit down with your leaders and go, okay, this is how we think you should use it, this is the reports that you should get, this is the data that you're probably gonna want. And then if you're like, well, I also want this, how to get that, help you set it up. We have we have tech partners, but I will tell you this we do not put them in every project, and our partners know this. We do the best one for the client and what their needs are, and we will show them like three. Like these are the three we think working.

SPEAKER_01 34:42

Restaurants and clubs use Square as a feel. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 34:46

And in the a smaller cafe, I don't have a problem with that. You know, a a food truck, you know, they there's no problem with that. It's it's really it's what's best for your needs. Are you nightlife oriented? Smart Tab is great for that. They that's that's their bread and butter. They love nightlife, they understand it. They have made, you know, dipping cards and verifying identities super easy because they know, and and you know, and I know, that if you're trying to get that third bottle sale out of somebody, you'd want to remove as many friction points as you can. You want to have the host be able to walk over there and go, man, this party's awesome. I know you want another bottle of Ace of Spades, or I know you want another Periasia. What? And they're like, you know what? Yeah, I do. But if you have if they think about it too much, maybe they'll be like, I really don't need to do that, actually. So, you know, they're I hate to be the person who's like giving a trick, but you do want to remove friction points from those decisions. So there are POS systems and devices that just they remove a lot of the friction to make it smoother, which is the whole point of the guest experience, is just smooth and convenient, removing friction.

SPEAKER_01 35:51

You know, what's up to AI tools? What what are you seeing out there that's kind of like innovative, that people are using, that's kind of revolutionizing the nightlight game? Like what what are you seeing out there?

SPEAKER_00 36:03

AI is I can give you my personal journey with AI, is and you know, and and Doug thinks similarly. We we don't always think the same on things, even though we're business partners, but I was kind of a late comer. I was like, I I I see this taking jobs from people, and I don't like that idea. And even Doug was like, at first was like, if this is gonna because everything was like, oh, we're gonna automate your kitchen. Like you're gonna be able to use a skeleton crew in the kitchen, and you're gonna get all this food out. And I was like, well, I don't like that. I don't really want a robot taking someone's job. Like, that's that's not hostality, that's not what we're for. And then, you know, it became okay, this is not gonna go anywhere, it's only going to get more prevalent. So, how can we make AI make people's jobs easier so they don't lose their jobs so they can focus on what's actually important on the business? So, if I remove some of the admin work from your leadership team, can they be on the floor actually leading the team, observing, doing their job, which is to deal with guest complaints or any kind of friction, to de-escalate, to be networking, not just with VIPs, but with everybody just popping by tables, touching tables, talking to people, you know, observing the bar, doing all this work. Can they actually be working on the business if we remove some tasks? So, as far as AI goes, yeah, there are pretty much every POS now has AI, you know, integrated with it. CRN is great for that. Like, if you can sit there and create really effective groups and automate your marketing, that's the kind of AI that I love. Like, cool. This thing can do in seconds what it would take somebody who's even proficient with Excel, you know, hours to do. They can go, okay, who's got birthdays right now? What's their spend? What's an offer that we can target them with or any kind of special occasion? Or can we create buckets of our different guests and get them to return because we have return behavior now that we can analyze for that maybe a human wouldn't pick up right away? It's you know, can it be quicker and more efficient, but also accurate? You know, that's the big caveat is do we trust these AI platforms to give us accurate information that we can actually act on? But then it goes down to you know, there are POS that it will take a while, it'll take you know 90 days, 120 days, sometimes up to you know six months, but it's watching all of the the cashier interactions, it's watching the bartenders and what they're ringing in, and it will start looking for anomalies, and so it can start detecting if maybe someone's giving some stuff away they shouldn't be giving away, you know. This and maybe are they outright stealing, and it'll start flagging interactions and transactions, and it'll start flagging the people it's tied to, and that gives you somewhere to look. So it can protect your revenue, it can protect your time, which also protects your revenue, and it also can detect like help you detect am I actually busy or am I actually profitable? And obviously, you want to be both, but it can again help you avoid that trap. So I would look for AI tools that are already built into the platforms that you want to use. So not to name drop it again, but like SmartTab, they are one of the platforms that has invested in AI, and they are one of the platforms that will look for anomalies and transactions. And it's not just on the operation side, it'll look for problem guess. It'll be like, hey, this person, this is fraudulent behavior, and let's say you're a multi-unit operator.

unknown 40:00

Let's go, let's go!

SPEAKER_01 40:01

I'm DJ Sama, a legendary South Florida DJ producer and feel good specialist. From South Beach to Coconut Grove to Fort Lauderdale, I've played at the biggest venues, worked with major artists, and built unforgettable nights for years. Now I'm bringing that experience to venues that need to turn things around quickly. This is pack the place. Let's go, let's go! His name is Julio, and uh he happens to own this spot called Cafe 27. It's right off of Sheridan and U.S. Highway 27, and you know, he's been talking to me about possibly doing a night there, maybe like, I don't know, like once a month old night. You're cooked, alright. How do you turn a big bar into a freestyle destination? Then I came back on Friday night, and man, it was quiet. I'm talking crickets. The room was empty, the system looked real rough. This spot needs a full transformation. Uh the famous Felix Hallman. I can't wait to have this party. Freestyle Friday, I can't think freestyle. You know what? I'm super confident in your abilities. I know you're confident in my abilities. All I what do I always tell you whenever we go into the venue? All you gotta do is bring me the people, and they're gonna be repeat customers. I do all the time. Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That's not working now. And once that music started knocking, you can feel the shift. The energy changed. Needless to say, the food is changed as well in the place. At the start, I felt a little frustrated. Anytime you build something from the ground up, you feel that. You want the people to show up, you want the concept to connect, you want the room to catch fire. What used to be a dead Friday with four people turned out into over 500 people in the building. That was not luck, that was strategy, that was vision, that was execution. I'm DJ Stama. And when I step into your venue, I'm not there to place them all. I'm there to read the room, fix the weak spots, build the right vibe, and pack the plates.

SPEAKER_02 42:53

Back the place, back the place, back the plates, back the place, in your face, in your face, back the plates, back the plates.

SPEAKER_00 43:01

They've they'll tell you where they've been visiting. Like, hey, it's not just this location, they go other places and they do this. Like, so it can do things like that. So that's the kind of AI that I like. Would I want it to program you know my light show or like no? I I would like an AV person to do that, like to actually create something.

SPEAKER_01 43:23

It's still automated, but at least he's programmed in the sequence, you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00 43:27

Yeah, like and even like AI video, like if it's harmless because it's something cool that you know goes with the visuals for a certain DJ or a certain act, like, okay, maybe they do that. That really shouldn't be on the operator side, anyway. But like, that's the kind of AI that I have no problem with. I I don't want it if I really don't want it to be like, well, if I remove these tasks, can I dump more tasks on a different leader? Get rid of this person, and I just freed up, you know, this much annual revenue by tossing somebody, but I'm also Showing that I'm not loyal to my team, you will never really feel stable here. And if you are a leader who stays, you're staying because I'm giving you even more responsibilities, and that really is not conducive or healthy. Like, so that's the kind of AI that I don't like. But yeah, there are if you look up a POS now, you'll before you even type in, you know, does this platform have AI? It's probably on the website that they've got, like, yeah, we have AI integrated. This is how we use it. When you ask for the demo, you can ask, like, well, what are your AI tools? Why are these your tools? What do they do for me?

SPEAKER_01 44:39

It's just like using Claude or Chat GBT or Gemini, whichever one. You find the one that works for you, right? And you find the one that can do the job and do the thing that you want it to do and uh and that you're comfortable with, and and you know, that's that's the one that you should roll with. I'm an advocate. I think we should be controlling what the AI does and then having people manage it, you know what I mean, so that you can have agents and all the rest of that crap. But a question I have for you why do so many nightclubs fail when the music and drinks are good? What what what would be the problem? Is it is it the moving of the monies, um paying too much overhead? What what what do you see mostly happening when the music and the drinks are good? What do you see mostly failing on that?

SPEAKER_00 45:27

I'll put it this way there's there's no shortage of great ideas in hospitality and no shortage of creative people in nightlife. It's understanding your model and understanding your guests. Like, sure, the music is is awesome, but is it actually like is your programming that good or are you telling yourself it's that good? Your data will tell you, but also it's it can be going on autopilot, like man, I crushed it with this programming for two years now. It's like okay, but do your numbers support that this is actually still working? Has your guess count dwindled? If it has dwindled, why did it dwindle? Like, is it because the economy sucks? And I there's a very you know vocal person who has a TV show about you know consulting, and they'll tell you you can't use that as an excuse. But is the economy impacting your guest? Like, are you too expensive? Not because you're that expensive, but are you too expensive right now to get people in the doors? Like, if you look at what's going on, is your traffic down maybe because of pricing or just because people are having a tough time right now? And how can you address that? But a lot of times it really is not understanding your model and your market and your guests, or maybe you and maybe you did when you first started, but again, you didn't treat the system as a living being, so you haven't gone back and updated it. It's not a living document to you, your your business plan, your programming, you consider it settled. So I don't need to address that again. Like, we've talked before, and I can frame it this way like I am an OG drum and bass head. Like, Diesel Boy dropped a soldier story, I think, in '94. From him, I learned about LTJ Bookham. I learned they battled in London. Then I find, you know, Ed Rush and Optical, you know, I start going down the rabbit hole. If I were to open a nightlife venue without knowing what I know, I would want to bring drum and bass in. And I can tell you this, I love drum and bass, but that is not the biggest EDM community out there.

SPEAKER_01 47:33

It's not the preferred genre for the masses.

SPEAKER_00 47:36

So let's say like, and so let's let's say like I'm like, yeah, but I can make this work. Well, what do you mean by what do I mean by I'm gonna make it work? I'm just gonna flood the the communities with flyers, or I'm gonna hit social media and be like, you know, you have to be at this party and blah blah blah. Because I've been to drum and bass parties that sold out nightclubs off the strip, and I've been at parties in LA with like eight people because it's it's that hit or miss. So that's just an example of knowing your why and knowing your who, and another huge part of this is knowing your brand identity. So, does your brand identity communicate the awesome drinks and the awesome programming? Does that work? And are you doing it for the right reason? Are you doing it because you want this party? Or are you like, hey, the crowd wants this and I want their money? Let me just be perfectly blunt. I want their I want their business, so I'm gonna give them what they want, or is it I'm giving them what I want because I'm stubborn and I want to listen to this while I'm at work? I I don't want to attend this party myself. Like, okay, that's great. And that comes down to do you know your identity? And more importantly, does your team know it? Can your team explain what your nightclub is, what your cocktail bar is, your ultra lounge in less than three minutes? And that's that's a long time. But could they, if they were really passionate and they were really talking about your business, would they describe it properly? But can they also say it in one or two sentences and people go, yes, cool, that sounds awesome. I want to I want to go there. So yeah, your numbers might look great, and you might think your music is awesome, and maybe it is, and maybe your cocktails are killing it. So then it does become okay, let's do an autopsy here. Where are you bleeding your money? Like it's it's bleeding somewhere, so yeah, maybe it is overhead. And maybe you your team is too large on these nights, or you know, you have really bad purchasing power, like it's or you're not reinvesting properly, and that is a huge part of this is the reinvestment because we've all seen the bar owner who they're six months in, suddenly they're pushing an escalate, and it's like you can't be popularing all your profits, bro.

SPEAKER_01 49:59

Yeah, and even that's good, man. It's not you gotta reinvest into your company. That's your brand. You know what I mean? If you want it to last the time, the test of time, you got you gotta make it always shine and look good, man. That same thing, you know, now that we're on the subject, same thing with when you find a great DJ, when you find a great live band, when you find a great singer, you know what I mean? Don't don't dummy them down. You know what I mean? If they've done great for you and they've gave given you a year of successful nights, take care of them. Give them a nice raise, you know, when they're asking for extra money or you know, for uh increase in in salary. These people have brought you a lot of profits, you know what I mean? You gotta you gotta take care of your entertainers, man. You can't treat them like sweat hogs. It's it's just not gonna work for a long time.

SPEAKER_00 50:47

And you should actually help promote them for other venues. I don't it might even be in your market, they're gonna get another venue. Like if it's a if it's a one-off, let them be proud they got other gigs because now you can say this act started here, if if that's true. Like we we blew them up, and now you know they're traveling to Indianapolis, they're going to Nashville. You can go, yeah, this this act just was so popular at my spot that a Nashville bar asked them to come in, they got a gig, and we're gonna bring them back. And yeah, you I think it was it Fat Joe and Jada Kiss who said you know yesterday's price is not today's price on on their podcast. Like you have to you have to be fair. I was gonna say generous, but I mean some people are are only fair and fair is good, but like I said, investing you your goal should be at least 10% back into the business. I mean, you're you need to you need to commit to to a number and then follow it, and again, we can help you figure out what that number should be. We can look at the revenue and go, okay, you know our again, this is knowing your numbers. You have to know your numbers. Like, what did this band bring in on this night? How many people crossed our through our door? And what did they spend at the bar? What did they spend on the kitchen? How long were they here? I mean, that's a huge part of it. Do we get the second drink out of them? If we got that second drink, do we get the third one? Because that's fantastic. You get the third drink out of them, that's what we want.

SPEAKER_01 52:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:15

And are they coming?

SPEAKER_01 52:17

That that should be a no-brainer to get that third, fourth, fifth, and sixth drink sometimes. But uh, you know, I I I'm more of a hybrid DJ. You know, before it was just, you know, popular DJ, hey, Sama's gonna be at this club, boom, boom, boom. Now it's more like with me, it's DJ Sama. With DJ Sama comes promotions and marketing. So now I also have incorporated a promotions and marketing team within my brand. So now when you get me, it's obviously a different price point, but when you get me, you get the whole 360, where meaning that I'm going to handle the promotions and marketing. I will not be relying on you. I will not be relying on a promoter to bring my bodies in the room. I will be handling that. But that's just the way I'm doing my business model now. And it and so far it's it's working out real good.

SPEAKER_00 53:50

But that's rad. And also, I mean, that takes some marketing pressure off of the operators who hire you. They they still need to get an agreement with you and like, hey, these are materials that we're gonna promote, and this is you know, can you talk to you? Like, is this okay? How do you want to be promoted? Is this, you know, how we're gonna do this? But you know, again, that's this is relationships. So also with entertainment, depending on your form of entertainment, are you looking for up-and-comers, you know, who still are gonna have some local support? Are you looking for global acts? Like, who are you trying to get? What is your budget? And can you get creative with that? You know, there are acts that maybe you know, we're not talking about like Alessi or Tiesto, but there are still very popular acts that you can look at their tour schedule and you can see, like, hey, are they like midway between their last show and their next show and us? And if we reach out, you know, they have like you know, six days. Would they come to our spot even for like you know, a short, a shorter set?

SPEAKER_01 54:59

Whatever, you know what I mean? Something like you can promote or create a story from, get journalistic with it, you know what I mean? Don't just be like putting it on the flyer, hey, blah blah blah, it's performing. Find a way to tell a story, you know what I mean, about that journey of coming to your venue. You know what I'm saying? You gotta you gotta get a little theatrical with it, man. People love that, they love following journeys.

SPEAKER_00 55:21

And to your point right there, that's another, you know, when you point to the drinks are flowing and the music is great and the programming is solid, but we're hemorrhaging somewhere or something is is is wrong here. Yeah, get creative and tell your story. That is the other thing, is your brand has a story, and your team has a story, and your rock star people who are in front of your guests have stories. The brands that you feature have stories, your menu has stories. Absolutely, but the artists you're having entertain your guests have stories. Do you have all the storytelling potential, and you can absolutely extract that? It doesn't again have to be something extravagant. It can be, all right, we're gonna feature this brand. This brand has the story. Well, how can we tell this story and make it part of our story so it matches up a little bit to bring these reps in? And the reps obviously have a job also to help tell that story, but like, where are these stories? How do you tie in the community? Are you community rooted? Fantastic. Because if you can tell these stories and you can capture the market and you can capture these guests, that is so much more valuable than having to start from zero with every single promotion and try to get new guests. Every time you don't retain a guest, you are starting at zero for new ones.

SPEAKER_01 56:44

Yep. Yep, and that is the way you develop repeat customers without a doubt. So for people listening who own bars, restaurants, hotels, lounges, and entertainment spaces and need help tightening that concept, operations, guest experience of programming. Where should they go to learn more about KRG Hospitality and the Bar Hacks Podcast?

SPEAKER_00 57:06

So you can go to krghospitality.com. That's very easy. You can go to krg.hospitality on Instagram if you want to look up me specifically. It's david.ex.machina. I'm a car and motorcycle guy, so I thought that was clever years ago. So that's my personal Instagram. Uh bar hacks is just bar hacks on Instagram, and we have episodes on the KRG hospitality website under like the news and insights section. I do those twice a month. It drops on Tuesdays. Um, Doug's, he is, I will admit, he is a very busy person, and so his podcast is not always out on a set schedule, but you can look him up, KRG Hospitality and Doug Radke on YouTube, on Amazon Music, and Spotify. And then our vice president Jennifer Radke has a podcast called Turn This Way. Doug's, by the way, is called Hospitality Reinvented. I just totally skipped over that. Like you would all just know what that podcast is. But uh Turn This Way is more about mindset. We actually do mindset coaching, it has helped a lot of clients who feel overwhelmed. And I will drop it here. You are actually the first to know that we are launching a nightlife specific vertical, and that is KRG Nightlife, and that should be live in July, and that should just be krgnightlife.com.

SPEAKER_01 58:41

And that is gonna entail.

SPEAKER_00 58:43

So this is dedicated. So KRG Hospitality, the main website, while it is where podcasts and articles and a lot of our services live, is really for new operators with new concepts. And that's why you know we talk about the roadmap and feasibility studies and all what we call our playbooks into the business plan is because that's the whole journey from start to finish. Nightlife really is for nightlife operators, and that's you know, nightclubs, lounges, cocktail bars, you know, hotel bars, gentlemen's clubs. We are not afraid to consult on a gentleman's club. I know some consultants some consultants don't do it.

SPEAKER_01 59:27

I don't know if they think it's like uh I'm not gonna DJ at one anytime soon, but why wouldn't you be? And if I was single, I'd I'd do a guest spot. I'll tell you that in the heartbeat.

SPEAKER_00 59:35

I mean, I worked in one in Vegas for almost a decade. Like that that's also why I guess I'm uniquely positioned for that because I'm not I won't go in and stand, you know, jaw drop and stare because I'm in a strip club. Like I'm professional because it's it's just another nightlife venue to me. So it doesn't matter to me.

SPEAKER_01 59:53

What do you what do you uh you got any thoughts on um on Bar Rescue, John Tapper? I are you friends with him or or what do you think about that shit?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:01

Uh my only interactions with him have been very limited. Um I actually was the editor for Nightclub and Bar before it became the Bar and uh Restaurant Expo. And for a while he was on that team, and he was, I believe he held the title of president. And I tried to thank him initially for the for hiring me on, and he just kind of looked at me and nodded, and I was like, okay, we're not gonna have a conversation. And I will say this two of my very close industry peers and friends came from Bar Rescue, and that is Chef Brian Duffy. And I think we all know Chef Duffy is just a badass chef. He tells it like it is. He is one of our partners, you know. He we have him in our back pocket for menus and kitchen operations, like for the right job. He would we would absolutely bring him in. And he on my podcast several times. I we talked like an hour and a half. We we will not shut up because we just like talking to each other, and then uh another Michael Tips, I believe he was the first or second uh bar expert on bar rescue, but people have to remember, and I'm not you know slandering him at all, it's it is at the end of the day, it's a TV show, it's entertainment. And I like this if someone rolls up to a venue and they have a boom mic and there's lighting, it's not reality TV in the form of this is like cops or something, where it was like boots on the ground, we just guerilla marketed this thing, and we're just like kicking in your door and we're filming. Like, no, if there's lighting setup, then it's professional and someone has put a budget behind that and it's planned. I'm not saying you know the information isn't you know real or his opinions on hospitality aren't his opinions. I'm just saying if it's a TV show with marketing behind it, yeah, it's amplified, yeah. Yeah, so that's all I'll say. I mean, I people have a lot of opinions about him in the industry. I've watched rooms full of people nodded his keynotes, and I've watched people say not nice.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:09

Very successful, yeah, very successful, Paramount, you know, hundreds of shows now, the consulting, you know, thing as well. You know, I mean, the guy definitely made his mark and uh and is doing I I actually just bought his audiobook, so I'm gonna take a listen to that. I'll say this. I'm really I'm just curious. I I love the space, I really do. And you know, coming from the DJ producer's perspective and and jumping in and doing you know some consulting now and promotions and marketing. I I really I I actually I was inspired to start my own uh reality pilot, which I did, and it's called Pack the Place. And uh, you know, we we just shot our first episode. I used my Cafe 27 freestyle night that I'm doing as a prototype, and uh, I'm shopping it. We'll see what happens. I'll let you know.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:54

So to that point, like I will say this, and I would and I believe Michael Tipsa said this to me because he was on the show, and he was like, regardless of what anyone thinks in this industry of John Taffer, there is no question that he shined a different light on hospitality without a doubt, and made you know consulting in the space more viable because we've had people, you know, it's 2026, we have had people tell us we did not know there were consultants in hospitality, which initially blew my mind. I'm like, how do you not know that? It's like, oh well, if they're new to hospitality, why would they Google hospitality consultant when they don't know that people just do that? So, and and like you just said, like you are shopping something because he kind of helped make that possible. I was on a reality show, I don't really think I had screen time. I but there was uh one of the clubs I worked, ICE, in Las Vegas, says off the strip. It's the F1 uh paddock now in in Las Vegas. That was they had a uh a reality show with a weird storyline, but that's when I realized, oh, reality shows aren't reality shows. If you have a lighting crew and a storyline and boom mics and producers saying, you know, they'll listen to us talking and they go, Oh, can you say that again? And it's like, well, I don't even know what I just said. I was just having a conversation with my coworker. Like, what did you think we just said? Like, oh, can you say it this way? It's like, oh, I thought you wanted reality. You're telling me what to say. Okay, I get it. But I'm not saying that's how all reality shows are, but there is an element of that. Like, it just happens once something gets popular, executives want in and they want that their investment. But yeah, that that's all I really say about him. I'm not I have no personal beef with the guy or anything. It's just we have different approaches. I'm not gonna come into your venue, I'll tell you this. I'm not gonna come into your venue and scream at you. I have never raised my voice with a client. I have I broke up a fight at a client's bar at a well, is it a restaurant? It's an upscale restaurant, and people had been served too much, and it was mostly women on, and I could tell they were not gonna listen to the women managers who tried to break it up, so I broke it up and I got a little assertive with my voice. I don't even yell then. Like, it's just you know, I'm not gonna do that. I've had people think when I walk in the door, he's gonna yell at me. And I I think I asked one person, though, guys like, you're gonna yell at me, and I'm like, Do you want me to yell at you to the bartender? I'm like, I I can, but I'm not absolutely not going to because what's that gonna do? That's gonna make you defensive or not listen to me. Like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:32

Guys, guys like you, KRG, John Taffer are so in need, especially these days, for bars, restaurants, nightclubs, lounges, whatever whatever venue um you own or manage. If you're struggling and you have pain points, you got to get with a consultant that knows how to make that needle move because I've seen Many clubs close, like I mean, quick, bro. Like, you know, everything's fine and pinky and peachy in the beginning, and then you know, three months, four months out. You know, when you thought you had it all together and things were gonna turn around sooner or later, they don't turn around sooner or later, they start getting worse, and you're trying to figure out what where's the pivot? What should I do? You're not going out there and getting the consultation that you need. You're letting your friend or your your your friend that owns a bar that you think is doing okay give you that advice. But in reality, his shit is also tanking, you know what I'm saying? But he doesn't tell you anything. So you you got to get the right advice from a guy like this that's saving the nightlife, you know, and and the other thing is you're keeping DJs working, right? I know many DJs, because I I come from radio TV, I do a lot of other kind of entertainment things, but I know many DJs that rely on the nightclub work to feed their families and and keep the lights on. Like without the nightclubs, they're dead in the water. They don't know how to do anything else. They don't know how to produce, they don't know how to do podcast shows, they don't know how to do anything other than make people dance at a nightclub.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:14

And I appreciate you saying that because I anyone who knows me knows I absolutely love DJs. I can say I'm I'm proud I never tried to get my friends to teach me how to DJ because I know too many horror stories of friends doing that, and then suddenly they don't talk to that person because they got what they wanted. But I mean, I'm part of the drums family, D R-U-M-Z, the clothing company. I have been almost for since day one with those guys, but like I love nightlife, like truly love nightlife. I love DJs. I love everything going on in the background to get that show going and look like it's oh, it's so easy. You just come up here and look how easy this goes for this DJ. It's amazing, it's it's so smooth. I want to be that person, but I also love hospitality. So when I see a closure, I don't care who it is that hurts. Like, I don't want to see a closure. Whether I even knew the venue, it's like that's one less venue, and not to put this kind of weight on people listening. But if you are going to open the business or you are currently operating, you are responsible for the livelihoods of every person that you employ. And that's a lot of weight to consider. Also, why we believe in you know mindset coaching and things like that, because that is a lot to think about. But you are in this industry to provide for yourself and your family, but also your decisions are impacting the barbek and the busser and the server and the VIP host and the community because you are bringing those people in. You are you need to try to be their third space because I think we've really lost that. We don't listen to people anymore who have differing opinions. Where we used to be able to go to a pub and you might not get along necessarily with that person's beliefs. I mean, if they're radically, you know, hateful or something against you, then I get that. But if it's like a a small dispute, you could get over that over a pint. Like that's we we've lost that. We lost that, you know, hospitality wasn't just food and drinks and lodging. It was it's it was a service and it was sacrificed to do these things. Some countries had it was cultural and and law about you know hospitality and how it came up. That fed this whole industry for centuries. Not not joking, it's it's that old. But we lose this, and then look what happens. You know, things get shut down, and then we're supposed to get money to help it bring back, but we're not deemed important enough. When we are absolutely cultural touchstones down to the the neighborhood level, and we get disrespected because it's like, oh, it's just a restaurant, another one will take its place. Like, what? No, that's horrible. And so, like, yeah, the DJs and the AV guys and their teams.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:57

It's a whole ecosystem, man. It's a whole ecosystem, and and that's great. You know, I I will say this, you know, to close it, is is if you're going to be the leader of the pack, meaning the bar owner, the manager, do it for the right reasons. Because, like he said, you're affecting a lot of lives if you're effing up. You know what I mean? So really do it for the right reasons. Make sure that your heart and your soul and your mindset is is is proper so that you can run it the way it needs to be ran. That's all I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:30

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:31

I want to thank you. I want to thank you for for for this time on the podcast. I'm sure that everyone watching, um, if they're in the business, got you know, some it got entertained or got some valuable information from it. One or the other. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:45

I appreciate you having me. I appreciate you reaching out. This was great.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:48

Yeah, we'll we'll we'll stay in touch, man, and uh and say hi to the rest of the crew, and I'll and I'll be talking to uh do. Thank you, your other friend there. Okay, thank you, sir.