Sandwiches That Hit Different: Inside Dutch’s Sandwich Shop in Montclair

This week, Mike heads to Church Street in Montclair to sit down with Amir Kamal, the man behind Dutch’s Sandwich Shop — one of the most talked-about sandwich spots in New Jersey. What started as a late-night idea and a tribute to Amir’s dog, Dutch, has grown into a full-blown destination for people who take their breakfast sandwiches seriously.

Amir shares how his background in hospital food service, his New York City upbringing, and a drive to do something different all came together to shape Dutch’s. He talks about launching in one of the most competitive food towns in the state, the realities of running a small business post-COVID, and how customer service and creativity are the backbone of everything they do.

They also dig into the story behind the viral Dutch Daddy sandwich, collaborations with other local food spots, building a team, and how social media helped take Dutch’s to the next level. This is a full look at the hustle behind a local favorite and the mindset it takes to stand out.

In This Episode:

• Starting a sandwich shop with zero experience
• Naming the business after his late bulldog, Dutch
• The Dutch Daddy origin story
• What makes Montclair such a competitive food scene
• Social media, influencers, and going viral
• Lessons from the restaurant equipment industry
• The ups and downs of staffing
• Collaborating with competitors and why it matters
• Yankees win total predictions and some baseball takes

Links:
Dutch’s Website: dutchsmontclair.com
Instagram: @dutchsmontclair
TikTok: @dutchsmontclair

Check out Amir’s new podcast coming soon: Dab Dads with Dan from Quarry Grill.

Shoutout to our partners:
New Jersey Lottery – Must be 18 or older to play. Please play responsibly.
Mayo Performing Arts Center – See upcoming shows at mayoarts.org

Subscribe, leave a review, and keep supporting the people and places that make New Jersey what it is.

Transcript

Amir Kamal [0:00 - 0:00]: Foreign. 

Mike Ham [0:21 - 0:32]: What's up, everybody? Welcome back to another episode of Greetings for the Garden State, powered by the New Jersey Lottery. I'm Mike Ham. We are here in Montclair, New Jersey, today. We haven't been to Montclair in a while, honestly, but we're here at Dutch's. 

Amir Kamal [0:32 - 0:33]: Welcome. 

Mike Ham [0:33 - 0:36]: Dutch's Sandwich Shop with Amir. Amir, welcome to the show. 

Amir Kamal [0:36 - 0:38]: Thank you so much for having me. Appreciate it. 

Mike Ham [0:38 - 0:46]: Keeps floating me into the chips like a little. Little floater. Church street down here has got to be, like, one of the cooler streets in the. 

Amir Kamal [0:46 - 0:48]: Is it the best street in New Jersey? 

Mike Ham [0:48 - 0:50]: It. Honestly, it's up there. 

Amir Kamal [0:50 - 0:51]: It could be good, right? 

Mike Ham [0:51 - 0:56]: It could be really good. There's so many food spots down here. So many, like, cool shops, cool things to do. It's. It's. 

Amir Kamal [0:56 - 0:58]: I mean, it's. It's only food shops down. 

Mike Ham [0:58 - 0:58]: Yeah, it's really. 

Amir Kamal [0:58 - 0:59]: Oh, yeah. 

Mike Ham [0:59 - 1:00]: I was like. I was looking to see if there's. 

Amir Kamal [1:00 - 1:06]: Are we kidding? It's anthropology and then 95 food, but, yeah, that's Montclair, baby. 

Mike Ham [1:06 - 1:12]: Yeah. Which we love. And we live in Bloomfield. Chrissy, my fiance, is from Montclair, so she has known this area for a while. 

Amir Kamal [1:12 - 1:20]: But I actually remember when she came, I tried us out for the first time. And maybe like two. Two months in or a month in or. 

Mike Ham [1:20 - 1:22]: I'm not even sure you guys are new still. 

Amir Kamal [1:22 - 1:30]: Then she's super new. And then, like, it was just a story. It was like, holy. Like, run to this spot. This place is legit. 

Mike Ham [1:30 - 1:35]: I forget what she brought home, but it was like, three different sandwiches, and all of them were just, like, so good. 

Amir Kamal [1:35 - 1:37]: That's awesome, man. I appreciate that, guys. 

Mike Ham [1:37 - 1:37]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [1:37 - 1:40]: It's been two years now. We just celebrated second. 

Mike Ham [1:40 - 1:41]: Has it really been that long? 

Amir Kamal [1:41 - 2:18]: Wow. It's. I've. I've aged 10, but it's all gears. Yeah, it's like, holy, but. But no, it's. Honestly, it's been the most amazing experience in reality. Never expected anything like this. I thought we were just opening up a regular sandwich shop. I had no idea what I was doing. I was a director of food and nutrition. I used to run my father's pizza shops in New York City. And I always wanted to do a sandwich shop, but, like, later in life when I was, like, retired and successful. 

Mike Ham [2:18 - 2:18]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [2:18 - 3:19]: Yeah. Because I didn't think, like, it would be any, like, hard work, but in reality, I don't know what the hell I was thinking. This has been, like, the crap if you're not of, like, the sane mind and body and you don't have a good support system. Don't even, don't even think about jumping in this business because I don't even know what the success rate is. It's not high. You have to really, you have to know what you're doing. But now it's not even about cooking good food, right? It's about like the social media market, everything else, like, it's like, like going crazy. You could have like nothing, but something goes viral and then that's that. But like, some guys putting his blood, sweat and tears into all his food is that he's made for like 30 years and then like he closes in a year because he just never got up and running. And this, it's really. You think you have something in a niche or whatever, and then like three months later, you know, somebody down the block is trying to open up and do the same thing. And so it is what it is, you know, that's life. So, yeah, here we are. 

Mike Ham [3:19 - 3:44]: So there's a lot that I want to talk about there, or there's a lot of the story that I want to tell, but I do, because you just said it, and I just want to kind of continue and pull that thread a little bit. So two years here in Montclair. Montclair is, if not the best food town in the state of New Jersey. It is at least in the top three. Four maybe. I mean, I could think of like a couple that are like, close, but it's really no. 

Amir Kamal [3:44 - 3:46]: Montclair's has a bunch of killers. Yeah, that's for sure. 

Mike Ham [3:46 - 3:59]: It's so two years in this spot. Obviously, like, have a little bit of experience. But then also take not just in Montclair, but on Church street where he's. Like we said, It's 99 restaurants down here. Like, what? 

Amir Kamal [3:59 - 3:59]: I was stupid. 

Mike Ham [3:59 - 4:00]: What were you thinking? 

Amir Kamal [4:00 - 4:01]: I was wild, right? 

Mike Ham [4:01 - 4:03]: What was going through your head? 

Amir Kamal [4:03 - 5:15]: So, like, stupid move. Yeah, basically, right? Like, so in reality, you know, now I know I can make it anywhere, right? Because, like, if I can make it in Montclair, on the heart, like, honestly, Church street is more of a blessing than anything because it brings so much traffic up and down, especially on those nice days, you know, there is no better block in New Jersey than Church Street. And at the end of the day, you know, I came from a customer service side and I believe in giving top notch customer service to all my customers and actually like, knowing, you know, treating them more than just customers, right? Having like a relationship with them. I pretty much know almost all my regulars Orders, you know, and I have a lot of regulars. I can just answer the phone sometimes, and I know who it is, what they want, you know, and that, you know, it's not easy. It's. It's. I mean, I guess it's a skill, but at the end of the day, I put that attention into the detail of my business. Also, the food has to be good, right? Like, you can't have. I mean, you could be the nicest guy in the world, but if you serve, you know, something that's not edible, like, then at the end of the day or what you were saying before. 

Mike Ham [5:15 - 5:21]: Too, like, you could have the coolest looking social media content in the world. But people get here and they're like, wow, this actually sucks. 

Amir Kamal [5:21 - 5:21]: Sucks. 

Mike Ham [5:21 - 5:23]: You know, they're not coming back, you. 

Amir Kamal [5:23 - 5:36]: Know, and that's one of the craziest things we've had people come from. Like, I mean, this past weekend was like Cherry Hill and Butler. And then, like, someone was like, I drove an hour and 20 minutes. I saw the sandwich. It looked absolutely amazing. And it was. 

Mike Ham [5:36 - 5:37]: I think I saw the story you. 

Amir Kamal [5:37 - 6:49]: Posted and it was like. And it's everything I could have imagined, you know, and like, somebody posted on. So my man Eric Hammer just came last weekend, which was, thank you so much, buddy, a blessing. And someone was like, that following weekend, it was just absolutely insane. And someone wrote. It was actually hilarious. Someone wrote, I was really late to pick up my daughter from school because of these sandwiches or from an event. She was like, but I would do it again. I would leave her in a second. Just like, those sandwiches were that good. You know, it was. It was obviously joking around, but it's, you know, hilarious because, you know, we try to live up to the hype as well. And, you know, I take. I take it very seriously that every sandwich goes out the same way. You know, whether I make it or someone else makes it. I try to put out, you know, the best possible product all the time. You know, we're human. It happens. You know, sometimes it can get crazy in here. I'm sure people have seen what a Saturday or Sunday can look like at Dutch's, but you know, all good problems to have. Totally blessed. Love, everybody. Thank you so much for coming. Appreciate you guys. 

Mike Ham [6:50 - 7:14]: All right, so let's tell a little bit of your story and kind of, you know, weave the thread about how this whole thing started. So you told me off mic before that you are. That you. It's. You're good. It's live. No, not live. That you are a New Yorker. Right. So from New York. Yep. How long were you there? How long you've been here in Jersey? 

Amir Kamal [7:15 - 7:25]: Born and raised my whole life. Lower east side Manhattan. Was a son of Xavier. Went to Scranton University. 

Mike Ham [7:25 - 7:25]: Sure. 

Amir Kamal [7:26 - 7:26]: Home of the office. 

Mike Ham [7:26 - 7:27]: So did my dad. 

Amir Kamal [7:27 - 7:28]: Yeah. Really? 

Mike Ham [7:28 - 7:29]: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. To Garnet. 

Amir Kamal [7:29 - 8:51]: Awesome, man. So came back 2007, 2008. Graduated into the recession and, you know, I was out in. In New York for a while. Was moved to Jersey as I got married with my. My first wife. And honestly, you know, being in New York City is what made me who I am. You know, it's. Born and raised in the Lower east side of Manhattan. Met a lot of cool people. It's really where my love of food kind of came from. You know, places like Vaselka that used to be open. You know, it is open 24 7. Used to go there like 3, 4am yeah. You know, you have your bodega, you know, joints where you just, you know, go grab a sandwich at 2, 3 in the morning and you know, Boar's Head. Always, you know, from New York City and stuff, but kind of took everything that I loved over the years of my life and kind of just always put it together. Always knew I wanted to do something like this. And I always kind of kept like a little notebook. Never knew if it was gonna like ever turn into anything, but always when I had an idea, you know, write it down. The greatest lie you can tell yourself is you're gonna remember it in the morning. 

Mike Ham [8:52 - 8:53]: How many great ideas I've lost. 

Amir Kamal [8:53 - 8:58]: Yeah, I can imagine. Write it down, honestly, you know, bust out that phone. 

Mike Ham [8:58 - 8:58]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [8:58 - 9:15]: Give yourself a quick note nowadays. Right. But yeah, it's kind of who made me who I am. And I was able to when I came out to New Jersey, when I got married, had my first child and, you know, that was that I was never going back. 

Mike Ham [9:16 - 9:19]: But was it immediately to like this Essex or a boat? 

Amir Kamal [9:20 - 10:20]: Actually, no. So I lived. I was in Wayne for a bit. Okay. Then I went to. We. We moved out to New Providence. I worked at Overlook Medical Center. I was a director of food and nutrition. I was more of a manager of patient services, but at other levels, you know, anyway, it doesn't really matter. Yeah, that's where I was. I oversaw 5, 600 beds, almost 2,000 meals a day. Pretty hectic operation, man. When you know, the hospital life is not. It's not for the week. And then obviously, you know, during COVID it went, forget it crazy and stuff. And I kind of transitioned out of the hospital right before that actually happened, I went into sales, selling kitchen equipment, you know, things of that nature. So I was able to kind of get a. A sense of the other side of the industry. Sure. But then, you know, Covid. I was a victim of COVID just like, you know, half of America. 

Mike Ham [10:20 - 10:20]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [10:21 - 11:00]: And one thing I realized was I wasn't guaranteed to make it to 55 or 60 or whenever I thought I would open up a sandwich shop. You know, at the end of the day, you know, you live this life now, you know, like, take the chances that you got to take now. Do what you got to do, you know, Live that life, you know, take that vacation, Pop that question. Do whatever you got to do. But we only get one life, so we decided to rock with it. And when this spot was available, honestly, it was. It like, the stars aligned. Yeah. Because this place wasn't even put on the market. 

Mike Ham [11:00 - 11:00]: Oh, yeah. 

Amir Kamal [11:00 - 11:28]: And I was able to, you know, put an offer in. We ended up getting it, and that was that. I had an idea. You know, Dutch's. Dutch was my dog, so he was my old English bulldog, my. My homie for life. But he passed away about four or five years ago, and always on the brain, always on the mind. And the first thing that came to my mind when I was like, what's the name of this place? And I was just like, dutch's Sandwich Shop. 

Mike Ham [11:28 - 11:30]: And I was like, damn, it's perfect. 

Amir Kamal [11:30 - 11:31]: It's perfect. Yeah, it's so good. 

Mike Ham [11:32 - 11:32]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [11:32 - 11:53]: And I was up late at night doing the logo, you know, putting that together. I made that myself, you know, and it was. It was like. I loved it because I was like, man, this is, like. It's catchy, but it's, like, simple, and it's. It's dope. And so, yeah, that's. That's. Then Duchess was born. 

Mike Ham [11:53 - 12:14]: Yeah, that's. That's what happened was Dutch's. Because you mentioned the notebook, Right. It's like writing ideas down. Was. And I know these shed. Later in life, you wanted to do a sand sandwich shop. So maybe, like, what was kind of the. Like, what made you think that you wanted to do something like that? Because I feel like some people have. A lot of people have different. Like, I would love to run a dive bar when I'm old and retired one day. You know what I mean? So, like, what. 

Amir Kamal [12:15 - 12:16]: What got me into it? 

Mike Ham [12:16 - 12:16]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [12:16 - 12:47]: So my. My wife now, and I, as we were dating, we'd come to Montclair with my youngest daughter, and I noticed there was, like, nothing to just kind of Grab and go. Like, I'm a New Yorker. I would walk downstairs, grab a coffee, grab, you know, whatever, bacon, egg, and cheese, and call it a day and just get moving and keep it moving. Right. But that's not the Montclair life. You know, Montclair is everything. Sit down, you spend 100 bucks. I mean, at a donut shop, you spend a hundred dollars. 

Mike Ham [12:47 - 12:48]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [12:48 - 12:57]: And I had young kids at the time, and so, like, sitting down with young kids is not the easiest thing in the world to do. 

Mike Ham [12:57 - 12:57]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [12:57 - 13:11]: And so I was just like, man, there are no sailor shops in this area. And. And, you know, we did our homework. We saw that, you know, Belgiovines was down the block, and, you know, they're awesome. I used to get sandwiches for all the time. 

Mike Ham [13:11 - 13:11]: Sure. 

Amir Kamal [13:12 - 13:21]: Milburn Deli, I knew was at the Watchong station, but I also knew that, know, four blocks is. Is pretty far in New Jersey, you. 

Mike Ham [13:21 - 13:27]: Know, especially such a walkable town like Montclair is, you know, like, you stay in, like, your little community. 

Amir Kamal [13:27 - 13:48]: Exactly. So, you know, and nothing was on Church street of that nature. And so we just decided to rock with it, and I ended up stumbling into a market niche that was untapped, the breakfast market, you know, like, as far as, like, gourmet breakfast sandwiches. And we were able to, like, tap into that and take it to the next level. So. 

Mike Ham [13:49 - 14:04]: Yeah, and I'm curious, too, because, like, we mentioned before, like, like, taking a risk like that and doing all that kind of stuff, but then also, like, you know, you do the logo, you have the great name, you. You have, like, a hand, obviously, like, in every piece of this business. 

Amir Kamal [14:04 - 14:04]: Yeah. 

Mike Ham [14:04 - 14:19]: Are you, like. Like, you know, that's not a good example, but, like, the Dutch Daddy, let's take that, because that is probably, like, you know, the bell cow of this place. So was that something that you had, like, made before that you were just like, hey, this is. This is a sandwich I make at home, and I want people. 

Amir Kamal [14:19 - 14:24]: The funniest thing about the Dust daddy is it was maybe, like, one of the last sandwiches, really, that I made. 

Mike Ham [14:24 - 14:25]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [14:25 - 14:30]: On that menu, you know, I. When I'm telling you, I wrote sandwiches down. It was all one sandwiches. 

Mike Ham [14:30 - 14:30]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [14:30 - 14:46]: Like, everything was lunch. You know, I never really put that. You know, as you go into your deli or your bagel spot, what do you get? You got a blt. You got a bacon, egg and cheese, sausage. Egg and cheese. Or in Jersey Taylor, ham or pork roll? 

Mike Ham [14:46 - 14:46]: Sure. 

Amir Kamal [14:46 - 15:08]: Either or. I'm not. I'm not. Listen, I have no Steak in the game. I'm from New York City. All right, so. But, you know, that's what you get, right? And you don't really question what else. What else you have. And so in reality, you know, I was like, well, if I'm gonna be a sandwich shop, I might as well serve breakfast as well. 

Mike Ham [15:08 - 15:08]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [15:08 - 15:18]: And so I had those staples on there, but then I was like, you know, it'd be crazy. Like, a chicken cutlet, bacon, egg, and cheese. Like, that would be pretty cool. 

Mike Ham [15:18 - 15:18]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [15:18 - 15:24]: You know, like, that doesn't. I mean, it's so simple, but, like, how many spots can you, like, actually get that at? Right? 

Mike Ham [15:24 - 15:24]: Sure. 

Amir Kamal [15:24 - 15:49]: And so threw that on the menu. And then my favorite sandwich ever. Like, when I was hungover or whatever, I would always get a hot pastrami, muenster, cheese and eggs with ketchup and mayo. So, like, that was my. So I've been on the pastrami game for a long time, guys. All right. Like. Like. Like, I am the pastrami guy. 

Mike Ham [15:49 - 15:49]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [15:50 - 16:14]: But I knew ketchup and mayo is not everybody's jam, right? Sure. So that can't be, like, my signature sandwich. So I decided to do a pastrami, bacon, egg, and cheese, and then playing around with different sauces, you know, making different concoctions. And I came across. 

Mike Ham [16:14 - 16:15]: You're doing this all, like, just at home? 

Amir Kamal [16:15 - 16:16]: Yeah, just at home. 

Mike Ham [16:16 - 16:16]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [16:16 - 16:19]: My wife's sick of me. Like, sure. Like. 

Mike Ham [16:19 - 16:20]: Like, pastrami everywhere. 

Amir Kamal [16:20 - 16:24]: Try this. Yeah, try this. And then she's like, yeah, that's certain point. 

Mike Ham [16:24 - 16:25]: They all start tasting. 

Amir Kamal [16:25 - 17:19]: I'm fucking done. Like, I don't want to try this anymore. And then I actually. I remember, like, opening up the shower, like, and, like, try this sandwich. And she, like, took a bite, and she was like, oh, my God. She was like, wait, wait, wait. Come back, come back. And. And so she took another bite. And in reality, I knew it was a good sandwich, but, like, I didn't know the beast that I had, like, created. Right? And we just opened up, and the Dutch Daddy was just, like, maybe the first name that came to my mind too. Like, I was just like, Dutch and just Dutch daddy. I. I have no idea how it came to mind, but it did. And I had the. The. You know, we may still do it, so don't take my idea. But I was. I wanted to be catchy, right? And I'm like. I'm not gonna lie. Like, I give props to everybody. So, like, the original Milburn Deli. Like, I and Summit, I'd always go to Milburn Deli. 

Mike Ham [17:19 - 17:19]: Sure. 

Amir Kamal [17:19 - 17:44]: And, you know, somebody gets the gobbler. You know, everybody goes, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble. You know, catchy. People remember, you know, all that good stuff. I wanted also to have something like that. So I wanted. Anytime somebody ordered the Dutch Daddy, I had a gong here. But somebody lost the. The. The palette or whatever. 

Mike Ham [17:44 - 17:44]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [17:46 - 18:25]: And I had a button that played Arnold Schwarzenegger from Kindergarten Cop. And it was like, who is your daddy and what does he do? And so that was like, the whole thing. Like, somebody orders a Dutch daddy gong. Who is he that. You know, it just. I have a lot of crazy ideas that just don't make it to the. To the final stage and stuff. And so. But we may still do it. Who knows? We'll never know. But. And at the end of the day, people would call me and he'd be like, can I speak to the manager? And I was like, oh, yeah, speaking. 

Mike Ham [18:25 - 18:26]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [18:26 - 18:43]: They're like, yeah, I just had this Dutch Daddy sandwich. And it was the craziest thing I've ever had in my life. Like, this sandwich should be illegal. I remember somebody was. And like, you never get that, right. Like, being in the hospitality industry. Like, you get a call when you screw up, right? Oh, sure. When something's gone wrong. Yeah. 

Mike Ham [18:43 - 18:45]: Nobody wants nobody else. 

Amir Kamal [18:46 - 18:56]: This is the best thing I've ever had in my life. Like, it just doesn't work out like that. And so, like, when people were saying these things, I was just like, okay. I was like, I think I got something here. 

Mike Ham [18:56 - 18:56]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [18:56 - 19:21]: And then, like, people leave reviews like. Like, I used to go to Egg Slot, thought that was the best sandwich. Now I had the Dutch Daddy. That's the best sandwich. And I was like, damn. Like, Egg Slot's really good, man. Like, you know, like. Like, damn. Like, people are putting me up there. And so then people were like, that's the best breakfast sandwich in New Jersey. So, like, I just was like, it. Let's run with it. And so I threw it on a sign, threw it outside, and. 

Mike Ham [19:21 - 19:21]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [19:21 - 21:01]: And, you know, that's on you. You. You come try it, man, if you think it is the best. That's, you know, put it in a yelp. Yeah, let's go, baby. But, you know, we got really lucky. I remember, like, when we first opened, like, some local influencers kind of came by, and they were like, hey, you know, content for food. And I was like, yeah, sure, no problem. You know, any. Any word of mouth or content is better than, like, no. Right. So I was Just like, ah, it. Like, screw it. Like, let's do it. And then they'd put it out there and, like, other people would see it and they're like, ah, let's do something. So then, like, you started getting some momentum. And then, you know, my girl Jen, Jersey girl travels. Shout out Jen. She's like, the first one who kind of, like, put us out on the map. I mean, I reached out to a lot of people, like, because then I realized. I kind of realized the game, right? Like, I was like, all right, you gotta play it. You know, this is. It's. It's beneficial. And Jen was like, I would love to come out. And when she came out, you know, she brought her friend and we did a video. And, like, she, you know, loved the food. And she was like, I would love to make a sandwich with you. And I was like, yeah, let's do it for sure. And, like, the Jersey girl came about, which was, like, such a dope sandwich till this day. People love this sandwich. It's a chicken cutlet, sriracha, bacon, fresh mozzarella, lettuce, tomato, Mike's hot honey sriracha mayo. So, you know, it's. It's a really good sandwich. And at the end of the day, like, Jen, when we release it, like, September, October, it's still going strong. Like, eight months later, she just posted. 

Mike Ham [21:01 - 21:02]: Something, so that's cool. 

Amir Kamal [21:02 - 21:24]: And she, you know, once she kind of came about, like, some other. Other people kind of, you know, came. And then, you know, I've paid I. A handful of people possibly, you know, but it's because I've wanted them to come out. And like, they're like, ah, you know, they play the game well too. They're like, ah, you know, you're on the list, but, like, we're busy. And you're just like, yeah, we'll get. 

Mike Ham [21:24 - 21:25]: To you when we get to you. 

Amir Kamal [21:25 - 21:32]: And it's like, all right, what about this? You're like, all right, I'll see you next Tuesday. It's like, so. 

Mike Ham [21:32 - 21:36]: Because you do, like, speaking of, like, the. The sandwiches named after people. 

Amir Kamal [21:36 - 21:36]: Yeah. 

Mike Ham [21:36 - 21:43]: Like, you do that like, a pretty good amount, right? You know, maybe not, like, a lot, but just, like, there are several that are named. 

Amir Kamal [21:43 - 22:01]: Yeah. My man Joey eats. We're about to launch another one in the next few days. Yeah, I have the czar with Heidi Blue. Like, that's a dope sandwich as well. The number one sandwich is my man Sean's hungry. Uh, chicken cutlet king. 

Mike Ham [22:01 - 22:02]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [22:02 - 22:27]: The Flying Dutchman is just crazy good. Like, I didn't even lie. I. I'm not a pepper guy. I don't like banana peppers. But on this sandwich, like grilled banana peppers with the, the hot pastrami and the pepper jack cheese with the cutlets, it's just crazy. It's so good. Like, it's so good. Eric Hammer said it was better than the Dutch daddy, which is crazy. It's a crazy statement. But it's got a question. 

Mike Ham [22:27 - 22:28]: Is, you know, his taste. 

Amir Kamal [22:28 - 22:44]: It's all. Nah, I don't question his taste. Right, dude. Yeah, yeah, he's legit, but, you know, to each his own. But at the end of the day, that chicken cutlet with the pastrami, it's just, It's. It's. It's killer. So I think we have a 100% success rate with that sandwich. 

Mike Ham [22:44 - 22:45]: Yeah. Which is great. 

Amir Kamal [22:45 - 22:46]: It's dope. 

Mike Ham [22:46 - 22:57]: Yeah. And so, like, when we're talking about, like, chicken, college, pastrami, all that kind of stuff, talk to me about, like, you know, why. What separates yours from maybe others that are doing the stuff? 

Amir Kamal [22:57 - 24:21]: I mean, everybody, yo, chicken cuts a chicken cutlet. I guess ours are never frozen. We, we literally every day, we make fresh chicken cutlets in house every day. You know, just the way my parents used to make them. You know, I use boar's head products. I try to use the best of the best bread. I like to pair a good sandwich with a good sauce. You know, we. That. It's just what we do. I love a good movie pun. I like a good, you know, song quote. You know, all that good stuff. We, you know, I got the Rick and Mortadella, obviously, you know, play off of Rick and Morty. We have so many fun things. There's little hidden treasures in that menu that you kind of like, see. Like, you look at my titan. I got an email one night, like, at 1:30 in the morning. Some lady was like, I was just going through your menu and I saw your Titanic, and I absolutely love it because it's like a pepper jack cheese iceberg lettuce. It used to be on a rosemary focaccia, but we ended up. We, we switched it out. But like, it's just like little, little things like that, that, like, you know, if you catch it, you catch it. If you don't. It is what it is. But we like to have fun here. We like to stretch the boundaries of creativity. We. We're gonna be here for a long time, guys. I promise you that. 

Mike Ham [24:21 - 24:43]: Yeah, can we talk about, and you did mention it a little bit Kind of like, getting, like, on the map or whatever. Like, you know, when you said, oh, that's what you said. Like, oh, we got something here, you know, kind of thing. Was there, like, a day, like, when you first opened, like, how was, like, the opening and then maybe was there a day where you were like, oh, shit, there's a line down the street, you know, for this stuff. 

Amir Kamal [24:45 - 25:30]: So. I've never had the line down the street just yet. I have, actually, when Mav's Top Buns came, so the line was literally down the block. It was absolutely insane. It was like one of the dopest collabs we've done. For sure. Yeah. Shout out to you guys. But we have had, like, a packed house in here. You know, at first, we used to have, like, arcade games in here, so, like, people could, like, play arcades while they were, like, waiting for the sandwiches. But we tried to make the front of the house, like, as, you know, useful to, like, to us as possible. But it could get insane in here at times. And there. There have been times where I've seen people, like, looking. They're like, yeah, yeah. They walk out. Yeah. 

Mike Ham [25:30 - 25:34]: The blessing and the curse of being on Church Street, I feel like. Yeah, you know, for sure. Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [25:36 - 25:59]: Yeah. You know, I'm. I'm kind of crazy, man. Like, I have an idea sometimes, and, like, my ADHD just, like, I focus. Like, I just. I'm, like, so, like, lasered in. And even right now, like, I'm looking at something that, like, maybe nine out of 10 people are telling me that I'm crazy for, and I'm still like, but maybe. Yeah, but maybe. 

Mike Ham [25:59 - 25:59]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [25:59 - 26:19]: And so, like, did I know this was a huge risk? Like, a hundred percent, but I also, like, knew my abilities and my capabilities and, you know, my creativity. Like, I don't know if you saw my last video that just came out. Remind me the. 

Mike Ham [26:19 - 26:20]: We have, like, I run, like, eight. 

Amir Kamal [26:20 - 26:35]: Different Instagram accounts, so we just dropped a dope video with. With my marketing guys. Shout out to Ethereal super dope guys. We took the TV off from Kendrick Lamar. Oh, yeah. 

Mike Ham [26:36 - 26:37]: Yes. Yes. Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [26:37 - 27:10]: And, you know, just put that out there. And, like, I think it's amazing. But we're. We're, you know, boosting that now to try to, like, get more customers and more people. And, you know, we're trying to change what a normal, like, ad would be, I guess. Yeah, a deli shop. Right. Like, you don't really see that from, like, normal spots and stuff. And so, yeah, I could, like, do the whole like, hey, this is how we make the sandwich stuff. But, like, sure, that's cool. 

Mike Ham [27:10 - 27:11]: It's been done. 

Amir Kamal [27:11 - 27:59]: Yeah. You know, like, like, we're trying to like, change the game as far as, like, you know, we, you know, I just told you we have a sneak peek drop possibly with the Pascalero Bros, you know, doing some dope things together. And I have a lot of other, like, skits, you know, and things like that. I just, the brain just keeps going and, you know, hopefully these guys are going to be able to like, capture like, what we're looking to do. But I have actually no doubt that they are going to because that video is so dope. If you haven't seen that video, go to Duchess Montclair, check out that video. But yeah, you know, at the end of the day, it's all still a learning curve, to be honest, man, like, I don't know what the hell I'm doing. 

Mike Ham [27:59 - 28:01]: Like, I don't think anybody really does. 

Amir Kamal [28:01 - 28:05]: I, I know how to, to, to talk to people. 

Mike Ham [28:05 - 28:05]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [28:05 - 28:21]: I know how to, you know, give out great customer service. I know how to run a team. But like, doing it all yourself, on your dime, on your, everything is a whole nother level of stress. 

Mike Ham [28:21 - 28:21]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [28:21 - 28:54]: A whole nother level of like, I, I, how, like I pay six, seven employees. Right. Like, like, I've, I've, you know, like, that's, it's crazy to think that, like, our business can like, you know, give your life to other people, which is dope, you know, and so, you know, we only hope to grow and get, you know, we're looking at a second location, you know, hopefully in the next coming year and we'll see where it goes, man, but to the moon is how is what I say, man. Sure. 

Mike Ham [28:54 - 29:39]: The Mayo Performing Arts center is the heart of arts and Entertainment in Morristown, New Jersey. MPAC presents over 200 events annually and is home to an innovative children's arts education program. To see Impact's upcoming schedule of world class concerts, stand up comedy, family shows, and more, head to mayoarts.org or just click the link in our show notes. So there's a couple of things that you said in there too, and you give great answers because you give me, like, a lot of ways to kind of take the conversation, which I appreciate. Yeah, but so you mentioned, like, the staff, and I'm curious too. Like, you also mentioned, you know, making your wife, like, eat every single sandwich and try every single thing. So obviously, like, to take a risk like this to kind of, you know, leave the, the comfort and Safety of like a full time whatever job. 

Amir Kamal [29:39 - 29:40]: You got to have the support. 

Mike Ham [29:40 - 30:17]: You have to have the support, like especially at the very beginning to make that jump. Because it is scary to just jump off the cliff into the unknown. Because you really don't know. You could be as confident as you are, you know, for anything really. Like. But to then get into it, you know, whether you're like, for me was kind of. It just was like serendipitously kind of. It just happened and actually, you know, I'm on my own, you know, and then you make this conscious decision to actually go for it. So like, can we talk a little bit about the support system going into that decision? And then early on and then also now being two years in and you said paying six, seven employees and the staff, that kind of helps make this run smoothly on a day to day basis. 

Amir Kamal [30:17 - 31:10]: Yeah. So yeah, man, you got to have the supports. Like, my wife has been my biggest fan since day one. She was, you know, with me by my side and you got to have that. Right. You can't. There's no, Honestly, without her, this business would not run at all because like, there's so much that I do and there's so much I don't do. Right. And whatever's not done by me is done by her. And that's like the important, like making sure rent's due and making sure like, yeah, people are paid on time and fixing issues, you know, business. Right. And you know, at the end of the day, I don't tell you enough, but thank you. I appreciate you, you're the best. But we, my wife and I, own a multi family which was able to give us some leeway as far as, you know, taking a chance like this. 

Mike Ham [31:10 - 31:10]: Sure. 

Amir Kamal [31:11 - 31:21]: We were looking to buy a house with the money that we were put into this. But at that time, I can, you can only imagine, you remember the market just, I mean, it's still crazy right now. 

Mike Ham [31:21 - 31:21]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [31:21 - 31:33]: Yeah. So it's not like it has come down, you know, the time where everything was like the perfect time to buy a house. My wife and I were like two months like into meeting each other. 

Mike Ham [31:33 - 31:33]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [31:33 - 31:37]: So it was like buying a house at that point in time was just like. Not like. 

Mike Ham [31:37 - 31:38]: Yeah, it's a little aggressive. 

Amir Kamal [31:38 - 31:42]: Yeah. A little crazy. Right. So we didn't do that. 

Mike Ham [31:42 - 31:43]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [31:43 - 32:10]: And I could just remember like, you know, talking to her and just being like, you know, this is an opportunity, this is an idea. It's. It was, it was actually to even elaborate a little further the time I got this place, the word recession was being thrown around like crazy. Right. And so, like, you got this place, like, late 2022. 

Mike Ham [32:10 - 32:10]: Okay. 

Amir Kamal [32:10 - 32:33]: So we opened up February 23rd. The word recession was, like, being thrown out there all the time. And I was like. Like, the worst thing. Like, I was looking at laundromats. Like, I wasn't looking at food, but I actually told my wife, I was like, food is the stupidest thing you could do right now. And so, like. Like a month later, she was like, wait, what. What. What happened to, like, food is the dumbest thing you could do right now? Yeah, but. 

Mike Ham [32:33 - 32:35]: Yeah, but they do it. 

Amir Kamal [32:35 - 32:36]: They don't have. 

Mike Ham [32:36 - 32:36]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [32:37 - 32:46]: And I really banked on, like, not being like, a. Like a sandwich shop, really, in. In the heart of. Of like, downtown Montclair. 

Mike Ham [32:46 - 32:47]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [32:47 - 33:00]: I mean, you have Belgiums, which is great and stuff, but, you know, that's up the block by Whole Foods. And then what about the, like, lower part? Right. Like, there's really nothing. And, you know, from what I've heard, you know, there used to be, like, watch on Deli or like. 

Mike Ham [33:00 - 33:04]: Yeah. Used to be, like, in watch on Plaza. So, like, right across was watching deli. 

Amir Kamal [33:04 - 33:17]: Yeah, I heard it was a staple. You know, all that great stuff. But, you know, I saw a need for something, and so we took that chance. And it's paid out tremendously, for sure. 

Mike Ham [33:17 - 33:21]: And then with the staff now, because obviously, once you get started, it's the. 

Amir Kamal [33:21 - 33:22]: Worst part of the industry, man. 

Mike Ham [33:23 - 33:23]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [33:23 - 33:39]: By far the worst part of the industry. Like, I won't elaborate, but you, like, do your homework. Like, look into everybody, you know, make sure you find good staff, you know, and. Because it really is what makes or breaks a business like you. 

Mike Ham [33:39 - 33:40]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [33:41 - 33:56]: I won't say the name, but there's a gentleman who had two spots, and he has a restaurant now, makes the best, you know, desserts and stuff. And he was like, man, I closed that other location. He's like, I would have kept it open, but I. I couldn't physically. Like, staffing was just impossible. 

Mike Ham [33:56 - 33:56]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [33:56 - 33:58]: Especially after Covid. 

Mike Ham [33:58 - 33:58]: Sure. 

Amir Kamal [33:58 - 34:03]: Everybody was getting checks. People were like, ah, what's work? Yeah, do that. 

Mike Ham [34:03 - 34:04]: I want to stay home. 

Amir Kamal [34:04 - 34:30]: Yeah, let's. You know, I got 1400amonth. Yeah. But. Yeah, so literally the worst part of the industry, like, you. And, you know, now you're like, you're paying kids that are new to work. Yeah, 15 an hour. You know what I mean? It's like some of these kids don't know how to do a lot of different things, and that's saying it nicely. 

Mike Ham [34:30 - 34:31]: Yeah, they don't do anything really. 

Amir Kamal [34:32 - 34:36]: They look at me like. And I'm like, man, if I have to, like, tell you everything to do. 

Mike Ham [34:36 - 34:37]: Yeah, breathe. 

Amir Kamal [34:37 - 35:28]: Now, why are like, like. And it's. But it's frustrating because, you know, I gotta pay. I gotta sell X amount of sandwiches to pay for all these employees, you know, and if I don't, then, you know, yeah, it's a problem. And so. But with that also being said, like, I love to be a teacher as well, right? And so, like, I got some great young kids that I love to, like, teach as well. Right. And, you know, I understand. Like, I'm. I'm born and raised, like, 80s, you know, New York City. Like, I'm cut from old cloth. Like, it wasn't easy grow. You know what I mean? Like, I was. You were told what to, like, how to do things. Right. And so, like, there wasn't this, like, nurturing, like, oh, this is how you. You know, and that's just not me you're doing. 

Mike Ham [35:28 - 35:29]: That's wrong. 

Amir Kamal [35:29 - 36:10]: Exactly. And sometimes I look at you like, what's going on, buddy? Like, like, what are we doing here? You know? And, like, some people can, like, think that's aggressive or whatever, but at the end of the day, if I don't see value you in you like, that you're. You are like somebody that's worth coaching and teaching and growing, you know, I got a lot of great kids and, you know that I try to. I don't ever try to, like, bring anybody down, but at the end of the day, I always try to also, like, tell them, like, great job, man. You guys, you know, we were in a little bit of a rut, you know, and we regrouped and we actually, like, powered through. Strong. 

Mike Ham [36:10 - 36:10]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [36:10 - 36:11]: Awesome job, guys. 

Mike Ham [36:11 - 36:11]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [36:11 - 36:20]: And so, like, it's also. It's important to criticize when needed, but it's also important to, you know, give praise out, you know, to everybody. All your staff, really. So. 

Mike Ham [36:20 - 36:25]: Well, because it's important because at the end of the day, like, you physically cannot make every sandwich that comes out of Dutch's. 

Amir Kamal [36:26 - 36:26]: I've tried. 

Mike Ham [36:26 - 36:34]: It's. It's impossible. Like, on a busy, like, you know, even on maybe like a somewhat slower day for you, it's still impossible. 

Amir Kamal [36:34 - 37:16]: You know, I've done the, like, let people go at 4:00 and I'm here by myself, like, from 4 to 5. Yeah. And then like eight people come in and I'm like, walking, running back and forth, like, yeah, yeah. Hey. And the Phone rings And. Yeah, and it's. It's a lot. And we're looking at ways to centralize, make order experiences better. There were things I got locked into in the beginning that are, like, ending. And. Yeah, we look into, like, better systems, better things, better whatever. And because to me, like, I. Listen, I get it, man. I've been in Starbucks waiting, like, way too long for my coffee, and I'm just like, yeah, yeah. Where's my coffee? 

Mike Ham [37:16 - 37:18]: Yeah, it's a black coffee. Like. 

Amir Kamal [37:18 - 37:49]: Like, why is this taking, like, 45 minutes? Like, so, like. I understand that aspect as well. Like, you know, your food's amazing. Yeah. But I also don't want to wait four hours for something. Like, I don't care how amazing it is. Right. And so, like, I've. I put myself into that. Those shoes. And I can sense when, like, two. Like, it's too long. Right, sure. And, like. Or you. I put that curtain up because I used to be. I. I felt the laser beams hit my cheeks from, like. Like, from the windows. They're just, like, looking at, like, where's my sandwich? 

Mike Ham [37:49 - 37:49]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [37:49 - 38:07]: And. And so, yeah, it. You know, we usually, like, try to, like, 5, 10, 15 minutes at most. We do say, like, 25, 30, like, at extreme times. There's been times where I've been hit with, like, four, eight sandwich orders, like, all at the same time. 

Mike Ham [38:08 - 38:08]: Right? 

Amir Kamal [38:08 - 38:11]: And it's just like, like, yeah. You know, and then there's like, how. 

Mike Ham [38:11 - 38:11]: Do we do that? 

Amir Kamal [38:11 - 38:22]: Then there's, like, right after that, it's like, four single sandwiches, right? And then it's like, all right, well, I need one person to just work on single sandwiches, because those people can't wait until all these other. 

Mike Ham [38:22 - 38:27]: Yeah, the other people should know that. Yeah, their large orders should take a little bit longer. 

Amir Kamal [38:27 - 38:28]: But, like, people don't care. 

Mike Ham [38:28 - 38:29]: No, they don't give a. 

Amir Kamal [38:29 - 38:32]: They'll give two shits. Like, people like, I don't care. 

Mike Ham [38:32 - 38:32]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [38:33 - 38:43]: You know, it's the best. So, like, my old system used to say, like, people order 15 items, and then, like, it would automatically be like, oh, it'll be ready in 15 minutes. And so, like. Because, like, yeah, it's one item, right? 

Mike Ham [38:43 - 38:43]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [38:43 - 38:59]: And so then, like, we're. We're getting hit on a Saturday or Sunday, and this big order comes in. We haven't even looked at it yet. And the person's like, yeah, I'm here for Michelle. And it's like, Michelle's like, 10 things. And you're like, all right, Michelle, like, give us, like, 20 minutes. 

Mike Ham [38:59 - 39:00]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [39:01 - 39:05]: It's like Michelle's. Like, you said 15 minutes, right? 

Mike Ham [39:05 - 39:06]: And like, come on, Michelle. 

Amir Kamal [39:06 - 39:40]: Michelle, get real. This isn't really a Michelle. It's made up. But anyway, long story short, yeah. It's. Those are things that we, you know, we work on and, you know, we. At the end of the day, I'm always on Instagram and I'm like, yo, guys, crazy day today. If anybody had a bad experience, please reach out to me. I'll make right. And I have made right. You know, at the end of the day, like, I get it. But then there's times where people like, yo, I don't give a. That sandwich was so fire. Like, I'll wait again. Like, I get it. 

Mike Ham [39:40 - 39:41]: There's certainly my daughter at school. 

Amir Kamal [39:41 - 39:42]: Yeah. 

Mike Ham [39:42 - 39:42]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [39:42 - 39:51]: There's people that are like, yo, I get it. Don't worry. Like, it's all. It's okay. But then, I don't know, just me always wanted to provide, like, the best. 

Mike Ham [39:51 - 39:51]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [39:51 - 39:54]: Service and quality. I'm always like, ah, you sure? 

Mike Ham [39:54 - 40:07]: Like, yeah, because you want that person. Like, you know, if they're not. If like it's short on a time, they need something like, really fast. But if it comes down to like, you know, a 20 minute sandwich from one place or a 30 minute sandwich from a maybe better place. 

Amir Kamal [40:07 - 40:07]: Yeah. 

Mike Ham [40:07 - 40:10]: You know, maybe it affects their decision a little bit. 

Amir Kamal [40:10 - 40:15]: Well, you know, everybody lives that like, fine line, right? So, like, every time is money. Yeah. You gotta get moving. 

Mike Ham [40:15 - 40:17]: You know, I gotta be here at. 

Amir Kamal [40:17 - 40:42]: 3, so I'm gonna get my sandwich at 3:10, and then it's gonna take me 40 minutes to get there. And so like, yo, it's 320. Like, I was supposed to be out of here, you know? Yeah. So people, you know, I get it. Listen, I'm from New York City. That's how I live my life. Right. Like, so, like, like blaming the mta. Like, God damn it. Like, I'm supposed to be here at. You know, but you know, like I said, we're learning as we go. 

Mike Ham [40:42 - 40:43]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [40:43 - 42:03]: And you know, it really, like, we've been truly blessed by the community. Like, like, I. I joke and I say, like, I'm more famous outside of Montclair than inside Montclair, which just has some truth to it. But like, the OG Montclair is like, that have been with me from the beginning. Like, you guys are the best. You know, it's. It's truly been. When I was at the hospital, I started from the bottom up. And I always said, like, I used to wear suits. I Was cliche. My favorite time was when I was on the grill making sandwiches, making pancakes for guys, eggs for guys. Just like shooting the. With people. The camaraderie, you know, that was my favorite part of by far everything. Because it made time go by so fast. You know what I mean? Like, you get to know people, you have develop relationships with people. Yeah. And it is what it is. But yeah, that's in a nutshell, that's just been, you know, the. The journey of Dutches. Yeah. You know, we're on year two. We're here for another few more years. God willing. God bless. And, you know, I'm only going to be pumping out more sandwiches every month. Like, my staff hates me because all I do is just give them more sandwiches and more sandwiches. 

Mike Ham [42:03 - 42:03]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [42:03 - 42:06]: And sometimes I even forget to tell them what the sandwich is. 

Mike Ham [42:06 - 42:06]: Sure. 

Amir Kamal [42:06 - 42:13]: Like, yo, what's this? Yeah, it's like. Yeah, I came up with it last night. 12:30 at night. Don't you know? Yeah, right. 

Mike Ham [42:13 - 42:40]: Yeah. The other thing that I do want to talk about before we kind of get. Because we are getting close to the end of this episode, but I do want to address this one is I think it's really cool, too, because you don't you see it with some businesses, and a lot of times it's businesses that I. That I do like, but businesses collabing with other businesses. Like you mentioned Pascarella Brothers. Like, obviously Pascarella Brothers, in essence, are like a direct competitor of you, but not really. But yeah, exactly. 

Amir Kamal [42:40 - 42:40]: Towns over. 

Mike Ham [42:40 - 42:43]: Like, it's not. There's really. 

Amir Kamal [42:43 - 42:56]: Honest to God, like, my goal is to go to, like, every single dope sandwich spot. Yeah. And like, collab with every single one of them or, like, rock, whatever. Like, when I was in the. The restaurant equipment industry. 

Mike Ham [42:56 - 42:56]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [42:56 - 43:12]: I learned that there was, like, enough food on the table for everybody. Sorry, sorry. I knew that was going to happen, like, right at the end. 

Mike Ham [43:12 - 43:14]: Sorry. If I didn't realize if I picked it up, it would answer. 

Amir Kamal [43:14 - 43:15]: If you pick it up, it just answers. 

Mike Ham [43:15 - 43:16]: No, that's my bad. 

Amir Kamal [43:16 - 43:19]: English Town, whoever that was, I'm so sorry. 

Mike Ham [43:21 - 43:22]: Deal with it. Call back tomorrow. 

Amir Kamal [43:22 - 43:31]: Probably gonna call back in two seconds Anyway, so what I. I had learned that there was enough food at the table for everybody. Right. 

Mike Ham [43:31 - 43:34]: Yeah. Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [43:36 - 44:00]: Dutch's Sandwich Shop, how may I help you? How are you? Oh, hey, how are you? Right now is not a good time. I'm actually doing a podcast and I'm actually closed for the day. But let me give you a call back tomorrow, Hazel. All right. Thank you. Bye. We're gonna edit that right out. 

Mike Ham [44:00 - 44:04]: Yeah, that's an easy clip anyway. 

Amir Kamal [44:04 - 44:07]: Actually, that's probably the best one. It's gonna make its way on Instagram, right? 

Mike Ham [44:07 - 44:07]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [44:07 - 44:47]: Anyway, I had learned. Let's try this again. So I had learned from that industry that there was, like, enough room at the table for, like. So basically, I was a manufacturer rep. We rep middleby lines. And for those who don't know, Middleby is, like, one of the biggest in the end of food equipment, right? They. They own Baker's Pride and Blodgett and South Bend, and I mean, all the kings of the industry. And so. But there's other manufacturer reps, right? And we all go to these conferences together. We're all friends, but then we're all vying for the same business from the same hospitals, from the same, you know, health care, you know. 

Mike Ham [44:47 - 44:48]: Yeah. Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [44:48 - 45:05]: But then you realize, like, there's so much business out there, like, so many people are, you know, and that's the same with food, man. Like. Like, if you think that I expect you to come to Dutchess every single day and have food. Food at Dutch's every single day, like, that's. It's like, I don't do that, so why would I expect anybody else? 

Mike Ham [45:05 - 45:06]: Right? 

Amir Kamal [45:06 - 45:13]: Right. And so, like, if I can promote my friends in the industry, like, while also promoting myself, you know, it's a win. Win. 

Mike Ham [45:13 - 45:13]: Like. 

Amir Kamal [45:13 - 45:51]: Yeah. With Mavs Top Buns, like, we just spoke to each other, like, for two seconds, and she was like, oh, let's collab. And I was like, let's do it. Yeah. And then I was, you know, and. And it was, like, the biggest, you know, day for Dutches at least. You know, Mavs is, like, awesome and stuff, but, like, it was a dope collab, and, like, that day was pure chaoticness. Like, maybe over 100 plus boxes. Like, 100. I have no idea. But, like, there were boxes of. Of. Of buns just all over, like, this back area. And, like, the Montclair community came out and showed, like, a lot of love. 

Mike Ham [45:51 - 45:51]: Right? 

Amir Kamal [45:51 - 46:15]: And so, like, that's. You know, we made that happen. Right? And so, like, that's. To me, that's so dope. You know, we have collabs in the works with, like, you know, like, other businesses around New Jersey. We don't want to, like, say it yet. Don't want to spill the tea. Yeah. We have some. Some pretty cool things going on with. With people outside of Montclair as well. 

Mike Ham [46:16 - 46:16]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [46:17 - 46:41]: So at the end of the day, it's it's cool to be in this together, right? Like, at that. Like, I'm able to go and shoot the. With these guys and to really pick their brains about things and to learn about X, Y and Z. And Yeah, to me, it's the only way to go. Like, I don't. I don't know how you could be like a miserable guy who only wants, like, people to come to your business. 

Mike Ham [46:41 - 46:44]: Yeah. The zero sum game. Like, if they don't buy from me, they're buying from somebody else. 

Amir Kamal [46:44 - 46:45]: Everybody. 

Mike Ham [46:45 - 46:46]: And I lose money. Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [46:46 - 46:47]: Like, no shot. 

Mike Ham [46:47 - 46:48]: You do get that. 

Amir Kamal [46:48 - 46:49]: You know, there's people out there for sure. 

Mike Ham [46:49 - 46:50]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [46:50 - 46:50]: 100. 

Mike Ham [46:50 - 46:51]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [46:51 - 46:55]: So it's like. But like, how miserable do you have to be to like. 

Mike Ham [46:55 - 46:55]: Pretty miserable. 

Amir Kamal [46:55 - 47:46]: You know what I'm saying? Like, like, who wants to be like that? And so, like, some of my closest friends, like now, like, dude from Salt Pepper Ketchup Ray, Dope guy. Other sandwich shops, you know, around, like, you know, we may do it like a. So salt, Pepper ketchup, specialized chopped cheese. We may do a chopped cheese off, right? Yeah. Like do an event and at the end of the day, if we can, you know, promote his business and he can promote my business and his product. And my product. Yeah, it's a win. Win. It doesn't really matter, you know, who is the best. I could care less. Same with the, you know, team. Taylor Taylor, Hammer and Cheese. Like, there's a belt back there. It says like, we're the king of breakfast sandwiches, but at the end of the day, I'm just joking around like, like, I put out a pretty mean product, but, like, I could care less if I'm number one or two or three. It is what it is. 

Mike Ham [47:46 - 47:47]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [47:47 - 47:59]: Just come here and stuff. That's the end of it, you know, I mean, like, that's really what it's about and. And try us out for yourselves. And if you love it, leave us a good review. Don't forget to leave reviews. Reviews are the most important. 

Mike Ham [47:59 - 48:12]: Reviews are important. Yeah. Okay, last question. Before we get into like, socials and where people can go find the stuff and all that. Do you have a projected Yankee win total for the year? Because we're recording this. What's open today, tomorrow, right? 

Amir Kamal [48:12 - 48:12]: Yeah. 

Mike Ham [48:12 - 48:28]: And so this will come out. Not this coming Tuesday, but the Tuesday after. So you will have. There will be like, some games played. Not a lot of games, but some. Like how. Maybe. Maybe like we won't give you an exact number because I'm so. 

Amir Kamal [48:28 - 48:29]: I don't think it's gonna be a good year. 

Mike Ham [48:29 - 48:35]: We lost Garrett Cole and Luis Hill for a while. And Juan Soto, you know. 

Amir Kamal [48:35 - 48:42]: Well, yeah, Juan Soda's gone. At the end of the day, this is a Yankee jersey. I know. I'm faking everybody out. 

Mike Ham [48:42 - 48:42]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [48:42 - 48:52]: But it's our game. Mariano Rivera. So, you know, Yankees all the way. I'm gonna say we're gonna be in the 60s this year. 

Mike Ham [48:52 - 48:52]: 60S? 

Amir Kamal [48:52 - 48:54]: Yeah. I don't think it's gonna be that. 

Mike Ham [48:54 - 48:55]: Great because I could. 

Amir Kamal [48:55 - 48:58]: I could see Carlos Rodone possibly going down. 

Mike Ham [48:58 - 48:59]: He stinks anyways. 

Amir Kamal [48:59 - 49:04]: Yeah. And then after that, who do we got? Like, Strowman and, like, we got Freed. 

Mike Ham [49:04 - 49:06]: But Freed is also. Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [49:06 - 49:08]: I don't think he's somebody we can like. 

Mike Ham [49:08 - 49:10]: Oh, I'm a big Max Freed. 

Amir Kamal [49:10 - 49:10]: Are you? 

Mike Ham [49:10 - 49:13]: Yeah, yeah. I mean, he's watching a pitch in Atlanta. Like, he's. 

Amir Kamal [49:13 - 49:15]: He definitely took it to the next level over the last two years. 

Mike Ham [49:15 - 49:19]: Like, listen, is he Garrett Col. Yeah, But I think that he is, like. 

Amir Kamal [49:19 - 49:23]: Exactly what you need, like, the old Mike Messina type. 

Mike Ham [49:23 - 49:33]: Well, he's like. I think this is going to be an interesting comparison. Like, Andy Pettit at the beginning of his career, like, you know, was obviously great. I'm not saying he's Andy Pettit. Like, prime Andy Pettit. 

Amir Kamal [49:33 - 49:33]: Yeah. 

Mike Ham [49:33 - 49:37]: But he's like, as Andy Pettit started, kind of like tail off a little bit, maybe not as good. 

Amir Kamal [49:37 - 49:45]: You remember, like, that those Moose days where, like, Moose was like, oh, yeah, that. Like, number two or three, and he was just like, yeah, a horse all the time. 

Mike Ham [49:45 - 49:45]: A beast. 

Amir Kamal [49:45 - 49:45]: Yeah. 

Mike Ham [49:46 - 49:50]: So I feel like he's kind of in that realm. Like, he's a Bulldog. Like, he just, you know. Yeah, he pitches. 

Amir Kamal [49:50 - 49:58]: Yeah. I think Stan is, you know, he's out too, you know. You know, do we get that production from Jason Dominguez? 

Mike Ham [49:58 - 49:59]: Yeah, we can't play the outfield. 

Amir Kamal [49:59 - 50:01]: That's a problem. You know the Martian. 

Mike Ham [50:01 - 50:02]: Yeah. 

Amir Kamal [50:02 - 50:07]: Do we have. I mean, so many question marks. I don't see it this year. I think we are. 

Mike Ham [50:08 - 50:12]: I think they win 80. I think they are at least 500 with their eyes closed. 

Amir Kamal [50:12 - 50:12]: Okay. 

Mike Ham [50:12 - 50:20]: Regardless. Because I just don't think the. The AL is as good as it was in the past. Like, Boston's gotten better, for sure. 

Amir Kamal [50:20 - 50:21]: It could be Aaron Boone's. 

Mike Ham [50:22 - 50:23]: You think so? 

Amir Kamal [50:23 - 50:24]: It could be. 

Mike Ham [50:24 - 50:24]: I don't think. 

Amir Kamal [50:24 - 50:27]: I feel like if they go as bad as I possibly say they do. 

Mike Ham [50:27 - 50:34]: If they do that bad, then. Yeah, forget it. You can't have. You can't have all those high paid guys and win 60 something games. 

Amir Kamal [50:34 - 50:40]: But in reality, you have no idea because, like, the Rangers were supposed to be like Stanley cup, you know, contender this year. 

Mike Ham [50:40 - 50:42]: Well, they're always a Stanley cup contender and they choke and choke it out. 

Amir Kamal [50:42 - 50:44]: But now they're not. They can't even make the playoffs. 

Mike Ham [50:44 - 50:46]: So it's just like, go Devils, by the way. 

Amir Kamal [50:46 - 50:47]: Yeah. 

Mike Ham [50:48 - 50:55]: All right, so. So now that we've gotten that out of the way, we'll make sure we clip that too. And we'll play that at the end of the season. See how close we were. 

Amir Kamal [50:55 - 50:58]: We. We're gonna go to a game together. Yeah, for sure. 

Mike Ham [50:58 - 51:04]: Yeah, that'd be awesome. Where can people go to learn more? Where would you want them to go to learn more about Duchess? 

Amir Kamal [51:04 - 51:27]: Duchess Montclair. Everything. Instagram tick tock www.duchessmonclair.com we are shouting out a new podcast that we're about to launch. Dab Dads Me Dan from the Quarry Grill. It's gonna be pretty insane. First episode drops next week. That's a shameless plug on our end. 

Mike Ham [51:27 - 51:28]: We love shameless plugs. 

Amir Kamal [51:29 - 51:39]: But yeah, nah. This has been honestly a long time coming. Truly appreciate that was my poor attempt at the. It's not bad. Yeah. It's okay, right? 

Mike Ham [51:39 - 51:45]: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, at least it's the colors. The colors are right. I mean, I didn't wear any of my own colors, but what are you gonna do? 

Amir Kamal [51:45 - 51:47]: I didn't wear my merchandise either. So. 

Mike Ham [51:47 - 51:51]: Yeah, I mean, I got the hat, but I got the black and white radio hat, so. 

Amir Kamal [51:51 - 52:12]: But yeah, man. Yeah, dude, that's. That's where you can find us if you ever order. Order through our website. It helps the business out the best. But yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, guys truly been blessed with this opportunity that God has given me and we're looking to, you know, take it to the moon like we said. 

Mike Ham [52:12 - 52:33]: Awesome. Love it. We'll make sure. Put all the show notes or in the show notes, put all the links that Amir just said. Thank you for having me out and for taking some time after you guys are closed to record. This has been great. A long time coming. I feel like we've been talking about it for forever, but I'm actually the worst. Like we were talking about before we got started. Like, just like leaving emails on red or being like, I'll get back to that guy. 

Amir Kamal [52:33 - 52:35]: Where. Where you know, at the end of the day. 

Mike Ham [52:35 - 52:35]: Or businessmen. 

Amir Kamal [52:35 - 52:38]: Business. It is what it is. 

Mike Ham [52:38 - 52:40]: Like men of business. Yes. 

Amir Kamal [52:40 - 52:41]: Where the business socks. 

Mike Ham [52:43 - 52:52]: So put links in the show. Notes. Thank you. Thank you everybody for listening again. This was the Greetings from the Garden State podcast powered by the New Jersey Lottery. We were at Dutchess in Montclair. We'll see you next week. 

Amir Kamal [52:52 - 52:53]: Awesome. Take care. Gu. 

Mike Ham [53:00 - 53:02]: Do you all right? 

Amir Kamal [53:03 - 53:09]: Oh, tell me before you go all the way. Do you Alright.