71dine
71dine, the podcast that invites you on an immersive journey through the heart and soul of southern Colorado. Whether you're a seasoned local or a first-time explorer, join us as we savor the rich flavors and craft lasting memories together. Welcome to where southern Colorado's captivating narrative unfurls through its vibrant people, rich culture, and delectable cuisine. Join us as we delve into the tapestry of this extraordinary region, one episode at a time, celebrating the people, the culture, and the food that make it truly exceptional.
71dine
Ricky's Rock City Cafe: Food, Passion and Grit
Imagine growing up inspired by the chaotic charm of a professional kitchen, driven by a passion to serve people with heart-warming meals. Our guest, Ricky, of Rock City Cafe in Colorado Springs, has lived this dream. From starting out as a dishwasher at Bambino's at 16 to owning his own restaurant, Ricky's journey is brimming with inspiring tales of grit, sacrifice, and unyielding perseverance. He shares his deep-rooted belief in the power of a good meal to transform a day, and even a movie-watching experience, offering a unique perspective on the interplay of food and moods.
Running a kitchen is no easy feat. Ricky candidly delves into the nitty-gritty of this all-consuming profession. He recounts his long hours, the continuous learning, and the solace that the kitchen provides to many 'misfits'. Despite the challenges, Ricky credits his success to his supportive wife and his admiration for the culinary legend, Anthony Bourdain. His story is a testament to the beauty of passion, and the lengths one can go to bring joy to others, one meal at a time.
There's so much more than just cooking to Ricky's tale. As we navigate the topics of food industry dynamics, the encroachment of corporate restaurants, and the trials of mom-and-pop establishments, Ricky's insights paint a vivid picture. He also throws light on his restaurant's menu, the importance of a balanced diet, and his unique take on the Monte Cristo. His memories of street basketball and his tips for running a successful restaurant, add a personal touch to this hearty conversation. All set to feast on this serving of stories? Tune in and savor the flavors of a restaurant owner's life.
You're listening to Joe and the 7 One Dine podcast.
Speaker 2:Yes, this is the 7 One Dine podcast. I am your host, joe. Now, for those of you who listen to the introduction episode that I posted a few days ago, you know that today is our inaugural episode. If you didn't listen to the introduction and you're listening now, then you also know that today is our inaugural episode. I would encourage you, though, that once you're done listening to this episode, go back, click on the introduction episode, even though you're listening to it out of order, I think you'll be able to follow along just fine.
Speaker 2:Okay, two things before we get to the reason why everybody is here today. First and foremost, I cannot tell you the amount of support and encouragement I have received from my friends, from my family, from strangers that I talked to, about this project and this podcast, and especially those within the industry who have embraced it so much. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Honestly, this is jumping off better than I could have ever imagined or even hoped for. So, again, thank you.
Speaker 2:One second once one of these interviews is conducted, I have the recording, I bring it back here to the studio, and I do what's called post-production. Post-production is just a fancy podcast terminology. That means production that happens post the interview. What does that mean to you? It means that this episode is presented to you unedited, in its entirety. All of that being said, I had the great pleasure of sitting down with one of my favorite people, ricky, at Rock City Cafe. You can find his restaurant, of course, at 1812. Dominion Way. It's in Colorado Springs. I don't remember the zip code, but I know it starts with 809.
Speaker 3:Oh, there it is 80918.
Speaker 2:You get a lot of the regulars I like seeing like he comes in every day.
Speaker 2:Check, check. Oh yeah, anywhere there's pretty good pickup check, check, check, check. I'll just say it closer to you what should be working. Yeah, this is a project I've been wanting to do for for years and I just tried other podcasts. I even tried a fantasy football podcast. I didn't play fantasy football right and I just thought, you know, at six years into making and I just figured I would finally come out and do something I'm passionate about. And you know I learned, if you're passionate about it, the quality will be there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, definitely, and that's how I look at it too. You know, I started out on. My first gig was Bambino's Bambino's. I was 16 at Tower Plaza on Circle and Platte yes, and.
Speaker 3:I started out there as a dishwasher, worked my way into prep you know stuff like that and then I've worked a few different dozen places over the years. You know I was the executive sous chef at Springs Orleans, right downtown. I was there for a while. You know I met my wife working at Kingshaw but yeah, 22 years in the business of me and my wife have owned this place, eight years now. It's just what I love to do. I love food, you know. Yeah, I love, I love cooking. I like, I like the fact that, like you can take somebody's having a horrible, just a shitty day and a good meal and it changes and it changes a whole perspective of the day yeah, that whole hangry monster.
Speaker 3:It's a real thing, right you? Know that's a, it's a real thing with the, with the hangriness and uh. But yeah, I feel like you know, it's something that I. I come in here day in, day out, and this is what I do, it's what I love yeah, I love. I love getting the people come in the kitchen like bro, it was amazing. It's like I know. Yeah, that's why I love doing this.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I've been here with family, with my wife obviously, and someone will come in and they'll just, they'll just, they'll come right in and yell your name and yell.
Speaker 3:I see you peek out the peek all over on it and you're like, hey, what's up yo?
Speaker 2:it's funny you mentioned the Bambinos. I mean Sue, I can't remember her husband name and then they open that, yeah, and then they open that burger place, uh-huh and just, but it's, it's. It's so cool to hear that you know 16 as a dishwasher and you just kind of moved up and I just kept going.
Speaker 3:Yes, it's one of those. The kitchen life has always kind of been a fallback, you know it's. I've tried other things and it comes down to it. It's just I'm passionate about food. I, I, you know, I like, we like to see people, we love people, we like to be able to just make people's days. And something so simple like a good cooked meal now, nothing stravagan, nothing fancy, just cooked good, yeah, a lot of love into it. You know, that's like I don't. I don't understand places where you go and you just get some slapped on the grill, heated up real quick and sent out the window oh yeah you know like, yeah, it takes a little bit of time when you actually cook the food properly, but it's worth it well, yeah, and it's.
Speaker 2:You know, even in a, in a down economy, people reach out, like you're saying all those comfort things and one of the things they love is movies. Yeah, and very before that is is dining out, it's good.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's what they reach for, that creature comfort, you know to feel normal right. Well, who wants to go watch a movie on an empty stomach?
Speaker 2:no, nobody.
Speaker 3:And if I'm choosing between the two, you know food for I'd watch a movie at my house, right, right, I might as well get a good meal and then go sit on my ass, yeah but people said well, you can eat at home.
Speaker 2:And I'm like it's, it's different. I've, and I view it differently. I view it as like an experience. Yeah, this isn't. I'm just not coming here just to eat right, I'm coming here for ambiance, environment, music.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know it's, it's, it's, it's out of it's. Like you're in your comfort zone, but out of your comfort zone, you know. Yeah, like you. Like you want to feel someone. So we want to be somewhere where you feel welcome, where you feel like, okay, if it's my first time or it's my 30th time, I still feel that, that, that vibe, that for, like, like, I've known this dude forever, even though I just met him. You know, I want people to come in here and be able to experience walking in and we treat you like family, you know, and and whether, like I said, whether it's your first time or your 30th time, or, like the gentleman that just left, he's here every day. That's family, yeah, that's family. Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:If you're supporting my family, I consider you family yeah, I mean so many restaurant owners or chef owners, or even just cooks, chefs, yeah, and, and they they really understand, like I focus only on independence nothing against chains, yeah, nothing against, but it it. A lot of these places it really feels like you're being welcomed into their home. Yeah, and it's like hey, have a seat. What do you need, right? You know, it's kind of like when you have that come in, sit down, enjoy yourself.
Speaker 3:Let's have some laughs, get some good food, yeah it's like a long-lost relative when they when they.
Speaker 2:You know, maybe not lost, but you haven't seen them in a while they knock on your door at eight o'clock at night yeah you're not like hey, you didn't call ahead.
Speaker 3:Right, no, it's like hey, come on in, Come on Are you hungry Right Like you could show up 10 minutes before we open, you could show up 10 minutes before we close. I'm still going to treat you like it's the middle of the day.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I came in right before closing. She's sweeping up and nothing. But hey, what's up, what's up, yeah how are you?
Speaker 3:How are you doing? But that's how it is. It's like I've always been one of those places. I have a closing time and if I got a line at the door at 2 o'clock, guess what? I'm serving everybody that's here. Yeah, I don't care if I'm here till 4 o'clock cooking, but if you're in here before I lock my door, I'm taking care of you. I'm taking care of you, the best possibility I can. So that's how I want it to be. I don't want it to ever be like oh, you showed up right before close. Right, I ain't got time for groveling. Yeah, I've got time for that stuff, man. And I tell my cooks the same thing. I was like are those people coming in that door? That's your paycheck.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:You treat them with love and respect. And the people in the best meal. Whether it's the first plate of the day or the last plate of the day, you sell it as the best plate.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it should be love. That's why I don't like when I'm walking around those stores and they're like attention customers, we're closing in 15 minutes, Right, Please hurry up and finish your shopping, and you know it's? You're awesome. So when you started working at Bambino's, when did it hit you Like man? This is something I could do.
Speaker 3:It was probably a couple months into it and then I left there. Then I went into the next gig and I've worked a lot of chain places. I worked a few mom and pop shops and stuff, and so I've seen a lot of different elements of this industry. From the kitchen perspective, obviously, and it's just one of those things Like I've always loved food, I used to cook with my grandma all the time. My cook would want mom all the time and then just getting into the industry, be able to do it and learning things and the people you meet along the way Some crazy ones, so really they're crazy, but I learned so much from the crazy ones. You know, like they just have a different way of looking at it and teaching you and helping you embrace it to the best of your knowledge and how you can embrace it. So I feel that with just time and learning the differences and not just being like, oh, I did it once I'm not a fan I was like, no, I came back to it and then you know it's like, and I've had many times in my life I've had to restart. You know I've had to do a reset on everything and the one thing that I always knew I could have was the kitchen. I always could go back to the job. You know, and it's you know, and Anthony Bourdain, he says it the best, and I actually have a tattoo on my leg, oh, wow, and I got this shortly after he passed.
Speaker 3:And it says in America, the professional kitchen is the last refuge of the misfit. It's a place for people who with bad past to find a family, and it's more than not. You know, I'm a prodigy of that myself. You know, and I know a lot of people that are too. You know, and you can go anywhere in this world. I go anywhere in this world. I get a job anywhere. Why? Why? Because I got a passion. I know how to cook. I know how to cook.
Speaker 3:I'm willing to learn how to cook differently. I'm willing to learn more. I tell everybody all the time. I've even told my kids this no matter what you know, you don't know it all. You'll never know it all. 37 years old, I've been doing this 22 years, almost 22 years. I'll be 38 soon and reality, I don't know shit in this culinary world.
Speaker 3:Like I know what I know and I know it very well. But when it comes to a lot of spectators, like I tip my hat to some of the guys out there doing these things that I would love to do and I have done in the past working in fine dining and stuff like that come the end of the day I'm a family man. I love my wife, I love my kids. I want to be home every night. So breakfast was kind of my gig, you know. It's like, oh, it's like I could be home, like I'm literally going to get out of here, go get my kid from school you know what I mean and to be able to still do that and still work my full time job. It's early morning. Most mornings start about 4 o'clock because when I wake, up, I'm here by 5, 5.30.
Speaker 3:But I'm home every night. I'm home for dinner, I'm home for homework, I'm home for sports, I'm home for video games, I'm home for sitting on our asses and not doing anything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and 4 o'clock is kind of tough, but if you look at what's the cost of not getting up before, it's not being there for the school plays and the concerts and sports events All the after school activities and stuff like that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, weekends are rough, obviously, and it is nice when you have staff you don't have to work weekends. And then there's times where I had to follow up with a staff member. Now I'm working six days a week, but what I got to do? The restaurant don't stop because I ain't got staff. The restaurant keeps going.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my oldest son and I were huge Anthony Bourdain fans. Oh yeah, huge yeah of everything that he stood for and talked about. Exactly.
Speaker 1:Little bit of his food.
Speaker 2:So when someone says, ricky, you're fine, you only work 7.30 to 2. Do you just start laughing?
Speaker 3:I laugh. I'm only open 7.30 to 2. Workday starts roughly two hours before and ends about two hours after, and even then I don't just work a kitchen, I run a business. My job doesn't end. That's like my wife's to stay at home mom. Her job is 24-7. Never stops. She's got two kids in school, now a house to take care of my dirty laundry. My wife does it all. She's amazing, and if it wasn't for her, god man, I'd be lost in this world right now.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, we always had to help, but there's a lot of people out there that work 9 to 5. And when they punch out of 5, they're like oh, I'm going to from 501 to 859 the next day, yeah they're not even thinking about nothing.
Speaker 3:No, for me it's a constant wheel, turning like the little hamster, just never stops, you know. But I signed up for it, right, you know? Like, oh, yeah, work for yourself, it'll be great. Like, uh, yeah, sure, yeah, 24, seven. Yeah, work for myself, it's great. But it is great. It is great because I I don't have to answer to a boss, I don't have to follow somebody else's rules, I get to work the schedule I would like to work. Right, when applicable, of course, right, sure, you know there's ups and downs to the business, as always, but it's, it's what I love, man. It's, it's, it's love. Like I could sit and talk food.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, you know I mean, like God, that's what we do in the kitchen. We're literally cooking and talking about other different food stuff, and you know it's great, it's, I love it, I love it. You know you see people on TV doing the competitions all the time. It's like you know. I just I've thought about doing competition cooking, but then again I'm also a little intimidated by that we do the fact of that. My career isn't like extravagant and fancy and traveled all over the world and all done all these crazy things that some people have done. I've been pretty homebody with my career. Yeah, you know, I started here in this city and it'll probably end here in this city, and I'm okay with that you know yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, we had a talk one time another restaurants and friends of mine, where everybody wakes up and they're like I want to change the world and I think a lot of times. We think the world, we think globally, but if you can make your world like Colorado Springs, it doesn't have to be everywhere. So if your world, you impact it as best you can.
Speaker 3:I feel like. I feel like you know most. Any small business owner makes an impact in their community, Good one or a bad one, it just depends on how you perceive it. And I feel that, yeah, you know I mean a good meal to start your day, a good meal to end your day, is might as well be a strong drink. Yeah, you know what I mean and and I feel that with just being here and people you know, even after the pandemic, you know, it's like everybody got shut down, a lot of places closed down.
Speaker 3:I didn't. I worked six days a week by myself in my own restaurant, taking orders, answering the phones, cashing people out and cooking the food. I did it by myself and we survived. It was a struggle but we survived and I think it was. It was like an eye opener for a lot of people. I'm kind of a, you know, I won't say a blessing in disguise, but it was bittersweet because it was like a second chance, because once everything reopened, it was. It was rough. It was like having to rebuild a brain, yeah, you know, and a lot of mom and pop shops felt that and but what didn't kill us made us stronger. I feel Right, and for the mom and pop community of this city especially, I feel like a lot of small businesses are thriving now, because that was the main focus of you know what can we do to continue to not lose our mom and pop shops?
Speaker 2:you know and, and, and. If you didn't have that passion, it would have been easy for someone to say it would have been easy for me to close my doors and take that government money. This isn't even really what I wanted to be doing in the first place.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, I could have easily done like my life, like some people did lock that, shut it down, lay everybody off, take that government money and buy.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Buy. Like oh, thanks, I'll pay this off over the time of my life. But I didn't want to do that. You know, I took as I took, as minimum as I could, because I don't want that lingering over my head Like, oh, guess what you owe the government for the rest of your fucking life. Like no, I'm cool man, I'm screwed out.
Speaker 3:I'd rather owe them than mom, Exactly I'd rather owe them the mom money than the damn IRS, you know. And so that's just you know. But I feel we, you know, we just we've been in this place now six years. My wife and I started in August of 2015. We started Roxy Cafe in our first location, which is Boulder and Union, where that Starbucks is now oh, yeah, it used to be a little strip mall. We were in there 13 seats, nothing big. Me and my wife did it More one of my sister and mom.
Speaker 2:That's just a little bit bigger than Gary's pink castle or the castle, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, and I mean I've worked, I worked that castle for many years you know I worked under Gary. Taco is, that's like my big brother. We go back 16 years. Yeah See, you know I've known Taco forever. I've known Gary quite a while too. You know I worked for him. For I worked for him on two different occasions around a different job, and I met my wife there. She worked for Gary for six years.
Speaker 2:For six years.
Speaker 3:Yeah, maybe even longer. But yeah, definitely big yeah definitely yeah, and you know so. So then we ventured off and started our own thing and, and but you know, I know people, I don't play like Chuck at Munchies.
Speaker 1:Oh great, I used to work.
Speaker 3:I used to be a part of the. I used to work at Blue Star Nosh. Oh, yeah, so I know Chuck Nosh, is that still around?
Speaker 3:No, I mean, Nosh went real fast, real fast after those days, nosh kind of flat lined a little bit. Blue Star wasn't far behind it, but then I can't remember what his name was, the Joe Coleman, the Joe Coleman group. So I knew Chuck through from from the, the, the butcher shop that he was working for, joe Coleman Right. And so so me and Chuck, you know, we kind of we have our run-ins all the time and I go there and eat and he comes here and eat and and then I know you know a lot of other people around town, big chefs, tommy Graves, mark Henry, stuff like that. So we've all, you know, we kind of bounce off each other a little bit, you know, and try to try to just share as much love as possible.
Speaker 3:And that's how I look at it is if, if the small restaurant owners in this city could just band together, like we do already, and continue to with even the food trucks and and other mom and pop gigs, and just support one another as much as possible and promote one another as much as possible. Yeah, you know, that's the biggest thing. It's like I'm not worried about my competition, because I don't look at them as competition. I look at them as a stepping stone, I look at myself as a stepping stone for other businesses too, and that's what I want. I don't feel like we shouldn't be working against to be better than each other. We should be working together to help uplift one another and promote each other.
Speaker 2:It's that protecting of your industry. Yeah.
Speaker 3:This is because I'll tell you one thing it is the mom and pop restaurant industry is is for for a quick minute it was damn near extinct. You know it was. It was running rough for a while in this town and and obviously this is a military city. So the corporate, the corporate overload game is is absurd and it still is, because, like we opened up here snooze, opened up first watched, opened up omelettes, etc. Another urban egg, you know, or over easy, whatever the hell it is. Now, you know, all these I'm surrounded by, in and out burgers, water burgers, all this I'm surrounded by, surrounded by, and people wait hours and hours and hours and lines for these places and shit like that.
Speaker 2:It's like why, why it's in, you know, and it's, it's, yeah, it's part of the reason we do this is why I'm doing this. I say we because I have family members who helped out. But we, I'm a big economics guy and I'm a huge spend locally guy.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and you know, put the money back into the community Exactly Because, if you don't guess what, it just goes to somebody else's pocket.
Speaker 2:I mean my first date with my wife. We went to uh oh man, it was Greg Howard's place, uh like an Irish little public camp, think of it now. But here in town, yep mccapes yes, thank you, mccapes down there on south by south side, johnny's back in the hay day yep, yeah, I remember that place I had uh it's like street car now or something. Yeah but I have the curry fries yo yeah right, yeah see I missed.
Speaker 1:I can't wait to play this for my wife, because she's gonna be.
Speaker 2:I got that and she's like what is that? I'm like it's curry fries. And she's like, nope, and she did have, uh, his famous, uh, green chili mac and cheese.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, but she was not feeling the curry fries that's a, that's an acquired taste you know that's an acquired taste, but yeah, in caves to Aberton, man, that's god. That was hay days. Yeah, south south nevada, no, south tahan, yeah, tahan, yeah, yeah, because then they had original oscars. Yep was right there by in front of the castle and then you went down a little bit. It was south side johnny's and the caves and all that. And then now look at that place. Yeah, the pool, you got dember. Basically, company moved in. Atomic pizza, fastsulles, dose. Uh, was that dos Santos? Yeah, the ice cream shop, now five, I think, a street car.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure, I think it is street car now, where my caves used to be but then you also go downtown and you see all these nice new places like I try red gravy right, which used to be, uh, the olive branch back in the day, you know.
Speaker 3:And then, um, I don't know what it is now, but the ritz, yeah, the ritz I remember because I used to work at springs or lean, so we shared an alley with them. Uh, you can't go wrong with um, what's the irish one down there? Jack, oh, jack quinn's, yeah, jack quinn's, yeah, yeah. And it's like I remember running those alleys. You know, like we're out of something in this kitchen, run down the alley to the next kitchen's backdoor popping see what you could borrow to barter, trade stuff.
Speaker 3:Like I missed those days, those those old school days and uh.
Speaker 2:But the industry but you were like neighbors, like yeah, you were literally out. Yeah, can I borrow?
Speaker 3:a cup of sugar right it's like, hey, I need a case of potatoes or I need, I need, I need this or I need that, I need, you know, a case of heavy cream. And that's what we did. And you know it's like okay, my next truck I'll get you back. Yeah, and that was.
Speaker 2:That was great and uh I'm sure nobody ever had to worry.
Speaker 3:No, because you weren't gonna get him back right, right, because it's like you just call knocking at my back door and I got you covered, yeah, but you know, and I feel like a lot of that's still there, but it's losing to corporate yeah, like downtown's nice because it still is a lot of mom-and-pop. The hard part is it's so restrictive with parking and yeah, you know, it's just such a. It's a nightmare. I avoid downtown.
Speaker 3:I don't go downtown, yeah I just can't like, if I do it, I find a place like on the outskirts, you know and uh, but that's why I like like the north end of of tejon, closer to like boulder and stuff like that. You know, odyssey, I mean, I remember when tonys was where odyssey is and poor richards used to be that whole building that yeah, they used to have tonys in now you know and it's like, but then, uh, jenny and tyler sherman they were my bosses at springs were leames.
Speaker 3:Yeah, see, before they started odyssey, jenny was my restaurant manager and tyler was one of the one of the office guys.
Speaker 3:He was the higher one of the higher ups like so we go way, way back with you, you know like, like, uh, james davis, he, he is working sheba bar, okay, the cyberpunk place down there. You know it's all sushi and stuff. But that's my chef mentor. Like, I learned everything I know about how to be a chef from that dude.
Speaker 3:Yeah, up until him I was a corporate cook, you know, I just did linework, yeah, and then I worked for him for four years and him and jason miller and andy lopez, and and uh, we all worked together with, um, uh, perry sanders he owns springs, were leames, he's a antler hotel and stuff. Now, um, so that was like where my big break into being a chef kind of came in and where I really learned how the the vibe of a kitchen should work. Not, oh, here, here's 20 people doing the same thing in different stations. Instead it was like no, you got to think on your toes. You got to be able to manipulate food and and and time stuff and then just do so much at once and it's, it's like a ballet yeah, I reached out to a chef here in town uh number years ago actually.
Speaker 2:He had the black bear up in green mountain falls um victor mathews yeah, but I wanted to see how the kitchen ran in conjunction with the front of house. Right, you know I wasn't trying to learn tips and tricks, and just you know it's it's it's a war sometimes back there, and that's.
Speaker 3:That's the thing here is. I look at this, we're all one team, you know. So it is one of those things where it's like the communication between the two, you know, like she starts to get busy, she'll come my way, just will come tell me like, hey, I'm about to screw you I'm like all right, like let's go.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know. And and there's times where I have to tell like, hey, slow down a little bit, or you could pick it up, or you know. But but I think everybody just being on a good vibe and and trying to keep the hostility out of the workplace, you know what I mean, because I I'm. My past is I used to be one of those guys. I was an asshole in the kitchen, you know, and I'd get pissed off about stuff all the time. And now it's just like man, I'm making money.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'll tell, I look at it. I'm looking at you know, like, oh, you want to customize, you want to make your own menu and whatever. That's cool. You're paying me to do it and people enjoy that. People know that they could come here and they know that that meal is made to scratch the order. So I can my dudes and don'ts, I can do what I like. I could do what I don't like, you know, and I want people to be comfortable. Come here and eat how you want to eat, um, within my menu, obviously you know it's like I can't make things that I don't have.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're not gonna shop for breakfast and ask for chateau brionne.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that sounds good, though, but but yeah, you know, and that's just one of those things where I just definitely, um, I just want people to have somewhere to go to get a damn good meal. Yeah you know what I mean and yeah, sometimes I'm not for everyone.
Speaker 1:I know it yeah.
Speaker 3:Oh well, you don't like me, stay away, I don't give a shit, yeah, but I, I love what I do and I do what I do because I love it. I love the people. You know we have a great follow. We have a great client, as hell um of regulars that just Are just up to bat for us 24 seven and that's one of the things I wanted to mention, and I'll just ask you one more question after this.
Speaker 2:But but some of your customers, when we've come in, yeah, have welcomed us. Oh, yeah, like, hey, good to see you.
Speaker 3:She's gonna get you a cup of coffee and I'm like, yeah, we got people, yeah, I got regulars will come in here and if you're by yourself and they're by themselves, they'll tell you to come sit with them. You know what I mean? The community table scenario, you know that's one of the things I miss. Uh, you know I miss about some places. They have just one of the one big table. He's sitting next to it.
Speaker 2:Yep, that happened to me in France and they were like Right, here was, it was the march after, uh, september 11th. Okay and we walked into this, this place. We sat at the same table, yeah, and the the server came over. She's like what can I get you guys? There's just two of us. And uh, and the guy next to us says these are our friends from America. They need wine glasses. Next to me. We're part of their birthday party, right, I mean?
Speaker 3:they turn the lights off. But why, why not? Yeah, why not?
Speaker 2:I'm like, the more the merrier it's three o'clock in the morning in Paris and I'm like this is my first trip to your. I'm like there's no way this is happening.
Speaker 3:No way you like pinch myself. Yeah, that's for real. But yeah, man, no, I definitely Having a place of community, you know. I mean a place we yeah, you can walk in and first time here, or you know, you've been here every day. I'm gonna say hey, I'm gonna, you know, ruffle feathers. I'm gonna be on taco, oh yeah. Like you know I look at it like this if I'm harassing you, that means I like yeah.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:Like. I have customers who come in and like, oh, great food, but I love the harassment.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3:It's like yeah, that's cool, I like that too, you know, sometimes people don't, people don't like that.
Speaker 2:Last question from me, ricky. Yeah appreciate the time. What If somewhere were to say greasy spoon to you, like what is? Because I think a lot of times like when I say it, I mean it as a. It's a compliment, a compliment, a diner, it's just.
Speaker 3:I think, I think people have steered away from the the compliment of a greasy spoon, and looked at it more as like You're gonna get something fast like a sloth house you know what I mean. A greasy spoon to me is, uh, that's like a diamond in the rough. You know, that's the gem.
Speaker 3:Yes, you know I was like oh, that's a greasy spoon, that's, that's where you want to go to food. You know it's like you want to go there, you want to eat, you're gonna get a damn good meal, you're gonna. You know, I mean sometimes, yeah, service might be a little slow, we're busy. It happens when you, when you cooked from scratch Every order that comes in, you start it right then, and there, 10 people, the 11th person, yeah, they're me, all my. Take a minute, yeah, if you don't want to, can understand that, I guess. Then I don't know, I don't want to tell you go Sit in a drive-thru or something you know yeah, there's somewhere else.
Speaker 2:I remember playing basketball in northern virginia and I'm not one of those street hustler kids and play like these tough courts in oh yeah, in new york.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I did that in miami.
Speaker 2:living in miami, yeah, play street ball pickup games all day this guy would show up in the in the jordan shoes and the jordan shorts and the jordan shirt flash and someone would have first pick and they'd be like I picked that guy and then I'd have next pick. I'm picking the guy with no socks. He's got a pair of shoes on and cut off jeans.
Speaker 3:That's the guy I want, because I know he's not here to impress somebody, he's here to play ball, and that's I don't need to be flashy. My food makes a statement.
Speaker 2:Yeah, our environment makes it.
Speaker 3:It's fantastic everything about it and yeah, we're gonna we're gonna get this thing rolling and you guys see my special board man, or just some cartonitas breakfast.
Speaker 2:Really.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and a Monte Cristo classic style french toast and deep fried in pancake.
Speaker 2:So I gotta tell you the, the, the stranger thing sound or the more unique thing sound. I have to try it, the more intriguing. So the first time I had a Monte Cristo, I'm like, okay, hold on, you're gonna take ham and turkey, put two kinds of cheese, make it a sandwich, cook it like french toast, put powdered sugar on it and I dip it in raspberry jam. Yeah, it just got better.
Speaker 3:Every single word mine is. It's ham, turkey and bacon, swiss american, french toast, all pinned together, battered in pancake and then deep fried. So I got real, real classic with so you have healthy options.
Speaker 2:Here is what you're saying.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, healthy, if you want to go take a nap.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:No, but we do. Yeah, we definitely do have healthy.
Speaker 2:You know, oh yeah, absolutely because we cook scratch shorter.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I can, I can cook clean for you. I can make clean food, I can make healthy food. Do I prefer not to? Yeah, hell yeah, but I was eating healthy. I do?
Speaker 2:I need the healthy plate?
Speaker 3:And the hash brown and a hash brown. Yeah, yeah, light butter, please, I could?
Speaker 2:come I could. Yeah, just a light butter, and I'll salt it myself.
Speaker 3:Yeah, man, now people, people love it and that's why I always just try to keep, keep like and this is funny too, because a lot of specials Like I rotate them. I don't, yeah, some of these, there's some things people always ask me for, so I'm like, okay, I gotta keep a rotation on past things Because people like them stuff. Yeah, and if I got, if I added everything that sells good as a special, so if I had it to my menu, I'd have a six inch foot the menu, right, right now I'm trying to keep the menu simple.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when I did consulting for restaurants, I'm like you know, I always, I always compare it to A chain restaurant. I used to do secret dining for they had a book Like war and peace on the menu Yo and I'm like man. You can do a whole bunch of things, okay, or do a handful of things just really better than anybody.
Speaker 3:Well, not only that, it's like I don't want to, it's so it, man, makes people more indecisive. Yeah, you know I always look at as less as more. Yes, I mean, I could make people's lives a little easier by only having late, like this is what this is, and something sounds good, but you want to alter it a little bit? Then alter it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, make it your way. First day I came with my son, my oldest son, one of your specials was, uh, you were doing a special breakfast burrito and his thing is breakfast burrito and he bit into that. He's like what the hell is going on? And he just Hammered through that thing I might have been chimichanga yeah it might have been deep right.
Speaker 3:You do those every Tuesday. Now Chimichanga is every Tuesday. Every Tuesday, that's my new thing, so it's been catching on right on trying new things.
Speaker 2:I appreciate your time. Yeah, we're back in and yeah, I can't wait. I'm gonna Make sure that dog gets his check up here soon. Yeah, you know your dog right checked up two weeks ago.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's fine. Yeah, that's sniffles.
Speaker 2:Right on, brother, appreciate you, I appreciate you. You know, not only did I get to learn about ricky's story, his journey to where he is today, but it was so much fun taking that little walk down memory lane. And a side note, I wasn't kidding about those hash browns. With that, our inaugural episode comes to a conclusion. A big shout out and thanks to ricky at rock city cafe. Go see him and his staff there. Tell him you heard about him on 7 1 dine. And, of course, should you want more information about rock city cafe, go to 7 1 dine, com. Click on the podcast section, scroll down. You'll see rock city cafe's beautiful picture there, links to their menu and to their location, provided to you completely free of charge.
Speaker 2:One bit of housekeeping before I sign off. When you're at 7 1 dine, please go to the top of the page, click on special events, scroll down and you'll see links to our friends who are hosting the second annual best of the west wingfest. A wonderful event. You'll have a great time. And did I mention there's going to be wings there? Another great story next week, of course. Thank you for listening. Tucker, remind him who we are.
Speaker 1:7 1 until next time don't forget, you can find the 7 1 dine podcast at spotify, apple, google, audible, basically wherever podcasts are located. That's where we'll be Visit us at 7 1 dine com.