Hustle & Heat
Hustle & Heat Podcast is where passion meets execution. Hosted by the team at Dubz BBQ, the show dives into real conversations with entrepreneurs, creators, chefs, and community leaders who have built something meaningful through hard work, discipline, and resilience.
Each episode explores the stories behind the success—what it took to get started, the challenges faced along the way, and the lessons learned under pressure. From food and hospitality to business, branding, and personal growth, Hustle & Heat highlights the mindset required to thrive when the stakes are high.
No fluff. No shortcuts. Just real hustle and real heat.
Hustle & Heat
Hustle and Heat Podcast Ep24 | Bert Parsley of The Twisted Fork
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In Episode 24 of Hustle & HEAT, we sit down with Bert Parsley, owner of The Twisted Fork, to talk about the journey behind one of Southwest Florida’s favorite local restaurants. 🍴🔥
From building a recognizable brand to navigating the restaurant industry, Bert shares insights on entrepreneurship, customer experience, food culture, and what it takes to stand out in a competitive market.
If you’re passionate about local business, hospitality, leadership, and the hustle behind successful restaurants, this is an episode you do not want to miss.
🎙️ Hustle & HEAT highlights the stories, struggles, and successes of entrepreneurs and community leaders making an impact across SWFL.
What's up guys and welcome back to another episode of Hustle and Heat Podcast. My name is George, your host, and with this is episode number 24. Episode number 24, I'd like to welcome a special guest. This guy is pretty well known in the area. He does two businesses. He owns the Twisted Fork and he has Barclays Real Estate Group. Without further ado, I'd like to welcome the one and only Bert Parsley. Bert, welcome to the podcast, man. Howdy, howdy.
SPEAKER_00Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_01Thank you for coming on. So, Bert, tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.
SPEAKER_00Well, I do various things. You've mentioned a couple of them. You know, the Twisted Forks are definitely my baby. Um, it's uh been I call it my monster. Uh a lot of fun. Uh for those of you who don't know, it's a full-service sit-down casual restaurant with a concert venue attached to a Harley Davidson facility right here in Port Charlotte. Are you big on bikes? I have a Harley. Enjoy it, yeah. We have a ball. Um, you know, I can't say I'm on it every every day, but I I really enjoy riding when the weather's right.
SPEAKER_01All right. So why why what was your inspiration for the venue itself?
SPEAKER_00Well, I'm a partner in four other restaurants currently in in Fort Myers. Um they're all three of which are downtown Fort Myers. One is one is out on State Road 31. It's called the Boat House. The three downtown are the Lodge, Izzy's, and Capones. And um, you know, part of a group there, and uh had an opportunity with uh the other Bert, Bert King, to uh potentially put a restaurant in Port Charlotte at a dealership that he was purchasing, and um it it worked out. My the group I was in didn't want to come up to Port Charlotte, so I I wasn't gonna miss the opportunity. So broke away, came up and did it, and um I'm sure I'm glad I did. It's worked out well.
SPEAKER_01Nice. How involved are you in those other restaurants?
SPEAKER_00Not really involved much anymore. Um, you know, but before you were? Yeah, somewhat. You know, got into them, helped open them, and you know. Tell us a little bit about them. Well, they're all completely different uh concepts. One is a called Capones, it's a cold fire pizza concept right on First Street downtown, fresh pots and pizza. Um, the second is called The Lodge, and it literally looks like a lodge on the side of a mountain in Colorado somewhere. A lot of wood, fireplace, even have a little mini ski lift in it. Uh, and it's more of a barbecue-centric fusion kind of restaurant. It's fun, it's good. Um big bar, neat ass atmosphere. The third one is called Izzy's, uh, and it's a seafood restaurant, and uh quite a variety, great chef. Uh there always comes out with different offerings. Just put sushi in there recently. Uh so that's that's a fun store, one of my favorites. And then the fourth is called Boat House 31, and it's called 31 because it's on State Road 31, uh, right in Sweetwater Marina, where the Calusahatchie and State Road 31 meet. So you it's a tiki bar concept. Um you can come by boat or by car. Um, it's right on the river. It's uh it's neat because we're not just the restaurant, we sell a lot of sundries to boaters too, so you can get gas and boating supplies and such. Um right there.
SPEAKER_01What got you in the restaurant industry?
SPEAKER_00Oh gosh, I was in the restaurant business as a teenager. You know, I started very early as a teenager and and was from you know, born and raised in Jacksonville and worked for various companies. The longest tenure up there was probably Benegins. I worked for Benegins for six years and um went to culinary school right out of high school and uh ended up diving into management uh very fairly quickly. Um they they pulled me out of school with the money they offered, um, and so dove right into restaurant management at a at a young age and um was in the business for about 10 years and got burnt, just kind of got burnt out, and so I left the business for other things and tried some other industry and real estate being one of them, which stuck. Um and then after the crash, the big crash, the largest crash in American history, um, of course, this guy had all his eggs in one basket and it was the wrong one. Um, and so when I had to reinvent myself, um, I got back in the business and diversified this time. So now I've uh got bit different businesses that I'm partners in, and it's uh not all in one in one basket.
SPEAKER_01So how do you manage so many?
SPEAKER_00Uh just aces in their places, man. You gotta have the right people, you know. It's it's about setting the standards, setting the culture, and managing them both. You know, uh it there's uh you know a system I learned and it works, and it uh you know, if you've got the right staff, you've got the right core, you got the right management team, you can pretty much do anything, you know.
SPEAKER_01So the system elaborate on it a little bit.
SPEAKER_00Sure. Well, I learned a lot in other industry. Um, you know, I was in sales and got went through some pretty pretty rigorous sales training, which I I'm so grateful for. Uh it made me a lot of what I am today just understanding negotiations and tactics and different things, and it was it's pretty cool, pretty strong. And I'm a little bit of a nerd for that stuff. So, you know, it it taught me a lot of how to manage businesses and what to do and how to do it. And you know, again, it's it's you know, you gotta set a culture. You just you just have to set a standard. You have you have to have, you know, kind of rules. And and I I've I always say I'm far from corporate. I like to be an independent and you know, corporate America, and it was what was never for me. Um, but you gotta be corporate-ish in the way that you run your businesses because some of that structure just has to be there, it just has to. And you know, the fork has uh become a pretty cool place, and uh people have really embraced it here in Port Charlotte. Um, and I'm I'm grateful for that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, definitely one of the top spots here in Port Charlotte. For sure, most popular. You guys have bands and venues and stuff like that. It's pretty cool. Um, what are your plans for the future?
SPEAKER_00Well, um, that's a great question. I I kind of duck and weave, you know. We'll see what opportunities come up and where life takes us. Um, you know, I can duck and weave with the best of them. Um, you know, I I have big plans for the fork steel. I'm far from done with that place. Um we've got some some cool improvements coming. Um I'm very excited about them. You know, it's you know, I've that business I've as I've made money, I've put a lot of money right back into it. Um those that have been gone for a while and come back, they can see the changes. And a lot of the problems are good problems. Oh gosh, I need another ice machine. Oh gosh, my grill's not big enough. Oh man, I need to add another flat top. You know, have to put more hood system in. All that's reality, you know. Uh but we're blessed for the business to have to do those. So, you know, I embraced a good problem. I'd rather have a good problem than any other problem. So it's worked out. Um, so the fork's got some cool stuff coming. I've I've got a video board coming for behind the stage. Uh, so we'll have it'll you know, we're really trying to make this a true concert venue, and and we're we're getting close. Um we've recently replaced a lot of our sound equipment, speakers and the board and subs and arrays, and you we're we keep adding more lights, you know, as need be. And it's so we're just you know we're constantly improving. Um we'll have a camera system soon too, which I'm excited about. Um so we're gonna stream it to a YouTube channel. So those who those are those are fans of the fork and still want to see shows and can't make it, especially snowbirds and such, they'll have the ability to do that through a YouTube channel soon.
SPEAKER_01Very cool. So, what kind of bands do you aim to have at the fork?
SPEAKER_00Man, we do a little bit of everything. Um, you know, if it if it's gonna draw and and we have a good crowd, we're gonna pull them in, you know. So, I mean, we have we've had it all. All the country artists, all the different rock artists, all the tribute bands, reggae, you know. I mean, we've we've done we've done Christian music there, you know, with Christian services. So, I mean, there's really nothing that we, you know, really alienate. So it's um, you know, we'll we'll give it a go. We're a music venue.
SPEAKER_01So is there someone that you want there that hasn't been there yet?
SPEAKER_00Yes. It's funny you say that. Why is that? Because it's six years in and haven't been able to get my brother's very own band there. And JJ, if you hear this, you can bite my butt. I'm kidding. Um Marcus plays in a band called JJ Gray and Mofro, and uh they're from my hometown of Jacksonville, and they've been touring like crazy, and uh I've yet to get them in the joint. Why not? Well, it's complicated when you have bands of that size, you have what's called a radius clause when you play somewhere else. So within a certain amount of amount of months and a certain amount of miles, they can't play within that radius. Well, he keeps popping dates in Fort Myers and other places, and it it encroaches on that radius. So I've got to time it right and uh get them to land. So that's that's definitely a personal little goal.
SPEAKER_01So they're a big band?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Oh well, if we have them, we'll probably have them back to back nights because they'll draw that big twice. They're they're they've become massive. They're touring the world right now. They've been to Europe three times recently. They've been all over the country. Um, you know, it's crazy. They're they're they released an album into last year and it hit, and they're they're they've been they've I've never seen this band tour as much as they are right now. So that's awesome. They've been the road dogs for sure.
SPEAKER_01I bet you're proud of your brother, man.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, man. He's tearing it up. He's a trumpet player, does some singing with them too here and there. And uh, you know, he's also my promoter. He does all the bookings for the twisted fork. So really, so he's quite busy. He's uh, you know, I'd prefer him here, but you know, I understand the band's hitting and you know you gotta do the do.
SPEAKER_01So what's what's the most amount of heads you've done in a night? What's the what? Most amount of heads you've done in a night.
SPEAKER_00Oh gosh, I'd have to look back, but gosh, 700 probably, you know, when there's a big band, you know, because we'll have a big day. We weekends are always a big day at night, especially with Harley. Because a lot of times we'll co-market or co-brand an event during the day with Harley when they're open, but we'll also schedule, you know, m bigger bands and nicer tributes and and nationals, you know, weekend nights. And so, you know, sometimes you can have some pretty pretty healthy Saturdays. Um you know, there's there's Saturdays where we'll do just as much for lunch than we do during the week all day. You know what I mean? So it it's it's weekends can be can be big. And it's it's cool seeing the the license plates that come here. You know, you'll get them from Lee County and Charlotte County and Hendry County and Glades County and sometimes call uh Collier County. It's it's just cool because it it's it's it could be an hour ride or an hour and a half ride, but you know, to come and hang out and listen to some music for a few hours, uh it's worth it to people.
SPEAKER_01So I know Twisted is your monster. I know you've done many things in your life. Um what's the proudest, proudest moment of your career so far?
SPEAKER_00Um that's a big question.
SPEAKER_01That's a big question.
SPEAKER_00You know, probably when the girls were born. You know, I mean, as to be become a father and you know, face that responsibility and and you know, the reality, it it's uh that was probably the coolest.
SPEAKER_01So you said before we started shooting 28 and 15?
SPEAKER_0028 and 28 and 20.
SPEAKER_0128 and 20. What was it like becoming a father for the first time?
SPEAKER_00That's pretty awesome. I mean, I always wanted a boy, but didn't get one. But I got my two girls and I'm happy. They're uh Zoe's 28, and she actually works for the Jacksonville Jaguars, which uh I'm proud of. That's our team. She manages all the suit, she's in hospitality. Um you can get in there quick, which is pretty cool. You know, she she even helps wait on the owner and uh the GM and you know the staff. It's it's it's neat. She's she's intact. And now that they're out of season, she's got the same job at the baseball stadium. So she's now doing that for the what's called the Jumbo Shrimp. That's our team, our our minor league team, um, which is an affiliate to the Braves. They're uh she's doing the same thing for that stadium. It's kind of neat. Oh that's awesome. She still comes down and helps down here as well. She'll be here next week. We've got a big event coming up she's gonna come down and help with, but uh, you know, but she's she's doing well, she's thriving. And Hannah's 20 and going to college.
SPEAKER_01Who's she gonna take up?
SPEAKER_00She's in some architectural design thing she's doing. Um she's I don't know the exact title of it, but she's recently switched schools because of her degree. Um she was she was two years at FSU, and now she's at UF, um, which are rival schools, so it's kind of interesting. Yeah, that is interesting. She her and I actually got matching FSU tattoos, and now she's going to UF with a network. So now you got to get a gator on your. Nope. Nope, nope. If I put a gator, it'll have to be the spear going on.
SPEAKER_01So do you show gator games at Twister Fork, or do you are you like we'll show any of the games.
SPEAKER_00We show all the games. I mean we have 40 plus televisions. We're gonna show the games. So, you know, especially if the gators are losing, it's great.
SPEAKER_01What if they're winning? You turn it off?
SPEAKER_00Nah, there's gator fans, I can't do that.
SPEAKER_01There's one thing I limit here at Doves, no Patron on the bar. No patron.
SPEAKER_00I I couldn't agree with you more. It's it's it's Patron is nothing but marketing. Yeah. Patron is not a good drink. I I wouldn't, I'm with you 100% there. Yeah. I don't have Patron at the fork either.
SPEAKER_01No. You know?
SPEAKER_00Nope.
SPEAKER_01No. I people ask for it. I'm like, sorry, we don't care anymore.
SPEAKER_00I'm kind of an agave water fan, so I've got some pretty cool ones. Yeah. Fork, yeah. I'll have to show you.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I gotta come by sometime. Yeah, yeah. I was there a couple weeks ago. Um what are what are your bus biggest struggles with the fork right now?
SPEAKER_00Um, well, as you know, being in the business, we're so seasonal, you know, and uh you and I have talked about it before, but uh, you know, you can go from here to zero really quick this time of year. Oh yeah. And um, you know, getting through the summer months um without taking it in the shorts is is a is a it's a chore. You know, you gotta be specific and strategic. And the um that's what we're diving into as we speak. So um last summer was brutal. I know it was for you two.
SPEAKER_01Um I lost all my savings, man.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you told me. Um we uh we lost money in September. I mean, a lot, which you know, it was just a weird year. We were so it was down everywhere. It was literally, I'm like, did the rapture happen? What's going on here? Where is everybody? Um so this year I'm gonna throw a lot of things at it to try to keep our business.
SPEAKER_01Do you think we're gonna deal with the same thing this year?
SPEAKER_00I do. I don't uh hopefully it won't be as bad as last year. You know, last year there was a it was compounding things, the economy at the time, and you know, people's income and the the decline in the property values. There's just a there was a little string of negatives that happened all at one time. And so I I I think that was the contributing factor of last year. But we look good, we look a lot better this year. You know, we're not gonna be able to do that. I think so. You think we're in better shape this year than last year? I think we are economically, and you know, especially with um the real estate markets that improved some. You know, it was good to see, you know, the snowbirds came down this year and they saw prices were down and they saw rates had come down. And so it spurred some sales, you know, which was what needed to happen. You know, you needed to see some inventory go down and kind of even the market out a little bit, and and it did, you know. So is is the market healed up? No. But did it take a step in the right direction? Absolutely. So that's the biggest challenge. The getting through the summer months is uh how's staffing? Staffing's good. I mean coming out of season, we're actually a bit overstaffed, honestly. You know, I'm not gonna have shifts for everybody, you know, as we condense the schedule down, you know, with the business decline. So it's it's um, you know, this is when some tough decisions have to be made. I got I've got a few folk that go north for season. In fact, I had one group leave today. Um they were here all season and then they go work up north and they come back. That's cool to have. So they yeah, so that you know, that's cool. Um but some of the others, I'm just you know, unfortunately they don't have PDC decisions made. We just can't, you know, we when you go when your business drops almost in half, obviously you don't need the staff as much now, so unfortunately. So it's you know, we'll see how it goes.
SPEAKER_01Alright. What's the hardest decision you've ever made in your life?
SPEAKER_00Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01Deep questions, man.
SPEAKER_00You got deep over here, man. You should have prepped me for some of these.
SPEAKER_01I didn't even prep myself. I don't prep myself. I just do that.
SPEAKER_00I see that. No notes or nothing. The hardest decision I ever made in my life. Goodness gracious. Probably when I left Jacksonville. I was home. I was born and raised there, and I had an opportunity to come down here and I took it. And at the end of the day, I'm glad I did. It didn't.
SPEAKER_01How did you find that job?
SPEAKER_00Well, it was in the car business, actually. And uh I was managing a store, an Audi store in Jacksonville that had a couple other franchises, and I was the internet sales director for the for the various franchises. And I met some people down here in Arizona at a gathering, an Audi gathering, and they invited me down and they sold seven high-end franchises. It was Shelton Imports, if you're familiar back in the day. Um, and they had a Ferrari store in Fort Lauderdale and an import store in Naples, and we opened a store in Fort Myers.
SPEAKER_01What kind of import store?
SPEAKER_00Um, cars. So it was Porsche, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi, Aston Martin, um, Ferrari and Maserati. Seven franchises. And so I did what I I came down and took the job and did what I did for the store up there down here. And it was run the internet department for the stores. It was great. And then the Sheltons eventually sold, uh, sold out, uh, which was a bummer because I loved them. It was a great, great family run deal, and you know, got to know the kids real well. They're one of them was my age, and and it was just, you know, it was great. I just loved the job. It was phenomenal. Um, and then it went corporate and I lasted about a month.
SPEAKER_01That's funny. I just went to a doctor's uh yesterday and he was telling me how like he had his like a practice in Fort Lauderdale, and he was working there for 20 years. I was like, so why are you here? How long have you been here? He's like, I've been here for 10 months. And I was like, why? He's like, Fortune 500 company bought out the practice, and me and four other doctors left. We couldn't do it no more.
SPEAKER_00It's happening more and more.
SPEAKER_01You see that all the time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, there was a big automotive group that just started going around and buying stores up all up and down Florida's coast, and um that group ended up being one of them. Um, but so it was bummer, but it allowed me to explore other opportunities, and it's worked out well.
SPEAKER_01So that's awesome. Yeah. What advice would you have for someone who's starting their career? It's never like fresh out of high school, fresh out of college?
SPEAKER_00Well, I hear that question, and I I guess my number one answer is don't be your one worst enemy. You know, I I see so many people that have great opportunities and they're smart and they're savvy, and they I just, you know, there's just all these positive traits, but then they just, oh well, you know, I couldn't do that, or you know, they won't like me, or but you know, I mean they get in their head, you know, and I see so many cool opportunities, you know, and so many cool people that tend to get in their own way, you know what I mean? So uh, you know, and my daughters are no different. I have to tell them the same thing, you know, just stop, you know, stop, don't, don't think about the negatives. You know, you you know, just push forward. And so, you know, I guess my number one piece of advice is don't be your own worst enemy. You know, focus on the goal, keep the goal in mind, and don't talk yourself out of it.
SPEAKER_01That's cool. That's cool. I know uh recently we both had uh uh ex-employee pass away, Mr. Miles.
SPEAKER_00I'm averaging one a year. It's not fun.
SPEAKER_01You're averaging one a year?
SPEAKER_00One a year. Why? I don't know. I wish I could tell you, and I wish I could fix it, but it's no fun. And it's been, you know, varying reasons for the deaths, but it doesn't make it good. So it doesn't make it fun. We've um we've um yeah, the last one we lost. Um he died, he was 23, and he we had a previous gentleman that worked for us who died when he was 23. Um the most recent one died on Tyler's birthday, which which you know it's like uh you know double doozy. So it's anyway, it's uh you know, it's part of the deal, it's part of life that's gonna happen. When you have 120 plus employees, it's you know, the odds are there, but it's just it's brutal. Not not a fun part of the of the business.
SPEAKER_01No, definitely not. That was my first one. Yeah, that was my first one. Um Is there anything else you'd like to broadcast about your career, yourself? Um No, I'm good. I'm just you know, glad. Going with the flow. What's that? Going with the flow.
SPEAKER_00Going with the flow, baby.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's cool. Well, we're gonna wrap this up. You got any last words for the camera? If you guys haven't been to Fork, please check it out. And if you guys like this video, please like, comment, and subscribe. Thank you.