Ep 5 Pattie Gonia, Pride, Wine with Michael Diaz de Leon | Politics is Personal

This week on Politics is Personal, Leslie Herod and Cole Wist dive into Pride Month by exploring the facts and nuances in the Pategonia v. Pattie Gonia lawsuit, and discussing the ongoing hate towards the LGBTQIA community. 

As always, Leslie and Cole bring very different perspectives to the table, unpacking how social media, public image, and culture wars continue to shape the way Americans experience politics. The conversation moves between funny, thoughtful, and uncomfortable in the way only real friends with opposing viewpoints can manage.

Later in the episode, take a road trip to Molino Chido at the Stanley Marketplace, where Michael Diaz de Leon shares his love of wine, his personal back story and the price of limes. 

From pop culture to public policy, Politics is Personal is about bringing politics back to the dinner table—where disagreement doesn’t end the conversation.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome back to Politics as Personal with Leslie and Cole. I'm Leslie Harrod.

SPEAKER_03 0:03

And I'm Cole West. In today's episode, we're going to be uh visiting about what's in our feed. Uh some interesting stuff about Patagonia, Patagonia. I want to hear more about that. Um Michael Bennett has gone a little nasty, not a little nasty, very nasty towards Philweiser. Um I think the campaign of Michael Bennett is wreaking desperation, so I want to talk about that today. We're going to have a really interesting guest that we're uh gonna be having off campus.

SPEAKER_02 0:35

Yeah, we are going on a road trip. It's gonna be Leslie and Cole in the wild.

SPEAKER_03 0:40

And maybe some extracurricular activities. I don't know, I don't know. That might involve beverages. I don't know. We'll just sort of leave leave that as a teaser. Um but yeah, in terms of what's begging uh what's uh what's bugging us this week, uh we have an interesting video coming from from one of our viewers, and maybe you could kind of tease that up a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 0:57

Well, listen, uh first of all, happy pride. Excited about this month.

SPEAKER_03 1:01

Happy Pride month.

SPEAKER_02 1:02

Thank you, friend. Uh and we will be talking about some issues related to uh transgender folks and kind of the backlash uh against transgender people. So stay tuned and welcome. Welcome to Politics is Personal with Leslie and Cole, where each week a black, queer Democrat and a white, straight former Republican have the honest, uncomfortable, and surprisingly fun conversations that America has forgotten how to have. We're former Colorado legislators and genuine friends who deeply believe in the power of people and talking it all out.

SPEAKER_03 1:40

So, what's in your feed this week, Leslie?

SPEAKER_02 1:43

Well, the feed is really interesting this week. I think the first thing I want to chat about is this gubernatorial primary race between Michael Bennett and Phil Weiser. Now, I have seen the attack ads against Phil, and I think that there has been some attacks that have been growing over the last month or so. But what I think is so interesting is the poll has tightened to the margin of error. Now, before I think Phil was behind multiple in double digits, but now we're in a point where it has tightened to the margin of error, and I think the Bennett team is getting a little nervous.

SPEAKER_03 2:15

Well, Michael Bennett has never had a real campaign that he's had to run. He was appointed to the U.S. Senate. He's had pretty much cakewalk elections ever since he's been there. So it's the first time he's really been challenged. And I think that maybe we're s we're seeing some uh some chanks in the the Bennett armor. The thing that I saw on my feed today that really uh made my blood boil was this attack on Phil Weiser for the The Hawaii trip. Yeah, the Democratic Attorney General's uh alliance meeting where where they had some uh some corporate folks that were there to talk to not just Phil Weiser but other AGs from from around the country. Um I I just think it's really rich for somebody like Michael Bennett, who in my view um is bought and paid for by Michael Bloomberg to be talking about corporate interests and and folks that that are exerting undue influence. So I don't know if it's a pi it's a fight he should be picking, but he's picking it.

SPEAKER_02 3:20

But don't you think that the voters should know about um maybe some of the harsher things about Phil Weiser, just like Phil Weiser? I mean, he came out with the attacks initially against Bennett for his votes too, which I think is fair game. Um his vote to confirm the Trump nominees. And so I th I feel like the attacks against Weiser and maybe showing his character around taking these trips, and folks might think it's fine to take the trip to Hawaii, other folks may not. But what is wrong with having that dialogue out in the open? What I think is really interesting is I think the Bennett team waited too long to take Phil Weiser seriously.

SPEAKER_03 3:58

Interesting.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

I think they should have taken Phil seriously from the beginning. Phil has always shown to be a hard worker, to be responsive, honestly, to uh to Coloradans, and uh he had been up and down the entire state multiple times before I think Bennett got in the race.

SPEAKER_03 4:15

I you know, and and I'm I'm gonna show my bias here, but um Phil Weiser has this very nice guy persona, and I think it's tough to attack Phil. I think there's a large risk for that to blow back on the on the Bennett campaign. So yeah, I think it's late. It just reeks of desperation to me. And that tells me everything I need to know about what the Bennett campaign sees in the numbers. I think the numbers are trending towards Phil Weiser. I certainly would want to be in the Weiser camp and not in the Bennett camp. And as you know, um campaigns really become about momentum and the candidate that uh I think voters think has the it factor going into the home stretch. And I think the it factor right now is is definitely with the Weiser campaign. We're gonna find out in a few weeks though, aren't we?

SPEAKER_02 5:06

Yeah, ballots are mailing, I think, in a week or so. Right. And so h having these attacks come in so late, you know, is not atypical when you feel like the momentum is behind your opponent. And I will say I lean Bennett because I think he'll be a a better governor, but at the end of the day, what we've seen through the debates and through the dialogue from the primary is they're very similar. I think Colorado will be in a good place with both of them. Um and the distinguish distinguishing factors between the two are pretty small.

SPEAKER_03 5:35

Yeah, I one one last comment I'll make on that that and that is I I think the Bennett campaign was very dismissive of Phil Weiser. I think they sort of treated him as somebody that they needed to sort of deal with or dispose of before they got to the general election. Um and if anything, when you start attacking your opponent, you really raise their profile. So he's now put Phil Weiser clearly on par uh with his own campaign, um which is which could be a strategic error. We may have may have some takeaways about this campaign after June 30. Um and uh I'll look forward to having that conversation.

SPEAKER_02 6:15

Yeah, and I just want to roll back one thing, and I will say that I think that Bennett, the Bennett camp thought that they got rid of the tough opponents when they got Britney to drop out, uh Congresswoman Brittany Petterson, uh Congressman Jason Crow, and Congress Congressman Jonah Goose and Ken Salazar to not run for governor. And I think that when they cleared that field, they thought they were going to be home free. And all those folks, I believe all of them endorsed Bennett. Thought that they were gonna, you know, take this race by storm and not have to really campaign. Uh and instead they found out they have a very formidable opponent in Phil Weiser. Yeah, absolutely. What's in your feed?

SPEAKER_03 6:52

Um well, I you know, the certainly the the the campaign, but I think uh everything that relates to what's going on in the White House grounds, and I and I just it makes me so sad to see the White House turned into a third-rate amusement park. I don't know what the hell that stage thing is out on the lawn. And certainly Donald Trump is the occupant of the White House, okay? But the the White House belongs to the people. The White House belongs to um, you know, our our our history and our our tradition. Um so the way that the White House has been desecrated is it just makes me sad. Um and to see the large hole in the ground on the East Wing makes me sad. I did live in DC and I can't tell you how inspired I was every time I had the chance to walk by the Capitol, to walk by the White House. And it sounds trivial, but it's not because I think it you know these are institutions that are worth preserving, uh protecting. And now he's talking about leaving this hideous stage out on the lawn of the White House.

SPEAKER_02 8:00

And that was for a wrestling match, right?

SPEAKER_03 8:02

Yeah. Well, not a wrestling match. Um it's I guess it's not professional wrestling, it's it's UFC. Um but I you know, why are we having a UFC match on the on the Because it's TV. I'm I don't know, maybe they could do a fitness day out there. That that would be really fun to watch watch that again. Maybe Trump could putt some more.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

Well, I've been to the White House grounds, especially June, reminds me of Pride Month, uh, when I was invited to numerous Pride celeb celebrations on the lawn. And I will tell you that, you know, with the addition of the rainbow flag, it was very much an an honoring of the White House and of folks who've contributed to this country. Uh you had the military band playing, you know. Um everything was quite tame and really uh I think respectful of the fact that this is still the White House, you know, and and we're gonna respect these grounds. Um and so the seeing this is really quite frankly a departure. We can celebrate whatever Trump wants to celebrate, whether it's it's his presidency, the um the birth of the of the nation, right, the anniversary of of our country's founding in a way that is is respectful. And unfortunately that's not happening.

SPEAKER_03 9:08

Well, because I have a full-blown case of Trump derangement syndrome, a couple couple of other things that that are in my feed. Uh this appalling nominee to be head of uh the to be the director of national intelligence, who's gonna be the I guess the acting uh head because this guy could never be uh confirmed by the Senate, has no experience. It's written in statutory law that the person who's head of DNI has to have uh the requisite experience with respect to intelligence, and instead we're taking the heir of a home building family who to my knowledge has never worked as an intelligence officer, has never worked um as a diplomat. Um I what what are your thoughts on that? Is it just more insane appointments from from this this administration?

SPEAKER_02 9:54

That's what I feel like. It's more insane appointments. I am not shocked um by his resume. Um I am not shocked by the fact that he immediately just wants to do what Trump wants him to do, and the other person would not do in the same way. Um, you know, I think it's another, quite frankly, distraction. I think whatever this person does is gonna come and go and be reverse, and as soon as he pisses Trump off, it'll change again, just kind of like the sl slush fund. I mean, there's gonna be a lot of firing. Is that going away around? Allegedly, it's going away. Oh, thank God. Allegedly, right? I mean, I think some some friends on your side of the aisle uh stepped in and said, absolutely not. Thank God for that. Yeah, thank you for standing up, right? You know, maybe because of their tough primaries, but it's also the right thing to do. The slush fund was insane. Uh and so I think we'll see a lot of action this week with him trying to cover up the fact uh that he's not winning on the slush fund.

SPEAKER_03 10:43

We did have four Republicans cross over yesterday to curb the president's uh or to to assert c uh Congress's authority on on war powers. I think you're gonna see more Republicans in Congress start to stand up to this president. It took a long time for us to get here. Um, but I think these members and senators are realizing if they don't start standing up, their voters are gonna turn them out.

SPEAKER_02 11:09

Yeah, I agree with you. Uh and the final thing I want to just chat about in my feed is I I just got back from Outside Days, which is a a festival for the outdoors, perfect for Denver, um, led by Outside Magazine. Where was that? It was right in Aurarius campus, so right in downtown Denver. Amazing, all the brands were represented. It was a great time. And one of the brands, of course, that we have heard about a lot in the news and that has been coming up in conversations is Patagonia. Patagonia right now is in a social media battle, but also a real lawsuit against drag queen Patty Gonia for infringement on uh the trademark in the mark of uh Patigonia's uh brand, and then uh Patty wanting to sell uh merchandise uh with a logo that looks very much like Patagonia's logo. Um it's interesting to talk to a lawyer about this because I want to know what you think about what you know about the lawsuit. I know it's a little just a little bit, but in the feed, it's the conversation's interesting because I do actually see a lot of folks who are very supportive of drag queens and LGBTQ rights and activism for the outdoors saying, this might be a step too far.

SPEAKER_03 12:13

So my understanding is there's a lawsuit that was initiated after um this person filed a trademark. Is that did I get did I get it?

SPEAKER_02 12:22

Yes, my understanding is Patty initially filed uh to be able to sell to trademark Patty Gonia and then sell merch uh in a logo that looks very much like Patagonia's, uh and then Patagonia's response was um to s to was was in opposition of Patty and Cudder's lawsuits going back and forth is my understanding. Uh people, you know, um ask boycotting Patagonia, Patagonia coming back and saying we will drop the suit if you're i if you drop the trademark and don't sell merch, that looks like our brand.

SPEAKER_03 12:54

Well, can I nerd out for a minute?

SPEAKER_02 12:56

Yeah, please.

SPEAKER_03 12:56

So, you know, first of all, uh in full disclosure here, I'm not a patent trademark lawyer, but um I have done a l a little bit of trademark work, um, and this is gonna boil down to the likelihood of confusion that exists. If the logos are similar, um if there's a risk that consumers would think that there's an association between you know um one trademark and and the other, that they're the in the same business, that could create an infringement. Um and unlike patent law, which really relates to filing for a patent and the patent being issued by the patent and trademark office, trademark law really is triggered by who used it first. So Patagonia, the the clothing company, probably is going to have uh supremacy when it comes to them using the mark first. But I think the interesting question based on what I'm hearing about this case is how long has Patagonia known about Patagonia's uh uh use and perhaps they have waived their right to assert rights to protect their trademark. So not giving any legal advice here, but I I guess if if I were representing Patagonia, I would certainly look at did Patagonia wait too long to assert their rights to uh to the mark here. Um and you know, you could see some interesting uh result to this case where there's some licensing where they preserve the relationship, because I I I can't imagine why um this might be good for Patagonia uh in terms of selling more merch as opposed to to pissing off a certain segment by litigating against somebody with a pretty high profile.

SPEAKER_02 14:35

Well, your take is one that I've not quite heard of yet, which is I think we know Patagonia knew about Patagonia, right? I mean I I I I just there there must be a social media conversation around this, and for that goes back since Patagonia. I think there was some drama with them using North Face for a while and like all of this other stuff.

SPEAKER_03 14:52

And so that may be why they're they're upset.

SPEAKER_02 14:55

Yeah, so there's been a little bit of beef, a little bit of tension for a while. So knowing that they've been using that brand is probably can be proven. And I think my understanding was Patagonia only responded because Patty made the file the trademark filing. And so now they felt like they had to do something, but I hadn't heard this part of the argument. Well, interesting piece, Patagonia is going to be headlining Denver Pride. And so Patty. Patty Patigonia is gonna be headlining Denver Pride. So we will uh see what happens there and kind of how that plays out uh for Pride this year.

SPEAKER_03 15:28

Wouldn't wouldn't it be cool if politics is personal with Leslie and Cole could do an interview with Patty Gonia?

SPEAKER_02 15:34

Let's see if we can get back to the page. We can try, we can try. But actually, that's an interesting segue into the fact that we're about to go on a field trip today for the first time.

SPEAKER_03 15:43

Yeah, they're letting us out in the wild, they're gonna let us go out and and and mingle. But uh tell us tell us where we're gonna go.

SPEAKER_02 15:50

I am so excited to be going to see my friend at Stanley Marketplace, um, my friend uh chef Michael Diaz de Leon. Um he is an amazing Michelin uh chef who I met uh really got to know each other in Guadalajara over a natural wine.

SPEAKER_03 16:06

Interesting.

SPEAKER_02 16:07

And so we are going to have a bit of a wine tasting and talk about his journey as a chef and maybe even his time on uh the recent show with Pad Malaxmi, uh the Culinary Cup.

SPEAKER_03 16:17

Uh uh I'm very excited to do that. I'm of course excited to go drink wine with you. That'll be super fun. But it's it's an interesting and challenging time in the restaurant industry, particularly in Denver. Uh what's what's kind of happening in the restaurant industry? Or I guess we're gonna hear about that soon.

SPEAKER_02 16:31

We're gonna hear about that with Michael, so I'm gonna hold that for him. Yeah, yeah. How about we just go chat with him? Yeah. You ready? Okay, let's go. Let's go. Okay, we're gone. We're in the wild. Hey Chef! Hey, what's going on, bro? How's it going?

SPEAKER_05 16:51

Good. Nice to see you.

SPEAKER_02 16:52

It was good to see you.

SPEAKER_05 16:54

Good to see you. Thank you for hosting us. Yeah, absolutely. Come on in. Wow, what you guys set up for us? A little wine.

SPEAKER_02 17:00

Ah, I love this. I love this. So excited to be here with Chef Michael, one of my dearest, dearest, dearest friends, for a little bit of a wine tasting.

SPEAKER_05 17:08

It's a little wine tasting today. We're gonna start opening up this beautiful bottle. Twist my arm. Why not? It's a nice hot day. Uh let's let's do it. Alright, uh, well, yeah, let's get started with this wine and then we'll kind of just go from there. Yeah. Sounds good.

SPEAKER_04 17:22

What you got here?

SPEAKER_05 17:23

There's gonna be a Shannon Blanc from Loire Valley in the southern packs. Um, it's uh youthful, very cylindrical, like a little saline, little passion fruit, metalin, uh, lemon peel. Very like spritzy kind of wine for a hot summer day. And it's gonna go down really, really nicely. So enjoy.

SPEAKER_02 17:52

Yum. So first I'm gonna ask you to tell us about about your spot here because you are so unique. I mean, you are a uh Mexico City Guadalajara style taco place with some amazing natural wines and just a very Cheeto place.

SPEAKER_05 18:11

Yes, so our space here at the Stanley Marketplace is called Molino Chido. Um, it stands for a cool meal, essentially. So we make all of the fresh nixamol in-house every single day. So we're taking corn from Colorado. We're doing the ancestral, uh, you know, the ancestral process of cooking the corn overnight and then we meal in the morning. So fresh tortillas every single day, coming hot off the press, essentially, for this really cool, unique experience that's very Mexico sea-centric. Uh, but we like to consider ourselves like a progressive, like Mexican eater, essentially. So, as a western slope kid, I've gotta know where do you get your corn? So, all of our corn is actually coming from Colorado. So, we're super proud of sourcing. You know where it comes from, it's coming from Bow Narrow Company, okay. That is an indigenous tribe in Southern Colorado, also U tribe. Okay. And um they've been uh you know selling this corn since 1996. It's 100% non-GMO organic fueled corn, uh, and it grows right around the four corners region.

SPEAKER_02 19:10

Uh so you can eat as much of these tortillas and tacos as you want and feel guilt-free.

SPEAKER_05 19:18

Guilt-free.

SPEAKER_02 19:20

And the wine too, also.

SPEAKER_05 19:21

I got about 10.

SPEAKER_02 19:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 19:24

So the idea around this is uh, you know, support local producers, but give it a bite that tastes like it's supposed to be quite nice and go to something. Um really eclectic and fun uh beverage program. From the cocktails to the NASCAR wine to our Indian program, which is also you know like right at that point.

SPEAKER_02 19:47

I love that. I love that because you can bring your friends here, and if they don't want to indulge and drink, you have amazing non-alcoholic beverages as well. So I would say we met, we got deeper in Guadalajara, and that's because we sat on this amazing patio and we drank wine, but you were actually there chefing. And it was right before you got your Michelin at Bruno. Tell me about your journey to the Michelin.

SPEAKER_05 20:13

Uh my journey to the Michelin, I would like to say from Burger King to Bruno. Uh my first kitchen job was at 16 years old uh at Burger King. And uh I I fell in love with the industry for a lot of reasons. I think at the time it gave me freedom. I grew up in a really uh you know uh restricted household with a lot of rules, religion, and we weren't allowed to do much. So the second that I got a car and I got a kitchen job, I was free. So uh I just fell in love with cooking ever since then. I went to culinary school, uh, worked all over the place. I've done everything from food trucks to meal preparation to country clubs, you name it, I've done it. Uh mission was our restaurants, and then I had the opportunity to cook here in 2019. Uh, right after the pandemic, we you know acquired the space at Bruto with uh the group and uh just kind of around with it.

SPEAKER_03 21:08

Yeah, you know, most folks that I've talked to that are that are chefs have a family member who was very influential in terms of them choosing to love cooking and want to pursue that as a career. Is there a family member like that for you?

SPEAKER_05 21:21

Yeah, my mom. Yeah, I think I I always say this. I think like watching my mom, uh also my grandmas and my aunts cook. Um I was always always tasty because I got a little bit older, so uh church bazaars and stuff, like my mom would always like, okay, you're ready to fish taco. So I think I wouldn't do that. So yeah, I think my mom is a phenomenal cooker. Um I think I got my flavors on her.

SPEAKER_02 21:51

So you were recently on America's Culinary Cup with Pat Relaxy, who we both have a crush on. It's true. I mean, really, who doesn't, right? Who doesn't have a crush on Padma? Um, and in that journey though, they did get really personal in sharing your story. And I know you talk about a little bit about your background, um, but you were also raised, you say strict, but you were raised in what is now called, I guess, a cult. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 22:18

Essentially, uh when you're in it, you don't really realize that that's what's happening. It's not until you leave and you you have, you know, copious amounts of wine and therapy that you realize that you were raised in a cult, my guy. Uh so you know it is my story, I'm I'm proud of it. I think that also just being in certain situations also makes you grow tough skin and realize that like I was just very lucky to get out of it, but um it it doesn't it didn't define who I was in your person and it was just a good learning opportunity. So yeah, we're on the other side of it.

SPEAKER_02 22:53

Yeah, well, I am just so proud of you as my friend, and like you always struck me as a man who was like very much manly man, but also very sensitive and you know cares about your daughters and your family and just like I have three. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think I might there might be a thing here. I mean like like literally, I think daughters save men.

SPEAKER_05 23:17

I don't think I'm gonna have a son. I think I think I need daughters because I needed to. I don't know, I think I had too many to have a son. I think daughters are perfect. Uh I'm kinder and soft, I'm softer because of it, uh I'm more empathetic. Kinder, yeah. It was perfect. Yeah. How many siblings do you have? Um, I have two brothers and a sister. Where are they? They're in El Paso, Texas. Yeah. Texas. Yeah, that's where originally were from.

SPEAKER_03 23:44

You're the only one that fled north?

SPEAKER_05 23:46

I'm the only one that fled north. I'm the only chef, which is crazy. Uh and uh yeah, yeah, no, I love Colorado. We we actually a big part of my childhood was spent in Colorado. Uh my parents moved here for roughly about 12 to 14 years uh when I was little, so I grew up in Denver essentially, and then I came back to my family uh six weeks ago.

SPEAKER_02 24:06

Yeah, well Bruno is in downtown Denver, and I obviously loved going there, loved being you being chef and um learning about the foods and the wines and everything there. And I did get a little bit upset with you when you told me about your new venture, not because you were doing tacos, because I know you can cook, I'm not worried about that, but because you were leaving Denver. And um we had a bit of a conversation about that, but I'd like to know more about why you chose to come out here to Stanley and not open um this amazing restaurant in Denver.

SPEAKER_05 24:38

Yeah, I think like obviously it was all very serious influence. My my partner and I, Tommy, who also uncle, uh, was approached about this opportunity from his friend and landlord, and uh I was looking for an opportunity to get kind of get back with the restaurant industry after a little hiatus. And um I think that like this community uh just kind of fit the vibe of this restaurant essentially. And also, you know, as an operator, it you know, it does give you a little bit more of a like you know chance to succeed because of wages and things like that and rent. Um and um the community just kind of fit the concept that we wanted to do. We wanted to be family friendly and and uh just do you know casual food really well, uh, and and it kind of just made sense, so that's why we pull it.

SPEAKER_03 25:28

Yeah, I mean in addition to being a chef, you're operating a business, you know, and it's there are a lot of as an employment lawyer. I've I I can I can assure you I've heard I've heard it all. Yeah. Um but what do you find to be the most challenging things about operating a business and how that takes away from your passion or your time away from your passion, which is cooking food?

SPEAKER_05 25:47

Yeah, being in front of the computer, obviously so it takes time away from the actual creative side of what you did, what you did, what you do. Um but it's um it's one of those things that you just have to like you know maneuver and like you know, me personally, I choose my days where I'm gonna have a beer, and then I choose my days where I'm in the right. Because for me it's also important food, taste, culture with the staff. Um but the numbers are equally, if not more important, especially in this economy right now, with flux rate of like the tariffs and gas, like everything that's happening, it's just like it just keeps getting harder and harder, the markets get smaller. Uh yeah, we still keep doing that because of this uh component of mentality and yeah, anywhere else.

SPEAKER_02 26:38

So, I mean, let's stick on that for a second. Um, because you know, this is called politics personal. This is our show, and we really do want folks to understand how some of the political conversations that come up really affect people's everyday lives. And um, you know, you mentioned wages, but Denver has increased its minimum wage, um, and a lot of the conversation around that was just to help folks in the workers in the industry. But what we're seeing is a lot of the restaurants closing down in Denver and moving away from the city core, maybe coming to Aurora, Broomfield, you know, Westminster. What are your thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_05 27:15

Yeah, I mean, I think that like obviously there's decisions that are made that um I think there's an underlying, like, really like they're meant to be good, right? But at the end of the day, sometimes it just kind of shoots a season, but then we end up with like issues like this where like, yes, we wanted to take care of hospitality workers, but yet we're not taking care of the housing issue, right? So it's like the ghost down in that. Like, I think that like there's a a bigger, a bigger question to be asked of like not just like wages, I think it's it's housing, it's the economy, it's it's gas, it's it's the the rice of like products, you know. Uh last month a case of lines went from $22.50 to $82 a case. Wow. What? Yeah, you know, that's crazy. Yeah, it's like you can't eat with those things, right? And then attack along, you know, higher wages, and you know, your water gear goes out, your contingency goes out the window, right?

SPEAKER_03 28:12

So there's a lot to do. So businesses have had to make some tough decisions in terms of how much of that they eat and how much they pass through to customers, and you know, that's uh it's a very you know day-to-day decision for you, I'm sure, right?

SPEAKER_05 28:27

Yeah, I mean then there's restaurants trying different things every single day, like you mentioned, right? There's restaurants that that pass it on to the guests, there's restaurants that charge it as a service charge, or you know, they take it on on their own. Um but ultimately like you raise your prices, people complain. You know, and it's just you just try your best, you know. You you you try to do good by your staff, you try to do good by your service, and hopefully, you know, there's people on the back end trying their best to help us.

SPEAKER_01 28:58

Well, walk us through the menu real quick. We don't have anything out here, but we're about to have some stuff inside, so we're not gonna stress about that.

SPEAKER_02 29:05

But you know, this is like it's it's not just tacos. I mean, I and I don't want to say that, but tacos are bomb, but you have such an innovative menu. So walk us through your menu a little bit, um, and then I can't wait to get to your chest counter. Okay. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 29:18

So the menu is split up into uh four different sections. We have our crude menu, which is our raw menu, and that includes not only seafood but raw vegetables as well. And we try to like bring in some really beautiful seafood from California, and then we do preparations of raw vegetables here from Colorado in just a really innovative way. And then we go into the mas section, which is our moor, and that's where we play around with masa products a little bit more. Sorry. This is the uh flautas for French tacos built with like fur potato. And everything that we do, all of our recipes are based off of like Mexican food, but then we add the addition of like globally influenced in treats. Um I have the opportunity to you know in South America, uh you know, East Asia, India, and all those influences, you know, present themselves in the topics. And then obviously the tacos, which we sound tacos. And we have traditional tacos like Al Pastor, which you know you get a lot in the city, and then you we have more of a bison time taco, you know, which is coming from Colorado, and then we finish off with some large format uh miners, which are like a Milanese, you know, and uh steak.

SPEAKER_02 30:29

Yeah, and you have your chef's counter now at the weekends where you are back in the fine dining room again.

SPEAKER_05 30:34

Fine dining world, I mean uh it's not as like high touch fine dining. For us, it's just a really great opportunity to be able to engage with the guests one-on-one again. Right? So when you have a dining room that's at large and you're seeing 300 people a day, the opportunity to have dialogue with our guests, it's not it's not it's not existing, right? And especially you bring kids, like a lot of people just want to come in and have a good meal on leave. They don't want to talk to the chef and hear his fucking story. Yes, it's a fine. You know, so for us it's like giving ourselves the opportunity to get in front of the people that want to have that dialogue.

SPEAKER_04 31:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 31:10

Right. And tell them about where the flowers are coming from, where the corn is coming from, right? Why we thought it was a crazy idea. Uh and it's true, it's our skills, right? We're we're highly um you know trained chefs that want to continue to grow as a culinary. That's a great opportunity to do that. We do that Fridays and Saturdays.

SPEAKER_02 31:28

I love that. I love that. Okay, so how much of your new menu is inspired by the culinary cup? I don't want to give any secrets away. Everyone should watch it. Um I'm not gonna I'm not gonna get talk about uh too deep, but like that was a tough competition, man.

SPEAKER_05 31:42

That was uh that was probably one of the hardest things I've done in my career. Yeah, uh for a lot of story, I don't I don't know the whole story. Yeah, tell them about the show. I would love to hear about it. Yeah, so they reached out to me in the show essentially 16 contestants from all over the country. Uh Padmillax new show, a lot of buzz on uh, you know, network television, CBS, Paramount Plus. Um, and it was either Missionless Star Chefs, uh James Bear, uh Boku Store, which is like the Olympics for the culinary world, uh, and just some really heavy hitters, you know, like people with a lot of accolades, a lot of experience, uh lot of respect for this industry, and I was one of 16. I was the only chef in in Colorado, and I was uh the only male Latino in the competition, which is for me, it's always really proud to represent my culture and my community and to say that like we are you know doing these things that hopefully young Latinos or Latinas are like inspiring to me. So for me, it was a great opportunity to just show up with them.

SPEAKER_02 32:38

I love it. Will you ever cook quail? Uh never you really do have to watch to find out what happens. Um and you are our local celebrity and really global celebrity now, and it's really amazing to have you here. So I just want to say thank you for that. Um as we as we kind of say goodbye, I wanted to know if there were any anything you want people to think about when it comes to you know the restaurant industry, not only here in Denver, but I know there's issues in San Francisco and other places. What do you want people to know about the industry and how we can actually support um what's I mean you've you've layered everything housing, wages, tariffs, all of that. What can we do to support and the advocate to keep our local restaurants open?

SPEAKER_05 33:20

I think it starts from a community perspective, right? It starts small, right? It starts with your neighbors, it starts with your local restaurants, it starts with local government, um, and then once you get the dialogue and the conversation started on a base level, then you can start to create a little bit more impact. You know, the conversations get bigger, the tables get larger, the rooms become a little bit more uh, you know, like they hear you out, they listen to you. Um and also just be fucking kind, man. Like this industry is so hard. Like, just know that like these people are working really hard to make paycheck to pay for their bills, pay for their housing. And um, and there's a lot of really, really talented artists and people that work in restaurants, you know. And uh and think of the new base, just be kind, just kind. Ask questions, tip or serve as well. If you have feedback, it's always encouraged, but do it in a way that's productive for your dick. Uh and have fun. Have fun with it. That's a whole point of like hospitality and restaurants and covers to what we are, right? So yeah, I think it's our staff.

SPEAKER_02 34:29

Well, you put us on the map, and so uh thank you so much, Fred. Thanks for the wine, and I might take some more in here and maybe do a little mini tour inside and check out what you guys got going on. Let's do it. Alright, thank you. I love this. Thanks, Jeff.

SPEAKER_05 34:48

Yeah. So I gotta ask you, what's the scoop on the green chair? The green chair. So um these are traditional um taquerilla chairs and tables. I actually flew down to Huadalacata to go talk to a third-generation fabricator who essentially provides these chairs for all the taqueras in all of Mexico. Um and we wanted to have that authentic feel. So, like anytime you go into a tacare in Mexico, you'll sit on one of these like metal metal like folding chairs, and we wanted to have the same idea, and I got them branded with the logo, and now they're on our glasses, and it's just a really fun marketing tool that we use for the restaurant. Uh some people hate them and some people don't.

SPEAKER_02 35:30

So Maz Chido.

SPEAKER_05 35:32

Maz Chido. Maz Chilo, that's right, yeah. So that's that's the story behind the chair.

SPEAKER_02 35:42

Oh my gosh, that was so fun.

SPEAKER_03 35:44

Really awesome.

SPEAKER_02 35:45

Well, yeah, I hope you like natural wines because that was a good time.

SPEAKER_03 35:49

Are you doing all right? A little bit of a head rush, but I like it, I like it. It's always interesting drinking when it's a little warm outside, too. So, you know. It's a good time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:00

All right, well, welcome back. Uh, we are now gonna go into the what's bugging you feed. We've got our friend Brandon here. Let's check it out.

SPEAKER_00 36:07

Hey, Leslie and Cole. Here's what's bugging me. So I feel like in the last 10 years there's been a huge influx on anti-trans um attacks, anti-trans ballots, and anti-trans legislation, um, anti-trans rhetoric that has been um pushed forward in politics. Now I know anti-trans sentiment has been there forever, um, but I feel like in the last 10 years it has increased and has gotten increasingly uh more dangerous and and um and uh uh unacceptable for for legislation to be an attack in a such a small community, a vulnerable community.

SPEAKER_04 36:45

What do you think?

SPEAKER_03 36:46

Well, you know, I mean I I really do approach this issue um as a Catholic, um, and that is right who taught us that we love everyone, every person. We love everyone, and we accept everyone. Um and the kind of hatred that we see on this issue is unacceptable. Um I think we can have legitimate policy debate about um touching on these issues and and making sure that constitution is being upheld. Can we at least agree that hatred and bigotry is just morally wrong?

SPEAKER_02 37:31

Yeah, absolutely. And as someone a member of the LGBT community, I completely agree with you. What is disturbing to me is the increase that we thought we were gonna see, right? I think a lot of people thought that oh, we're gonna grow out of this homophobia, transphobia thing, young people are gonna be supportive, uh, it's not gonna be a thing anymore. Um, you know, as a part of the LGBTQ movement at the Gill Foundation and work in multiple states to really have a dialogue about what it means to um to put so much hate out into the world, and what it's like to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, um, or even a member of the plastic community, which I know is hard for people to understand, but like an official, um, I think it's important that we think about the impact that it has to put so much hate out into the world on our young people. And we have studies after studies, especially conducted by Glenn and the Tremor Project, that's saying that this harmful rhetoric is actually making young kids more likely, young queer kids more likely to harm themselves and by suicide. And I don't know if you remember or if you ever interacted with representative chain sandwich out of college rings.

SPEAKER_03 38:36

Right to my left.

SPEAKER_02 38:39

Oh, on the house floor, yeah. You know, he was a bit of a fire brand. Um, and definitely one of the leaders in the rhetoric against LGBTQ people. He brought forward multiple bills that said that uh discrimination and and basically hate against the LGBT community was completely acceptable and should happen. And he did some quite, I think, offensive speeches on the floor in that regard. Well, interestingly enough, and I think I might have shared the story with you, but we had we served um on the finance committee together. I was the chair and he was the ranking member, and we actually started to have conversations about where we agreed on finance policy, which quite frankly happened more so than it didn't. Um I really respected his opinion as I did yours, but I did not respect um how he would continue to bring up LGBTQ bills or LGBTQ hate. And what I thought was really interesting was I actually worked with him on a bill to develop my civil possession of that bill. From Colorado Spring, and I'm a police officer. I'm a police officer. I was shocked that he wanted to be on the bill, and we can talk about how we got to that bill later. But one of the things I said to him was he's like, I want to be on this bill with you. And I just wanted to know his opinion and what he was gonna say about it before we got to the floor and before I introduced it. And he said, Nope, I want to be on the bill. Um but I said, You have to negotiate this bill with me and a game. And he came. And we worked together side by side on this bill, and you know it got. Did you write the bill on the game or we did we did some negotiation?

SPEAKER_03 40:15

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_02 40:16

Um, but what I will say is that is that um we had to fight together because we had a lot of opposition on the bill from the outside, in fact, inside the chambers. We had a lot of Democrat and Republican support. Um, but I think we grew our personal relationship there. And so on the very last day of session, after we passed the bill, um, in my notebook that I would bring every day, he actually put in my notebook on his letterhead a letter to me that said, Dear Representative Harold, I'm so sorry for ever bringing any anti-LGBT bills to the table. I was wrong, especially wrong, to um make young people feel that they can't be who they are. And when I tell you that moved me to no end, because this was probably the kind of the most conservative guy in the chamber at the time, um, who made that position to meet in writing, right? And then never again. And then a couple months later, I could send me a video of him dancing after his head. I will tell you there is a still opportunity to do that. There's a little opportunity.

SPEAKER_03 41:33

You know, children are born. They become hatred people through their surroundings by what they're doing and people cloaking their hatred and bigotry in their religious views is something that's deeply offensive to me. And I think, you know, you can have legitimate uh disagreement about some of the moral issues of the day. Um when it comes to things like should human beings be able to live out their lives without being harassed, without being discriminated against. And if you want to talk about being conservative, okay, if you want to talk about being libertarian, we're talking about the government providing sort of a uh equal voting for everyone, but for the most part, people should be able to live their lives without being harassed, intimidated, or hated on uh by other people in society. And look, I'm not so naive to think that hateful rhetoric and bigotry are gonna be eliminated ever. We're always gonna have that segment um out there in the population. The troubling thing that I see now though is that we have uh an administration, and I'm gonna lay this at the defeat of the Trump administration because I think it's a deserved we have in this administration a permission structure for uh hateful rhetoric to be executable for it to be something that it has a legitimate place in the public violent violently. Like as a as a as a lawyer, I certainly think that folks who who have views that may be completely repugnant to us have a constitutional right to express those views. But when when the views start to cross into encouraging violence or perpetuating uh circumstance as an unsafe for certain folks in in our society, then it becomes a problem that we all need to think about and care about.

SPEAKER_02 43:39

And I appreciate your sentiment on this because quite frankly, I don't know that I could be your friend and doing this with you if you thought that my that I was any less of a human because of my sexual orientation, or that my voice meant anything less, or in the fact that it would be okay if violently perpetuated against me simply because of who I am. I want to thank you for that.

SPEAKER_03 44:00

Thank you for saying that. And I this is my takeaway about your your story with Shane, and that is you personalized the issue for him. Right? It became something that wasn't this arbitrary, I don't like the this group of people, this group of people, I don't know, they scare me or I don't trust them. And I think when you start to understand that these folks are your sons and daughters and aunts and uncles and cousins and community members and folks that you know that you go to church with and that you that you uh go to an amusement park with or you go to restaurants with, these people are in our society. And I think when people start to see you know, we take out the uh the us and them and it becomes about individuals and people that you know, um people start to change uh the way they think. That is how I think we defeat hate. That is how we defeat bigotry, and that is to try to build community.

SPEAKER_02 45:03

Yeah, and have conversation. Maybe over like this. Maybe over some apples.

SPEAKER_03 45:07

Yeah, so so speaking of that, um, and uh, you know, we should tell our viewers, but I did bring my little bag of apples. Um and you know, the uh the the great part about this was uh we didn't know each other. Right. Uh we were sitting next to each other in Judiciary Committee, and we've talked about that a little bit on this program. But my wife was very concerned about all the junk food at the Capitol and worried that I was gonna not have the best nutrition habits, so she started packing a little bag of cut out at cut-up apples in my uh in my briefcase every morning, and I would take it to the Capitol. So I happened to have it sitting out on the desk in committee.

SPEAKER_04 45:53

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 45:53

And you asked about the apples and we shared apples. Yes. And from that, you know, uh that that that provided an opportunity for us to start that first conversation, but for us to become friends. Yeah. And for us to become colleagues. And yeah, I think it's a a relationship that's that's really, you know, blossomed to something that's really cool. And I value you as as a friend.

SPEAKER_02 46:14

Yeah, and I value you not just the apples, but uh you and the apples, because uh, you know, I think when you share a bite, when you share a meal, when you share a glass of wine, um, you can share the the the conversation and again just the humanity. We're not just bills, we're not just legislators, we're people. And when we started sharing that, and that kind of became a part of our routine. I think we remember to put that aside first and to first like say hello as humans, and that's what we do, and that's what we hope uh to continue in this dialogue here. So I think that's all the time that we have here today. Uh I might take one of those apples now, but I just want to thank everyone so much for listening. Uh I want to thank you, Cole, again for uh for doing this with me and being on this journey, and uh I look forward to to continuing the conversation.

SPEAKER_03 46:58

Absolutely. Um and uh as as you as you enter Pride Month, what what uh what are your hopes and and uh uh what are you looking for in our community uh in Pride Month?

SPEAKER_02 47:09

I just can't wait to see people out there celebrating, celebrating with their families. My my favorite thing is to see someone who is taking their parents to Pride for the first time to just see them light up and and just know that they're sharing their full selves um with their community and their community with their families. And so I just, you know, it's it's it's a hard time for a lot of folks. Pride was a protest, but it's also a celebration, and I look forward to celebrating with you.

SPEAKER_03 47:34

Yeah, politics is personal will be out there, so we'll look forward to that.

SPEAKER_02 47:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 47:38

Uh remember, friends, politics is personal, so keep talking. How about an apple? I'll take it.

SPEAKER_01 47:47

Yep. Thank you so much for listening. This episode of Politics is Personal, hosted by Leslie Harrod and Cole Whist.

SPEAKER_02 47:57

The episode featured Chef Michael Diaz de Leon at Molino, Cheeto. And was directed and edited by Julie Jackson and produced by Leslie Harrod, Cole Whist, Ian Saveri, and Julie Jackson. Special thanks to our friend Brandon Beston for our What's Bugging Me segment. Music by JKK. And follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and any site where you get your podcast. At Politics is Personal with Leslie and Cole. Recorded at Denver Community Media, all rights reserved.