WEBVTT 00:00:01.279 --> 00:00:05.200 Hey, it's Shalaysia Harris, your host of Buzzworthy. 00:00:05.559 --> 00:00:09.099 Join me as I sit down with entrepreneurs to talk 00:00:09.099 --> 00:00:12.320 about their innovative businesses and their unique 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:16.800 stories. Remember to follow us on social at Hamilton 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:20.600 Hive on all platforms, and don't forget to rate 00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:25.500 our podcast. Let's jump into today's story. Hey 00:00:25.500 --> 00:00:29.559 everyone, today we have Kyle Ferreira in the 00:00:29.559 --> 00:00:33.280 studio with me. Kyle and I actually go way back 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:37.500 with live theater once upon a time, but that's 00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:41.460 a later story. Kyle's here to talk about his 00:00:41.460 --> 00:00:46.340 two businesses. Bar Sazerag and Salt Lake. And 00:00:46.340 --> 00:00:50.039 he started both these restaurants after taking 00:00:50.039 --> 00:00:53.219 a step back from his typical career, like most 00:00:53.219 --> 00:00:57.079 people, and eventually jumping into his passion. 00:00:57.119 --> 00:01:01.060 And here he is as an entrepreneur running two 00:01:01.060 --> 00:01:04.780 restaurants. And not just an entrepreneur, but 00:01:04.780 --> 00:01:07.920 a restauranteur. Is that what you call yourself? 00:01:08.420 --> 00:01:13.829 A restauranteur? Yeah, that's the... french way 00:01:13.829 --> 00:01:18.090 of saying that i guess awesome well kyle you 00:01:18.090 --> 00:01:22.390 know from our musical theater days and now to 00:01:22.390 --> 00:01:27.290 an entrepreneur what do you think set you up 00:01:27.290 --> 00:01:33.670 to be an entrepreneur um well uh you know i have 00:01:33.670 --> 00:01:38.430 two kids now and one of my kids has a very difficult 00:01:38.430 --> 00:01:43.510 time with uh following instructions and i see 00:01:43.510 --> 00:01:47.349 quite a bit of myself in him i think most of 00:01:47.349 --> 00:01:50.989 my desire to do things for myself is based on 00:01:50.989 --> 00:01:56.549 just my inability to to do what people ask of 00:01:56.549 --> 00:02:01.909 me unless i see something of interest to myself 00:02:01.909 --> 00:02:08.830 it just uh it just comes down to a personal desire 00:02:08.830 --> 00:02:14.080 to be charge and a personal desire to have agency 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:18.719 over overall of all aspects of my life you know 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:21.360 the joke I said to a friend of mine when he was 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:25.699 when I had recently purchased salt lick was you 00:02:25.699 --> 00:02:28.159 ever notice how your farts don't smell that bad 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:34.460 so yeah it just comes down to the you know the 00:02:34.460 --> 00:02:37.159 things that if it's a problem of my own making 00:02:37.159 --> 00:02:41.120 a problem of my own creation then then i just 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:43.280 feel a lot better i just feel a lot better about 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:46.759 it yeah yeah that wasn't what i was expecting 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:51.800 but you're right you definitely can handle it 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:54.560 a lot better you have your own expectations of 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:57.879 it and you go through it but is there anything 00:02:57.879 --> 00:03:02.319 you think that you know kind of really gave you 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:05.759 the skills, the confidence, and all of that to 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:08.539 say, hey, I'm going to do this thing that I love 00:03:08.539 --> 00:03:13.340 and turn it into business. Well, I went to chef 00:03:13.340 --> 00:03:18.990 school at George Brown. I spent... As you said, 00:03:19.069 --> 00:03:23.509 most of my life in musical theater. So the ability 00:03:23.509 --> 00:03:27.469 to cook and the ability to talk and present myself 00:03:27.469 --> 00:03:32.830 well to other people has always been there. I 00:03:32.830 --> 00:03:38.030 ran restaurants or had been in a position of 00:03:38.030 --> 00:03:41.770 leadership inside of other restaurants for most 00:03:41.770 --> 00:03:44.500 of my... most of my cooking career previously. 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:51.340 I went to school and worked for my aunt, who 00:03:51.340 --> 00:03:55.139 has a financial planning office. I worked for 00:03:55.139 --> 00:04:03.879 her as a tax repair consultant for a couple of 00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:08.319 years. So the concept of... of working with and 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:12.379 being around money, proper accounting, proper 00:04:12.379 --> 00:04:15.219 business practices were always there. I think 00:04:15.219 --> 00:04:19.680 it's just an amalgamation of, I guess, everything 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:23.199 that I was up until the point in time that my 00:04:23.199 --> 00:04:27.740 friend said, would you like to open a bar? And 00:04:27.740 --> 00:04:30.519 I was like, yeah, I feel prepared to do that. 00:04:30.600 --> 00:04:34.860 Let me do that. That's awesome. I think in a 00:04:34.860 --> 00:04:37.720 lot of ways, we take our experiences for granted 00:04:37.720 --> 00:04:40.540 throughout the years, no matter like how small 00:04:40.540 --> 00:04:44.100 it is or how significant, but they all eventually 00:04:44.100 --> 00:04:48.120 roll up to where we want to be. And you can always 00:04:48.120 --> 00:04:51.800 draw from those different experiences to really 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:54.680 build yourself and take yourself to the next 00:04:54.680 --> 00:04:57.939 level. I generally, yeah, no, I absolutely agree, 00:04:58.040 --> 00:05:03.490 actually. I'm not one of those people who believe 00:05:03.490 --> 00:05:06.649 that if I want to be a doctor, I should only 00:05:06.649 --> 00:05:13.230 take doctor -related courses in university and 00:05:13.230 --> 00:05:17.509 then in medical school. No, I believe in kind 00:05:17.509 --> 00:05:20.750 of the more holistic approach they had previous 00:05:20.750 --> 00:05:25.170 to, let's say, the 1940s, 1930s, which was that 00:05:25.170 --> 00:05:29.170 a doctor could be... Obviously, science -minded, 00:05:29.370 --> 00:05:33.129 but they could be from almost any background, 00:05:33.170 --> 00:05:37.290 provided they had the marks. So you ended up 00:05:37.290 --> 00:05:43.550 with, in many cases, much more rounded practitioners. 00:05:44.250 --> 00:05:47.389 Yeah, because they have a richer sense of thinking. 00:05:47.410 --> 00:05:52.110 It's just not linear and narrow just from a medical 00:05:52.110 --> 00:05:58.850 perspective. Yeah, it just... It's not that medicine 00:05:58.850 --> 00:06:01.050 has progressed quite a bit since that point in 00:06:01.050 --> 00:06:03.930 time, and there's a lot more to know, and obviously 00:06:03.930 --> 00:06:08.509 a little bit more focus is not a terrible thing, 00:06:08.629 --> 00:06:14.029 but too much usually ends up with somebody who 00:06:14.029 --> 00:06:20.629 is probably less than capable of dealing with 00:06:20.629 --> 00:06:25.410 people and having the ability to kind of reach. 00:06:26.060 --> 00:06:29.740 to wherever the person they're dealing with is. 00:06:30.579 --> 00:06:38.839 It is slightly unreasonable for anybody in authority 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:42.480 to expect for people who are not in authority 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:46.620 or people that they are serving to meet them 00:06:46.620 --> 00:06:49.180 at their level. You must. You must go to the 00:06:49.180 --> 00:06:53.899 patient's level. You must go to the customer's 00:06:53.899 --> 00:06:57.279 level. You must go to the patron's level. So 00:06:57.279 --> 00:07:02.079 that's generally what I believe in regards to 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:04.079 that. So you're quite right. Quite right. It 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:07.430 must happen that way. Yeah. And when your friend 00:07:07.430 --> 00:07:10.110 came to you to say, hey, let's start a bar together, 00:07:10.370 --> 00:07:14.810 what made you want to start a bar here in Hamilton? 00:07:15.430 --> 00:07:20.490 Well, he actually said that he was just kind 00:07:20.490 --> 00:07:23.629 of milling around about wanting to start a wine 00:07:23.629 --> 00:07:27.189 bar. And I said, let's, no, it should be a cocktail 00:07:27.189 --> 00:07:32.949 bar. The margins are better. The outlay is a 00:07:32.949 --> 00:07:39.129 little less. A little less gigantic. And the 00:07:39.129 --> 00:07:43.829 product doesn't ever go bad. And then you're 00:07:43.829 --> 00:07:45.610 like, you want to do this with me? I'm like, 00:07:45.709 --> 00:07:51.589 yes. Yes, let me. I never thought about it up 00:07:51.589 --> 00:07:56.009 until apparently this conversation about a couple 00:07:56.009 --> 00:07:59.189 seconds ago. But yeah, yeah, I want to do that 00:07:59.189 --> 00:08:04.319 with you, bud. Shane McCartney is. is my business 00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:09.699 partner, still is, even though I've mostly bought 00:08:09.699 --> 00:08:11.759 him out of all the properties that we've done 00:08:11.759 --> 00:08:16.560 together. But forever and ever, amen, will this 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:20.779 man be one of my closest friends and associates. 00:08:22.439 --> 00:08:25.899 Really happy to have worked with him and really 00:08:25.899 --> 00:08:29.339 happy to continue to work with him. Why Hamilton? 00:08:30.350 --> 00:08:35.190 I'm from Hamilton. I wasn't born here, but every 00:08:35.190 --> 00:08:40.669 bit of my life, from the moment that my family 00:08:40.669 --> 00:08:43.769 moved here from Trinidad and Tobago, I've been 00:08:43.769 --> 00:08:49.850 here. So I wanted to be part of the city. I thought 00:08:49.850 --> 00:08:52.990 that the idea that we would do a cocktail bar 00:08:52.990 --> 00:09:00.039 in town would be fun. We have a lot of... A lot 00:09:00.039 --> 00:09:03.580 of development going on all downtown and the 00:09:03.580 --> 00:09:07.960 idea that we post up in a place and slowly build 00:09:07.960 --> 00:09:11.340 a reputation while most of these places were 00:09:11.340 --> 00:09:16.840 going to be coming up would be the better play 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:22.259 rather than waiting and then fighting up to try 00:09:22.259 --> 00:09:26.139 and get a spot on what would be kind of the epicenter 00:09:26.139 --> 00:09:31.740 of Hamilton. dining culture so we just we're 00:09:31.740 --> 00:09:34.740 like okay cool so we have the location the price 00:09:34.740 --> 00:09:40.600 is right uh for for the location um you know 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:46.240 and and we just made it happen not a lot of money 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:50.019 spent uh to to to get it done but that's that 00:09:50.019 --> 00:09:53.860 was restaurants in hamilton at the time now now 00:09:53.860 --> 00:09:57.350 you wouldn't be able to do that now So how much 00:09:57.350 --> 00:10:00.809 has that changed? In the last 10 years? Mm -hmm. 00:10:00.889 --> 00:10:08.110 Jesus. I've seen, on the same street where we 00:10:08.110 --> 00:10:12.049 are, I've seen in one location three different 00:10:12.049 --> 00:10:17.649 operators. It was a very difficult location. 00:10:17.649 --> 00:10:19.789 The guy who's there right now seems to be doing 00:10:19.789 --> 00:10:25.860 pretty well, but I think... I think that the 00:10:25.860 --> 00:10:29.759 amount of turnover and the amount of kind of 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:33.299 cultural shift that we've had on James North 00:10:33.299 --> 00:10:39.039 is, yeah, it's been a lifetime in the past decade. 00:10:39.659 --> 00:10:43.700 So it's been very exciting to be part of it. 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:46.419 I've met a lot of wonderful people who have. 00:10:48.190 --> 00:10:53.409 the sort of businesses that bring a great amount 00:10:53.409 --> 00:10:57.470 of foot traffic, rather than being on the street 00:10:57.470 --> 00:11:00.570 more or less by myself at one end. There's a 00:11:00.570 --> 00:11:05.029 lot of other restaurants and other bars to go 00:11:05.029 --> 00:11:08.549 to, so it ends up being a place that, oh, well, 00:11:08.590 --> 00:11:12.389 if I can't get in at... Let me go here. If I 00:11:12.389 --> 00:11:14.970 can't get in at that other guy's spot, let me 00:11:14.970 --> 00:11:17.669 go to Sazerac. Let me go, you know, so it's not, 00:11:17.750 --> 00:11:24.950 it's less of a destination. Yeah. Less of a singular 00:11:24.950 --> 00:11:30.809 destination than a place that people can enjoy 00:11:30.809 --> 00:11:32.850 the entirety of the street. And I think that's 00:11:32.850 --> 00:11:36.850 wonderful. Yeah. What do you think has really 00:11:36.850 --> 00:11:41.399 set? Bar Sazerac aside from some of the other 00:11:41.399 --> 00:11:45.240 restaurants and bars that had a higher turnover? 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:54.139 Well, one, I'd say that the focus for me has 00:11:54.139 --> 00:12:03.060 been less, I say less classical business. The 00:12:03.060 --> 00:12:07.399 initial outlay kind of made it so that we were 00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:12.519 constantly putting money back into the business, 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:15.200 back into the business. And because of that, 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:20.759 the focus has been on spending the intervening 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:25.620 time, making it into something that people would 00:12:25.620 --> 00:12:32.769 want to bet on. A lot of the other, a lot of 00:12:32.769 --> 00:12:35.049 other businesses have been putting, you know, 00:12:35.070 --> 00:12:36.850 this is the amount of money that we want to spend. 00:12:36.929 --> 00:12:41.590 We expect to see these returns immediately or 00:12:41.590 --> 00:12:44.649 in, you know, in a pretty quick turnaround. If 00:12:44.649 --> 00:12:49.870 they don't, they, you know, they make the necessary 00:12:49.870 --> 00:12:52.870 business decision to say, okay, well, that didn't 00:12:52.870 --> 00:12:55.690 work out. Let us stop hemorrhaging money and 00:12:55.690 --> 00:12:59.649 let's hang on to what we have left. In the case 00:12:59.649 --> 00:13:04.330 of Bar Sazerac, it was always like, okay, well, 00:13:04.429 --> 00:13:08.409 we have this amount of money, and we've put in 00:13:08.409 --> 00:13:10.230 money to improve our infrastructure. We've put 00:13:10.230 --> 00:13:13.190 in money to improve our products that we have 00:13:13.190 --> 00:13:17.990 available to sell. I have spent quite a bit of 00:13:17.990 --> 00:13:28.379 time competing in regional and provincial. uh, 00:13:28.440 --> 00:13:33.779 national competitions to kind of raise our, our, 00:13:33.860 --> 00:13:38.120 our prestige and our, our status in, in the cocktail 00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:40.899 community. So that's cool. Tell me a little bit 00:13:40.899 --> 00:13:44.840 more about that. Yeah. So yeah, the whole point 00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:47.740 of that was just, um, how do we get people to, 00:13:47.759 --> 00:13:50.759 how do we get people to make sure that, uh, they 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:53.419 respect what it is that we're doing? Um, so, 00:13:53.539 --> 00:14:00.120 um, In actual fact, in April, I'm going to be 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:04.879 competing in the Canadian National Final of Made 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:08.399 With Love for the second time. Cool. So, yeah. 00:14:08.519 --> 00:14:11.360 Congrats. Thank you very much. So, it allows 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:16.639 us to have something to say. Like, if you're 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:19.409 coming here, I mean... The guy's pretty good. 00:14:20.350 --> 00:14:25.529 The other people that we have working with us 00:14:25.529 --> 00:14:30.850 at Sazerac also do competitions that are very 00:14:30.850 --> 00:14:35.909 respected in their own right. Alyssa Anderson. 00:14:37.110 --> 00:14:42.169 I have a thing with Alyssa, who is our head bartender 00:14:42.169 --> 00:14:49.039 currently, that I will continue to do. until 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:57.259 she beats me. Wow. And she is nipping at my heels, 00:14:57.399 --> 00:15:01.980 bud. She's nipping at my heels. Real good. You 00:15:01.980 --> 00:15:08.139 know, the whole vibe of Sazerac has always been 00:15:08.139 --> 00:15:15.000 let's be... Let us be fun. Let us have our own 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:18.320 kind of voice. Let us answer the questions that 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:21.179 we have swimming around our head. What if we 00:15:21.179 --> 00:15:23.639 do this? Why not? Who's there to tell us no? 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:27.299 I mean, I guess it would be me, but I haven't 00:15:27.299 --> 00:15:30.940 done that. I like that, though, because it really 00:15:30.940 --> 00:15:34.639 speaks to also one of the reasons a lot of businesses 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:38.820 continue to do well overall is, you know, with 00:15:38.820 --> 00:15:41.159 that level of, you know, healthy competition 00:15:41.159 --> 00:15:45.230 that. Pushes your boundaries of innovation in 00:15:45.230 --> 00:15:48.169 a space where you might think that it's limited 00:15:48.169 --> 00:15:52.129 But it's not because now you have so many different 00:15:52.129 --> 00:15:55.429 things to do Alyssa wants to beat you you want 00:15:55.429 --> 00:15:59.649 to maintain your status quo so, you know That 00:15:59.649 --> 00:16:03.529 really continues to keep you moving up the ladder. 00:16:03.789 --> 00:16:07.549 Yeah, it's a it's one of them it's one of the 00:16:07.549 --> 00:16:10.509 better things about I would say our process in 00:16:10.509 --> 00:16:16.509 general, which is Um, everyone is always, is 00:16:16.509 --> 00:16:19.490 always trying to be, uh, creative. Everyone is 00:16:19.490 --> 00:16:23.529 always thinking of, I was, I was thinking about 00:16:23.529 --> 00:16:27.230 this flavor profile or, um, right now we're in 00:16:27.230 --> 00:16:32.169 the process of, uh, of writing our, our big menu. 00:16:32.289 --> 00:16:36.789 So every year we, uh, will have a large theme 00:16:36.789 --> 00:16:44.629 menu. Um, and then, uh, During the downtime between 00:16:44.629 --> 00:16:47.549 menus, because we have to have a little bit of 00:16:47.549 --> 00:16:50.470 a breezeway, because if you immediately put out 00:16:50.470 --> 00:16:53.289 a theme menu after a big theme menu, it kind 00:16:53.289 --> 00:16:57.830 of is, I guess, less impactful. So there's usually 00:16:57.830 --> 00:17:04.470 about four to six months of us coming up with 00:17:04.470 --> 00:17:09.519 that menu and having a very... a very creative 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:12.619 time uh to to come up with that so right now 00:17:12.619 --> 00:17:18.180 it's just all um you know answering a lot of 00:17:18.180 --> 00:17:20.000 answering a lot of personal questions i want 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:21.960 to i want to make it taste like this how do i 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:26.299 do that um what happens if i put this in in this 00:17:26.299 --> 00:17:28.759 liqueur will you know will it create a different 00:17:28.759 --> 00:17:32.779 flavor and a different concept we're buying um 00:17:32.779 --> 00:17:37.519 buying in uh other molecular gastronomy textures 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:41.380 and um somebody's trying to a little do little 00:17:41.380 --> 00:17:44.720 um i don't know if you've ever had you ever had 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:50.500 um bubble tea yes i i i asked the question i 00:17:50.500 --> 00:17:55.960 assumed but whatever um uh somebody wants to 00:17:55.960 --> 00:18:00.759 try and make boba but um instead of instead of 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:05.210 boba they're little popping caviar of other flavor. 00:18:05.349 --> 00:18:08.690 So there's the thought process of how do I do 00:18:08.690 --> 00:18:14.990 this? And we've always had a kind of a mandate 00:18:14.990 --> 00:18:18.470 at the bar, which is that if you come up with 00:18:18.470 --> 00:18:23.829 an idea and that idea costs less than $200, we're 00:18:23.829 --> 00:18:26.779 going to try your idea. And the vast majority 00:18:26.779 --> 00:18:30.180 of ideas fall well below $200 because it's just 00:18:30.180 --> 00:18:32.799 like, well, I would like to use this liquor, 00:18:32.940 --> 00:18:35.859 but we've never actually had it here. And I was 00:18:35.859 --> 00:18:39.859 like, well, the LCBO app says it's only $40, 00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:44.059 so why not? Yeah, nothing to lose. Nothing to 00:18:44.059 --> 00:18:53.220 lose. Maybe you just make 13 to 18 cocktails 00:18:53.220 --> 00:18:57.049 that are lightly. flavored with this thing and 00:18:57.049 --> 00:19:00.069 you know in the grand scheme of things you know 00:19:00.069 --> 00:19:03.910 we're doing thousands of cocktails a month so 00:19:03.910 --> 00:19:08.349 who's what what's another what's another 13 what's 00:19:08.349 --> 00:19:12.569 another 20 you know so for some people uh especially 00:19:12.569 --> 00:19:15.450 our especially our long -time patrons they enjoy 00:19:16.589 --> 00:19:18.970 Being part of that process, they enjoy tasting 00:19:18.970 --> 00:19:23.509 the weird and wonderful. So they don't mind it 00:19:23.509 --> 00:19:25.869 being like, I bought this thing. I don't know 00:19:25.869 --> 00:19:27.369 anything about it. You want to find out about 00:19:27.369 --> 00:19:31.490 it with me? Mystery drink. Let's taste it together. 00:19:31.630 --> 00:19:33.309 I think it tastes like this. I think it tastes 00:19:33.309 --> 00:19:35.849 like that. Let's make a cocktail together and 00:19:35.849 --> 00:19:38.809 then we discuss it. And then the discussion is 00:19:38.809 --> 00:19:42.470 the part that they actually care about. Yeah. 00:19:42.529 --> 00:19:45.119 They don't really. It doesn't bother them that 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:48.259 much about the flavor because they've spent, 00:19:48.380 --> 00:19:53.079 yeah. I feel like most people have spent more 00:19:53.079 --> 00:19:57.000 than $15 on a mistake in their life. Oh, for 00:19:57.000 --> 00:19:59.720 sure. Oh, for sure. So you're going to spend 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:08.779 $15 on a three -ounce cocktail. That within probably 00:20:08.779 --> 00:20:10.519 20 minutes you're going to finish and forget. 00:20:11.140 --> 00:20:13.859 Who cares? Or if it's really terrible, it'll 00:20:13.859 --> 00:20:16.519 be memorable. Or if it's really great, it's still 00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:20.720 memorable. Exactly. There's no losing. It's just 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:26.319 like theater. You go and see a questionable show 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:32.480 and maybe just on the drive back you have a chat 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:34.400 with your wife and you're just like, well, that 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:40.490 was weird. That was weird. But the experience 00:20:40.490 --> 00:20:48.410 of going is still there. So when the whole pandemic 00:20:48.410 --> 00:20:52.730 came in, and I know it's a few years behind us. 00:20:52.829 --> 00:20:55.049 It's not behind us. It's not behind us? Okay. 00:20:56.250 --> 00:21:00.130 It's not behind us. As far as I'm concerned, 00:21:00.269 --> 00:21:06.460 it's going to be probably another... year or 00:21:06.460 --> 00:21:09.279 two before especially hospitality businesses 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:13.759 in this town get back to the financial position 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:17.460 that they were in at the at the beginning you 00:21:17.460 --> 00:21:23.200 know because so you know big advocate for maintaining 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:27.220 all of our municipal and provincial government 00:21:27.220 --> 00:21:29.640 programs that allow us to continue to try and 00:21:29.640 --> 00:21:32.170 get back to where we were yeah That's awesome. 00:21:32.569 --> 00:21:35.150 I'm glad you're able to tap into those because 00:21:35.150 --> 00:21:38.150 like you said, you guys took a really big hit. 00:21:38.670 --> 00:21:42.009 Did you do anything new during that time to keep 00:21:42.009 --> 00:21:45.269 the business going? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. No. Um, 00:21:46.190 --> 00:21:51.390 uh, pretty much as soon as, uh, as soon as we 00:21:51.390 --> 00:21:54.809 were closed and we were closed for, uh, I would 00:21:54.809 --> 00:21:59.910 say like, like I think my wife and I spent maybe 00:21:59.910 --> 00:22:05.009 like a week or two. moping around. And then she 00:22:05.009 --> 00:22:08.650 was like, well, enough of that. We're going to 00:22:08.650 --> 00:22:11.950 sell cocktail syrups and we're going to sell 00:22:11.950 --> 00:22:16.069 cocktail mixes. So basically it was an opportunity 00:22:16.069 --> 00:22:21.589 for people to have kind of a bar Sazerac experience, 00:22:21.849 --> 00:22:26.130 whether or not they were sitting at the bar. 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:30.900 So we did that. As soon as it became possible 00:22:30.900 --> 00:22:38.819 for us to sell cocktails out of the bar, we sold 00:22:38.819 --> 00:22:42.400 them. For the longest time, we were selling cocktail 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:48.900 kits. We also sold other cocktail paraphernalia. 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:56.019 Even if you wanted, let's say, a cocktail shaker 00:22:56.019 --> 00:22:58.579 set and a mixing glass and you didn't know where 00:22:58.579 --> 00:23:02.200 to go, you could always come to Bar Sazerac and 00:23:02.200 --> 00:23:07.519 we'll help you out. So it was a lot of fun in 00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:13.140 that regard. In almost every other regard, no. 00:23:13.299 --> 00:23:18.170 It was not fun. So are your cocktail kits still 00:23:18.170 --> 00:23:25.390 around? Not really. No, we do them for, like, 00:23:25.390 --> 00:23:28.470 one of the things that we also did during the 00:23:28.470 --> 00:23:34.970 pandemic was cocktail classes. And if, as you 00:23:34.970 --> 00:23:38.789 probably got during the pandemic also, you got 00:23:38.789 --> 00:23:42.900 really good at using. um zoom or teams or whatever 00:23:42.900 --> 00:23:48.819 yeah so we did those over over uh um those uh 00:23:48.819 --> 00:23:52.660 those platforms um and we still do them to this 00:23:52.660 --> 00:23:55.920 day so like if you have uh you know if you have 00:23:55.920 --> 00:23:58.740 a difficult time getting people together you 00:23:58.740 --> 00:24:03.460 we can we can do cocktail kits and you or we 00:24:03.460 --> 00:24:08.420 can mail them to your uh Your audience, yeah. 00:24:08.539 --> 00:24:11.140 People, whoever, wherever they are. And then, 00:24:11.180 --> 00:24:14.700 you know, when we make sure that everyone has 00:24:14.700 --> 00:24:20.119 those items, we can then do a cocktail class 00:24:20.119 --> 00:24:23.240 with them. That's cool. And it will be with whatever's 00:24:23.240 --> 00:24:26.440 in the kit. So, yeah, it allows us to still do 00:24:26.440 --> 00:24:30.460 those now, but we don't. It's not primary business 00:24:30.460 --> 00:24:34.000 anymore. No, it's unfortunately, well, I guess 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:37.720 fortunately, far too busy at work. Far too busy 00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:43.160 at the thing. You can't get the staff to get 00:24:43.160 --> 00:24:49.640 off their larger problems. They have the people 00:24:49.640 --> 00:24:51.480 who are physically in the building to serve. 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:56.960 And we're already... You know people were chomping 00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:00.099 at the bit and so are to so are to this day the 00:25:00.099 --> 00:25:03.819 idea of going out the idea of Feeling like this 00:25:03.819 --> 00:25:09.220 is I think we want to do so That's that's who 00:25:09.220 --> 00:25:11.960 were that's who were making smile these days. 00:25:12.059 --> 00:25:19.329 Yeah, that's good. So you also own Salt Lake. 00:25:19.529 --> 00:25:24.750 Yeah, Salt Lake Smokehouse. At what part of your 00:25:24.750 --> 00:25:29.869 journey in owning Bar Sazerac did you decide 00:25:29.869 --> 00:25:34.910 that, hey, I need another restaurant? Well, the 00:25:34.910 --> 00:25:44.529 truth of the matter is that the restaurant industry 00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:55.220 by the very nature of the way people value service 00:25:55.220 --> 00:26:00.900 and value the food that they eat. We have a weird 00:26:00.900 --> 00:26:05.140 valuation of that, in that we expect quite a 00:26:05.140 --> 00:26:13.420 bit for the least amount of money, which... You 00:26:13.420 --> 00:26:15.480 know, I'm a person. I also don't like paying 00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:22.740 for things. But at the same time, they're, you 00:26:22.740 --> 00:26:26.859 know, they expect people to be very, very accommodating 00:26:26.859 --> 00:26:31.440 as well as they expect restaurants to continue 00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:34.779 to exist, even the best restaurants that, you 00:26:34.779 --> 00:26:40.660 know. razor thin margins so my my personal thing 00:26:40.660 --> 00:26:44.299 to get around that as well as kind of be able 00:26:44.299 --> 00:26:47.759 to look myself in the eye on being the sort of 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:52.000 employer that makes sure that everyone is properly 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:56.960 paid and that all the things that they want out 00:26:56.960 --> 00:26:59.880 of their life obviously within reason but at 00:26:59.880 --> 00:27:03.039 the same time everything that would make them 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:09.480 fully actualized as a person are fulfilled is 00:27:09.480 --> 00:27:12.920 that obviously there's the amount of money that 00:27:12.920 --> 00:27:20.380 we have as profit and then the dividends therein. 00:27:20.460 --> 00:27:23.559 But there is the amount of money I just pay myself 00:27:23.559 --> 00:27:29.900 as a person. So my way of getting around this 00:27:29.900 --> 00:27:35.440 larger problem is to just try and own more restaurants 00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:39.039 and pull stupid little salaries from each one 00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:45.519 and then um and then i'll have one slightly reasonable 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:52.099 salary eventually eventually so i mean it puts 00:27:52.099 --> 00:27:56.400 a little bit less uh less of an emphasis on um 00:27:56.400 --> 00:28:03.279 on being so draconian about What everything that's 00:28:03.279 --> 00:28:08.299 going on puts more emphasis on kind of a personal 00:28:08.299 --> 00:28:14.160 ownership of the people that work for us and 00:28:14.160 --> 00:28:17.880 with us. Like, you know, I'm really mostly just 00:28:17.880 --> 00:28:21.279 doing this so that we can all get paid. So how 00:28:21.279 --> 00:28:23.740 about we just, you know, how about you stop? 00:28:23.940 --> 00:28:26.519 How about we figure out how to solve this problem? 00:28:26.660 --> 00:28:29.970 Because we're really just trying to... all of 00:28:29.970 --> 00:28:33.089 us, and who's working for the organization just 00:28:33.089 --> 00:28:38.009 trying to get paid. So because of that, fairly 00:28:38.009 --> 00:28:41.569 early on in my journey in ownership, I was like, 00:28:41.650 --> 00:28:44.970 okay, cool. I need another restaurant eventually 00:28:44.970 --> 00:28:49.769 because my wife and I had just had our first 00:28:49.769 --> 00:28:54.950 son, Benjamin. In our usual infinite wisdom, 00:28:55.009 --> 00:28:57.069 while we were having our second son, we bought 00:28:57.069 --> 00:29:00.950 the other restaurant. That sounds like the perfect 00:29:00.950 --> 00:29:04.490 timing. Oh, yeah. Two new babies at once. Oh, 00:29:04.490 --> 00:29:07.890 my God. No, the thing is, it's one baby, and 00:29:07.890 --> 00:29:15.809 then the rest of the staff, they're people. They 00:29:15.809 --> 00:29:20.210 have their wants and needs, and it's always quite 00:29:20.210 --> 00:29:26.059 a... quite a balancing act to get everyone singing 00:29:26.059 --> 00:29:33.000 off the same song sheet. So it's been a time. 00:29:33.140 --> 00:29:37.500 I'm not going to lie. We've only owned Salt Lake 00:29:37.500 --> 00:29:45.019 since May of 2022. Okay. So it's only been about 00:29:45.019 --> 00:29:51.019 seven months, seven, eight months. A lot of changes 00:29:51.019 --> 00:29:57.900 during that time. It previously belonged to my 00:29:57.900 --> 00:30:01.559 business partner. He moved out of town and wanted 00:30:01.559 --> 00:30:05.880 to divest himself of a lot of his obligations 00:30:05.880 --> 00:30:09.519 in town. He knew that I had that ambition to 00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:11.720 own another restaurant. He's like, would you 00:30:11.720 --> 00:30:14.019 like to own this restaurant? I'm like, the restaurant 00:30:14.019 --> 00:30:17.759 that I've already run? Yes, that would actually 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:21.779 be... Very easy transition. Well, substantially 00:30:21.779 --> 00:30:26.779 easier, I would say. The idea, I don't want anyone 00:30:26.779 --> 00:30:33.680 to ever think that business ownership is at any 00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:38.480 point in time easy. A friend of mine the other 00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:41.400 day was like, Kyle, I really want to open this. 00:30:42.799 --> 00:30:48.359 I know that you have a... You know, your business 00:30:48.359 --> 00:30:50.440 background and you already own a restaurant. 00:30:50.539 --> 00:30:52.660 So tell me what you think of my business plan. 00:30:52.740 --> 00:30:54.900 And I was like, okay, let me stop you right here. 00:30:56.119 --> 00:30:59.940 Before I read this, I just need to know, like, 00:30:59.980 --> 00:31:03.539 can you see yourself doing anything else? That's 00:31:03.539 --> 00:31:06.519 a good question. Can you see yourself doing anything 00:31:06.519 --> 00:31:09.680 else? Because if you have even an inkling of 00:31:09.680 --> 00:31:13.039 anything else you want to do, go do that. This 00:31:13.039 --> 00:31:17.250 is, like, I... I have to do this. I have to do 00:31:17.250 --> 00:31:22.809 this to live. I can't not be a person who owns 00:31:22.809 --> 00:31:25.210 and operates restaurants. I like it too much. 00:31:25.490 --> 00:31:29.630 Yeah. It's the only way that it makes any sense 00:31:29.630 --> 00:31:35.720 because it's not the most... Easy and or immediately 00:31:35.720 --> 00:31:40.319 lucrative of businesses. Yeah. Because the typical 00:31:40.319 --> 00:31:44.039 turnaround on any kind of real profits, isn't 00:31:44.039 --> 00:31:46.859 it about two years or so? Well, I think that's 00:31:46.859 --> 00:31:52.779 a kind of a general business timeline. But for 00:31:52.779 --> 00:31:57.460 restaurants, like what we're talking about with 00:31:57.460 --> 00:32:01.599 even the highest flyers in the restaurant industry. 00:32:03.500 --> 00:32:10.460 They're looking at mid -teens for what they're 00:32:10.460 --> 00:32:18.339 expecting for profits over the year. You're not 00:32:18.339 --> 00:32:22.839 making piles of money. That's why they're very 00:32:22.839 --> 00:32:31.559 conscious about the fluctuations in product. 00:32:32.309 --> 00:32:37.990 in the market they're in. The amount of time 00:32:37.990 --> 00:32:41.329 that people are there at the restaurant, what 00:32:41.329 --> 00:32:44.910 is being sold and how much, writing all of your 00:32:44.910 --> 00:32:50.609 deals at the back end. So, like, even right now 00:32:50.609 --> 00:32:54.230 or earlier today, I was seeing what, you know, 00:32:54.269 --> 00:32:56.269 I was talking to my meat guy and trying to figure 00:32:56.269 --> 00:33:01.529 out what could be done there. You know, there's... 00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:04.140 But obviously you can't have a deepened quality 00:33:04.140 --> 00:33:08.519 because that would directly impact how people 00:33:08.519 --> 00:33:10.319 feel about your restaurant and their willingness 00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:18.740 to spend. So it is a balancing act. But for me, 00:33:18.779 --> 00:33:23.099 I thrive on trying to solve these problems. And 00:33:23.099 --> 00:33:27.500 for other people, that's not it. And if it's 00:33:27.500 --> 00:33:34.000 not, then don't do it. like it sucks it certainly 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:37.640 will it definitely will um and it's like just 00:33:37.640 --> 00:33:40.839 having a job that you don't like but you really 00:33:40.839 --> 00:33:43.759 just can't pull out of it as easy as handing 00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:46.380 in your two -week notice it just doesn't work 00:33:46.380 --> 00:33:49.559 like that when you become a business owner no 00:33:49.559 --> 00:33:59.099 um it is like man um there's so many different 00:33:59.099 --> 00:34:01.849 things that even if you want to do something 00:34:01.849 --> 00:34:07.869 that on, you know, by sitting in the room, you're 00:34:07.869 --> 00:34:10.590 like, well, it shouldn't take me very long to 00:34:10.590 --> 00:34:15.630 renovate this space. You know, a friend of mine 00:34:15.630 --> 00:34:17.909 down the street, actually, it pushed him back 00:34:17.909 --> 00:34:21.449 by almost two years not opening his restaurant 00:34:21.449 --> 00:34:28.650 because every time he... like took out the ceiling 00:34:28.650 --> 00:34:32.849 he found another problem and the the people who 00:34:32.849 --> 00:34:39.969 had run uh or had that space before um there 00:34:39.969 --> 00:34:44.070 there was just like there was a drop ceiling 00:34:44.070 --> 00:34:49.590 and then another higher drop ceiling and then 00:34:49.590 --> 00:34:51.969 there was there was stuff in between those drop 00:34:51.969 --> 00:34:55.349 ceilings that were that were so just to get you 00:34:55.349 --> 00:35:02.840 know just to get it to the actual ceiling and 00:35:02.840 --> 00:35:11.500 to have dealt with all of the coding issues, 00:35:11.619 --> 00:35:17.019 especially as it relates to electrical. You know, 00:35:17.059 --> 00:35:20.809 it pushed this timing back a bit. Because Hamilton's 00:35:20.809 --> 00:35:23.449 an old city, right? Hamilton's an old city, yeah. 00:35:23.550 --> 00:35:26.769 The buildings that Salt Lake and Sazerac are 00:35:26.769 --> 00:35:30.090 both in are nearly 100 years old. So there's 00:35:30.090 --> 00:35:35.469 a lot of times where a lot of people have come 00:35:35.469 --> 00:35:38.469 and gone through those buildings in that time 00:35:38.469 --> 00:35:43.130 frame. So there is the things that you know for 00:35:43.130 --> 00:35:48.710 a fact that you did. Yeah. And there's always... 00:35:49.960 --> 00:35:52.639 You know, this is Hamilton. There's always going 00:35:52.639 --> 00:35:59.739 to be some, you know, some breaker on your fuse 00:35:59.739 --> 00:36:03.480 box that your electrician's like, I don't know 00:36:03.480 --> 00:36:07.800 what that does. All the knobs and tubes should 00:36:07.800 --> 00:36:10.519 be replaced at this point. Yeah, well, no. The 00:36:10.519 --> 00:36:14.820 knobs and tubes, thankfully, are gone. But I'm 00:36:14.820 --> 00:36:16.599 just saying, like, he's looking at the breaker. 00:36:16.659 --> 00:36:18.980 He's like, I don't know what that does, but it's 00:36:18.980 --> 00:36:23.219 on. And no one's died. So let's leave it alone. 00:36:23.400 --> 00:36:26.699 And you're just like, well, yeah, I'd like for 00:36:26.699 --> 00:36:30.199 this to be over too because I'm now eight months 00:36:30.199 --> 00:36:33.159 behind on this project. You know, the architect 00:36:33.159 --> 00:36:39.199 came in at the beginning and they were like, 00:36:39.239 --> 00:36:41.760 it's a box. It shouldn't take that long. And 00:36:41.760 --> 00:36:44.400 it took, you know, it's taken eight months for 00:36:44.400 --> 00:36:46.960 us to get this far. Just, you know, we're done. 00:36:47.440 --> 00:36:49.219 You're done. You don't need to do anything more. 00:36:49.679 --> 00:36:52.159 I think that's all, you know, part of business, 00:36:52.199 --> 00:36:54.239 all the unknowns. And like you said, you really 00:36:54.239 --> 00:36:58.019 have to love what your mission is in order to 00:36:58.019 --> 00:37:01.159 get over all of those hurdles. So when you decided 00:37:01.159 --> 00:37:07.360 to start Salt Lake, what was your vision for 00:37:07.360 --> 00:37:10.539 Salt Lake? What was the restaurant experience 00:37:10.539 --> 00:37:14.000 going to be? What was the food? What was that? 00:37:14.559 --> 00:37:18.960 So Salt Lake Smokehouse was opened by Shane McCartney 00:37:18.960 --> 00:37:22.739 like a year, a year and a half before he and 00:37:22.739 --> 00:37:27.380 I opened up Sazerac. So like he wanted to just 00:37:27.380 --> 00:37:32.980 make kind of things that were world barbecue. 00:37:34.489 --> 00:37:37.309 More specifically in the United States, but still 00:37:37.309 --> 00:37:41.510 there were other kind of barbecue orthodoxies 00:37:41.510 --> 00:37:49.909 like Korean barbecue or Jamaican chicken, which 00:37:49.909 --> 00:37:53.690 a lot of people don't tend to realize that. It's 00:37:53.690 --> 00:37:57.429 a barbecue. Well, it required, if you were in 00:37:57.429 --> 00:38:02.389 Kingston, they would be cooking that chicken 00:38:02.389 --> 00:38:07.369 over. charcoal in a, in a halved oil drum. Like 00:38:07.369 --> 00:38:09.690 it's getting a fair amount of smoke. It's, it 00:38:09.690 --> 00:38:12.650 is affecting flavor. It is, it is making that 00:38:12.650 --> 00:38:16.949 experience whole. Um, so, uh, it was always about 00:38:16.949 --> 00:38:20.469 world, world barbecue or, or, or cuisines that 00:38:20.469 --> 00:38:26.190 were influenced by smoke. So, um, I, uh, after, 00:38:26.369 --> 00:38:30.789 you know, after going back to accounting, uh, 00:38:30.929 --> 00:38:35.860 for, um, Uh, for the first time, hopefully the 00:38:35.860 --> 00:38:44.599 last time, um, uh, I kind of just, I, I did it 00:38:44.599 --> 00:38:47.820 for like a month or two months and then I was 00:38:47.820 --> 00:38:50.380 like, okay, cool. I can't do this forever. I 00:38:50.380 --> 00:38:52.440 can't do this forever. I just need to, I need 00:38:52.440 --> 00:38:55.920 to get back to being a cook or at the very least 00:38:55.920 --> 00:38:58.039 something in the restaurant industry because 00:38:58.039 --> 00:39:02.389 I like. I like that too much. So Shane hired 00:39:02.389 --> 00:39:07.449 me to be his bartender there. The decisions that 00:39:07.449 --> 00:39:10.789 we made together and the program that I installed 00:39:10.789 --> 00:39:19.869 raised his alcohol sales tremendously to the 00:39:19.869 --> 00:39:22.030 point that he wanted to do another business with 00:39:22.030 --> 00:39:26.500 me. During that time, I moved to being the chef 00:39:26.500 --> 00:39:33.940 of Salt Lick so that we could kind of keep in 00:39:33.940 --> 00:39:38.500 touch and do better work together. So the concept 00:39:38.500 --> 00:39:42.780 of me taking over a restaurant that I had already 00:39:42.780 --> 00:39:50.239 run, you know, seemed, for whatever reason, a 00:39:50.239 --> 00:39:53.920 no -brainer. or at least less problematic on 00:39:53.920 --> 00:39:58.840 its face. It has been equally as problematic 00:39:58.840 --> 00:40:05.639 as opening my brand new restaurant, Sazerac, 00:40:05.699 --> 00:40:09.539 at the time. So even though you're just taking 00:40:09.539 --> 00:40:14.019 over something that on its face should be substantially 00:40:14.019 --> 00:40:22.380 easier, it was equally challenging. So what in 00:40:22.380 --> 00:40:25.659 itself, you said this many times, that you just 00:40:25.659 --> 00:40:29.139 love this business so much. Why? Why? Because 00:40:29.139 --> 00:40:32.199 you're just like, this goes wrong and that goes 00:40:32.199 --> 00:40:36.780 wrong. But why do you love it? I love food. I 00:40:36.780 --> 00:40:45.719 love the memories. I have very fond memories 00:40:45.719 --> 00:40:50.110 of... of eating and the places that I was when 00:40:50.110 --> 00:40:56.010 I ate. It might seem, I don't know, might seem 00:40:56.010 --> 00:40:59.929 a little bit sensualist, but at the very least, 00:40:59.949 --> 00:41:03.309 I remember those things and I really enjoy them. 00:41:03.429 --> 00:41:08.170 So for a lot of things, it's been trying to figure 00:41:08.170 --> 00:41:11.610 out how to recreate that feeling or that concept. 00:41:14.510 --> 00:41:16.889 So it was always just really easy for me like 00:41:16.889 --> 00:41:23.429 that. My family is very creative. My father is 00:41:23.429 --> 00:41:26.489 an artist. My brother is an artist. My brother's 00:41:26.489 --> 00:41:30.670 a lawyer, but he's an outlier. He's creative 00:41:30.670 --> 00:41:36.150 his own way. But these are the things that we 00:41:36.150 --> 00:41:39.090 were always taught. It's just like, how do you... 00:41:40.059 --> 00:41:41.539 You know, these are the things that are available 00:41:41.539 --> 00:41:44.880 to you. Is that enough for you? No? Okay, cool. 00:41:44.960 --> 00:41:47.619 So how do you make that into more? Yeah. Or, 00:41:47.739 --> 00:41:57.340 yeah, so I just saw this as a way to do all the 00:41:57.340 --> 00:42:00.420 things that I knew to do from childhood, all 00:42:00.420 --> 00:42:05.670 the things that I like to do now. This is the 00:42:05.670 --> 00:42:08.670 way that I get the most control over it, to be 00:42:08.670 --> 00:42:13.110 in ownership. So, you know, it's just, I just 00:42:13.110 --> 00:42:17.530 love it. Can't not. I like that. I like that 00:42:17.530 --> 00:42:21.369 answer. And what's next for you? What is next 00:42:21.369 --> 00:42:27.730 for me? Well, right now, right now our focus 00:42:27.730 --> 00:42:36.599 is to make Salt Lake as, as good as we can make 00:42:36.599 --> 00:42:38.539 it. There's a lot of people who have very fond 00:42:38.539 --> 00:42:41.099 memories of going to Salt Lake, so there's a 00:42:41.099 --> 00:42:49.199 desire to hold true to those ideals that have 00:42:49.199 --> 00:42:54.920 built the restaurant into what it is. But there's 00:42:54.920 --> 00:42:59.739 also a desire to bring back, like Shane, especially 00:42:59.739 --> 00:43:03.079 when he was cooking there personally, was always 00:43:03.079 --> 00:43:07.900 very excited to, Like, Kyle, I got in these things. 00:43:08.619 --> 00:43:12.000 I got in these big honking beef ribs. What are 00:43:12.000 --> 00:43:14.420 you going to do with that? He would always be 00:43:14.420 --> 00:43:25.639 really very excited about being a cook. He also 00:43:25.639 --> 00:43:32.550 has a very sensuous bent. He didn't come... He 00:43:32.550 --> 00:43:36.369 didn't go to school for it like I did. So, like, 00:43:36.389 --> 00:43:39.969 I've always enjoyed learning a little bit more 00:43:39.969 --> 00:43:44.010 academic. He was always very, very, very hands 00:43:44.010 --> 00:43:47.829 -on. Almost all of his education was, like, you 00:43:47.829 --> 00:43:52.429 know, very hands -on. Whereas me, it's like I 00:43:52.429 --> 00:43:55.369 like reading a lot of things and I like having 00:43:55.369 --> 00:44:00.230 a fairly... comprehensive understanding of the 00:44:00.230 --> 00:44:02.210 things before I would, you know, go and attempt 00:44:02.210 --> 00:44:06.610 it. Very, very good for our business relationship. 00:44:09.969 --> 00:44:14.090 So I want to bring back that kind of experimental 00:44:14.090 --> 00:44:18.449 and fun vibe to the thing. I want people to have 00:44:18.449 --> 00:44:21.449 things to talk about at the tables, both the 00:44:21.449 --> 00:44:23.590 people who are serving and the people who are 00:44:23.590 --> 00:44:27.469 eating. You know, it's like, did you like that? 00:44:28.409 --> 00:44:30.150 Did you like, did you like the food that, uh, 00:44:30.210 --> 00:44:34.469 that you just had? Um, yes. Which parts did you 00:44:34.469 --> 00:44:37.909 like? Which parts didn't you like? Um, you know, 00:44:37.929 --> 00:44:42.889 the conversation is, is, is key. So, uh, we just 00:44:42.889 --> 00:44:47.269 want to, to do that. Be, be excellent at solid. 00:44:47.530 --> 00:44:50.750 Um, I really want to focus on that for, let's 00:44:50.750 --> 00:44:54.469 say the next, uh, you know, the next full year. 00:44:54.590 --> 00:45:00.360 Uh, and then, um, there's, Uh, there's a couple 00:45:00.360 --> 00:45:03.239 of things that I'm, I have planned, uh, to do 00:45:03.239 --> 00:45:06.699 with other restauranteurs, collaborations and 00:45:06.699 --> 00:45:10.460 the like. We have that to do. And then, uh, when 00:45:10.460 --> 00:45:15.420 both Sazerac and Salt Lick are incredibly secure, 00:45:15.679 --> 00:45:19.159 I will go after a third restaurant. Something 00:45:19.159 --> 00:45:23.920 new. It's mostly just, uh, hopefully at that 00:45:23.920 --> 00:45:28.880 point in time, um, you know, I'll have, Both 00:45:28.880 --> 00:45:33.260 of my kids will be in elementary school and, 00:45:33.400 --> 00:45:38.440 you know, things have not become less expensive. 00:45:38.619 --> 00:45:42.900 So I would imagine that I need to put aside a 00:45:42.900 --> 00:45:49.380 severe amount of money for their education. You 00:45:49.380 --> 00:45:52.940 know, Hamilton housing prices being what they 00:45:52.940 --> 00:45:56.820 are, I don't know. I don't know when I'm going 00:45:56.820 --> 00:46:00.079 to be able to wade into that problem. Well, we're 00:46:00.079 --> 00:46:05.960 all wading. Yeah, well, you got to wade. You 00:46:05.960 --> 00:46:12.320 got to wade. It's not... I'm not jumping into 00:46:12.320 --> 00:46:15.369 that quagmire just yet. Yeah. But that's okay. 00:46:15.409 --> 00:46:18.590 It sounds like you have a lot of great things 00:46:18.590 --> 00:46:21.429 on the horizon. You're constantly thinking about 00:46:21.429 --> 00:46:24.929 growth. What's next for you? How can you keep 00:46:24.929 --> 00:46:27.969 things fresh and exciting? But I want you to 00:46:27.969 --> 00:46:33.050 leave us with two things. What's... What's a 00:46:33.050 --> 00:46:36.630 cocktail that someone should go to Bar Sazerac 00:46:36.630 --> 00:46:41.969 and absolutely taste and have? And then what's 00:46:41.969 --> 00:46:45.349 your favorite thing on your Salt Lick menu? All 00:46:45.349 --> 00:46:53.670 right. Well, let's say at Salt Lick, the thing 00:46:53.670 --> 00:46:58.789 that you should go have, it's kind of a toss 00:46:58.789 --> 00:47:01.369 up between the ribs and the brisket, just based 00:47:01.369 --> 00:47:04.019 on. Some really nice feedback that we've had 00:47:04.019 --> 00:47:12.059 on both. For the ribs, I really like them. What 00:47:12.059 --> 00:47:18.039 do you like about it? Oh, okay. Hype it up, Kyle. 00:47:18.519 --> 00:47:26.659 Oh, my God. Every time I cook food, you read 00:47:26.659 --> 00:47:30.260 and you read and you read about. other people's 00:47:30.260 --> 00:47:33.980 past experiences with those things, the things 00:47:33.980 --> 00:47:36.380 that people like, the things that people don't 00:47:36.380 --> 00:47:39.099 like, and you try and speak to as many of those 00:47:39.099 --> 00:47:43.360 things as possible. I would say that this rib 00:47:43.360 --> 00:47:45.300 that we're doing right now follows very much 00:47:45.300 --> 00:47:56.070 the St. Louis, Kansas City. orthodoxy as it pertains 00:47:56.070 --> 00:48:00.250 to ribs. Obviously, two very different styles 00:48:00.250 --> 00:48:04.710 if you want to get especially technical about 00:48:04.710 --> 00:48:10.769 ribs, but it's two styles that have really resonated 00:48:10.769 --> 00:48:16.809 with me as it pertains to pork products. So I 00:48:16.809 --> 00:48:22.530 really enjoy those ribs as well as our meat purveyor 00:48:22.530 --> 00:48:25.489 is doing a very good job of getting us some very 00:48:25.489 --> 00:48:30.190 excellent product right now. Big fan of his work. 00:48:30.869 --> 00:48:35.329 The brisket, all we've ever tried to do is the 00:48:35.329 --> 00:48:38.269 very best that we could do. There are some people 00:48:38.269 --> 00:48:42.190 from Texas, expats from Texas, who have said 00:48:42.190 --> 00:48:44.730 that we are the best brisket they've had since 00:48:44.730 --> 00:48:48.989 they've left home. which is high praise. Nobody 00:48:48.989 --> 00:48:52.849 from Texas gives that sort of a... Oh, yeah, 00:48:52.949 --> 00:48:55.690 they've got a lot of pride down there. They don't 00:48:55.690 --> 00:48:59.869 say that stuff lightly. So I'm very happy to 00:48:59.869 --> 00:49:02.130 do that, and it's one of those things that we 00:49:02.130 --> 00:49:06.909 are very happy to lose sleep over and do a good 00:49:06.909 --> 00:49:12.280 job about. As for the cocktails at Bar Sazerac, 00:49:12.440 --> 00:49:15.719 the cocktail that I need for everyone to have 00:49:15.719 --> 00:49:19.019 is the cocktail that makes them the most happy. 00:49:19.519 --> 00:49:24.179 So have a conversation with your bartender. Talk 00:49:24.179 --> 00:49:26.059 to them about the things that you like, because 00:49:26.059 --> 00:49:28.300 so many people will come in and say, these are 00:49:28.300 --> 00:49:30.679 the things they don't like. Okay, cool. That 00:49:30.679 --> 00:49:33.840 wasn't the question I asked you. What is it that 00:49:33.840 --> 00:49:36.139 you like? Because I think a lot of people don't 00:49:36.139 --> 00:49:40.199 actually get asked that that often. They don't 00:49:40.199 --> 00:49:42.639 really think about the things that they do enjoy 00:49:42.639 --> 00:49:47.539 because they don't want people to... I think 00:49:47.539 --> 00:49:50.320 they feel that it reels too much. I think that 00:49:50.320 --> 00:49:55.119 it doesn't. I think that liking the things that 00:49:55.119 --> 00:50:01.980 you like and being okay with that is good. Talk 00:50:01.980 --> 00:50:03.440 to your bartender about the things you like, 00:50:03.599 --> 00:50:07.300 and then maybe we can have a couple conversations, 00:50:07.599 --> 00:50:09.440 a couple cocktails together, and then we can 00:50:09.440 --> 00:50:12.840 start really exploring what is possible for you. 00:50:14.619 --> 00:50:18.579 And if you like a rum and coke... You can have 00:50:18.579 --> 00:50:21.260 that too. You can have that too. It'll be, in 00:50:21.260 --> 00:50:25.159 all likelihood, based on how I feel about that, 00:50:25.280 --> 00:50:28.900 the very best rum and coke you'll ever have, 00:50:29.019 --> 00:50:31.809 because I will probably pick. Better rum, and 00:50:31.809 --> 00:50:36.679 we make our cola syrup in -house. Cool. Well, 00:50:36.719 --> 00:50:40.059 it's been such a pleasure talking to you and 00:50:40.059 --> 00:50:43.239 really seeing your business angle of everything, 00:50:43.420 --> 00:50:46.300 but also your love for food and the business 00:50:46.300 --> 00:50:49.800 that you're in. And to see the growth that you've 00:50:49.800 --> 00:50:54.300 made over the years and your Bar Sazerac is definitely 00:50:54.300 --> 00:50:57.880 on many lists. Like when you Google places to 00:50:57.880 --> 00:51:00.800 go in Hamilton, it's definitely there. It shows 00:51:00.800 --> 00:51:06.849 up on my Google. That's huge. And really starting 00:51:06.849 --> 00:51:09.969 early and following your passion. I think a lot 00:51:09.969 --> 00:51:12.789 of people can take that back. And I think you 00:51:12.789 --> 00:51:16.030 should be incredibly proud of what you've achieved. 00:51:16.949 --> 00:51:22.090 And hype yourself up, you know. You work so hard. 00:51:22.230 --> 00:51:24.750 And sometimes I know you don't see the progress 00:51:24.750 --> 00:51:27.610 as a business owner when you're in the business 00:51:27.610 --> 00:51:30.289 and the nitty gritty. Because the things going 00:51:30.289 --> 00:51:33.820 wrong sometimes can be distracting. But from 00:51:33.820 --> 00:51:36.659 an outsider, you've done incredible. You're going 00:51:36.659 --> 00:51:40.340 to continue to do incredible work. And I haven't 00:51:40.340 --> 00:51:43.460 been to Salt Lake yet, Salt Lake Smokehouse. 00:51:43.639 --> 00:51:47.559 But I love barbecue and I love smoky food. So 00:51:47.559 --> 00:51:50.460 I'll be by. Well, thank you very much for saying 00:51:50.460 --> 00:51:59.780 that. My mom always taught us that other people 00:51:59.780 --> 00:52:04.659 should be talking about your... Successes. So 00:52:04.659 --> 00:52:10.179 it's not that, like, we are fully aware that 00:52:10.179 --> 00:52:15.579 I'm doing reasonably well. But it is always going 00:52:15.579 --> 00:52:19.800 to be a somewhat difficult prospect. To just 00:52:19.800 --> 00:52:22.039 talk about it. Well, no, there's talking about 00:52:22.039 --> 00:52:24.519 it and there's talking about it, right? So, like, 00:52:24.559 --> 00:52:28.219 I'm just, I'm, like, I like the fact that I'm 00:52:28.219 --> 00:52:31.780 going, yeah, I'm going to be competing. I'm going 00:52:31.780 --> 00:52:36.460 to be competing in April to hopefully be, you 00:52:36.460 --> 00:52:40.559 know, based on one competition, the best in Canada. 00:52:41.420 --> 00:52:47.019 But generally speaking, even at the bar, I personally 00:52:47.019 --> 00:52:50.420 don't say that. The rest of the people who work 00:52:50.420 --> 00:52:53.820 at the bar say that. Yeah. So you get the praises 00:52:53.820 --> 00:52:56.159 from others, not yourself. Generally speaking, 00:52:56.300 --> 00:52:59.760 no. Nice. So where's the competition? Can people 00:52:59.760 --> 00:53:04.920 watch it? I don't think it's going to be something... 00:53:04.920 --> 00:53:07.900 You can go watch it. You have to go to Banff 00:53:07.900 --> 00:53:14.000 to go see it. It's made with love. That's the 00:53:14.000 --> 00:53:18.550 competition. They've been... I think it's one 00:53:18.550 --> 00:53:20.550 of the most interesting and exciting competitions 00:53:20.550 --> 00:53:27.150 in Canada insofar as it actually brings bartenders 00:53:27.150 --> 00:53:32.769 from around the country together. There's a lot 00:53:32.769 --> 00:53:35.730 of other competitions that are available, but 00:53:35.730 --> 00:53:38.610 usually speaking, they don't actually pitch you 00:53:38.610 --> 00:53:42.230 one -on -one against a person that you actually 00:53:42.230 --> 00:53:47.010 met. I've always enjoyed it for that reason. 00:53:47.050 --> 00:53:49.309 Some people have other opinions about it, but 00:53:49.309 --> 00:53:51.929 I've always enjoyed it as a competition. Yeah, 00:53:51.989 --> 00:53:55.590 well, we'll stay close to you, Kyle, and we'll 00:53:55.590 --> 00:53:58.030 post your results. Oh, yeah, please. And all 00:53:58.030 --> 00:54:01.050 the cool cocktails that comes out of that experience. 00:54:02.210 --> 00:54:05.010 Well, thank you very much for having me, Shalais. 00:54:05.010 --> 00:54:10.289 Yeah, this is... This has been entirely surprising 00:54:10.289 --> 00:54:13.269 for me. Well, thank you, Kyle, for joining us. 00:54:13.510 --> 00:54:17.710 This has been such a good conversation. I'm really 00:54:17.710 --> 00:54:20.170 happy to see the insights you've drawn from your 00:54:20.170 --> 00:54:24.130 own experiences, the bar, learning from your 00:54:24.130 --> 00:54:26.869 business partner, and really working together 00:54:26.869 --> 00:54:30.469 with everyone, not just as business owners, but 00:54:30.469 --> 00:54:34.289 also with your staff to push them to become creative, 00:54:34.349 --> 00:54:37.969 to stay innovative. And that really... helps 00:54:37.969 --> 00:54:41.690 differentiate you from the other businesses that 00:54:41.690 --> 00:54:44.969 exist in the area and just as a business owner 00:54:44.969 --> 00:54:48.230 in general. So thanks for joining us and sharing 00:54:48.230 --> 00:54:50.590 your story. Thank you very much for having me. 00:54:50.869 --> 00:54:54.510 A huge thank you to you, our listeners, for tuning 00:54:54.510 --> 00:54:57.670 in every week to hear about our buzzworthy businesses. 00:54:58.519 --> 00:55:01.260 Don't forget to rate us on whatever platform 00:55:01.260 --> 00:55:04.519 you're listening and following us at at Hamilton 00:55:04.519 --> 00:55:08.619 Hive on all of the social media platforms. But 00:55:08.619 --> 00:55:11.980 most importantly, we want to thank our team of 00:55:11.980 --> 00:55:15.480 dedicated volunteers who make this podcast possible 00:55:15.480 --> 00:55:27.900 on a weekly basis. So here we go. Harsh Kumar 00:55:27.900 --> 00:55:33.719 Patel, Fernando Rodriguez, Yvette R., and yours 00:55:33.719 --> 00:55:36.579 truly, Shalacia Harris. Don't forget to tune 00:55:36.579 --> 00:55:40.519 in next Monday for a new episode of Buzzworthy.