WEBVTT 00:00:04.599 --> 00:00:07.299 Okay, today I'm at one of my most favorite places 00:00:07.299 --> 00:00:10.060 to eat. They have the best margaritas around, 00:00:10.380 --> 00:00:13.500 and the vibe is to die for. I'm at Windsor Eats 00:00:13.500 --> 00:00:16.859 with the owner, Adriano Ciotoli. Hey! Hey, how 00:00:16.859 --> 00:00:20.620 are ya? I'm great. I'm so happy to be here, minus 00:00:20.620 --> 00:00:24.980 a margarita. We're working. It's closed today. 00:00:26.780 --> 00:00:30.000 How long has Windsor Eats been around? Windsor 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:34.439 Eats itself as an entity has been around for 00:00:34.439 --> 00:00:37.679 a lot longer than a lot of people realize. I 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:41.320 actually started it back in 2004. Yeah, we were 00:00:41.320 --> 00:00:46.200 essentially a search engine for local food, local 00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:49.939 drink in the area, for anyone. Because back then, 00:00:49.960 --> 00:00:53.009 Google really wasn't... what it is today. And 00:00:53.009 --> 00:00:55.929 I just sound so old saying that, but it wasn't 00:00:55.929 --> 00:00:59.009 what it is today. And so when people were searching 00:00:59.009 --> 00:01:01.149 for places to eat, it literally just gave you 00:01:01.149 --> 00:01:03.689 a list of restaurant name, address, phone number. 00:01:03.929 --> 00:01:06.510 Half of them had already been closed for who 00:01:06.510 --> 00:01:09.189 knows how long. So I kind of looked at it as 00:01:09.189 --> 00:01:13.890 an opportunity and created a hyper local search 00:01:13.890 --> 00:01:18.299 engine for places to eat and drink. It was my 00:01:18.299 --> 00:01:20.579 girlfriend at the time. You know, it's the same 00:01:20.579 --> 00:01:22.040 argument everyone has. Where do you want to go 00:01:22.040 --> 00:01:24.140 to eat? I don't know. How about you? I don't 00:01:24.140 --> 00:01:26.000 know, how about you? And then you go to like 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:28.900 the same two restaurants over and over and over 00:01:28.900 --> 00:01:34.359 again. And so I took my IT background from St. 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:37.920 Clair College, developed WindsorEats .com and 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:40.400 away we went and then just kind of identified 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:43.400 gaps until, you know, we started offering events, 00:01:43.780 --> 00:01:48.459 tours, festivals, and then in 2022 opened up 00:01:48.459 --> 00:01:51.519 our food hall. And it's great because it's indoor 00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:54.420 and outdoor. A lot of people don't realize we 00:01:54.420 --> 00:01:56.599 have an indoor. I know. It blows my mind because 00:01:56.599 --> 00:01:59.420 you walk through it to get to the patio. But 00:01:59.420 --> 00:02:01.680 we have an indoor and an outdoor space. But yes, 00:02:02.219 --> 00:02:05.879 I mean, the showpiece is the patio. I think the 00:02:05.879 --> 00:02:09.539 largest in the city with license for over 420 00:02:09.539 --> 00:02:14.020 people. And we love hosting so many events out 00:02:14.020 --> 00:02:16.599 there and live music and just kind of doing something 00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:19.080 different almost every weekend. You really do. 00:02:19.300 --> 00:02:22.979 I mean, events, we're talking about... You just 00:02:22.979 --> 00:02:26.620 did Cinco de Mayo and then your Mexican city 00:02:26.620 --> 00:02:29.240 at the Mexican village for carousel nations. 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:32.300 And a lot of people know us because of the Mexican 00:02:32.300 --> 00:02:34.319 events we do, but we do so many other ones as 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:37.159 well. We do host my dog's birthday here, which 00:02:37.159 --> 00:02:41.419 is we are a pet friendly establishment. But we 00:02:41.419 --> 00:02:44.120 do things like we do a beer festival. We do a 00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:47.159 cocktail festival. We've had movie nights by 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:49.360 bringing in a big screen out onto the patio, 00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:52.060 which I've missed every time so far. It's been 00:02:52.060 --> 00:02:55.460 great. Not that you've missed it, but not that 00:02:55.460 --> 00:02:58.439 you weren't here. But doing all these different 00:02:58.439 --> 00:03:00.560 events. And we even give our staff opportunities. 00:03:01.099 --> 00:03:03.900 I'm talking to a staff member right now who is 00:03:03.900 --> 00:03:06.039 really interested in starting a market. And we 00:03:06.039 --> 00:03:08.900 said, have a go at it. We will give you our support 00:03:08.900 --> 00:03:11.539 in everything that we know and our knowledge 00:03:11.539 --> 00:03:14.719 and help you any way you need it to start a market. 00:03:14.919 --> 00:03:17.379 Because you guys did that one on, a small one 00:03:17.379 --> 00:03:19.620 on Mother's Day. Yeah, we did a Mother's Day 00:03:19.620 --> 00:03:22.590 market, which was... Fairly successful. It was 00:03:22.590 --> 00:03:25.069 a it was a busy day. I ended up buying a bunch 00:03:25.069 --> 00:03:29.270 of stuff And great vendors like fresh cut flowers 00:03:29.270 --> 00:03:32.050 were on site for that for for all the moms and 00:03:32.050 --> 00:03:34.069 of course the margaritas and the Aperol spritzes 00:03:34.069 --> 00:03:36.830 were were flowing that day But we love doing 00:03:36.830 --> 00:03:38.509 little different things like that and kind of 00:03:38.509 --> 00:03:41.580 supporting not just our staff, but really anyone 00:03:41.580 --> 00:03:44.460 in the community. We have the space. We would 00:03:44.460 --> 00:03:47.020 love people to utilize it to host different types 00:03:47.020 --> 00:03:49.960 of events. I have photographed events here and 00:03:49.960 --> 00:03:52.960 it's a lot of fun, indoor, outdoor, you name 00:03:52.960 --> 00:03:58.800 it. There's a lot of... photographable moments 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:01.400 here or areas that people love. They were very 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:05.000 colorful and vibrant establishments. It's true. 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:08.000 But the thing is, what's nice is you can hold 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:10.840 an event inside, but it's not closing the business 00:04:10.840 --> 00:04:14.620 down because they can just go outdoors and... 00:04:14.620 --> 00:04:18.019 Yeah, 100%. So we've actually... built the site 00:04:18.019 --> 00:04:20.740 so we can do exactly that we can do a private 00:04:20.740 --> 00:04:23.439 party inside we actually have a wedding coming 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:26.639 up soon we do rent it out for weddings we do 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:30.339 micro weddings so it's a short ceremony a little 00:04:30.339 --> 00:04:33.480 bubbly and appetizers afterwards and then away 00:04:33.480 --> 00:04:36.259 they go but we can do that inside without even 00:04:36.259 --> 00:04:38.319 disrupting the patio or the food trucks outside 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:41.000 and people are still able to to enjoy it and 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:43.420 i mean people can still travel indoor outdoor 00:04:43.420 --> 00:04:45.879 if they're in the event absolutely we should 00:04:45.879 --> 00:04:47.970 have had our cutting here if it would have been 00:04:47.970 --> 00:04:52.439 around at the time. That would have been perfect. 00:04:53.500 --> 00:04:56.639 It's definitely a different vibe for a wedding, 00:04:56.720 --> 00:04:59.319 but a lot of people are looking for something 00:04:59.319 --> 00:05:02.420 smaller and something a little more unique. And 00:05:02.420 --> 00:05:04.699 I think we offer that. I like to think we offer 00:05:04.699 --> 00:05:07.240 that. And you want to have a nice, relaxed vibe. 00:05:07.579 --> 00:05:10.319 There's nothing better. I love weddings. I love 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:13.279 big weddings. They're beautiful. But I love small 00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:16.160 weddings as well where you can just relax, enjoy 00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:18.240 yourself. I prefer a smaller one because then 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:21.379 you can get to hang out. with everybody. Absolutely 00:05:21.379 --> 00:05:24.920 and I know from a work perspective smaller weddings 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:27.709 are great too because the large ones can... Ooh, 00:05:27.970 --> 00:05:32.350 take a lot out of you. Exhausting. They can drain 00:05:32.350 --> 00:05:35.009 you, that's for sure. Now let's talk about food 00:05:35.009 --> 00:05:38.589 trucks. Yes. How many do you have out here? We 00:05:38.589 --> 00:05:42.629 currently have three food trucks on the patio. 00:05:42.810 --> 00:05:45.170 We have Dosa Mosa doing Indian food, Keiru Snack 00:05:45.170 --> 00:05:49.709 Bar doing Japanese fusion, and Rico Taco doing 00:05:49.709 --> 00:05:53.000 Mexican food. And of course they're like... cult 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:55.500 following for their their birria tacos, but we 00:05:55.500 --> 00:05:58.339 do bring in a bunch of other vendors. We recently 00:05:58.339 --> 00:06:02.019 just had roaming flavors on site. We bring in 00:06:02.019 --> 00:06:05.300 other chefs or or restaurants that want to test 00:06:05.300 --> 00:06:08.079 something different. And so they'll they'll pop 00:06:08.079 --> 00:06:11.639 up here for a night or a weekend just to sample 00:06:11.639 --> 00:06:14.279 certain things. Now that one last weekend, who 00:06:14.279 --> 00:06:17.079 is that one? That was roaming flavors. OK, John's 00:06:17.079 --> 00:06:20.420 very disappointed because they had the best. 00:06:20.860 --> 00:06:23.040 They should be back. They should be back, which 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:25.180 is a good thing. They want to be back. We want 00:06:25.180 --> 00:06:27.040 to have them back. Yeah, because we're excited 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:28.939 about that. That tastes really good. I tried 00:06:28.939 --> 00:06:32.810 some of his, but I like the Rico taco that. They 00:06:32.810 --> 00:06:36.110 still have like your poutines. Yes. Oh, their 00:06:36.110 --> 00:06:38.670 poutines are amazing. And that was, I mean, much 00:06:38.670 --> 00:06:42.370 like any business owner, that's him kind of identifying 00:06:42.370 --> 00:06:45.550 what his customers were asking for or wanting 00:06:45.550 --> 00:06:48.430 in addition to the amazing tacos that he was 00:06:48.430 --> 00:06:51.029 doing. And he kind of, you know, he had briefly 00:06:51.029 --> 00:06:53.970 opened another truck called Frylicious. Yes. 00:06:54.149 --> 00:06:58.170 And so he saw. which dishes people were buying 00:06:58.170 --> 00:07:01.529 from that one and when he He transformed that 00:07:01.529 --> 00:07:04.449 because Rico taco has been so successful Into 00:07:04.449 --> 00:07:06.509 another Rico taco truck to bring to festivals 00:07:06.509 --> 00:07:09.129 and events while he's still able to operate here 00:07:09.129 --> 00:07:11.769 he took kind of those bestsellers from the frylicious 00:07:11.769 --> 00:07:14.670 menu and inserted them into the the Rico taco 00:07:14.670 --> 00:07:17.329 one which you may find weird that there's a buffalo 00:07:17.329 --> 00:07:21.490 chicken poutine on a Mozzarella stick poutine. 00:07:21.490 --> 00:07:24.490 They were so good hit they did frylicious did 00:07:24.490 --> 00:07:26.120 have some really good sandwiches Yes, they did. 00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:32.800 I still dream about that one. I know. That one 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:36.410 event. introducing them as content creators. 00:07:37.029 --> 00:07:39.110 And I went home and I was so full, but I brought 00:07:39.110 --> 00:07:41.750 some for John. I'm like, I had to eat everything. 00:07:42.089 --> 00:07:43.449 It was just so good. We like to be a little gluttonous 00:07:43.449 --> 00:07:46.470 when we're doing things. Not just when we're 00:07:46.470 --> 00:07:49.209 showcasing some of the other chefs in the restaurants 00:07:49.209 --> 00:07:50.790 and food trucks, but even when we're doing our 00:07:50.790 --> 00:07:53.550 own events. We know the Windsor Market. We've 00:07:53.550 --> 00:07:55.949 been doing this for so long. And so our focus 00:07:55.949 --> 00:07:58.230 is always quality, but I don't know, maybe it's 00:07:58.230 --> 00:08:01.329 the Italian culture in me and the eat, manja, 00:08:01.449 --> 00:08:06.620 manja. Yes, we appreciate that. The clothing 00:08:06.620 --> 00:08:10.199 stores appreciate that too. Always buying a size 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:11.519 up. We work in tandem with them and the gyms. 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:17.560 What was that June event you did last year where 00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:20.699 I kissed a fish? Oh, the East Coast Kitchen party. 00:08:21.060 --> 00:08:23.680 That was fun. That was a lot of fun. We are, 00:08:23.939 --> 00:08:25.959 we're trying to finalize a date right now. That 00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:28.600 was fun. It's looking like either August or September, 00:08:28.939 --> 00:08:31.480 but we're definitely wanting to bring it back. 00:08:31.500 --> 00:08:35.139 It was so much fun. And again, kind of, you know, 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:38.120 the different events that we do, we did a traditional, 00:08:38.139 --> 00:08:40.720 you know, East Coast Kitchen party, as traditional 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:44.970 as we can without being in a... It's not really 00:08:44.970 --> 00:08:48.809 a kitchen party, but we had the fiddlers and 00:08:48.809 --> 00:08:53.190 the musicians playing music. We did the ceremony, 00:08:53.289 --> 00:08:55.210 the Kissing the Cod ceremony, where you can become 00:08:55.210 --> 00:08:58.909 an honorary Newfie. I am. Yep. Oh, yeah. There's 00:08:58.909 --> 00:09:02.490 a great picture of that, too. A reel of going 00:09:02.490 --> 00:09:05.909 in for two. The amount of people that came out 00:09:05.909 --> 00:09:08.529 that wanted to celebrate their own culture of 00:09:08.529 --> 00:09:11.250 being a Newfoundlander, it was amazing to see 00:09:11.250 --> 00:09:13.259 them all come out and how proud. excited they 00:09:13.259 --> 00:09:15.700 were that there was an event for them. We happened 00:09:15.700 --> 00:09:19.100 to just be here that night and saw it and I know 00:09:19.100 --> 00:09:23.559 six and Taryn and when I saw that she was doing 00:09:23.559 --> 00:09:26.539 it's like okay why not what the hell I had already 00:09:26.539 --> 00:09:28.919 had a margarita or two so I'll kiss the fish 00:09:28.919 --> 00:09:33.230 but that that shot I'd rather kiss the fish than 00:09:33.230 --> 00:09:36.389 have that shot. That was horrible. Screech was 00:09:36.389 --> 00:09:40.929 nasty. Is rum? It's just a type of rum. Really 00:09:40.929 --> 00:09:45.129 cheap rum. You could probably buy that at the 00:09:45.129 --> 00:09:48.029 dollar store this year. There's a reason it's 00:09:48.029 --> 00:09:52.950 called Screech versus Rum. But it's stuff like 00:09:52.950 --> 00:09:55.370 this that is so much fun and then in the way 00:09:55.370 --> 00:09:58.110 they're open year -round so we had the winter 00:09:58.110 --> 00:10:01.789 and There was a s'mores bar hot chocolates. There 00:10:01.789 --> 00:10:04.730 was a lot of different stuff. Oh, yeah winter 00:10:04.730 --> 00:10:08.639 time too, and we try to We understand that, again, 00:10:08.779 --> 00:10:10.659 as I was saying before, that most people associate 00:10:10.659 --> 00:10:13.860 us with the patio, but because we're open year 00:10:13.860 --> 00:10:16.799 -round, we try to do some fun things inside in 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:18.820 the wintertime, and even still utilizing our 00:10:18.820 --> 00:10:23.059 outside space. So, yes, we have our little tabletop 00:10:23.059 --> 00:10:25.139 s'mores kits, which we now offer year -round, 00:10:25.460 --> 00:10:29.019 so anyone can get them and ask for them, which 00:10:29.019 --> 00:10:31.340 is tough always having the chocolate and the 00:10:31.340 --> 00:10:33.220 graham crackers in the back, ready to go. Without 00:10:33.220 --> 00:10:35.639 eating them. Yeah, when I'm sitting here working. 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:38.879 on other things when we're not open. But we also, 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:43.019 in December, we completely transformed the entire 00:10:43.019 --> 00:10:47.220 space into kind of a... like Christmas threw 00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:49.200 up everywhere. We did a Christmas pop -up here 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:51.419 called Tinseltown Windsor. That was so much fun. 00:10:51.559 --> 00:10:54.500 It was a lot of fun. The live Christmas music 00:10:54.500 --> 00:10:56.960 every single night. Rudolph on the wall. Oh, 00:10:57.039 --> 00:11:00.860 yeah, like the old school films showing. And 00:11:00.860 --> 00:11:03.279 then even the whole menu was transformed into 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:06.700 Christmas themed drinks. And that was extremely 00:11:06.700 --> 00:11:09.779 popular for us and extremely successful that 00:11:09.779 --> 00:11:11.419 we are bringing it back this year. And we're 00:11:11.419 --> 00:11:14.559 even going to be doing it for for Halloween this 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:16.259 year as well. We're going to do a Halloween town 00:11:16.259 --> 00:11:18.259 pop -up for the entire month of October. Oh, 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:20.580 that'll be fun. I'm excited about that one. That'll 00:11:20.580 --> 00:11:22.360 be fun. Although it's going to be a little tougher 00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:25.019 to find people to play Halloween music. I don't 00:11:25.019 --> 00:11:26.860 even know, is there Halloween music? Yeah, the 00:11:26.860 --> 00:11:30.080 Monster Mash. We'll just play that on repeat 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:33.320 the whole night. Heavy metal, why not? We'll 00:11:33.320 --> 00:11:35.960 find something. And the French song, C 'est l 00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:37.799 'Halloween. Oh, I forgot about that. Just those 00:11:37.799 --> 00:11:41.519 two. And I mean, you've also hosted trivia nights 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:44.100 and there's always something going on trivia 00:11:44.100 --> 00:11:47.759 nights. You've had comedy here. I mean, this 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:50.539 is the place to hold an event. Oh, absolutely. 00:11:50.600 --> 00:11:52.500 And we try not to say no when people approach 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:55.179 us about doing things. We always wished when 00:11:55.179 --> 00:11:57.139 we were starting out and there were a couple 00:11:57.139 --> 00:11:59.860 of people that that sort of because after I started 00:11:59.860 --> 00:12:01.940 Windsor Eats, my sister was helping me out. She 00:12:01.940 --> 00:12:05.740 came on board and has been a huge part of it 00:12:05.740 --> 00:12:09.480 since almost the very beginning. And so we kind 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:11.700 of wish that there was more people willing to 00:12:11.700 --> 00:12:13.679 do that when we were starting out So we always 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:16.500 try to be be as open and helpful as possible. 00:12:16.500 --> 00:12:20.139 I know we had Ken Brandis Really helped us out. 00:12:20.139 --> 00:12:24.340 He was the the organizer of a festival epic here 00:12:24.340 --> 00:12:26.059 that used to be on the riverfront that would 00:12:26.059 --> 00:12:31.200 get like 10, 15 ,000 people out for a food and 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:33.720 drink festival. And he gave us the opportunity 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:35.700 when we were just starting out, said, yeah, you 00:12:35.700 --> 00:12:38.080 know, set up a tent, you know, have a display, 00:12:38.179 --> 00:12:41.419 showcase what you're doing. And I like to think 00:12:41.419 --> 00:12:44.240 it at least gave the confidence to really start 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:46.500 getting us going and get the ball rolling for 00:12:46.500 --> 00:12:48.639 us. So we want to do that for other people as 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:50.639 much as possible. And when people like Jen Richardson 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:53.940 approach about doing festival or doing a comedy. 00:12:54.919 --> 00:12:57.460 100%. Let's do this. Yeah. Well, let's find a 00:12:57.460 --> 00:12:59.860 way to make it happen. So we're just going to 00:12:59.860 --> 00:13:01.840 get down to the nitty gritty. Where the hell 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:04.740 did you learn to make that margarita? Oh my god. 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:07.419 There was a lot of trial and error with that 00:13:07.419 --> 00:13:11.340 margarita. But it was really hard work, taste 00:13:11.340 --> 00:13:14.600 testing. We literally, we sat there and we were 00:13:14.600 --> 00:13:17.960 trying. So. We tried so many different types 00:13:17.960 --> 00:13:20.759 of tequila, but then we tried all those tequila 00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:25.299 with either Cointreau or Triple Sec or Grand 00:13:25.299 --> 00:13:27.840 Marnier. And then we tried them all at different 00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:30.679 ratios with each one. So there was a lot of testing. 00:13:31.100 --> 00:13:33.960 And our margaritas are strong. They're strong, 00:13:33.980 --> 00:13:37.519 but I... You get happy on one. Yeah, it's... 00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:39.919 I like to think it's one of the best margaritas 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:44.759 I've had, you know, around. It is true. So we 00:13:44.759 --> 00:13:47.179 didn't... We wanted to focus on that quality, 00:13:47.179 --> 00:13:49.500 even if, you know, the price is a little higher 00:13:49.500 --> 00:13:53.700 or or whatnot. It was just it was so good that 00:13:53.700 --> 00:13:56.419 we we stuck with it and we like we use an aged 00:13:56.419 --> 00:13:58.299 tequila as well, which makes it a bit smooth. 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:00.899 It is really nice, which makes it a bit smoother 00:14:00.899 --> 00:14:04.000 as well. We tried to be as authentic as possible 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:06.700 with it. Yeah. So it's not any of this sugary 00:14:06.700 --> 00:14:08.460 mix. No, but that's just the classic. Right. 00:14:08.519 --> 00:14:11.299 Like we we probably have. Because we like to 00:14:11.299 --> 00:14:13.759 have fun. I mean we have an event called margaritas 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:16.600 and mojitos Which the menu just turns into 16 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:20.139 margaritas 16 mojitos. When's that? I think that 00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:22.720 one's in August. I think it's in August or July. 00:14:22.759 --> 00:14:25.120 I can't remember off the top of my head July 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:28.720 22nd would be a good day. I'm not sure. Yeah 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:32.120 55. We'll get something going on. 55 baby. I'm 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:34.539 having my birthday party here. I was gonna say 00:14:34.539 --> 00:14:36.820 that's an important age, but every year is an 00:14:36.820 --> 00:14:41.529 important age. I survived. I feel that every 00:14:41.529 --> 00:14:44.169 day. So how many margaritas do you have right 00:14:44.169 --> 00:14:47.309 now? We probably have recipes for like 40 -ish. 00:14:47.470 --> 00:14:51.210 different margaritas. We have our staple four 00:14:51.210 --> 00:14:55.350 that always stay on the menu. We switch one in 00:14:55.350 --> 00:14:58.649 and out, but right now it's the classic, our 00:14:58.649 --> 00:15:01.190 jalapeno margarita, which is really popular as 00:15:01.190 --> 00:15:05.389 well. Right now we have coconut, but our strawberry 00:15:05.389 --> 00:15:10.830 shortcake is a very popular one as well. Our 00:15:10.830 --> 00:15:14.789 classic used to outsell everything probably by 00:15:14.789 --> 00:15:18.379 like... tenfold and then the strawberry shortcake 00:15:18.379 --> 00:15:21.059 margarita came in and that will outsell the classic 00:15:21.059 --> 00:15:23.580 some nights. I've tried them all except for the 00:15:23.580 --> 00:15:25.779 spicy because I'm not a spicy person so when 00:15:25.779 --> 00:15:29.480 I buy the the flight of them you always make 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:33.059 a or whoever makes a whiskey one. Yes the margarita. 00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:35.940 And you can't tell. No it's I like to think it's 00:15:35.940 --> 00:15:39.139 a really good whiskey sour. And I don't like 00:15:39.139 --> 00:15:41.919 whiskey. No it's nice though. Yeah. Yeah it's 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:45.000 um we call it the margarita. Margarita's Canadian 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:47.759 cousin can we use a Windsor made whiskey in it? 00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:49.899 But we yeah, we wanted to put our own little 00:15:49.899 --> 00:15:52.460 twist on it I mean all the the spirits that we 00:15:52.460 --> 00:15:54.919 use here we try to use local or Ontario as much 00:15:54.919 --> 00:15:58.159 as possible But all our gin vodka and all our 00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:01.519 whiskey is all Windsor made and so that's especially 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:04.779 the whiskey side of things Because I mean we're 00:16:04.779 --> 00:16:07.399 I'd like to we call her the Windsor whiskey town, 00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:11.279 Canada we want to showcase that and still take 00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:16.870 a lot of our our tour and history. That we do 00:16:16.870 --> 00:16:19.029 through Windsory through the years and bring 00:16:19.029 --> 00:16:22.090 it into the space And then all of your beers 00:16:22.090 --> 00:16:25.909 and your other like that's all local all local. 00:16:26.090 --> 00:16:29.889 Yeah Half our fridge is usually local and the 00:16:29.889 --> 00:16:32.590 other half is Ontario But it was interesting 00:16:32.590 --> 00:16:34.389 because when the LCBO pulled everything from 00:16:34.389 --> 00:16:36.789 the shelves we were like, okay We you know, let's 00:16:36.789 --> 00:16:38.629 look through everything. We didn't have to pull 00:16:38.629 --> 00:16:42.269 a single bottle. Yeah away So we we kind of promoted 00:16:42.269 --> 00:16:45.340 saying, you know None of our recipes are having 00:16:45.340 --> 00:16:47.159 to change because we haven't even had to remove 00:16:47.159 --> 00:16:49.820 a single bottle from our shelves. You know, from 00:16:49.820 --> 00:16:51.919 the very beginning of Windsor Eats, you know, 00:16:52.100 --> 00:16:54.159 over 20 years ago, it's all been about supporting 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:58.059 local. And that was kind of just a friendly reminder 00:16:58.059 --> 00:17:00.899 that we're still doing that. They are great. 00:17:00.960 --> 00:17:05.119 And if you have the flight, don't drive. Yes, 00:17:05.259 --> 00:17:08.019 and the flight, so if people are wondering and 00:17:08.019 --> 00:17:09.700 listening and watching about wondering about 00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:12.400 a flight, we do flights of margaritas, just like 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:14.440 wineries do flights of wine or breweries do flights 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:16.259 of beer. Yeah, it's wood. Yeah, so you get like 00:17:16.259 --> 00:17:19.920 a half margarita of four different wines. And 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:21.900 I say they're like the fajita effect that when 00:17:21.900 --> 00:17:23.799 it comes out, everyone turns and looks and then 00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:25.880 they start ordering them. That's true. Yeah. 00:17:26.599 --> 00:17:31.319 The other, during, I think it was during Mother's 00:17:31.319 --> 00:17:35.490 Day, we sold about 60 flights. uh just in in 00:17:35.490 --> 00:17:38.869 about five hours so they they become very popular 00:17:38.869 --> 00:17:42.289 uh with uh with people not surprising whatsoever 00:17:42.289 --> 00:17:45.490 now when are you open what are your days hours 00:17:45.490 --> 00:17:49.049 we're open from thursdays to uh to sundays uh 00:17:49.049 --> 00:17:52.640 so thursdays like we don't open late. We're five 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:56.319 to nine on Thursdays, five to eleven on Fridays 00:17:56.319 --> 00:18:01.240 during the summertime, one to eleven on Saturdays, 00:18:01.339 --> 00:18:04.640 and one to nine on Sundays. So we, you know, 00:18:04.660 --> 00:18:07.839 we're very family friendly. We have games here 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:10.900 that both, you know, big big games like Connect 00:18:10.900 --> 00:18:13.740 4 or Jenga outside that people play, but a lot 00:18:13.740 --> 00:18:16.859 of board games inside that get used a lot. So 00:18:16.859 --> 00:18:19.119 it's nice seeing a lot of people coming, especially 00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:23.079 on Sundays during the day or early dinner time, 00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:25.339 coming with their kids and playing the games 00:18:25.339 --> 00:18:28.680 and letting them kind of... Run, you know have 00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:30.440 fun a little bit while they're out for dinner 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:33.099 exactly and then they're always going around 00:18:33.099 --> 00:18:35.359 and oh Can I pet your puppy and then mom and 00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:39.700 dad are getting the margaritas? Smart on their 00:18:39.700 --> 00:18:43.329 part Does it change? Is there any more days open 00:18:43.329 --> 00:18:45.750 during the summer? During the summer, no, we 00:18:45.750 --> 00:18:49.750 stay true with the Thursdays to Sundays. We had 00:18:49.750 --> 00:18:53.210 considered opening up on Wednesdays, but we do 00:18:53.210 --> 00:18:54.990 a lot of private events or we do things like 00:18:54.990 --> 00:18:57.930 cocktail classes or sausage -making classes or 00:18:57.930 --> 00:19:01.789 just renting out the space from Monday to Wednesday 00:19:01.789 --> 00:19:05.950 that we decided against that. And also, I mean... 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:09.240 it's tough prepping for the the restaurants or 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:11.539 the food trucks for them to be prepping for for 00:19:11.539 --> 00:19:14.779 more days as well. So they kind of gave their 00:19:14.779 --> 00:19:17.640 feedback as well and we all decided because it's 00:19:17.640 --> 00:19:20.440 very much you know I look at us as all a team. 00:19:20.619 --> 00:19:22.119 It's not just the Windsor Eats food hall, but 00:19:22.119 --> 00:19:24.000 we work together with the food trucks and trying 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:26.579 to bring people here. And, you know, they gave 00:19:26.579 --> 00:19:28.440 their feedback and we kind of agreed with them 00:19:28.440 --> 00:19:31.480 saying, no, Thursday to Sunday is enough and 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:33.759 gives them opportunities to do their catering 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:36.140 gigs and everything like that, too. I was very 00:19:36.140 --> 00:19:38.299 disappointed that I missed your drink making. 00:19:38.819 --> 00:19:41.619 class you had. We'll have more. We'll have more. 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:43.940 I know. I can't wait. I just had to make a few 00:19:43.940 --> 00:19:47.400 tweaks of it. We gave a couple trial runs and 00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:50.119 then I just have to make some tweaks to it and 00:19:50.119 --> 00:19:54.609 then it'll be offered again. maybe as a one -off 00:19:54.609 --> 00:19:59.009 or just to fill some open dates that we may have 00:19:59.009 --> 00:20:01.250 and put it in there. But I definitely want to 00:20:01.250 --> 00:20:04.569 do it. It's a lot of fun to show people what 00:20:04.569 --> 00:20:07.670 we're doing, but also to see them realize that 00:20:07.670 --> 00:20:09.589 they can make some pretty awesome drinks at home 00:20:09.589 --> 00:20:13.789 too. Speaking of drinks, do you have a trailer 00:20:13.789 --> 00:20:17.670 to go on location? We do. The little blue one. 00:20:17.710 --> 00:20:21.789 We do. We have probably about... 12 years ago, 00:20:21.869 --> 00:20:25.589 maybe a little more, we decided we were doing 00:20:25.589 --> 00:20:28.750 some research and we saw in Australia, it was 00:20:28.750 --> 00:20:31.369 extremely popular, that people were taking old 00:20:31.369 --> 00:20:34.430 campers or horse trailers and converting them 00:20:34.430 --> 00:20:37.890 into bars for events and weddings. And so we 00:20:37.890 --> 00:20:40.009 started looking, we converted an old trillion, 00:20:40.369 --> 00:20:43.769 1973 trillion camper into a mobile bar. And from 00:20:43.769 --> 00:20:46.390 what we can gather, pretty sure it was the first 00:20:46.390 --> 00:20:49.490 in Ontario. possibly Canada, there may have been 00:20:49.490 --> 00:20:54.150 one on the west coast. But we transformed it 00:20:54.150 --> 00:20:56.369 into a mobile bar. We've rented it out for weddings. 00:20:56.529 --> 00:20:59.309 We travel the province with it, showcasing all 00:20:59.309 --> 00:21:01.470 the drinks from Windsor and Essex County at food 00:21:01.470 --> 00:21:05.210 and drink shows. So we've had a lot of fun with 00:21:05.210 --> 00:21:09.369 that trailer. And we revamped it, gave it some 00:21:09.369 --> 00:21:12.109 12 years old, right? It needed a little love, 00:21:12.170 --> 00:21:15.769 and we just recently did that. And now it's available 00:21:15.769 --> 00:21:19.430 for rent again for people. Wow, you guys do everything 00:21:19.430 --> 00:21:22.670 here. That's why I love this place. We definitely 00:21:22.670 --> 00:21:25.529 keep people on their toes with all the different 00:21:25.529 --> 00:21:28.970 things that we do. And we like being a little 00:21:28.970 --> 00:21:30.630 different. We always look at it if someone else 00:21:30.630 --> 00:21:33.190 is doing something great. amazing. We don't need 00:21:33.190 --> 00:21:36.190 to do it. We want to, you know, be their cheerleaders 00:21:36.190 --> 00:21:39.089 and, you know, rah, rah, rah, cheer them on and 00:21:39.089 --> 00:21:42.549 wish them all the success and differentiate ourselves 00:21:42.549 --> 00:21:44.529 from what everyone else is doing. So we're always 00:21:44.529 --> 00:21:47.809 trying to find kind of an edge by doing things 00:21:47.809 --> 00:21:49.509 a little differently and kind of walking to the 00:21:49.509 --> 00:21:51.910 beat of our own drum. Exactly. But you're also 00:21:51.910 --> 00:21:55.869 really heavily involved in the community in this 00:21:55.869 --> 00:21:58.970 area and this neighborhood, which is great. I 00:21:58.970 --> 00:22:01.730 love this neighborhood. It's been nice and sometimes 00:22:01.730 --> 00:22:04.549 I have to be reminded. It's only been three years 00:22:04.549 --> 00:22:08.130 that we've been here. And so I don't have patience. 00:22:08.190 --> 00:22:10.170 I'm always like, go, go, go, go, go. We have 00:22:10.170 --> 00:22:13.809 to do this now. And then sometimes people remind 00:22:13.809 --> 00:22:15.490 me, you've only been here for this little time 00:22:15.490 --> 00:22:18.529 and you've already achieved all this at the food 00:22:18.529 --> 00:22:22.109 hall. But we're big believers as well as we want 00:22:22.109 --> 00:22:25.170 the love to spread in the community. So we are 00:22:25.170 --> 00:22:27.529 constantly out there trying to clean up our alley, 00:22:27.569 --> 00:22:29.490 our entryways in an alley. And we try to clean 00:22:29.490 --> 00:22:33.230 it up for the neighbors and for ourselves. We 00:22:33.230 --> 00:22:36.329 do host events in the alley as well and so I 00:22:36.329 --> 00:22:38.210 know when we hosted the Electric Avenue Alley 00:22:38.210 --> 00:22:41.609 Party for each time or actually for the first 00:22:41.609 --> 00:22:43.630 time last year and we're going to be doing it 00:22:43.630 --> 00:22:45.549 again this year, you know we went to all the 00:22:45.549 --> 00:22:47.490 neighbours literally like pulled all the weeds 00:22:47.490 --> 00:22:49.690 that were in their alleys made it spotless for 00:22:49.690 --> 00:22:53.650 every single neighbour as well and you know murals 00:22:53.650 --> 00:22:57.470 have been put up in the alleyway and then Denial 00:22:57.470 --> 00:23:01.309 brought his festival, the Free For All Walls 00:23:01.309 --> 00:23:04.029 mural festival, and used us as his headquarters, 00:23:04.130 --> 00:23:06.670 so he put more murals around, and we're really 00:23:06.670 --> 00:23:09.269 trying to make it a destination for people to 00:23:09.269 --> 00:23:13.549 come and see and get more feet and eyes in this 00:23:13.549 --> 00:23:15.289 little pocket, because not only are we in Little 00:23:15.289 --> 00:23:17.650 Italy, we're also in the McDougal Street corridor, 00:23:17.809 --> 00:23:21.660 which is rich in Windsor's black history. The 00:23:21.660 --> 00:23:24.440 park right beside us, Olden C. Parker Park, has 00:23:24.440 --> 00:23:27.619 some history behind it as well. And so we really 00:23:27.619 --> 00:23:30.019 want as many people coming and seeing and enjoying 00:23:30.019 --> 00:23:32.019 that and learning the history in the city as 00:23:32.019 --> 00:23:35.700 well. And so it's, it was nice to hear when places 00:23:35.700 --> 00:23:37.900 like Fogg and Kraftheads decided they wanted 00:23:37.900 --> 00:23:40.240 to move here and be a part of it as well because 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:43.180 they're very like -minded individuals and businesses 00:23:43.180 --> 00:23:46.019 like my sister and I and like Windsor Eats. And 00:23:46.019 --> 00:23:48.299 so we've already been discussing when they finally 00:23:48.299 --> 00:23:50.480 open all the different events and things we want 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:53.059 to do. to kind of enhance that even more. It's 00:23:53.059 --> 00:23:54.240 going to be so much fun because they're going 00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:57.400 to be right next door. Right next door. We can 00:23:57.400 --> 00:24:00.400 just look out from our garage door and wave. 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:03.240 I know they've had some delays, but it looks 00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:06.019 like things are finally starting to move forward 00:24:06.019 --> 00:24:09.980 again, which is exciting. I know they're probably 00:24:09.980 --> 00:24:13.299 more stressed and anxious about it than anyone, 00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:17.099 but I would say next is my sister Pina and I. 00:24:17.380 --> 00:24:19.180 We're excited to have neighbours. We're a little 00:24:19.180 --> 00:24:21.700 bit of an island. right now by ourselves, so 00:24:21.700 --> 00:24:24.759 to have other like -minded businesses beside 00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:27.099 us that we can send people to and work together 00:24:27.099 --> 00:24:29.299 with to draw more people to the neighbourhood. 00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:31.759 And events. That's exciting. Oh yeah. It's really 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:34.839 exciting. It'll be fun. Now we're about, we said 00:24:34.839 --> 00:24:37.319 it on Erie Street, it's 400 Erie Street? 400 00:24:37.319 --> 00:24:40.359 Erie Street East, so we're just west of Howard 00:24:40.359 --> 00:24:43.259 Avenue, right across the street from New Beginnings. 00:24:43.660 --> 00:24:46.839 And definitely make sure to follow on Instagram 00:24:46.839 --> 00:24:50.960 and Facebook. at Windsor Eats on all of them. 00:24:51.240 --> 00:24:54.039 We're old enough that we were able to, it was 00:24:54.039 --> 00:24:56.259 available on each and every one of those. And 00:24:56.259 --> 00:24:58.819 then you have a website too? We do windsoreats 00:24:58.819 --> 00:25:01.299 .com and we post, we're constantly, you know, 00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:03.619 creating content and writing articles and everything, 00:25:03.640 --> 00:25:05.920 not just about ourselves, but about, you know, 00:25:06.039 --> 00:25:08.000 other food and drink businesses or events happening 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:11.480 as well. So we put it all put it all on our website, 00:25:11.619 --> 00:25:13.819 obviously share them on our socials as well. 00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:17.460 But I always recommend following us on each of 00:25:17.460 --> 00:25:19.849 them because we do. We do keep it different on 00:25:19.849 --> 00:25:24.049 each channel, just to keep it fresh. So just 00:25:24.049 --> 00:25:27.690 to be selfish. But yeah, follow us on every single 00:25:27.690 --> 00:25:31.009 thing imaginable. And share it all. All of it. 00:25:31.849 --> 00:25:34.150 Thank you so much, Adriano. I appreciate it. 00:25:34.170 --> 00:25:37.009 I really appreciate you having me here. Oh, at 00:25:37.009 --> 00:25:39.609 your place. At my place, but on the podcast. 00:25:40.869 --> 00:25:43.509 And again, my name is Tracy Martins. Thank you 00:25:43.509 --> 00:25:46.710 so much for joining me for another episode of 00:25:46.710 --> 00:25:50.230 YQG in Blue. Make sure to follow me on all social 00:25:50.230 --> 00:25:54.769 media as well as any of your YouTube or a podcast 00:25:54.769 --> 00:25:57.029 places that you listen. Have a good one.