WEBVTT 00:00:08.740 --> 00:00:12.119 Hey guys, welcome to good news York I'm your 00:00:12.119 --> 00:00:14.500 host Matt major from growth mode content joined 00:00:14.500 --> 00:00:18.660 by my festive sidekick Mike festive and and we 00:00:18.660 --> 00:00:21.719 have a we have a guest we do and I'm really excited 00:00:21.719 --> 00:00:23.800 because this is a Right out of the gate. I love 00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:26.800 it an old classmate and friend of mine. Mr. Robbie 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:32.240 Cirillo Chef extraordinaire business owner another 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:34.520 mic arm. I know I know I ate my Wheaties this 00:00:34.520 --> 00:00:36.899 morning. Watch out. I uh, yesterday after the 00:00:36.899 --> 00:00:39.119 show we just I just snapped the thing in three 00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:42.079 pieces. I did. I got one spare. After this, you're 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:43.280 going to have to hold the mic the whole time. 00:00:43.299 --> 00:00:46.479 It's going out of my paycheck. I went to school 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:48.579 with Robbie, and we had a lot of the same friends, 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:53.090 and we were just talking before we started. He's 00:00:53.090 --> 00:00:54.829 like, I remember two things about you in high 00:00:54.829 --> 00:00:56.649 school. And whatever he mentioned wasn't that 00:00:56.649 --> 00:00:58.630 bad. But I was telling him, I was like, dude, 00:00:58.630 --> 00:01:02.789 I was an unmedicated kid with ADHD and childhood 00:01:02.789 --> 00:01:08.129 trauma. And luckily, I put it into making people 00:01:08.129 --> 00:01:13.109 laugh. But Robbie, amazing guy. I call a friend. 00:01:13.829 --> 00:01:16.170 I've been on social media lately. And I keep 00:01:16.170 --> 00:01:19.969 seeing this restaurant pop up, Stone Soup, American 00:01:19.969 --> 00:01:24.469 Bistro. And I start seeing Herkimer, which for 00:01:24.469 --> 00:01:25.609 those of you that don't know, that's where I'm 00:01:25.609 --> 00:01:27.590 originally from, Herkimer, New York, Mohawk Valley, 00:01:27.709 --> 00:01:30.209 shout out. And I thought, well, first of all, 00:01:30.230 --> 00:01:32.129 I love Robbie. I want to promote his restaurant. 00:01:32.730 --> 00:01:34.650 Second of all, it's in Herkimer where I'm from. 00:01:34.709 --> 00:01:38.750 This is a no brainer. So here you are on Good 00:01:38.750 --> 00:01:41.390 News York. So tell us a little, before we get 00:01:41.390 --> 00:01:44.709 into Stone Soup, you know, we leave high school. 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:47.200 A lot's happened, obviously, since then. You've 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:49.540 been kind of in Rhode Island and different places. 00:01:49.579 --> 00:01:51.920 How did you get started in this career? Oh, the 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:54.560 funny thing is, the first job I had was at McDonald's 00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:57.560 in Herkimer. That's great. I worked there, too. 00:01:57.700 --> 00:01:59.579 Yes, you did. You know, the best job I did was 00:01:59.579 --> 00:02:01.239 drop chicken nuggets. Hold on, hold on, hold 00:02:01.239 --> 00:02:03.180 on. The old McDonald's or the new one by Walmart? 00:02:03.180 --> 00:02:05.040 The old McDonald's. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The original. 00:02:05.340 --> 00:02:07.560 Who ball pit? We used to play dice out front 00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:10.900 of McDonald's. Who was the woman with the golden 00:02:10.900 --> 00:02:12.979 shoes? Oh, God. You know who I'm talking about. 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:17.569 I do, but I... I'd walk in with my buddy Jansen, 00:02:17.750 --> 00:02:20.250 and she would always say, oh, stay right there. 00:02:20.330 --> 00:02:22.590 And she'd go give my buddy Mike and I these little 00:02:22.590 --> 00:02:24.750 vanilla cones. I don't remember her name, though. 00:02:25.189 --> 00:02:27.550 But I knew you'd remember Golden Shoes. Yeah, 00:02:27.550 --> 00:02:28.849 absolutely. The funny thing is, so I went over 00:02:28.849 --> 00:02:31.110 to next job was at Ponderosa, and I really liked 00:02:31.110 --> 00:02:33.169 that I was doing that. We just talked about Ponderosa. 00:02:33.229 --> 00:02:35.490 I was a dishwasher extraordinaire. I set up two 00:02:35.490 --> 00:02:37.009 people on the dish machine. I was myself just 00:02:37.009 --> 00:02:39.229 running around like it mean. Yeah. I was fantastic 00:02:39.229 --> 00:02:41.729 at that. But then, you know, it was... I always 00:02:41.729 --> 00:02:45.569 grew up in the Italian family. My grandmother, 00:02:45.610 --> 00:02:47.650 she made really good Italian food. I'm actually 00:02:47.650 --> 00:02:49.590 the first Sunday in America, my brother and I 00:02:49.590 --> 00:02:52.810 came, we were adopted from Korea. The first Sunday 00:02:52.810 --> 00:02:55.189 in America, we were making pasta with my grandmother 00:02:55.189 --> 00:02:57.330 then. And as foods has always been in there, 00:02:57.509 --> 00:02:59.729 the restaurant business, it kind of grew onto 00:02:59.729 --> 00:03:05.069 me. I really liked the feeling that you get when 00:03:05.069 --> 00:03:07.659 you're in the middle of a rush. cooking food, 00:03:07.939 --> 00:03:09.819 slinging pans around. It's just one of those 00:03:09.819 --> 00:03:11.879 natural highs that you really don't get anywhere 00:03:11.879 --> 00:03:15.879 else. And I just truly fell in love with cooking 00:03:15.879 --> 00:03:20.099 food. I've always been intrigued by it. Yeah, 00:03:20.099 --> 00:03:24.240 so I've been in Rhode Island since 2001. I actually 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:26.000 moved down there with my best friend, Dominic. 00:03:27.819 --> 00:03:30.419 And he went to school for culinary, and I just 00:03:30.419 --> 00:03:31.919 went to the school of hard knocks for culinary. 00:03:31.960 --> 00:03:34.330 I love it. And we were both able to... share 00:03:34.330 --> 00:03:36.009 our experiences and we're able to, you know, 00:03:36.169 --> 00:03:38.789 teach each other and Dom's, you know, he's just 00:03:38.789 --> 00:03:41.210 one of the smartest, smart guys that, you know, 00:03:41.569 --> 00:03:43.430 they tell you what to do and he can do it. I'm 00:03:43.430 --> 00:03:45.409 one of those guys that show me how to do it, 00:03:45.449 --> 00:03:47.810 then I can physically. Sure. So I just been in 00:03:47.810 --> 00:03:49.250 the restaurant business down there for a long 00:03:49.250 --> 00:03:53.409 time. Opened a bunch of restaurants, like 25 00:03:53.409 --> 00:03:57.210 some odd states. Wow, really? Yeah, it was like 00:03:57.210 --> 00:03:59.770 my 20s, man. I lived a real good life. It was 00:03:59.770 --> 00:04:01.889 fun. I just got to travel. I had a, you know, 00:04:01.930 --> 00:04:05.270 I had a restaurant in Rhode Island. It was Capitol 00:04:05.270 --> 00:04:07.430 Grill. I'd go there. It'd be like the home base. 00:04:07.550 --> 00:04:10.990 And then they fly out to like Orlando or Jacksonville. 00:04:10.990 --> 00:04:12.729 Wow. And we open another restaurant. I'd be out 00:04:12.729 --> 00:04:15.949 there for like three weeks and land and live 00:04:15.949 --> 00:04:18.449 the life for a while. It was a fun time. Wow. 00:04:18.970 --> 00:04:22.350 Yeah. And then it's I was watching a bunch of 00:04:22.350 --> 00:04:24.579 kids. They went to culinary school and I realized 00:04:24.579 --> 00:04:26.420 I was doing as well or better than them. And 00:04:26.420 --> 00:04:27.439 I said, you know what? I'm just going to keep 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:30.300 on working my way through. And it became a true 00:04:30.300 --> 00:04:36.740 passion of mine. And then 10, 15 years ago, I 00:04:36.740 --> 00:04:39.420 started trying to work smarter, not harder. So 00:04:39.420 --> 00:04:42.540 I'd help people open restaurants. And then I'd 00:04:42.540 --> 00:04:44.839 consult for them how to be more profitable, make 00:04:44.839 --> 00:04:48.680 more money, things like that. And I'd just been 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:52.339 doing that for a while. And then Faith and fate 00:04:52.339 --> 00:04:54.720 my my family and my brother my parents got in 00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:56.879 a bad car accident in October So I was going 00:04:56.879 --> 00:04:59.819 back and forth from Rhode Island to New York 00:04:59.819 --> 00:05:01.839 back and forth and that was like running three 00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:04.040 different restaurants a while that one time as 00:05:04.040 --> 00:05:08.279 it was there And then but about two years ago 00:05:08.279 --> 00:05:13.660 The village of Herkimer asked me to be on The 00:05:13.660 --> 00:05:16.480 board to try to get the DRI grant and that's 00:05:16.480 --> 00:05:19.000 trying to develop and revitalize. Okay. Yeah 00:05:19.999 --> 00:05:22.600 And every time I come home from Rhode Island, 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:24.339 the first thing I do is drive down Main Street. 00:05:24.339 --> 00:05:29.040 Yeah. And I saw how it fell back and how, you 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:31.939 know, it's kind of deplorable. It's rough. It's 00:05:31.939 --> 00:05:36.240 rough. But the thing for me, though, was I saw 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:39.040 the possibilities of what could be. Because of 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:41.019 all the different places that I've opened restaurants, 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:43.360 there's always a Main Street. And I swear, if 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:45.920 you lifted up Main Street from Herkimer and implanted 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:48.800 it somewhere else, it would be one of those thriving 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:52.600 places. So there was a small group of people, 00:05:52.740 --> 00:05:54.959 like -minded people in Herkimer that had the 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:57.279 same passion that want to make Herkimer better. 00:05:58.399 --> 00:05:59.980 And so we worked with the village of Herkimer, 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:02.480 worked with the mayor, and a lot of volunteer 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:06.620 work. And I was asked to speak in front of the 00:06:06.620 --> 00:06:10.879 state, the committee board, to pretty much put 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:14.040 Herkimer on the table. And they wanted me, because 00:06:14.040 --> 00:06:17.920 it's like, from Herkimer, left Herkimer. but 00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:20.500 had a vision that I could see Herkimer be better. 00:06:21.100 --> 00:06:24.220 And that has now become my secondary passion 00:06:24.220 --> 00:06:26.639 now is I really truly want to make Herkimer. 00:06:26.759 --> 00:06:28.699 I grew up right around the corner. Literally. 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:31.000 No, I know where you live. I grew up on Washington. 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:33.720 Across from L .W. Bills. Yeah, and I'm literally 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:36.339 right around the corner. Man, that was like, 00:06:36.500 --> 00:06:38.160 I think our generation was the last time they 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:40.139 actually got to enjoy Main Street as what it 00:06:40.139 --> 00:06:45.180 was. And the music shop, we'll buy CDs. Yeah, 00:06:45.180 --> 00:06:48.980 man. And then Macy had his clothing store. Yeah, 00:06:49.259 --> 00:06:52.420 Brian's Roast Beef Deli, the coffee bar. And 00:06:52.420 --> 00:06:54.819 then King's Court Mall. King's Court. That was 00:06:54.819 --> 00:06:58.899 the best. It was a great time. Bonnie's? Bonnie's? 00:06:59.139 --> 00:07:00.680 Wait, what was the pet store? Still my favorite 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:02.259 craft store. I don't remember the name of the 00:07:02.259 --> 00:07:06.009 pet store. Aunt Galicki owned a pet store down 00:07:06.009 --> 00:07:07.889 in the basement. So listen, the great thing is, 00:07:08.110 --> 00:07:11.790 so Joe Cellelli, he bought that building, and 00:07:11.790 --> 00:07:13.790 it's the Munger's building. Now it's called Restored 00:07:13.790 --> 00:07:18.269 and Renewed. And he's from Long Island. He and 00:07:18.269 --> 00:07:20.350 I met, because we would have meetings for the 00:07:20.350 --> 00:07:24.329 grant down in the basement of his building. And 00:07:24.329 --> 00:07:27.629 that man has done so much for that building and 00:07:27.629 --> 00:07:29.769 what he's trying to do for Main Street of Herkimer. 00:07:30.230 --> 00:07:32.370 And he's not even from here. So it was really 00:07:32.370 --> 00:07:34.050 contagious. Like, especially when I met him, 00:07:34.189 --> 00:07:36.790 I'm like, I mean, Joe was, you know, he's probably 00:07:36.790 --> 00:07:39.889 early sixties. Wow. But he's not even from Herkimer, 00:07:40.170 --> 00:07:42.449 but he saw the opportunities, the same thing 00:07:42.449 --> 00:07:45.209 that I see. And he's actually doing something 00:07:45.209 --> 00:07:47.589 instead of being those naysayers that are from 00:07:47.589 --> 00:07:51.350 Herkimer that complain about nothing's happening. 00:07:51.529 --> 00:07:53.129 Right. Trying to fix anything. But then when 00:07:53.129 --> 00:07:55.100 people try to do it. They'll be the first one 00:07:55.100 --> 00:07:56.779 to say, wow, good luck with you. Yeah, you're 00:07:56.779 --> 00:07:58.579 gonna fail. Blah, blah, blah, blah, you know, 00:07:58.899 --> 00:08:00.000 but, you know, it's like that, you know, the 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:01.279 Monday morning, what do they call it? Monday 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:03.480 morning quarter, armchair. Armchair, quarterback, 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:05.139 whatever, right? Something worse to these people 00:08:05.139 --> 00:08:08.540 that have never left and have no concept of the 00:08:08.540 --> 00:08:10.100 possibility. Well, you know, some people haven't 00:08:10.100 --> 00:08:14.540 left before, but I don't judge them on that. 00:08:14.839 --> 00:08:18.800 Right. the opportunities that I was given and 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:21.019 seen because I've been out. And that's why I 00:08:21.019 --> 00:08:23.259 wanna come back and do something again back in 00:08:23.259 --> 00:08:25.279 Herkimer. And the only way I know how to make 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:27.259 my community better is in the restaurant business. 00:08:27.779 --> 00:08:32.539 And if you were a new entrepreneur and you're 00:08:32.539 --> 00:08:36.019 scouting places, maybe you wanna open a restaurant, 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:37.980 let's be honest, you wouldn't go, I'm gonna check 00:08:37.980 --> 00:08:40.620 out Main Street in Herkimer. I think what... 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:43.620 I think the reason why you're going to succeed, 00:08:43.879 --> 00:08:45.940 and I think the reason why you probably were 00:08:45.940 --> 00:08:48.659 inspired is because you saw, we saw as kids, 00:08:49.419 --> 00:08:52.179 the potential it had. Because it was awesome. 00:08:52.580 --> 00:08:53.799 The main street. It really was. I mean, look, 00:08:53.960 --> 00:08:55.799 there were definitely certain buildings that 00:08:55.799 --> 00:08:57.460 weren't as good and as nice as the other ones. 00:08:57.759 --> 00:08:59.379 But like we said, there were so many businesses. 00:08:59.620 --> 00:09:02.179 There were people walking around. There was cars 00:09:02.179 --> 00:09:04.019 going by. You know, it was just, it was alive. 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:08.600 It was. I just think it's incredibly, I don't 00:09:08.600 --> 00:09:10.019 know what the word I'm looking for. I had an 00:09:10.019 --> 00:09:11.159 apartment on Main Street when I was younger. 00:09:11.220 --> 00:09:13.379 Did you really? Yeah. I just think it's really 00:09:13.379 --> 00:09:16.759 commendable that you want to go back and be like 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:18.860 kind of the anchor to get it started. And I think 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:23.480 if anyone can do it, it's you, man. I think being 00:09:23.480 --> 00:09:26.159 from there, him and I are from the Mohawk Valley. 00:09:26.259 --> 00:09:28.480 We talk about it all the time on this show. Yeah, 00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:30.899 we know it's in rough shape, but we are rooting 00:09:30.899 --> 00:09:35.090 so hard for it. Thank you for doing this, man. 00:09:35.909 --> 00:09:37.330 I think it's awesome. If you could, I've been 00:09:37.330 --> 00:09:40.110 trying to picture exactly where on Main Street 00:09:40.110 --> 00:09:42.250 you are. Where is your spot? So Main Street, 00:09:42.710 --> 00:09:44.990 so remember King's Court Mall? Yep. Yes. I'm 00:09:44.990 --> 00:09:46.990 literally on the, you're facing the Mungers building. 00:09:47.090 --> 00:09:48.970 I'm on the left -hand side, 148. Okay, you're 00:09:48.970 --> 00:09:50.629 right on that block. Right on that block. Gotcha. 00:09:50.690 --> 00:09:53.169 Same exact block. I was thinking you were farther 00:09:53.169 --> 00:09:55.789 down by... No, is it that, where there was a 00:09:55.789 --> 00:09:58.470 parking lot between a bank and stores? Correct. 00:09:58.730 --> 00:10:01.289 So the bank, then the parking lot, and then Macy 00:10:01.289 --> 00:10:03.580 used to have his clothing shop. Yeah, yeah. Right 00:10:03.580 --> 00:10:05.539 next door to it. And is that where your beer 00:10:05.539 --> 00:10:07.360 garden, the beer garden. So the beer garden, 00:10:07.620 --> 00:10:10.399 it's kind of cool, man. So when I first looked 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:14.340 at this property, I, living right around the 00:10:14.340 --> 00:10:17.740 corner, never visualized, put together that this 00:10:17.740 --> 00:10:20.379 courtyard that is the back of the village hall 00:10:20.379 --> 00:10:22.340 and the police station and the fire department 00:10:22.340 --> 00:10:25.899 and the mongers, it was right there, right behind 00:10:25.899 --> 00:10:28.759 this restaurant space. And when I talked to Joe 00:10:28.759 --> 00:10:31.440 Cilelli that owns the property, He's like, oh, 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:33.139 you gotta see out back. And I'm like, out back? 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:36.639 So I go back there, I'm like, and my mind is 00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:39.399 like, holy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right. You're seeing 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:42.259 it. Man, and we've had a couple events there 00:10:42.259 --> 00:10:45.779 now for a couple family friends, and the best 00:10:45.779 --> 00:10:47.259 compliment I got about the beer garden is like, 00:10:47.419 --> 00:10:49.139 I don't feel like I'm in Herkimer anymore. That 00:10:49.139 --> 00:10:53.899 is a good compliment. And it's just a different 00:10:53.899 --> 00:10:57.039 feel. I brought in two storage shipping crate 00:10:57.039 --> 00:11:00.919 containers, two 20 -foot ones. And we had to 00:11:00.919 --> 00:11:02.779 clean them all up, and my friend Luke Michael 00:11:02.779 --> 00:11:04.799 and I, we cut down the doors, the panels, put 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:07.639 up new doors, repainted it, and ended up getting 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:11.080 AstroTurf from a high school football field downstate. 00:11:11.500 --> 00:11:14.820 Nice. The company takes it out, and they put 00:11:14.820 --> 00:11:18.159 new ones down, and then they want to recycle, 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:20.600 so they use this stuff. The pictures look great. 00:11:20.700 --> 00:11:24.740 Man, it's gonna be a fun time, man. People say 00:11:24.740 --> 00:11:26.559 it's great for Herkimer, which it is, but I think 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:28.960 it's great for the Valley. It's great for... 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:31.519 all of Herkimer County, because, I mean, there's 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:34.100 maybe three restaurants that have an opportunity 00:11:34.100 --> 00:11:36.899 to have things like this, you know? Yeah. And 00:11:36.899 --> 00:11:39.179 everyone's so close together. You know, when 00:11:39.179 --> 00:11:41.240 we were kids, it was the joke, like, I'm from 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:43.320 Mohawk, I'm from Herkimer. If you look at it 00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:46.159 now, it's like we're all in the same spot. So 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:50.320 it's not going to be out of the ordinary for 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:53.620 people from Frankfurt to want to go. And I'm 00:11:53.620 --> 00:11:56.539 glad you said that, too. So the story, Stone 00:11:56.539 --> 00:12:00.649 Soup. My kids love that, love that, love the 00:12:00.649 --> 00:12:04.929 story. And it's, the original one was about two 00:12:04.929 --> 00:12:07.110 soldiers that get lost in the woods and they 00:12:07.110 --> 00:12:10.210 stumble across the village. And all the, it was 00:12:10.210 --> 00:12:11.549 the middle of the winter and all they wanted 00:12:11.549 --> 00:12:14.490 was something hot to eat and a warm place to 00:12:14.490 --> 00:12:18.830 stay. And the village innkeeper shut the door 00:12:18.830 --> 00:12:21.169 on them. The restaurant closed the door on them 00:12:21.169 --> 00:12:24.690 so they had no food. And it wasn't only because 00:12:24.690 --> 00:12:27.190 of a little kid that said they wanted to help 00:12:27.190 --> 00:12:30.639 them. So that's where all we need is a pot to 00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:32.360 cook some soup in. We have some stones. We're 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:36.379 gonna make stone soup. So the kid's mother happened 00:12:36.379 --> 00:12:39.279 to be the farmer, which is like, well, I have 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:41.960 some vegetables to put into the soup. And then 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:44.340 the butcher, like, well, I have some meat. And 00:12:44.340 --> 00:12:45.799 then the dairy farms are where I have some cream. 00:12:47.299 --> 00:12:50.639 So it meant a lot to me, because it's an old 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:52.659 saying, it takes a village to raise a kid. But 00:12:52.659 --> 00:12:55.019 it took a kid to actually raise the village together. 00:12:56.840 --> 00:13:00.440 You know, it's for all the Tri -Valley areas. 00:13:01.700 --> 00:13:03.919 I've gotten so much help from the community, 00:13:04.059 --> 00:13:07.779 not just from Harcamer, that they really like 00:13:07.779 --> 00:13:10.299 the story of why I'm doing this restaurant, why 00:13:10.299 --> 00:13:12.740 the name of the restaurant is. And it's just, 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:16.100 everyone came together to help me make this restaurant. 00:13:16.330 --> 00:13:19.110 And that's what I wanna do is make something 00:13:19.110 --> 00:13:22.309 that's gonna enrich the community. And that's 00:13:22.309 --> 00:13:25.250 where that stone soup really came from. My daughter, 00:13:25.289 --> 00:13:27.950 this was two and a half years ago, reading the 00:13:27.950 --> 00:13:28.990 books, she's like, daddy, that's a great name 00:13:28.990 --> 00:13:33.090 for a restaurant. And the funny thing is, after 00:13:33.090 --> 00:13:35.289 I signed the contract for the restaurant space, 00:13:35.990 --> 00:13:39.129 on the Facebook feed, the two year hot thing, 00:13:39.490 --> 00:13:40.850 whatever, there was a picture of me reading. 00:13:41.700 --> 00:13:44.960 No, wow. It was crazy. Absolutely crazy, right? 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:47.919 And I'm like, wow, my god, this is meant to be. 00:13:48.379 --> 00:13:51.340 That's one of those things. I do remember that 00:13:51.340 --> 00:13:56.960 story, actually. And I love that. The whole story. 00:13:57.320 --> 00:14:00.480 It seems like there's a lot of just fate happening 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:02.639 for you. There is, man. I am a man of faith and 00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:05.539 fate. I really am. Things happen for a reason 00:14:05.539 --> 00:14:08.799 it has in my whole life. I let try a lot things 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:10.899 happen organically as much as possible But sometimes 00:14:10.899 --> 00:14:13.200 you got to press that gas pedal down. Yeah. Yeah, 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:16.039 but you know, it doesn't work doesn't work You 00:14:16.039 --> 00:14:17.600 know, I've been trying to do something in her 00:14:17.600 --> 00:14:19.679 car for the last two years, you know We had another 00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:21.519 property. I was looking at up the street more 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:24.519 and It just didn't work out and you know, and 00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:27.200 it's just take it on the chin. Yep Get back to 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:30.100 the grind again, you know, and then but you know, 00:14:30.120 --> 00:14:32.620 it just it happened. That's great. That's awesome 00:14:32.620 --> 00:14:35.580 Rob I come on I'm gonna regret this because it's 00:14:35.580 --> 00:14:37.019 gonna make me hungry, but I got it. I'm already 00:14:37.019 --> 00:14:38.480 I want to learn a little bit more about the restaurant 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:42.080 What type of menu yeah? Yeah, so um lunch time 00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:45.720 gonna be doing lunch and dinner The lunch menu 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:48.159 is gonna be classic American American fare, so 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:50.559 you know you look at Smash burgers, but you know 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:52.379 sometimes I like a greasy smash burger, but then 00:14:52.379 --> 00:14:54.799 I like a juicy grilled burger So we have both 00:14:54.799 --> 00:14:57.480 options for you cool some elevated sandwiches 00:14:57.480 --> 00:15:01.179 And then grinders, but we call them subs up here 00:15:01.179 --> 00:15:04.279 large salads and appetizers for lunch and then 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:07.620 dinner my brother is Really passionate about 00:15:07.620 --> 00:15:09.379 barbecue. He's been doing it for a while Wow 00:15:09.379 --> 00:15:11.340 I had a restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, and 00:15:11.340 --> 00:15:13.159 I learned a lot about barbecue out there also 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:15.340 yeah, so we'll be doing barbecue during dinner 00:15:15.340 --> 00:15:18.919 time and then When it comes to like the dinner 00:15:18.919 --> 00:15:23.559 entrees Obviously, you know because of the experiences 00:15:23.559 --> 00:15:26.379 I've been able to have in the culinary world 00:15:26.379 --> 00:15:30.799 I've noticed, you know America as a country we've 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:32.960 brought so many different cultures in her and 00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:34.740 then you know So like when different like make 00:15:34.740 --> 00:15:38.000 my grandparents came from Italy One of the two 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:40.340 things that made them feel connected from where 00:15:40.340 --> 00:15:43.259 they're from is food and music Those are two 00:15:43.259 --> 00:15:45.929 of the most important things to me When it comes 00:15:45.929 --> 00:15:47.870 to a restaurant is having great food and you 00:15:47.870 --> 00:15:52.210 got to have a great ambiance. So When I noticed 00:15:52.210 --> 00:15:54.330 that, you know back in the 80s and 90s chefs 00:15:54.330 --> 00:15:56.929 used to smash it together. Sorry No, you can 00:15:56.929 --> 00:16:01.409 swear good sweet shit Poop yeah, but anyway, 00:16:01.669 --> 00:16:04.409 so, you know It's they were trying to get fine 00:16:04.409 --> 00:16:07.409 correlating flavors and ingredients from different 00:16:07.409 --> 00:16:09.870 cultures and yeah to put those together And they 00:16:09.870 --> 00:16:11.529 kind of went a little crazy on that, and they 00:16:11.529 --> 00:16:14.330 called it fusion. I like looking at history of 00:16:14.330 --> 00:16:16.230 food and where it came from and finding those 00:16:16.230 --> 00:16:18.710 correlating ingredients and trying to make sure 00:16:18.710 --> 00:16:20.909 those flavors do have some sort of history together 00:16:20.909 --> 00:16:24.490 to put those together. But I really like, I have 00:16:24.490 --> 00:16:26.889 a Korean bibimbap dish that's going to be highlighted. 00:16:27.330 --> 00:16:29.250 Then I have a Vietnamese drunken noodle dish. 00:16:29.289 --> 00:16:32.110 I have a calabrian pasta dish. So I want to celebrate 00:16:32.110 --> 00:16:34.429 and I want to celebrate different cultures and 00:16:34.429 --> 00:16:36.629 dishes from different cultures and keep those 00:16:36.629 --> 00:16:39.889 rotating. For me, it's a good way for me do like 00:16:39.889 --> 00:16:42.330 a test market. It's like my food in Rhode Island 00:16:42.330 --> 00:16:45.889 did well, but it's gonna do as well in a different 00:16:45.889 --> 00:16:48.490 community. So for me to be able to keep on rotating 00:16:48.490 --> 00:16:51.169 my specials, have five or six set menu items 00:16:51.169 --> 00:16:53.690 that I think professionally they'll do well, 00:16:54.009 --> 00:16:55.730 but then to keep on rotating specials from different 00:16:55.730 --> 00:16:58.950 cultures. Find out what works in this community, 00:16:59.110 --> 00:17:02.730 what works in the Utica area. Try to bring, I 00:17:02.730 --> 00:17:05.400 don't wanna make... So people from like Herkimer 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:07.839 and Little Falls, they go to Syracuse and Albany. 00:17:07.900 --> 00:17:10.579 I go to Syracuse and Albany. Sure. Why not have 00:17:10.579 --> 00:17:12.200 them come down to Herkimer? That's right. You 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:14.579 know, why not? That's what people like. People 00:17:14.579 --> 00:17:15.900 ask me, why are you doing a restaurant? There's 00:17:15.900 --> 00:17:18.079 only so many bowls of riggy's one can eat. Man, 00:17:18.180 --> 00:17:21.200 and you know what? I mean, look, and I might 00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:24.180 set that limit personally. Ryan has a pea case 00:17:24.180 --> 00:17:25.920 pub. They make great greens and great greens. 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:27.960 Guess what? That's not going to be on my menu. 00:17:27.960 --> 00:17:29.579 Right, right. You know? There's other restaurants 00:17:29.579 --> 00:17:31.460 in the valley that have it. I don't want to do 00:17:31.460 --> 00:17:33.690 that, you know? Go support them. So I'm all about 00:17:33.690 --> 00:17:35.750 being, I think when I was in Memphis, the best 00:17:35.750 --> 00:17:36.369 thing I learned about down there. I'm saying 00:17:36.369 --> 00:17:38.390 it's great that you have a place that you can 00:17:38.390 --> 00:17:39.750 get something slightly different. Yeah, you know, 00:17:39.869 --> 00:17:41.230 and it's like - As much as I love those dishes. 00:17:41.250 --> 00:17:43.049 Absolutely. So when I lived in Memphis, you know, 00:17:43.549 --> 00:17:45.849 I learned about history and hospitality when 00:17:45.849 --> 00:17:48.869 I lived down in Memphis. I expected blues and 00:17:48.869 --> 00:17:51.950 I expected barbecue, but the history and the 00:17:51.950 --> 00:17:54.589 hospitality was bar none. But the restaurant 00:17:54.589 --> 00:17:58.390 community was so strong, because if you think 00:17:58.390 --> 00:18:01.539 about this, so... Any larger city there's restaurants 00:18:01.539 --> 00:18:03.819 everywhere and it's more people just foot traffic. 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:06.160 Yeah, sure That's the same vision I see happening 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:09.920 in any town any village is if you have more than 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:13.000 one option All it's gonna do is drive more people 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:15.440 that come into that area. We just talked about 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:19.460 this It might have been yesterday about you know 00:18:19.460 --> 00:18:21.339 I live in Ithaca and I don't know if you've been 00:18:21.339 --> 00:18:23.980 to Ithaca But the one thing Ithaca is known for 00:18:23.980 --> 00:18:25.980 is its dining I mean we have more restaurants 00:18:25.980 --> 00:18:28.000 per capita than New York and we have everything 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:31.680 from Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Italian, Japanese, 00:18:32.339 --> 00:18:35.259 Greek, you name it, and it's all amazing. And 00:18:35.259 --> 00:18:37.539 it's everything you're talking about. Foot traffic, 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:40.759 people, you know, from all over. It brings life 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:42.720 back. It brings life back. That's what it really 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:45.440 does. But we were talking about how, you know, 00:18:45.579 --> 00:18:47.440 you think when people get this impression that 00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:49.980 when other restaurants pop up, oh no, it's... 00:18:49.690 --> 00:18:52.069 This is competition. It's like, no, this is good. 00:18:52.230 --> 00:18:55.069 Well, no, Mike, I think it is competition. Competition 00:18:55.069 --> 00:18:57.789 breeds success. It really does. Yes. You know? 00:18:57.910 --> 00:19:00.609 Yeah. It really does. But it's also a network. 00:19:00.829 --> 00:19:03.750 And you're all creating something together. Absolutely. 00:19:04.049 --> 00:19:06.869 You know, I think, you know, isn't it business 00:19:06.869 --> 00:19:09.029 101? It's like, if there's four steak houses 00:19:09.029 --> 00:19:11.250 within five miles, don't open another steakhouse. 00:19:11.309 --> 00:19:13.210 Like, I think it's great that you're, you know 00:19:13.210 --> 00:19:14.970 what I mean? That you're not doing greens and 00:19:14.970 --> 00:19:16.450 you're not doing riggies. And I think that's 00:19:16.450 --> 00:19:18.569 what's going to set you apart. And I just hope, 00:19:18.569 --> 00:19:21.400 you know, Have you thought about ways that you 00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:24.400 could get other businesses to come to Herkimer 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:26.500 or whether it's a restaurant or not? It's a great 00:19:26.500 --> 00:19:29.359 segue. So actually yesterday, the Village of 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:31.400 Herkimer in Herkimer County, there's another 00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:32.779 grant that they've been working on. It's called 00:19:32.779 --> 00:19:35.359 the BOA grant. It's a Brownsfield project. So 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:37.500 what they do is they bring a group of investors 00:19:37.500 --> 00:19:40.579 together, development investors together. And 00:19:40.579 --> 00:19:42.759 they had a great turnout at the Herkimer College 00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:46.480 yesterday. They had about 250 people there, just 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:50.400 investors. Then they had a meeting over at the 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:52.480 Munger's building, actually, after that meeting. 00:19:52.839 --> 00:19:55.140 And they did a walking tour of Main Street. And 00:19:55.140 --> 00:19:59.079 so what the Boa Grant does, they put on a lot 00:19:59.079 --> 00:20:02.559 of the buildings that have nothing in it. It 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:05.960 was a simple thing. They put a big window sticker 00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:09.259 with, you know... opportunities, you know, they 00:20:09.259 --> 00:20:11.859 had, like, shadow characters of dining and standing 00:20:11.859 --> 00:20:14.279 at a bar. Gotcha. So they did that on Main Street, 00:20:14.380 --> 00:20:16.720 and they had, uh, we had about 65 people yesterday 00:20:16.720 --> 00:20:17.619 walk up and down Main Street. Kind of stage what 00:20:17.619 --> 00:20:19.920 there could be. Correct. And they went all the 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:22.839 way up to the, uh, to the old jail, walked back 00:20:22.839 --> 00:20:25.440 down towards, across Main Street, down the courthouse, 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:29.180 and then they stopped at Stone Soup. And they 00:20:29.180 --> 00:20:30.480 all came into the restaurant, and they wanted 00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:32.839 to use my restaurant. Like, listen, here's a 00:20:32.839 --> 00:20:35.190 kid from Harcamer. that left and came back to 00:20:35.190 --> 00:20:38.289 Herkimer. Here's a great example of investment 00:20:38.289 --> 00:20:42.509 opportunity. And one of the best things is kind 00:20:42.509 --> 00:20:44.829 of like a backhanded compliment is, I didn't 00:20:44.829 --> 00:20:47.269 expect it to look like this. Really, you know? 00:20:47.410 --> 00:20:49.809 And it started off with the facade of the restaurant. 00:20:49.950 --> 00:20:53.710 It's like, I mean, the restaurant was 65 % turnkey, 00:20:54.049 --> 00:20:56.700 but I really want... I want to set a precedent 00:20:56.700 --> 00:20:59.220 on you. So that's why I put a lot of time and 00:20:59.220 --> 00:21:01.839 invested a lot of capital into that facade of 00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:03.559 the restaurant. And it looks gorgeous. The brick. 00:21:04.019 --> 00:21:05.660 The brick and the wood, you know, and I just 00:21:05.660 --> 00:21:11.059 wanted to make it stand out. And I hope that 00:21:11.059 --> 00:21:14.779 exponentially business owners that are on there 00:21:14.779 --> 00:21:17.940 now and then future investors on Main Street 00:21:17.940 --> 00:21:20.920 see, hey, this is a standard here. Let's try 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:23.940 to follow suit at least. So, you know, then getting 00:21:23.940 --> 00:21:26.400 back to the, uh, the bowl grant yesterday, um, 00:21:26.619 --> 00:21:28.819 you know, we had people from, not even from Herkimer, 00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:31.839 which was fantastic, you know, and it's, they 00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:33.099 were in the restaurant, they were able to go 00:21:33.099 --> 00:21:35.779 out back and the storm held off long enough for 00:21:35.779 --> 00:21:37.140 us to be able to enjoy it outside in the, in 00:21:37.140 --> 00:21:39.640 the beer garden. Um, my brother made some barbecue 00:21:39.640 --> 00:21:41.140 for him and things like that. And, you know, 00:21:41.140 --> 00:21:44.660 it was, it was a good time. And I had a lot of 00:21:44.660 --> 00:21:46.359 people from the County think, Hey Robbie, thank 00:21:46.359 --> 00:21:48.779 you for letting us use your restaurant. because 00:21:48.779 --> 00:21:50.720 it was it was one of those buzz worthy things 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:53.279 where like yeah actually they they saw like matt 00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:55.779 collis was part of the group matt my boy and 00:21:55.779 --> 00:21:58.259 i mean they're celebrating 50 years on me collis 00:21:58.259 --> 00:22:01.759 hardware still there 50 years dude like i i still 00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:05.019 walk in the back door from and all the houses 00:22:05.019 --> 00:22:07.279 that because my father did the same thing yeah 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:09.180 so i still walk in the back door matt's there 00:22:09.180 --> 00:22:12.539 all the time and matt was you know he's the collis 00:22:12.539 --> 00:22:14.819 family the collis hardware is another prime example 00:22:14.819 --> 00:22:18.970 of hey 50 years on main street in Herkimer. They're 00:22:18.970 --> 00:22:21.390 still doing great. The funny thing is, we're 00:22:21.390 --> 00:22:23.490 walking past College Hardware, and the guy walks 00:22:23.490 --> 00:22:26.230 out, just bought a lawnmower. They go, Mel, everyone's 00:22:26.230 --> 00:22:27.490 gonna buy a lawnmower. We've been doing just 00:22:27.490 --> 00:22:30.170 fine. Yeah, exactly. Right. But it's, you know, 00:22:31.309 --> 00:22:34.289 like, Pete's Pub, Brockmore is doing a real great 00:22:34.289 --> 00:22:36.869 job over at Endzone Pub, you know? Astro Rogus 00:22:36.869 --> 00:22:38.589 right around the corner. There's gonna be a smoothie 00:22:38.589 --> 00:22:40.490 shop where Dom's Deli used to be right around 00:22:40.490 --> 00:22:41.789 the corner. This is what I'm talking about. And 00:22:41.789 --> 00:22:44.750 it's really, it's one of those times where I, 00:22:44.950 --> 00:22:49.250 when I've seen restaurants, pop up in communities, 00:22:49.930 --> 00:22:51.509 it's almost like sometimes you're too late to 00:22:51.509 --> 00:22:54.289 the party kind of thing. Yeah. I've been wanting 00:22:54.289 --> 00:22:56.490 to do this and it popped up fine on them. Here's 00:22:56.490 --> 00:22:58.970 a chance to do it. So I want to be on that ground 00:22:58.970 --> 00:23:03.049 floor and take that shit running. Yeah. I mean, 00:23:03.190 --> 00:23:05.970 very exciting. Right now, you are the bar. And 00:23:05.970 --> 00:23:08.369 I think that's... Congratulations, dude. You're 00:23:08.369 --> 00:23:10.690 the bar of what Main Street could be, you know? 00:23:11.619 --> 00:23:14.099 And as someone, again, who's from the Mohawk 00:23:14.099 --> 00:23:16.119 Valley, and Matt is too, and especially from 00:23:16.119 --> 00:23:18.460 someone who's from Herkimer, I think that's why 00:23:18.460 --> 00:23:20.319 this means so much to people, what you're doing, 00:23:20.500 --> 00:23:23.259 because we all know what it was and what it could 00:23:23.259 --> 00:23:26.819 be. Absolutely. And it takes someone that has 00:23:26.819 --> 00:23:30.059 seen that to be able to try to not even replicate 00:23:30.059 --> 00:23:33.259 it, but to bring life back. And, you know, here's 00:23:33.259 --> 00:23:35.779 the other thing that people forget about. Yeah, 00:23:35.859 --> 00:23:38.710 okay. Herkimer, New York. anyone outside of this 00:23:38.710 --> 00:23:39.769 area would be like, oh, it's in the middle of 00:23:39.769 --> 00:23:41.809 nowhere. It's really not. It's right off of the 00:23:41.809 --> 00:23:43.549 thruway. And it's one of the very few exits. 00:23:43.609 --> 00:23:45.710 Literally in the middle. Yeah. Between Albany 00:23:45.710 --> 00:23:47.089 and Syracuse. Right in the middle between Albany 00:23:47.089 --> 00:23:49.970 and Syracuse. If you ever need gas, because I 00:23:49.970 --> 00:23:51.950 lived across the gas station right off the exit, 00:23:52.349 --> 00:23:54.190 you know how many tour buses I saw stop there? 00:23:54.430 --> 00:23:57.009 You know, it's one of those few exits where you're 00:23:57.009 --> 00:23:59.049 not driving three miles once you get off to go 00:23:59.049 --> 00:24:03.190 get gas or food. It's right there. So it can 00:24:03.190 --> 00:24:05.710 draw people from all over the place. And State 00:24:05.710 --> 00:24:08.859 Street's busy. So it's got potential, man. It 00:24:08.859 --> 00:24:10.400 really does have potential, you know, and it's 00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:12.880 like, like Jimmer Adams, you know, he's a Herkimer. 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:14.440 Carpet store, he's still there. Yeah, Johnson's 00:24:14.440 --> 00:24:16.160 Carpet, you know, so he took that over. He could 00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:19.240 have gone anywhere else, but he's from Herkimer 00:24:19.240 --> 00:24:22.039 and he had an opportunity to take that building 00:24:22.039 --> 00:24:23.839 over and business over. He worked there, I mean, 00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:27.240 for like 15 years, you know? And Johnson's Carpeting, 00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:30.619 shit, that's been there forever. Ever. So it's 00:24:30.619 --> 00:24:33.680 a great thing. It's a core group of people and 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:35.910 it's awesome now that They're from Herkimer, 00:24:36.069 --> 00:24:39.710 too. Yes. We have the same vision. They want 00:24:39.710 --> 00:24:42.710 to do it. And now it's to the point where it's 00:24:42.710 --> 00:24:46.750 like, let's do it. You can talk about doing something, 00:24:47.289 --> 00:24:49.069 but you've got to get a plan and then put it 00:24:49.069 --> 00:24:51.029 into action. You're better together. The most 00:24:51.029 --> 00:24:53.789 important thing. We mentioned this yesterday. 00:24:54.630 --> 00:24:58.349 Just do it is the key that so many people miss 00:24:58.349 --> 00:25:03.660 out on. Just do it. It takes a lot. Some people 00:25:03.660 --> 00:25:05.200 are scared to do something because they've not 00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:07.839 a percent right and then there's people that 00:25:07.839 --> 00:25:09.640 like me before it's like Robbie Do you really 00:25:09.640 --> 00:25:13.059 want to leave Rhode Island sure yeah to do this? 00:25:13.160 --> 00:25:15.799 Yeah, and it was maybe a five minute conversation 00:25:15.799 --> 00:25:18.339 with myself, but sure there's you know this sometimes 00:25:18.339 --> 00:25:20.059 man It's just yeah, take that leap of faith kind 00:25:20.059 --> 00:25:22.579 of thing and just got to do it You know what's 00:25:22.579 --> 00:25:24.500 what's interesting and you mentioned in a lot 00:25:24.500 --> 00:25:26.220 of people unfortunately locally don't get this 00:25:26.220 --> 00:25:28.980 I didn't get this when I was a local person growing 00:25:28.980 --> 00:25:31.730 up in the valley and work in a local computer 00:25:31.730 --> 00:25:34.609 store and just seeing how people are interacting 00:25:34.609 --> 00:25:37.049 and their thoughts on money and all these different 00:25:37.049 --> 00:25:41.650 things. You know, they see the state of the place 00:25:41.650 --> 00:25:43.690 and it's in decline and it looks like hell and 00:25:43.690 --> 00:25:46.569 their thought is, this is worthless. It's the 00:25:46.569 --> 00:25:49.630 opposite. The reality is, if you're a businessman, 00:25:49.910 --> 00:25:53.009 if you're an investor of any sort, you see a 00:25:53.009 --> 00:25:56.509 place where the real estate is dirt cheap. There's 00:25:56.509 --> 00:25:59.769 ample workforce. And it's right in the middle 00:25:59.769 --> 00:26:02.789 of the state where this massive, massive expansion 00:26:02.789 --> 00:26:07.089 is happening on both ends. Correct. So there's 00:26:07.089 --> 00:26:09.710 no choice. And it might take a little longer 00:26:09.710 --> 00:26:12.890 than in Syracuse or in Albany, but soon all these 00:26:12.890 --> 00:26:15.630 people who can't afford a house in Syracuse and 00:26:15.630 --> 00:26:17.369 Albany. Yeah, micron. Because we run out of them. 00:26:17.450 --> 00:26:19.329 Dude, absolutely. This is where they're going 00:26:19.329 --> 00:26:21.950 to land. And the smart folks know, like you, 00:26:22.150 --> 00:26:24.930 is get in, grab that dirt cheap real estate today. 00:26:24.950 --> 00:26:27.410 It's opportunity. Make it something incredible. 00:26:27.829 --> 00:26:29.470 You'll have the audience for it before you know 00:26:29.470 --> 00:26:31.910 it. You're so right. And by the way, thank God 00:26:31.910 --> 00:26:35.109 for the Matt Collises and the Jimmer Adams that 00:26:35.109 --> 00:26:38.930 just grin and bear it and stayed there because 00:26:38.930 --> 00:26:41.049 it made it easier for you to come back and not 00:26:41.049 --> 00:26:43.450 be the lone soldier on the block, right? And 00:26:43.450 --> 00:26:46.410 now I think with you guys all together, and you 00:26:46.410 --> 00:26:47.990 know what's crazy? The name of your restaurant, 00:26:48.130 --> 00:26:50.650 as you said before, Stone Soup American Bistro 00:26:50.650 --> 00:26:53.089 and Beer Garden, the story of how it takes a 00:26:53.089 --> 00:26:55.619 village. And that's literally what is happening. 00:26:55.779 --> 00:26:58.500 The village is coming together to raise the community, 00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:01.640 man. I'm sorry. It makes you feel good, right? 00:27:01.960 --> 00:27:04.339 Yeah, I wanna run through a wall. Did you mention 00:27:04.339 --> 00:27:07.460 Pete's is still there? Oh, there, man. Pete's. 00:27:07.480 --> 00:27:10.599 Crazy Otto's is still there. There's a lot of 00:27:10.599 --> 00:27:13.640 stuff that is still doing well. Pete's was my 00:27:13.640 --> 00:27:16.400 favorite. Dude, they had to close down for about 00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:18.519 a month, because I built it next to it. Started 00:27:18.519 --> 00:27:20.559 crumbling all back of it. Yeah. Yeah, but they 00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:22.299 open that they open up back up a couple weeks 00:27:22.299 --> 00:27:24.720 ago back in the day some stories from like oh 00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:28.400 when it was You know glory days brownies Albany 00:27:28.400 --> 00:27:32.440 Street Pete's It was awesome, but you but if 00:27:32.440 --> 00:27:34.740 you had told me you know 15 20 years ago I like 00:27:34.740 --> 00:27:36.799 dude Pete's is gonna outlast all these I'd go 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:40.519 you're crazy Yeah, and they have man. Yep, and 00:27:40.519 --> 00:27:42.859 they have and I wish nothing but the best for 00:27:42.859 --> 00:27:47.259 you for everybody This is so exciting, man. We 00:27:47.259 --> 00:27:49.299 are rooting for you, and you've got to come back 00:27:49.299 --> 00:27:54.140 on any time. Before we go, though, where do you 00:27:54.140 --> 00:27:56.539 see yourself in five years? But what's your vision 00:27:56.539 --> 00:27:58.680 in the near future, or maybe the distant future, 00:27:59.599 --> 00:28:03.299 for maybe Stone Soup, but also for Main Street 00:28:03.299 --> 00:28:07.920 and Herb? It's like a business man I am. There's 00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:12.279 that one, three, and five -year plan. My immediate 00:28:12.279 --> 00:28:16.220 hope is... the building next to us to buy that 00:28:16.220 --> 00:28:19.140 out, knock the wall down between that and the 00:28:19.140 --> 00:28:22.559 restaurant's base now to grow that out. And then 00:28:22.559 --> 00:28:24.759 upstairs, there's a second floor. We can turn 00:28:24.759 --> 00:28:27.079 that into a private dining and then put another 00:28:27.079 --> 00:28:29.059 kitchen upstairs because on the second floor 00:28:29.059 --> 00:28:32.460 of Mungers, we'll have the largest banquet facility 00:28:32.460 --> 00:28:37.259 in the county. So that's, yep. And then Joe Cilelli, 00:28:37.299 --> 00:28:41.480 he has another retail space that is at the very 00:28:41.480 --> 00:28:46.140 end of Mungers. There's a parking lot between 00:28:46.140 --> 00:28:51.619 Woolworths and this little spot. And my favorite 00:28:51.619 --> 00:28:54.079 dessert is affogato. I like gelato and espresso. 00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:57.519 So I really would like to put an Italian, call 00:28:57.519 --> 00:29:01.940 it affogato, fresh gelato, sorbets, and espresso 00:29:01.940 --> 00:29:06.660 shop there. This is restaurant number one. I'm 00:29:06.660 --> 00:29:08.559 a restaurateur. I'll always be a chef no matter 00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:12.750 what. But my age now that we're getting at I 00:29:12.750 --> 00:29:16.390 wanna be a restaurateur and that's for me to 00:29:16.390 --> 00:29:20.029 build something for my children and still help 00:29:20.029 --> 00:29:22.309 the community at the same time. The only way 00:29:22.309 --> 00:29:25.809 I do that is the restaurant business. So we'll 00:29:25.809 --> 00:29:29.170 be growing within our four walls, hopefully be 00:29:29.170 --> 00:29:33.190 able to knock down another wall. But we have 00:29:33.190 --> 00:29:35.349 a lot of things planned up for this year, as 00:29:35.349 --> 00:29:38.400 soon as the weather gets better for us. Our grand 00:29:38.400 --> 00:29:40.259 opening's gonna be when my kids are out of school. 00:29:40.440 --> 00:29:42.240 I definitely want them to cut the ribbon down. 00:29:42.980 --> 00:29:44.500 You know, if I had live music stuff back there, 00:29:44.759 --> 00:29:46.559 maybe someone I know to the right of me might 00:29:46.559 --> 00:29:48.200 be able to play some music for us. You know what 00:29:48.200 --> 00:29:50.400 I mean? I may have done that before, yes. Yeah, 00:29:50.700 --> 00:29:53.640 of course. When you play music, a little bit. 00:29:55.299 --> 00:29:57.559 My brother and I were really excited for the 00:29:57.559 --> 00:30:02.480 opportunities that we want to do. The opportunities 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:05.240 are there. It's just we want to do it. You are. 00:30:05.470 --> 00:30:08.490 Yeah, we're getting there, Mike. Dude, I'm so 00:30:08.490 --> 00:30:12.769 happy for you. I'm so proud of you, man. You're 00:30:12.769 --> 00:30:15.390 a friend of mine from high school. That's a bond 00:30:15.390 --> 00:30:17.930 you always have, right? And now you're a friend 00:30:17.930 --> 00:30:20.390 of the show. So you've got to come back on and 00:30:20.390 --> 00:30:24.359 talk more about this. Absolutely. Yeah, Robbie 00:30:24.359 --> 00:30:27.680 Cirillo, Stone Soup. Make sure I say American 00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:29.880 Bistro and Beer Garden. Yes, sir. On Main Street 00:30:29.880 --> 00:30:31.759 in Herkimer. What are the other plugs? What do 00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:34.000 you want to plug? You know what? Addresses, social 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:36.019 media, what do you got? Yeah, so you can find 00:30:36.019 --> 00:30:40.220 us on Facebook and Stone Soup on Facebook. And 00:30:40.220 --> 00:30:43.460 then if you guys want, I'm looking for another 00:30:43.460 --> 00:30:46.039 full -time line cook and just maybe one or two 00:30:46.039 --> 00:30:48.140 more servers. Mike's not really good at cooking. 00:30:49.359 --> 00:30:51.039 You can email me at RobertNom. I'm really good 00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:53.099 at this either, so I might need... At EdatStoneSoup 00:30:53.099 --> 00:30:57.000 .com. And then, yeah, I don't want to plug away 00:30:57.000 --> 00:30:58.920 the restaurant itself too much, but I just want 00:30:58.920 --> 00:31:01.200 to thank the community. I've had so much help 00:31:01.200 --> 00:31:05.019 from the community. And Hurricane Murray, we 00:31:05.019 --> 00:31:07.799 will make it. We will. Sorry, did you have a 00:31:07.799 --> 00:31:09.220 date for the grand opening, or is that still 00:31:09.220 --> 00:31:10.920 a little... So we're gonna be doing a soft opening 00:31:10.920 --> 00:31:13.720 in two weeks. We'll be doing just lunch. And 00:31:13.720 --> 00:31:15.559 then we'll do, the following week, we'll do a 00:31:15.559 --> 00:31:17.440 soft opening of just dinner. and then the following 00:31:17.440 --> 00:31:20.259 week after that, we'll be doing the full lunch 00:31:20.259 --> 00:31:24.680 and dinner kind of thing. Grand opening, it's 00:31:24.680 --> 00:31:26.980 like playing darts, right? You have a bullseye, 00:31:27.500 --> 00:31:29.000 and then you throw it, you can hit it a little 00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:31.160 to the right, you can hit it a little to the 00:31:31.160 --> 00:31:34.380 bottom. So I just want to make sure that I have 00:31:34.380 --> 00:31:39.980 all the ducks in row, I's and T's. I don't want 00:31:39.980 --> 00:31:41.619 to do this wrong, I want to do it right. Yeah, 00:31:41.619 --> 00:31:43.980 and you will, and you are, man. You struck me 00:31:43.980 --> 00:31:45.970 as a guy that... that we're gonna see. If we 00:31:45.970 --> 00:31:47.289 come to the restaurant, you're getting your hands 00:31:47.289 --> 00:31:49.210 dirty in the kitchen. Absolutely. I had a feeling. 00:31:49.589 --> 00:31:51.289 You were always that way, man. I am, you know, 00:31:51.390 --> 00:31:52.650 and it's like, I'll be popping back and forth, 00:31:52.890 --> 00:31:54.190 but, you know, fortunately I have my brother 00:31:54.190 --> 00:31:56.450 that he's gonna be my right -hand man in the 00:31:56.450 --> 00:31:59.410 kitchen. Um, but, uh, yeah. We'll have to come 00:31:59.410 --> 00:32:02.049 down and shoot an episode there. I was just gonna 00:32:02.049 --> 00:32:03.329 say, yeah, we definitely... Maybe we'll do it 00:32:03.329 --> 00:32:04.289 for the grand opening. Check out the restaurant. 00:32:04.289 --> 00:32:06.509 Do it, do it right in the beer garden. You'll 00:32:06.509 --> 00:32:10.019 have us, man. I'd also love to, uh... Dude, I'd 00:32:10.019 --> 00:32:11.660 love to connect with the other folks and maybe 00:32:11.660 --> 00:32:14.059 we'll do like a little video tour of the Munger's 00:32:14.059 --> 00:32:16.000 building and things like that. Absolutely. We 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:21.180 can do like a downtown Herkimer opportunity special. 00:32:21.640 --> 00:32:23.299 Guys, look at this. Because I'm glad you said 00:32:23.299 --> 00:32:25.640 something about line cooks because the brilliancy 00:32:25.640 --> 00:32:29.119 of Matt, he said part of this show is he wants 00:32:29.119 --> 00:32:31.660 to connect employees and employers, people looking 00:32:31.660 --> 00:32:33.880 for jobs, employers looking for employees. I 00:32:33.880 --> 00:32:37.559 mean. In my world, or in any world, I just feel 00:32:37.559 --> 00:32:39.599 like the most loving thing you can do is give 00:32:39.599 --> 00:32:42.900 somebody a job, or an opportunity. I know some 00:32:42.900 --> 00:32:45.220 talented cooks in the valley, too. We gotta share 00:32:45.220 --> 00:32:48.900 this clip. We'll do as much as we can for you, 00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:51.960 but we're rooting for you, pal. Anytime you want 00:32:51.960 --> 00:32:53.440 to come back, you got something, whether it's 00:32:53.440 --> 00:32:56.160 your restaurant, whether it's good news about 00:32:56.160 --> 00:32:58.640 Herkimer. Absolutely. We want to hear it. I love 00:32:58.640 --> 00:33:00.839 the fact that, you know, good news York, I love 00:33:00.839 --> 00:33:03.009 it. Then I had one on Facebook. And it's all 00:33:03.009 --> 00:33:05.470 about, it's just good news happening in New York. 00:33:05.490 --> 00:33:07.369 100%. And it's just, I'm like, this is perfect 00:33:07.369 --> 00:33:09.730 for that. It's a perfect thing. That's why I 00:33:09.730 --> 00:33:11.490 sought you out. You know, again, you're a friend 00:33:11.490 --> 00:33:13.569 from high school, and you're doing something 00:33:13.569 --> 00:33:15.289 great, and that's what this show's about. When 00:33:15.289 --> 00:33:18.069 Matt started this, I mean, is there, just like 00:33:18.069 --> 00:33:21.210 you said, you go to downtown Main Street, right, 00:33:21.210 --> 00:33:24.069 and you go, oh God, look how bad it, no, it's 00:33:24.069 --> 00:33:26.529 an opportunity. You read social media, you read 00:33:26.529 --> 00:33:28.890 the news, it's all negative, it's all doom and 00:33:28.890 --> 00:33:30.880 gloom. There's an opportunity for good news. 00:33:31.059 --> 00:33:32.460 And that's why we're here. And it's not roses 00:33:32.460 --> 00:33:34.059 and sunshine. Well, and you've got to... We can 00:33:34.059 --> 00:33:38.480 say shit. We can say fuck. But we're... we wanna 00:33:38.480 --> 00:33:40.400 highlight this stuff, because it's important, 00:33:40.480 --> 00:33:43.039 and that's what matters, man. It is, and you 00:33:43.039 --> 00:33:44.680 know, you've got it even a little tougher in 00:33:44.680 --> 00:33:46.299 your area, but here we are in Syracuse, we got 00:33:46.299 --> 00:33:47.960 this Micron thing happening. It's the biggest 00:33:47.960 --> 00:33:49.799 thing in the history of ever. Yeah, it's the 00:33:49.799 --> 00:33:51.980 biggest thing here. But if you go online, you 00:33:51.980 --> 00:33:55.099 still got, you know, a steady contingent of, 00:33:55.119 --> 00:33:57.220 it'll never happen, and you know, these people 00:33:57.220 --> 00:33:59.759 I'm convinced are gonna stand in the factory 00:33:59.759 --> 00:34:01.859 and go, it's never gonna happen. Prove them wrong. 00:34:02.019 --> 00:34:04.019 That's what I've always, people always wanna 00:34:04.019 --> 00:34:06.609 see, you can't do this, you can't do that. It 00:34:06.609 --> 00:34:09.309 drives me even more. It's hard, I think. Same. 00:34:09.309 --> 00:34:11.869 Now I really want to get it done. Same. That's 00:34:11.869 --> 00:34:14.489 why we love highlighting it, you know? And we're 00:34:14.489 --> 00:34:16.989 talking to businesses, we're talking to comedians 00:34:16.989 --> 00:34:19.670 and entertainers and just trying to share the 00:34:19.670 --> 00:34:21.590 awesome things about the entire New York City. 00:34:21.590 --> 00:34:24.949 And if we can connect... Glad to have you. ...people 00:34:24.949 --> 00:34:27.170 together too, you know? Obviously having you 00:34:27.170 --> 00:34:28.849 on the show is great and we're promoting your 00:34:28.849 --> 00:34:31.690 restaurant. If you end up getting a cook from 00:34:31.690 --> 00:34:34.130 this or maybe someone sees this and they come 00:34:34.130 --> 00:34:36.050 to your restaurant Like even if it's one person 00:34:36.050 --> 00:34:37.989 then we did our job. Absolutely. Absolutely. 00:34:38.070 --> 00:34:40.570 I'm just so I'm so happy I mean it means more 00:34:40.570 --> 00:34:42.670 to me than most people because it's where I'm 00:34:42.670 --> 00:34:45.590 from. Yeah, and so I'm I can't say it enough. 00:34:45.590 --> 00:34:47.829 I'm rooting for you I'm proud of you and it's 00:34:47.829 --> 00:34:49.809 great to hear a story about it being built up 00:34:49.809 --> 00:34:52.590 Yeah, it really is rather than something bad. 00:34:52.590 --> 00:34:55.590 So, you know Go to Main Street in Herkimer, or 00:34:55.590 --> 00:35:00.590 else. Yeah, Robbie Cirillo, Stone Soup, American 00:35:00.590 --> 00:35:01.989 Bistro, and Beer Garden. I'll leave you with 00:35:01.989 --> 00:35:05.190 a funny story. Let's do it. Main Street in Herkimer 00:35:05.190 --> 00:35:09.050 is where I first encountered you. Oh, fuck. What 00:35:09.050 --> 00:35:14.429 was I doing? You were singing in a band on the 00:35:14.429 --> 00:35:16.369 stage at Brownies, and I was standing there going, 00:35:16.429 --> 00:35:18.150 who's this asshole with all these girls around 00:35:18.150 --> 00:35:21.699 him? He must think he's something special. You 00:35:21.699 --> 00:35:24.800 did always have quite an entourage, if I remember 00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:27.659 correctly. Doug was my first band. Actually, 00:35:27.659 --> 00:35:30.039 Technical Willie was my first band. Honestly, 00:35:30.260 --> 00:35:32.380 we've gone back and forth when we were younger 00:35:32.380 --> 00:35:34.199 sharing memories of hanging out at the coffee 00:35:34.199 --> 00:35:36.800 bar and then, like I said, later brownies and 00:35:36.800 --> 00:35:38.460 glory days, which... That building doesn't even 00:35:38.460 --> 00:35:41.420 exist anymore, which is crazy. I always loved 00:35:41.420 --> 00:35:43.199 this guy. We would only cross paths every now 00:35:43.199 --> 00:35:44.460 and then. He was familiar, and I was from Hercules. 00:35:44.480 --> 00:35:45.860 We had a lot of mutual friends, but not really. 00:35:45.860 --> 00:35:47.559 But you remember when you would walk in the coffee 00:35:47.559 --> 00:35:49.500 bar and you'd smell clove cigarettes, and you'd 00:35:49.500 --> 00:35:51.300 think, what asshole is doing... Jarums? Yeah, 00:35:51.340 --> 00:35:53.500 you'd go, what asshole's smoking it? It was this 00:35:53.500 --> 00:35:55.920 fucking guy. It wasn't exclusively me. Like, 00:35:56.079 --> 00:35:58.019 we had a whole... That's where I got the idea. 00:35:58.039 --> 00:36:00.920 You admitted it, and I was fine with it. I still 00:36:00.920 --> 00:36:02.820 love those things. I hated those things. They 00:36:02.820 --> 00:36:04.699 banned them. They banned flavored cigarettes, 00:36:04.900 --> 00:36:07.079 so they got rid of them. Now you can get them, 00:36:07.199 --> 00:36:08.559 but they're slightly different, and they call 00:36:08.559 --> 00:36:11.440 them cigars. Very slightly different, still tastes 00:36:11.440 --> 00:36:12.679 pretty much the same. You can polish it, turd. 00:36:12.900 --> 00:36:16.280 I mean, you can't... But they were yummy. They 00:36:16.280 --> 00:36:18.340 were good. I don't like cigarettes even. They 00:36:18.340 --> 00:36:20.960 would snap when you inhaled. It was like crack, 00:36:21.059 --> 00:36:23.639 snap, crackle, pop. I don't know. Anyway, enough 00:36:23.639 --> 00:36:26.199 about cigarettes. What are we doing? Robbie Cirillo 00:36:26.199 --> 00:36:28.920 again. Stone Soup American Bistro and Beer Garden 00:36:28.920 --> 00:36:30.659 on Main Street in Herkimer. Is it 118, Maine? 00:36:30.920 --> 00:36:33.900 148, North Maine. I botched that one. Don't go 00:36:33.900 --> 00:36:36.219 to 118. Only a couple blocks up. You'll find 00:36:36.219 --> 00:36:38.659 it. We can edit that. Yeah, exactly. 148 Main 00:36:38.659 --> 00:36:41.420 Street. Buddy, I love you. Thanks for coming 00:36:41.420 --> 00:36:42.780 on the show. Thanks for having me. All right, 00:36:42.880 --> 00:36:46.079 we'll be back after this, whatever this is. Yeah, 00:36:46.400 --> 00:36:48.639 we don't have breaks, but we'll, yeah. We gotta 00:36:48.639 --> 00:36:50.199 get some. We'll get some breaks.