WEBVTT 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:11.400 All right, guys, it's Matt from Good News York, 00:00:11.400 --> 00:00:13.779 and I am very excited. You might have noticed 00:00:13.779 --> 00:00:17.600 this is not our place. This is a brand new place, 00:00:17.660 --> 00:00:19.519 a place you're very excited about. If you haven't 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:21.739 figured out the logos or whatever, we are at 00:00:21.739 --> 00:00:25.870 the brand new Taco Bell Cantina. It's not even 00:00:25.870 --> 00:00:29.190 open yet. This is like a super exclusive. I really 00:00:29.190 --> 00:00:32.049 got to thank these guys. And before this special 00:00:32.049 --> 00:00:35.170 event, our man Mike was out today. So we brought 00:00:35.170 --> 00:00:39.990 in a ringer here, Mr. Syracuse. Alec is back 00:00:39.990 --> 00:00:43.109 with us to join us and learn all about this. 00:00:43.549 --> 00:00:47.189 But let's dive into what's really happening here. 00:00:47.530 --> 00:00:48.789 If you wouldn't mind, go ahead and introduce 00:00:48.789 --> 00:00:50.630 yourself and tell us where we're at. Great, thank 00:00:50.630 --> 00:00:53.299 you. So we're at the Malleus Cantina. My name 00:00:53.299 --> 00:00:56.060 is Jessica. I am working in the marketing department 00:00:56.060 --> 00:00:59.380 for Hospitality Syracuse, and Hospitality Syracuse 00:00:59.380 --> 00:01:02.539 is the local franchise organization that owns 00:01:02.539 --> 00:01:04.680 and operates the Taco Bells pretty much in all 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:06.700 of upstate New York. We're based right in Liverpool. 00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:08.739 The ownership team and the owners live right 00:01:08.739 --> 00:01:11.599 in the local area. I think a lot of people don't 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:13.900 realize how local we are. Even though we run 00:01:13.900 --> 00:01:16.319 to talk about brand, we're all based right here 00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:18.819 in Syracuse. That's something I was going to 00:01:18.819 --> 00:01:20.359 mention. I'm so glad you brought that up because 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:22.480 we all see these. This is obviously a big national 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:24.579 company, but the reality is it's really just 00:01:24.579 --> 00:01:26.959 local people who get to sell this national product. 00:01:27.500 --> 00:01:30.500 Correct. Yep. Like I said, we work for Hospitality 00:01:30.500 --> 00:01:35.159 Syracuse, and the brand is our governing factor, 00:01:35.340 --> 00:01:38.379 but we're all employees of Hospitality Syracuse. 00:01:38.420 --> 00:01:40.900 That's great. How many restaurants, how many 00:01:40.900 --> 00:01:42.019 locations do you have altogether in your group? 00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:45.540 This one opens, this will be our 113th location. 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:49.420 Wow. Yeah. Wow. You must span a very wide area 00:01:49.420 --> 00:01:51.459 in New York here? Yeah, we go all the way from 00:01:51.459 --> 00:01:54.200 Rochester to Albany, up to Watertown, all the 00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:56.900 way up to Messina, down to Ithaca, Almyra, Owego. 00:01:57.260 --> 00:01:59.439 And then we do have about 40 stores in western 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:01.879 Tennessee, which is another branch of our company. 00:02:02.200 --> 00:02:05.060 That's incredible. That's incredible. Now, we 00:02:05.060 --> 00:02:08.509 are here at the Taco Bell Cantina. Which that's 00:02:08.509 --> 00:02:11.090 not a thing I've seen anywhere else, right? Correct. 00:02:12.069 --> 00:02:14.610 So, yep, this is the Manlius Cantina, and Cantina 00:02:14.610 --> 00:02:18.490 is kind of is an elevated brand for Taco Bell. 00:02:19.270 --> 00:02:21.710 The first Cantina opened several years ago out 00:02:21.710 --> 00:02:24.629 in California, where Taco Bell is headquartered. 00:02:24.669 --> 00:02:27.270 And it's to do a full different experience when 00:02:27.270 --> 00:02:30.159 you go to a Taco Bell. Yes, we have all your 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:32.599 favorite talk about food, but we also have lots 00:02:32.599 --> 00:02:34.740 of events. We're going to have music, we're going 00:02:34.740 --> 00:02:39.199 to have bingo, music bingo, trivia nights, some 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:43.539 great holiday parties, and we have... pretty 00:02:43.539 --> 00:02:46.659 much a full bar, so you can enjoy all your favorite 00:02:46.659 --> 00:02:50.840 Taco Bell food and come out at an event and have 00:02:50.840 --> 00:02:53.159 an adult drink with it as well. Usually you go 00:02:53.159 --> 00:02:56.240 to the bar and then you gotta find the open Taco 00:02:56.240 --> 00:03:00.000 Bell afterwards, you know. I think you've really... 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:01.819 We've married the two. Yeah, you really save 00:03:01.819 --> 00:03:04.500 people a lot of time and effort here. This is 00:03:04.500 --> 00:03:06.520 so neat and so obviously, like you said, this 00:03:06.520 --> 00:03:10.259 is a very rare concept so far. Do you think that 00:03:10.259 --> 00:03:12.199 it's something that we'll see a lot more of? 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:14.759 I hope so. I mean, definitely I hope so. Like 00:03:14.759 --> 00:03:16.800 I said, this is a first for our company, so this 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:19.419 is a really big undertaking for our company. 00:03:20.219 --> 00:03:22.680 We're hoping once we get this one open and going 00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:24.280 that, you know, we'll see what the future brings. 00:03:24.500 --> 00:03:27.379 Yeah, that's really neat. It seems like there's 00:03:27.379 --> 00:03:31.340 a lot of experiences that people are looking 00:03:31.340 --> 00:03:33.060 for, right? And we've always had the traditional 00:03:33.060 --> 00:03:35.259 restaurants and the food and the brand we love. 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:39.620 But... There's more to it, right? We gotta get 00:03:39.620 --> 00:03:41.080 out of our house. We were talking a little bit 00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:43.759 beforehand on how, you know, after COVID, it 00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:45.860 seemed like people got a little comfortable with 00:03:45.860 --> 00:03:48.360 a lot of takeout and not necessarily going to 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:50.680 the restaurants and things, and you're giving 00:03:50.680 --> 00:03:52.780 them a reason. beyond the food to come here. 00:03:52.819 --> 00:03:54.639 We hope so. Yeah, we hope so. Like I said, we're 00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:56.919 going to have some really amazing parties here. 00:03:57.060 --> 00:03:59.900 We're going to have Thanksgiving Eve or pre Thanksgiving 00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:01.379 Eve, the night before Thanksgiving. You know, 00:04:01.379 --> 00:04:02.879 it's a big night for everybody to go out. We're 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:05.400 going to have a great party here. We're going 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:09.360 to have some live entertainment. Some local radio 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:11.340 DJs are going to be here. All that will be to 00:04:11.340 --> 00:04:13.659 be announced. Wow. We're going to have a jewelry 00:04:13.659 --> 00:04:15.740 making girl or a girl who does like the permanent 00:04:15.740 --> 00:04:19.620 jewelry is going to be here. A great party to 00:04:19.620 --> 00:04:21.990 come. And I wanted to mention, too, about this 00:04:21.990 --> 00:04:24.350 building that we're in. It's pretty unique. So 00:04:24.350 --> 00:04:27.209 as you probably know, this was an old manliest 00:04:27.209 --> 00:04:31.889 fire department. It was opened in 1968 and actually 00:04:31.889 --> 00:04:35.910 ran as a fire department in 2017. And they closed 00:04:35.910 --> 00:04:38.910 in 2017 and built their new location. And the 00:04:38.910 --> 00:04:42.500 building has been empty since then. And so we 00:04:42.500 --> 00:04:43.899 came to Manly and we said, you know, what are 00:04:43.899 --> 00:04:45.040 you doing with that building? And they're like, 00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:46.819 well, it's kind of just empty. And so we were 00:04:46.819 --> 00:04:49.980 able to acquire the building, keep all the original, 00:04:49.980 --> 00:04:53.800 you know, the exposed brick and stuff. And these, 00:04:53.800 --> 00:04:55.339 you know, these big windows, which are a nod 00:04:55.339 --> 00:04:58.199 to the fire department. And really keep that 00:04:58.199 --> 00:05:00.779 feeling of reusing the building. It's a huge 00:05:00.779 --> 00:05:04.480 footprint for us too. Yeah, I love you can see 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:06.500 that and those were obviously the doors where 00:05:06.500 --> 00:05:08.100 the trucks would be, right? Yep, those are the 00:05:08.100 --> 00:05:10.439 old bay doors. It's fair to say we're sitting 00:05:10.439 --> 00:05:13.240 where the fire trucks would sit. Yes. Where they 00:05:13.240 --> 00:05:16.139 would be parked back in the day. What an incredible 00:05:16.139 --> 00:05:20.699 use. of this space, and how's it being received 00:05:20.699 --> 00:05:22.600 so far by the people of Manlius? What are they 00:05:22.600 --> 00:05:24.500 thinking about this place? Amazing. It's amazing. 00:05:24.699 --> 00:05:26.180 The support, everybody that we reached out to 00:05:26.180 --> 00:05:28.980 is so excited. You know, they're just, they can't 00:05:28.980 --> 00:05:30.720 wait for us to get open and be part of it and 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:34.319 come in and see it. I think, you know, so welcoming, 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:36.579 the community, and not just Manlius, everywhere 00:05:36.579 --> 00:05:38.439 in Syracuse, everyone we talk to, and they're 00:05:38.439 --> 00:05:39.860 like, when do you open it? What's gonna happen? 00:05:40.120 --> 00:05:42.839 Like, can't wait to come. You know, it's just, 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:44.339 it's gonna be, I think it's gonna be more of 00:05:44.339 --> 00:05:47.339 a destination experience to come out. and enjoy 00:05:47.339 --> 00:05:52.199 it. So with that question, when can we expect 00:05:52.199 --> 00:05:55.360 to get our tacos and beer? You know, that is 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:57.639 the question. That's the question I get all day, 00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:00.459 every day. Sure. I can tell you it will be before 00:06:00.459 --> 00:06:03.420 Thanksgiving. OK. Obviously, we're having our 00:06:03.420 --> 00:06:05.660 Thanksgiving party, but I can't release the date 00:06:05.660 --> 00:06:09.110 quite yet. But if you visit our website at manliestcantina 00:06:09.110 --> 00:06:11.329 .com or follow us on any of our social media 00:06:11.329 --> 00:06:14.850 channels, Manliest Cantina, as soon as we confirm 00:06:14.850 --> 00:06:17.149 the date and we're ready to go, it will be blasted 00:06:17.149 --> 00:06:20.089 all through there and everybody will know. And 00:06:20.089 --> 00:06:22.250 I'm just guessing here, but anytime you have 00:06:22.250 --> 00:06:24.509 a project like this, usually there's some official 00:06:24.509 --> 00:06:26.550 things and stuff like that that's always up in 00:06:26.550 --> 00:06:29.269 the air. And I'm going to guess maybe that's 00:06:29.269 --> 00:06:32.980 part of what's going on. I gotta talk about this 00:06:32.980 --> 00:06:36.040 cup that's in front of us. So I've seen this 00:06:36.040 --> 00:06:37.560 thing. Tell me if you've ever seen this thing. 00:06:37.899 --> 00:06:40.019 Have you ever watched the show Bar Rescue, right? 00:06:40.379 --> 00:06:42.480 John Taffer, he's shown this thing where he puts 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:45.319 it in the bar, they slam the cup down and it 00:06:45.319 --> 00:06:49.100 fills with beer. They have this here. But Jessica, 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:50.920 if you could tell us, it goes beyond that, I 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:54.439 didn't even realize. There's like a giveaway, 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:57.839 a prize at the bottom. So we have a really cool 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:01.100 feature at our bar called Bottoms Up. So we'll 00:07:01.100 --> 00:07:04.360 have five years on draft, including a local one, 00:07:04.500 --> 00:07:08.660 Prison City. And so how it works is you take 00:07:08.660 --> 00:07:10.899 one of these very unique cups, you put it down 00:07:10.899 --> 00:07:13.420 on this, like, magnet, and it pushes the magnet 00:07:13.420 --> 00:07:15.600 up and fills it from the bottom up. And then 00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:17.620 when you're done, you get to keep the magnet 00:07:17.620 --> 00:07:19.879 and they're collectible. And there's a whole 00:07:19.879 --> 00:07:22.040 bunch of different designs. So it's kind of a 00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:24.060 guess of which one you're going to get. So hopefully, 00:07:24.139 --> 00:07:25.439 you know, people come out like, oh, I didn't 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:27.100 get the one I want. Let me order another beer. 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:30.939 That's it. But it's really fun. It's a unique 00:07:30.939 --> 00:07:33.160 way to do it. And it's fun to watch them kind 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:35.600 of fill from the bottom. Are there magnets that 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:38.279 are going to be more rare than others? I don't 00:07:38.279 --> 00:07:40.300 know. I guess you'll have to come and see. That's 00:07:40.300 --> 00:07:42.500 a good question. That's quite an opportunity. 00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:44.540 To me it reminds me of the old, you know, the 00:07:44.540 --> 00:07:46.639 prize at the bottom of the cereal box. Except 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:49.759 here you get beer. You get beer. So that's a 00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:52.259 positive. We also have, for those who are not 00:07:52.259 --> 00:07:54.980 beer lovers, we're going to have very unique 00:07:54.980 --> 00:07:57.939 twisted freezes. So a lot of people are familiar 00:07:57.939 --> 00:08:02.600 with our... we're going to have expanded flavors. 00:08:02.839 --> 00:08:04.180 So we're going to have five different flavors 00:08:04.180 --> 00:08:06.980 of freezes. And so you can get those topped with 00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:10.160 either a shot of tequila, rum, or vodka, your 00:08:10.160 --> 00:08:12.839 choice. So it makes it boozy freezes, which are 00:08:12.839 --> 00:08:15.720 very good. And we're also going to carry a Mountain 00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:20.740 Dew. It's like a hard Mountain Dew in a can. 00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:23.250 So for those of you who want to try that. And 00:08:23.250 --> 00:08:25.589 we also have all your selsos, your Trulies, your 00:08:25.589 --> 00:08:28.129 High Noons, a bunch of beer and cans and bottles, 00:08:28.370 --> 00:08:31.949 and wine. Wow. If you wouldn't mind, just a little 00:08:31.949 --> 00:08:34.529 behind the curtain, what is it like? Your organization 00:08:34.529 --> 00:08:36.590 has always run these traditional restaurants. 00:08:37.389 --> 00:08:39.269 Alcohol is a little bit of a different world, 00:08:39.450 --> 00:08:41.909 right? What's that been like for you guys to 00:08:41.909 --> 00:08:44.990 sort of adapt to that? Well, it's a huge learning 00:08:44.990 --> 00:08:48.889 curve. We're very lucky that our team, our management 00:08:48.889 --> 00:08:52.240 team, is phenomenal. We've been doing a lot of 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:54.960 training. We're going to have some of our senior 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:57.440 management from Rochester and Albany are going 00:08:57.440 --> 00:08:59.759 to come in to support the team as well. It's 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:02.100 going to be a learning curve. I guarantee there's 00:09:02.100 --> 00:09:04.379 going to be some pains, a few opening days when 00:09:04.379 --> 00:09:06.960 we first open. We're expecting high volumes of 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:09.879 traffic. Yeah. So I think, you know, we're going 00:09:09.879 --> 00:09:12.600 to work through all that. You'll see myself and 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:15.000 other of the senior team behind the bar doing 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:17.639 our bottoms up and supporting the team here. 00:09:17.659 --> 00:09:20.080 So that's great. Well, it'll be a big joint effort 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:22.480 for the next next few weeks. Is there, you know, 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:24.960 obviously with the traditional items that comes 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:27.759 from the national organization, the recipes and 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:29.519 everything, do they provide as much guidance 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:31.580 on the canteen on the kind of the bar side or 00:09:31.580 --> 00:09:34.620 is it more kind of free to the local? It's it's 00:09:34.620 --> 00:09:38.180 they provide guidelines. Yeah. Right. here's 00:09:38.180 --> 00:09:40.659 what you can do and what you can't do, and then 00:09:40.659 --> 00:09:42.480 they kind of leave it up to us what we're going 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:45.700 to carry. We want to make sure it's popular with 00:09:45.700 --> 00:09:47.600 locals, and that's why we have the prison city. 00:09:47.779 --> 00:09:50.519 And we want to make sure that we're matching 00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:53.519 local taste. So yeah, they leave that up to us. 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:56.179 That's great. So Taco Bell being such a large 00:09:56.179 --> 00:10:00.059 brand, even though you guys are local, what was 00:10:00.059 --> 00:10:02.379 the inspiration to make an experience -based 00:10:02.379 --> 00:10:04.799 location? Yeah, so this is something, so when 00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:07.399 the cantina concept rolled out a few years ago, 00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:08.840 if we talk about it, it's something that's always 00:10:08.840 --> 00:10:12.980 been kind of on our radar. And I think what happened 00:10:12.980 --> 00:10:16.620 was when we saw this location, this old firehouse, 00:10:17.019 --> 00:10:19.960 and then in Malias, which is such a great community, 00:10:20.200 --> 00:10:22.679 we were like, wait, this might be the best opportunity 00:10:22.679 --> 00:10:24.340 to, if we're going to do a cantina, let's do 00:10:24.340 --> 00:10:27.950 a cantina in... this old firehouse and really 00:10:27.950 --> 00:10:30.070 give it some personality. So I think it all kind 00:10:30.070 --> 00:10:31.909 of worked together and came together and we were 00:10:31.909 --> 00:10:34.529 like, yep, let's do it. That's awesome. Yeah, 00:10:34.549 --> 00:10:36.610 that's a great question. Al, what's your favorite 00:10:36.610 --> 00:10:41.490 Taco Bell menu item? Oh, Crunchwrap. Crunchwrap 00:10:41.490 --> 00:10:44.769 Supreme. It's a classic. Big old Baja blast or 00:10:44.769 --> 00:10:47.250 freeze, depending on the day. But, you know, 00:10:47.250 --> 00:10:49.889 I'm really excited for an experience here because 00:10:49.889 --> 00:10:52.470 even though it's, you know, national or whatever 00:10:52.470 --> 00:10:55.590 you want to call it, It's local. It is. It is. 00:10:55.750 --> 00:10:57.629 Super local. Super local. I mean, the owners 00:10:57.629 --> 00:10:59.870 literally live in Syracuse. So like, I say that 00:10:59.870 --> 00:11:01.950 over and over again. It's something I think people 00:11:01.950 --> 00:11:04.309 really struggle with because, I mean, the company 00:11:04.309 --> 00:11:06.309 started back in the 80s with one guy who bought 00:11:06.309 --> 00:11:08.870 one Taco Bell, who mortgaged his house, and his 00:11:08.870 --> 00:11:11.309 parents mortgaged their house. You know, to get 00:11:11.309 --> 00:11:13.429 into it, and it was like... And then he got a 00:11:13.429 --> 00:11:15.350 second one, and then a third one, and now we're 00:11:15.350 --> 00:11:18.690 at 113. And that's like the American Dreaming, 00:11:18.730 --> 00:11:21.809 right? And the owner of the company now, Matt, 00:11:21.850 --> 00:11:23.669 he lives in Bowlandsville. He started when he 00:11:23.669 --> 00:11:25.929 was a 16 -year -old team member at a store at 00:11:25.929 --> 00:11:29.509 Albany, and just continued to work his way up, 00:11:29.610 --> 00:11:32.049 and was offered a partnership in the company 00:11:32.049 --> 00:11:34.889 10 years ago, and how he's a partner in this 00:11:34.889 --> 00:11:38.610 amazing company. And it's really cool, and I 00:11:38.610 --> 00:11:40.649 might be biased, because I've been around in 00:11:40.649 --> 00:11:43.409 hospitality over 20 years. But this company is 00:11:43.409 --> 00:11:46.649 so cool, so unique. A lot of our senior management 00:11:46.649 --> 00:11:48.710 teams started like that, started as team members 00:11:48.710 --> 00:11:51.269 and just continue to grow and grow. And, you 00:11:51.269 --> 00:11:53.929 know, it makes a difference. There's, you know, 00:11:53.929 --> 00:11:56.789 I remember when I was a kid working one of my 00:11:56.789 --> 00:11:58.710 first jobs as a teenager, working at a fast food 00:11:58.710 --> 00:12:00.409 place. And we used to joke about that going, 00:12:00.649 --> 00:12:02.970 you know, as a CEO, he's he's never learned how 00:12:02.970 --> 00:12:05.049 to make this. You know, do they know how to do 00:12:05.049 --> 00:12:07.590 that? And clearly they do. That's that's huge. 00:12:07.669 --> 00:12:09.769 And he'll jump on the line and he'll he'll be 00:12:09.769 --> 00:12:11.210 here opening day. You'll see him. He'll look 00:12:11.210 --> 00:12:14.590 very stressed. and might be sweaty a little bit, 00:12:14.909 --> 00:12:18.350 but he'll be running around. That's a real in 00:12:18.350 --> 00:12:22.009 it owner, and I love to hear that. To speak to 00:12:22.009 --> 00:12:24.529 some of the experiences and things, if folks 00:12:24.529 --> 00:12:26.389 don't necessarily realize, we're actually sort 00:12:26.389 --> 00:12:28.549 of sitting on a stage right now. Yes. And the 00:12:28.549 --> 00:12:29.730 idea there is you're going to have all kinds 00:12:29.730 --> 00:12:31.210 of live musical acts and all kinds of things, 00:12:31.269 --> 00:12:32.450 right? All kinds of live music. So our events 00:12:32.450 --> 00:12:34.850 calendar just went live this morning on naliascantina 00:12:34.850 --> 00:12:39.789 .com. We have some amazing people booked. Kaylee 00:12:39.789 --> 00:12:42.720 Hale, and I knew I was going to forget it as 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:46.039 soon as you asked me all the names. Mark Neeney, 00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:50.259 I think you pronounce it. Chris Wheel, he does 00:12:50.259 --> 00:12:53.860 magic. Oh yeah. Like I said, Wright Mights Syracuse 00:12:53.860 --> 00:12:56.200 is his events book. Awesome. We have trivia. 00:12:56.940 --> 00:12:59.179 We just won the Trivia Guide today. The first 00:12:59.179 --> 00:13:01.399 one will be on December 8th. It was just on Monday. 00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:05.019 And then we have Music Bingo. Wow. Another gentleman. 00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:07.159 His name is Bobby Pace. He'll be out doing Music 00:13:07.159 --> 00:13:10.500 Bingo on Thursday nights. Wow. Friday and Saturdays 00:13:10.500 --> 00:13:13.480 we'll have... live music. Yeah, so definitely 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:15.899 check out the events calendar. And that's awesome. 00:13:16.539 --> 00:13:19.580 And it will be updating it constantly. That's 00:13:19.580 --> 00:13:21.879 awesome. That's awesome. You got some outdoor 00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:25.019 space. You've got some Big big area where you'll 00:13:25.019 --> 00:13:27.059 be able to have these events just about how many 00:13:27.059 --> 00:13:29.240 folks will this hold all together? Yeah, we can 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:33.120 see between 80 and 90 Wow and then you know doesn't 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:35.919 include this standing room, too So when it's 00:13:35.919 --> 00:13:37.720 full it's gonna be really full and that doesn't 00:13:37.720 --> 00:13:39.600 include the patio either and speaking of the 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:41.440 patio You mentioned obviously we're opening in 00:13:41.440 --> 00:13:45.460 Syracuse in November But in the summer, we'll 00:13:45.460 --> 00:13:48.340 have cornhole and yard games and stuff outside, 00:13:48.460 --> 00:13:50.299 so that'll be something to look forward to in 00:13:50.299 --> 00:13:52.299 the warmer months. That's phenomenal. So I don't 00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:54.740 know if we touched on this, but is there, and 00:13:54.740 --> 00:13:56.419 you might not be able to release this yet, but 00:13:56.419 --> 00:13:58.059 is there going to be different menu items that 00:13:58.059 --> 00:14:01.120 are a little bit higher -end, cantina version 00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:03.159 compared to the regular Taco Bell? That's a great 00:14:03.159 --> 00:14:06.080 question. No, all the menu, the actual Taco Bell 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:07.960 menu is going to be exactly as it is at every 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:08.899 other one, so you're going to be able to come 00:14:08.899 --> 00:14:11.399 in and order whatever your normal favorite menu 00:14:11.399 --> 00:14:14.759 items are. Cool. Gotcha. Yeah. And I also wanted 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:16.460 to point out, too, is that we're still hiring. 00:14:17.340 --> 00:14:21.419 If you want a job, we hire at 16. All the way 00:14:21.419 --> 00:14:23.120 up, we're looking for all shifts here in the 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:24.960 Manlius Cantina, and actually all of our Taco 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:27.139 Bells, but especially here to get us up and running. 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:30.259 We have amazing benefits. We have an amazing 00:14:30.259 --> 00:14:32.480 scholarship program called the Litwa Scholarship 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:35.159 Program. Last year with our franchise. organization 00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:38.240 alone. We had 19 employees win it. It's a national 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:40.320 scholarship for employees, but we had 19 of our 00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:43.320 own. I think it was like over $230 ,000 they 00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:46.500 won. You can win between $5 ,000 and $25 ,000 00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:50.659 a year for four years. We had employees who just 00:14:50.659 --> 00:14:53.259 graduated after winning it for four years. She 00:14:53.259 --> 00:14:56.389 won $10 ,000 a year. and graduated college with 00:14:56.389 --> 00:14:58.429 no debt because of that. And we have, I mean, 00:14:58.429 --> 00:15:01.190 it's really incredible. And the scholarship itself 00:15:01.190 --> 00:15:03.690 is based on what your passion is. It's not based 00:15:03.690 --> 00:15:07.289 on financial need or sports or GPAs. It's based 00:15:07.289 --> 00:15:09.070 on, you know, you have to answer three questions 00:15:09.070 --> 00:15:10.570 and it's like, okay, what are your passions? 00:15:10.629 --> 00:15:13.990 And then that's how they choose it. And it's 00:15:13.990 --> 00:15:16.169 really cool. That's awesome. That's incredible. 00:15:16.590 --> 00:15:18.789 Yeah. And one other thing, if you don't mind 00:15:18.789 --> 00:15:20.649 me mentioning. No, please. Our charity record 00:15:20.649 --> 00:15:24.139 is the Boys and Girls Club. So... When you go 00:15:24.139 --> 00:15:26.000 through the drive -thru and they ask you to round 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:27.820 up, that's where the money is going. And that 00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:29.860 all goes back to the Syracuse Area Boys and Girls 00:15:29.860 --> 00:15:32.659 Club. Oh, that's great. This past year, we were 00:15:32.659 --> 00:15:35.100 donating over $90 ,000 to the Boys and Girls 00:15:35.100 --> 00:15:39.059 Club. We were the largest donator sponsor this 00:15:39.059 --> 00:15:42.639 past year. And is that all from the rounding 00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:45.039 up? Yeah, that's all for rounding up. So that's 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:47.419 all the change that you don't even want back. 00:15:48.139 --> 00:15:48.779 Right. Especially now you can get pennies, right? 00:15:48.779 --> 00:15:51.179 I don't want these coins. Come on, you throw 00:15:51.179 --> 00:15:53.139 them in the car, they bounce around. They can 00:15:53.139 --> 00:15:54.740 go to the Boys and Girls Club. Yeah, and it all 00:15:54.740 --> 00:15:57.360 stays local. That's incredible. And that's just 00:15:57.360 --> 00:15:59.820 in Syracuse. Out of all of our different markets, 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:04.399 it was over $700 ,000. Oh, wow. Yeah. Wow. So 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:06.879 a quick question about the drive -thru. How are 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:09.179 you guys gonna handle alcoholic beverages with 00:16:09.179 --> 00:16:11.299 the drive -thru? That's a great question. You 00:16:11.299 --> 00:16:13.480 cannot order an alcoholic beverage in the drive 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:16.639 -thru. Just like any other bar, any alcoholic 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:18.659 beverage you order has to be consumed here in 00:16:18.659 --> 00:16:21.940 the restaurant. So you can't take it to go or 00:16:21.940 --> 00:16:24.700 through the drive -thru. You can go down south 00:16:24.700 --> 00:16:27.120 and they have the drive -thru. Those are cool, 00:16:27.159 --> 00:16:30.320 right? They get away with that by handing you 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:33.080 the drink and the straw separately. And that's 00:16:33.080 --> 00:16:34.899 their loopholes. They don't put the straw in 00:16:34.899 --> 00:16:36.419 the cup. So they're not giving it to you to drink. 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:39.080 It's to take home, of course. Right. Anyway, 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:41.580 but that is a great question. Yeah, no, because 00:16:41.580 --> 00:16:43.159 I feel like there's probably going to be a, you 00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:44.940 know, there might be a few people, hey, I just 00:16:44.940 --> 00:16:46.419 came for a drink through the drive -through and 00:16:46.419 --> 00:16:48.259 then you got to send them home because they don't 00:16:48.259 --> 00:16:49.879 know. Yeah, I'm sure people are going to ask. 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:51.659 But I think most people understand that, you 00:16:51.659 --> 00:16:53.299 know, that's New York City law. It's not our 00:16:53.299 --> 00:16:56.980 fault. Yeah, yeah. So we come on in and sit down 00:16:56.980 --> 00:16:59.340 and have a drink and be safe and make sure you 00:16:59.340 --> 00:17:03.110 get that Uber home. I think you mentioned earlier, 00:17:03.750 --> 00:17:06.269 you'll likely be available on some of the delivery 00:17:06.269 --> 00:17:08.910 things as well for people in the area too? Yep. 00:17:09.210 --> 00:17:11.509 So DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats will all be our 00:17:11.509 --> 00:17:13.190 partners. So anybody who wants to order from 00:17:13.190 --> 00:17:15.390 delivery can definitely do that through their 00:17:15.390 --> 00:17:17.130 apps. But I'm going to give you a little insider 00:17:17.130 --> 00:17:19.589 tip. Okay. If you download the Talkabout app, 00:17:19.670 --> 00:17:23.430 you can order through the Talkabout app for delivery 00:17:23.430 --> 00:17:26.569 and you won't get charged. You up the charges 00:17:26.569 --> 00:17:28.450 that the delivery partners charge on the menu 00:17:28.450 --> 00:17:31.119 items. Gotcha. but it's still delivered by DoorDash. 00:17:31.339 --> 00:17:33.539 I see. So a little tip there. That is a big tip. 00:17:33.539 --> 00:17:35.740 Make sure you download the Taco Bell app and 00:17:35.740 --> 00:17:37.460 order through the app, and you get more discounts. 00:17:38.759 --> 00:17:41.259 This is not a planned plug, but I have done that 00:17:41.259 --> 00:17:43.119 myself. And I will tell you, there's also some 00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:45.220 coupons and deals you'll find in that that you 00:17:45.220 --> 00:17:49.660 don't find in the regular app. Very cool. Don't 00:17:49.660 --> 00:17:53.359 overpay for your tacos. Yeah. Use the app. And 00:17:53.359 --> 00:17:55.599 I think you could tag that in anything. Use the 00:17:55.599 --> 00:17:59.880 app. Yeah. Yeah. I love that. I love that. Alec, 00:18:00.259 --> 00:18:03.059 as a guy in real estate, when you see a place 00:18:03.059 --> 00:18:05.839 like this, a project like this, how do you feel 00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:08.420 that has the impact, you know, as you're selling 00:18:08.420 --> 00:18:10.200 these other properties and things in main list 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:12.240 that are for lease? Does this help you? Well, 00:18:12.299 --> 00:18:15.259 this to me is very heartwarming, the story of 00:18:15.259 --> 00:18:17.559 the building. I love it. You know, going to an 00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:21.500 old fire station, being able to see the structure 00:18:21.500 --> 00:18:24.059 of the building still here and keeping that character. 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:26.200 It's awesome. I mean, you even got the exposed 00:18:26.200 --> 00:18:29.450 brick. It's just, it's great. And it's super 00:18:29.450 --> 00:18:32.829 exciting to see a company getting so involved 00:18:32.829 --> 00:18:35.130 with the community. Because you don't see, you 00:18:35.130 --> 00:18:37.190 know, local, you only see really local businesses 00:18:37.190 --> 00:18:38.930 doing that. But then when it comes to something 00:18:38.930 --> 00:18:42.480 like a Taco Bell. It's awesome to see live music, 00:18:42.579 --> 00:18:43.960 stuff like that. It's going to be great. It's 00:18:43.960 --> 00:18:45.140 going to be great. It's going to be amazing. 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:48.519 And as the hospitality of Syracuse, if you go 00:18:48.519 --> 00:18:50.599 to our website, which is HRGFood .com, you'll 00:18:50.599 --> 00:18:52.619 see how much we really are involved in our communities. 00:18:53.019 --> 00:18:54.519 There's a little league field behind us. Last 00:18:54.519 --> 00:18:56.079 year, when we knew we were coming, we did a big 00:18:56.079 --> 00:18:58.599 sponsorship with them. We met with the town of 00:18:58.599 --> 00:19:00.920 Manlyas Recreation Department yesterday. We're 00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:03.240 going to be involved in their parade, their swan 00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:05.279 fest, all kinds of things locally. That's so 00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:08.809 great. So, yeah. where we try to get involved 00:19:08.809 --> 00:19:11.789 as much as we can. Justin, this is just the coolest 00:19:11.789 --> 00:19:14.869 place. It's so cool. In Manlius. No knock to 00:19:14.869 --> 00:19:18.069 anything else in Manlius. Right. Except the swans. 00:19:18.250 --> 00:19:20.549 The swans. The swans are so cool. They're the 00:19:20.549 --> 00:19:23.519 kings of this place. Thank you so much for showing 00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:25.339 us and taking the time. I know you're in the 00:19:25.339 --> 00:19:27.619 middle of, this is probably the busiest time 00:19:27.619 --> 00:19:29.519 other than when you open, trying to get ready 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:31.180 to open. Yeah, you can probably hear all the 00:19:31.180 --> 00:19:32.880 destruction in the background. We still got people 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:35.680 installing our FUJITSA machines. We got electricians 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:37.720 here. We got all kinds of people here working 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:39.839 today. Hey, that's how it goes. And I love that 00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:41.819 you're pulling out all the stops to get this 00:19:41.819 --> 00:19:44.240 place going. So I got one last question for you. 00:19:44.819 --> 00:19:47.759 How did the zoning work with converting this 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:51.859 from a fire station to a food? Yeah, that is 00:19:51.859 --> 00:19:54.299 a great question. So I can't, I don't really 00:19:54.299 --> 00:19:55.940 know all the details of that. It's not really 00:19:55.940 --> 00:19:58.059 my wheelhouse, but I will say that the town was 00:19:58.059 --> 00:20:01.140 fantastic to work with. From the time that we 00:20:01.140 --> 00:20:03.380 presented the concept of the Cantina into the 00:20:03.380 --> 00:20:05.740 whole zoning and permitting process, it was a 00:20:05.740 --> 00:20:07.940 breeze and they were on board and made it happen 00:20:07.940 --> 00:20:10.140 for us. That's awesome. We know that towns can 00:20:10.140 --> 00:20:14.769 be pretty tough. Some towns are. We did not encounter 00:20:14.769 --> 00:20:18.009 that here. That's wonderful. A welcoming community 00:20:18.009 --> 00:20:20.250 is a night and day difference for the success 00:20:20.250 --> 00:20:23.130 of any place. It's glad to have it. What a beautiful 00:20:23.130 --> 00:20:26.289 place. And you've made it look absolutely gorgeous. 00:20:27.130 --> 00:20:29.670 We'll cut to some shots from the outside so folks 00:20:29.670 --> 00:20:31.990 can see if they have it already. And also, you're 00:20:31.990 --> 00:20:33.849 not going to be able to miss it. You are. Just 00:20:33.849 --> 00:20:36.109 a hair off the main street. You can see it from 00:20:36.109 --> 00:20:37.670 the main street. I don't think anybody's gonna 00:20:37.670 --> 00:20:39.789 have any trouble finding yet. Yep. Ample parking. 00:20:40.109 --> 00:20:42.089 It's just doing everything right. You know what? 00:20:42.130 --> 00:20:43.609 I did want to mention something really quick. 00:20:43.609 --> 00:20:47.690 Sure. So the Cantina concept, while not new to 00:20:47.690 --> 00:20:51.329 the brand, new to us, we are the very first Cantina 00:20:51.329 --> 00:20:55.150 in the U .S. that has a drive -thru. What? Or 00:20:55.150 --> 00:20:59.200 second, sorry, second one. So it's just a new 00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:00.440 concept in general. They have a drive -through. 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:02.319 A lot of the cantinas are like in beach communities 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:04.339 or college communities where it's more of a walking 00:21:04.339 --> 00:21:07.480 thing. So for us to have a drive -through is 00:21:07.480 --> 00:21:10.200 super cool for the cantina. I love it. I love 00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:13.619 it. Jessica, thank you so much. Thank you so 00:21:13.619 --> 00:21:15.220 much for joining us as well, buddy. It's great 00:21:15.220 --> 00:21:18.480 to have you in. Absolutely. And show this awesome 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:21.859 place off. We're going to have, if you're staying 00:21:21.859 --> 00:21:24.640 tuned, we've got a bunch of different clips of 00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:27.480 this place. You watch this interview when you 00:21:27.480 --> 00:21:29.940 like it. Stay tuned to our other socials. Follow 00:21:29.940 --> 00:21:33.079 Alec on all of his as well. He'll have some different 00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:36.039 ones from all different angles. And this is just 00:21:36.039 --> 00:21:38.240 awesome. And we will be back when the events 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:40.480 happen as well. Yes, we will definitely come 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:44.539 for opening day. I got to get my magnet and my... 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:48.960 burrito, and everything all in one spot. I love 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:50.819 this. This is so cool. I just want to play with 00:21:50.819 --> 00:21:51.940 this all day long. Well, you can take that home 00:21:51.940 --> 00:21:53.339 with you. I will. Now that you touched it. See, 00:21:53.660 --> 00:21:55.740 here's the problem. I feel like I'm going to 00:21:55.740 --> 00:21:57.259 get one of these drinks, and I'm going to start 00:21:57.259 --> 00:21:58.799 playing with it while I got the beer in the cup. 00:21:58.819 --> 00:21:59.640 Well, it's going to be funny. I'm going to show 00:21:59.640 --> 00:22:01.759 you something. My coworker here, Danielle, went 00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:03.700 to get something. So Bottoms Up obviously is 00:22:03.700 --> 00:22:05.380 an astronaut. They do it all over. So they gave 00:22:05.380 --> 00:22:07.220 us these really cool little signs to put out, 00:22:07.259 --> 00:22:09.079 and I'm going to show you this sign. Because 00:22:09.079 --> 00:22:10.460 you know people are going to do it, especially 00:22:10.460 --> 00:22:13.819 after they've had a couple. But here's a science 00:22:13.819 --> 00:22:16.279 that we get to put out. Oh, dear. It says, if 00:22:16.279 --> 00:22:19.480 you poke, you'll get soaked. OK? So don't poke 00:22:19.480 --> 00:22:22.039 the magnet on the bottom unless you want your 00:22:22.039 --> 00:22:23.980 beer all over your leg. Yeah. So we'll have those 00:22:23.980 --> 00:22:26.359 signs. But I'm still sure it will happen. I mean, 00:22:26.519 --> 00:22:29.339 somebody will only do that once. Yeah. Right? 00:22:29.619 --> 00:22:35.380 Maybe. This is great. The manliest Cantina, Taco 00:22:35.380 --> 00:22:40.519 Bell, Alec, Jessica, I'm Matt. Danny, intern 00:22:40.519 --> 00:22:42.440 Truman's back there having the absolute time 00:22:42.440 --> 00:22:46.359 of his life. Thanks, guys. Thank you. Thank you.