Latest / Forking Around with Flavor South Florida / Briana Beaty: The Woman Who Started It All - The Origin Story of Flavor Palm Beach
Transcript
- 0:02Thank you. Welcome to Forking Around with Flavor
- 0:06South Florida. I'm Kerri Paizzi, CEO of Flavor
- 0:09South Florida. We are sitting down with entrepreneurs,
- 0:12business owners, and influential community partners
- 0:14to talk growth, trials, tribulations, and more.
- 0:17These conversations lead into Flavor South Florida,
- 0:20the region's largest restaurant month, happening
- 0:22every September from the 1st through the 30th.
- 0:24If you're in hospitality or thinking about building
- 0:27something meaningful in this industry, you're
- 0:29in the right place. Pull up a chair and let's
- 0:31get into it. This episode is sponsored by Altima
- 0:38Caviar. Visit them at altimacaviar .com. Today,
- 0:44I am so excited to introduce Briana Beatty.
- 0:48Briana is the one who founded Flavor. So Flavor
- 0:53Palm Beach was the original name of the program
- 0:55back in 2007 for the OGs of Palm Beach County.
- 0:59If you know, you know. I would love to introduce
- 1:02Briana to the podcast. Hi, Kerri. Thanks for
- 1:06having me. Thanks for coming on. And I am so
- 1:10excited when I was bringing the guest list together
- 1:12and brainstorming of who do I want to speak to?
- 1:15Who do I want to interview? You were like right
- 1:17up at the top of the list. And when launching
- 1:21this, this new piece of the program, it only
- 1:24made sense to me that the person who is brainchild
- 1:28this was be here. This is like. Fantastic, because
- 1:33I want to tell the viewers and everyone, I get
- 1:36asked all the time, like, how did you start this?
- 1:39Why did you start this? I'm like, I didn't start
- 1:41this. She did. And I can't speak for you in answering
- 1:48those questions. That's why I now need to know
- 1:50all the answers and ask you, how'd you start
- 1:54it? And why'd you start it? Okay. Well, I didn't
- 1:57want to, to be honest. had been working in Miami
- 2:00and New York and they have fabulous restaurant
- 2:02week month type promotions. As a young girl on
- 2:06a budget, that was like the best ever. I mean,
- 2:09I would plan my trips to New York based on New
- 2:12York restaurant week to be able, and I plan out
- 2:13every restaurant, you know, lunch and dinner
- 2:15where we're going to the 21 Club at least twice.
- 2:17And Miami had this great Miami Spice, which was,
- 2:20I think at the time, maybe like a month long.
- 2:22And I look forward to it every year. And when
- 2:25I moved to Palm Beach, we didn't have anything
- 2:26like that. And the restaurant scene was a little
- 2:28different. Like our nicest restaurants were like
- 2:30less chef -driven dining experiences, more corporate
- 2:34steakhouse as like the upper end. But I still
- 2:37felt like we had enough to make a special event.
- 2:40So I called all kinds of organizations and companies
- 2:44and said, this is such a great idea. You guys
- 2:45should really do this because I wanted to go
- 2:47to it. And they're like, oh, wow, thanks for
- 2:49calling. So while working full time, I was like,
- 2:54well, how hard can it be? And as you know, it
- 2:59is a little challenging. So I was calling these
- 3:01restaurants and explaining my idea during my
- 3:03lunch break. And after work and on weekends,
- 3:05I was knocking on their doors and trying to not
- 3:07bother them during food service, but be there
- 3:10in time to get their attention. I think the first
- 3:11year, I think I had 17 restaurants or something
- 3:14like that that participated and they all loved
- 3:16it. And so the next year, you know, continued
- 3:18to grow and to grow. And it's just one of those
- 3:21things that kind of needed to get traction. And
- 3:23so as we were growing, I think Palm Beach was
- 3:25also growing as a culinary destination. And just
- 3:29kind of that interest in general in food was
- 3:31sort of developing. So we got to be on the same
- 3:35playing field while that happened, which was
- 3:37really fun. And then you get to meet people who
- 3:39aren't just a corporate chef, but the actual
- 3:41chef that loves being in the restaurant. So it
- 3:44made me fall in love with the business. from
- 3:46a different angle, not from the girl who wants
- 3:48to try different restaurants and knowing what
- 3:51I'm going to spend before I go. But it was from
- 3:52really caring about the area and caring about
- 3:54the chefs and learning about it. So I came in
- 3:56from one angle, but I ended up with a different
- 3:58one. So that's how there's Flavor Palm Beach.
- 4:02So where did you move to Palm Beach from? My
- 4:05grandparents were from the Palm Beaches. I lived
- 4:07in Vero Beach. Then I went to University of Florida.
- 4:10And then I was working in Miami, which is where
- 4:13I experienced Miami Spice. And I would go back
- 4:14and forth to New York. And then when I met my
- 4:16husband, I moved to Palm Beach back home. And
- 4:19you have a marketing background, right? But anything
- 4:23would prepare you for putting on what flavor
- 4:25Palm Beach is. It's more than marketing. It's
- 4:26also like a human connection with the chefs because
- 4:30especially at that time, there was a learning
- 4:32curve toward it. They were like, what do you
- 4:33mean a dining week month? Like, what are you
- 4:35even talking about? So I don't know that marketing
- 4:37would have even helped. It was more like begging
- 4:39and pestering and trying again and again. Those
- 4:42skills were very, very helpful. You're like,
- 4:46I just want to eat food when it's slow. But you
- 4:50came up with the idea of it being in September
- 4:52also, though. So you had data to support that,
- 4:55I would assume, to choose that month. Or did
- 4:57they guide you on that month? Both. I mean, living
- 5:01in the Palm Beaches, you feel that September
- 5:03is slow. At the time, there was a restaurant
- 5:05called Three Forks, which was a steakhouse on
- 5:07PGA Boulevard. And you would go there any other
- 5:09time, and the piano's playing, and there's people
- 5:11waiting in the hallway to get in. fancy cars
- 5:14with a drive and you go in September and they're
- 5:16like, hi, welcome, pick any table you want. So
- 5:20even without the data. And I think the second
- 5:22year I started working with OpenTable, which
- 5:25was a great partner for us. I said, should we
- 5:27adjust our dates? And they said, you're in the
- 5:29right lane, stay in September. That's exactly
- 5:31where you need to be. If anything, do August
- 5:33and September because those are both slow months.
- 5:36But if you really want to be at the peak, that's
- 5:38September. I've had restaurants ask me if we
- 5:41could start in August and I keep saying no. I
- 5:43know Miami Spice is August and September, but
- 5:45I feel like September is special for us and it's
- 5:49always been special. And I'm already seeing,
- 5:51here we are in the summer months, I'm already
- 5:53seeing restaurants put out three course menus
- 5:55now. But it's funny because, so you started Flavor
- 6:00in 07, right? So next year will be the 20th anniversary.
- 6:07Big party. And so it's funny because, yeah, these
- 6:13restaurants are like, oh, they're putting out
- 6:15these menus. But I've had restaurant staff say
- 6:18to me, oh, I had a diner call me in August and
- 6:21say, hey, do you have the flavor menu? And they're
- 6:24like, well, flavor is in September, but we have
- 6:26a prefix menu. It's a very similar coming tonight.
- 6:30And the diner said, no, I'll wait till September.
- 6:32We'll see you in September. I'm like. But that's
- 6:36a true testament to the name and what you created,
- 6:41you know, because I think the public is so excited
- 6:44about flavor. If it's not a flavor restaurant
- 6:49or a flavor menu, that's exciting for the public.
- 6:53I agree. And I think someone said to me a long
- 6:56time ago, you know, I said, I really, I want
- 6:59to support these restaurants in the best way.
- 7:01And they're all asking for more. time with flavor,
- 7:05should I do it or not? I don't remember who I
- 7:07was speaking with, someone at Open Table or Zagat
- 7:10or something, that you can't prostitute the brand.
- 7:13It's got to be special. There's got to be an
- 7:16urgency to get in and to enjoy it while it's
- 7:19there. In a bigger market like Miami, there's
- 7:21more restaurants, there's more area to cover.
- 7:24But I think still in the Palm Beaches, we are
- 7:26a little more condensed. You want people to not
- 7:29think, oh, I have plenty of time to enjoy this.
- 7:31I want you to Have a sense of urgency. Get in
- 7:33there. Make your reservations and enjoy it. Otherwise,
- 7:35it's going to be gone. Yeah. And that's why I
- 7:38know you do too. But I would really work with
- 7:40restaurants and say, don't just throw together
- 7:42a three -course menu. Make it special. Make it
- 7:45representative of your menu. Show off. Because
- 7:48this is your chance to win someone back. Because
- 7:50if this is a reach for someone, if this isn't
- 7:52somewhere where they would normally eat, if this
- 7:55is a little bit outside of their comfort zone,
- 7:57price zone, you still want to be their top of
- 7:59mind when it's Susie's birthday. And they want
- 8:03a special place to go. You want to be a special
- 8:05place. So show them how special you are. Yeah.
- 8:09No, it's true. So we always start with a month.
- 8:12And occasionally I would send out an email and
- 8:13saying, the labor is officially over, but here's
- 8:16a list of restaurants that are going to be continuing
- 8:17to offer their menu for the next month or whatever.
- 8:20A lot of them, a good amount of them do. I want
- 8:22to say like 40 or 50 of them extended into October
- 8:25last year. And that's great. That means they
- 8:28enjoyed the experience. It worked for them. It's
- 8:31funny, too, because the August thing for me,
- 8:35it's like it's not I'll just say it here now.
- 8:38Like, it's just never going to happen ever. Now,
- 8:41when I acquired flavor from you, you was flavor
- 8:46Palm Beach. I did not intend on changing it to
- 8:49flavor South Florida. That was never my like
- 8:52I wasn't. set on doing that. But I had so many
- 8:56Treasure Coast restaurants that came to me and
- 8:58were like, we want this. We want this. So three
- 9:03years ago, I did Flavor that nobody remembers
- 9:07because it was such a little flop. I did Flavor
- 9:10Palm Beach for September, and then I did Flavor
- 9:13Martin County for October. That was not the right
- 9:17answer. Honestly, now we're running two separate
- 9:19programs. I just doubled. Right. I mean, two
- 9:22separate things. And I'm like, this is silly.
- 9:25Everybody just be at the same time. And it's
- 9:28doing it's really growing in the Treasure Coast,
- 9:30too. And they're really enjoying it. And that's
- 9:33been exciting to see that growth and the growth
- 9:36in the Palm Beaches and the new chefs that are
- 9:39coming in here every day. And, you know, you
- 9:41and you were saying before that you no longer
- 9:43live in the Palm Beaches and and there's even
- 9:47where you are. Things evolving and the culinary
- 9:50scene evolving. I think it's just the culinary
- 9:52scene is so hot right now. It really is. And
- 9:55it's fun to see the creativity behind it and
- 9:59the ingredients that matter. And like, I watched
- 10:02this cooking show on Netflix about how chefs
- 10:04and they share their stories about where they're
- 10:07from and why they were inspired to cook this
- 10:09way. And it makes the food taste better. I'm
- 10:11not kidding. It does. You're like, this is special.
- 10:14It makes it, makes it taste better. No, it's
- 10:18true. Okay. So you said you started with 17 restaurants.
- 10:21I did find a few little like old, really old
- 10:24flavor promos. And can you remember one of the,
- 10:28like a few of your first ones that signed on?
- 10:31This episode is sponsored by Altima Caviar. Experience
- 10:35exceptional. Visit them at altimacaviar .com.
- 10:40Cafe Chardonnay. Three Forks. Ruth Chris. Season's
- 10:4752. One more. I'm going to give you one more.
- 10:51One more. Did I already say Capital Girl? You
- 10:55did not. Capital Girl. Four of five of those
- 10:58still participate today. Nice. Three Forks is
- 11:01obviously no longer with us. RIP for Three Forks.
- 11:05But the other four, and I always say to Frank
- 11:07at Cafe Chardonnay, I'm like, you're the OG.
- 11:10I always give it to Frank. And Frank is, I think
- 11:14he's the president of the restaurant association.
- 11:19Yeah. So he's like super invested into everything
- 11:22in our restaurant world. And he's been on doing
- 11:24this for so, so obviously so long with such a
- 11:27successful concept and he'll be joining us on
- 11:31the podcast as well. But you know, it's how,
- 11:34how are those restaurants hitting those 20 years?
- 11:36You know, he's also really, I know to be a restaurant
- 11:39with that longevity and such a hard business.
- 11:41And he's so, generous. A bunch of his employees
- 11:44have been with them a really long time too, which
- 11:47speaks to how well he runs his restaurants. And
- 11:51he's so transparent and so willing to help. If
- 11:53I needed help or advice or whatever, I knew I
- 11:55could always ask him and he would instantly offer
- 11:58me whatever support he could. And I think that's
- 12:00probably why he's been around so long in addition
- 12:01to fabulous food and great service. You give
- 12:03what you get and he gives all day long. Yeah.
- 12:08And so many of these restaurant owners in this
- 12:10area, the successful ones are very much like
- 12:13that. And it's funny, I often get asked how you
- 12:16and I met. And as the story goes, let me think
- 12:20first, I believe, did we meet at Capitol Grill
- 12:24first when I was the marketing manager there?
- 12:27Or did we meet at Sandpiper's Co. first? No,
- 12:30Cap Grill. Cabell Grill. So yeah, and that's
- 12:33what I tell people. Even previous to me, so I'm
- 12:36from New York originally, we have New York City
- 12:38Restaurant Week. And before I met you or anything
- 12:42or even knew Flavor existed, when I first moved
- 12:45down here, I was so thrilled to find out there
- 12:49was a Restaurant Month program because I moved
- 12:50here in 2010. So my mom and I were flavor diners.
- 12:56We were those crazy people emailing you going,
- 12:59when are you dropping the menus? What restaurants?
- 13:01What's this? It was me, by the way, just so you
- 13:04know. We were like the crazy people planning
- 13:07out our Septembers. And then I started. It's
- 13:12fun. And I know it brings people together, too.
- 13:16It does. And we had like a whole, we still, obviously
- 13:18we still do, but we have a, we had a game plan.
- 13:20So I started as a flavor diner, then morphed
- 13:23into a flavor restaurant when I was working at
- 13:26Capitol Grill. You're right. Was Capitol Grill
- 13:28first. Then we did flavor there. And I was like,
- 13:31oh yeah, we're doing this. And they, I guess
- 13:33we're doing it anyway. And they do exceptionally
- 13:35well with it. And then I started working at that
- 13:38yacht club in Old Port Cove in North Palm, in
- 13:40which you and your family were members there.
- 13:42You were pregnant at the time with, I can't remember
- 13:44which baby. I adore your children. Like running
- 13:47wild during meetings or dining or whatever, too.
- 13:50I think Jane was little. So probably you were
- 13:53pregnant with Kate, your middle, I think. So
- 13:56then, yeah, so I became the, I was the diner
- 13:59and then I was the. restaurant participant and
- 14:02I think a lot of restaurants don't realize that's
- 14:04when I'm telling them I'm telling them from hey
- 14:06I was in your shoes with this like let's go let's
- 14:09roll so enough about all that I want to switch
- 14:13quickly to what are you doing now you started
- 14:16a really cool Facebook group a couple years ago
- 14:19and tell me about that and the evolution of that
- 14:24and what you're up to it was more than a couple
- 14:26years ago now Palm Beach Moms, actually, as we
- 14:29are chatting right now, I'm getting a new website.
- 14:31But Palm Beach Moms came from being a mom, especially
- 14:36a first -time mom. You're like, what is happening
- 14:39right now? How many years ago, though? Because
- 14:41I am really bad at time periods. Is it like 10
- 14:44or more? Actually, 14 years ago, it started as
- 14:49a Facebook group, a closed Facebook group. 14.
- 14:53Yep. And the closed Facebook group, you could
- 14:55ask questions that you may be didn't want to
- 14:58ask somewhere else or it was 4 a .m. and you
- 14:59were up nursing or feeding a baby and you were
- 15:02like, I need an answer to this question. So it
- 15:03was sort of like an emergency SOS for moms and
- 15:06it's closed. It's a safe space. And then I was
- 15:09like, you know, as soon as I saw more need and
- 15:12I love supporting people, restaurants, friends,
- 15:15other moms, whatever, and connecting people.
- 15:17So I was like, you know, as soon as this baby
- 15:20is potty trained and I have a little more space
- 15:21for myself, you know, cause I was doing flavor
- 15:23at the time, I'm going to add a website. and
- 15:26give this more meat so that moms can like, you
- 15:28know, dig in and find the local story times.
- 15:31If the zoo has a splash pad, like if you're visiting
- 15:33where to go, whatever, like kept on having babies
- 15:36though. So the website took a little longer.
- 15:38So the website is, our first website is probably
- 15:4110 years old now. And this is our maybe fourth
- 15:44or fifth iteration that's being born today. And
- 15:47so that's a place where you can go and you can
- 15:49research schools, doctors, events happening every
- 15:52day, free and other things you can join. There's
- 15:54classes, everything to help support a mom. Like
- 15:58we do the research so that you could just pop
- 15:59on there. We save you the time so you can just
- 16:01enjoy the time with your kids. So you have the
- 16:05Facebook group, you have the website, you have
- 16:07newsletter. And people can advertise and also
- 16:12they can share their events, but then could like
- 16:15other businesses advertise on your site as well?
- 16:18Oh, yeah. I love like local small mom owned businesses
- 16:21specifically. So that's something that we like
- 16:24to work with and highlight local moms. But we
- 16:26also have national partners that make sense for
- 16:28moms. So depending on what the business is and
- 16:31what their needs are, we have as long as it's
- 16:32something I would personally use or our team
- 16:34would personally use, then we do have advertising
- 16:37opportunities. Did you ever imagine this was
- 16:40going to grow from a Facebook group 14 years
- 16:42ago to what you have now? No, but honestly, the
- 16:45skills that I learned at doing Flavor kind of
- 16:48apply to this, you know, maintaining and building
- 16:50a website, the advertising relationships, just
- 16:53the interpersonal interactions, it all skills
- 16:57that I had. And then being a mom was sort of
- 16:59a lane that I was in. So I was like, okay, well,
- 17:01and I get the nicest letters. probably once a
- 17:06month now, someone will send me an email saying,
- 17:08hey, I was in a really dark spot with postpartum
- 17:10and I reached out and found some great support
- 17:12through your site. And I just want to let you
- 17:14know, because they had reached out to me before,
- 17:16I'm in a much better spot now. Or my family and
- 17:18I came down from New York and we had 10 days,
- 17:21had no idea what to do. Everything we found,
- 17:22we found on your site. I'm like, I love that.
- 17:24I was like a little part of your magic family
- 17:26vacation. I'll take it. That's so fun. That is
- 17:29so heartwarming, though, and nice to know that
- 17:33you're having an impact in their life without
- 17:35even knowing you're doing it. Yeah, it's really
- 17:39wholesome and good. And the same thing with flavor.
- 17:41One of my favorite stories is, you know, a month
- 17:44after flavor, flavor was done. And, you know,
- 17:45like you have a hangover after putting on flavor.
- 17:47You were like, oh, yes, I'm exhausted. Biggest
- 17:51hangover ever. I'm going nowhere. Don't talk
- 17:56to me. And I've got a handwritten. letter mailed
- 17:59to me from a waiter. He was actually from Three
- 18:01Forks. I just want to say, I'm probably going
- 18:03to cry. He just said, I just want to say thank
- 18:04you so much. He said, you know, usually September
- 18:06is a month where I just get by and we rely on
- 18:08my fiance's income. But thanks to you and thanks
- 18:12to Flavor Palm Beach and the restaurant, I was
- 18:14actually able to put a down payment on a condo
- 18:17for us. I was like, oh, I know. I still have
- 18:21the letter. It's so sweet. And I got a thank
- 18:23you note and flowers one time from Victor at
- 18:26Limoncello. And it was since past, they were
- 18:30just like, thanks for making our September and
- 18:32helping us look after our staff. And we really
- 18:34appreciate it. This is the best job ever. Are
- 18:37you kidding me? I love it. It is. It is the best
- 18:40job because I think you have to want to help
- 18:43and be a part of it and really be a part of the
- 18:46community. And I love meeting all the people
- 18:49I meet through this program and being able to
- 18:52genuinely help. And I think, you know, last year,
- 18:57The revenue for flavor brought to the restaurants
- 18:59$2 .3 million as per reported by the restaurants
- 19:03just on flavor menus in September sold. That's
- 19:06not including liquor. It's not including upsells.
- 19:09It's not including anything but that menu. Wow.
- 19:11So if you bring $2 .3 million to these restaurants
- 19:15at that time where it's so slow, that's good.
- 19:18That's a good thing. You know, it keeps people
- 19:20employed. You need to be that person who cares
- 19:22and is patient where you're making decisions
- 19:25for the good of the whole. And you do that so
- 19:28beautifully. I love getting to watch you take
- 19:30flavor to the next level. It's amazing. I'm crazy.
- 19:33I keep adding layers. Every year I'm adding layers.
- 19:38So we have a lot of really awesome things planned
- 19:40for the 20th. And I want to tell everybody right
- 19:44now, but I can't. We just can't yet. But every
- 19:47year. So this year's podcast, next year's something
- 19:49else. And we're just going to keep going with
- 19:52it and building our restaurant community. Thanks
- 19:55to... the footprints you set almost 20 years
- 19:59ago. That's crazy. But you're doing, you've taken
- 20:02it so much further and in such beautiful direction.
- 20:04I love getting to watch it and to enjoy. I just
- 20:07get to go enjoy now and have dinner with you
- 20:09sometimes, which is great. I'm a little jealous
- 20:11that you just get to enjoy it now and that's
- 20:14it. But I do love our annual. You're my first
- 20:18Flavor Meal of the last two years. Hopefully
- 20:20we can do it again this year. Every year we're
- 20:23just going to get our Flavor Meal in. And I hope
- 20:27to see you at the kickoff party. You'll have
- 20:29a big party. Have you announced a date for that
- 20:31yet? No, that's invite only. And it's a very
- 20:34secret party. So the viewers can get FOMO. But
- 20:37to that note, next year we will have limited
- 20:41tickets available to the public. So the public
- 20:45can join in the party next year. I guess at the
- 20:4820th public party, but that's a whole, it felt
- 20:50like I was doing two events, like flavor and
- 20:52the party. Cause it gets so big, but, but the
- 20:55thing about doing a party is that people really
- 20:57love being part of flavor. And I love like feeling
- 21:00their energy and seeing how much they enjoy it.
- 21:02So I bet you would love it. I love a party. I
- 21:06love a party always. Yeah. It's like, just life
- 21:09is like one big party. So we'll wrap up here,
- 21:13but tell the folks where you can, find information
- 21:18about Palm Beach Moms. You can go to thepbmoms
- 21:22.com or find us on Instagram at Palm Beach Moms.
- 21:25Well, thank you for all of your ongoing love
- 21:29and support. And we got to get you down to the
- 21:31Palm Beaches. I might have to kidnap you for
- 21:33the month of September, just in its entirety.
- 21:37Perfect. And it'll be a great time. So yeah,
- 21:42you could find Briana at thepbmoms .com. And
- 21:47you can find Flavor at flavorsouthflorida .com.
- 21:50And I thank you so much for being on today. Thanks
- 21:54for having me. Always great to see you, Kerri.
- 21:57You too. Thanks for joining me on Forking Around
- 22:00with Flavor South Florida. If you're in the industry,
- 22:03a business owner, or just want a better understanding
- 22:05of what goes into keeping restaurants alive and
- 22:07thriving, make sure you subscribe and share this
- 22:10episode with someone who should hear it. Flavor
- 22:12South Florida takes place every September from
- 22:14the first through the 30th between Palm Beach
- 22:16County and the Treasure Coast. You can find all
- 22:19the amazing dining deals and participating restaurants
- 22:21at flavorsouthflorida .com. Until next time,
- 22:24keep supporting local and keep forking around.