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Emilio Vitolo: No Reservations, No BS · Clyde Confidential

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hi guys, Welcome back to another episode of Quiet Confidential.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: I have a character of a guest with me here today,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: the wonderful Amelio Vitolo of Amelio's Restaurant downtown in New York,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: and we are live from my living room. Thank you
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: for being here.
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: Thank you for having me. Of course, quite an introduction.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: But did I do okay with that introduction?
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: You did perfect.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: I'm really excited.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: I'm glad you're excited to have me on the on
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: the podcast.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I haven't seen you in a while. I think
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: at the last time I came in, I was home
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: in March, and you had some of me and my
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: buddies in. Thank you very much. They all had a
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: great time. And we were introduced initially through one of
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: my friends who also works in the industry, who's actually
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: staying here in my guest bedroom. But he fled the
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: apartment because he said, I don't know if I should
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: be there when Amelia's here. The last I'm we spoke,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: he kind of had it out with me because I
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: sent in a client that was a little rude. The
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: guy happened.
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: The guy was a little bit of a cock. You know,
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: it's just you know, what it is. Sometimes people can't
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: understand that, you know, I have what I have given
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: my age, like I'm thirty eight years old. So like
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: older men and shit like that, and older women they're like,
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: oh yeah, you know, like that's your father's place and this,
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: this and that, you know, And then when we talk
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: about to speak easy and I'm like, no, I built
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: that shit with my fucking bare hands, like I own it,
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: Like I'm the actual owner, you know what I'm saying,
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: Like what the fuck is the problem? Anyway, long story short,
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: So our mutual friend hits me up and he's like,
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: oh shit, you know, I got this guy. He's so
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: and so and he did this movie and did that movie.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: I'm like, bro, I don't give a fuck. If you're
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: vouching for him, you say he's a good dude, and
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: you want me to take care of him. I will
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: gladly do that because I do do that with a
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: lot of my a lot of my friends, you know.
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: So I don't give a shit.
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: So we come in and you know, I always keep
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: it tight in the back room, so I like knowing
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: who the fuck is in my place. So he walks
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: into the back because my guy had told me that
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: he showed up. I don't know what the fuck.
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: This guy looks like.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: So I'm questioning. I'm like, yo, who sent you back
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: here to saying goes? Oh all Millio? Millio sent me
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: back here? I'm like, which one he goes? The owner?
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: He texted me, I'm like, my father doesn't have a
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: fucking cell phone, So you're you're not talking about the
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: right guy.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: Your dad doesn't have a cell phone?
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: No, never, what do you mean? He refuses to get
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: a cell phone or a phone, never had a pager.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: He basically old school guy. He's just like, yo, if
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: you want to come find me, this is where I'm
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: going to fucking be, I'm going to be there and
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: make sure you're fucking there. That's it.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: Does that make you nervous? So when he's traveling or
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: when he travel.
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: He doesn't fucking travel.
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: The guy does not leave a two block to three
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: block radius. I promise you that unless he's going to
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: eat at other restaurants and shit like that, which he claims.
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: He he's always watching the business and da da da
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: da da. And then I get a phone call from
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: one of my buddies that you know, has a restaurant uptown.
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: He's like, bro, your father's here, he's sitting down eating.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: Should I say hi to him? I'm like, don't even
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: don't even go fucking near him. And then I you know,
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: I fuck with my father and I'm like, yo, I
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: heard you were uptown at this restaurant.
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: He goes, the fuck will you have people spying on me?
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: You motherfucker mind your fucking business.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: No phone, that's wild.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: Good for him, hilarious, Yeah, he doesn't. He doesn't use phones.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: So anyway, going back to the story, so what's up
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: happening is he's like, oh, no, the owner Amelio. So
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: I'm like, yo, that was me texting you like you
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: speaking to me, I'm Amelio. He goes, you can't be Amelio.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: You're too fucking young. Then he had attitude the whole
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: entire time.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: That is so wild in your restaurant, in my restaurant.
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: So I gave him attitude. He goes, yeah, it's impossible
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: for you to like he's actually saying this, like it's
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: impossible for you to have you know, have what you
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: have Da da da da da. And I'm like, bro,
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: maybe maybe I saved my money and maybe I made
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: smart decisions and my fuck in life, you know what
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: I'm saying. So anyway, him and I were going at it.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: His wife is just sitting there like what the fuck
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: is going just with his wife? His wife and like
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: another couple. But you can tell they're like old money.
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: They got money. They're the type of people that because
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: they have money, they think they can act a certain
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: way and they put themselves above everybody.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: Term for that, it's called a wasp Yeah.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: Well yeah, I'm really waspy. But wrong fucking place to
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: do that. And so I kind of ship down this
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: motherfucker's throat and hold on, let me I have this.
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: Let me read what I said to our mutual fucking.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: Friend, because it's absolutely going to die.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: Anyway. He's a film guy, and so you know I
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: also act every once in a while. So I'm like, yo,
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: fucking tell them to get me a spot in one
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: of the fucking films. He's like, yeah, I'll, I'll hit
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: him up. I'll let him know it's good. Uh So
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: I have the guy check in and then this this
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: is when shit goes bad. Guys, a cocksucker mansuspectful. Don't
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: people like this is what I'm saying to our mutual buddy,
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: don't need people like that in my place, saying I'm
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: too young to own the place. Well, I bought some
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: my ass to be where I'm at. Fucked that guy
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: and he goes what he was rude, I'm shook you.
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: I'm so sorry, and I was like, douchebag man, disrespectful.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: It's all good.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: I love you though, well, because you know it wasn't.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: He had no idea that his client was going to
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: act that way, obviously, and he does feel really bad.
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: It's all good. I don't hold him accountable for it,
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: but you know, fuck that guy.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: That's insane. I don't imagine he is doing that to
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: someone's restaurant and let alone, probably the hardest restaurant to
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: get a reservation in New York. He should have been
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: super grateful. And did he sit down for the meal
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: or did he leave?
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: No, he sat down, but you know, like the energy
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: was off.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: It was. Yeah, So just to give you like a
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: breakdown and for people that don't know about, you know,
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: the restaurant and stuff like that, Like the only people
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: I take reservations for are people that I personally know,
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: and that's you know, if you want to say that
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: Hollywood crew included, like I don't. I don't take care
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: of people that I don't personally fucking know. It would
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: have to be a buddy of mine vouching for them
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: and be like, yo, you would hit it off very
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: well with this guy, like or this girl and she's
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: amazing and you know, you guys are going to become
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: really good friends. You know what I'm saying. Those are
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: only people I fucking take care.
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: Of because the Lion. So there's no reservations period, But
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: that line, I feel like it starts at three pm.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: There's people lining up.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: It depends summertime. It starts a little bit on the
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: earlier side. You know, wintertime it gets a little bit
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: tougher because now it's cold, you know what I'm saying.
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: So you're not going to get a lot of people
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: that are waiting on that line. But the people that
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: do wait on the line, it tends to be a
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: younger crowd, you know what I'm saying. A lot of deuces,
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: young kids, TikTok fucking you know, Like, I don't fuck
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: with any of those people to begin with, Like do.
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: You not let them in if you walk do care
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: about or if they're waiting out there for a couple hours,
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: and then they get to the door and you see
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: them and you're like, mmmm, not tonight. Is that something
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: that you.
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: Guys would I know, I've never turned anybody down, but
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: there's like a couple of tables in the front and
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: shit like that that I will just allow two tops
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: to sit at. I'm not going to burn a four
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: top or a five top for fucking two people that
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: their bill is going to be one hundred and ten bucks. Bro, Like,
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: it's not gonna fucking happen. Yeah, Because and then at
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: that point, I'm losing money because these guys are hanging
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: out for an hour and a half, two hours, and
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: they only racked up a fucking hundred bill. I'm like,
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: how the fuck am I got? How am I gonna
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: pay the bills with that? You know what I'm saying, Like, right,
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: rent is thirty six thousand dollars a fucking month, damn.
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: And then on top of that, you know, you got
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: the electricity, the insurance and payroll and cost of fucking
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: you know, all the liquor and alcohol and the produce,
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: and I could go down the fucking line of money
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: I need to, you know, per day. Yeah, just to
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: make sure that place functions the way it fucking does. Well.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: It seems to be working out for you, because you
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: guys have had this reputation of being probably the best
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: Italian restaurant in New York City for how many years?
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: Oh? My god? Well, the restaurant's been around since nineteen
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: fifty six. The original owner is John Ballatto. My father
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: got the place in nineteen eighty nine with a partner,
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: so Alfred Lapori, the guy who owned Ferraras. He passed away,
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: but my father and him were partners. But my father
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: was a hid patry chef at Ferraras. Wow, So they.
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: Got it in nineteen eighty nine.
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: My father bought him out in nineteen ninety six and
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: then called it Amelios Bilato. And that when I jumped
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: into the business is two thousand and eight. Okay, two
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: thousand and eight.
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: What were you doing prior and what made you want
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: to get involved in the family business.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: I'll be honest with you, I never wanted to be
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: part of the fucking business. I despised it, you know.
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: I thought it fucking sucked, you know, because I never
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: had a relationship with my father Back in the day
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: when I was a kid, because you know, his one
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: excuse is like, oh, I'm always working, I'm at the restaurant. Now.
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: I know how that feels because I do the same
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: shit to my daughter and shit like that, and I
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: try not to do it. I'm very conscious about it,
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: you know. I try to spend a little bit more
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: time like he spent no time with us period, like
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: my brothers and I.
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: But yeah, that the.
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: Uh, it became like a thing where it's just like, Okay,
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: I need somebody to take the reins on this shit.
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: Too much work for him.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and he's just like I need somebody, you know.
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: So I was just like, fuck, all right, let me
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: think about it. I thought about it for a little bit.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: I was in construction at the time and acting and modeling,
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: you know, back and forth. Prior to that, booked a
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: lot of stuff. And then all of a sudden, you
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: know how it is, It goes flat for a little bit,
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: and then you're like, oh, fuck, I made all this
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: money and you feel like a hot shot, and then
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: all of a sudden it's like you ain't shit now
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: now you know somebody else coming in, stepping in the
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: fucking place. Now, it's like Okay, how do I jump
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: back in there and get back in So then I
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: took a step back and I thought about it, and
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: then I jumped into the fucking restaurant business. And then
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: you know that next thing, you know, like here we
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: are now, and I'm like what the fuck, Like spend
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: twenty something fucking years already, and I'm like, holy shit,
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: like yeah, the time is fine. It flown by so quickly,
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: you know, it just happened like.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: That, and you guys have built an empire. It's so impressive.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: I mean, I feel like a lot of restaurants will
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: come and go in New York, but you guys have
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: been around for so long and it really is such
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: a New York staple. So what do you think. Was
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: there a turning point in the business or in the
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: earlier days that when you knew, okay, this is going
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: to be a thing now, and maybe you felt like
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: you didn't have to worry anymore, or you had an
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: idea of what the next couple of years would look
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: like in terms of success and momentum.
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: Well you know what it is. I try and take
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: the hospitality aspect of it very seriously, Like that's just
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: me in general, you know what I'm saying. So a
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: lot of restaurants like they're not really hospitable. It's almost
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: like you're paying to be part of a vibe in
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: my place. If you're in the back with me, like
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: you are part of the vibe I've been you know
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: what I'm saying. Yeah, exactly.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: You waited on our table when we get in the back,
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: and that was so cool. That was the first time
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: I met you and I thought, wow, Okay, the owner
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: of this restaurant is our guy tonight.
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah. So I like doing that because that also helps
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: out with staff. So if you ask people to do
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: certain things and da da da da dah, it's not
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: like I'm putting myself on a pedestal and like, Yo,
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: this is my place. You're gonna fucking do this and
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: listen to me and blah blah blah blah. If you
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: do the same shit that they're doing, that's like leadership
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: fucking material. That's what people want to see.
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: That's what people respect.
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: And I get a lot of people that come in
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: all the time and they're like, Bro, I feel uncomfortable
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: that you're waiting on my fucking table. I'm like, bro,
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: if I need to clean up the fucking toilet bowls.
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: I'm going to clean up the toilet bowls because this
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: is this is my fucking place. You know, like you
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: got to protect it in every way, shape and form.
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: You gotta make sure it runs the way it runs,
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying, Like.
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: Totally, you gotta be on top of it and building
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: a staff of people who you want to sort of
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: echo that same sentiment. How did you do that and
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: have been around for it.
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: I can't necessarily take credit for the staff because these
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: guys have been around since I was a fucking kid.
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: Wow.
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: So you know a lot of these guys, like I
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: was running around the restaurant is like a five six
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: year old fucking breaking shit and doing dumb shit in
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: the fucking place. And they were cooking in the kitchen
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: or they were bus boys at the time and now
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: they're fucking waiters. But you know, there's a lot of
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: loyalty within the restaurant like I have. Jose and Angelo
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: have been with my father for thirty plus years. You know,
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: they they like, we stuck by their side, We got
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: them their pay work. Now they're legal citizens. The same
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: with a lot of the waiters like I have Alfredo
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: and Shaquille and Hassan, like now they're all legal, legal guys,
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying, like help them. I wrote
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: them letters and shit like that, wo on their behalf
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: like kind of like sponsored them and made sure they
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: were legit, you know. And now they're doing very well.
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: But they never forget and I never forget, you know,
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: like what they did for my family. And my father
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: never forgets that either, and he makes it very like
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: knowing how you got to treat people, and like we're
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: all the fucking same.
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: So I've always lived.
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: By that, where.
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: It's like treat everybody the way you want to be treated.
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: You know. I'm very consistent. I don't give a fuck
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: if you're a millionaire or like a fucking guy washing dishes.
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: I treat everybody the fucking same. I never act different
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: in front of people, Like even some of the Hollywood
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: people that come in, I don't give a fuck, and sometimes,
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: you know, it becomes like a thing where they're like
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: what the fuck, like like who is this guy? This
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: guy is a lot, you know, like because I don't
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: give a shit, I cart in front of them, like
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: if they're acting stupid, I call them fucking stupid, like
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: I don't care. I really don't fucking care.
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: That's amazing. You shouldn't.
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't care because it doesn't do anything for me.
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: Like what the fuck do I give a shit? Like
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: so fair, Yeah, coming into my house, they're having my food.
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: It's like they're actually coming into my fucking house, Like, well,
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: I gotta walk on eggs shells in my own fucking house.
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: Like no.
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: I actually think that probably is is in a way
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: comforting to them because they don't I mean, at least
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: a lot of my clients, the staff that I give them.
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: One of the things that we look for is someone
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: who's not going to be overly reactive when they walk
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: into the room or change there, you know, tune or
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: just be awkward. So I'm sure that it's actually really
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: refreshing to have you being like the.
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: Fuck, Yeah, what the fuck you want? Yeah, it's fun.
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: It's fun, though, you know, has.
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: There ever been anyone though who you've been like, whoa,
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: that person's in my house?
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: Never? Really, I've never been like that. I don't believe
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: in the words celebrity. I'll be honest with you. I
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: think it's fucking I think it's stupid, I really do.
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: I've always been against that shit, like that whole fame thing.
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: You know. It's just like I think, like fame wise,
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: you know, who should be fucking praised is like a
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: mother that that is raising four kids and working all
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: the fucking time and you know, being present as a
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: mother and still cooking for them and da da da
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: da and working at the same time.
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: Like that's something that.
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: Should be fucking praised, right, you know what I'm saying,
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: Like not this fame, Like it's all fake. It is
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: so fucking fake, and it's so crazy how people eat
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: that shit up. And it's just like I don't agree
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: with it. I never have.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: What about you know, if you're so anti it and
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: then maybe you start dating someone in the spotlight or
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: your life becomes a little bit more public, how do
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: you how do you deal with it and how do
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: you separate it or how how do you separated it?
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: In the past?
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: You know what, for me, it didn't really bother me.
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: You know, it came up in discussion like on if
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: it would bother me or if it does, and I'm
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: just like, no, I'm still gonna do the same shit
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: every fucking day. You know, I'm not going to change
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: who I am as a fucking human being. For me,
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: I'm like, you know what, maybe one day they'll get
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: fucking sick and tired of fucking doing it, you know,
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: and just be like, oh, yeah, see this fucking guy
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: all the time, Like let's move on to something else,
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: you know.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: Pain in my ass?
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah exactly. It's just like, yeah, yeah, fucking fight fire
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: with fire, you know what I'm saying, Like, fuck it. Yeah, No,
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: it never never bothered me. I always always acted the same.
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, aside from doing the restaurant and the speaks,
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: you also are an actor. Yeah, can we talk about
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: that a little bit.
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean right now, I've been behind the camera,
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: you know, helping out buddies complete couple of projects, you know, uh,
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: just help finish produce Apafenia's one. Darren Barnett's like a
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: great friend of mine, and Michael D'Angelo is one of
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: the director, well he is the director. He wrote the
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: fucking thing. But this kid is like a fucking genius,
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: and you know, when he asked me to help him
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: with it, I was like, Yo, anyway I could fucking
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: help you. I'm there one hundred percent. So that one
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: got sold. That one's good. And the next one coming
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: up that we're trying to sell is It's Lake George.
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: That's Hommy Castro. I'll send you the film. I think
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: I think you're like it. You're you're really gonna enjoy.
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: It's like an old school New York story, like based
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: on true events, Like it's real neighborhood ship.
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: I love neighborhood ship. Yeah, you used to live in
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: my neighborhood. Speaking of neighborhood shit, right, did you say that?
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: When I texted you my address, you said you used
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: to live in my hood?
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: Oh? Over here, No, I went to school.
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: So I went to school our lady of Pompeii, I'm
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: Bleinker and Carmine right down. Yeah, So there used to
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: be a McDonald's on that corner. We used to go
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: there after school all the fucking time.
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: And just right on that corner where on the.
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: Other block, right by where the cage is. Yeah, yeah,
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: Oh I.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: Love walking by the basketball court.
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: I used to be there every fucking day.
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: That's all we used to do is play basketball and
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: hang out at McDonald's. And they used to have like
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: a little playroom in there, and we used to like
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: take all the ship and just hang out inside.
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: And it's amazing.
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: That sounds like, Yeah, it was cool.
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: Those were the days, very easy days.
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, a big Daddy was shot a shot over there.
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: I remember being there for that shoes.
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, isn't that Adam Sandler? Oh my god, when he's
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: when the kid pieces pants, yes.
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: Or when he peece on the buildings all the time,
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: like that was like the staple. It's just like, yo,
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: you gotta take a piss. This is fucking un zipping.
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: Just be on the building.
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: It's amazing.
• 18:55
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we used to do that as kids all the
• 18:57
  Speaker 3: fucking time.
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: Like yeah, I actually can like picture you as a
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: young kid, like after watching that movie, like going around
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: New York's being like fuck it, yeah, you know.
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: I gotta take a piss. I'll be right back. Just
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: pissed on the fucking building. That's the way it used
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: to be. I mean, now you look at it, it's like, yeah,
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: it's kind of fucked up. You know. I've had people
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: like sometimes they pee in front of the fucking bar
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: and I'm like.
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: What the Oh that's so disrespectful.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: I'm like, what the fuck are you doing? You know
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: what I'm saying, like young kids is fine, but we're
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: talking about older like grown adults and shit like that
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: not fucking cool.
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: I feel like it has gotten a little better though,
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: because my street used to be cuckoo with people. But
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: they did just do that huge drug bust in Russian
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: Square Parks. If you walk through, it's completely clear.
• 19:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, well, I mean there's been drugs rolling through there,
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: fucking yeah, you know since way before our time.
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so is that why your dad sits outside the
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: restaurant to sort of patrol and make sure that people
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: aren't pissing in area?
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: That's more of like that's like his staple now people
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: know him as a guy like he owned it now
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: because that was like an old neighborhood thing. You would
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: just hang out in front of your fucking place, like
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: that's it. The guys would hang out sometimes play cards,
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: you know, like they would just hang out in front
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: of their fucking place, Like what the fuck is the problem?
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: Every single day?
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah? Not in the winter time. It depends sometimes Sometimes
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: it depends on how many of his buddies come come through.
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: Sometimes they'll bring like so he's so against technology, but
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: one of his buddies will bring like one of those
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: JBL pills, and they'll just fucking blast disco music outside,
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: just fucking disco music like Studio fifty four, fucking music
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: in front of the fucking place.
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they're just.
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: Like older men just hanging out.
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: It's funny, best life. That is so cool.
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he gets a chill now, so you know, now,
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: now I get a little taste of what he has
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: to deal with on the day to day or what
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: he had to deal with.
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's like you're there pretty much every day, seven
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: days a week, seven days a week. Damn, how do
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: you like, how do you manage your time with the
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: restaurant and everything else you're trying to do? And now
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: the speakeasy, what's the split?
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: And so the thing is.
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: Is like I'll get to the restaurant at like three
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: o'clock in the afternoon normally, and then I don't leave
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: the speakeasy until four, but it'll be restaurants, and then
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: probably leave there around like ten o'clock, ten thirty, shoot
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: to the speak easy and then beat his speak easy
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: to like four am. And then we started, you know,
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: I started doing jazz nights, which added a fucking whole
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: load onto my shoulders. But it's like the coolest, most
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: authentic vibe, Like it's old New York and it doesn't exist.
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: I promise you it doesn't exist anywhere. You could talk
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: about any jazz club that you want that you've been
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: to that's like a speakeasy or a staple in the neighborhood.
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: I guarantee you they do not do what I do
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: at my fucking place. I have Brian Newman as one
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: of my performers over there. He's part of like Gaga's
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: crew no way, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, he's part of
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: that fucking band. But you know, very talented dude, very
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: old school, like newspaper boy cap, just super fucking sharp dresser.
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: Like this guy is super talented, and you know, his
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: vibe is like insane. But I started doing jazz Night
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: with a kid from my neighborhood, Ac Lincoln. His name
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: is alex Ac Lincoln. Yeah Lincoln, Yeah, that's his name.
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: So it's it's not like every Monday or every Thursday,
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: just specific nights.
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: Were you guys, Well, I gave Brian a residence at
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: the space. He's done right before Christmas. Cool, and then
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: we'll see if we continue it. I mean it's been hitten,
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: it's been hitting. It's it's great. The vibe is great.
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: People have a fucking amazing time. My one rule in
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: there is just like no flash photography and no phones,
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: you know. So I got like this locker box that
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: I'm having made right.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: Now to lock everyone's to.
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: Put everyone's fucking phones. I see them, man that, I'm like,
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: it drives me insane because nobody is actually present anymore.
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: And I see it every day at my restaurant. I
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: see it, you know, at other places just walking around
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: in the street, people just looking down at their phone
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: the whole entire time. You go to a fucking restaurant
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: and both parties are on their fucking phone, I'm like,
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: what the fuck is going on here?
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: Like they hate each other?
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, like nobody nobody is engaging anymore.
• 23:36
  Speaker 3: They have nothing to talk about.
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: And the newer generation they're very awkward when it comes
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: to like talking to people, Like they don't know how
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: to make proper eye contact. Like that was a big
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: thing in my Catholic school, Like when you're talking to somebody,
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: like you actually have to make eye contact with them
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: and address them, you know, like formally, like you have
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: to be on top of your shit. Eye contact. This's everything.
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: I never thought about it that way with the younger
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: kids and eye contact because of technology and TikTok and
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: Instagram and probably the amount of time that they're all
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: spending on their phones versus when we were growing up.
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: I got my first phone when I was like, I think,
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: in eighth or ninth grade, and I'm very happy about
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: that because even though I had a phone, I had
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: a flip phone, and it had I didn't even know
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: how to I could barely text. I had then I
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: had like a BlackBerry, and there was no Instagram and
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: no TikTok. And I say this all the time. Thank
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: God I wasn't a middle school girl growing up with
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: that stuff. So it's yeah, it's interesting. And then I
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: think the younger generations who had COVID and they weren't
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: getting the same college experience as maybe the rest of
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: us because they were remote or just not in person.
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: So I do feel for them. But yeah, technology, you know.
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: It's different.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: It's a little different.
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: I mean, you got to use it as a fucking tool,
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: but people let it consume them. Yeah, you know, I
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: see it with you know, my fiance all the time,
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: Like sometimes her and I were just sitting there and
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: I have to catch myself and I'm like, Yo, what
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: the fuck no phones anymore? Yeah, Like, Yo, when we're together,
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: I don't want to fucking see any phones because what
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: will ends up happening is you're just sitting next to
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: your your partner and then you both are scrolling, you know,
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: and both on the phone, and nobody's saying one fucking
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: word to each other. It's just fucking weird.
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: My friends and I do this thing sometimes at dinner
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: where we just make a pyramid of phones and then
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: we just tuck it away. Yeah, and I always have
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: such a better time. I've also gone to a wedding
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: with no phones before, and it was unbelievable. It was
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: the best wedding I've ever been to. So I'm going
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: to do that at my wedding whenever that is. But
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: I after I had that experience, I was like, why
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: don't more people do this? Because then your guests are
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: just present and enjoying each other and not taking photos.
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: There's a photographer for that. You don't need to be
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: on your phone the whole time. I think it just
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: takes away from so much.
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: Does because nobody's present anymore. That's the fucking.
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: Problems for your dad.
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: It's like, yeah, my father's very fucking present, a little
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: bit too present for a lot of people's liking. You know.
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: You just show up to the fucking restaurant and try
• 26:12
  Speaker 2: and walk in. He'll be like, Oh, where the fuck
• 26:14
  Speaker 2: you're going.
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: I feel like he's absolutely done that to me before
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: the first time I showed up, because he was sitting
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: outside he looked like important. So yeah, he was like,
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: I don't do anything. Text my son.
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he's like, oh, yeah, you say I have a reservation,
• 26:28
  Speaker 2: Go fucking text him. Yeah, I have n't come out
• 26:30
  Speaker 2: and grab Yeah, it's easier that way, you know. Yeah,
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: very very fucking But.
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: You guys do have a group of regular people who
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: eat at the restaurant.
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so, uh, you know, the family and friends room
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: in the back backroom. I give priority over neighborhood fucking people.
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: That's sweet.
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: I mean I have to do it. I mean they
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: they've been listen. You could talk about Hollywood and all
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: this shit, and you got to get a reservation for
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: this person. That person. The actual restaurant runs because of
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: neighborhood people. You know what I'm saying, those are loyal
• 27:02
  Speaker 2: customers that have been coming. They the same crew that
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: comes in on Sundays all the time, and the same
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: crew that comes on Friday, Like you see them all
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: the fucking time. Like you gotta pay respect for that.
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying.
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: I think that's wonderful and super important and absolutely what
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: you should be doing.
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, No, the younger generation that they're the ones
• 27:22
  Speaker 2: that are waiting on the line. I'm dead serious, they are.
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: And they're cheap as fucked too. They are the fucking
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: cheap man. I'm not I'm not that I'm not that old.
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: I mean ship, but fuck man, you got you got.
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: Like they're gonna male female fucking.
• 27:39
  Speaker 3: Split in checks.
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: I'm like, yo, cover the fucking bill one time.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: Figure it out. I only split split a check with
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: the guy I'm trying to friend zone, by the way,
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: So maybe maybe.
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: There's a lot of that. Take notes fellas, uh, whoever's
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: trying to marry this one.
• 27:52
  Speaker 3: You know what I'm saying.
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: If she's splitting the check with you, you got your
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: your friend zoned. Yeah.
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: I think there's a certain level of when you're dating
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: someone like the guy should always be doing it up
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: until like a certain point then you can starting your carden.
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: I mean, I mean I was just taught that was
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: like the the manly thing to do as a male,
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: you know, and dealing with a lady which you respect
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: very much.
• 28:20
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that you shouldn't you.
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: Should do that in the beginning. I think, like first
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: three dates, that the dude should pay always. But then
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: I think with modern dating now, I think that the
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: girl can cover like the drinks after or the let's
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: say I go to your restaurant and am eating dinner
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: and he covers dinner. Then if we go to the speakeasy,
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: I would cover drinks or I would maybe get the
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: uber home or something, yeah, after it had been X
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: amount of time. But like, the pursuit thing.
• 28:45
  Speaker 2: Is real, you know what I think. I think, honestly,
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: there should not be any tabs on it.
• 28:50
  Speaker 3: I think it just should be done like on a sneak.
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: If you really want to do something, you'll fucking do
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: it without gaining the record or getting the recognition.
• 29:01
  Speaker 3: Like you don't care about that.
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: It's not a points game at all.
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: No, No, for me, it's like I go to friend,
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: out to dinner with friends and shit like that. If
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: I really want to pay for the bill and really
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: want to accommodate everybody, I'll make sure the second I
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: get in there, I give them the fucking card and
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: I say, Yo, nobody pays but me make sure this
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: is on my fucking tab and I pay for the
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: fucking bill.
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you know what I'm saying.
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: And then I have friends of mine that you know,
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: they reciprocate, and I'll try and do it, and then
• 29:27
  Speaker 2: they do it already, and then those are the people
• 29:29
  Speaker 2: you want to fucking hang out.
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: It all comes out in the wash. That's what I believe. Yeah,
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: I'm all about taking care of your friends and taking
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: care of your partner. And there's I think also with dating,
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: both people wanting to pay for each other. That shows
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: mutual interests, right, Like I want to take care of
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: you, you don't take care of me. Yeah, I've got this,
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: Like that's I think it's the right thing to do.
• 29:48
  Speaker 3: But that's a great thing.
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah where else? So I just like, had this since
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: you're there seven days a week, Like when do you
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: have time to go to other restaurants? And what restaurants
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: do you go to? I feel like it I would
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: be so scared of you coming into my restaurant because
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: like the standard is so high.
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: It's not it's not that. Listen. Everyone does things differently.
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: They have their own taste. I know my restaurant isn't
• 30:11
  Speaker 2: fucking perfect in every way, shape or form.
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: You know, perfect, Yeah, I.
• 30:16
  Speaker 3: Mean, listen, we do a very good job.
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: I tried to pay attention to detail, and if a
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: fucking dish goes back, I want to know why the
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: fucking went back. So I'm the type of guy if
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: I see this a half eaten chicken palm, I'll fucking
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: take a slice out of the back of it and
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: fucking shove that shit in my mouth. Give a fuck.
• 30:33
  Speaker 2: I'll taste and I'll be like, yo, you motherfuckers, you
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: overcook this or you did that, or has no flavor,
• 30:38
  Speaker 2: it's too dry and da da da, and then we
• 30:40
  Speaker 2: address it in the kitchen. But that's just me being
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: a sick fuck, sick fuck.
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: Who has a great business.
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's just like, yeah, this is sick. Oh fucking move.
• 30:49
  Speaker 2: Some people will be like, yo, it's disgusting, like you're
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: eating somebody else's fucking food that they just ate. I'm
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: just like, no, but I'm not eating the side that
• 30:57
  Speaker 2: they ate. I'm eating the other side that they didn't.
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: Fucking But I want to know.
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: All part of the process. I'm trying to understand.
• 31:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, that's just how anal I am in regards
• 31:06
  Speaker 2: to the restaurant, you know what I'm saying. But yeah,
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: I'll when I go to other fucking places, I don't
• 31:12
  Speaker 2: have any high expectations. I'll be honest with you. I
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: go to places that my friends own, or maybe a
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: new place that's opening up that I heard, maybe I
• 31:22
  Speaker 2: met the guy once or twice, and I just want
• 31:24
  Speaker 2: to try the food just to see what else.
• 31:25
  Speaker 3: Is out there. And it's good, it's good.
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: It's like doing homework. You know. You go out, you
• 31:31
  Speaker 2: see the crowd that's there. You see if people are engaging,
• 31:36
  Speaker 2: if it's a fun crowd.
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: It's the food or.
• 31:39
  Speaker 2: Really good or is it just a vibe thing? And
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: you know, there's a lot of places that you go
• 31:44
  Speaker 2: like for a vibe, and then other places that you
• 31:47
  Speaker 2: go for strictly like the food. You know, it's like
• 31:52
  Speaker 2: for Italian food in my neighborhood. Like I'll sneak away
• 31:56
  Speaker 2: from time to time when I can.
• 31:58
  Speaker 3: Sometimes I forget to eat.
• 32:00
  Speaker 2: I'll leave it like nine thirty o'clock and do like
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: a power hour fucking dining session at uh Peasant.
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: Oh that's yes, because I used to live on Prince
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: and I So.
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: I'm born and raised on Spring between Elizabeth and Matt.
• 32:19
  Speaker 2: So that big brown ass fucking building that the backyard
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: is Elizabeth Street Garden. That's where I grew up.
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: Okay, so my old building was directly around the corner.
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: I was across from Prince Street Pizza for about a year, okay,
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: or maybe two years, I don't remember when I was younger.
• 32:33
  Speaker 2: Okay, you where Joux used to be? Yes, it used
• 32:36
  Speaker 2: to be Jacques.
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: Yes. And you know what, I never had a slice
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: of Prince Street pizza even though I lived across the street so.
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: That it used to be fucking Raised pizza.
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: What's your favorite pizza in the city.
• 32:46
  Speaker 2: Ooh, I'm gonna have to go with right now. I
• 32:48
  Speaker 2: meant industry fucking crushed.
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: Oh I haven't had it yet.
• 32:53
  Speaker 2: And I'm so happy for them, the whole fucking.
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: Crew, Like, is it the one on there's one in
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: the West Village right on.
• 33:01
  Speaker 2: I think they opened up another location. Okay, yeah, they've
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: been opening up quite.
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: That's your favorite New York slice right now, that's.
• 33:06
  Speaker 2: Like, yeah, that's like New York style pizza. And then
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: you got Neapolitans style pizza. Caste.
• 33:12
  Speaker 3: Caste is really good, Roberto.
• 33:16
  Speaker 2: He does a fried pizza as well, which is really cool.
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: I'm trying to think. I used to love Joe's for
• 33:23
  Speaker 2: American U style pizza and John's.
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: Okay, I feel like you need to put together a
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: restaurant list for this sort of thing. You know, someone's like,
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: what's what's your Listen?
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: It could be my opinion, but I'm not going to
• 33:37
  Speaker 2: give a fucking you know, like, I hate all of these.
• 33:39
  Speaker 2: This is another like little pet peeve of mine. It's
• 33:41
  Speaker 2: like when people rate fucking places whoever's rating that they
• 33:46
  Speaker 2: do not have a fucking culinary karens to rate anything
• 33:51
  Speaker 2: where they're like, oh, yeah, I gave this a fucking
• 33:53
  Speaker 2: score of blah blah blah blah blah, and we put
• 33:56
  Speaker 2: it on our top ten list. It's like, who the
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: fuck are you to put anything on the list. You
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: know what I'm saying.
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: I'm saying I would trust your opinion if I needed it.
• 34:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, but it's good, but just make it an
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: opinion thing. You know what I'm saying, don't put I
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: hate when they put fucking numbers and in grading scores, Like,
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: you know, the fucking pizza guy. What the fuck is
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: his name from Boston?
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: Oh, Dave Portnoy?
• 34:18
  Speaker 3: Yeah, no, man, Like, what the fuck?
• 34:21
  Speaker 2: He can't make pizza?
• 34:22
  Speaker 3: Can you make fucking pizza?
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: He's a pretty big following for that.
• 34:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but so like you fucking take a bite, Yeah,
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: he's been there. You take a fucking bite out of
• 34:31
  Speaker 2: a pizza, and then you're gonna you're gonna fucking give
• 34:33
  Speaker 2: him a rating on their fucking pizza and you don't
• 34:36
  Speaker 2: know how to make pizza yourself? Come up?
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: Honestly fair, I don't know.
• 34:40
  Speaker 2: That's just my argument in regards to it. He's a
• 34:42
  Speaker 2: very successful guy and I'm happy for him.
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: And that's like if you, I guess, would be very good.
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: You know, you couldn't make your own chicken palm and
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: then went around the city doing the chicken palm thing
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: because that's your signature dish, right.
• 34:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean chicken palm.
• 34:55
  Speaker 2: The Bolonaise were known for the bolonaise and the chicken palm.
• 34:59
  Speaker 2: We've got write ups for the meatballs as well. You know,
• 35:03
  Speaker 2: but listen, the best can always be better. There's always
• 35:07
  Speaker 2: going to be somewhere out there that is hungrier than you.
• 35:12
  Speaker 2: You can never think that you are the best in
• 35:15
  Speaker 2: whatever industry that you're in, because it's not. It doesn't exist.
• 35:19
  Speaker 2: Like fighting wise too, you know, you got all these
• 35:22
  Speaker 2: fucking fighters.
• 35:23
  Speaker 3: One guy is underfeed and da da da dah.
• 35:25
  Speaker 2: It's going to come one day that he's going to
• 35:26
  Speaker 2: get fucked up by somebody who's hungrier, you know what
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: I'm saying, right, somebody that you know had it even
• 35:31
  Speaker 2: worse than he had it. You know, it's just it's different, different.
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: I agree with you. I think that the people who
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: are hungrier and who have grit and just have good
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: relationships are the people who will always be better, not
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: because they think that they're better, but just because they
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: sort of go into it not seeking it out right.
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: It just sort of happens because they're doing the right
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: thing or their personal or they're making connections and just
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: you know, kind of moving about their day.
• 35:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know.
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: So Like if someone I guess, I have two questions.
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: Do you think that let's say I wanted to start
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: a restaurant in New York? Yeah, tomorrow and I had
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: no experience, but I had a big investor. Whatever.
• 36:15
  Speaker 2: That's all bullshit. Yeah, I'm.
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: Do you think it's hard to sort of tap in
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: here in New York specifically, and like what, really, what
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: does it really take to make it in this industry?
• 36:32
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna say honestly, you it's like a relationship. You
• 36:38
  Speaker 2: have to you have to work at it every single
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: fucking day. You just have to stick with it, and
• 36:44
  Speaker 2: you know what, you're going to fail. You know, a
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: lot of people see me as being a very successful guy,
• 36:49
  Speaker 2: but you don't see how many times I fucking failed.
• 36:53
  Speaker 2: And I failed a lot of times. You know, I'm saying,
• 36:56
  Speaker 2: like I've failed, I fucked up a lot of ship,
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: I've blown a lot of money. Now, I've been homeless
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: or like at one point in time in my life
• 37:04
  Speaker 2: maybe two or three, you know, doing dumb shit like
• 37:08
  Speaker 2: fucking around, like not doing the fucking right thing. It's
• 37:11
  Speaker 2: just like you just you have to be very persistent
• 37:14
  Speaker 2: on what you're doing and just stick with it. Yeah,
• 37:18
  Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying, Like I work seven days
• 37:22
  Speaker 2: a week, I work sixteen hours a fucking day. You know,
• 37:26
  Speaker 2: we're talking about anywhere from one hundred and twelve to
• 37:30
  Speaker 2: one hundred and twenty hours a week, Like, who the.
• 37:34
  Speaker 3: Fuck do you know does that?
• 37:35
  Speaker 2: And I guarantee you if you know anybody who is
• 37:38
  Speaker 2: doing that, they're doing very well. Yeah, and that's what
• 37:41
  Speaker 2: a lot of people like. You'll see the nice things
• 37:44
  Speaker 2: like the watches and the shoes and the outfits and
• 37:47
  Speaker 2: oh my god, like you see really cool shit, but
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: nobody actually tells you how hard it is to get
• 37:54
  Speaker 2: that and what I have to sacrifice on a day
• 37:56
  Speaker 2: to day to be able to have what I have,
• 38:00
  Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying, and have a successful business.
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: So I mean, if you're if you're really, if you're
• 38:06
  Speaker 2: really that passionate about opening up a fucking places, do it.
• 38:11
  Speaker 2: Don't listen to anybody, listen to yourself. You're gonna fail,
• 38:15
  Speaker 2: it's fine, or you may not fail, you know whatever.
• 38:19
  Speaker 2: But even if you do fail, you pick up and
• 38:22
  Speaker 2: you fucking jump back into it, and you keep on
• 38:24
  Speaker 2: fucking being persistent and it'll pay off in the end. Yeah,
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: that's the best advice I could fund.
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: It's really good advice. I also just think that you
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: clearly were born with this instinct and this this wanting
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: to work your whole life and build something like literally
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: from the ground up. I don't think a lot of
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: people are born with that.
• 38:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll go, I'll tap into that one for you
• 38:46
  Speaker 2: real quick, because this is what a lot of people
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: don't also know about me. Like my family, we didn't
• 38:53
  Speaker 2: grow up with money. My father used to sweep floors
• 38:58
  Speaker 2: as at a fun and pastry shop.
• 39:01
  Speaker 3: Then he started working at Ferraris.
• 39:03
  Speaker 2: At that point in time, still didn't have money, you know,
• 39:07
  Speaker 2: and then him and Alfred became partners. But my father
• 39:11
  Speaker 2: never took any money from the restaurant. He was like
• 39:14
  Speaker 2: working for free basically, just to be able to one
• 39:19
  Speaker 2: day like prove to Alfred that he could do it
• 39:21
  Speaker 2: on his own. And then what ended up happening was
• 39:24
  Speaker 2: my father started saving money and then he borrowed money
• 39:26
  Speaker 2: from other guys or whatever the fuck, bought Alfred out
• 39:29
  Speaker 2: and then was in debt to the guys that he
• 39:31
  Speaker 2: borrowed money from. But he believed in himself and then finally,
• 39:34
  Speaker 2: you know, he has he had his own fucking place. Yeah,
• 39:38
  Speaker 2: what is it?
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: Damn? And you guys weren't related to the ogo, no no, no, no, no.
• 39:44
  Speaker 2: No, So what's your real last name Vitolo.
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: Oh, no way.
• 39:51
  Speaker 2: She introduced me as a million ballato. But yeah, that's
• 39:54
  Speaker 2: that's my street name, Amelio Bollatto.
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: Shoot, sorry, do you prefer to be called.
• 40:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, my name's just fucking Amelia. That's it. That's all
• 40:03
  Speaker 2: you gotta. How do you pronounce your Emilio? Okay?
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: Have you always had your accent?
• 40:13
  Speaker 2: Yes, it's so good.
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: You don't meet a lot of people with a real
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: New York accent.
• 40:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know. For me, it was just like I
• 40:20
  Speaker 2: grew up around a lot of guys in my neighborhood
• 40:24
  Speaker 2: that you know, they speak like me. I speak like them,
• 40:27
  Speaker 2: like I'm from.
• 40:29
  Speaker 1: Everyone else to say, you know, I'm from Long Island,
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: And every time I tell someone I'm from Long Island,
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: they're like, where's your accent? Like, I don't, I don't think.
• 40:37
  Speaker 2: No. I went to high school in Long Island.
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: Where manhasse oh ship.
• 40:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: We used to play you guys in lax oh. Yeah.
• 40:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I tried. I tried lax out, I tried defense,
• 40:49
  Speaker 2: and then I started just fucking taking people out with that.
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: I was going to say, I feel you sarious person
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: on the field, I'll just fucking go for the legs.
• 40:58
  Speaker 2: That's the only part you can't fucking hit, you know,
• 41:02
  Speaker 2: just like knights at around the room.
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: If you didn't play lacrosse on Lung Island, you didn't
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: grow up on Long Island.
• 41:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so I gave it a shot because I remember
• 41:14
  Speaker 2: when I was in high school for Long Island in
• 41:17
  Speaker 2: Long Island, I.
• 41:19
  Speaker 3: Didn't know a game they were playing.
• 41:20
  Speaker 2: I was like, what the fuck is that. I've never
• 41:22
  Speaker 2: seen it before in my life. I've never seen it
• 41:24
  Speaker 2: on TV. Like, like I said, you know, like we
• 41:27
  Speaker 2: grew up in like Section eight type housing, like affordable housing. Uh,
• 41:32
  Speaker 2: you know, on Spring Street between Elizabeth and Mott. That's
• 41:35
  Speaker 2: where I fucking grew up. I grew up at twenty
• 41:37
  Speaker 2: one Springs.
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: So how did you go to school in Long Island?
• 41:40
  Speaker 2: So what ended up happening was we moved to Long Island. Okay,
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: well not we like my brother like my brothers and
• 41:46
  Speaker 2: my mother and my father stayed in Manhattan. And then
• 41:50
  Speaker 2: you know, got to a point where it's like I
• 41:52
  Speaker 2: didn't want to do it anymore. Yeah, I basically got
• 41:56
  Speaker 2: kicked out of school and then I moved back into
• 41:58
  Speaker 2: the fucking city.
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: Wow, you check someone, and then you got kicked out.
• 42:02
  Speaker 3: N I was just a bad kid.
• 42:03
  Speaker 2: I was a really, really fucking bad kid. I was
• 42:05
  Speaker 2: one of those kids that just like didn't listen to anything,
• 42:08
  Speaker 2: nor did I show up to fucking school, Like I
• 42:10
  Speaker 2: didn't give a fuck.
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: So when did you start to give a fuck? What changed?
• 42:15
  Speaker 2: I never cave a fuck about school.
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, or maybe not even school.
• 42:20
  Speaker 2: But school. Maybe I shouldn't be saying that. You know,
• 42:25
  Speaker 2: I want my daughter to go to school. Yeah, if
• 42:27
  Speaker 2: she wants to go to school. If she doesn't, she
• 42:29
  Speaker 2: has a skilled trade. I want her to be able
• 42:32
  Speaker 2: to tackle that out. But my argument with my father
• 42:34
  Speaker 2: was like, Yo, you want me to go to college,
• 42:36
  Speaker 2: you want me to do all this shit, You're gonna
• 42:38
  Speaker 2: fucking pay for it. He's like, I'm not paying for it.
• 42:40
  Speaker 2: You pay for your own shit. I'm like, if you're
• 42:42
  Speaker 2: not paying for it, then don't force me to put
• 42:44
  Speaker 2: myself in debt for something that I do not want
• 42:47
  Speaker 2: to do or something that I don't know what I
• 42:49
  Speaker 2: want to do. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. So
• 42:51
  Speaker 2: he's like, oh, yeah, well you gotta get a fucking john.
• 42:54
  Speaker 2: And then there was kind of like one of those
• 42:55
  Speaker 2: things where it's like you don't want to fucking listen
• 42:57
  Speaker 2: to what I gotta say.
• 42:59
  Speaker 3: I put a roof over your head, get.
• 43:01
  Speaker 2: The fuck out of my house. That's when I joined
• 43:04
  Speaker 2: Local one fifty seven and I was in construction. I
• 43:07
  Speaker 2: started out as a laborer, and we could go through
• 43:09
  Speaker 2: that fucking story too. I don't know how much time
• 43:11
  Speaker 2: we have, but you know that's a long fucking story too,
• 43:14
  Speaker 2: you know. So I got kicked out of my house
• 43:16
  Speaker 2: and then I just started doing my own fucking shit.
• 43:19
  Speaker 2: And then after a certain amount of time, that's when
• 43:21
  Speaker 2: the phone call came in. My father called me up
• 43:23
  Speaker 2: and said, I got something important I got to talk
• 43:26
  Speaker 2: to you about. And this is after him and I
• 43:27
  Speaker 2: hadn't spoken in What phone did he.
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: Call you on?
• 43:30
  Speaker 2: What?
• 43:30
  Speaker 1: What phone did he call you on?
• 43:32
  Speaker 2: He called me on his cell phone?
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: His cell phone? What did you say he didn't have
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: a phone.
• 43:36
  Speaker 2: I had a phone?
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, but what phone is he using? Like a payphone?
• 43:39
  Speaker 2: No?
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: The restaurant, Oh, the restaurant phone.
• 43:41
  Speaker 3: Sorry, same phone number.
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: I'm trying.
• 43:43
  Speaker 2: I'm two one two two seven four eight eight eight one.
• 43:47
  Speaker 2: That's the same fucking phone number. You could call it.
• 43:49
  Speaker 2: He may answer, he may not.
• 43:51
  Speaker 3: I don't know if I.
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: Want to get a hold of him, that's how.
• 43:53
  Speaker 2: That's how you fucking got it. So yeah, I put
• 43:55
  Speaker 2: that on blast right there so he doesn't he looks
• 43:58
  Speaker 2: at the caller ID shit, and if he does know
• 44:00
  Speaker 2: the number, height doesn't it.
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: It's hilarious. I feel like I do that too with
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: my regular phone.
• 44:04
  Speaker 2: I'm like, but yeah, so I get the fucking phone
• 44:06
  Speaker 2: call and you know, like I said, like, kick me
• 44:09
  Speaker 2: out of the house, whatever the fuck, and you know,
• 44:12
  Speaker 2: so I didn't fuck with him.
• 44:13
  Speaker 3: I was like, fuck, this guy is a scumbag, Like.
• 44:15
  Speaker 2: I don't want to fucking deal with him anymore. Like
• 44:17
  Speaker 2: he's dead to me, this, this and that. Kicked me
• 44:19
  Speaker 2: out of the house, and he's like, I got something
• 44:22
  Speaker 2: important I got to talk to you about. So I'm thinking, like, oh, fuck,
• 44:25
  Speaker 2: this guy's sick, Like maybe there's something help wise because
• 44:28
  Speaker 2: my father's a big guy, you know what I'm saying. Yeah,
• 44:31
  Speaker 2: So I'm like, shit, maybe I should go by the restaurant,
• 44:33
  Speaker 2: check him out, see if everything's okay. And then you know,
• 44:35
  Speaker 2: he gave me the whole spiel. It's just like basically
• 44:38
  Speaker 2: like I'm not getting any younger. I need somebody to
• 44:40
  Speaker 2: take the reins. You know, your two brothers at the time,
• 44:44
  Speaker 2: my older brother was in the NYPD and my youngest brother,
• 44:50
  Speaker 2: he studied sports medicine. He was a football player at
• 44:54
  Speaker 2: Hofsti University, and then they had just cut the program
• 44:57
  Speaker 2: and they stopped fucking football at Hobster Universe City, but
• 45:01
  Speaker 2: they still honor his scholarship. And you know, for me,
• 45:04
  Speaker 2: I was just like fuck it. I thought about it
• 45:07
  Speaker 2: for a little bit, and then I tried doubling down
• 45:10
  Speaker 2: on the construction and the restaurant at the same time.
• 45:14
  Speaker 2: And then I was getting like really fucking burned out
• 45:17
  Speaker 2: because I'm doing manual labor. And then doubling down on
• 45:20
  Speaker 2: the manual labor. My father had me in the fucking
• 45:22
  Speaker 2: basement washing dishes starting out, and I was like, are
• 45:26
  Speaker 2: you fucking kidding me right now?
• 45:28
  Speaker 3: Wow, Yeah, you think it's too good to fucking do it?
• 45:31
  Speaker 2: And I was like yeah, motherfucker, And well he was
• 45:33
  Speaker 2: just like yo, basically like take all your shit back,
• 45:36
  Speaker 2: get the fuck out of my fucking face. I don't
• 45:38
  Speaker 2: need you. Then if you think it's too good to
• 45:39
  Speaker 2: do this shit, you don't belong here. And you know,
• 45:43
  Speaker 2: work my way up to the fucking ladder and that
• 45:45
  Speaker 2: that's pretty much his story.
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: Wow. I mean that's unbelievable. And I also think that
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: maybe for you put you put your energy somewhere, you know,
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: because you got a lot of energy. But I think
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: that must have been a nice outlet for you, right,
• 45:58
  Speaker 1: just work.
• 45:59
  Speaker 2: I mean yeah, for me was oh my god, I
• 46:01
  Speaker 2: was listen me growing up. I always had dough bad shit. Yeah,
• 46:06
  Speaker 2: I always had nice shit. You know why because I
• 46:09
  Speaker 2: worked hard for it. Yeah.
• 46:10
  Speaker 3: Hell, nobody could take.
• 46:12
  Speaker 2: That away from me. Like, the first car I bought
• 46:14
  Speaker 2: on my own was Pontiac GTO. I was like one
• 46:18
  Speaker 2: of my favorite fucking cars. And I remember we went
• 46:20
  Speaker 2: on a trip to Javits Center when they were doing
• 46:24
  Speaker 2: the car show, and this is the first time they
• 46:26
  Speaker 2: were showcasing it. This had to be back in two
• 46:28
  Speaker 2: thousand and two or two thousand and three. It was
• 46:36
  Speaker 2: like a tech like little trip that they went. And
• 46:39
  Speaker 2: I made it good with like you know, the the
• 46:43
  Speaker 2: auto mechanics, fucking teacher and all that shit. So like
• 46:46
  Speaker 2: we were pretty cool and he's like, yo, come by
• 46:49
  Speaker 2: and I saw this car and I was like, Yo,
• 46:51
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna fucking buy that car when it comes out
• 46:53
  Speaker 2: and everyone's looking at me like, yeah, okay, whatever you say.
• 46:57
  Speaker 2: I actually bought the car so good.
• 47:01
  Speaker 3: Oh it felt fucking amazing.
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: Do you still have the car?
• 47:04
  Speaker 2: Yes?
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: Do you drive around New York? I do.
• 47:07
  Speaker 2: I leave it on the street.
• 47:09
  Speaker 3: I'll be honest with you.
• 47:10
  Speaker 2: You know, there's a little, a little trick of the trade.
• 47:13
  Speaker 2: If you're thinking about fucking putting your car in a
• 47:15
  Speaker 2: garage and paying seven hundred dollars a month, your a
• 47:18
  Speaker 2: fucking ticket a day is cheaper exactly.
• 47:21
  Speaker 3: Five hundred and twenty dollars.
• 47:22
  Speaker 2: I did the math. It comes out to five hundred
• 47:24
  Speaker 2: and twenty dollars a month if you get a ticket.
• 47:27
  Speaker 2: If you get two tickets per week, yep, for fucking
• 47:32
  Speaker 2: four weeks.
• 47:32
  Speaker 1: I come the same pattern as you.
• 47:36
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I just leave it.
• 47:37
  Speaker 2: I don't give a fuck. I let the fucking tickets
• 47:39
  Speaker 2: pile up, and then, you know, occasionally I'll walk by
• 47:42
  Speaker 2: the car and then there'll be like fucking fifty tickets
• 47:44
  Speaker 2: on the fucking car.
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but at least they don't put a boot on
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: your car.
• 47:47
  Speaker 2: They can't know because I, you know, I have the
• 47:49
  Speaker 2: app on here, So every week I'll just look at
• 47:52
  Speaker 2: it and if I got a ticket, I'll just fucking
• 47:53
  Speaker 2: pay it.
• 47:54
  Speaker 3: It's like me paying for parking sixty five dollars.
• 47:57
  Speaker 1: There was a garage and tribaca that tried to charge
• 47:59
  Speaker 1: me sixteen hundred dollars for my car. At one point
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: I paid it for like a month because I was lazy.
• 48:06
  Speaker 1: But then I stopped and then I did grow up.
• 48:08
  Speaker 2: What I fucking paid my building? Yeah, I paid twelve
• 48:11
  Speaker 2: hundred dollars a fucking month for fucking parking.
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: It's crazy.
• 48:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, fucking they got me by the balls.
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah they too.
• 48:18
  Speaker 2: There's like a luxury building and you know, at the
• 48:21
  Speaker 2: time Sammy had, you know, we just had the baby,
• 48:24
  Speaker 2: and I was like I can't have her, you know,
• 48:26
  Speaker 2: walking around from this parking lot to that parking lot.
• 48:30
  Speaker 2: So the parking lot down the street seven hundred dollars
• 48:34
  Speaker 2: a fucking month, the parking lot in the building twelve
• 48:37
  Speaker 2: hundred dollars a month, and then luxury and then ultra luxury.
• 48:41
  Speaker 1: Ridiculous. Yeah, that should just come with the unit.
• 48:43
  Speaker 2: I don't get motherfuckers. Yeah fuck yeah, but they know
• 48:46
  Speaker 2: they get you according to what kind of car you have.
• 48:49
  Speaker 2: So then I put the portion there and then the
• 48:51
  Speaker 2: Porsche is sixteen hundred dollars a fucking month.
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: That's ridiculous. That's ridiculous.
• 48:56
  Speaker 2: And it's not even like a it's a ma con.
• 48:58
  Speaker 2: Everybody has a fucking like. You see so many of
• 49:01
  Speaker 2: fucking Porsche Macs on the fucking street. They're like, it's luxury.
• 49:05
  Speaker 2: I was gonna trade the car in and get that
• 49:07
  Speaker 2: that Bentley benego. Right. They're like, if you put that
• 49:10
  Speaker 2: car in the garage, you're paying twenty four hundred dollars
• 49:12
  Speaker 2: a month.
• 49:12
  Speaker 3: I said for what, Like what's the difference.
• 49:16
  Speaker 2: They're like, well, we don't touch those cars because that's
• 49:18
  Speaker 2: an ultra luxury, fucking medical.
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: The dumbest thing.
• 49:21
  Speaker 2: You guys are fucking scumbags.
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Fucking there also
• 49:25
  Speaker 1: is now.
• 49:26
  Speaker 2: So I never got that car. I wanted it really badly,
• 49:29
  Speaker 2: but maybe it wasn't a smart decision. It's kind of
• 49:31
  Speaker 2: like stupid, maybe one to put money on the fucking car. No,
• 49:35
  Speaker 2: but why though, like for what.
• 49:36
  Speaker 1: I don't trust me? I feel like men are usually
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: the ones to be like I need this sick car,
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: Like I'm good with my BMW. I've had the same
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: car as long as I've had a car.
• 49:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not.
• 49:47
  Speaker 1: I don't like wake up one day being like I
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: want I want that sports car. It's not my Psye
• 49:52
  Speaker 1: told me that he sees me in a silver Porsche.
• 49:54
  Speaker 1: Oh shit, I'm not a Porsche girl. I don't want one.
• 49:58
  Speaker 2: Hey, listen, after this podcast, it might be.
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: But you know what, one day I did walk outside
• 50:04
  Speaker 1: in LA and there was a silver Porsche parked outside
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: of my house, like right after he told me that,
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: and I took it as like a good luck term
• 50:10
  Speaker 1: for something. Okay, So I don't know whatever. I'm not
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: getting a silver Porsche's my point.
• 50:14
  Speaker 3: But hey, listen, don't never know.
• 50:16
  Speaker 2: Don't say never. Don't say never.
• 50:19
  Speaker 1: Okay. So you have the restaurant, you have this speakeasy,
• 50:23
  Speaker 1: you have your side, not even side, career of actor producer.
• 50:28
  Speaker 1: What is your main focus and and what are some
• 50:32
  Speaker 1: of the things that you still maybe want to accomplish
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: or focus on.
• 50:38
  Speaker 2: I want to focus on the film, the film marks stuff.
• 50:41
  Speaker 2: I think that I feel like there's so many beautiful
• 50:44
  Speaker 2: stories to be told, you know what I'm saying, and
• 50:47
  Speaker 2: they haven't been told because, you know, political shit gets
• 50:51
  Speaker 2: in the way of like all of the all of
• 50:54
  Speaker 2: these stories and shit like that. You know, It's like
• 50:56
  Speaker 2: I started. When I started acting, it was because I decided,
• 51:00
  Speaker 2: like I'm fucking fuck everybody, I'm just gonna do it,
• 51:03
  Speaker 2: and just started doing it, getting a crew together.
• 51:06
  Speaker 3: Like there's a lot people do a lot of talking.
• 51:09
  Speaker 2: There is one thing to talk, but it's another thing
• 51:11
  Speaker 2: to actually go out there and fucking do it.
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: Something tells me that you would be an amazing I mean,
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: you probably are an amazing actor, but something tells me
• 51:20
  Speaker 1: that there doesn't require a lot of Uh.
• 51:22
  Speaker 3: No, I'm good with it.
• 51:23
  Speaker 2: I'm just like, yo, tell me what I need to
• 51:25
  Speaker 2: do with fucking golden baby. Yeah, I'm very kind.
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: I don't doubt you. I have no doubt.
• 51:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah. No, I'm very comfortable on camera, but that comes
• 51:32
  Speaker 2: from being very uncomfortable in the beginning. Really, I used
• 51:36
  Speaker 2: to be like growing up, I used to be very shy.
• 51:39
  Speaker 1: That's crazy.
• 51:40
  Speaker 2: I don't believe that I'm dead serious, Like amongst close
• 51:43
  Speaker 2: friends fine, yeah, but outsiders very fucking shy. When I
• 51:47
  Speaker 2: first got in the restaurant, I used to be very
• 51:50
  Speaker 2: shy as well, and that that fucked me up because
• 51:53
  Speaker 2: now I'm like, why am I feeling like this, and
• 51:55
  Speaker 2: then I got to know myself as a human being,
• 51:58
  Speaker 2: and what I started doing was put in myself over
• 52:02
  Speaker 2: and over and over again in a very uncomfortable state
• 52:05
  Speaker 2: and very uncomfortable position to a point where it's just like, oh,
• 52:10
  Speaker 2: I overcomed all of my fears and everything that you
• 52:15
  Speaker 2: know that I used to get nervous about because I
• 52:17
  Speaker 2: wanted to figure out like why, you know, because you know,
• 52:20
  Speaker 2: I always wanted to be an actress. So I'm a
• 52:21
  Speaker 2: kid and my parents are always just like, yeah, it's
• 52:23
  Speaker 2: never gonna happen, you.
• 52:25
  Speaker 3: Know, Leo and Da da da da dah, and.
• 52:26
  Speaker 2: Like now I know the motherfuckers. So now I's like,
• 52:29
  Speaker 2: you know, I know, I know a lot of actors
• 52:31
  Speaker 2: now and it doesn't even you know, it doesn't FaZe me.
• 52:33
  Speaker 2: I'm like, I don't, I just don't. I don't care,
• 52:36
  Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying. But it was constantly putting
• 52:39
  Speaker 2: myself in a very uncomfortable fucking position and being able
• 52:44
  Speaker 2: to overcome it to a point where it's just like
• 52:47
  Speaker 2: I don't give a shit if I look bad or like,
• 52:50
  Speaker 2: I don't care, you know what I'm saying, Like nobody
• 52:53
  Speaker 2: could break me basically, it's just like I'm unbreakable.
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: Do you also think it's maybe because you work in
• 53:00
  Speaker 1: a people facing business that you're forced to sort of
• 53:02
  Speaker 1: break out of your shell and be in front of
• 53:04
  Speaker 1: your employees the customers, like your job is to sort
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: of be social to a certain extent. Do you think
• 53:09
  Speaker 1: that's what helped you not become an introvert?
• 53:14
  Speaker 3: Well, I don't know, you know what it was.
• 53:15
  Speaker 2: It's like I used to get this thing like when
• 53:17
  Speaker 2: I would approach tables in the same like when I
• 53:20
  Speaker 2: was on camera and shit like that, Like my heart
• 53:22
  Speaker 2: would race, I would stutter, my face would turn fucking red,
• 53:26
  Speaker 2: and you know, I'm like, what the fuck, why is
• 53:28
  Speaker 2: this happening. I felt like I'm having a heart attack,
• 53:31
  Speaker 2: like a fucking panic attack. My you know, I just
• 53:34
  Speaker 2: remember the first fucking film I ever did getting in
• 53:39
  Speaker 2: front of the camera, and I you know, it took
• 53:41
  Speaker 2: so many takes. They're like, yeah, to get good looking kid,
• 53:44
  Speaker 2: da da da da dah, like he's gonna be amazing,
• 53:46
  Speaker 2: And then the second camera came on, I was just
• 53:49
  Speaker 2: like just started fucking stuttering, you know, I didn't know
• 53:55
  Speaker 2: what the fuck was going on. And then I got embarrassed.
• 53:58
  Speaker 2: And then you know, then at that point I was
• 54:00
  Speaker 2: it's like completely broken, didn't remember my lines, didn't remember.
• 54:05
  Speaker 2: It was just like, yeah, it's really that's so really
• 54:08
  Speaker 2: fucking annoying. And then I was like I need to
• 54:10
  Speaker 2: overcome this. So my way of overcoming it was just
• 54:13
  Speaker 2: putting myself in ship all the fucking time and learning
• 54:19
  Speaker 2: myself like why I do certain things and why I
• 54:22
  Speaker 2: act a certain way, and understanding like why it happened
• 54:27
  Speaker 2: and it worked out perfectly.
• 54:30
  Speaker 1: Fine for you.
• 54:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's okay.
• 54:32
  Speaker 2: Now it's okay.
• 54:33
  Speaker 1: Has there ever been a documentary or a film about
• 54:37
  Speaker 1: the restaurant or your family?
• 54:40
  Speaker 2: There was a documentary that was just done. They didn't
• 54:47
  Speaker 2: really involve me in it, so I kind of gave you,
• 54:49
  Speaker 2: like give them like the fuck you. You know what I'm saying,
• 54:52
  Speaker 2: Like I got a phone call about like it's called
• 54:54
  Speaker 2: like uh Sarden or some shit like that, or I
• 54:58
  Speaker 2: don't even remember the name of it, but anyway, I
• 55:01
  Speaker 2: get a fucking phone call like, oh, yeah, you got
• 55:03
  Speaker 2: to show up to the premiere or no, they didn't
• 55:07
  Speaker 2: ask me to show up to the fucking premiere.
• 55:09
  Speaker 1: That's crazy.
• 55:09
  Speaker 2: Then they tried getting traction for the fucking shit. And
• 55:12
  Speaker 2: then they started hitting me up and like, oh, you
• 55:13
  Speaker 2: got to promote it. I'm like, fuck you, I'm not
• 55:15
  Speaker 2: promoting shit. Like, you didn't have me for the Q
• 55:18
  Speaker 2: and a's, you didn't have me come by, you didn't
• 55:20
  Speaker 2: invite me to any of the fucking any of the viewing,
• 55:24
  Speaker 2: and it was.
• 55:24
  Speaker 1: About what was this it's about the restaurant. Well when
• 55:27
  Speaker 1: did this come out?
• 55:29
  Speaker 2: I think it came out this past year.
• 55:31
  Speaker 1: That's weird. I mean I think there really does need
• 55:34
  Speaker 1: to be a full blown documentary about you starring you.
• 55:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 55:39
  Speaker 3: Well this one was more based off of my father.
• 55:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 55:43
  Speaker 2: And you know, the guy who did it, I like
• 55:45
  Speaker 2: him very much. Yeah. You know, it's just like I
• 55:48
  Speaker 2: just feel like it wasn't It wasn't handled in the
• 55:51
  Speaker 2: right way, you know what I'm saying.
• 55:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I would have loved to be part of it.
• 55:56
  Speaker 2: But you know, for me, I want it like I
• 55:58
  Speaker 2: want creative controller of that shit. I want to look
• 56:01
  Speaker 2: at certain things and be like, Okay, this is good,
• 56:03
  Speaker 2: this is not good. I don't want this in there.
• 56:05
  Speaker 2: But they kind of did whatever the fuck they wanted
• 56:07
  Speaker 2: to do. That's why for me, I'm like, it's not
• 56:09
  Speaker 2: my project. So that was something that my father green
• 56:12
  Speaker 2: lit and they went around my father for it. Interesting,
• 56:16
  Speaker 2: So that was all about my father, you know what
• 56:19
  Speaker 2: I'm saying, and his upbringing. You know, the guy who
• 56:22
  Speaker 2: did it, he's part of my father's generation, so they
• 56:27
  Speaker 2: know each other very well. They share similar friends, and
• 56:30
  Speaker 2: they've seen a lot growing up.
• 56:32
  Speaker 3: And da da da da da.
• 56:33
  Speaker 2: So you know, I did like a little cameo in there.
• 56:36
  Speaker 2: That's pretty much it. Damn that was it. Yeah.
• 56:40
  Speaker 1: I mean, you still have so much time to do something,
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: and I think that the more you dip your toes
• 56:44
  Speaker 1: into entertainment, I'm sure the opportunity will present itself.
• 56:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, it's fucking I feel like people know already.
• 56:54
  Speaker 2: You know. It's just like, yeah, that's the beauty of
• 56:57
  Speaker 2: podcasts and shit like this. It's like, yeah, if you
• 56:59
  Speaker 2: want to know and you want to hear about what
• 57:01
  Speaker 2: the fuck goes on, you know, tune into a podcast
• 57:03
  Speaker 2: like this and you got all your information right there. Right,
• 57:07
  Speaker 2: What do you need a documentary for unless you want
• 57:09
  Speaker 2: to specified documentary about somebody? Fair?
• 57:13
  Speaker 1: That's fair. I mean, I do think that the whole
• 57:15
  Speaker 1: story of your family is super, super interesting and I
• 57:17
  Speaker 1: love hearing ground up stories about how people build empires,
• 57:21
  Speaker 1: and whether it's a restaurant or a company, what you've
• 57:24
  Speaker 1: done is so impressive and a lot of people get
• 57:28
  Speaker 1: handed opportunities at you know, with different advantages, whether it's
• 57:32
  Speaker 1: like you know, like I said before, what if I
• 57:35
  Speaker 1: had like a big investor. But the way that you
• 57:37
  Speaker 1: guys did it is just so much more authentic and
• 57:39
  Speaker 1: like really just it's like such a nice New York story.
• 57:44
  Speaker 2: Honestly, Yeah, no, I mean it's fucking now thinking about it,
• 57:49
  Speaker 2: it's just kind of like that was my father sticking through,
• 57:54
  Speaker 2: sticking through to what he believed in, you know what
• 57:56
  Speaker 2: I'm saying, Like, guy coming from fucking nothing, Like, yeah,
• 58:00
  Speaker 2: even have shoes when he was a fucking kid. Like
• 58:02
  Speaker 2: if you look at that menu, the front of the
• 58:05
  Speaker 2: fucking menu, that's that's my family in Italy. Wow, that's
• 58:09
  Speaker 2: my grandfather, my grandmother, my aunts and uncles. My father
• 58:11
  Speaker 2: is one of ten, that's nuts. And only three people
• 58:15
  Speaker 2: in that fucking in that picture have fucking shoes.
• 58:19
  Speaker 1: Wow. Now when I go back, I'm gonna pay attention.
• 58:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, look at him.
• 58:22
  Speaker 1: They were all guys the same menus for years.
• 58:25
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean we switched it up.
• 58:26
  Speaker 2: I used to have Andy Warhol in the front of
• 58:29
  Speaker 2: It's like Andy Warhol, Jimi Hendrix George condo because they
• 58:33
  Speaker 2: used to come by when John Bilotto owned it, so
• 58:36
  Speaker 2: the beauty of the place was back in the day.
• 58:39
  Speaker 2: John used to trade artwork for food. So the original
• 58:44
  Speaker 2: sign I have it in the in the middle of.
• 58:47
  Speaker 3: The dining room. Andy Warhol painted that.
• 58:49
  Speaker 2: That's a Warhol whoa yeah, So it used to be
• 58:54
  Speaker 2: tons of his artwork. I have tons of condos as well.
• 58:58
  Speaker 2: George is a great guy, like can love George Conda.
• 59:01
  Speaker 2: I have Mark Gustabi. Who else do I have? Jarif
• 59:06
  Speaker 2: Guzman is just like it's kind of like a neighborhood
• 59:09
  Speaker 2: kind of guy who I know born and raised in
• 59:11
  Speaker 2: the city. Da Da Da Da da, Like real cool dude.
• 59:14
  Speaker 2: I think he's in Germany right now if I'm not mistaken,
• 59:17
  Speaker 2: But him and I used to hang out all the time.
• 59:19
  Speaker 2: It's a close friend of mine. I have James gold Crown.
• 59:21
  Speaker 2: He does all the hearts. You know, he did the
• 59:24
  Speaker 2: Amelio sign in the back room. You know it's like
• 59:27
  Speaker 2: a rainbow colored Amelio saying is really fucking cool.
• 59:31
  Speaker 1: You guys have all the framed photos on the wall,
• 59:33
  Speaker 1: which I think is very cool too.
• 59:35
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that was my father's idea.
• 59:36
  Speaker 2: I didn't really like like that because you know, it's like,
• 59:40
  Speaker 2: for me, the only people that you'll see me in
• 59:44
  Speaker 2: photos with are people that I'm actually, like, really close to.
• 59:47
  Speaker 2: I would I would never. I'm not that fucking dick
• 59:49
  Speaker 2: rider motherfucker that goes up to a fucking dude and
• 59:52
  Speaker 2: it's just, oh my god, I can I have a
• 59:53
  Speaker 2: picture like I'm not that fucking guy at all. Actually, no,
• 59:58
  Speaker 2: I don't fucking do that. Ship don't give a fuck.
• 1:00:01
  Speaker 2: There's a photo of me on the wall with a
• 1:00:04
  Speaker 2: fucking like a homie of mind or like a guy
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 2: who's in the public eyes because he wanted to be
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 2: on the fucking wall. Yeah, you know what I'm saying.
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 2: It's like, oh, why don't why don't we have a
• 1:00:14
  Speaker 2: photo on the wall. I'm like, well, we could take
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 2: a fucking photo, have it framed, bring it to me,
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 2: and I'll put it up on the wall. How's that right?
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 1: Sounds good to me. He's gonna be very relieved to
• 1:00:29
  Speaker 1: know that, you know, he's not permanently canceled, And.
• 1:00:33
  Speaker 2: No, he's not canceled. I love him, come on, I
• 1:00:37
  Speaker 2: told him. I was like, Yo, why don't you represent me,
• 1:00:39
  Speaker 2: motherfucker like I should? I would so love like just
• 1:00:43
  Speaker 2: to be able to work with homies, you know, like, yeah,
• 1:00:46
  Speaker 2: why I work with Jack? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, I went
• 1:00:48
  Speaker 2: with Jack.
• 1:00:49
  Speaker 3: Jack's amazing.
• 1:00:50
  Speaker 2: He's fucking amazing.
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 1: How did you get connected with Jack through.
• 1:00:54
  Speaker 2: Mo Mo Mozzarella? I'm that serious.
• 1:01:00
  Speaker 1: I had no doubt that you weren't serious. Who the
• 1:01:06
  Speaker 1: hell is Mo Monzerella?
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 2: You don't know moments.
• 1:01:10
  Speaker 1: That's like Johnny Roast beef up at rouse, my dude, yeah.
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 2: Kidding me, Yeah yeah, Johnny roastby hilarious.
• 1:01:18
  Speaker 1: Okay, So Mo Mozzarella introduced you to your current manager.
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 2: Correct, because he was working with Jack as well. Jack
• 1:01:26
  Speaker 2: was holding it down with him, and then he jumped
• 1:01:29
  Speaker 2: in with w me and then still had Jack helping
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 2: him out with certain things, and then I don't know
• 1:01:34
  Speaker 2: what the fuck happened. I don't think they're working together anymore.
• 1:01:37
  Speaker 2: But you know, I still I still love fucking Jack,
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 2: regardless of what the fuck goes on between him, and
• 1:01:44
  Speaker 2: maybe it just wasn't a fit. I don't fucking know. Yeah,
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 2: but Mo, I know you know he's fucking he knows
• 1:01:50
  Speaker 2: a lot of the guys I grew up with, cool
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 2: type of ship Italian guy.
• 1:01:53
  Speaker 1: What does Mo do?
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 2: He was in construction before.
• 1:01:56
  Speaker 1: Okay, does Mo work at your restaurant? No? Who is?
• 1:02:00
  Speaker 2: He's a comedian, he's.
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 3: A stand up commut I don't know. I didn't look
• 1:02:05
  Speaker 3: him up.
• 1:02:05
  Speaker 2: Come on you yeah, yeah, he's that fucking guy. You
• 1:02:10
  Speaker 2: gotta fucking know who to come on.
• 1:02:12
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, Mo, I will be better.
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 2: You see, I got your back, bro.
• 1:02:19
  Speaker 1: Okay. So I feel like most people probably wouldn't assume
• 1:02:23
  Speaker 1: that you have a manager because you're They don't know
• 1:02:26
  Speaker 1: you as doing all the entertainment stuff. That probably just
• 1:02:29
  Speaker 1: assume that it's just restaurants stuff.
• 1:02:31
  Speaker 2: That's a funny. But I've been trying to get out
• 1:02:33
  Speaker 2: of it, and it's fucking hard because people know me
• 1:02:36
  Speaker 2: as like the restaurant tour guy, and I'm just trying
• 1:02:38
  Speaker 2: to like, I'm like, nah, I got so much more
• 1:02:41
  Speaker 2: to bring.
• 1:02:41
  Speaker 1: Let's let it be known. I mean, come on, man,
• 1:02:44
  Speaker 1: how how long has it been since you've been working
• 1:02:46
  Speaker 1: with Jack?
• 1:02:46
  Speaker 3: A little lesson a year?
• 1:02:48
  Speaker 2: Okay, there we go a little lesson a year. But
• 1:02:50
  Speaker 2: you know what, a lot of I'll be honest with you,
• 1:02:52
  Speaker 2: I get a lot of my own work, Yeah, I do.
• 1:02:55
  Speaker 2: I just don't want to deal with like the legal ship.
• 1:02:58
  Speaker 2: And I'm just like, Yo, this is what I want.
• 1:03:00
  Speaker 2: Negotiate it, get it fucking done. And then when he
• 1:03:04
  Speaker 2: gets it done, I'm like, here's your percentage. He's happy,
• 1:03:07
  Speaker 2: I'm happy, everyone's fucking happy, and then we're fucking good. Yeah.
• 1:03:11
  Speaker 2: I get a majority of my contracts. I've always got
• 1:03:13
  Speaker 2: a majority of my contracts. But what my old people,
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 2: what was happening was then I was with whatever I'm
• 1:03:20
  Speaker 2: not going to name names. I was just about to
• 1:03:22
  Speaker 2: fucking start shitting on some people. I don't want to
• 1:03:27
  Speaker 2: do that.
• 1:03:27
  Speaker 1: This isn't a shitting on people podcast.
• 1:03:29
  Speaker 2: But anyway, you know, mentorship, they were just out of nowhere.
• 1:03:32
  Speaker 2: It's just like, oh yeah, like legally, you have to
• 1:03:34
  Speaker 2: give us a percentage of your ship. And I'm like,
• 1:03:37
  Speaker 2: you're trying to get me to work for free, motherfucker.
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 2: Like I have value. I know I have value, and
• 1:03:42
  Speaker 2: you know I should be getting paid for the ship
• 1:03:44
  Speaker 2: that I'm fucking doing, you know what I'm saying, paying
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 2: everybody else. But you know, it's like they kind of
• 1:03:50
  Speaker 2: shipped on me a little bit and I had to
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 2: show him what's up. And then when I started doing
• 1:03:54
  Speaker 2: big ship, and I was like, fuck you motherfuckers.
• 1:03:57
  Speaker 1: That always feels kind of good to to prove someone
• 1:04:00
  Speaker 1: wrong and to do it.
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 3: Oh, I love it.
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 2: That's my specialty. It's really like, doubt me and watch
• 1:04:04
  Speaker 2: me just fucking it's.
• 1:04:06
  Speaker 1: Really it's really really motivating.
• 1:04:09
  Speaker 2: It's my favorite thing for me to Actually that's how
• 1:04:11
  Speaker 2: I did to speak easy really. Oh fuck yeah, that's
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 2: how I. Like, I always wanted to open up like
• 1:04:18
  Speaker 2: a social club me growing up, Like in my neighborhood,
• 1:04:22
  Speaker 2: social clubs are like a big thing, and like I
• 1:04:24
  Speaker 2: always used to look up to certain guys like yo,
• 1:04:27
  Speaker 2: this guy, but then they start disappearing. You know. It's
• 1:04:29
  Speaker 2: like and it's just like you don't want to be
• 1:04:33
  Speaker 2: part of that kind of life style, you know. But
• 1:04:37
  Speaker 2: when that's happening, was the pandemic hit and I was
• 1:04:42
  Speaker 2: running after hours at the at the at the restaurant
• 1:04:45
  Speaker 2: during the pandemic. Yes, yes, so what was happening was
• 1:04:50
  Speaker 2: we weren't doing well in the restaurant. And this is
• 1:04:53
  Speaker 2: kind of like going back to the story of like
• 1:04:56
  Speaker 2: how my father let go of the reins and kind
• 1:04:59
  Speaker 2: of let me fucking do what I needed to do
• 1:05:01
  Speaker 2: because we were in trouble. Everyone was you know, it's
• 1:05:03
  Speaker 2: a fucking pandemic. And he was like, ah shit, you know,
• 1:05:08
  Speaker 2: the money that I thought we had, we did not
• 1:05:10
  Speaker 2: fucking have. And my father was like, we're in trouble.
• 1:05:13
  Speaker 2: And I was like, oh shit, and I was like, well,
• 1:05:17
  Speaker 2: will you allow me to do what I need to
• 1:05:19
  Speaker 2: do to figure this shit out and keep this place afloat?
• 1:05:23
  Speaker 2: And he's like, I don't think there's anything you can do.
• 1:05:26
  Speaker 2: So that gave me like the fuel and the fire
• 1:05:30
  Speaker 2: to do what I did. So what I did was
• 1:05:33
  Speaker 2: I hit everybody up in my fucking phone book and
• 1:05:35
  Speaker 2: I said, I know the pandemic's a thing right now,
• 1:05:37
  Speaker 2: but in case you don't give a fuck about it,
• 1:05:40
  Speaker 2: I'm hosting private dinners. I'm doing one solid seating. It's
• 1:05:44
  Speaker 2: gonna cost one hundred and eighty five dollars a seat.
• 1:05:47
  Speaker 2: And I packed out the room every single fucking night.
• 1:05:50
  Speaker 2: And then after the dining service, I turned it into
• 1:05:53
  Speaker 2: like a nightclub, so it's a place to hang out
• 1:05:55
  Speaker 2: all fucking all night. So then I started doing bottles service,
• 1:06:01
  Speaker 2: whoa from like twelve to four o'clock in the morning.
• 1:06:05
  Speaker 2: So then what happened was kept the business afloat. We
• 1:06:08
  Speaker 2: were doing very well. I was probably the only one
• 1:06:10
  Speaker 2: in the neighborhood making fucking money, and it was just
• 1:06:13
  Speaker 2: my father and I just holding it down, you know
• 1:06:16
  Speaker 2: what I'm saying. Like I was in the fucking kitchen cooking,
• 1:06:19
  Speaker 2: my father was taking orders and he was helping me
• 1:06:22
  Speaker 2: prep all the fucking food. And then we would just
• 1:06:25
  Speaker 2: him and I just rocking it out. Wow. Yeah. And
• 1:06:28
  Speaker 2: then you know, after that, my father kind of like
• 1:06:31
  Speaker 2: let go and he was like, oh, fuck this, this
• 1:06:33
  Speaker 2: dude actually does care because everybody left, like my brothers left,
• 1:06:37
  Speaker 2: my mother left. They were like, fuck this a pandemic.
• 1:06:40
  Speaker 2: We don't want to get sick, we don't want to die.
• 1:06:42
  Speaker 2: And my father's like, don't leave me. And I was
• 1:06:44
  Speaker 2: like I would never fucking leave you, bro, Like I
• 1:06:46
  Speaker 2: got you, bro. It's like, we're gonna fucking make this
• 1:06:48
  Speaker 2: shit happen. We made it happen. Then pandemic ends. I
• 1:06:54
  Speaker 2: still start doing the I got used to doing the
• 1:06:56
  Speaker 2: night like fucking shit at the fucking speakeasy. It was
• 1:06:59
  Speaker 2: cool because now what was happening was people were doing
• 1:07:02
  Speaker 2: the prefix dinners in the fucking back and then they
• 1:07:06
  Speaker 2: would come for a later seating because they know we
• 1:07:08
  Speaker 2: would hang out until four o'clock in the morning, and
• 1:07:11
  Speaker 2: then we just pop bottles and fucking do whatever the
• 1:07:14
  Speaker 2: fuck we wanted in the place. You know what I'm saying.
• 1:07:17
  Speaker 2: And you're not.
• 1:07:18
  Speaker 1: To leave campus, You're like, yeah, exactly.
• 1:07:20
  Speaker 2: And then I had an apartment upstairs. I'd just be like,
• 1:07:22
  Speaker 2: all right, motherfuckers, I'm going to bed, going upstairs, kick
• 1:07:25
  Speaker 2: everybody out. And what ended up happening was my father
• 1:07:28
  Speaker 2: started getting pissed off and he was like, motherfucker. He goes,
• 1:07:32
  Speaker 2: you're running this place like a club. It's not a club.
• 1:07:34
  Speaker 2: It's a fucking restaurant. If you want to fucking be
• 1:07:37
  Speaker 2: a big shot, you want to open it, you want
• 1:07:39
  Speaker 2: to run it like a club, why don't you open
• 1:07:41
  Speaker 2: up your own fucking place. So that gave me the
• 1:07:44
  Speaker 2: fire to be like, all right, motherfucker, like I will
• 1:07:48
  Speaker 2: open up my own fucking place. So the place came
• 1:07:51
  Speaker 2: up for it had been up you know, during the pandemic.
• 1:07:54
  Speaker 2: Nobody wanted to take that location, so it was attached
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 2: on the other side to the restaurant. It used to
• 1:08:01
  Speaker 2: be a clothing store called Jcaws. And so I hit
• 1:08:06
  Speaker 2: the landlord up and I said, yo, dude, like you know,
• 1:08:09
  Speaker 2: I know this is a difficult time, and da da
• 1:08:12
  Speaker 2: da da, But would you think about renting me out
• 1:08:15
  Speaker 2: the space on a long lease? I'm talking like a
• 1:08:17
  Speaker 2: fifteen to twenty year lease. He goes yeah, I don't know,
• 1:08:20
  Speaker 2: like what nothing's how are you going to pay for it?
• 1:08:22
  Speaker 2: How are you gonna be able to get people in there?
• 1:08:24
  Speaker 2: And da da da da da. And I was like,
• 1:08:25
  Speaker 2: don't worry about I have the money to do it,
• 1:08:27
  Speaker 2: like I could fucking make it happen. My father doubted me.
• 1:08:31
  Speaker 2: He didn't think I was capable of fucking doing it.
• 1:08:34
  Speaker 2: So I built that fucking place with my bare hands.
• 1:08:37
  Speaker 2: I fucking opened it. Now we're doing jazz music and
• 1:08:40
  Speaker 2: shitping there, and now it's just like that is like
• 1:08:42
  Speaker 2: my baby. You know what I'm saying. Oh yeah, like
• 1:08:45
  Speaker 2: that's something I built from the ground up. I shit
• 1:08:47
  Speaker 2: you not. I got that fucking place as a white box.
• 1:08:50
  Speaker 1: Wow. I mean it's amazing in there, Oh amazing in there.
• 1:08:54
  Speaker 3: It feels like it's so fucking old.
• 1:08:56
  Speaker 1: Old school, old school.
• 1:08:58
  Speaker 2: I was going for that twenty thirties vibe. You know
• 1:09:00
  Speaker 2: what I'm saying, Like that was my shit. Yeah, yeah,
• 1:09:03
  Speaker 2: I've done.
• 1:09:03
  Speaker 1: A fantastic job. I've only been in there twice, but
• 1:09:05
  Speaker 1: I went for I went for pre dinner drink once
• 1:09:08
  Speaker 1: and then I went after dinner for a drink. And
• 1:09:10
  Speaker 1: it's amazing. And it's a very chill crowd.
• 1:09:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah. It's dark, very dark. Yeah, and it's a lighting
• 1:09:17
  Speaker 2: very consistent, which is I think the most important thing.
• 1:09:20
  Speaker 2: Like that's what I look for. Like I've been to
• 1:09:22
  Speaker 2: so many Michelin star places going back to like the
• 1:09:25
  Speaker 2: food shit, none of them can get the lighting right, You.
• 1:09:28
  Speaker 1: Got it right.
• 1:09:29
  Speaker 3: I'm like, yo, what the fuck?
• 1:09:31
  Speaker 2: Like I don't want to eat food with a white
• 1:09:33
  Speaker 2: light shining down on my fucking face, motherfucker. Like I
• 1:09:37
  Speaker 2: want something, you know, like very romantic and cozy. My
• 1:09:41
  Speaker 2: favorite fucking place to go is the River Cafe. Oh yeah,
• 1:09:46
  Speaker 2: Oh my fucking god. Not only do they make me
• 1:09:50
  Speaker 2: feel like a g in that fucking place, but like
• 1:09:54
  Speaker 2: I will bring my daughter to that fucking place.
• 1:09:56
  Speaker 1: It's fantastic. It also feels very old school New York
• 1:10:00
  Speaker 1: and it's super special.
• 1:10:01
  Speaker 2: And the view is amazing, so classy, so services fucking phenomenal.
• 1:10:07
  Speaker 2: Everyone's dressed up, Like nobody dresses up to eat anymore?
• 1:10:11
  Speaker 2: Like what happened to the respect of actually going out
• 1:10:14
  Speaker 2: to eat and looking presentable? Nobody fucking doesn't anything coming
• 1:10:19
  Speaker 2: from La. Every time I come home, it's horrible.
• 1:10:21
  Speaker 1: I have a whole different wardrobe because no one in
• 1:10:23
  Speaker 1: LA really dresses up, but people here they do at
• 1:10:26
  Speaker 1: certain spots.
• 1:10:28
  Speaker 2: I know, but you got to force them to do it.
• 1:10:29
  Speaker 2: You gotta be like, yo, you can't get in unless
• 1:10:31
  Speaker 2: you fucking dress up is and that may hurt your
• 1:10:33
  Speaker 2: business though, right or not? I mean it may hurt you.
• 1:10:38
  Speaker 1: Do you, okay? Do you ever turn people down for
• 1:10:40
  Speaker 1: a weird outfit or if they show up in like.
• 1:10:43
  Speaker 2: Flip flops and fucking I try to, and then my
• 1:10:47
  Speaker 2: father gets mad at me. Yeah, He's like, Yo, their
• 1:10:49
  Speaker 2: money's green, let them in.
• 1:10:50
  Speaker 3: I'm like, bro, the guy.
• 1:10:52
  Speaker 2: Is wearing fucking flip flops and shorts, bro in the
• 1:10:55
  Speaker 2: tank top like he just got out of the fucking beach.
• 1:10:58
  Speaker 2: He goes, shut the fuck up. Just let him. He's
• 1:11:00
  Speaker 2: got money.
• 1:11:03
  Speaker 1: Everyone wants a piece of a melia. Oh, I mean
• 1:11:06
  Speaker 1: I think you know to speak easy can be your
• 1:11:10
  Speaker 1: your room. For the dress code. I don't think anyone
• 1:11:13
  Speaker 1: is going to come in there looking like trash.
• 1:11:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah no, I mean no that I could stop at
• 1:11:18
  Speaker 2: the fucking door. Yeah you know what I'm saying, Like,
• 1:11:20
  Speaker 2: I got a doorman over there that just like, not
• 1:11:22
  Speaker 2: everyone can get I'll be like no, no, no, yeah,
• 1:11:24
  Speaker 2: just friends, yeah yeah, yeah, I just do it. I
• 1:11:27
  Speaker 2: allow it to be open like prior sometimes from like
• 1:11:30
  Speaker 2: five to like seven o'clock, eight o'clock, and allow some
• 1:11:35
  Speaker 2: people that are waiting online so they don't freeze their
• 1:11:37
  Speaker 2: ass off. If they're looking for a table at the restaurant,
• 1:11:41
  Speaker 2: I just tell them, like it's like a little cheat code.
• 1:11:44
  Speaker 2: I'm like, yo, checking that to speak easy, have a
• 1:11:47
  Speaker 2: drink or two. That way, they're putting some money in
• 1:11:49
  Speaker 2: the fucking place, and the second the table opens up,
• 1:11:52
  Speaker 2: I'll shoot him right in.
• 1:11:54
  Speaker 1: It's amazing. I love how it's all sort of in
• 1:11:56
  Speaker 1: the same area.
• 1:11:58
  Speaker 2: It wouldn't work if it wasn't.
• 1:11:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we'll wrap up. Sometimes for a end of the podcast,
• 1:12:06
  Speaker 1: we pring phone call someone. Is there anyone that you
• 1:12:08
  Speaker 1: hate that you want a preingphone call.
• 1:12:12
  Speaker 2: I don't have any enemies, man, who would I prank
• 1:12:14
  Speaker 2: phone call? I don't know.
• 1:12:16
  Speaker 1: Why don't you bring phone call the restaurant Star six seven?
• 1:12:28
  Speaker 1: Come on, motherfucker, this mail box is not.
• 1:12:31
  Speaker 2: Currently That's what happens when you try and call for
• 1:12:34
  Speaker 2: fucking reservation.
• 1:12:35
  Speaker 1: That's so funny or pring phone call didn't work out?
• 1:12:39
  Speaker 1: But uh, maybe you should now also just fix your
• 1:12:43
  Speaker 1: voicemail or is that.
• 1:12:45
  Speaker 2: Or are you guys? Let's just leave it the way
• 1:12:47
  Speaker 2: the fuck it is, because that's that's what my father
• 1:12:50
  Speaker 2: loves it to be. That's what you get to hear
• 1:12:52
  Speaker 2: every time you call him for a fucking reservation.
• 1:12:56
  Speaker 1: Keeps him mysterious, keeps him mysterious.
• 1:12:58
  Speaker 2: Well, like, wait a minute, is this a restaurants?
• 1:13:00
  Speaker 1: Is this place even real?
• 1:13:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah? The fuck is this?
• 1:13:03
  Speaker 1: Well? Thank you so much for coming on my pleasure.
• 1:13:06
  Speaker 1: I can't wait to come in for jazz night.
• 1:13:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you're gonna have a good time.
• 1:13:09
  Speaker 1: I promise you're going straight to jazz night.
• 1:13:12
  Speaker 2: In this I'm going straight to the restaurant and then
• 1:13:14
  Speaker 2: I gotta do sound check at like eight o'clock, eight thirty.
• 1:13:18
  Speaker 2: Hell yeah, and yeah, I'll be bouncing back and forth.
• 1:13:21
  Speaker 2: We'll see. I think I might get suck bartending tonight.
• 1:13:24
  Speaker 2: I completely forgot that. What's your I don't have one
• 1:13:28
  Speaker 2: of my guys, what's your goat?
• 1:13:30
  Speaker 1: Are you good at bartending? I'd be like everyone order
• 1:13:34
  Speaker 1: is anything complicated? You're getting a tequila sota?
• 1:13:36
  Speaker 2: Oh no, no, no, I could throw it down really
• 1:13:39
  Speaker 2: like making Manhattan's and especial Martini's old fashions, nice margaritas.
• 1:13:46
  Speaker 2: So the smoky, smoky margarita's are really good. Smoking to Groni's.
• 1:13:50
  Speaker 1: Like, okay, well no, I'm definitely coming.
• 1:13:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I have a smoker too. It's really cool.
• 1:13:56
  Speaker 1: Sick.
• 1:13:56
  Speaker 2: I swear to god, you just like you burn like
• 1:13:59
  Speaker 2: a couple of wood chips. Yeah, and then you just
• 1:14:02
  Speaker 2: put the fucking drink in there and then like suffocate
• 1:14:05
  Speaker 2: the fuck out of it and then pull it out and.
• 1:14:08
  Speaker 1: It's nice, amazing.
• 1:14:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah. We do that from time to time when we're
• 1:14:12
  Speaker 2: when I have enough time to be bougie, when I'm busy,
• 1:14:14
  Speaker 2: I'm like fucking not having it, bro, Sorry, get the
• 1:14:16
  Speaker 2: fuck out of you.
• 1:14:17
  Speaker 1: See, there's no one like Amelio, and there's no other
• 1:14:21
  Speaker 1: spot in New York like Amelia's Blatto. So you guys
• 1:14:24
  Speaker 1: are curious, there is a line you won't get in
• 1:14:26
  Speaker 1: unless you wait in line, but you should try.
• 1:14:29
  Speaker 2: Sorry, pay your fucking dues, you know what I'm saying, Come,
• 1:14:32
  Speaker 2: come long enough and then uh, you know, maybe maybe
• 1:14:35
  Speaker 2: it'll fucking happen where you don't have to work out.
• 1:14:37
  Speaker 2: I don't know, I don't know.
• 1:14:40
  Speaker 1: Well, thank you Amelio. I hope you have a lovely
• 1:14:43
  Speaker 1: time tonight and come in. Thank you for having of course,
• 1:14:48
  Speaker 1: thanks for tuning in for another episode. Do you guys
• 1:14:51
  Speaker 1: have an Instagram page?
• 1:14:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah? I have a Millia's Bilotto. That's pretty much it.
• 1:14:56
  Speaker 3: The speakeasy.
• 1:14:56
  Speaker 2: No, I don't have anything on.
• 1:14:58
  Speaker 1: That check out. You can take a closer look. They're
• 1:15:01
  Speaker 1: right on Helston Street, Houston.
• 1:15:03
  Speaker 2: And Houston between Mountain and Mulberry.
• 1:15:06
  Speaker 1: Between Mountain Mulberry.
• 1:15:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 1:15:09
  Speaker 1: Seven days a week, baby.
• 1:15:10
  Speaker 2: Seven days a week. Close two days a year, which
• 1:15:13
  Speaker 2: two days Christmas, Thanksgiving? That's it, is it.
• 1:15:18
  Speaker 1: I'm glad you're getting a break on Thursday.
• 1:15:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that would be nice. It's not a fucking break
• 1:15:22
  Speaker 2: because I got a drive everywhere, all right.
• 1:15:25
  Speaker 1: Well, good night, guys, Thanks for tuning in, guys,