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Transcript

From Behind the Bar to Owning the Bar · The PNW Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Well, if you haven't had a chance to check out the Dull Hand or you haven't seen our viral video, which tried to shut the kitchen down forever, but they overcame those odds as well.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, it's funny, I when I talked to you and I was like, Oh my God, I like I sent you a text or something.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, like this video's blowing up all of a sudden.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: And you're like, yeah, I worked a double yesterday and I worked a double today.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: And that was a Saturday, Sunday.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I know you put me to words.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I felt terrible.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: And then I was getting ready to leave town the next weekend for for you know an event, and I was just like, I don't know if I can go.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I didn't mean to put you on the ropes like that, but like you said, it's a good problem to have.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: No, if I'm gonna have a problem, I'd rather it be that kind of problem.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: And then I appreciate everybody coming out and give it a try.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: And luckily enough, you know, we've got a great response, not only from the video, but what we're doing, and that to me is huge.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome into the PNW podcast.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: He was the guy I wanted to talk to about um my little video I had of uh fish and chip tasting in Lake Ostuego.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: It is uh the studio here at Stafford Hills Club where we do all these episodes.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: All you gotta do is come check this place out and you realize why I rant and rave about the place.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's the facility with all the stuff.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: You got the high-quality gym, the best classes, the best instructors.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: It goes all the way up to the management.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: They are kind people, good people.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: And if you want to be a part of it, hit them up today at staffordhills.com.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: Tell them Drew sent you for half off your initiation.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: My guest today is the Reverend Justin Scott Reese.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: And he is uh the guy who's ordained to be your wedding specialist, but also it's a way to get a tax break when you're a young musician.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um true.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: But in this day and age, you are the owner of both Buddy Sports Bar in Beaverton slash Aloa and the Dullahan, which is the place I like to go get fish and chips.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: And before I ever met you, Justin, which is kind of funny, you know, I was I hosted a radio show for many years, uh, both and Eugene for 12 years and then up here for a little over 10 years.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: I do both of them.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: And well, thank you.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, whether you liked it or not, I appreciate that you knew it.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: But one kind of trash the new version of it, but I miss you.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: Uh but it is but one time um you called up the show and you were you mentioned, you know, that you own this bar, and I was like, or you know, the Dullahan, and I'm like, wait a second.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, that that's my spot.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: That's when you didn't get me the tickets.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: You could have just lied and did I not get you your tickets when I had to?
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: I failed.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: I was doing it.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: You lost a game.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: I lost them.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: I had to, yeah, whatever game was going on, yeah.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: I had to give them up to somebody right behind me that did nothing.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: And oh man.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that was too bad.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Granted, I should have given them to you.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: No, you didn't.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: I already had tickets to it.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you're trying to get a couple other buds in.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: Fair enough.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: Do you remember the concert?
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: Do you remember what it was?
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: I think it was, I think it was Rob Zombie.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think that's what it was.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like zombie tickets are falling out of our ears, so now we feel even worse.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it wasn't like Metallica or something.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: No, it wasn't.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: No, it was it was one that like I knew that I already had some access to your people.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: I would always set, but I was like, well, now I don't have to buy others for other people, you know.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like maybe invite it was fun to be on the road.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why I like uh knowing you now because I already liked the place.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like the Dullahhan was already my jam, and it was on a short list of places that we would go and take our kids.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: And and I had known the place for years and years, but it was nice to put a face with the name.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome to hear.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: I love the fact that the the family is involved and that you've been coming there and you know, post us buying it versus, you know, when you do it as something else, that we've continuously done a good job.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: That makes me feel good.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: It means that we're doing at least the right thing by us and by the people that have enjoyed it for the years that it's been around.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: And you know what's wild about it is I've actually got a family member who, you know, and it's a sad deal, but a family member who passed away recently, and uh my uncle and my grandfather is still alive.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: He's 96 years old and still lives by himself in Tarrabon, Oregon on five acres.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: Now, the older he gets, the more the family has to go out and and replenish groceries.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: And and my dad, who's 70, is still very active and he helps with the property.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: But after he passed away, he was like, wait, we need to get the family together.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so I knew that my grandpa liked the Dullahan.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: And so we took the whole family there, and you were gracious enough to give us an area for the family to come together and celebrate him.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: It was great to have you.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: It was great to have that because that's that's the idea.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: And we've done a lot of different events like that, and and it's always really endearing to know that people, you know, who've lost somebody that, you know, are important would think that our spot would be a place to celebrate them.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not once has it been a sad event or something that's, you know, really a celebration.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's it's always a celebration.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: People get there and it's always nice to see family members smiling and giving each other, you know, uh stories of you know whoever has passed in the in the right way, not a sad, you know, tumultuous thing.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, it's like celebration, like you just said, it's people celebrating an idea.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: And and luckily enough, our I mean, Irish pubs in general are kind of that way.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: And they don't have an excuse to let loose and and and and smile and laugh and talk about the good things.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: And that's part of it, is it's comforting.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: You know, my parents met in England.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: My my mom's an American.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: Her dad was transferred from Heister Company in northeast Portland many, many years ago.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: And they they got transferred there, met my dad in grade school, and my dad famously shot a spitwad at the back of my mom's head and said, Go home, Yank.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's the first thing he ever said to her.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: They've been married thing I've ever heard.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: They've been married for 50 years.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, the first time he came to her house, she hid under the the table, and you know, her mom pushed her out to go talk to him.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: And so it that ambiance, which England, Ireland, it's a lot of similar behavior, that's always been a comforting thing for us.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so I appreciate you uh accommodating that.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, in the weeks before that, which is funny about when I went there, um, as I was, you know, as I was checking out and we were about to leave and we were walking out, um, a friend of mine stops me inside uh a mutual friend of ours says to me, Yeah, I want to thank you very much because I can't get any fish and chips tonight.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, What are you talking about?
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so what the reason I say that is, is you and I had made a video where I had approached you and I said, Hey, you know, no dog in the fight.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: I love your fish and chips.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: I want to come in and make a video.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: And you're like, sure, come on in, we'll we'll do it.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: And without any preparation other than just coming in to do it, my intern at the time shot a video of us and I pieced it together, edited it down to two minutes and 58 seconds, and hit send.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: And the thing exploded.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it got 200,000 views on Instagram and another 60,000 views on TikTok on the first swing.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't been back to check it out.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: I've never had so much attention for being half out of a nap and uh, you know, out of sorts in my entire life.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, which you had you had slept through you slept through the meeting time.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: I did, I did.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: I was I was I was a bit late on that.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, you gotta blame my daughter on that one.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: She was using my phone at the time and I was sleeping on the couch for the little nappy nap.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: I could call up my siesta.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'd usually take two or three a day.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: 15 minutes at a time.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, no, I was I was late and I was like all dreary-eyed and you know, I was a little nervous that we didn't do a good enough job on that.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: But I'll tell you what, I loved the reaction and I loved how many people came out to support the business because of it.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was like wildfire.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: And and you know, for me, it wasn't about necessarily what we did, although we're very charming and we're good at what we do.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: It was the it was the product, and that product 100% went off more so than I I could have anticipated any of us really did.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: And so we were running out for days in a row, and now we've had to adjust how we're ordering and what we're doing and prepping, which is the best problem to have.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: If you're gonna have a problem, have it be a good problem.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: And that has been the best one.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: We've we love the support, we love the people coming in and being like, we saw the video, we'd let you try this.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's such a cool feeling to get that response from from something we've done.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: And it's wild because I had people sending me messages who, you know, I they're my friends for years and years, but one of them in particular, they went with their whole family and they sent me a picture of them and they all had the fish and chips, and it and it just said, uh, influenced.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: And then the next and I said, Oh, that's awesome.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: And she wrote the next thing, she's like, I think you're causing a headache over here because they're running out of fish.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: And so that was the only thing I felt bad about is you know, I've every time I go in there, I order the fish and chips.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so if I went in and I was like, Yeah, I want fish and chips, and they're like, We're out, I'd be sad.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, but that's like again, that's a good problem to have.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really about how to order.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: And and the reason why we were running out, you know, particularly is because what we do is a very particular cut of fish.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we we are doing you have to use that cut, it has to be that standard, it has to be a certain ounce for us to be willing to put it on there, and it has to be haddock, and and that's just what we do.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so to find different purveyors that have that around is is harder than you would think.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: But it was a great problem to have because then we're actually able to share the love with different companies around the area that have that fish or would like to bring that fish in and are very particular about it.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: So for us, it was like, all right, well, let's figure out how to do this.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like let's let's let's next level this.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: Now, and the only thing I've been hazed about is that I didn't showcase malt vinegar.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: And and in your defense, uh, we did record a chunk of the video where you hazed me into having a little bit of actual malt vinegar on on my chips, but you have to realize where I come from, where as I grew up, we would be traveling through England or or Europe in general, and my family would in the like the poor days, where you know, they spent every dollar for us to go see our family.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: And so we would split an order of chips.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of times that would be the whole snack at the restaurant.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: And they would take that bottle of malt vinegar and they would douse it till it was the wettest.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and to me, as a child, with a you know, my palate not prepared for it.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's a strong fruit.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: I was completely torched.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: I get it.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: And so it was almost like when somebody puts your hand on a hot stove.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: You don't touch hot stove.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's fair.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: But that's also like saying, you know, if you grew up in Canada, all of a sudden you don't like mayonnaise.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: What's up with that?
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like, come on now, it's everywhere.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: So you gotta you gotta get used to it.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: You've been experienced in it, you came back at it strong.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like you you challenged yourself and you enjoyed it.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: And you have good malt vinegar there.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: I will say that when and trying it at your place.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, okay, you know, it softens the blow a little bit.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of the foods you don't like as a child, you like as an adult.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: I like my fish and chips a certain way.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want malt vinegar touching my attic.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: I I've I mean, and and you can go watch the video, and and I'm gonna dig up the malt vinegar video and we're gonna put a separate video because I did kind of haze you a little bit on it, and I was just trying to be playful and fun because it's right there and it was on the table.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: So why not?
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: Go for it.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: But it's it is.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: Look, food is food.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody loves things that are on way, and there's no right, wrong way to do it.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: However, you can get made fun of for the ways that you do it differently.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's just natural, right?
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: But it's like the people who hazed me the most are like my brother and my dad.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: The ones who are used to the malt vinegar that actually were like, the British guy and the firstborn.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: My brother said it like this.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: He goes, Yeah, you did great, except for you didn't bring up the malt vinegar.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, No, no, no, we did that part of the video.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I explained that videos a certain length, you know, don't do get hits, don't get hits, which he cares nothing about.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: And his response was, yeah, if you put the malt vinegar in, you would have got 400,000 views.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm like, okay, you can't win with some of these guys.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: No, absolutely not.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: And that's that's the hazing part of it, you know, like you get to say what you want about your opinions on food.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: But the same can go for everywhere.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like somebody orders a certain thing at a table in any given moment, right?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody on the table usually will say something about it being like, ooh, gross.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then they'll order something that the other person may or may not think.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Say, ooh, gross.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, everybody has their opinions on food until it's at the table, and then all of a sudden you start getting those little snackers that will come in and want a little bite because it smells good or it looks good.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: But I'll tell you that you you were completely correct in the fact that we made that video and it blew up, but the video wouldn't have blown up with just me chatting in a corner.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I make thousands different videos a year and only a couple of them get those types of hits.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: No, we're good looking individuals and we're fairly charismatic, but I think us it's not just the fish, it's the ambiance of your place, too.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like when you go into the Dullahan, you you can actually, when you come in and the door closes behind you, you kind of feel like you're in Ireland or that you're in an English pub.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: It needs to be that way.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of Irish pubs that'll pop up and you just throw a you know shamrock on the wall and all of a sudden it's like, oh yeah, it's an Irish pub.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's not.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: You might lean into the idea, you might have some things on there that are genuinely authentic when in terms of like culinary status or whatever.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: But um, you know, for an Irish pub, it's it's more than just the food.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's more than even just the building, it's the combination of both, and then it's the people that come in there.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: An Irish pub is meant to be a place of community.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's a gathering place.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's a gathering place, it truly is, and it has to have that feel, you know.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like when when in our spot, you know, I our fireplace and the things on the wall and the different things that I choose not to polish, you know, as silly as that sounds, you know, like I've always said from the beginning, which is kind of a funny term, especially when you're talking about a restaurant, but it's like you can only polish a turd so much.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's true.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: My turd happens to be a 1920s built home that is super authentic, that has nothing but Irish heritage stacked to the brim, including hanging on the ceiling.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: It is what it is.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna try to change that.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna try to make it prettier.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: It needs to be what it is.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's got personality, and that's why it feels the way it is.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: There's something about it too.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like when you when I go into the bathroom, I last time I was there, I I was like, this is what went through my mind.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, where did the shower used to be?
• 14:56
  unknown: Right.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: And you're like, you're kind of like, we're gonna, and you're like, okay, is that all right, the spackle on the wall there, is that where it was?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Or was it over here?
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: Or did this one even have was this half bath?
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm doing like the whole thing.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: You even have um one thing that's very authentic English Irish is at the tables that we sat in in the main dining room, you have the false wall.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's that little mini wall at the doorway, which is totally British Irish behavior.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: Where, and I even look at it and I'm like, that does that looks like the original glass, even in that, which until it's taken off of another window and put into that thing, built around it and then screwed to the wall.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but it but it actually makes it feel even more authentic, like all the way down to the fireplace and everything that's in there.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: That a lot of restaurants, when they build them out and they don't come from heritage like an old home, it it comes off as tacky or corny or faked.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's a lack of personality.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Personality comes from genuosity.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like you're you're you're being genuine about who you are and what it is, right?
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: You put something because you bought it from somewhere that looks really nice and you spend a good chunk of money on it, and you're like, oh yeah, prowess, right?
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of the opposite, especially when it comes to Irish pubs.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you you think about the people that have created these long-standing pubs that are so I mean, you go back years and years and years of families and you know, different generations and all that.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: It it comes from that sort of love and that that disconcern about trying to make it something that it's not.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: Do it genuine, do it right, do it straightforward, and gosh, it it goes a long way.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: And you kind of get away with some stuff along the way because you get to be that way.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm not really going to repair that little spot because some kid need it and put a hole in it, and now I get to tell the story about why that hole is there.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, it was a great family, they were having a fun time, and this kid put that in there, and like, yeah, we put a little something over the top of it, but I'm not trying to make it anything that's not.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: And that comes all the way down to the beginning of it.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: You know, when you took over this place and you named it your own thing and made it your own, was there, and since it was in kind of a tight-knit community to start with, and and I remember it before you owned it, and you've owned it for a long time now.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: Was there, was there a kickback or was did anyone, did you deal with people when you changed the name and you became the new owner?
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: Was it was there a growing pain in there at all?
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: No, it was it was kind of the opposite.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: People really excited about a family being back involved because before it had, you know, been a family operated business as Mars.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: And then when it sold and kind of jumped hands for a little while, that feeling had disappeared.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so for us to come in, you know, as a family, my brother, my wife, yeah, um, we brought a little bit of that back.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the first things that we were told was don't change anything, just do it right.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that I mean, that was the truth.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's just what we were told.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like they wanted better food, they wanted the things that made the most sense.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: But aesthetically, the place is so comforting, and that's why we fell in love with the building in the first place.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: We came in for the very first time, seeing it in just shambles in terms of the business operations.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want to leave.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want to leave.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: I was so like, it just felt like home.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: It felt like somewhere that I needed to be and wanted to come back to.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: So even if we hadn't have actually bought it, I would have been a regular coming back, regardless on whether or not it was great cuisine or you know, entertaining to say the least, I probably still would have repeated my visits because it just has a personality to it that I love.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, to be perfectly honest, you know, like I come from a big English family, and my mom is an epic cook of English fare.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: My wife makes the best steak and ale pie you'll ever eat in your life.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: What time's dinner?
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'll have you over and you'll end up putting her pie on the menu.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: But I remember being a little bit, you know, I because I didn't know you, but I remember being a little jealous of the idea.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's like I could see myself in that same realm.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I I feel like it was perfect timing for you to find that.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, it was because it's you can't just you can't just bring that out of the woodwork.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: No, absolutely not.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: And and and, you know, again, it wasn't so much the idea of having an Irish pub, it was the building.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: It it was it was we fell in love with the building immediately.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: And we knew that because of our Irish heritage that we had something to offer it that it deserved.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: We were excited to be able to come in and say, hey, can we actually pull this off?
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: Can we make this place what it really can be?
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: And we did that, luckily enough.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't know uh necessarily how, and maybe it's just because we cared enough about it, but you know, we doubled the net sales that it was when we bought it, doubled it in less than a year.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: And it was such a cool thing to feel because for us it was not that we had changed something, it was that we had we had taken something that was good and and and brought it back to life.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how it feels for us, you know.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: And then putting our own name on it and our own spin on it to make sure it was our family's thing, obviously was, you know, for our own hubris, it was great, you know, cool, whatever.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: We we've done great.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: But it just it it deserved so much.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's such a cool spot, it's such a great idea, and it really does fit a niche that is unlike anything in the area.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: I I truly believe that.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's just nothing like it, and and I'm happy that it's ours.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: I really am.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: So it leads to the question: how did you come up with the name the Dullahan?
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: So my name is Justin Reese, which is a very Welsh last name, and I couldn't exactly put a Welsh last name on a business that is an Irish pub.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: And if you call it Reese's, it would have been like we got peanut butter cups.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't know.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: Keep in mind though, we do have a Reese's peanut butter shot on the menu, and it's delicious.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: As you should.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: It would be a it would be a crime not to use that at some point.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: Jameson whiskey, a secret ingredient that I'm not gonna say because everybody else will make it and it'll be a thing, but it's it's it's pretty damn tasty.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we'll say that.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: So if you go to the Dullahan, have the Reese's shot.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but so the Dullahan is the original story of the headless horseman in old Irish folklore.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: And depending on where you're at in Ireland, the the story changes a little bit.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it can be a little bit more on the case.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like Ichabod Crane, like the whole thing.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: But the Irish version of that.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so sometimes uh, you know, the story is that this headless horseman would have a a whip that was made of human spines and be very scary and you know, like really threatening.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: Then there's the other side of it, which is a little bit more tongue-in-cheek, like our version of Sleepy Hollow and Ichabod Crane and all that, where it's, you know, if you have a pocket full of gold, you could pay the dole a hand to leave you alone.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so there's something fun, you know, to be said about that.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: But I just we love the imagery and there's something about, you know, old folklore in general that I've always been drawn to, just as a storyteller and somebody who in enjoys that.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so picking a name, it seemed to make sense, you know, and there's threats that I've had along the way of like.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: The Dolahan would come get me if I didn't eat my food, you know, from family members.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, so it had a history with you.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: It had a bit of a history, but then it was like refining that and trying to figure that out again, you know.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh, you know, when my family got together and we're sitting there going over different names, as soon as that we said it, like as soon as it would came out of our lips, it was just, oh, well, there's that.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: It was done.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: It was done.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and then we got to create the logo and we got to do these fun things with it.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: And then now we have a program to where um we basically say that if you buy a coin which has a Dola Han emblem on it, if you order a certain item, which is always changing every single day, and you have a coin, but you order that item, the Dola hand will come and get you, unless you have a coin to pay him off, in which case then you get 20% off of your meal.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: Look at that.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: So, like a little reward program while simultaneously being cheeky and fun and and you know.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: I like that.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: So there's there's an extra layer to all of that.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, question for you, you know, because when you took over this place to make it your own, one thing that is uh a bit of an uphill battle is it's a home originally.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so it didn't have a big restaurant's kitchen.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: So how did that go about?
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: How did you figure out a way to take that kitchen and serve the masses the way that you do?
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: Well, so luckily enough, the kitchen had been built out from the the family, the Maher family that had started the place, right?
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: And it was great.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um there were limitations for sure.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: And when we took it over, we weren't sure what those limitations were gonna be, what could be done, how the place, as you said, like an old house that we had no idea of like how the plumbing works and what's going on.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: Oddly enough, in the first two weeks, this sweet little lady came walking up to the to the business in her eighties, at least, maybe even older.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to judge her, but she was old.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: Let's just put it that way.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: Fair enough.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I, you know, I was outside and I was doing something, you know, around the grounds and and and I said, Can I can I help you with anything?
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: Is there anything I can do?
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: And she said, I used to live here.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: And it blew my mind.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, No way, seriously?
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, I grew up here.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, will you please come in and walk me around?
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so this sweet little lady came in and told me where the rooms were, what it was like before as a house, talked about what is now the kitchen and what was back there and all these different facets to it.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: But then luckily enough, I was able to think, like, all right, well, if that was there, then that means the plumbing is that way.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: And this goes.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: It it had a double, it double good time for you because you were able to figure out where the piping was and everything else.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: And then, and then, you know, apart from even just that of it, is um, it really comes down to staff.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: The staff that we have on hand are so good at compartmentalizing how things need to be made.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we have very long waits for food, up to an hour for food.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: But it's not because we're just behind, it's because there's limitations within what we have.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: We do everything scratch in kitchen, and we are proud of our food.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: So we don't want to send anything out that isn't to our standards.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's not up to snuff.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: But you'd be surprised on what we could pull off with such a small kitchen.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: And and it really is due to my staff that that just knows how to absolutely kill it and and trial and error, things that we've done well, and then things that we've done poorly and learn from it and not be too proud to change some things around.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'll be honest, we came in there and we had 18 people with us.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I'm as you know, someone who knows the place and knows you.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: I was like being a bit of a drill search.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, start getting the food in in waves.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, the kitchen isn't that big.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like, and they're like, could you just calm down?
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I'm calm, but you like order here, order here.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: And so that none of them listened to me, and they all ordered in a giant wave, but it was incredible that you guys were able to make it all work and it all came out, it was all perfect.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's awesome to hear.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: I that just makes me even more proud of my staff.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they're legit.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: They they they are they and they care.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's a big part of it, is they do care about putting out a good product, just like anybody in this industry.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_00: You can get super frustrated and and be overwhelmed and be in the weeds to the point where you're just like, I'm never gonna get out of it, and everything sucks, and it's it's that way.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: But when you still have a little bit of pride in what it is that you're putting out and you're willing to slow down just a little bit, it goes a long way.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: Someone who gets a great meal five minutes after they expected to get it versus somebody who gets a mediocre meal ten minutes before they thought they would get it, it goes it's a whole different thing.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: Leaps and bounds differently, you know, like it just it is just received differently.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_01: Well, if you haven't had a chance to check out the Dullahan, or you haven't seen our viral video, which uh tried to shut the kitchen down forever, um, but they overcame those odds as well.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, it's funny.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: I when I talked to you and I was like, oh my god, I didn't like I sent you a text or something and was like, um, like this video's blowing up all of a sudden.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: And and you were like, Yeah, I worked a double yesterday and I worked a double today, and that was a Saturday, Sunday.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, you put me to words.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I felt I felt terrible.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then I was getting ready to leave town the next weekend for for you know an event, and I was like, I don't know if I can go.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I didn't mean to put you on the ropes like that, but like you said, it's a good problem to have.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: No, if I'm gonna have a problem, I'd rather it be that kind of problem.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then I appreciate everybody coming out and give it a try.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: And luckily enough, you know, we've got a great response, not only from the video, but what we're doing, and that to me is huge.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it it makes it worth it.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: All the struggles and long hours or whatever that may be the case, I'm okay with that.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: People are happy, and I like to make people happy.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: And if if my food and and my business is doing that, then kudos to me and kudos to everybody that helps me accomplish it.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: And if if you've never been there, it's worth something, it's something worth checking out in Lake Oswego.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: You can't miss the Dullahan.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm sure you got Google on your phone.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and also if you're in the Beaverton area, Beaverton Aloha, also the owner of Buddies Sports Bar, tell us a little bit about Buddies before we get out of here.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: Buddies is a longtime standing diner grill sports bar.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's got a lot of different feelings to it.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's been around for 30 plus years.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's been demolished and then built back up on a sweet corner on 185th in Farmington.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's got a ton of personality, it's got a great set of regulars that have been coming in there for a long time.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it when it when it came up for sale, it was kind of one of those things where I didn't want to see it go away.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: Or go to the wrong hands.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know, go to the wrong hands and have it be something different, you know.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, my business partner, brother, and I, we, you know, we looked at it, we're like, yeah, I think we could do this.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so when we took it over, we were really excited to do so.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: And now we're trying to figure out a way to make it, you know, like our own thing, our own spin.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: But then again, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: And luckily enough, this place has been around for a long time and does really good food and everything from breakfast to ribeye steaks to prime rib on the weekends to uh, you know, I mean, we've got a south of the border menu, we've got all these things.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's gigantic.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's a lot to handle, but at the same time, it's so good.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: And the people there love it.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that that once again makes it worth it.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: If we can keep people happy that have been going there for a long time, then that's good enough for us.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: And we want to keep that up.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so you say it's a sports bar, so you can go in and watch a blazer bar.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, absolutely.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: No, we have TV's galore.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it is really meant to be a sports bar, but it operates as a kind of a diner as well, is the best way to say it, because we're so food heavy because people love the food there and we've been coming in there for a long time.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: But you can absolutely come in and watch all the games.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: We've got the NFL package, we've got all the Blazer games, got everything.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like it goes, got video lottery, we got all that.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I was I was filming some television commercials today, and I was in Beaverton and trying to make it back here, and I kept backing up our interview because I was stuck in traffic.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_01: Next time I'm just gonna cancel and I'm heading over to Buddy's.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: I have the world's smallest office, so if we try to do an interview in there, it's gonna get real tight.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: But we can get close, it's fine.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that'll be fine.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, this studio is close enough, so make sure you go check out Buddy Sports Bar at Beaverton Aloha.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: I say Beaverton Aloha because it's right there on the border.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_01: Also, the Dullahan place close to my heart that I love.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_01: Just don't order the last fish and chip because that's for me.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but hey, they they they now know that the masses are coming, and I'm sure they're coming even more after this.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_01: And we're gonna get up that video.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_01: You can check out my social media to see uh Justin here talking me into liking malt vinegar, which my whole family will admit that it's one of my shortcomings in life.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so I appreciate you being here.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_01: And if you get a chance, there will also be a full length interview on the Fit for Radio podcast where we talk about Justin's history and music.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, he is the Reverend Justin Scott Reese.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so, if uh, you know, for a certain price, maybe he could be the one who marries you and your special someone.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks a lot for coming on, bro.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_01: Appreciate it.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's been a pleasure.