Latest / Choppin’ It Up by Bloomberg Intelligence / SPB Hospitality’s Kern on M&A, Refranchising

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SPB Hospitality’s Kern on M&A, Refranchising · Choppin’ It Up by Bloomberg Intelligence

0:11
Speaker 1: Welcome to Chopping It Up.
0:12
Speaker 2: I'm your host, Mike Hanlon, the Senior Restaurant and Food
0:14
Speaker 2: Service Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. Our research and that a
0:18
Speaker 2: bi's five hundred analysts around the globe can be found
0:21
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0:25
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0:27
Speaker 2: review on Apple or Spotify.
0:29
Speaker 1: Today we're joined by Josh Kern.
0:31
Speaker 2: Josh is the CEO of SPB Hospitality, a Houston based
0:36
Speaker 2: multi concept restaurant company with almost five hundred units across
0:39
Speaker 2: eight brands, Crystal Jay, Alexander's, Logan's Roadhouse, Stony River, Amada,
0:44
Speaker 2: Leo's Italian Kitchen, Ember Smoked Barbecue, and Village Whiskey.
0:49
Speaker 1: Thanks for joining me, Josh. Did I get all those right?
0:51
Speaker 3: You got them? Yeah?
0:52
Speaker 4: It's always tough to say SPB, Believe me. I stumble
0:56
Speaker 4: over that all the time, and I misspell hospitality. I
0:59
Speaker 4: forget the so many times I'm typing too fast. So yeah,
1:02
Speaker 4: you got it right for sure?
1:04
Speaker 3: All right?
1:04
Speaker 1: Good stuff, man.
1:05
Speaker 2: You've been at SPB for almost seven years now. What
1:08
Speaker 2: initially attracted you to the gig?
1:10
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean I came in when it was under
1:13
Speaker 4: the umbrella of craft Works Holdings, and the thesis at that
1:16
Speaker 4: point in time was really to start this this multi
1:19
Speaker 4: concept and try and use utilize shared services. And so
1:22
Speaker 4: I was attracted to the fact that you know, had
1:24
Speaker 4: a collection of brands on one side, and was acquiring
1:28
Speaker 4: Logan's Roadhouse at the time, and so I thought, I
1:30
Speaker 4: was fascinating to use my marketing background to you to
1:33
Speaker 4: really amplify, you know, the overall guest experience, and then
1:37
Speaker 4: how do you kind of manage all those different contracts
1:40
Speaker 4: and vendors h and then you know, basically put this
1:43
Speaker 4: you know, lego into a system and then figure out
1:46
Speaker 4: how to drive the company forward, but always be mindful
1:49
Speaker 4: of the consumer and the guests that are coming in
1:51
Speaker 4: the restaurant.
1:52
Speaker 3: So I thought that was.
1:52
Speaker 4: A great opportunity to really grow. And I certainly have
1:56
Speaker 4: learned a lot from from those initial days. And you know,
1:59
Speaker 4: back in eighteen.
2:01
Speaker 2: I'm sure there's been a lot of changes to the
2:04
Speaker 2: portfolio of late What motivated the sale of your brew
2:07
Speaker 2: house concepts in December and more recently the old Chicago
2:10
Speaker 2: Pizza and tap Room divestiture.
2:13
Speaker 3: Yeah, great question.
2:14
Speaker 4: These these are legacy brands, particularly kind of you know,
2:17
Speaker 4: rock Bottom on the brewery side and Gordon Beers. You know,
2:21
Speaker 4: they were the og of breweries and started, you know
2:24
Speaker 4: twenty five thirty years ago when it was super hot
2:27
Speaker 4: to have a brewery and a restaurant bolted onto one another,
2:31
Speaker 4: and it just over the years consumers really started to
2:34
Speaker 4: push away, and some of it was just you know beer,
2:37
Speaker 4: you know, craft beer kind of came out of flavor
2:39
Speaker 4: because you had all these micro breweries in local communities
2:43
Speaker 4: across the country, you know, started chipping away from that
2:46
Speaker 4: core beer person and then going in a restaurant and
2:50
Speaker 4: having all those smells, it just started to lose its way,
2:52
Speaker 4: and they were maybe they're massive. We were talking sixteen
2:57
Speaker 4: thousand to nineteen thousand square feet and as you know,
3:01
Speaker 4: as you know, being immersed in the in this in
3:03
Speaker 4: this category that's expensive on the facility side, and if
3:06
Speaker 4: you're trying to remodel and trying to do private dining,
3:09
Speaker 4: you know, all those things just certainly, you know, had
3:12
Speaker 4: some impact. And you know, then you add a little
3:13
Speaker 4: bit of sprinkle of of of what happened with COVID
3:17
Speaker 4: certainly was was a factor that product fast forward and
3:20
Speaker 4: you know what was happening on the Breu side, So
3:22
Speaker 4: we we were looking pretty hard to to move that on.
3:24
Speaker 4: But we love the brand, so you know, wanted to
3:26
Speaker 4: make sure it was in good hands. The Kelly group
3:28
Speaker 4: kind of stepped up and took some of those uh,
3:31
Speaker 4: those brands.
3:33
Speaker 2: Uh.
3:33
Speaker 4: And then with Old Chicago, you know, tough category with
3:36
Speaker 4: pizza and beer. You know, kind of you got those
3:39
Speaker 4: two worlds that are you know, had some interesting opportunities
3:42
Speaker 4: during COVID for sure, pizza was certainly the go to item,
3:47
Speaker 4: and you know people were were used to delivery and all.
3:50
Speaker 3: That good stuff. But you know, just over the years.
3:52
Speaker 4: You know, another legacy brand where OC was just you
3:55
Speaker 4: know getting picked apart in different areas. You had some
3:58
Speaker 4: older leases that were out there. It's kind of some
4:00
Speaker 4: trade areas that were just kind of off the beaten path,
4:03
Speaker 4: and so it was it was hard, and it became
4:05
Speaker 4: a little bit of a distraction with our other brands
4:09
Speaker 4: because of just the nature of that particular business a
4:12
Speaker 4: little bit different than the rest of our brands is that,
4:14
Speaker 4: you know, we're really heavy on the southeast part of
4:17
Speaker 4: the country. In Old Chicago's a little bit more kind
4:19
Speaker 4: of in the West, and and started in Denver, and
4:23
Speaker 4: so that's really when we started to see there an
4:25
Speaker 4: opportunity to kind of spin that one out. Had some
4:29
Speaker 4: really great interest, you know, Morgan Kingston was you know,
4:31
Speaker 4: our advisors on on that that initiative, and uh, they
4:35
Speaker 4: did a great job and we had some interesting folks
4:37
Speaker 4: that came to table, and so we we just closed
4:41
Speaker 4: it last Monday, and certainly was was an interesting process,
4:45
Speaker 4: but happy that another group has come into the end
4:48
Speaker 4: of the frame and we'll be able to take the
4:50
Speaker 4: brand to new heights hopefully.
4:52
Speaker 2: Cool and you're not just divesting brands. You know, you
4:54
Speaker 2: purchased a model last year. What attracted you to that one?
4:58
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean we were you know, we were looking
5:00
Speaker 3: at all.
5:00
Speaker 4: Sorts of interesting things last year, and you know we
5:04
Speaker 4: were looking at something that was over four hundred units
5:06
Speaker 4: and you know, those those type of propositions. You know,
5:10
Speaker 4: it was a legacy brand. And you know, while we're
5:13
Speaker 4: good at kind of resuscitating you know, brands, you know,
5:16
Speaker 4: it becomes a time when that's.
5:17
Speaker 3: All you're doing.
5:18
Speaker 4: You're managing really you know the real estate.
5:21
Speaker 3: Side of things.
5:21
Speaker 4: You're really getting hyper focused on labor and food costs.
5:26
Speaker 4: And then that might be the detriment of the guest
5:28
Speaker 4: experience because you're just not getting the traffic on those sides.
5:31
Speaker 4: So we we pivoted and wanted to kind of, you know,
5:34
Speaker 4: take something that was up and coming concept that was
5:37
Speaker 4: relevant to kind of the next generation of consumers in
5:40
Speaker 4: terms of international flavors, and then something that we also
5:43
Speaker 4: are very good at is growing restaurants, so designing new restaurants,
5:48
Speaker 4: and so we thought that that was a good opportunity
5:50
Speaker 4: for you for SPV to allow the great group of
5:53
Speaker 4: people that we have within our support centers to apply
5:55
Speaker 4: their talents in terms.
5:57
Speaker 3: Of growth and development.
5:59
Speaker 4: You know, working with Chef Jose Garcis, who's you know,
6:02
Speaker 4: a legend within the culinary you know world, and adding
6:05
Speaker 4: kind of his inspiration and his abilities to kind of,
6:08
Speaker 4: you know, weigh in on what we're trying to build.
6:11
Speaker 4: We thought it was a good kind of pivot for
6:13
Speaker 4: us to be a little bit smaller to look at
6:16
Speaker 4: really some some markets that are you know, that will
6:18
Speaker 4: support kind of a you know, Spanish tapist concept.
6:22
Speaker 3: Uh So we thought that was a good opportunity.
6:24
Speaker 4: And our friends Barcelona, you know, they're they're doing a
6:26
Speaker 4: heck of a job, and so we know there's white
6:29
Speaker 4: space in many markets across the country, and so we
6:32
Speaker 4: leaned into that and the other thing that Jose brings
6:35
Speaker 4: to the to the tables. He's a great concept, you
6:37
Speaker 4: know person, he's a great chef, really knows how we can.
6:40
Speaker 3: Kind of pivot in different areas.
6:42
Speaker 4: So he's got a you know, an interesting coffee concept
6:46
Speaker 4: that we're starting to you know, to kick around. And
6:49
Speaker 4: you know, as we look at real estate for other
6:51
Speaker 4: properties like d Alexander's, you know, we get we get
6:53
Speaker 4: some of these properties that are you know, that are
6:55
Speaker 4: interested in a chef driven concepts that could stem from
6:58
Speaker 4: you know that that am part into those PM day
7:02
Speaker 4: parts and so it allows us to kind of customize
7:05
Speaker 4: and help landlords across the country to help differentiate what
7:08
Speaker 4: we bring to the table. And so he's been really
7:11
Speaker 4: good on that side of the business and just a
7:14
Speaker 4: really great person in general, which we really like. We're
7:18
Speaker 4: all about people and so working you know together and
7:21
Speaker 4: collaboratively is something that we thought would be great to
7:24
Speaker 4: bolt onto SPB as we divest some legacy brands and
7:28
Speaker 4: bring in some new things across the country.
7:30
Speaker 2: Yeah, very cool, and it's interesting that you're willing to
7:34
Speaker 2: both resuscitate brands as well as you know, grow emerging ones.
7:39
Speaker 2: That really opens up the funnel when it comes to
7:41
Speaker 2: potential acquisition targets one.
7:43
Speaker 4: Hundred percent, you know, and we're a little bit you know,
7:46
Speaker 4: different because we also have some franchise you know, Old
7:49
Speaker 4: Chicago is about, you know, fifty percent franchised, Logans has
7:53
Speaker 4: a component of it, and Crystal Brands are about sixty
7:57
Speaker 4: five percent franchise. So we also have that side of
8:00
Speaker 4: the business, which is very interesting, especially when you talking
8:03
Speaker 4: about M and A activity, because there's some big franchise
8:06
Speaker 4: you know, groups that are out there that are really interested.
8:09
Speaker 4: There's groups that are you know, specializing carve outs that
8:12
Speaker 4: that are interested, and then we are also looking.
8:14
Speaker 3: Kind of some of those opportunities.
8:15
Speaker 4: So I guess what the you know, the headline there
8:17
Speaker 4: is we're not afraid if it's a franchise entity or
8:20
Speaker 4: if it's not, because our j Alexander's business is one
8:23
Speaker 4: hundred percent corporate. So it just adds up, you know,
8:26
Speaker 4: and you've got some some different personalities when you're working
8:29
Speaker 4: with franchisees who are invested in a brand, you know,
8:31
Speaker 4: versus quote unquote corporate ones, and so you know, we're
8:34
Speaker 4: we're we're I think we're really good in terms of
8:36
Speaker 4: managing those relationships as well. So it's a little bit
8:39
Speaker 4: different in terms of what we have going, which you know,
8:43
Speaker 4: just makes it really interesting.
8:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, franchising is a very different business than
8:49
Speaker 2: owning and operating restaurants. That's cool, And let's dig in
8:53
Speaker 2: more on Jay Alexander's that's your primary growth vehicle. Can
8:56
Speaker 2: you talk about what makes that change special?
8:58
Speaker 4: You know, it's it's it's one of those brands where
9:01
Speaker 4: you know, hospitality is is really kind of stem to
9:05
Speaker 4: stern and so you know, really from you know, starting
9:08
Speaker 4: from the menu that's been highly cultivated. It's got some
9:10
Speaker 4: regional nuances. So you know in Naples, Florida, you know,
9:14
Speaker 4: we've got a little bit more seafood, a little bit
9:16
Speaker 4: more salads to kind of meet the you know, the
9:18
Speaker 4: guests expectations on that front, and so really highly cultivated,
9:22
Speaker 4: you know, very scratch kitchen. You know, they do a
9:25
Speaker 4: taste plate. You know, every morning they go through with
9:29
Speaker 4: you know and taste you know, every single sauce and
9:32
Speaker 4: you know, going through the walk you know, the walk
9:34
Speaker 4: ins and making sure that everything's ready for service, and
9:37
Speaker 4: they thought everything through, and you know, really specialized group
9:42
Speaker 4: that's back of the house and really engaging and in
9:44
Speaker 4: great tenure. I mean, we've got some some gms that
9:47
Speaker 4: you know, have been with the brand for you know,
9:50
Speaker 4: twenty twenty five years, some kitchen managers that kind of
9:54
Speaker 4: have that same tenure. So really that kind of really
9:56
Speaker 4: is is different in the industry in terms of having
9:59
Speaker 4: some some you know, some people that are making careers
10:01
Speaker 4: out of just such a great opportunity. So it starts
10:04
Speaker 4: with that menu. But our service is just it's really polished.
10:08
Speaker 4: It really meets the you know we we preach, so
10:11
Speaker 4: you know, making eigeh contact with guests and you know,
10:14
Speaker 4: they have a very refined uniform package in terms of
10:18
Speaker 4: what their expectations are to you know, to come in
10:20
Speaker 4: and be restaurant ready and making sure your your fingernails
10:24
Speaker 4: are manicured, you know, both males and females, and and
10:27
Speaker 4: making sure that we thought of everything when it comes
10:29
Speaker 4: to that overall experience, and and and and really have
10:33
Speaker 4: have done a nice job. And I think the great
10:35
Speaker 4: thing about that is just consistency when you go through
10:38
Speaker 4: kind of reviews, whether that's on Yelp or you know,
10:41
Speaker 4: Google or you name it. You know, we really have
10:44
Speaker 4: you know, that high expectations. We try and meet every
10:47
Speaker 4: every expectation of the guests that comes in. And I
10:50
Speaker 4: think we just do a really great job and you
10:52
Speaker 4: know what you're going to get when you go into
10:54
Speaker 4: Jay's and have a good time. And so it's kind
10:57
Speaker 4: of that that magic that that's out there. But I
11:00
Speaker 4: do think at the end of the day, it comes
11:02
Speaker 4: down to those those those carrying gms that really run
11:05
Speaker 4: great shifts each and every day, uh and just really
11:08
Speaker 4: motivate the team and you know, have rally alleys before
11:11
Speaker 4: a shift or pre shift and uh and just really
11:13
Speaker 4: kind of work together on that front. So that's that's
11:17
Speaker 4: the magic that we see every day for sure.
11:19
Speaker 2: Yeah, you can't run great restaurants without great gms, man exactly.
11:23
Speaker 4: I mean they're the heartbeat of of what goes on
11:25
Speaker 4: and you know, and and and they have to deal
11:28
Speaker 4: with all sorts of craziness.
11:29
Speaker 3: I mean, it's been interesting the past couple of years.
11:32
Speaker 4: You know, it's it's those outside influences that just it's tough,
11:35
Speaker 4: right everything from you know, we saw this inflationary pressure
11:38
Speaker 4: you know, we sell a ton of high quality steaks
11:42
Speaker 4: and seafood, and you know, steaks are spiking through the roof,
11:45
Speaker 4: and you know, then you get the crazy weather and flooding.
11:48
Speaker 4: We have, ah, we have a location that's that flooded out.
11:51
Speaker 4: It's still closed, and you know, you got to you
11:54
Speaker 4: got to earn back those guests.
11:55
Speaker 3: You know, since you've been closed for two two three.
11:58
Speaker 4: Weeks, you got to get at back out there and
12:00
Speaker 4: and let people know that you're open. So there's just
12:03
Speaker 4: you know, it seems like, you know, there's always something
12:05
Speaker 4: that's coming into into into the world, and so we
12:08
Speaker 4: have to we have to really manage that process to
12:10
Speaker 4: to keep people focused and and and the good thing is,
12:13
Speaker 4: you know, it can be corporate that can really you know,
12:16
Speaker 4: you know, can screw things up because you know, if
12:19
Speaker 4: we add a new system every day, or we add
12:21
Speaker 4: a new initiative, or you know, do things that are
12:23
Speaker 4: going to distract at the unit level. You know, we
12:26
Speaker 4: try not to do that to the best of our abilities. Obviously,
12:29
Speaker 4: we want to adapt to the marketplace, and there's you know,
12:31
Speaker 4: there's some good technology that we can look at and
12:34
Speaker 4: but that we're very mindful of just not upsetting that
12:37
Speaker 4: apple Apple cart. But at the same time, we can't
12:39
Speaker 4: be asleep at the wheel. I mean, Jay's has to evolve.
12:41
Speaker 4: It's consumer set. It's getting a little bit older and
12:45
Speaker 4: the guests that we see out there, and so you know,
12:47
Speaker 4: we're looking at initiatives to get that younger generation in.
12:49
Speaker 4: You know, we've been spending time and in this kind
12:52
Speaker 4: of non alcoholic you know, mocktail arena, uh, you know,
12:56
Speaker 4: to really you know, it's it is definitely changing before
13:00
Speaker 4: or our eyes in terms of how people are kind
13:02
Speaker 4: of interacting with the brand. So we don't want to
13:04
Speaker 4: be resting on our laurels and take for granted that
13:07
Speaker 4: we've got a built in guest base that we want
13:10
Speaker 4: to attract new guests as much as we possibly can.
13:14
Speaker 2: Yeah, this industry will keep you on your toes, that's
13:17
Speaker 2: for sure. Are there any pockets in the US where
13:20
Speaker 2: at Jay Alexander's is strong and how fast we're expanding.
13:24
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, you know, Florida market for US has
13:27
Speaker 4: always been traditionally really really good market, and so we're
13:30
Speaker 4: going into Orlando in Q one. We've got that site
13:34
Speaker 4: all squared away. We're looking at Sarasota as a potential site.
13:40
Speaker 4: And then we've done really well in Texas, so our
13:42
Speaker 4: Houston location, our San Antonio locations, and so we're going
13:45
Speaker 4: hot and heavy into Dallas. And it's just one of
13:48
Speaker 4: those concepts where it's got a you know, good brand recognition.
13:51
Speaker 4: And so we're going into into Dallas. We've got a
13:54
Speaker 4: couple that are going to be coming on one end
13:56
Speaker 4: of this year, another one in Q one of next
13:59
Speaker 4: year prosper UH and then we're going back into the
14:03
Speaker 4: Arizona market and Chandler UH and so you know, going
14:06
Speaker 4: a little bit west. So it's it's it does well
14:09
Speaker 4: kind of in in those kind of higher demographic areas
14:14
Speaker 4: and have that really nice balance between that that lunch
14:17
Speaker 4: and dinner business although excus, you know heavy dinner. But
14:21
Speaker 4: and then in the South, I mean, our Michigan locations are.
14:24
Speaker 3: Doing really well.
14:25
Speaker 4: I mean, it's it's it's interesting to see what happens
14:28
Speaker 4: in Troy, Michigan at Somerset Collection that one rock and
14:32
Speaker 4: Roll Rocks and Rolls Tennessee locations and you know, certainly
14:35
Speaker 4: within Nashville are doing great. Our our Franklin, Tennessee is
14:40
Speaker 4: is probably the number one the system. Maybe you know
14:42
Speaker 4: close with plantation down Florida. But so you know, really
14:46
Speaker 4: has some some some great opportunities and we continue to
14:49
Speaker 4: look and see, you know, are there smaller adaptations of
14:52
Speaker 4: a Jay's like a Jay's Light, you know, similar to
14:55
Speaker 4: what our friends at at Hillstone or Houston's do with
14:57
Speaker 4: with their Honor bar concepts. And you know, there's some
15:00
Speaker 4: elasticity that we're you know, we're kicking around, you know,
15:02
Speaker 4: what what can we do on that front? And can
15:05
Speaker 4: we go in a smaller footprint and still kind of
15:07
Speaker 4: has some interesting aspects of the brand.
15:09
Speaker 3: So it keeps us on our toes for sure. Cool.
15:13
Speaker 1: What kind of au vs are you doing system wide?
15:16
Speaker 2: And what kind of AUVs are you looking at for
15:18
Speaker 2: new stores and maybe some of these smaller units.
15:21
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean we we sit about seven four on
15:23
Speaker 4: a Jay's so very healthy. Continues to grow, you know really,
15:28
Speaker 4: you know nice, that's why we're attracted to the Paulice
15:32
Speaker 4: casual concept. And he can't take for granted, right that
15:35
Speaker 4: that consumer you know, it has been you know that
15:38
Speaker 4: it's been an interesting year in terms of of their
15:40
Speaker 4: of their burrow and K's and wallets, but you know
15:43
Speaker 4: they've been you know, we haven't seen a dip knock
15:46
Speaker 4: on wood for for Jay Alexander's and we we we
15:48
Speaker 4: have you know, nice healthy traffic counts, and I do
15:51
Speaker 4: think that it all spirals back to that hospitality and
15:54
Speaker 4: people are just continuing to look at, you know, being
15:57
Speaker 4: treated a little bit different and if it's a special
15:59
Speaker 4: event or a date night going in there and having
16:03
Speaker 4: a refined sense of hospitality, you know, it's just harder
16:06
Speaker 4: and harder to.
16:06
Speaker 3: Find these days.
16:07
Speaker 4: And as consumers continue to eat out, it's you know,
16:11
Speaker 4: I think they're a little bit tired of kind of
16:13
Speaker 4: that fast casual experience, you know. So I think that
16:17
Speaker 4: having you know, not not to that really white tablecloth experience,
16:21
Speaker 4: like we don't want to be you know, too too
16:23
Speaker 4: far where it's exclusive on that front, we think there's
16:26
Speaker 4: a very nice balance in between the you know, casual
16:29
Speaker 4: plus environment that really is allowing our guests to feel
16:33
Speaker 4: a little bit more special and take that opportunity to
16:37
Speaker 4: you know, to come in you know, two three times
16:38
Speaker 4: a week and get something different. Because our menu has
16:41
Speaker 4: daily specials in addition to the things that are always
16:44
Speaker 4: on the menu, so we're certainly conscious of that.
16:47
Speaker 2: Cool Crystal was acquired in twenty twenty two. I believe
16:52
Speaker 2: the chain wasn't doing very well when you made the acquisition.
16:56
Speaker 2: How are things going now with the chain?
16:58
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean it's it's in better shape.
17:00
Speaker 4: We inherited a mess, uh and certainly we had to
17:03
Speaker 4: kind of take it down to the studs in terms
17:05
Speaker 4: of you know, all those things that I've talked about,
17:07
Speaker 4: you know with you today is you know, even in
17:09
Speaker 4: a drive through, there's a degree of hospitality and and
17:12
Speaker 4: so that that guest experience really wasn't working out too well.
17:15
Speaker 4: So you know, we we we put some new team
17:18
Speaker 4: members that are you know, really driving the brand. I've
17:20
Speaker 4: got an amazing leader and Amanda Hide, who you know
17:23
Speaker 4: from an operation standpoint, you know, she she leads with
17:26
Speaker 4: with tough love. Right there's you know, you've got to
17:29
Speaker 4: put your arms around people sometimes and and and and
17:32
Speaker 4: really build them up. But at the same time, we
17:34
Speaker 4: got to hold people accountable to you know, the expectations
17:37
Speaker 4: that we have. And it's a you know, that's a fierce, fierce.
17:40
Speaker 3: Category to be in. And you know, everyone.
17:42
Speaker 4: From you know, from McDonald's to White Castle to you know,
17:45
Speaker 4: to locals that are in the marketplace.
17:47
Speaker 3: It's tough.
17:48
Speaker 4: So we concentrated on the basics, you know, you know,
17:51
Speaker 4: getting that you know about eighty three percent is through
17:54
Speaker 4: the drive through, so you know, anyone can say, oh well,
17:57
Speaker 4: let's focus them and drive through. So we really have
17:59
Speaker 4: tried to make got the best experience possible, investing a
18:02
Speaker 4: little bit and kind of those digital menu boards and
18:05
Speaker 4: getting that experience a little better to help quite frankly,
18:08
Speaker 4: not only the guests that are coming to those drive throughs,
18:10
Speaker 4: but our team members that you know have better headsets,
18:13
Speaker 4: have better ways to get those systems in, get that
18:15
Speaker 4: food out hot and fresh, and so you know, how
18:18
Speaker 4: to concentrate on those elements. But at the same time,
18:21
Speaker 4: couldn't fix everything at once, right, I mean there's you know,
18:24
Speaker 4: you can see twenty things that are that need to
18:26
Speaker 4: be addressed, but there's only a few that you really
18:28
Speaker 4: can focus on. So over the past two years, you know,
18:31
Speaker 4: we've we've really you know, focused on on the basics,
18:34
Speaker 4: and now we're evolving in terms of, you know, a
18:36
Speaker 4: little bit more innovation, getting into the fun nature that
18:39
Speaker 4: you know that Crystal has been afforded. I mean it's
18:41
Speaker 4: a funky brand. It's been around ninety I think it
18:45
Speaker 4: celebrates its ninety fourth birthday next month, and so it's
18:50
Speaker 4: it's had some fun in its history, and I think
18:52
Speaker 4: it got away from that that it was just very transactional.
18:56
Speaker 4: It got full of itself. It started to you know,
18:58
Speaker 4: to go on different paths. And so now just you know,
19:01
Speaker 4: focused on you know, how do we you know, talk
19:02
Speaker 4: about the brand in a unique way, how do we
19:05
Speaker 4: continue to be a little bit irreverent at the same time,
19:09
Speaker 4: you know, make sure we're meeting expectations of you know,
19:11
Speaker 4: what people want to spend dollars on. So, uh, it's
19:14
Speaker 4: been interesting, and we're not there yet. I mean we're
19:16
Speaker 4: you know, we're probably fifty percent you know down the line.
19:20
Speaker 4: You know, there's still plenty to do. You know, you've
19:22
Speaker 4: got facilities that are you know, we're built in the
19:25
Speaker 4: seventies and so you can imagine some of the facilities
19:28
Speaker 4: on that front, and you know, if you touch it,
19:30
Speaker 4: then you got it. You get back in some ada issues.
19:33
Speaker 4: So again, just like you know, being in this industry,
19:36
Speaker 4: there's always something that that happens on that front. And
19:40
Speaker 4: and so, you know, super proud of what the team's
19:42
Speaker 4: been done. But I had been doing but lots there
19:45
Speaker 4: to to to notice in the future. We've we've we've
19:49
Speaker 4: seen our fair share of crime the past year, you know,
19:53
Speaker 4: a lot of smash and grabs. You know, it seems
19:56
Speaker 4: to be a little bit. It seems like the past
19:59
Speaker 4: month things of stilled a little bit.
20:01
Speaker 3: But it was rough, man, it.
20:03
Speaker 4: Was there was some weird stuff just in terms of
20:06
Speaker 4: what we would see. And you know, some of it's
20:07
Speaker 4: the trade area, some of it's just the culture that
20:09
Speaker 4: we're in, you know today. But uh, I'm happy that
20:13
Speaker 4: things seem to be getting a little bit more normal.
20:17
Speaker 4: And we're always going to have some crime in there,
20:19
Speaker 4: but but it seems like it's it's subsiding slightly.
20:23
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's unfortunate, but it sounds like as a former marketer,
20:26
Speaker 2: this could be one that's fun, uh.
20:29
Speaker 3: To revive through.
20:30
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean part of the business, right.
20:32
Speaker 4: It's an it's an acquired taste and and and you
20:34
Speaker 4: know the best thing about this is that you know,
20:37
Speaker 4: consumers will not let Crystal die like, you know, different
20:40
Speaker 4: from when I was talking about rock Bottom, like you know,
20:43
Speaker 4: rock Bottom and a brewery. I think consumers were like, eh,
20:46
Speaker 4: you know, okay, it was it's had its day, But man,
20:48
Speaker 4: Crystal just has you know this this loyal followers, and
20:51
Speaker 4: they're very diverse. I mean they are all all sorts
20:54
Speaker 4: of spectrums from you know, your your you know your
20:57
Speaker 4: your your, your folks in Tennessee your folks, and you
20:59
Speaker 4: know kind of in the and Georgia. I mean, there's
21:01
Speaker 4: just it's very interesting just to see who comes through
21:03
Speaker 4: those drive throughs. Get a lot of nostalgic you know,
21:07
Speaker 4: you know, moms and dads that want to take their
21:10
Speaker 4: kids into Crystal because they had an experience and their
21:13
Speaker 4: grandparents had an experience and so we we know there's
21:16
Speaker 4: something to tap in there on that generational side, and
21:19
Speaker 4: you know, how do you tell those stories?
21:20
Speaker 3: And so you know, that is the fun side of it.
21:24
Speaker 3: It's getting a little bit more fun. I mean it
21:26
Speaker 3: was it was tough.
21:27
Speaker 4: And our teams, if you can imagine, you know, I've
21:29
Speaker 4: got some folks that work on Jay Alexander's that are
21:31
Speaker 4: doing some things on Crystal and just to get their mindset,
21:35
Speaker 4: you know, away from Okay, you're you know, you're you've
21:38
Speaker 4: got a totally different environment at a Jay's. You know,
21:41
Speaker 4: how do you kind of pivot and you know, use
21:44
Speaker 4: the basic tenets of restaurant one oh one to apply
21:47
Speaker 4: that into a into a QSR. And you know, some
21:49
Speaker 4: people it takes a unique person.
21:51
Speaker 3: You know. Some people are good with it.
21:53
Speaker 4: Some people, you know, it's a it's a challenge and
21:55
Speaker 4: they can't accept it that way.
21:57
Speaker 3: And you know, I've got to mold the.
21:58
Speaker 4: Team to you know, to find in our strengths and
22:00
Speaker 4: our weaknesses and put people, you know, against the brands,
22:04
Speaker 4: you know, where they really can adapt. And we've got
22:07
Speaker 4: some great people that certainly have done that along the way,
22:10
Speaker 4: which I love.
22:12
Speaker 2: You're refranchising the chain. What percentage of the store base
22:16
Speaker 2: do you want to retain and what are your plans
22:18
Speaker 2: for the proceeds.
22:19
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean I think, like you know, eighty percent
22:22
Speaker 4: just kind of seems like the right thing to do.
22:25
Speaker 4: And in the Crystal side, certainly want to invest in
22:29
Speaker 4: in upkeep and facilities and remodels across the system. And
22:34
Speaker 4: it's obviously a little bit easier if you're you know,
22:36
Speaker 4: in that franchise community on that front. So that's that's
22:39
Speaker 4: really what I've been been trying to focus on and
22:41
Speaker 4: get that number as high as human as possible.
22:45
Speaker 3: And it's got a good base.
22:46
Speaker 4: I mean, we had to reinvigorate and invigorate you know,
22:49
Speaker 4: our franchise Ease. They were kind of not treated the
22:52
Speaker 4: best throughout their time, but we've done a nice job
22:55
Speaker 4: of turning them around.
22:56
Speaker 3: For sure.
22:57
Speaker 2: Are you growing the other brands in the portfolio and
23:00
Speaker 2: if not, what are you doing with the cash that
23:01
Speaker 2: they generate?
23:02
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean we we've been doing a little bit
23:04
Speaker 4: of growth. We just opened a new Logans, uh and
23:08
Speaker 4: so you know, we're very cautious on that front because Logans,
23:12
Speaker 4: you know, we've we've kind of trimmed the portfolio and
23:16
Speaker 4: tried to just continue. You know, we've got a lot
23:18
Speaker 4: of or had a lot of work to do in
23:20
Speaker 4: the in the Logan side, so you know, it's probably
23:23
Speaker 4: slow growth on that front. A lot more growth on
23:25
Speaker 4: the Ammoda Jays and Stony side. But yeah, just reinvesting
23:29
Speaker 4: in the brand. You know, again, Logan's legacy brand. You know,
23:33
Speaker 4: got some assets that that need some.
23:34
Speaker 3: Tender love and care.
23:35
Speaker 4: The nice thing about a road house is that, you know,
23:39
Speaker 4: a remodel is not you know, you don't have to
23:41
Speaker 4: do too much and there's probably more back of the
23:43
Speaker 4: house and restrooms to to really meet to kind of
23:46
Speaker 4: where we expect things. So that's where we've been putting
23:49
Speaker 4: you know, that capital and then certainly looking for you know,
23:52
Speaker 4: what we can do on the M and a side
23:54
Speaker 4: of things and and kicking around the tires to see,
23:57
Speaker 4: you know, with some of these proceeds, are that you know,
23:59
Speaker 4: is there an opportunity to find something you know that
24:01
Speaker 4: that's you know, in that polished arena that might be
24:05
Speaker 4: you know, six to twenty units, are you know, our
24:10
Speaker 4: our big pieces, you know, can't has the concept grown
24:13
Speaker 4: out of its home market? That always is a challenge
24:16
Speaker 4: as a concept person at heart is you know, we've
24:18
Speaker 4: got some great concepts and you know, all these cities
24:21
Speaker 4: across the country, but can you break out and have
24:23
Speaker 4: they proven themselves successful you know, getting out of a
24:26
Speaker 4: home market. So that's where we're starting to you know,
24:29
Speaker 4: when when we get the you know, any information on
24:32
Speaker 4: on brands for sale, that's kind of what we ask ourselves.
24:36
Speaker 2: And clearly you have a broad purchasing basket. So how
24:39
Speaker 2: will SPB be impacted by the tariffs?
24:43
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, you know, when that first came on,
24:46
Speaker 4: you know, we were, you know, we were you know,
24:48
Speaker 4: very you know, nervous about what we're seeing so you
24:51
Speaker 4: know we've started to look at things, you know, domestically
24:55
Speaker 4: canola oil. You know, we bought some that was in Canada.
24:59
Speaker 4: We've kind of looked at that on a domestic basis
25:01
Speaker 4: and found suppliers the challenges everybody else is doing at
25:06
Speaker 4: the same time, so you know, we've got to balance
25:08
Speaker 4: the cost.
25:09
Speaker 3: You know that that's out there.
25:10
Speaker 4: But you know we've been we're big in some respects
25:13
Speaker 4: but small in others, so we can be a little
25:15
Speaker 4: bit more nimble. So you know, that was certainly a
25:17
Speaker 4: factor in Canada was you know, was not on our
25:20
Speaker 4: bingo card.
25:21
Speaker 3: You know, there would there'd be some challenges, but.
25:23
Speaker 4: Clearly that's been something we've had to adapt on that front.
25:27
Speaker 4: There was a little bit of spirits on that as well.
25:30
Speaker 4: And then you know, really looking at produce side of things,
25:33
Speaker 4: and you know, particularly on avocados and what's happening on
25:36
Speaker 4: that front. Tomatoes now are are deeply impacted and so
25:41
Speaker 4: you know that there are there are things that we
25:43
Speaker 4: can you know, because we're big, we can kind of
25:46
Speaker 4: absorb the costs to a certain extent, and so we've
25:50
Speaker 4: been we've been you know, watching that across the lines.
25:53
Speaker 4: Spirits is another one where there's a little bit of noise.
25:57
Speaker 4: But you know, we we haven't been past you know,
25:59
Speaker 4: we haven't taken price on the brands. You know, this year,
26:02
Speaker 4: I think that you know, like a lot of brands
26:04
Speaker 4: the past couple of years, you know, we certainly had
26:06
Speaker 4: our fair share, you know, across the different dimensions. I
26:09
Speaker 4: do still think that for the value and for the
26:12
Speaker 4: quality at A J's and a Stony, you're you know,
26:15
Speaker 4: the guest is getting to steal still out there. I mean,
26:19
Speaker 4: we're very conscious of where we sit with our competitors
26:23
Speaker 4: out there, and we didn't really not raised prices.
26:27
Speaker 3: You know, We've done a little.
26:28
Speaker 4: Bit here and there around the edges because of you know,
26:31
Speaker 4: the basket of goods as you mentioned. But but but yeah,
26:35
Speaker 4: tariff seemed to be getting at least you know, it's
26:37
Speaker 4: the uncertainty was the piece that was really driving you
26:41
Speaker 4: know a lot of the quick reactions. But now you know,
26:44
Speaker 4: it's something we're watching, you know, the cattle front and
26:47
Speaker 4: the and the thinning of cattle.
26:49
Speaker 3: You know, that was you know, the you know, the past.
26:51
Speaker 4: Twelve months or so that's impacted us. And so we've
26:55
Speaker 4: been really you know, we've we've been moving around some
26:57
Speaker 4: of our vendor relationships and and really, you know, we
27:01
Speaker 4: don't want to sacrifice quality, but we also need to
27:03
Speaker 4: be mindful of what we're what we're buying at. And
27:06
Speaker 4: so with the amount of of of of you know,
27:08
Speaker 4: beef and proteins and and the trends that we're seeing
27:11
Speaker 4: with with with consumers out there, you know, we're very
27:14
Speaker 4: cognizant on that front. And you know, can we put
27:17
Speaker 4: daily you know, features out that are in seafood or
27:20
Speaker 4: chicken to help kind of you know, merchandise that as
27:24
Speaker 4: we build things out.
27:27
Speaker 1: And what do you see in from the US consumer
27:28
Speaker 1: across your brands?
27:30
Speaker 3: Uh?
27:30
Speaker 1: And has this year and has anything surprised you?
27:34
Speaker 4: I mean, I guess the resiliency of of consumers. You
27:38
Speaker 4: know that they you know, like all of us. It's
27:40
Speaker 4: just there's been all sorts of different things, whether that's
27:42
Speaker 4: you know, early in the year near four oh one
27:45
Speaker 4: K was you know, getting a little bit whacked uh
27:48
Speaker 4: And so that would help, you know, that would hurt
27:50
Speaker 4: in theory the you know, your your higher social income
27:54
Speaker 4: guests out there, and so I think it's just that
27:56
Speaker 4: that that they've you know, the guests have been have
27:58
Speaker 4: been really looking for a better, you know, sit down experience,
28:02
Speaker 4: and I don't know if it's just you know, people
28:04
Speaker 4: are tired of of kind of the QSR and fast
28:08
Speaker 4: casual experience and wanting a little bit more of a
28:11
Speaker 4: sit down.
28:11
Speaker 3: And I think that you.
28:13
Speaker 4: Know, casual, polished casual. We've gotten better in terms of
28:16
Speaker 4: ticket times, and you know, you can make it a
28:18
Speaker 4: faster experience, you know, whether that's paying at the table,
28:23
Speaker 4: you know, through you know, mobile point point of sale systems, you.
28:27
Speaker 3: Know, ordering drinks a little bit faster.
28:29
Speaker 4: So I think that you know, you know, guests are
28:31
Speaker 4: being are able to really use you know, the brand
28:33
Speaker 4: a little bit better.
28:34
Speaker 3: And we've been you know, been.
28:35
Speaker 4: Able to adapt to meet that that that that experience
28:38
Speaker 4: a little bit more on that front. And I think
28:41
Speaker 4: you know, while you know, door Dash and Uber Eats
28:44
Speaker 4: is still a pretty strong percent of our business, you know,
28:46
Speaker 4: we're seeing more and more people coming in, We're seeing
28:48
Speaker 4: more people skipping the door dash and going back to
28:51
Speaker 4: you know, ordering it online and then picking up and
28:54
Speaker 4: avoiding all those fees. So I think that that you know,
28:56
Speaker 4: consumers have just continue to you know, they're smart and
28:59
Speaker 4: they know, hey, I can save eight, ten, twelve bucks
29:03
Speaker 4: by not having it delivered, and you know, I'll hop
29:05
Speaker 4: in the car and go get it like I used
29:07
Speaker 4: to do and you know, good old days of twenty
29:09
Speaker 4: eighteen or whatever.
29:10
Speaker 3: So it's it's it's.
29:13
Speaker 4: Been interesting to see, you know, folks on that front,
29:15
Speaker 4: on the crystal side. You know, it's been value has
29:18
Speaker 4: still been the name of the game, bundles, getting.
29:21
Speaker 3: More for your buck.
29:22
Speaker 4: You know, we certainly you know, have those programs in place, logans,
29:27
Speaker 4: you know, we also have the real deal, you know,
29:30
Speaker 4: so you're getting you know, a nice sizeable uh you
29:34
Speaker 4: know meal that you know, and some people are taking
29:36
Speaker 4: those home with them. We we haven't done you know,
29:38
Speaker 4: a buy one, get one free and take one home
29:41
Speaker 4: for h you know program. But we we've always had
29:44
Speaker 4: large portions and I think people are you know, are
29:46
Speaker 4: recognizing that you can stretch that dollar for you know,
29:49
Speaker 4: for a for a robust meal. And Jay's has always
29:52
Speaker 4: been just you know, massive portions. And you know that's
29:56
Speaker 4: something that you know is on our radar, not so
29:59
Speaker 4: much on the on the value side of things, but
30:00
Speaker 4: g LP ones and you know, are people splitting you know,
30:03
Speaker 4: the entrees a little bit more as their appetites you know,
30:06
Speaker 4: are going down. I think people that are you know
30:09
Speaker 4: that are you know, choose to go that route. They
30:11
Speaker 4: still want to go out to eat, and they want
30:13
Speaker 4: the experience and and all that good stuff. So you know,
30:16
Speaker 4: I think that as long as we can meet them
30:18
Speaker 4: and then have those you know, if it's proteins or
30:20
Speaker 4: you know, you know, having you know, allowed people to
30:23
Speaker 4: split without adding on three bucks or a plate split charge,
30:27
Speaker 4: and we avoid all those those tactics. But yeah, there's
30:30
Speaker 4: just it's it's definitely an interesting time out there.
30:33
Speaker 2: Just to follow up on that and the g LP
30:35
Speaker 2: ones or is there any thought about you know, over
30:38
Speaker 2: time how you know, maybe there should be some parts
30:42
Speaker 2: of the menu that are geared towards you know, smaller
30:47
Speaker 2: portion sizes or whatever it Maybe I'd imagine the mocktail
30:50
Speaker 2: stuff feeds, you know, is feeding into that.
30:54
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, you know, when I I try and
30:57
Speaker 4: talk to as many you know, guests as possible, love
31:00
Speaker 4: being in restaurants, and then when I go out to
31:03
Speaker 4: eat in other places, I always you know, just ask folks.
31:05
Speaker 3: And then when i've I've met.
31:06
Speaker 4: More people that are on you know, GLP ones, I
31:09
Speaker 4: think that I don't think that it's it's quite like
31:13
Speaker 4: a menu like gluten free was when it came onto
31:15
Speaker 4: the scene where you got to separate.
31:17
Speaker 3: Gluten free menu.
31:19
Speaker 4: I don't think we would cultivate and call it a
31:22
Speaker 4: you know whatever, a g l P one menu. I
31:25
Speaker 4: think that we we would we look at these things
31:28
Speaker 4: that we have enough that it was within these menus
31:31
Speaker 4: that you know, you can go on a protein front
31:34
Speaker 4: and you can really you know, capitalize on that front.
31:37
Speaker 4: We do have smaller steak sizes, so I think fortunately
31:41
Speaker 4: we've been built in on that front.
31:43
Speaker 3: On the alcohol side, no, we we we we have.
31:46
Speaker 4: We were a little slow and getting mocktails and and
31:49
Speaker 4: so we've been really focusing on that and not just
31:51
Speaker 4: you know, throwing together you know, you know, the orange
31:54
Speaker 4: juice that we have and and throwing some club soda.
31:57
Speaker 4: We we've been we've been really you know, spending time
32:00
Speaker 4: across all of the different brands, even into crystal with
32:03
Speaker 4: some you know, with kind of some you know, the
32:06
Speaker 4: the icy platform and adding some cream and making a
32:09
Speaker 4: doctor pepper you know, dirty soda if you will. So
32:11
Speaker 4: we've been we've been looking at how we can really
32:14
Speaker 4: do this and and not be so patronizing that it's
32:17
Speaker 4: it's it's branded as much of g op front. But
32:20
Speaker 4: those folks that are you know, that are on you know,
32:22
Speaker 4: that have that in their lifestyle. They can find it
32:25
Speaker 4: and they're not going to have to you know, go
32:27
Speaker 4: through and we you know, are are our servers certainly
32:29
Speaker 4: you know, they talk about it and know if someone
32:31
Speaker 4: asks a looking for something that's you know, much more protein,
32:35
Speaker 4: how can I get down to this front? Then that
32:36
Speaker 4: they're they're they're trained to to really be able to
32:39
Speaker 4: capitalize and talk through the menu.
32:41
Speaker 3: Itsl Yeah.
32:43
Speaker 2: McDonald's just mentioned that they're entering the dirty, dirty soda
32:47
Speaker 2: business and there you know namesake stores.
32:50
Speaker 3: Exactly, so to go somewhere, right.
32:53
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. So you beat them, You beat them to
32:55
Speaker 2: the punch. So nice work on that.
32:57
Speaker 4: If we could only be so lucky. But yeah, that
32:59
Speaker 4: the ice, you know, I it's one of those things, right,
33:02
Speaker 4: I'm I'm older consumer and like you know, just putting
33:05
Speaker 4: you know, a cream and a sodas it was always
33:08
Speaker 4: so foreign to me. But that I see doctor pepper
33:11
Speaker 4: with you know mix, you know, it's it's good. I mean,
33:14
Speaker 4: it's it's refreshing, it's different. And so we've been, we've
33:18
Speaker 4: been you know, looking at that.
33:20
Speaker 3: You know, we.
33:20
Speaker 4: Certainly have been impacted by you know, the Maha movement.
33:26
Speaker 4: You know, it's very interesting that it's such a you
33:28
Speaker 4: know on the political spectrum that you know, you're seeing
33:31
Speaker 4: states where you wouldn't imagine people would be talking about
33:34
Speaker 4: additives and preservatives, you know, states like West Virginia and Texas.
33:38
Speaker 4: I mean, I'm super I'm happy that we're we're.
33:42
Speaker 3: Going down that route.
33:43
Speaker 4: I don't you know, I'm I'm glad that we have
33:46
Speaker 4: you know, lots of strong state restaurant associations that push
33:49
Speaker 4: back on labeling everything on a menu, because that's usually
33:53
Speaker 4: restaurants we get so you know, boxed in whether it
33:55
Speaker 4: was calories ten to fifteen years ago, you know, now,
33:59
Speaker 4: you know, trying to avoid mandates on you know, preservatives,
34:02
Speaker 4: because if our pantry is across the system, I mean,
34:04
Speaker 4: there's so many ingredients, you know, and while we you know,
34:07
Speaker 4: we're very mindful of every ingredient that's going in there,
34:10
Speaker 4: you know, if you're gonna have to disclaim all of those,
34:13
Speaker 4: you're gonna have a novel on these menus. And and
34:16
Speaker 4: so we're we're we're conscious of that.
34:19
Speaker 3: We we are.
34:20
Speaker 4: We've been Tallow on Crystal for I don't know, I'm
34:24
Speaker 4: trying to get the exact date, but you know, something
34:27
Speaker 4: like thirty something years, and they even started out even
34:30
Speaker 4: before that. So we haven't been going out screaming, you know,
34:33
Speaker 4: loud and proud about tallow because I don't want what
34:36
Speaker 4: our friends at Stake and Shape encountered that. You know,
34:39
Speaker 4: I'm super stoked that consumers were able to then say, oh, well,
34:44
Speaker 4: why why don't you change your entire French fries recipe.
34:47
Speaker 3: Without all those oils.
34:48
Speaker 4: If you're gonna if you're gonna say, of tallow, well
34:51
Speaker 4: why are you putting something that has of seed oiled
34:53
Speaker 4: in that tallo If you're going to do it, go
34:55
Speaker 4: go do it.
34:56
Speaker 3: And I love that.
34:56
Speaker 4: I mean, I think if you're really going to embrace
34:58
Speaker 4: something like that, then apps do what you know in
35:01
Speaker 4: an out burger is doing in terms of you know,
35:04
Speaker 4: French fries that are you know, that are cleaned, that
35:07
Speaker 4: are blanched, and that are put in the fryer, and
35:09
Speaker 4: you know that's as clean as you could get an ingredient.
35:12
Speaker 4: So I I, for one, I'm really excited that we're
35:16
Speaker 4: talking about this, and you know why, you know why
35:19
Speaker 4: ingredients are different in the US than they are in
35:21
Speaker 4: the UK.
35:21
Speaker 3: And we've all gone and.
35:22
Speaker 4: Seen cheerios in London and cheerios in Houston. They're completely different,
35:28
Speaker 4: and that's ridiculous. So I'm I'm I'm all for, you know,
35:32
Speaker 4: the movement of just better ingredients for people. And if
35:36
Speaker 4: you want to eat a skittle with all those colors
35:38
Speaker 4: in it, that's your choice.
35:40
Speaker 3: So I don't I don't like.
35:41
Speaker 4: The fact that people have to be told, but I
35:43
Speaker 4: embrace the fact that you know that there's a new
35:46
Speaker 4: kind of you know, passion about food and what we're
35:49
Speaker 4: putting in our bodies.
35:50
Speaker 2: I am too, and it shouldn't be a political issue
35:53
Speaker 2: if you ask exactly exactly.
35:55
Speaker 3: Yeah, we should all embrace this for sure, no doubt.
35:58
Speaker 1: Josh, thanks again, man, this was fun.
36:00
Speaker 3: Yeah. Absolutely appreciate the time you got.
36:03
Speaker 2: It and I want to thank the audience for tuning in.
36:05
Speaker 2: If you liked our discussion, please share it with your
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Speaker 2: friends and colleagues. Check back soon for an interview with
36:09
Speaker 2: Brandon Solano, the CEO of Rave restaurant group ticker R
36:14
Speaker 2: A V.