Latest / Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam / A Coffee with Mike Chadi from Wing Snob

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A Coffee with Mike Chadi from Wing Snob · Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam

• 0:07
  Well, hi there, everybody, and welcome to another edition of the ABA Coffee In The Park.
• 0:13
  My name is Cam Milliken, and we are so excited to be with you today.
• 0:17
  And of course, I have my co-host extraordinaire, Jennifer Herrick, the executive director of the Acheson Business Association with me.
• 0:25
  Hi, Jennifer.
• 0:26
  Hi, Cam.
• 0:27
  How are you this morning?
• 0:28
  I'm doing great.
• 0:29
  And we are so excited to be here.
• 0:32
  And we are coming to you live from the Wall Coffee Roasters.
• 0:36
  In beautiful Downtown Acheson.
• 0:39
  That's right.
• 0:40
  And so we just want to let you know that if you hear some background noise, it's not because we're doing something wrong.
• 0:45
  It's because we're here live in the coffee shop and there are people here.
• 0:49
  And if you've never been to the Wall Coffee Roasters, this is an absolutely amazing place to come in the heart of Downtown Acheson.
• 0:56
  And we are so honored that we get to record from here and excited about our podcast that we do here.
• 1:03
  Jennifer, what's new?
• 1:04
  What's exciting?
• 1:05
  Anything you want to tell us about our sponsors or anybody like that?
• 1:09
  Well, we would like to thank the ABA Gold Corporate Sponsors, which includes the Myshak Group of Companies, Genics, and of course, Parkland County.
• 1:17
  Absolutely, and we are grateful to them for all their support for the Acheson Business Association.
• 1:24
  And it's because of great supporters like them that we're able to do the ABA Coffee In The Park podcast.
• 1:31
  So we're really excited about that.
• 1:32
  And today, Jennifer, I am really excited.
• 1:37
  I'm gonna tell everybody, I am looking at the best wings I think I have ever seen right now.
• 1:42
  That's right, you heard it right, folks.
• 1:44
  We are looking at chicken wings, right in front of us, because today's guest, and I am so happy that he's here, I'm so excited to have him with us, is Mike Chadi.
• 1:55
  Mike, what is your title?
• 1:57
  Jennifer, Cam, I couldn't be more thrilled to join you this morning.
• 2:02
  And yeah, the breakfast wings do look great, but in terms of a title, Cam, I like to call myself the Chief Chicken Wing Extraordinaire.
• 2:11
  The Chief Chicken Wing Extraordinaire, I love that.
• 2:14
  And that's because you are the Head Chief Chicken Wing Extraordinaire of Wing Snob Canada.
• 2:22
  That's correct, yeah.
• 2:23
  We started this project several years ago now, and we've gained some momentum, so it's picking up steam and couldn't be happier to join you here this morning and let you know our story and what our brand's all about and really how it came to be.
• 2:41
  Great, well, we're excited about that.
• 2:42
  And we're not kidding you, folks.
• 2:44
  We have sitting in front of us, right, Jennifer?
• 2:46
  Oh, absolutely.
• 2:47
  Chicken wings.
• 2:47
  We've got some beautiful looking, if only people could see what we're looking at right now, Cam.
• 2:53
  We'll put the picture.
• 2:53
  We'll put a picture.
• 2:54
  Up on the website.
• 2:55
  We will.
• 2:56
  So some beautiful garlic Parmesan wings.
• 2:59
  And Mike, tell us the name of the other beautiful looking wings that we have in front of us.
• 3:04
  It's a unique flavor, Jennifer, and it's called Snobby-Q.
• 3:08
  So it's a little bit of a play on barbecue with a snob twist, if you will.
• 3:13
  And we like to throw a little bit of a maple flavoring in that one, which gives it a unique kick that we're sure you won't find anywhere else.
• 3:20
  All right.
• 3:21
  So folks, if you hear a little bit of noshing and munching going on during this podcast, it's because we're digging into the wings.
• 3:28
  But Mike, this is exciting, because you have an amazing story.
• 3:32
  I've gotten to know you a little bit, and I really appreciate you and all that you're doing.
• 3:37
  And so we'll talk about a few things this morning.
• 3:39
  But listen, why don't you just tell us a little bit about your journey?
• 3:42
  Where did you come from?
• 3:43
  Where did your family come from?
• 3:45
  And then how did you get started in Wing Snob?
• 3:49
  Yeah, no, that's a great place to start, Cam.
• 3:52
  Well, I'm born and bred, I'm a proud Albertan.
• 3:57
  We're going on several generations now.
• 4:01
  My great-grandfather was actually one of the first Lebanese settlers that came to Alberta in the late 19th, early 20th century.
• 4:11
  We're talking, hopped on a boat, landed in Halifax, navigated his way to Alberta.
• 4:17
  Before it was even a province.
• 4:18
  So can I just ask you a quick question?
• 4:21
  Why, have you ever sat down and talked to your grandfather?
• 4:24
  Why did he want to come to Alberta?
• 4:26
  Why of all places, why Alberta?
• 4:28
  You know what?
• 4:29
  I never had the opportunity to meet him.
• 4:31
  He sadly passed, this is my great grandfather.
• 4:34
  Oh, okay, yeah.
• 4:35
  He passed quite a while ago.
• 4:38
  But what I think his answer would be was he was looking for opportunity.
• 4:43
  As people from around the world have joined us in this beautiful community that we call home.
• 4:50
  And have set up here and established a presence and really built lives for themselves.
• 4:57
  And I think that's what he was intending to do when he set off on that ship.
• 5:03
  And so when you say he's one of the pioneers, I lie, I'm proud of that.
• 5:09
  Because a lot of people don't actually know that.
• 5:11
  And there was a presence from Lebanon well over 100 years ago now.
• 5:17
  And yeah, it's an interesting aside from that tales that he brought his nephew along with him.
• 5:24
  And this fellow ultimately stayed and built a really successful life in the 1930s and 40s as he grew and became a very well-known businessman in Northern Alberta.
• 5:35
  He changed his name.
• 5:36
  He had a very Arabic sounding surname, but he decided, hey, I got to assimilate.
• 5:41
  And so he ended up changing his name to Alexander Hamilton, of all things.
• 5:45
  So I don't know if he was a US history buff.
• 5:48
  I was just going to ask that question.
• 5:50
  Why Alexander Hamilton?
• 5:52
  Yeah, that buff.
• 5:53
  Well, that'll get him known.
• 5:55
  And it certainly did, Jennifer.
• 5:56
  And he was quite renowned in Lac La Biche and had one of the first car dealerships there and ran a mink ranch and owned the hotel and had a restaurant and I mean, pretty much had a dozen or so different businesses.
• 6:10
  A mink ranch.
• 6:11
  A mink ranch, absolutely.
• 6:14
  I don't know anybody who's ever owned a mink ranch.
• 6:16
  That's incredible.
• 6:17
  And that's a unique Northern Alberta story because what the Lebanese that originally came, and there's a big population in Lac La Biche, which is about two hours north of Edmonton, they would come and the industry there, of course, when the fur trade was a lot bigger than it is these days, they would raise and then harvest mink for their furs and pelts and sell them off to the fur industry and hopefully no PETA supporters are listening, but that's a bygone of an older era.
• 6:54
  Yeah, hey, it's where he started.
• 6:57
  It's what he did.
• 6:58
  That's awesome.
• 6:58
  And it is what they did.
• 7:00
  And they were successful at that, but it provided a launch pad to other businesses.
• 7:04
  And that's ultimately where my family has carved their niche is in business.
• 7:09
  And I think with coming to Alberta, and I can only imagine it would have been turn of the century, early 1900s, there wasn't much going on here.
• 7:20
  And so you basically had to build out of nothing.
• 7:24
  And fast forward 120 odd years later, look at what we've become as a province.
• 7:29
  We're a group that is resilient.
• 7:33
  We're very entrepreneurial as Albertans.
• 7:35
  And I think we chart that course.
• 7:37
  And so true to that spirit, I like to think that we molded, you know, that we're molded after that.
• 7:44
  So you started up north in Northern Alberta.
• 7:47
  How did you get to Edmonton?
• 7:49
  So I was born and raised in Edmonton.
• 7:51
  The folks, my dad was in Lac la Biche and later relocated to Edmonton.
• 7:57
  And happy he did because he met my mom and I came about as a result.
• 8:02
  And here you are.
• 8:03
  And here I am, selling chicken.
• 8:05
  Selling chicken, history in the making.
• 8:08
  Well, let's thank your dad and mom for that because that's great.
• 8:11
  I'm glad your dad came to Edmonton to meet your mom because otherwise we wouldn't have this amazing chicken right here.
• 8:16
  Yeah, and so I mean, it's funny how that came about because I found myself, I like to joke, I found myself in a dead-end job.
• 8:25
  I was around 30 years old and I was practicing criminal defense, lawyer by trade.
• 8:31
  So you're a lawyer by trade.
• 8:32
  Correct.
• 8:33
  Okay, and you don't often hear that as a dead-end job, but I mean, it wasn't something that I looked at and said, hey, I wanna do 30, 40 years of my professional career as a criminal defense lawyer.
• 8:46
  And I figured, hey, you know what, law is good in the sense that there's a high floor, but the ceiling, unless you're a firm owner or have some different spits in the fire, it's, you know, your ceiling's limited.
• 9:02
  So I decided, hey, true to the entrepreneurial spirit, I wanted to get into business.
• 9:07
  Okay, so can I just ask you a question on that?
• 9:09
  Because you're right, and I know sort of the end of the story here, but so you were a lawyer, but you weren't real happy.
• 9:17
  And you decide, I don't wanna do lawyering anymore.
• 9:19
  I wanna do something else.
• 9:21
  Was that a really tough decision for you?
• 9:24
  Was that a tough decision for your family?
• 9:27
  Because I understand you have lawyers in the family.
• 9:29
  That's correct.
• 9:30
  It was a leap of faith, Cam.
• 9:33
  And it wasn't met initially with great fanfare.
• 9:39
  I got a lot of, well, what are you doing?
• 9:41
  Or what are you thinking?
• 9:42
  Or why don't you go set up your own firm?
• 9:44
  Or why don't you use the seven years of schooling that you went? you know?
• 9:49
  But I actually think that it all came about for a reason.
• 9:54
  And the skillset that I was able to hone and develop over those years practicing law certainly helped me in business.
• 10:02
  I'm able to negotiate quite a few contracts, deal with our landlords and leases and a lot of things that typically you might have to outsource.
• 10:12
  I'm able to do that.
• 10:14
  And I'm thankful for that background because of it.
• 10:16
  So I don't think anything went to waste, but I found myself 30 years old in a firm that maybe wasn't going anywhere fast.
• 10:28
  And I said, you know what?
• 10:29
  There's got to be something more.
• 10:31
  And it was a leap of faith and just a shot in the dark.
• 10:35
  I figured I was young enough that if I am going to take a chance, it better be now.
• 10:40
  And to that end, we embarked upon the Wing Snob journey.
• 10:44
  Right, so just before we get into that, because I want to talk about that for a second, because when Jennifer and I sort of conceived the idea of this podcast, we didn't want it to be just a business podcast.
• 10:56
  We wanted it to be the story behind the story.
• 10:58
  Exactly.
• 10:59
  And when I hear you talk, Mike, I wonder how many people out there are sort of have been or are in a similar situation where they've started on a career path, but they're just not satisfied.
• 11:11
  They're not fulfilled.
• 11:12
  Maybe that's a great way to put it.
• 11:13
  So to hear you talk about that, and in a second we'll go into your leap of faith as to what that was and is, that's really encouraging to me.
• 11:25
  And I think there needs to be more stories shared like that because I think sometimes it's a scary leap and it must have been, you have this career, so you have steady income, you may be supporting your family at the time.
• 11:39
  So to take that entrepreneurial leap, isn't it scary for people and it's going into the unknown?
• 11:45
  Yeah, I can only imagine what you're thinking at the time.
• 11:48
  Jennifer, that's precisely it.
• 11:50
  I couldn't have said it better myself.
• 11:52
  You're going into the unknown.
• 11:56
  It was nerve wracking.
• 11:58
  I'm confident in my abilities, I'm confident in what I set out to achieve because when we did initially set out, we predicated this project on some core values that we adhere to and that we are very rigid and stringent about.
• 12:12
  But aside from that, yeah, it was nerve wracking.
• 12:16
  You're giving up the golden handcuffs, if you will, as a dear friend of mine likes to call them.
• 12:23
  He worked in finance for many years.
• 12:25
  And he says, you make just enough that you can't leave.
• 12:28
  And they string you along and ultimately you look back and you go, well, darn, I could have done something different or I may have done something different.
• 12:38
  I've had a lot of ideas over the years, business or otherwise, and I figured, you know what, I'm gonna follow one to an execute and it just so happened to be this one.
• 12:48
  Okay, so we're gonna head down this road in just a sec, the Wing Snob Road, but right now I can hear people listening to our podcast going, you want a career change, that's great, you're a smart guy, you're an entrepreneur, you're brilliant, you could do anything.
• 13:06
  You could go into development, you could build, and you chose wings.
• 13:12
  Well, hold on, let's back up to the story here because in conversations, Mike, that we have had before, it wasn't always wings.
• 13:19
  It was about Donairs if I am correct.
• 13:22
  Yes, so take us on this journey, start us on this journey.
• 13:25
  Well, I mean, originally, so I mean, to go back to day one, where the idea originates from a dorm room in East Lansing, Michigan, home of the Michigan State Spartans, who I'm a proud alumnus of.
• 13:41
  Hopefully there's no Wolverine fans listening, but we're, you know, I'm in East Lansing, I'm doing my law schooling there.
• 13:51
  And ultimately, what I see in the US college town is opportunity, I see thriving restaurants, bars, shops.
• 13:59
  It's a micro economy based on a school with 50,000 or so kids that have a lot of disposable income from whether they're folks or they're part-time jobs and they want to spend it on food and sometimes some other things.
• 14:15
  Right, right.
• 14:17
  You know, I would often remark to my friends, I go, look at the lineup.
• 14:20
  I mean, you know, 1 a.m.
• 14:22
  Taco Bell or McDonald's or the burrito place, they were lined up.
• 14:26
  College kids are hungry, man.
• 14:27
  Out the door.
• 14:29
  And I said, you know what?
• 14:31
  It was almost tongue in cheek, but I said, you know what, if someone brought, and the guy, the Americans that I was dealing with or friends with there, they had no idea.
• 14:40
  I said, you guys, if you knew what a Donair was, if we brought that here from Edmonton, transplanted it as is into East Lansing, I go, you have a winner.
• 14:52
  And if anyone does take that journey, I'm sure they'll be successful because I think there's something there.
• 14:58
  And I hope to revisit it one day if no one gets to it.
• 15:02
  But to that end, I mean, put it on the back burner now several years.
• 15:07
  I'm practicing law.
• 15:08
  I'm in that place where there's a little bit of discontent or that feeling that maybe there's something more out there.
• 15:15
  And one thing comes to pass and another and so on and so forth.
• 15:20
  And I find myself at a point where a friend approaches me and says, hey, you know what?
• 15:27
  You've always talked about this.
• 15:29
  I want to do a career change as well.
• 15:31
  Why don't we go and explore this in a serious way?
• 15:34
  So you were going to go explore Donairs in the USA?
• 15:39
  Let me be frank.
• 15:40
  And I mean, I'll be as plain as I can be.
• 15:44
  You know, I don't cook the wings.
• 15:49
  That's my dear partner, Wally, who you've had the pleasure of meeting.
• 15:53
  He's the on the grounds operation manager.
• 15:56
  So I mean, I can barely make a sandwich.
• 15:58
  I know how to eat, but I have no culinary background.
• 16:02
  So even with the Donairs, I thought, hey, I can be the strategist or help get the business up.
• 16:08
  But you're not cooking the Donairs.
• 16:09
  But behind the idea.
• 16:10
  Well, exactly.
• 16:11
  You're not the cook.
• 16:12
  You're not the chef.
• 16:13
  You know what?
• 16:13
  And you wouldn't want me to be because then it definitely wouldn't be good.
• 16:18
  You need someone that knows what they're doing.
• 16:20
  And the fellow that I mentioned said, yeah, let's go and let's do it.
• 16:25
  Let's open up.
• 16:26
  And he had some food experience and could execute on that basis.
• 16:31
  So we traveled down to Michigan.
• 16:33
  We landed in Detroit.
• 16:35
  I got in contact of an old law school friend of mine who happened to be working as in-house for the Wing Snob USA counterparts.
• 16:45
  And so I call her up and I say, hey, Sal, we're coming down.
• 16:48
  I'd love to see you.
• 16:49
  I'd love to reconnect, have a drink, go for a bite.
• 16:53
  And she was all over it.
• 16:54
  We hadn't seen each other in a better part of a decade.
• 16:58
  Told her what we were up to.
• 16:59
  And she, you know, the light bulb went off and she goes, well, you know what?
• 17:03
  You should meet Jack and Brian.
• 17:06
  And Jack.
• 17:06
  I like that, Jack and Brian.
• 17:08
  You should meet Jack and Brian.
• 17:09
  That's good.
• 17:10
  Who's Jack and Brian?
• 17:11
  Yeah, yeah.
• 17:12
  Who's Jack and Brian?
• 17:13
  They're the founders of Wing Snob in the US.
• 17:16
  And these guys are two visionaries.
• 17:18
  They're very entrepreneurial.
• 17:20
  They're, you know, despite maybe formal training in any, you know, they may not have an MBA or a law degree.
• 17:27
  Right.
• 17:27
  But I see some folks that know business inside and out, and I could see that from the moment I met them.
• 17:33
  Now, we keep in mind, we didn't go there to...
• 17:35
  No, you went to sell Donair's.
• 17:37
  Well, that's exactly right.
• 17:38
  Yeah, you were gonna be Donair King.
• 17:42
  And in that journey, so we have a little huddle with Jack and Brian, and the whole intent was just to talk, hey, the food industry in Michigan, what are some of the pitfalls?
• 17:52
  What are some of the obstacles?
• 17:53
  How can we get some supply chain set up?
• 17:55
  And in speaking with Jack in particular, he starts describing the Wing Snob model.
• 18:00
  He goes, hey, it's extremely low labor.
• 18:02
  We only focus on a few products, but we make them exceptionally well.
• 18:07
  To build these things in comparison with other franchises is really cost effective.
• 18:13
  So I mean, I wasn't really counting these benefits at the time, but I did put them at the back of mind and thought, well, great, great model.
• 18:23
  These guys are doing great.
• 18:23
  They're expanding rapidly in Michigan, but hey, donairs it is.
• 18:27
  So fast forward, we're back in Edmonton and we're a little discouraged because the one thing about the US.
• 18:34
  I should mention is if you think Edmonton's bad, there's a fast food place about every 50 to 100 meters.
• 18:39
  Yes, there is.
• 18:40
  And I mean, you talk about the land of opportunity, it's the land of cutthroat entrepreneurialism.
• 18:47
  No worries about finding a place to eat in Edmonton.
• 18:51
  There's always a place to eat in Edmonton, always.
• 18:54
  And even more so in Detroit, if you can believe it.
• 18:57
  So I see that and I go, well, geez, how are we gonna compete?
• 19:01
  I mean, you look at the pricing, you look at, then you start doing some of the projections and what you need to do to make it work.
• 19:09
  And it seemed unfathomable.
• 19:11
  And it seemed like, okay, we're gonna be starting from scratch with a unique product that has no awareness.
• 19:18
  And we're scratching our brain.
• 19:20
  And all of a sudden, the pitfalls that I never thought about when I was walking down East Lansing on the drag, never came to mind.
• 19:31
  Now, it dawns on us, well, hold on a second, we just came from Michigan, we came from Detroit, and we saw a concept that really does make a lot of sense.
• 19:43
  And is there anything we can lean on from that?
• 19:46
  And then we took it one step further and we said, well, forget actually going down there with Donairs, what if we brought quick service chicken wings and fries here?
• 19:54
  Yeah.
• 19:55
  And you know what?
• 19:56
  Jennifer, Cam, it's a concept that, you know, everyone sells chicken wings, but no one really did it in a QSR, quick service restaurant fashion, which is to say, you're only making chicken wings and fries.
• 20:09
  I mean, how many restaurants can you go to and you see wings on the menu?
• 20:12
  Absolutely.
• 20:13
  Yeah, with 30 other things.
• 20:15
  With 30 other things.
• 20:16
  And they can't devote the attention and detail that we do to it.
• 20:19
  And so I thought, okay, if we really put our best foot forward and really try to make a great product, that should be enough.
• 20:26
  I think, you know, our core principles are very simple.
• 20:29
  It's food quality, it's customer service, and it's cleanliness.
• 20:33
  Those are the things that I look for when I go to a restaurant.
• 20:35
  Okay, so just to fast forward a little bit.
• 20:38
  So, cause we wanna make sure we get the whole story and you decide you're gonna do Wing Snob in Edmonton.
• 20:43
  That's right.
• 20:44
  You're gonna do it.
• 20:44
  That's it.
• 20:45
  And you get all set to do it.
• 20:47
  And then?
• 20:48
  So, and I'll bring back the leap of faith because transitioning from law, we've made all these steps to now set up this business.
• 20:58
  We're ready to launch March 8th, 2020.
• 21:03
  We turn the open sign on and it's a rather auspicious day because two weeks later, the global pandemic hits and everything gets shut down.
• 21:15
  So, to add insult to injury, we had no prior revenue from February.
• 21:22
  So that disqualified us from qualifying for.
• 21:24
  No government funding.
• 21:25
  No government funding, no government assistance.
• 21:28
  They had a landlord or a rent subsidy that a lot of people were able to take advantage of, not us.
• 21:34
  They had a wage subsidy that paid up to 75% of wages.
• 21:37
  And you couldn't use it.
• 21:39
  You couldn't use it.
• 21:40
  But despite that, we maintain, and I don't want to say profitability because we were kind of break even at first, but we didn't have to dig into our pockets to subsidize this thing.
• 21:51
  And I thought, well, that's a really encouraging sign, all things considered.
• 21:55
  Fast forward a few more months, the business starts to pick up, even in the midst of the pandemic.
• 22:00
  Right.
• 22:00
  What you ended up seeing was a real big shift to delivery and the third party delivery platforms, which our model is ideally suited for.
• 22:09
  I mean, you know, it comprises of about 50% of our business, skip the dishes, delivery and whatnot.
• 22:16
  And so, I mean, call it a perfect storm, but it lined up, we did well, and then it gave us the courage to then open a second location.
• 22:25
  So can I just, can we, let's just go back just for a sec, because we've had some other guests that talked about COVID and when that hit.
• 22:32
  Like, and of course you had no idea, nobody did.
• 22:36
  Nobody knew what was coming with COVID.
• 22:37
  It was the complete unknown.
• 22:38
  Yes, yeah.
• 22:39
  And it.
• 22:39
  How long, what it was gonna mean.
• 22:41
  Yeah, and every day it changed, every week it changed.
• 22:46
  And here you are, starting business.
• 22:47
  A brand new business.
• 22:49
  Yeah, brand new.
• 22:50
  You're thinking this is gonna be great.
• 22:52
  And basically, and I think it's fair to say, the world shuts down.
• 22:56
  Yes.
• 22:56
  The world shuts down.
• 22:58
  At that moment, I mean, you know what happened, but at that moment, what was your thoughts?
• 23:05
  At that moment, I thought it was a dark comedy of sorts because I remarked to a friend of mine, I go, well, if you took the last 50 or 100 years, well, call it 50 years and said, hey, what's the worst time to start a business?
• 23:20
  Right.
• 23:21
  You'd probably pick the worst time to start a business.
• 23:24
  You'd probably pick that time.
• 23:27
  But we didn't look at it from that perspective.
• 23:29
  We actually, we said, okay, you know what?
• 23:31
  It's a challenge.
• 23:33
  It's presented a unique opportunity.
• 23:35
  It allowed us to refine some of our processes that we may not have otherwise had.
• 23:39
  Right.
• 23:40
  And you know what?
• 23:40
  It helps separate the wheat from the chaff because what came to pass was we had some that started with us that, you know, the challenge was a little too daunting for them and they didn't want to stay the course, if you will.
• 23:54
  And, you know, I then got in touch with my business partner, now business partner Wally at the time, he was up north working on the oil patch and Wally's a jack of all trades, if you will, he's done a number of things, but what defines him is a very strong work ethic.
• 24:14
  And so my existing partners had said, hey, you know what, we're going to bow out.
• 24:20
  So I was left holding the bag.
• 24:21
  And of course, as you know, I didn't want to be back in that kitchen.
• 24:25
  So I get in touch with Wally.
• 24:27
  We strike a deal.
• 24:29
  He comes down, he heads our operations, and the rest is history.
• 24:34
  So we went from one to two to three.
• 24:37
  We're now at five, and we'll open another five before the end of the year.
• 24:40
  So Mike, tell us about your first location because it was very strategic on your part.
• 24:46
  Yes.
• 24:47
  That's right.
• 24:47
  We chose the Edmonton Brewery District, which prior to COVID, I mean, the arena had just been built, the Rogers Place.
• 24:57
  Yes, just down the road from you guys.
• 24:59
  Downtown was thriving.
• 25:01
  There was a lot of towers going up in the sky.
• 25:03
  There was cranes all over.
• 25:05
  And you know what?
• 25:06
  Having worked downtown, it was a nice place to be.
• 25:08
  Sure, sure.
• 25:10
  So we said, okay, let's go to this district.
• 25:13
  It happened to be the second highest rent district outside of West Edmonton.
• 25:18
  And you were right next door to MacEwan.
• 25:20
  That's right.
• 25:23
  But we did that on the basis that, hey, let's plant a flag in a place where people are going to know where we're at.
• 25:28
  And we wanted to, you know.
• 25:30
  Yeah, so for those listening, just so they understand, MacEwan is one of the largest post-secondary institutions in Edmonton.
• 25:38
  Yeah, outside of U of A, probably Alberta.
• 25:40
  It's huge, it's massive.
• 25:42
  So you're right next to sort of the model you learned in Lansing, college students.
• 25:48
  Now you're thinking this is a great spot to be.
• 25:50
  I mean, I didn't account for the study from home for the next two years.
• 25:56
  Nobody did, Mike, nobody did.
• 25:58
  But they've since returned and to great effect because I mean, what our brand really resonates with is the youth.
• 26:07
  And I mean, we've had a lot of people that have joined our journey in terms of franchisees.
• 26:12
  We had one fellow, that was his takeaway, is he would just go to the restaurant on a Friday or a Saturday and he remarked, it's crazy.
• 26:22
  You guys just, the kids come and hang out, high school kids, university age, the student kids, they're, I don't want to call them kids, but the young adults and they come and they enjoy it and it has a vibe and an energy that works with that demographic and we've done that organically.
• 26:39
  So I ate at, we've eaten at your brewery district location.
• 26:44
  The other day I ate at your Rabbit Hill location and here's what I'm going to say, that, and this is what I liked, is that the quality was consistent.
• 26:54
  It was the same, it was perfect, it was great, the setting was great, everything was great.
• 27:00
  And I think that's fantastic, because sometimes new restaurants start up, you go to one, you think that's great, and you go to another and it ain't so great.
• 27:09
  It was amazing, both were amazing.
• 27:12
  Cam, I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that, but that's one of our main focuses.
• 27:17
  Uniformity and consistency.
• 27:19
  You know, when you're dealing with multi-unit brands, what you want is to create goodwill.
• 27:24
  So, you know, same way McDonald's does.
• 27:26
  You can walk into a McDonald's in the other side of the globe, and you know what to expect.
• 27:32
  And that's what we want to create here.
• 27:34
  We want, whether you're in Alberta, BC, Ontario, the Maritimes, ultimately we want to grow this brand across Canada.
• 27:40
  So you have, how many Edmonton?
• 27:42
  We have five, with another five coming online.
• 27:45
  Coming online, correct.
• 27:46
  And you want to go Canada-wide.
• 27:47
  That's our goal.
• 27:48
  We're not stopping until we're in every province.
• 27:51
  We want to deliver better wings to everyone in Canada.
• 27:54
  Okay, Jennifer, open that.
• 27:55
  All right, all right.
• 27:56
  You close, we're gonna, cause I want to go on to some other stuff with Mike, because he's not just an amazing Wing Snob guy.
• 28:02
  No, he's not.
• 28:03
  But here, we're gonna.
• 28:05
  I have to ask, Cam, Jennifer, are drums or flats?
• 28:09
  Oh.
• 28:10
  I don't know, but I'll tell you right now, this is one of the best wings I've ever had in my entire life.
• 28:15
  I'm not even, folks, I'm not kidding.
• 28:17
  I'm not even kidding about this.
• 28:20
  What flavor is this?
• 28:21
  Oh, this is a garlic parmesan.
• 28:22
  That's awesome.
• 28:23
  And it's amazing.
• 28:24
  Mike, I'm not even kidding, man.
• 28:27
  We could just end this podcast right now and just eat wings for the rest of that.
• 28:31
  Or we could just let you talk.
• 28:34
  We'll eat wings for the rest of the podcast.
• 28:35
  While you enjoy, let me tell you what makes our wings a little different is we use a fresh, never frozen product.
• 28:41
  Right.
• 28:42
  That differentiates us right off the bat from about 90% of the market.
• 28:46
  And not only that, but we brine our wings.
• 28:49
  So we put them in a proprietary blend of spices.
• 28:51
  Man.
• 28:52
  It really infuses some moisture and some flavor into the chicken, which I don't think you find elsewhere.
• 28:57
  Listen, I've eaten, I have literally eaten chicken wings around the world.
• 29:01
  I'm not kidding you.
• 29:02
  Around the world.
• 29:04
  Mike, these are the best chicken wings I've ever had.
• 29:08
  They're amazing.
• 29:09
  Jennifer can't even talk.
• 29:10
  Her mouth is full.
• 29:10
  It's unbelievable.
• 29:12
  And for those of you listening that have not been, you will not regret getting to a Wing Snob and ordering wings.
• 29:21
  This is amazing.
• 29:22
  Anyway, Mike, amazing.
• 29:24
  But I know that there's more, sorry, I got food in my mouth.
• 29:27
  This is kind of embarrassing.
• 29:28
  Okay, so I'll take over.
• 29:29
  You take over while I swallow.
• 29:31
  So the Wing Snob journey, the way it went, you've been able to be, I think the key word here, and we've used it throughout the podcast, especially when we've talked about people going through COVID as resilience, strength and resilience and being able to power through.
• 29:46
  But with that, you're on another bit of a journey.
• 29:49
  You talked about being born and raised in Alberta.
• 29:52
  You're proud to call Edmonton home.
• 29:54
  You are involved in something now called Edmonton Forward.
• 29:58
  Tell us a little bit about what that is.
• 29:59
  Well, that's correct.
• 30:00
  And that came about rather organically post COVID.
• 30:05
  And just to build on what I mentioned earlier, having come from working downtown and seeing what our downtown once was, what I did come to notice over the last, call it eight or so years, is a rather substantial decline in the conditions downtown.
• 30:27
  And to the point where the safety, security and peace of mind of people that frequent downtown, my mom still goes downtown to get her hair done every Saturday morning.
• 30:40
  And it's a little disconcerting when you hear that she goes in a parkade and then has to really be mindful of all surroundings just to get to where she's going.
• 30:51
  And it never used to be that way.
• 30:53
  No, it never did.
• 30:54
  And you know, Mike, I mean, it's indicative of most major centers in North America.
• 30:58
  The downtown cores have really, I don't know how to put it.
• 31:04
  Deteriorated is a great word.
• 31:06
  That's an excellent word.
• 31:07
  The downtown cores have deteriorated and Edmonton is no different.
• 31:11
  I grew up in Edmonton and I can remember as a kid, we could go downtown, no problem.
• 31:17
  Matter of fact, I could go downtown by myself and my mom would have no issue with that.
• 31:21
  I don't think I would send my kids today anywhere near downtown for any reason whatsoever.
• 31:27
  And you know, that speaks to the peace of mind that's now lacking.
• 31:30
  And it's sad.
• 31:33
  And we have to do something about it.
• 31:34
  And that's what Edmonton Forward's about.
• 31:37
  So a number of small business owners got together, myself included.
• 31:41
  And we said, look, we gotta be able to create some kind of platform to promote a message that we can bring downtown back to its former glory.
• 31:50
  We can bring Edmonton back to a place where safety and security is not at the forefront of everyone's mind.
• 31:58
  So I mean, and it's something that you don't really miss until it's gone, right?
• 32:02
  Yeah.
• 32:03
  Which is sad, right?
• 32:04
  That's really sad.
• 32:06
  It's heartbreaking, really, because you see a lot of disadvantaged folks and people that are on tough times.
• 32:12
  And there's gotta be a better solution than just corralling them into pockets and throwing the Narcan kits around.
• 32:21
  There's gotta be something better because- And the reality is, is those pockets have broken open.
• 32:25
  Yes, it's everywhere.
• 32:26
  I don't think you can pretty much go anywhere.
• 32:30
  And not only, I would say, it's not just an urban problem anymore.
• 32:34
  It really has spread out.
• 32:37
  It's everywhere.
• 32:38
  Gone into the burbs, all over.
• 32:39
  I was surprised to hear that it's touched Spruce Grove.
• 32:42
  Yes, well, Jennifer knows that firsthand.
• 32:46
  So I know a little bit about Edmonton Forward.
• 32:49
  I'm fortunate enough to be a participant in Edmonton Forward.
• 32:53
  I'm fortunate enough to help you with your fundraising activity, which by the way, folks, here's something I think if you wanna contribute to, this is well worth it if you live in the city of Edmonton.
• 33:05
  And just tell us what is the end game for Edmonton Forward?
• 33:08
  It's bipartisan.
• 33:09
  You're not a political organization.
• 33:12
  Correct.
• 33:12
  You're, tell us, you're...
• 33:14
  We're apolitical.
• 33:16
  I think this is something that all sides of the spectrum can get behind.
• 33:20
  So we corralled some of the small business owners of the area, particularly downtown.
• 33:27
  We went to some business leaders and we said, look, let's create this platform that we can promote some messaging, some ideas, some ways that we can actually better the safety.
• 33:39
  So, you know, give me an example.
• 33:40
  One thing we're working on, low-hanging fruit, is, you know, we're an advocate that we should be putting turnstiles in the LRT stations.
• 33:47
  Right.
• 33:48
  You know, we've talked to folks that they're actually scared to send their children or their, yeah, their children to university on the LRT because there's open drug use and they're being accosted by folks that are, you know, aggressively, and I don't want to say panhandle, but I mean, there's unwanted interactions.
• 34:07
  It's not safe.
• 34:08
  It's just not safe.
• 34:09
  100%.
• 34:10
  And that's what I like about Edmonton Forward is the goal is to, I think, to make a or, bring back a safe city.
• 34:18
  That's what we want with a vibrant downtown core that is alive, because that's, to me, that's a healthy growing city, if you have a healthy downtown core.
• 34:27
  And so I really appreciate what Edmonton Forward is doing.
• 34:31
  And if you want more information about Edmonton Forward, you guys have a website.
• 34:35
  It is...
• 34:36
  EdmontonForward.ca.
• 34:38
  Right.
• 34:38
  And you can go, there's more information there.
• 34:40
  You can support and contribute.
• 34:42
  And we're gonna hear a lot more about it.
• 34:45
  And we're gonna get back to, I think, having a city that we're proud of in our downtown core and beyond.
• 34:50
  And I think that's awesome.
• 34:52
  So Mike, good on you.
• 34:54
  And I just, I love your vision.
• 34:57
  Well, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank you for being the chair of our fundraising committee and the insights and direction you've been able to provide.
• 35:05
  You wooed me with wings.
• 35:06
  That's what it was.
• 35:07
  You wooed me with wings.
• 35:09
  I like to say that a wing right now is stronger than the Canadian dollar.
• 35:19
  These wings are gold.
• 35:20
  They are gold.
• 35:21
  Anyway, Mike, this is fabulous.
• 35:24
  Sure appreciate you.
• 35:25
  Appreciate what you're doing.
• 35:26
  Appreciate your enthusiasm.
• 35:28
  Appreciate your spirit.
• 35:30
  And I just appreciate how humble you are.
• 35:33
  You're just a great guy who just wants to succeed and see others succeed.
• 35:38
  And that's really exciting.
• 35:40
  And so Jennifer, man, I don't know.
• 35:43
  I want to end this because I want to go back to eating wings.
• 35:45
  And finish eating wings.
• 35:46
  Finishing off the wings.
• 35:48
  Yeah, that's okay.
• 35:50
  That's okay.
• 35:51
  They're still good cold.
• 35:52
  Yeah, that's awesome.
• 35:53
  So thank you, Mike.
• 35:55
  Thank you both.
• 35:56
  I can't thank you enough.
• 35:57
  And the work you're doing here in downtown Acheson is invaluable.
• 36:03
  One day we're going to have a Wing Snob in downtown Acheson.
• 36:05
  That's the goal.
• 36:07
  And it's a shout out to any entrepreneurs in the area.
• 36:10
  Yeah.
• 36:11
  There's a franchise waiting for you.
• 36:12
  Waiting for you right here.
• 36:14
  So yeah, thanks Mike.
• 36:15
  Thanks everybody.
• 36:16
  This has been fabulous.
• 36:18
  What a great story.
• 36:19
  And just so many components to it that I think so many people can relate to.
• 36:23
  And so really appreciate that and appreciate you being with us.
• 36:27
  Jennifer, what else we got to say as we close out here?
• 36:30
  As we close out again, we just want to thank Mike again for sharing his amazing journey and story.
• 36:36
  I think you're going to be inspirational to so many people.
• 36:39
  And again, one more plug for the gala coming up on Saturday, September 28th.
• 36:43
  Get your tickets now because they will sell out fast.
• 36:46
  Yeah, it's going to be an exciting night and I know it's going to be a great time and we won't be serving wings, but I'll tell you, we probably should be, actually, I think about it anyways, if you haven't been to a Wing Snob and you live in Edmonton, go to a Wing Snob.
• 37:01
  What an incredible story.
• 37:02
  And I don't think we've heard the last of Mike Chadi.
• 37:05
  I don't either.
• 37:06
  And just an overall great guy.
• 37:08
  And oh, those wings. So amazing Yeah.
• 37:11
  Amazing, amazing wings.
• 37:13
  And you know what?
• 37:15
  I just like that Mike's just a genuine, humble guy.
• 37:18
  He sure is.
• 37:18
  And a great story.
• 37:19
  And I think a lot of people can relate to his story.
• 37:22
  So wow, that was fantastic.
• 37:23
  Hey, if people want to know more about Mike Chadi, where can they go?
• 37:27
  They can visit wingsnob.ca.
• 37:31
  Wingsnob.ca.
• 37:32
  That's a perfect place to go.
• 37:33
  But I would really encourage people, if you get a chance and you live in the Edmonton area, to hit up one of the Wing Snob's and try the wings.
• 37:41
  Yeah.
• 37:41
  Five different locations, like he mentioned, including one out in Sherwood Park.
• 37:45
  Yeah.
• 37:45
  So yeah, that was great.
• 37:46
  What a great show.
• 37:47
  Appreciate it.
• 37:48
  Thank you everybody.
• 37:49
  Also want to make mention, if you want more information on the Acheson Business Association, you can go to www.Achesonbusiness.com and lots of information there.
• 38:03
  And, or if you want to connect directly with Jennifer about the ABA, you can do that as well there.
• 38:07
  It gives you some great contact information.
• 38:10
  So thanks everybody for listening.
• 38:12
  Really appreciate it.
• 38:13
  Thanks everyone.
• 38:14
  And we hope you continue to listen to these podcasts, but share these podcasts.
• 38:18
  Yeah.
• 38:19
  Because these stories are amazing and we want them out there.
• 38:23
  We want people to hear these stories, share it with your family, your friends, your coworkers.
• 38:28
  Yeah, 100%.
• 38:29
  Totally agree.
• 38:30
  Tell everybody about it because these stories are amazing.
• 38:33
  So thanks.
• 38:34
  Thanks, everyone.