WEBVTT
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Okay.
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Drinks on patios.
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Summer drinks on patios.
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Summer drinks on patios.
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With creative names.
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Summer drinks with creative names on patios.
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You're so pretty.
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Cake's a food group.
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Cookies, too.
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Cookies, cake.
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It's a food group.
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Do you have a favorite?
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Uh oh, did you try this one?
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No, I didn't try that one.
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That one's good.
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That's spicy.
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Yeah, I like the spice.
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Let me cook.
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Cooked with Eric Reed at Midwest Professional Raptor.
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Here's your host, Eric Reed.
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Welcome to Cooked with Eric Reed.
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Today we're on site at the Blue Duck in Maplewood, Missouri.
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Over here, uh Chad's joining me again for this one.
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And uh we're gonna talk about patios, patio season, and um basically how to streamline or maximize your patio service.
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Um getting this to try some of their new summer cocktail menu, uh, which will be excellent.
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Uh the Blue Duck's one of my favorite places in St.
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Louis, and they make um just uh incredible food, incredible drinks, uh everything scratch made, even the syrups and everything they use in the drinks.
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So um excellent place to be.
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And uh we'll get into it and start talking about uh patios.
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Well, and if we're gonna come to work on a Monday and we're gonna do uh summer drink tasting, I was really glad Eric invited me to this specific one because they have a brand new uh summer drink menu.
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Uh very creative, very creative names.
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Uh very creative ice, cucumber ice, even in this one.
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Um thank you, Eric.
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When you're talking patio season, you've got to be talking hospitality brands, proudly represented by Midwest Professional Rep.
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Hospitality Brands connect food service operators with innovative tabletop solutions that elevate every guest experience, not just with polycarbonate unbreakable, right, Chad?
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Actually, it's not uh polycarbonate, it's crystal sapphire for uh hospitality brands, the bold line, and it's uh very creative, it's drinkware um that's un unbreakable, all right.
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So it's perfect for patios.
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The unbreakable line of uh drinkware is that it it minimizes how much you're replacing, and it also uh keeps your your guests and staff safer.
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Because when you're taking things outside, a lot of times you're going up and down steps or you're going across thresholds, there's more likelihood of tripping, falling, whatever.
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Um and the likelihood of breaking glassware increases.
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So when you have something that is unbreakable, that you can use, that doesn't have that problem, uh it it keeps your staff and your guests safer and it reduces your overhead because you're not constantly replacing glassware.
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Um it's um it's a really great offering, and as Chad pointed out, Hospitality Brands offers an incredible line, but they have very unique patterns.
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Um they have some beautiful products, stuff that you wouldn't expect to see in what you think of as a plastic drinkware.
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And through the dish machine.
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Uh that's one of the uh not downfalls, but that's what everybody says.
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How many times can I wash it?
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Does it go through my dish machine, whether it's high temp, low temp?
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And uh the bold line with hospitality brands is that uh is very, very safe through through uh going through the dish machine and not breaking down.
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Yeah, getting that cloudiness.
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The cloudy, yeah, uh yeah, it it it's cloudy.
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So one of the biggest things that hospitality brands, you know, has done is uh ensuring they have that that sapphire product, ensuring that it's always smooth, it's clear.
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Um it doesn't feel as bulky.
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It's a it's a thinner product when you have it in your hand.
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It's one of the things with a lot of polycarbonate that you that you see, that you think of that that people have a connotation of.
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They've used it before, they've seen it in a restaurant, they've had it at somebody's ho or used some polycarbonate at somebody's house for something, and it was thick and and chunky, um and it it changes, you know, the feel in in your hand of what a glass feels like.
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Um and uh hospitality brands with their their offering with bowls, they've done as much as they can to make it feel not super heavy, not thick, not that chunky uh awkward feel that that gives it kind of a cheap, cheaper feel.
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And creative designs.
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And patterns, creative designs and patterns that they that they have.
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So you're not just looking at uh uh clear glass.
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It's that's what's neat about it, in my opinion.
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Yeah, it's not a clear plastic cup, it's not a clear plastic wine glass.
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There's there's shapes, there are uh they're they're mimicking real glassware with their with their product.
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And if you're gonna make a specialty cocktail menu with specialty cucumber ice and heart shape, let's put it in a really nice glass that uh that looks good, that that matches the the vibe and the the restaurant vibe and right up the alley for uh the blue duck here.
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So many different kinds of drinks and drinkware and and bar applications and restaurant applications from high-end uh sports bar, and they've got the the the catalog and the the drinkware to support all of that.
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If it's a pint of beer, if it's a beautiful martini, if it's something uh crystal sapphire for somebody on your patio, the unbreakable, the wine glasses.
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Wine glasses, there's I've learned more about wine glasses in the last two years than I ever knew.
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Um the rim on the wine glass, how that can even change uh flavor profile uh on it.
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And uh Hospitality Brands has taken that to the next level of understanding uh how people like to drink and how they want to use their glass, and they're providing a high-end wine, but let's put it in a nice-looking high-end glass.
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One of the most fun places that I've been that uses hospitality brands is uh flight bar.
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Um that one's that one's a ton of fun because it's I mean, think of Top Golf put for darts.
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Oh man, we should go there.
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Yeah, I was gonna say.
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That's where we're gonna do our next one from.
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But um, but it's all hospitality brands glassware.
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They have a few different locations, um, but uh yeah, there's one in Clayton.
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We win.
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Yeah.
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In Chicago.
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Yeah, we went to the location in Chicago.
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Oh, road trip.
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Field trip.
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So we're here at Hospitality Brands at the NRA show.
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Uh got a couple of really cool new things.
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One of the biggest, though, is uh this sidecar tray will be a standard thing.
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Comes with the little handles, and there are cutouts for your little bowl for your sidecar, and then uh petite cocktail glass.
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So we can do a petite coup, we can do uh Nikonora fits in there, um, or there is this really nice uh one with the um petite martini glass.
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And so basically you can use it to where you have a small glass and you have your backup iced down staying, and that's the remainder of the glass, the remainder of the mix, so that you're always drinking uh the coldest drink possible.
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So this is another new hospitality brands option.
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Um, this is Xenia, and instead of a uh a molded, this is a factory manufactured product.
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Um, so you're gonna get it at a slightly lower price point than some of the higher-end glassware that Hospitality Brands is known for.
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Um, you've got a coupe glass and a martini glass available in this one, which is a really nice finish at uh at an approachable cost.
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Uh the Soire Petite line, it's becoming more and more common for people to be asking for a smaller drink, a smaller cocktail option, um, especially with clients who are drinking less.
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The younger clientele is ordering less alcohol in bars, and but one of the options that people have found is serving smaller um can one, it lowers the price point a lot of times, and two, somebody's more likely to say, Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can just have a small something that I want to try it.
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Um so we've really expanded this line so we can have a petite martini, uh a Nikonora, a poop glass, um, a petite Prosecco glass, just a couple of different options that are really pushing towards what the trends are right now to try and get people, keep people uh getting what they need, to keep service like at the peak and get exactly what somebody wants.
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I absolutely think that um that because the cost of goods, the cost of living has increased so much that restaurants are looking for ways to continue to get offerings and continue to get check averages up without having to charge$20 for a cocktail, whatever it might be.
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Um, I think we're gonna also start to see a lot of um like meal deals at restaurants, uh, pre-fee menus at higher-end restaurants, um things that keep people going out, but make it more budget friendly, or at least make it more obvious what they're going to be spending when they walk in the door, and there's not a shock when the check is laid down.
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And stuff like this, I think, can really help what help with that.
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This segment of Cooked with Eric Reed is brought to you by Grof Alex, represented by Eric, Chad, and Midwest Professional Reps.
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Growfilex outdoor furniture combines style and durability and commercial performance for patios that work as hard as you, an operator.
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We met with uh with Todd with Grofilex at the NRA show.
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Uh we just started representing them in the first of June.
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Um, so it you know it was new.
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So at NRA, Todd was giving us a rundown, giving us an overview.
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Um they are an American-made company, they're made in Pennsylvania, and uh the great thing about that is I mean, they're close.
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Everything that they make, they they stock as much as possible so that the inventory is there, it's close, and so when you go to order patio furniture, or you walk out and you open or are about to open your patio and realize you have broken chairs or things that need to be replaced, or uh you need to expand your patio, you don't need six months of notice that you needed to order your product.
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Uh you can walk out and go, Oh god, I need, you know, five more tables and twenty-four more chairs, and you can place an order and realistically get that in a time frame that allows you to open your patio when you plan to.
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Um or even, you know, midsummer, if somebody breaks a chair or decides to throw it off the rooftop.
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Uh like they're in downtown Nashville.
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Um, if somebody does, you know, if if if you lose things in the middle of patio season, you'll have time to place an order, get things in, and continue to run without being at a limited capacity.
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All of our chairs are commercial grade-made chairs.
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They're all tested to 400 pounds, they're all weighted to 300 pounds.
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Um, all of our chairs are made in the USA, in Pennsylvania.
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You don't find that much in the in many businesses, uh, specifically in the furniture business where it is a USA-made product.
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The advantage of that for us is we could we control what goes into it.
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We control everything that goes in it and what comes out of it.
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All of our chairs are stocked in the US, which is a really, really big um thing in the furniture business is to have stock in the US.
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Um, all of our chairs are commercial great, so they're meant for the wear and tear of people standing on it, people doing whatever they want to it, on the table, dancing on the table, uh, and it holds up to that wear and tear.
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A typical lifespan of our chairs, while we have a three-year commercial warranty, a typical lifespan of our chairs is anywhere from seven to ten years.
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And the only reason that they get rid of it after seven or ten years is they're looking for something new, they're looking for something different.
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Uh we have been uh making this product in North America since 1969, so coming up on 60 years, um, and we are about the only resin manufacturer in the furniture business left in North America.
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Um I think that sort of tells anybody that'll listen to us that we know what we're doing.
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Is a lot of the other stuff an Asian import?
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A lot of the other product that is Asian import, there is some European imports product, but obviously that means it's not stocked here.
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Uh that means there's issues in getting the product again.
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Waiting for the container to show up.
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Waiting for the container to show up.
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We all lived that in 21.
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As did we.
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So yeah, there is a lot of benefits of working with a local manufacturer.
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When I say local, meaning in in the US.
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I like Groveflex because one, you know, we're in the restaurant business.
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Everybody thinks restaurant and patios and summertime.
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Uh but it's so much more than that.
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Whether it's uh casinos or campsites or HOA associations, uh we really get into a lot of uh hotels pools.
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Uh it really gets us into a lot of different doors and different avenues to talk about our products.
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And then and kind of a segue, we kind of want to bundle it, right?
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So we can talk about that, and then you know what else is popular in the summer?
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Ice.
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Well, we have ice machine, so we can talk about Hoshazaki and different things.
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And we can so it's nice to combine um some of our different lines for the same application.
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Talk about Frosty Factory.
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Yeah, you can talk about it.
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I love a slushy.
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Yeah, I know.
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Frozen dacquery.
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That's a food group.
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It is.
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Yeah, that was actually one of the most fun things that I found is uh Yellow Belly, again in St.
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Louis.
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They're in uh the Central West End.
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And um I walked in one time and I had never paid attention.
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And they have a Frosty Factory machine.
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Um, and then I look up and watch them mixing a drink, and they're mixing it in hospitality brands glass.
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I actually stopped them and I'm like, hey, can I come in and record you making that drink right now?
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The bartender stared at me like I was crazy.
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She was like, What?
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I was like, That's a long story, just let me film that and then I'll tell you what.
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One of the one of the great things that that uh Todd talks about with GroFelex is that uh with the resin product, the resin that they use that their chairs are actually made out of, um is that that makes them unbreakable.
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So I mean realistically, we have unbreakable drinkware for your for your patio service.
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We have unbreakable buttware for your uh chairs.
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Um I liking the way this is going.
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Why why resin?
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Well, the idea of resin is to make a chair in resin that's per that's impermeable to all the elements, uh, without all of the issues that come with the woods in the world, the metals of the world, um, any other different components that comes with it.
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So when we make a chair, for the most part, it is impermeable to water, to rain, um, to the sleet, to the snow, as I like to say, to the mud, the blood, and the beer.
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Essentially, you wipe it down and you walk away, and that's it.
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Just not impermeable to the drunken asshole that decides to hit someone with it.
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Just not impermeable to the drunken asshole that decides to hit somebody.
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No.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Getting getting taken care of the they're made to handle the mud, blood, and beer.
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Mud, blood, and beer, man.
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And I like it.
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You don't want an uncomfortable, cheap place to sit, especially bar stools.
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You know, it you'll see it a lot in in bars where you've got the most god-awful uncomfortable bar stool.
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And if I'm uncomfortable, I'm not sitting.
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Yeah, I'm not staying.
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I might have two drinks, maybe.
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Right.
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Um, so that's that's one of the really nice things that like at NRA, it was awesome, getting to sit and try some of the product and stuff they had.
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Yeah.
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Because it was genuinely comfortable.
00:17:35.759 --> 00:17:36.160
Yeah.
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So the bar stools, um these are bicomponent bar stools.
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As you can see here, this is an aluminum base, and all we do is we purchase the aluminum base and then we put the back into it.
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So it's gonna have the same look, the same feel as our chairs.
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This is actually aluminum, and we had them make this mold.
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So make the exact chair, and then they uh they produce these, they send them over to us, and we take the backs and we s we stick them in the same way.
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So it's great.
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You get comfortable, you saddle up at the bar, you sit on the patio, whatever it might be, have a couple of drinks, start ordering food.
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You want to hang out, you want to spend time there, and and you're actually comfortable and settled in and you'll spend more money.
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It's a bill booster.
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If you're comfortable, you're gonna you're good.
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As opposed to sitting like on the edge of your seat.
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Like, I can't find where this is comfortable.
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I think I'd rather stand up, please.
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If if you're an operator, cutting costs on on your seats, on your bar stores can cost you in the long run.
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Anyway, you may be cutting costs up front on what you're spending on your furniture because you know you you just wanted to spend less, but you're losing out on income, you're losing out on revenue and profit because people aren't comfortable and they don't want to stay, they don't want to continue to add to their check.
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Um and at the end of the day, I mean that's the only thing you have, that's the only thing you sell is the the food and drink that atmosphere, comfort.
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And your bar is where is your biggest profit set.
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Margin, yeah.
00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:30.640
If you missed last month's episode, it was with CEO of Cookjack, Stuart Powell.
00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:44.079
And right now we have unreleased conversation in which Stuart addresses the stigma that is pellet smokers, specifically why all the hate towards pellets.
00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:46.079
So let's get into that right now.
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Here's Stuart Powell, Eric Reed, and Chad Ridgway.
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Could you hear that?
00:19:55.680 --> 00:20:01.039
So uh what yeah, why why why is there a stigma on uh on pellet smokers?
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What what are your thoughts?
00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:07.920
Yeah, so my one of my favorite stories is when Eddie and I first got together.
00:20:08.079 --> 00:20:19.759
So uh for those of you out there who don't don't know the Cook Shack story of Fast Eddies, Ed Ed Marin was a competition cook up in Kansas City, he was also a fireman, and so like all firemen's got to have a second job.
00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:29.759
And and so anyway, he'd start making pellet-fired smokers, seen a Traeger, actually cut a Traeger apart and turned it into a smoker, and started winning a ton of contests.
00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:31.279
I mean, he did incredibly well.
00:20:31.440 --> 00:21:00.400
And anyway, he was he'd gotten you know busier, but before I actually, and I'd met him a few times, so I didn't know him very well, but we're down at the um American Barbecue Association's uh, or no, the National Barbecue Association's trade show in Houston, and he's right across the aisle from me, and he'd just it's in 2000, he'd just come out with his um with a rotating rack pellet-fired unit, which kind of fascinated me at the time.
00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:07.759
But I kept having this guy, he was going back and before forth between our two booths trying to figure out what smoker to buy.
00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:11.839
And I kept saying to him, Well, what do you what's in those pellets?
00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:14.240
You know what, you know what those pellets are made up of?
00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:17.119
And of course he's like, I have no idea.
00:21:17.359 --> 00:21:28.160
And you know, it we spent the I spent the first probably 10 to 15 years of selling pellet-fired smokers, teaching people what pellets are.
00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:35.119
And that and that's really why they, you know, why they had such a bad name, because nobody understood what they were.
00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:44.799
You know, and then you had people like the tragers who didn't even didn't even give you what was really a true flavored pellet anyway.
00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:55.759
You know, I mean if you um if you want an interesting story, go look at their class action lawsuit that was filed against them that they paid over a million dollars to settle.
00:21:56.000 --> 00:22:00.400
Or um because all of their pellets were alderwood.
00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:05.839
I mean they didn't put any other flav they didn't put any other wood in their pellets as alderwood, okay?
00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:13.440
And their whole thing was is that oh, we use flavored oil to give it the flavor.
00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:16.079
And they actually have a patent around it, okay?
00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:22.559
Well, if you know anything about a pellet mill, you know, pellets are almost on fire when they come out of the pellet mill.
00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:27.039
They get so hot from the friction, and it's just burning all that stuff off.
00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:29.119
So all their pellets tasted the same.
00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:32.319
I always said that from day one when I met them before I knew how they made them.
00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:36.960
I was like, you can give me any of those flavors, they all taste the same.
00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:44.160
So um, so you know, so there was a lot going on in that world, and and people didn't understand pellets at all.
00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:57.440
It was funny, the first time I went to Europe with a pellet smoker, I'm standing in a trade show in um in London, and everybody that walks in the booth goes, Wow, what a great idea.
00:22:57.680 --> 00:22:59.359
Pellets are the best things ever.
00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:03.599
And I'm just thinking, did I drag you in the United States?
00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:11.200
They used pellets in Europe forever for a fuel source, and everybody knew them.
00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:18.079
And it's getting that way now, but you know, I mean, for years, I mean, they were just, you know, they were considered not even wood.
00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:24.160
And yet, I mean, they're 100% wood, there's nothing else in them, you know, unless you put some flavored oil in them.
00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:30.160
But, you know, and and people today, I mean, there's good fellas out there today.
00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:32.400
There's some bad fellas out there still.
00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:42.319
Um, but there's good fellas out there that are a good ratio of, you know, whatever flavored wood you want, plus the the base wood, is which is typically an oak.
00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:44.880
Um, so you know, you you see that a lot.
00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:48.160
I think that that that world has come around.
00:23:48.319 --> 00:24:05.279
As a matter of fact, I see more and more now where um I have people saying to me, I I need to go to pellets because I can't get wood, you know, and there's no reliable source for wood, you know, and um, you know, that that's the worst part of my business.
00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:12.319
We sell chunks of wood, it's the hardest part of my business because that wood guy is never there when you want him to be.
00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:13.680
Cheers, Eric.
00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:16.079
Thank you for a great Monday.
00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:18.960
Cooking with Eric Reed.
00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:20.000
This is Eric Reed.
00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:22.640
Cook we've been cooking today, though.
00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:26.880
Cook with Eric Reed.
00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:31.039
Watch every whole episode on YouTube and listen wherever you get your podcast.
00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:39.440
Subscribe and follow at LibroReps on YouTube and across all social media for more conversations, tips, and food service insights.
00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:40.640
Thanks for joining us.
00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:44.000
We'll see you next time on Cook with Eric Reed.
00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:03.680
Okay.
00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:05.919
Drinks on patios.
00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:10.240
Summer drinks on patios.
00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:13.039
Summer drinks on patios.
00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:14.160
With creative names.
00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:17.359
Summer drinks with creative names on patios.
00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:20.160
You're so pretty.
00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:24.640
Cake's a food group.
00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:25.679
Cookies, too.
00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:26.800
Cookies, cake.
00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:27.920
It's a food group.
00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:29.120
Do you have a favorite?
00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:30.399
Uh oh, did you try this one?
00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:31.280
No, I didn't try that one.
00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:32.079
That one's good.
00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:32.560
That's spicy.
00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:34.320
Yeah, I like the spice.
00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:36.000
Let me cook.
00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:42.719
Cooked with Eric Reed at Midwest Professional Raptor.
00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:45.520
Here's your host, Eric Reed.
00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:51.600
Welcome to Cooked with Eric Reed.
00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:55.359
Today we're on site at the Blue Duck in Maplewood, Missouri.
00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:58.560
Over here, uh Chad's joining me again for this one.
00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:08.000
And uh we're gonna talk about patios, patio season, and um basically how to streamline or maximize your patio service.
00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:13.920
Um getting this to try some of their new summer cocktail menu, uh, which will be excellent.
00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:16.560
Uh the Blue Duck's one of my favorite places in St.
00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:26.000
Louis, and they make um just uh incredible food, incredible drinks, uh everything scratch made, even the syrups and everything they use in the drinks.
00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:28.480
So um excellent place to be.
00:01:28.959 --> 00:01:32.239
And uh we'll get into it and start talking about uh patios.
00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:46.959
Well, and if we're gonna come to work on a Monday and we're gonna do uh summer drink tasting, I was really glad Eric invited me to this specific one because they have a brand new uh summer drink menu.
00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:49.599
Uh very creative, very creative names.
00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:54.560
Uh very creative ice, cucumber ice, even in this one.
00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:56.799
Um thank you, Eric.
00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:04.400
When you're talking patio season, you've got to be talking hospitality brands, proudly represented by Midwest Professional Rep.
00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:15.360
Hospitality Brands connect food service operators with innovative tabletop solutions that elevate every guest experience, not just with polycarbonate unbreakable, right, Chad?
00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:30.560
Actually, it's not uh polycarbonate, it's crystal sapphire for uh hospitality brands, the bold line, and it's uh very creative, it's drinkware um that's un unbreakable, all right.
00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:32.159
So it's perfect for patios.
00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:44.719
The unbreakable line of uh drinkware is that it it minimizes how much you're replacing, and it also uh keeps your your guests and staff safer.
00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:53.199
Because when you're taking things outside, a lot of times you're going up and down steps or you're going across thresholds, there's more likelihood of tripping, falling, whatever.
00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:58.319
Um and the likelihood of breaking glassware increases.
00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:14.000
So when you have something that is unbreakable, that you can use, that doesn't have that problem, uh it it keeps your staff and your guests safer and it reduces your overhead because you're not constantly replacing glassware.
00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:27.360
Um it's um it's a really great offering, and as Chad pointed out, Hospitality Brands offers an incredible line, but they have very unique patterns.
00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:35.599
Um they have some beautiful products, stuff that you wouldn't expect to see in what you think of as a plastic drinkware.
00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:38.000
And through the dish machine.
00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:43.919
Uh that's one of the uh not downfalls, but that's what everybody says.
00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:45.120
How many times can I wash it?
00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:48.080
Does it go through my dish machine, whether it's high temp, low temp?
00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:57.680
And uh the bold line with hospitality brands is that uh is very, very safe through through uh going through the dish machine and not breaking down.
00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:00.319
Yeah, getting that cloudiness.
00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:05.520
The cloudy, yeah, uh yeah, it it it's cloudy.
00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:15.840
So one of the biggest things that hospitality brands, you know, has done is uh ensuring they have that that sapphire product, ensuring that it's always smooth, it's clear.
00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:19.199
Um it doesn't feel as bulky.
00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:22.319
It's a it's a thinner product when you have it in your hand.
00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:29.279
It's one of the things with a lot of polycarbonate that you that you see, that you think of that that people have a connotation of.
00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:46.720
They've used it before, they've seen it in a restaurant, they've had it at somebody's ho or used some polycarbonate at somebody's house for something, and it was thick and and chunky, um and it it changes, you know, the feel in in your hand of what a glass feels like.
00:04:46.959 --> 00:05:05.199
Um and uh hospitality brands with their their offering with bowls, they've done as much as they can to make it feel not super heavy, not thick, not that chunky uh awkward feel that that gives it kind of a cheap, cheaper feel.
00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:06.560
And creative designs.
00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:11.040
And patterns, creative designs and patterns that they that they have.
00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:14.399
So you're not just looking at uh uh clear glass.
00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:17.360
It's that's what's neat about it, in my opinion.
00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:22.079
Yeah, it's not a clear plastic cup, it's not a clear plastic wine glass.
00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:29.279
There's there's shapes, there are uh they're they're mimicking real glassware with their with their product.
00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:49.680
And if you're gonna make a specialty cocktail menu with specialty cucumber ice and heart shape, let's put it in a really nice glass that uh that looks good, that that matches the the vibe and the the restaurant vibe and right up the alley for uh the blue duck here.
00:05:50.240 --> 00:06:10.079
So many different kinds of drinks and drinkware and and bar applications and restaurant applications from high-end uh sports bar, and they've got the the the catalog and the the drinkware to support all of that.
00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:22.879
If it's a pint of beer, if it's a beautiful martini, if it's something uh crystal sapphire for somebody on your patio, the unbreakable, the wine glasses.
00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:28.399
Wine glasses, there's I've learned more about wine glasses in the last two years than I ever knew.
00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:34.879
Um the rim on the wine glass, how that can even change uh flavor profile uh on it.
00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:50.480
And uh Hospitality Brands has taken that to the next level of understanding uh how people like to drink and how they want to use their glass, and they're providing a high-end wine, but let's put it in a nice-looking high-end glass.
00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:55.600
One of the most fun places that I've been that uses hospitality brands is uh flight bar.
00:06:56.160 --> 00:07:00.879
Um that one's that one's a ton of fun because it's I mean, think of Top Golf put for darts.
00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:02.800
Oh man, we should go there.
00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:03.600
Yeah, I was gonna say.
00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:05.519
That's where we're gonna do our next one from.
00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:10.639
But um, but it's all hospitality brands glassware.
00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:14.959
They have a few different locations, um, but uh yeah, there's one in Clayton.
00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:15.519
We win.
00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:16.000
Yeah.
00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:16.720
In Chicago.
00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:18.639
Yeah, we went to the location in Chicago.
00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:19.600
Oh, road trip.
00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:20.959
Field trip.
00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:24.639
So we're here at Hospitality Brands at the NRA show.
00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:26.560
Uh got a couple of really cool new things.
00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:31.519
One of the biggest, though, is uh this sidecar tray will be a standard thing.
00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:41.439
Comes with the little handles, and there are cutouts for your little bowl for your sidecar, and then uh petite cocktail glass.
00:07:41.519 --> 00:07:56.000
So we can do a petite coup, we can do uh Nikonora fits in there, um, or there is this really nice uh one with the um petite martini glass.
00:07:56.160 --> 00:08:10.720
And so basically you can use it to where you have a small glass and you have your backup iced down staying, and that's the remainder of the glass, the remainder of the mix, so that you're always drinking uh the coldest drink possible.
00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:14.079
So this is another new hospitality brands option.
00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:22.879
Um, this is Xenia, and instead of a uh a molded, this is a factory manufactured product.
00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:30.399
Um, so you're gonna get it at a slightly lower price point than some of the higher-end glassware that Hospitality Brands is known for.
00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:39.360
Um, you've got a coupe glass and a martini glass available in this one, which is a really nice finish at uh at an approachable cost.
00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:52.480
Uh the Soire Petite line, it's becoming more and more common for people to be asking for a smaller drink, a smaller cocktail option, um, especially with clients who are drinking less.
00:08:52.720 --> 00:09:11.279
The younger clientele is ordering less alcohol in bars, and but one of the options that people have found is serving smaller um can one, it lowers the price point a lot of times, and two, somebody's more likely to say, Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can just have a small something that I want to try it.
00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:37.120
Um so we've really expanded this line so we can have a petite martini, uh a Nikonora, a poop glass, um, a petite Prosecco glass, just a couple of different options that are really pushing towards what the trends are right now to try and get people, keep people uh getting what they need, to keep service like at the peak and get exactly what somebody wants.
00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:54.960
I absolutely think that um that because the cost of goods, the cost of living has increased so much that restaurants are looking for ways to continue to get offerings and continue to get check averages up without having to charge$20 for a cocktail, whatever it might be.
00:09:55.120 --> 00:10:23.679
Um, I think we're gonna also start to see a lot of um like meal deals at restaurants, uh, pre-fee menus at higher-end restaurants, um things that keep people going out, but make it more budget friendly, or at least make it more obvious what they're going to be spending when they walk in the door, and there's not a shock when the check is laid down.
00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:27.039
And stuff like this, I think, can really help what help with that.
00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:36.639
This segment of Cooked with Eric Reed is brought to you by Grof Alex, represented by Eric, Chad, and Midwest Professional Reps.
00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:46.879
Growfilex outdoor furniture combines style and durability and commercial performance for patios that work as hard as you, an operator.
00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:52.240
We met with uh with Todd with Grofilex at the NRA show.
00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:59.360
Uh we just started representing them in the first of June.
00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:01.360
Um, so it you know it was new.
00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:05.279
So at NRA, Todd was giving us a rundown, giving us an overview.
00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:12.639
Um they are an American-made company, they're made in Pennsylvania, and uh the great thing about that is I mean, they're close.
00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:39.519
Everything that they make, they they stock as much as possible so that the inventory is there, it's close, and so when you go to order patio furniture, or you walk out and you open or are about to open your patio and realize you have broken chairs or things that need to be replaced, or uh you need to expand your patio, you don't need six months of notice that you needed to order your product.
00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:53.279
Uh you can walk out and go, Oh god, I need, you know, five more tables and twenty-four more chairs, and you can place an order and realistically get that in a time frame that allows you to open your patio when you plan to.
00:11:53.600 --> 00:12:00.720
Um or even, you know, midsummer, if somebody breaks a chair or decides to throw it off the rooftop.
00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:04.480
Uh like they're in downtown Nashville.
00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:17.600
Um, if somebody does, you know, if if if you lose things in the middle of patio season, you'll have time to place an order, get things in, and continue to run without being at a limited capacity.
00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:20.879
All of our chairs are commercial grade-made chairs.
00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:24.639
They're all tested to 400 pounds, they're all weighted to 300 pounds.
00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:28.960
Um, all of our chairs are made in the USA, in Pennsylvania.
00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:36.559
You don't find that much in the in many businesses, uh, specifically in the furniture business where it is a USA-made product.
00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:40.320
The advantage of that for us is we could we control what goes into it.
00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:43.440
We control everything that goes in it and what comes out of it.
00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:51.759
All of our chairs are stocked in the US, which is a really, really big um thing in the furniture business is to have stock in the US.
00:12:51.840 --> 00:13:03.840
Um, all of our chairs are commercial great, so they're meant for the wear and tear of people standing on it, people doing whatever they want to it, on the table, dancing on the table, uh, and it holds up to that wear and tear.
00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:11.440
A typical lifespan of our chairs, while we have a three-year commercial warranty, a typical lifespan of our chairs is anywhere from seven to ten years.
00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:18.240
And the only reason that they get rid of it after seven or ten years is they're looking for something new, they're looking for something different.
00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:32.879
Uh we have been uh making this product in North America since 1969, so coming up on 60 years, um, and we are about the only resin manufacturer in the furniture business left in North America.
00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:39.919
Um I think that sort of tells anybody that'll listen to us that we know what we're doing.
00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:41.840
Is a lot of the other stuff an Asian import?
00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:49.039
A lot of the other product that is Asian import, there is some European imports product, but obviously that means it's not stocked here.
00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:51.440
Uh that means there's issues in getting the product again.
00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:52.720
Waiting for the container to show up.
00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:54.240
Waiting for the container to show up.
00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:55.759
We all lived that in 21.
00:13:57.039 --> 00:13:58.480
As did we.
00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:04.559
So yeah, there is a lot of benefits of working with a local manufacturer.
00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:07.120
When I say local, meaning in in the US.
00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:12.159
I like Groveflex because one, you know, we're in the restaurant business.
00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:15.279
Everybody thinks restaurant and patios and summertime.
00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:17.440
Uh but it's so much more than that.
00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:29.519
Whether it's uh casinos or campsites or HOA associations, uh we really get into a lot of uh hotels pools.
00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:36.000
Uh it really gets us into a lot of different doors and different avenues to talk about our products.
00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:39.840
And then and kind of a segue, we kind of want to bundle it, right?
00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:44.240
So we can talk about that, and then you know what else is popular in the summer?
00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:44.879
Ice.
00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:49.279
Well, we have ice machine, so we can talk about Hoshazaki and different things.
00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:56.799
And we can so it's nice to combine um some of our different lines for the same application.
00:14:57.440 --> 00:14:58.720
Talk about Frosty Factory.
00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:00.000
Yeah, you can talk about it.
00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:00.879
I love a slushy.
00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:01.440
Yeah, I know.
00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:02.799
Frozen dacquery.
00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:03.840
That's a food group.
00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:05.360
It is.
00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:10.399
Yeah, that was actually one of the most fun things that I found is uh Yellow Belly, again in St.
00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:10.799
Louis.
00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:12.720
They're in uh the Central West End.
00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:17.120
And um I walked in one time and I had never paid attention.
00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:19.279
And they have a Frosty Factory machine.
00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:24.480
Um, and then I look up and watch them mixing a drink, and they're mixing it in hospitality brands glass.
00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:29.679
I actually stopped them and I'm like, hey, can I come in and record you making that drink right now?
00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:33.200
The bartender stared at me like I was crazy.
00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:33.759
She was like, What?
00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:36.639
I was like, That's a long story, just let me film that and then I'll tell you what.
00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:52.799
One of the one of the great things that that uh Todd talks about with GroFelex is that uh with the resin product, the resin that they use that their chairs are actually made out of, um is that that makes them unbreakable.
00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:58.639
So I mean realistically, we have unbreakable drinkware for your for your patio service.
00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:04.480
We have unbreakable buttware for your uh chairs.
00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:09.039
Um I liking the way this is going.
00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:12.960
Why why resin?
00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:32.320
Well, the idea of resin is to make a chair in resin that's per that's impermeable to all the elements, uh, without all of the issues that come with the woods in the world, the metals of the world, um, any other different components that comes with it.
00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:43.039
So when we make a chair, for the most part, it is impermeable to water, to rain, um, to the sleet, to the snow, as I like to say, to the mud, the blood, and the beer.
00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:46.320
Essentially, you wipe it down and you walk away, and that's it.
00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:49.919
Just not impermeable to the drunken asshole that decides to hit someone with it.
00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:53.440
Just not impermeable to the drunken asshole that decides to hit somebody.
00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:53.840
No.
00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:54.720
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:16:55.039 --> 00:17:00.480
Getting getting taken care of the they're made to handle the mud, blood, and beer.
00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:02.480
Mud, blood, and beer, man.
00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:03.679
And I like it.
00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:11.200
You don't want an uncomfortable, cheap place to sit, especially bar stools.
00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:18.480
You know, it you'll see it a lot in in bars where you've got the most god-awful uncomfortable bar stool.
00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:21.519
And if I'm uncomfortable, I'm not sitting.
00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:23.279
Yeah, I'm not staying.
00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:25.839
I might have two drinks, maybe.
00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:26.240
Right.
00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:33.519
Um, so that's that's one of the really nice things that like at NRA, it was awesome, getting to sit and try some of the product and stuff they had.
00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:33.759
Yeah.
00:17:33.920 --> 00:17:35.599
Because it was genuinely comfortable.
00:17:35.759 --> 00:17:36.160
Yeah.
00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:42.079
So the bar stools, um these are bicomponent bar stools.
00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:51.119
As you can see here, this is an aluminum base, and all we do is we purchase the aluminum base and then we put the back into it.
00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:56.240
So it's gonna have the same look, the same feel as our chairs.
00:17:56.480 --> 00:18:00.240
This is actually aluminum, and we had them make this mold.
00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:08.720
So make the exact chair, and then they uh they produce these, they send them over to us, and we take the backs and we s we stick them in the same way.
00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:10.319
So it's great.
00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:17.599
You get comfortable, you saddle up at the bar, you sit on the patio, whatever it might be, have a couple of drinks, start ordering food.
00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:23.759
You want to hang out, you want to spend time there, and and you're actually comfortable and settled in and you'll spend more money.
00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:25.440
It's a bill booster.
00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:28.720
If you're comfortable, you're gonna you're good.
00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:31.359
As opposed to sitting like on the edge of your seat.
00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:36.400
Like, I can't find where this is comfortable.
00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:37.920
I think I'd rather stand up, please.
00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:48.880
If if you're an operator, cutting costs on on your seats, on your bar stores can cost you in the long run.
00:18:49.039 --> 00:19:11.039
Anyway, you may be cutting costs up front on what you're spending on your furniture because you know you you just wanted to spend less, but you're losing out on income, you're losing out on revenue and profit because people aren't comfortable and they don't want to stay, they don't want to continue to add to their check.
00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:19.599
Um and at the end of the day, I mean that's the only thing you have, that's the only thing you sell is the the food and drink that atmosphere, comfort.
00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:24.640
And your bar is where is your biggest profit set.
00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:26.000
Margin, yeah.
00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:30.640
If you missed last month's episode, it was with CEO of Cookjack, Stuart Powell.
00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:44.079
And right now we have unreleased conversation in which Stuart addresses the stigma that is pellet smokers, specifically why all the hate towards pellets.
00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:46.079
So let's get into that right now.
00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:49.920
Here's Stuart Powell, Eric Reed, and Chad Ridgway.
00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:55.119
Could you hear that?
00:19:55.680 --> 00:20:01.039
So uh what yeah, why why why is there a stigma on uh on pellet smokers?
00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:02.480
What what are your thoughts?
00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:07.920
Yeah, so my one of my favorite stories is when Eddie and I first got together.
00:20:08.079 --> 00:20:19.759
So uh for those of you out there who don't don't know the Cook Shack story of Fast Eddies, Ed Ed Marin was a competition cook up in Kansas City, he was also a fireman, and so like all firemen's got to have a second job.
00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:29.759
And and so anyway, he'd start making pellet-fired smokers, seen a Traeger, actually cut a Traeger apart and turned it into a smoker, and started winning a ton of contests.
00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:31.279
I mean, he did incredibly well.
00:20:31.440 --> 00:21:00.400
And anyway, he was he'd gotten you know busier, but before I actually, and I'd met him a few times, so I didn't know him very well, but we're down at the um American Barbecue Association's uh, or no, the National Barbecue Association's trade show in Houston, and he's right across the aisle from me, and he'd just it's in 2000, he'd just come out with his um with a rotating rack pellet-fired unit, which kind of fascinated me at the time.
00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:07.759
But I kept having this guy, he was going back and before forth between our two booths trying to figure out what smoker to buy.
00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:11.839
And I kept saying to him, Well, what do you what's in those pellets?
00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:14.240
You know what, you know what those pellets are made up of?
00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:17.119
And of course he's like, I have no idea.
00:21:17.359 --> 00:21:28.160
And you know, it we spent the I spent the first probably 10 to 15 years of selling pellet-fired smokers, teaching people what pellets are.
00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:35.119
And that and that's really why they, you know, why they had such a bad name, because nobody understood what they were.
00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:44.799
You know, and then you had people like the tragers who didn't even didn't even give you what was really a true flavored pellet anyway.
00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:55.759
You know, I mean if you um if you want an interesting story, go look at their class action lawsuit that was filed against them that they paid over a million dollars to settle.
00:21:56.000 --> 00:22:00.400
Or um because all of their pellets were alderwood.
00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:05.839
I mean they didn't put any other flav they didn't put any other wood in their pellets as alderwood, okay?
00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:13.440
And their whole thing was is that oh, we use flavored oil to give it the flavor.
00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:16.079
And they actually have a patent around it, okay?
00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:22.559
Well, if you know anything about a pellet mill, you know, pellets are almost on fire when they come out of the pellet mill.
00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:27.039
They get so hot from the friction, and it's just burning all that stuff off.
00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:29.119
So all their pellets tasted the same.
00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:32.319
I always said that from day one when I met them before I knew how they made them.
00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:36.960
I was like, you can give me any of those flavors, they all taste the same.
00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:44.160
So um, so you know, so there was a lot going on in that world, and and people didn't understand pellets at all.
00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:57.440
It was funny, the first time I went to Europe with a pellet smoker, I'm standing in a trade show in um in London, and everybody that walks in the booth goes, Wow, what a great idea.
00:22:57.680 --> 00:22:59.359
Pellets are the best things ever.
00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:03.599
And I'm just thinking, did I drag you in the United States?
00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:11.200
They used pellets in Europe forever for a fuel source, and everybody knew them.
00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:18.079
And it's getting that way now, but you know, I mean, for years, I mean, they were just, you know, they were considered not even wood.
00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:24.160
And yet, I mean, they're 100% wood, there's nothing else in them, you know, unless you put some flavored oil in them.
00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:30.160
But, you know, and and people today, I mean, there's good fellas out there today.
00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:32.400
There's some bad fellas out there still.
00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:42.319
Um, but there's good fellas out there that are a good ratio of, you know, whatever flavored wood you want, plus the the base wood, is which is typically an oak.
00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:44.880
Um, so you know, you you see that a lot.
00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:48.160
I think that that that world has come around.
00:23:48.319 --> 00:24:05.279
As a matter of fact, I see more and more now where um I have people saying to me, I I need to go to pellets because I can't get wood, you know, and there's no reliable source for wood, you know, and um, you know, that that's the worst part of my business.
00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:12.319
We sell chunks of wood, it's the hardest part of my business because that wood guy is never there when you want him to be.
00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:13.680
Cheers, Eric.
00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:16.079
Thank you for a great Monday.
00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:18.960
Cooking with Eric Reed.
00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:20.000
This is Eric Reed.
00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:22.640
Cook we've been cooking today, though.
00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:26.880
Cook with Eric Reed.
00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:31.039
Watch every whole episode on YouTube and listen wherever you get your podcast.
00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:39.440
Subscribe and follow at LibroReps on YouTube and across all social media for more conversations, tips, and food service insights.
00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:40.640
Thanks for joining us.
00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:44.000
We'll see you next time on Cook with Eric Reed.
