00:00:00:00 - 00:00:01:09
Unknown
in a town like Rochester

00:00:01:10 - 00:00:02:17
Unknown
there's a new restaurant that opens up,

00:00:02:18 - 00:00:09:01
Unknown
it's like this shiny object in town. And the first few months everybody flocks it just to check it out and, you know, support and stuff like that.

00:00:09:01 - 00:00:09:05
Unknown
But

00:00:09:05 - 00:00:16:00
Unknown
as an entrepreneur, on the other side, you don't really know your true numbers of where you're at because you're going through this honeymoon phase basically with your business,

00:00:16:02 - 00:00:22:05
Unknown
in Mantorville and Kasson and small towns, it's kind of the opposite, where you're battling upwards and you have to prove yourself

00:00:22:05 - 00:00:29:11
Unknown
in a small town, part of the magic of it is everybody knows everybody. And you have that trust. And like, all of a sudden a new entrepreneur shows up in town. And

00:00:29:17 - 00:00:31:10
Unknown
you're from the big city nearby,

00:00:31:11 - 00:00:34:23
Unknown
we don't know you. Yeah. So we're going to make stake in our backyard. Yeah. Right.

00:00:34:23 - 00:00:48:16
Unknown
Well, it's been a real growth journey for you. And if you just had to, you know, talk to anybody that's looking at the restaurant industry, what would be some of the things that stand out to you as far as advice that you might recommend?

00:00:48:16 - 00:00:52:01
Unknown
Yeah, I would say to

00:00:52:03 - 00:01:11:09
Unknown
Welcome to the Real Growth podcast. I'm excited today to learn more about Miguel's journey as what? I know, a restaurant tour. Entrepreneur, a real estate agent. We're going to learn more. And really, this is kind of selfish for me. I love your restaurant. And so that's why I, I like I want to talk about your restaurant to kick it off.

00:01:11:14 - 00:01:28:20
Unknown
Your guys's food is delicious. And I would say the setting when you go there, it's just a cool setting, like we've said on the patio. You guys have, in the winter, done, like the igloos. We sat in the igloos before. And then obviously in your restaurant with the vaulted ceiling and such, and it's just a it's a really cool place.

00:01:28:20 - 00:01:45:20
Unknown
So let's start there. Let's let's go. Easy, Miguel. Go ahead and introduce yourself and, share about what's on the menu at Hidden Pines restaurant. Yeah, well, my name is Miguel Aguilera for those of you that don't know. Yeah. Hidden Pines, we do. We've kind of focused on not I don't see necessarily healthy, but just things you haven't really seen before.

00:01:45:20 - 00:02:13:01
Unknown
And if you have, you do a little twist to them. So, we've become really popular, known for our rice balls. So just a bit of rice and then just whatever ingredients we can put together to make it work, we've just focused on that. So, but everything's made from scratch. It's so it's really high quality stuff. I just, I like to say so and even simple things like the celery sticks with cucumbers or, sorry, cucumbers.

00:02:13:01 - 00:02:35:03
Unknown
Six. There. There we go. So, yeah, because you'd think they would be celery, right? Exactly. And so the cucumber sticks, like I was telling a friend of mine, and he's like, they're just cucumbers. I'm like, I don't know, they're good. Yeah, like really good. Yeah. See everything from them. Our menu has been just kind of from a, a piece that we've taken from every restaurant we've been to across the country that we've liked.

00:02:35:05 - 00:02:51:20
Unknown
So there's this little place up north in Brainerd, that's off in Brainerd. You get garlic. So we go up there quite a bit. And so all the restaurants on the lake are just always busy, you know, in summertime. And there's, there's this small, like, dive bar that's got cucumber sticks that is always busy because their food is so good.

00:02:51:20 - 00:03:07:10
Unknown
So when we thought of Hidden Pines, we're like, we have to bring those cucumber sticks. And whenever I'm at a table and I'm, they're asking me, hey, what are these cucumbers tastes like? Are they fried? I'm like, oh my gosh, they're just cucumber. Just like there's the cut and stick form. That's about all you get with them. And they taste good.

00:03:07:10 - 00:03:22:02
Unknown
You get ranch with them. So you hear that a lot that what do you do with them. Like, I don't know I, I don't know. Yeah. Seriously cut it. And I think it's part of it just not being used to that. Right. You're so used to French fries. You're so used to what you maybe get at a typical small town restaurant.

00:03:22:03 - 00:03:40:20
Unknown
And, yeah, you've done a nice job with that restaurant. And the other one is, the sweet potato, the dip. The dip. Yeah. So talk about that dip. What? What is that exactly? It's base. It's a marshmallow based dip. So a lot of people, when they see it, it looks like ranch, but they're very surprised when they dip their fry in there.

00:03:40:20 - 00:04:01:02
Unknown
And it's not ranch at all. Yeah. We've seen the 5050 split. People either really love it and will die for it, or they just don't want anything to do with it. It's just funny. But again, one of those things that was inspired by that restaurant up in Brainerd, they had similar thing. We changed our recipe quite a bit, but, yeah, just something different, something people don't expect on their plate.

00:04:01:02 - 00:04:19:07
Unknown
And now I feel like it's become a staple. If you have sweet fries anywhere, you want to have some sort of dip with your sweet, right? So yeah, marshmallow dips. Yeah. Biden a gallon. Exactly. Yes. So let's let's talk about this growth and, you know, this journey. Did you ever imagine you were owning going to own a restaurant.

00:04:19:07 - 00:04:42:08
Unknown
Was it ever a dream of yours of, danica's. Maybe share a little bit about Danica and how you guys met and getting into the restaurant. Yes. So growing up, my dad worked for, Victoria's restaurant, and my mom did too, for quite some time. So I grew up kind of in the same in the restaurant, too. So, you know, from the age of five, I remember being in the in the kitchen there, you know, summer break.

00:04:42:08 - 00:04:59:14
Unknown
And then I go down into the subway, go to dairy Queen and Carol's corn. I used to spend all my summers there. So I grew up in the business, with my parents there. So, you know, and I got to that point, that age where I just wanted to do nothing to do with the restaurant. I was like, I need to do something completely different.

00:04:59:14 - 00:05:21:10
Unknown
So I've done you name it. I probably done it like I used to sell suits at Men's Warehouse. I sold TVs at Best Buy. Like anything you could think of that wasn't the restaurant, correct? Just something I. I was like, I needed some something different here. But it at some point, I went back to the restaurant and then the idea for Taphouse West End came about.

00:05:21:10 - 00:05:41:16
Unknown
And so you were working at Victoria's when Taphouse West End was about to open. Okay. Yes. And Natalie had asked me if I would think about being a manager at Taphouse West. And, you know, without hesitation, I was like, absolutely. Like, I'd love to be a part of the whole process. There. So we did that and Danica worked, Downtown Taphouse.

00:05:41:20 - 00:05:59:20
Unknown
Okay. And so they were kind of merging team, making a team at West End to start with. And she was part of that team. So she was just a server at tap House West. And I met her there, didn't even think much of it. And then Allison, one thing led to another and people kind of connected us and, you know, we started talking and dating, of course.

00:05:59:20 - 00:06:17:10
Unknown
And, you know, I was I was her manager. So I'm like, hey, you know, you're not going to get free chefs or good shifts. But no long story short, I stepped down to become a server and one summer we got offered the opportunity to go up north, to Go Lake, and to be able to open up and help out at a restaurant up there.

00:06:17:11 - 00:06:33:05
Unknown
Both of you did both of us, because it was one of her college friends. Okay. That had a connection. She just offered up and we're like, well, Taphouse West is going really well and they got a good team. So we checked in with Christina, Natalie and see if that would be a good thing. And, you know, they were all on board, which is awesome.

00:06:33:05 - 00:06:57:09
Unknown
And isn't that cool when you have like people that support your vision and yes, your dream in a work environment such as that, even if it doesn't directly benefit them. I mean, because you leaving there, I mean, it's like, darn it. Yes, we it's tough to find good people. Yeah, but they supported you through that decision. Yes. And it was one thing where, you know, we could have easily been like, hey, like we're just going to go in, whatever happens, happens.

00:06:57:09 - 00:07:16:05
Unknown
But it was very important for us to get their approval. Because obviously they've been there for us through since that time, until that time. So it was very important for us to make sure that they were good with us going before we made a commitment. And, yeah, they're on board, which is awesome feeling. So we went and and and what was that like?

00:07:16:05 - 00:07:31:08
Unknown
So like you went, I mean, did you have to find an apartment? Did you have to rent a house? No. So we're blessed in that part where Danica's parents had a cabin up there and kind of stayed there for the summer, and. And so she's already familiar then with the Gold Lake area? Yes. And did she know the restaurant?

00:07:31:08 - 00:07:52:22
Unknown
Like, did she visit it when she was growing up? Yes, but it's different. And so it was like a on a resort that had been going through its changes in the restaurant when from when she was a kid had gone to like three different owners and just changed and just a lot of struggle. So we got up there and you know I'm thinking like okay they're going to ask me about menu items or like how to make a kitchen run better.

00:07:52:22 - 00:08:13:22
Unknown
And it just was not that at all. It was like you know server. And I'm like okay like no problem I'll help you serve. That's what you need of me. And then it was just it was almost like one of those episodes of like bar rescue versus in that way you're just like, what is going on? Like, because you were coming from a high performing business restaurant in Rochester, Minnesota.

00:08:14:01 - 00:08:39:03
Unknown
Yes. And again, I'll relate this a little bit to your restaurant now, small town Minnesota. Like there's just a different vibe to small town Minnesota. So there's a little bit of that going on, combined with the way they were probably running their business as everybody does, is different. Yeah, 100%. And to this day, even at our restaurant now, Danny and I look at each other sometimes I'm like, oh, if Christine and Ali were here, like what they would say in this, like, situation.

00:08:39:03 - 00:08:57:21
Unknown
And it's like, we still use that to this day. Yes. We're up there. I'm like, great, they saw this. Yeah, 100%. I'm like, if they saw us, they'd be like, what is going on? You know? So long story short, we had the idea to open up, a little food shack off the lake, but unlike really. But not connected to the restaurant.

00:08:57:23 - 00:09:20:07
Unknown
Okay, they had the space there that they sell ice cream out of. And so we were like, well, the restaurant gets really busy. It needs some sort of help during that busy time, but it's not there's no amount of employees is going to make that go smoother. You just need an outlet somewhere. So they had the shack, we put a hood in there and everything and put some, you know not like electrical kitchen equipment in there.

00:09:20:07 - 00:09:37:03
Unknown
And it was we're like selling burgers and tacos and stuff out of there. And we during the summer months, during the summer months. How hot was it in this little shack. Oh really hot. Because there's no fan. And there's a hood system that takes all the, steam and grease out. Man. No. Fan. Yeah. Open the window up and nothing, you know.

00:09:37:05 - 00:09:51:21
Unknown
So it was, but it was, you know, it's one of those things where it's like we learned a lot during that summer. We would because it just be a us two. We had no other employees to help us, which is kind of a cool thing because it's not big and it's like, right, there's no space for anybody else.

00:09:51:22 - 00:10:07:11
Unknown
That being said, we would get up in the morning and, you know, 730 and prep the food and and get it ready to go. And then when time came to open up, we would bartend. And because we had a mini bar in there too sweet bartend and I'd be making the food and dishing it out and just doing everything.

00:10:07:11 - 00:10:25:13
Unknown
So scratch. So just to get the story right, this is after you decided to this venture that led you up to Go Lake. You're like, you know, we're not going to keep working here. It's just not for us. We're going to start this little shack thing. The opportunity presented itself and and it was so the same restaurant, same resort that we stayed at, just not in their restaurant.

00:10:25:15 - 00:10:47:13
Unknown
It helped to help them, I see. Okay. So it was still under their umbrella. Yes. But you were the two responsible employees of theirs to build this thing out and make it go. Yes, yes, yes. Got it. And so, like I said, we learned how to order food. We learned how to prep the food, which I can, I can do a little bit about, but not to this extent.

00:10:47:15 - 00:11:06:06
Unknown
So yeah, we did that for a whole summer and, and we made a menu from scratch and it was super cool come summer. And of course, you know, everybody knows this, that goes to a lake is once the fall starts come. It's like starts to die down slowly. It's. What month is that? August. September. I would say late August.

00:11:06:06 - 00:11:26:05
Unknown
Yeah. First week of September maybe. It's like the official, like cut off. And it's just so sad. It's like everybody's pulling their boats away. Everybody's just like back to school, literally. And you're still there. It was just like, everybody's going home and you're like, I have to still be here. Yes. And then, kind of dominoes started falling and we're like, okay, it's probably time we go back home.

00:11:26:07 - 00:11:44:17
Unknown
And at that point, did you think you would come back the following summer? Was that still like part of the conversation between it was. But it wasn't like we kind of expected to be called back up. Okay. But if we didn't and we did, we came to help. And if we did that and upgrade and whatever happens, happens.

00:11:44:20 - 00:12:13:15
Unknown
So I got ask this question of yes, you go up there and you're dating. Yep. And you go on this adventure to just explore this opportunity, How old were your parents in this thought of like, I'm going to go lake. Like, what did your parents think about this whole thing? So it's funny because, yeah, we had we had actually started talking like actually talking probably that August before.

00:12:13:17 - 00:12:34:08
Unknown
So not even a year later, we're like, it's going to go like, yeah, it may time it. Yeah May June. We're like, hey, we're going, what do you think? But obviously with their permission they what do you what do you think? And both of the both her parents and my parents are okay with it. I think it's one of those things where we've kind of earned their trust in that sense, just with with what we've done in our lives and stuff.

00:12:34:08 - 00:12:49:11
Unknown
So, but, yeah, you know, we still look back to that to this day. And randomly I'll ask Lori Danica's mom, but like, Lori, like, why did you guys let us go? Like, I'm just curious, like, why would you even trust us to do that? And she goes, I don't know, like, she's like, I can't give you an answer.

00:12:49:11 - 00:13:08:01
Unknown
I just said, yes. So to this day, they don't know why that that's. But it was awesome. I'm glad they did because we want to be here. Truly. So so it's getting depressing. The fall is setting in. You guys are up there. I mean, another thing you learned through that experience is just working in close vicinity, like you had worked in the same restaurant, but it sounds like the shack.

00:13:08:03 - 00:13:26:06
Unknown
You're like elbow to elbow, like, pass the cheese. Okay, literally. Here's the guy. Yeah, right. So I mean, you really get used to working with each other in that environment. Yeah. And it's we learned a lot about each other that summer, which is good. But you know, they say working with family or friends is the hardest thing to do, and it truly is.

00:13:26:08 - 00:13:45:14
Unknown
But I think it kind of if it's the right people that pushes you to be better, you know, obviously you have your days where you're not agree on anything. And we we went to those days too, or I was like, okay, maybe we should stop. Like, what are we doing here? But we learned I think we learned that summer how to work with each other and what strengths we have and weaknesses and how to play off those things.

00:13:45:14 - 00:14:03:19
Unknown
So, so fall setting in. And like, were you intending on moving then back home? And I should ask this like home. Is it southeast Minnesota, Rochester for you and yeah, for me. Rochester for Mandeville. Okay. So yeah, we intend on coming back home. I kind of, with the job lined up or, like, hoping you can get your job back at a little bit of both.

00:14:03:20 - 00:14:29:05
Unknown
A little bit of both. Like, kind of Irish or. Christina Ali reached out to me to see if I'd come back to Boston and unfortunately just wasn't working correctly with scheduling and stuff like that. So I ended up not going back there and actually worked for Danica's parents for that fall. And okay, again, went from the easiest summer of my life to the hardest fall of my life because they work in the construction field and, I'm outside and like, negative tend to be there.

00:14:29:05 - 00:14:46:09
Unknown
And I'm like, what is going on? We're not in Gull Lake anymore, 100%. Just reality check for me. But going back to work at tap House through the through the time we opened up the restaurant. So very cool. And I think that's one nice thing. And maybe you can touch on this about the restaurant industry. And I don't think it gets talked about enough.

00:14:46:12 - 00:15:07:10
Unknown
I have my father owns a small restaurant, Snappy Stop. So it's been in my family and I have friends that are in the restaurant business and like, you can build whether you own or don't own, you can build a career in the restaurant industry and you can make good money in the restaurant industry. And, and I, I mean, there's a job out there in many places.

00:15:07:10 - 00:15:38:20
Unknown
I think that's one unique thing the restaurant industry really provides is you can do it in so many places. So maybe talk a little bit about that of like what the restaurant industry has kind of opened up for, you know, you in that point in your journey as a young professional. Yeah. Well, absolutely. I think it's it's showing me a lot of skills like how to deal with people to tough situations, how to, you know, really put away your feelings that you've had that day and go up to to work that day and just, you know, again from Victoria as you could be serving and you're dealing with somebody that's just got some really bad

00:15:38:20 - 00:15:57:21
Unknown
news from Mayo, and you just got to put stuff aside and just be there for that person. So you've learned a lot that, that being said, you always hear that, you know, people going to school for, let's say they're doing like a nursing career on the side, but they're in order to pay for that, they're serving. A lot of times people get stuck in the serving world because of the flexibility.

00:15:57:23 - 00:16:17:21
Unknown
It's I tend to I talk to all of our food runners who are usually young, younger and in college, that or high school that. There's no other industry that's as flexible as the restaurant business. As far as like they can get scheduled, they can be scheduled for days next week and somehow get them all covered. And doesn't bother me that, you know, they give away their shifts or anything like that.

00:16:17:21 - 00:16:35:03
Unknown
So very flexible. But yeah, once you work at, at one restaurant, most of them are usually the same. As far as, like the, the how it works and the structure of, of what you're doing. So it's very flexible. You can go to one restaurant, go to another and some things may be different, different system and stuff like that.

00:16:35:03 - 00:16:57:13
Unknown
But you can definitely work your way up the ranks. And I've seen it like Chick-Fil-A where you work there certain amount of years or, you know, meet some stuff and also you can open up your own. So it's very similar to any restaurant, I think, and even to your parents credit, like they've built up their entire lifestyle off the restaurant industry helped raise you in your family and like it can provide 100%.

00:16:57:13 - 00:17:19:02
Unknown
Yes, absolutely. And I think it's become more of a a thing nowadays too, where people and like, you know, people used to think cooks, you know, must not get paid that much. But now they do it because when you find good employees, whoever it is and whatever role they are, you, the businesses I think are more inclined to pay them for that, for what they know, what they're willing to do and, and availability and all that stuff.

00:17:19:02 - 00:17:38:07
Unknown
So absolutely. Yeah, definitely can. So you come back, you're work in construction probably questioning your life decisions at that point in that fall. Yep. And then what happens. And then out of nowhere, Danny and I just started thinking, what if we do this food shack thing, but back home here, well, we're at home. And efforts for like, yeah, yeah.

00:17:38:07 - 00:17:58:23
Unknown
And then. No, no, no, that does not sound fun. But long story short, one of her best because she used to coach basketball for, Katzman for, like, eighth grade girls. I think. So the ninth grade girls coach was like, hey, I manage the golf course and Mandeville, there's a space above us that's completely empty unless we're doing events.

00:17:59:01 - 00:18:13:07
Unknown
And that's all she said. And she was just doing that out there in case you guys ever want to do anything, because she hadn't heard about her summer experience and what we did and all that stuff. So, Danny and I talked about it and were like, hey, there might be space up there to put a restaurant there.

00:18:13:07 - 00:18:28:17
Unknown
And I know we knew that there had been stuff there before, like other restaurants or certain things. You know, I think Victoria was in there at one point, doing events like weddings and stuff like that. So we knew there was a kitchen in there and that there was empty space. And that's your kitchen? Empty space. What else?

00:18:28:17 - 00:18:46:05
Unknown
You need? You know what I mean? So we checked it out and, and again, it was kind of that sense where we kind of knew that it was a good idea and just don't know how to describe it. Besides, it was a good feeling, good opportunity, a win win for the golf course. Like, if, if we didn't succeed, we were giving them a free remodel.

00:18:46:07 - 00:19:02:20
Unknown
So, you know, we if we move out the next year, then they get a free remodel out of it. But if we became successful, then we'd hopefully drive traffic through their golf course to. Again talk to the talk to both sets of parents. What do you think. And they said yes. And to this day yes.

00:19:02:20 - 00:19:21:17
Unknown
You're crazy. Or like yes, you got this both with 100%. Both like are you sure this is what you guys want? I don't know, you know, but it just made sense at the time. It was there was a need in the town to, I think, for that specific type of food and atmosphere. Like, what golf course? Do you know that there isn't food available?

00:19:21:17 - 00:19:44:08
Unknown
You know what I mean? And they had like some of the like pizza and stuff, but not a full restaurant. There. So definitely the need for it. And what was that like going through the leasing conversation? How to structure the deal. Like you go from a shack, what someone else is paying the overhead to like you have to now start paying the overhead, including utilities.

00:19:44:10 - 00:19:59:23
Unknown
Like how did you navigate through that? Well, I see that's where I kind of leaned a little bit on on Danica's background, a little bit because she went to college, she got a, I think her minor in business. So she kind of her college classes showed her how to make a business plan and how to look it over and stuff like that.

00:19:59:23 - 00:20:17:00
Unknown
So we did that. Numbers were good. Everything came, everything made sense on paper. So, but when we're talking to the golf course, it was there was nothing there before. So it never been really rented out for what we were going to do. So it was kind of a blank sheet where they had nothing to compare to.

00:20:17:06 - 00:20:35:22
Unknown
You know, we both did our backgrounds on rent, how much rent pricing would be and stuff like that. But it was kind of a blank slate slate. And, you know, we kind of just came up with something and it worked for both. Did you make the proposal to them? And then they had to go. And as a golf course, like, is there a sole owner or is there a board like a board?

00:20:35:23 - 00:20:51:01
Unknown
Okay. Yeah. We we've met with two of them, give them our proposed plan and they're like, okay, sounds good to us. Now you got to convince the rest of them. And so we're like, oh boy. Like, here we go. And how many is the rest of it? That's exactly what we thought. Like how many? One. Two. And we met with one.

00:20:51:01 - 00:21:13:03
Unknown
Okay. One more person. And he kind of looked at us like, yeah. Like, I don't know why we wouldn't like it. Sounds like a good idea for us. It's vacant. Yes. Exactly. Yes. And then, And you're going to pay us rent, I assume? Exactly. Yes. And before a final finalize the deal, we got thrown into a little bit of a mix where there was four more people introduced interest to make this decision.

00:21:13:03 - 00:21:28:22
Unknown
The dynamics. Yes. And we're like, okay, what are these four people come out, come from, you know, and, it was tough to to come up with like the final plan where everybody was happy. But nonetheless we did and we had a lot of help. Again, it was kind of I believe everything happens for a reason. And you meet people for this.

00:21:29:02 - 00:21:47:15
Unknown
You know, you meet people today, you don't know how, but in the future, you kind of you're they're going to be in business with them or do business with them or somehow they're going to come back in your life and, it's been a coincidence, but Danica's parents use the same business lawyer that Nellie and Christine used. Okay.

00:21:47:16 - 00:22:02:10
Unknown
So he kind of helped us write the plan because he had been through it before with Victoria's. And it's like, oh, you know, just the world comes around. It's so small. But, with his help, we were able to come up with a good plan to present, and it was a lease, I assume? Yes. Cool. Yeah. And if you want to share this, great.

00:22:02:10 - 00:22:17:11
Unknown
If you don't, it's up to you. But you know, my question coming from the commercial real estate background is like, you're early on in this venture. You got to pay the money to fix this all up. You're like, we're going to do this. How do you decide how long of a lease you're going to do? Because it's like, we want this for a long time.

00:22:17:11 - 00:22:32:12
Unknown
But at the same point, if this thing doesn't work, we don't want this anchor. So like, how do you navigate that? See, that was one where it was a little bit of back and forth. But with Roger, who was our lawyer with his background and knowledge, he kind of knew the perfect, the sweet numbers to hit. Yeah.

00:22:32:14 - 00:22:50:17
Unknown
A little long, but not too long. Sort of short, I believe the way we structured the deal was the lease was, a one year lease. So at this point we had already remodeled it, and we would have a year to basically get into some sort of routine and truly takes a year to see, like your business and where you're at.

00:22:50:21 - 00:23:05:18
Unknown
it was tied into it after that first year as it then jumped to a two year lease and then two year lease to release, and then so you had your options to extend it gives you the ability to protect the space and protect your investment. Yeah. So I think at the office and then it was like a ten year lease plan.

00:23:05:18 - 00:23:23:02
Unknown
Right? Yes. But that after the one year, if it went south, we were able to back out in the golf course. Like I said, gets that free remodel, right? One thing that doesn't get talked about a lot in commercial real estate, in what we often see is I'll just call it the transparent, inventory. So you go to loop net or you go to crack.

00:23:23:02 - 00:23:45:08
Unknown
See, these are all these listing channels where you can see what's available for lease. And, you know, there's spaces out there. There often isn't spaces that are at golf courses out there. Right. And the reason being because the individuals that tend to own these type of properties, whether it be a board or a community or a nonprofit, what have you, they're not their core business is not real estate.

00:23:45:14 - 00:24:10:01
Unknown
And so they don't even think about marketing this excess space that's upstairs to an entrepreneur like yourself and Danica. And so there is kind of this, off market commercial real estate, inventory that exists around the country, frankly, that it takes entrepreneurs like yourself in the right connections to help put the pieces together to unlock a business can be opened in this space.

00:24:10:01 - 00:24:31:00
Unknown
And I've seen it, and just like golf courses specifically, they're a great place for entrepreneurs to get a start because they have already customers coming through the front door. Those customers tend to have some disposable income that they're willing to spend on food specifically, or other things, drinks, you name it. And they made the investment in the clubhouse.

00:24:31:00 - 00:24:53:01
Unknown
But no one that's involved with the clubhouse has either restaurant experience or wants to go down this restaurant path. So it's cool that you were able to unlock that opportunity. And, you know, I hope it stays there for 100 years. But the life of business you never know. Yeah. And you've now proven that it can be a place that small business can actually start, succeed and grow.

00:24:53:01 - 00:25:16:09
Unknown
And so you have kind of set this place up for the next entrepreneur when that time comes. And it's just fun to see how commercial real estate evolves through that journey. Yeah. And like you said, it's something that nobody really realizes is there or an opportunity. And ever since we opened up, there's been we've heard of more, more cases like ours where people at restaurants have gone into golf courses.

00:25:16:09 - 00:25:31:10
Unknown
And, you know, there's been a couple of opportunities that came up to us about doing that again. Like, I don't know if we can do it this close, you know, or this soon to when we did Hidden Pines. But there's so many opportunities, specifically a golf courses with restaurants going in there. And, you know, I think it's super cool market.

00:25:31:10 - 00:25:49:08
Unknown
So one of the struggles I see and I'll relate it to hotels, the public doesn't often think about the restaurant as a place that they can go, or it doesn't come top of mind as a place where they'll go out for the night. Because they relate it to the golf course and they don't relate it to a restaurant.

00:25:49:08 - 00:26:06:04
Unknown
Yeah, right. So that brings me down the topic of your name. Like how how did that come to be? And what have you done as an entrepreneur to help bring attention to your restaurant, to let people know, hey, we're not just the golf course. Like, you don't need to be gone. You don't need to be a golfer to come here, right?

00:26:06:05 - 00:26:27:03
Unknown
Yes. I honestly was one of those things where the first thing we thought of when that space was available and where where if you've ever been to a golf course, where it is, how you get there, it's a kind of a windy road if you go one way and it's kind of hidden, tucked back. So, the first few times we, we were discussing that idea with friends and family, they were like, oh, it's almost like a little hidden gem back there.

00:26:27:03 - 00:26:44:09
Unknown
Like, that's what literally the two words people keep using is hidden gem. And, you know, Hidden Gem Bar and Grill doesn't sound as good as it happens. And so it's like a place I don't know if I want to go to that. Right, exactly. And so, with the help of, GM, who's helped us kind of design a logo and come up with the name, really?

00:26:44:09 - 00:27:03:18
Unknown
Hey, I, we like the name hidden. And, you know, I like pine trees and there's a lot of trees or, you know, just there's a lot of trees around. Help us come up with something. I know we got, name hidden pines and bunch of logos and just fell in love, and, like, that's perfect, but we have to add some sort of bar and grill or something, because then people are going to be like, let's just go the golf courses in Vegas.

00:27:03:18 - 00:27:24:19
Unknown
Exactly. Yes. But yeah, it's been the first year, as was. I've always said this, people that ask and you know, in a town like Rochester where, you know, I'm from here and it's like when there's a new restaurant that opens up, it's like this shiny object in town. And the first few months everybody flocks it just to check it out and, you know, support and stuff like that.

00:27:24:19 - 00:27:47:07
Unknown
But as an entrepreneur, on the other side, you don't really know your true numbers of where you're at because you're going through this honeymoon phase basically with your business, in Mantorville and Kasson and small towns, it's kind of the opposite, where you're battling upwards and you have to prove yourself to the community, but also people around you like, hey, this is I'm not just some guy that's opening up shop and, you know, trying to make money off of it.

00:27:47:07 - 00:28:02:11
Unknown
It's like, I truly care about the community. Like I have something here. So it took us a year to bring people in, even from Carson. And to this day, we have people from Carson. And my first time out here didn't know you were here. It's like, you know, how do you not know where to here? But yeah, that's awesome, a good good.

00:28:02:11 - 00:28:19:16
Unknown
I'm glad you're here. Now. You know, I've never heard that analogy, but it really resonates with me because in a small town, part of the magic of it is everybody knows everybody. And you have that trust. And like, all of a sudden a new entrepreneur shows up in town. And obviously it helps that Danika has family there. Manville.

00:28:19:16 - 00:28:38:21
Unknown
So that gives you some. But, if you didn't have that, I think you have even more of an uphill battle because you're from the big city nearby, and, we don't know you. Yeah. So we're going to make stake in our backyard. Yeah. Right. Exactly. And it's so funny because, you know, when I, when we opened up in, like, a small town, people talk and it's okay.

00:28:38:21 - 00:28:56:21
Unknown
It's all right. You know, it's it's reality is it's a small town thing. And frankly, it happens in the big town, too. It's just not as apparent because it's more I feel like in your neighborhood, in your community and. Yep. And people are coming up to me, hey, I heard you know, you your family used to own five West, so I'm like, what?

00:28:57:00 - 00:29:15:04
Unknown
I'm like who I was. Who told you this was not true? Tell your parents work at, Penicuik. And I'm like, oh no, I was going, you know. Yeah. I'm just like, what is going on? And so but with those conversations came the ability to me to open up to customers about relationships. Yes. This is where we come from.

00:29:15:04 - 00:29:32:14
Unknown
This is why we open up here, you know, tie Danica into it and and then feel like, oh, okay. Like, you know, they sort of trust you as a business owner. And it's like, again, through the years, we've kind of shown our interest in the community by supporting sporting events or doing other things for, you know, we do wraps for sporting away games for kids.

00:29:32:14 - 00:29:50:15
Unknown
So we have a away game, we make them a lunch and they take it, you know, so we've done different things like that. And again recently we found a lot of success in marketing through TikTok and Instagram and Facebook Reels and stuff like that. And, and even in a small town or who's coming from those like tell me about that.

00:29:50:17 - 00:30:08:20
Unknown
Honestly, everybody, I think you'd be surprised. Like. And you know, I'm sure you know this, but different social media, like depending on the platform, you reach different people if you want to reach the young kids, younger generation, you go to Snapchat and Instagram because they don't have Facebook. And if you want to be sold, the generation they're all on Facebook seems like.

00:30:08:20 - 00:30:31:10
Unknown
So yeah, we throw video, I I'll, I'll record a video, edit it and throw it out across all the platforms. Same video, same video. Okay. Different. Repurpose it for the platform. Yes. Of course, because videos, you know, music strikes on Instagram. Not the same as Facebook and stuff like that. But yeah, Facebook reaches a lot of Rochester and so does Instagram.

00:30:31:12 - 00:30:47:13
Unknown
But also Facebook brings in our regulars that, you know, or community people that haven't came out, you know, in a couple weeks and they'll come back out because they saw what I was going to say. It's almost those like fans, right? They know you, they've seen you and they're like, all of a sudden you show up in their feed and you remind them, yeah, hey, remember me?

00:30:47:17 - 00:31:09:03
Unknown
You should come out and visit Danica and I and the team. Exactly. And the community of Cass Maryville, and, you know, beer and stuff have gotten to know us and our employees a lot. So when they see them on a video, it's almost like I know them or I know that person, you know? So it's it's super funny when they come up to me and like, just the guy from the TikToks and that's our bartender, a he's from the TikToks that like, yeah, yeah.

00:31:09:03 - 00:31:29:21
Unknown
And they love it. So I love making them. Yeah, yeah. And we talked a little bit about this off camera, but the ebbs and flows of making them. So talk about that as an entrepreneur you have so much to do. You got to open the restaurant and order the food. You gotta make sure it's staffed. And then you got to go make some TikToks like, come on, man, I'm sorry, I was an entrepreneur getting to do all that.

00:31:29:21 - 00:31:47:17
Unknown
How is that Evan flows for you? And like one thing I'm always fascinated in two is you mentioned the bartender doing it. Like, how do you get your team involved in it? I think it's one of those things where I had the idea, I don't know where it started, but I just saw a video as I was going Instagram, and it had to do with the restaurant.

00:31:47:17 - 00:32:04:16
Unknown
And I just sat there and laughed and laughed. And I'm like, this is amazing. Like, we could do this with our people. So I did. I, you know, got my phone and set up a tripod and we filmed it. And at first my staff say, what are you doing? Like, do you know what's going on? But we posted it, got a ton of feedback, a lot of shares, people commenting.

00:32:04:16 - 00:32:25:07
Unknown
Oh, can't believe you know, again, they just resonate with our staff and that's all. You know, it's so and so. And then I think off that our staff kind of bought into it and into the vision of a people, see you on these videos. But, you know, it's more than just you make somebody laugh. And when they come in, they tell you, hey, I laughed at your video a hundred times and it's just a good feeling.

00:32:25:09 - 00:32:42:16
Unknown
And then again, with the growth and success of TikTok and everybody's watching these reels, our staff just fell in love with making them too. And so when I would run into these creative blocks and I'm like, I've come, I don't know what else to do now. And my staff, I'll come into work and my staff will be like, hey, what are we doing today?

00:32:42:16 - 00:32:59:06
Unknown
What video recording? I'm like, you tell me because I'm out. I'm out of ideas. But yeah, now they know they love making, and it's been a while since we made one, so I should get back to it. But it's one of those things. It's another marketing strategy. As a business owner. They just kind of have to tap into it.

00:32:59:06 - 00:33:16:22
Unknown
And if you don't, then somebody else will. And so you might as well just do it too. Have you seen Instagram edits, that new app? Yes I have, so what I've liked about that one is you can make the videos, save them as a project, come back to the project, edit it in the you know it doesn't live in your camera.

00:33:16:22 - 00:33:37:08
Unknown
Roll because I feel like when it lives in your camera roll, it gets buried. Yes, because you're taking pictures, all kinds of random stuff where you make it in your edits app and then you come back to it to finish it. When you're sitting on the couch watching a football game or whatever the case may be. Yeah. The other thing I really liked about Instagram edits is when you export it, unlike TikTok, it doesn't give the watermark.

00:33:37:10 - 00:33:56:17
Unknown
So that video you can repurpose, as you mentioned, under the different platforms, very easy, where if you download it from TikTok, you got the TikTok symbol and you know, based on what you hear or see, it's like that doesn't help your algorithm when you're trying to post. But yeah, what do you think about this thought? And this is something that has come to mind for me.

00:33:56:19 - 00:34:17:23
Unknown
My father, my sister, they work in the restaurant business. My father won't do this, but I think it's a good idea. He's not one to go and make these type of investments. But I think every restaurant should have a dedicated phone with service specific to the restaurant. And so back to your your comment of your team member goes, what are we doing?

00:34:18:01 - 00:34:42:01
Unknown
If they see ideas throughout the week, they just text it or send it to the account. You pull up that phone. The one struggle I've seen, including our own social media, is the one you don't want to post the wrong thing. So like you're careful with your phone. Otherwise you get in this place of like you're trying to create and then your phone rings and then you're like, right, that just ruined the whole vibe.

00:34:42:01 - 00:34:57:15
Unknown
Now I've got to go do this. I got a text message. So what do you what's your thoughts on that? How if I, if I explain that to you. Yeah absolutely. I don't I feel like so a lot of good things that we have, we use an app called seven Shifts. I think a lot of restaurants use that app.

00:34:57:17 - 00:35:16:20
Unknown
Okay. It's a scheduling app. The purpose of is to make like picking up like I said earlier, picking up shifts and swapping shifts is so much easier, and it doesn't lead to me getting a text message all the time about, hey, we're swapping one. Doesn't matter what, who's swapping, because the shift is covered and that's what's important, but it leads to messaging on that app.

00:35:16:20 - 00:35:35:00
Unknown
So, if it's something important, it buzzes my phone. But if it's something like I can make specific categories. So we have a category video ideas. And so people will, within that app correct and send links to me and, and TikTok links and ideas and I get all the notifications, but they're all silent because it's in that group chat.

00:35:35:00 - 00:35:54:06
Unknown
Yeah. So but everybody's in the same place. And so if someone sends me, that's usually what would happen before somebody would send me a video. But I already got that video ten times from other people and it's like, okay. And then it's in a text message. Yeah. And it's buried in a text messages. Yeah. Okay. So so going down that vein of thought is like maybe it's not necessarily a phone with service.

00:35:54:06 - 00:36:12:11
Unknown
Yep. But it's an app. Yes. That this communication can exist in. Yes. That makes it where when you're in that mindset you can very easily go there. Yes. And work through those ideations and creations. Yeah. Because it stays in there also. You know, you got people sending you stuff on Instagram and then that gets saved and buried in that app.

00:36:12:11 - 00:36:35:11
Unknown
And then you get, you know, TikTok and they get saved and buried. Yes, yes. Technology I know you love and hate it. Yeah. Well cool. So you get the restaurant going. Slowly but surely, you build your customer base. What are some memories you have of, like, either struggles or success as you go through that growth of building your restaurant?

00:36:35:13 - 00:36:54:23
Unknown
Yeah. One of the biggest struggles that we went through was consistency. As far as busy, how busy we're going to be, when time of day we're going to be busy at, how to staff it 100%. Exactly. And there was a to this day, Dan has nightmares about it because the first like six months we opened again.

00:36:54:23 - 00:37:13:07
Unknown
We're fighting this uphill battle to get our name out there to prove to people who we are. There's this gap between, I want to say 230 and 4:00 where people just don't come in because they're getting out of school, you know, probably off of work, and they're coming from Rochester back home to Cass and or wherever. And so nobody's really going out to eat in that time.

00:37:13:07 - 00:37:34:07
Unknown
And in restaurants in general, I think it's a slower time. But we just had would sit there with nobody coming in and so we would, you know, cut the kitchen staff, send everybody home in the front of the house and just be me and Danica back there. And she'd be usually in our back corner closet just thinking, contemplating life decisions like, maybe we should close for this hour and a half.

00:37:34:07 - 00:37:53:02
Unknown
Maybe we shouldn't, you know? But long story short, we were able to just push through that season and just, you know, it's so important. And I think restaurants like five West do a great job of that. And just consistency. Like, no matter what time of day you go, no matter what day of the week you go, like if you order something, it's always going to come out that way.

00:37:53:04 - 00:38:11:09
Unknown
And, you know, every day they're open till 10:00. They're open for breakfast every single day. You know, they never change it up last minute. I think for a lot of smaller restaurants and small businesses, it's so easy to do that, to get scared of. Okay, there's no bit no business coming in. I have to change my my hours and put a sign on the door.

00:38:11:09 - 00:38:29:17
Unknown
But that's I think that's what kills a lot of businesses is when they start to do that, because the customer never gets to the they never know, okay, is this business open now or are they closed? So that was one of our biggest struggles, was just to push through that slow time and it makes me think of that saying is you have one time for that first impression.

00:38:29:18 - 00:38:49:07
Unknown
And so if you come to the door and it's closed, that's that first impression that gets you there, that Hidden Pines place I went there and it was closed. Exactly. Yes. And again, just something that we've seen a lot of restaurants struggle with in small towns is that very thing. It's like if you if you're gonna make a decision to do that, then you just want to own that decision and stick to it consistently, you know?

00:38:49:07 - 00:39:10:15
Unknown
So you're going to close from 230 to 4 every day. Just make that decision and just do that every day. Don't make exceptions because you reserved a party that you know what I mean? Because and it gets confusing. People don't know what's going on. And that's the last thing you want people to do is to guess or have to look up what you're open, you know, I I'll give this one to you and you'll probably get a kick out of it.

00:39:10:15 - 00:39:30:05
Unknown
It was on Facebook is they now have all these Facebook groups. This one I think was in Red wing and it was about smoking oaks. And someone had said, what's going on? It's smoke and oaks are closed. And then I think this goes back to consistency. Well it was a Monday and they're always closed on Mondays. If you go into the comments you will see they're raving.

00:39:30:05 - 00:39:51:21
Unknown
Fans are like It's Monday. Yeah, they're closed in the hours. They've been closed for Monday for a long time. Like and then the fans all come in and comments all that and it's like because they've built up that reputation that that's our day off. And even the even the customers know that. Which was cool to see because very quickly on the internet, as we know, it could get twisted into many things.

00:39:52:02 - 00:40:09:20
Unknown
And it was like, no, the consistency shines through of yeah, this restaurant owner has been closed on Mondays for looks like years. Based on the comments. Yes. And when you do make the decision either to close or to stay open and just push through, even if even to this day, from 234 we were dead. You know, just nothing coming in.

00:40:09:22 - 00:40:27:13
Unknown
We'd still be open because it's just easier that way, you know? And, you know, thankfully, ever since we made that decision, people come in all the time now from two, 3 to 4 and they know that we're going to be open. And usually it's golfers coming in after the round of golf because, you know, golf courses are slow at that time of day because everyone's in school, you know, in the summertime especially.

00:40:27:13 - 00:40:49:18
Unknown
So it's definitely paid dividends to be open on that time. So that was one of your struggles. How about just something that stands out as a success, whether it was a customer saying something or just that feeling when you're like, you and Annika are like, I think we're on to something. Yeah. What what comes to mind? I think the biggest thing for us is, is finding the value of I don't want, say, not only employees but the customer.

00:40:49:23 - 00:41:11:07
Unknown
So we've created a, I think, a business in a restaurant where our employees feel valued. And that's just been such a great feeling because, you know, I get invited to my staff's kid's football game, you know, it's the fourth grader playing football for the first year. And it's like, I love to go that stuff because I like to show that, hey, like, you know, you work for me and you work really hard and dedicate your time.

00:41:11:08 - 00:41:28:11
Unknown
I'm willing to do the same for you on the back end. And again, that's paid dividends time and time again to just build some level of trust. In the same way with customers and guests coming in, it's like, you know, we know our restaurant's not perfect. It's far from. But we definitely hear their opinions and their advice.

00:41:28:11 - 00:41:49:12
Unknown
So if they're ever like, hey, you should do, you know, beef tacos? It's like, that might sound like the dumbest idea to me, but I'll and I'll put it out there and it's like people love it and it's like, so we really like, pay attention to what people are saying, what they're wanting because of their own day. Without those two roles, you know, you could have the employees be really good, but no customers because you don't care about them, you know?

00:41:49:14 - 00:42:08:20
Unknown
Or you could have customers that you care about so much and you do everything for, but your employees don't feel valued, and then you start to lose one. So, I think that's been our biggest success, that we found that you need both of those to be happy and and working great together. So and then we got to hear a funny story like, come on, there's something funny that's happened at the restaurant.

00:42:08:22 - 00:42:32:07
Unknown
You know, when since we're in this time of year, you know, every year doesn't feel that we get, a phone call, people asking to reserve our igloos. And towards the end of the season, when spring comes around, you know, people want to reserve the igloos still, and they're like, hey, we had a phone call every year. Again, it does not feel we'll get a phone call and be like, hey, you know, just wondering if, if I'm able to reserve your igloo for, you know, late February.

00:42:32:09 - 00:42:48:21
Unknown
Yeah, absolutely. Like what time? What do you think? And then he goes, wait, wait, wait wait. Are they do they melt like, are they going to be melted by the time if it's a warm spring? And I'm just like, no, they're not really good. It's like they're not made out of ice. Like you're not. And making these igloos come on and go.

00:42:48:21 - 00:43:10:03
Unknown
So I'm like, no, I promise you, you'll be fine. Like, oh, okay. So and it's just so funny because I'm just on the phone like I like. Yeah. So like it's great. I feel like there's a TikTok in itself of you have to be like, this year we're going to the real igloo and start making it and then get like three blocks up and be like, nah, we're just going back to to eat too much work.

00:43:10:09 - 00:43:28:18
Unknown
Yeah. Except it's so it's so shocking. Sometimes I think it's the same person calling back and asking them, like, you're just doing this now, you know? But it's so. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's so now you're messing with me and that's great. Yeah. One thing I want to talk on is so your entrepreneurial journey, obviously, as we've explored, is the restaurant business.

00:43:28:22 - 00:43:50:05
Unknown
But at some point in this journey, you and Annika both get your real estate license. So talk about that. Like what? What is leading you down that path. And yeah, well, you know, I think a lot of it kind of goes back to, to Natalie. A lot of my life does. Because one day, again, I was just frustrated in the restaurant world when I was like 18, 17.

00:43:50:05 - 00:44:04:17
Unknown
And Natalie looks at me and she goes, you know, like, you'd be really good at, you're good with people. I think you'd really make a good realtor and just, you know, real estate really something in that world. And I at the time, I kind of took it as like a grain of salt and just like, okay, thank you.

00:44:04:17 - 00:44:22:04
Unknown
Appreciate you telling me that. That means a lot, especially coming from her. And then a couple of years later, I'm just like, hey, you know, maybe I should just give it a shot and see. See what happens. And how old are you at that point? Probably about 2021 or so. So were you working in Gold Lake or are you working in Rochester?

00:44:22:05 - 00:44:39:17
Unknown
So I got my license before I left for college. So kind of at the same time that Taphouse started opening up is when I got my license, again, put it on the backburner. When I did finally get it, because tap House was open and had a focus on that. And then garlic happened and again, just was putting it on the back burner.

00:44:39:17 - 00:44:56:21
Unknown
But I had my license. Came back home and during that time I was working in the construction field, I was like, okay, let's try this real estate thing. Now like I said, that construction is not for me, you know, shout out to those guys to do it because a lot of respect for them. And, and the restaurant opportunity of Hidden Pines had not popped though at that point.

00:44:56:21 - 00:45:11:20
Unknown
Yeah. So I'm starting to put time and energy into real estate. And I've always loved, I mean, you hear all the time, you know, people get into real estate because they watch the shows and, and, watch Selling Sunset and, you know, that's what it's going to be like. And it's not at all nothing. Nothing similar to it.

00:45:11:20 - 00:45:34:15
Unknown
So selling cast. Yeah, exactly. So but I've always loved honestly those shows and, and just the thought of helping somebody, you know, buy a home more so now like a, you know, like a cashier, you know, someone's not going picking out what they want and you're just checking on, you know, it's it's a big decision. Yes. And and there's so much joy in that big decision 100%.

00:45:34:15 - 00:45:56:05
Unknown
You know, and there's also struggle and like yeah you talk about the joy. Yeah. Exactly. So but yeah it's just to be part of that for somebody. It's, it's honestly the best feeling ever. So I actually just love the business itself. I love the helping people in general. So, got into it and started with Pursuit Real Estate Group.

00:45:56:09 - 00:46:12:00
Unknown
Okay. Taught me a lot of what I knew at the time. And, it was less, I want to say, scary for me because, small company, you know, kind of few red agents here and there. So it's not like I'm being thrown into the fire at, you know, one of the bigger brokerages. But no, it's awesome.

00:46:12:00 - 00:46:30:06
Unknown
I, I wouldn't have been, as far as I am now without pursuit. So I worked there for once, a couple of years, maybe, and then a year and a half ago or so, I, I signed up with, Dwell Realty Group. So I've been with docents and they're local here in Rochester, local as well. And I just love local, you know?

00:46:30:06 - 00:46:52:01
Unknown
So, no, I, I love everything about them that they represent and stuff and you still get that local feeling. So it's not like you're almost detached from from people. You can let them know, hey, we're local, so, you know, we can. We have the ability to be flexible here and there. You know. So and same thing pursue was just every agent there truly works with each other and it's not it doesn't feel competitive.

00:46:52:01 - 00:47:08:10
Unknown
It feels like you're helping each other. And so I just loved it. And, you know, back to Danica. It's like we've worked really good together all the time. We work either work really well at the time or, you know, or just not meeting night. You know, I think I'd, I but again, it just helps you build each other up and stuff.

00:47:08:10 - 00:47:23:11
Unknown
So I would randomly I was like, Danica, what if you get your license too? Because a lot of times I'll be helping couples and you know, the, the guys or the husbands will be like, hey, what about a man cave down here? I'm like, yes. And then the wife's looking at me like, no. And I'm like, who do I make happy here?

00:47:23:11 - 00:47:31:07
Unknown
You know? So I'm like, Danica, I need help you. You know, you get one side. Usually she agrees with one side of the other and I'll agree with the other side. It's perfect. But

00:47:31:10 - 00:47:51:02
Unknown
So I'm curious how that balance works of I mean, it's another business at the end of the day. And how do you balance both and you know, what are you doing to balance both? I think it's one of those things again, where when we opened up, just wasn't in our, in our mindset, we kind of had to put it on the burner for, for that time because you still had your license, but you're like, I'm not going to go show houses.

00:47:51:02 - 00:48:08:22
Unknown
Correct time. Yes. All the time. Yeah. And at that point of like my thought process was, it's unfair for for my staff to put them in a crunch situation like that if I do have to leave. But also for the client that I'm helping and if they want to see a house and it's a Friday night, you know, and I'm in the kitchen and they can't, that's not fit for them too.

00:48:08:22 - 00:48:27:12
Unknown
And they deserve someone that's able to give them that attention. But ever since then, we've been able to build our team at, at, Hidden Pines. And we have managers now in place and so if I ever have to leave last minute, I'm not. The restaurant doesn't revolve around me or Danica, you know, we help it, but a lot of it's because of the employees that work there.

00:48:27:12 - 00:48:58:22
Unknown
So, which relates back to email mine and how you explained it is, tap house lesson. Yes. You know, it's like you built up that team. And so you kind of got to that place within Pines where you have a good team to be able to delegate and continually grow. Exactly. And absolutely. And having the anchor there to like, you know, business partner like her and it's like, hey, if I have a showing that wants to be if I have a client requesting, showing like in an hour or whatever it is, and Danica, you have a goal, you know, prior it's a priority now for sure.

00:48:58:22 - 00:49:20:13
Unknown
So it's, definitely helps that we're in a restaurant business. It's very flexible. But yeah, now we're able to also incorporate that and do that full time too. And what do you like about the real estate business that is different than the restaurant business? I know you mentioned the transaction and just how big it is for some people, but just even more, just like, what is it about real estate that stands out?

00:49:20:14 - 00:49:48:13
Unknown
Honestly, I think it's about teaching. I love to teach people what I know, and obviously I don't know everything about real estate. I'm sure I've learned more as I go. But it's just about teaching that first home buyer like what they're truly investing in. And, like, the purpose of a home is not just to have a place to live, but also to build equity and build for the future and to explain to them different types of programs and what's available, what you know, what decision to make or how to make their decision easier to make.

00:49:48:15 - 00:50:06:19
Unknown
That's something that, you know, you can't get from the restaurant business. They can't, you know, tell someone, hey, you scored this burger for that burger. It's not that way. Healthier. Come back to me in seven days and watch. Yeah, exactly. So real estate just again, by teaching. I love to help people. And I feel like I really, truly am teaching somebody, you know, something sometimes.

00:50:06:19 - 00:50:25:02
Unknown
And again, I learn a lot too from I have helped clients that are electricians and you know, they'll they're teaching me about an electrical panel in a home does. And I'm like, hey, I love it. I love to learn. So definitely. And I think the other piece is, as you mentioned personally, that stands out to me, is equity.

00:50:25:04 - 00:50:46:20
Unknown
Like you can build a nest egg wealth. Savings through real estate. And if you're living in that home for X amount of years, if you do it right, if you buy it right, you're going to have something that has value that you just don't get through renting. And like it's so cool to be able to see people live that through and be a part of that journey.

00:50:46:20 - 00:51:08:09
Unknown
Yeah, exactly. And so again, it's I've become like the go to real estate agent with my friends where it's like they'll ask me a question. And like when my buddy asked me the other day is like, Miguel, should I wait to buy my first house? Because, you know, prices are kind of high right now. And to, to be able to teach them like the, the other side of that, like, okay, you can wait for them to go down.

00:51:08:10 - 00:51:33:00
Unknown
But every year you wait, you're missing out on building equity for it, you know? And it's like just conversations like that that lead to other things. It's just, I love that about it. So for sure, that's cool. That's very cool. Well, it's been a real growth journey for you. And if you just had to, you know, talk to anybody that's looking at the restaurant industry, what would be some of the things that stand out to you as far as advice that you might recommend?

00:51:33:00 - 00:51:57:16
Unknown
Yeah, I would say to to really pick your niche, whether that be small town, you know, big city and to find, find the missing piece. I think that's again what helped Danny and I. It was that it felt like a no brainer at the time because it was something that was needed. So even if there's there's an idea that you have out there that's been done somewhere else, you can bring that to where you want it to be.

00:51:57:18 - 00:52:21:14
Unknown
Like take, you know, recommendations or take just take a little bit of everything you've gone to if you're thinking about the journey and what do you truly love about it? I think that if you find that missing piece in the community, that would really they'll be successful doing that. Yeah. On top of that, just being able to remember that without customers and, and guests coming in and employees working for you, everything else doesn't matter.

00:52:21:14 - 00:52:41:04
Unknown
You can be making profit like crazy, but you don't have any other to. And it doesn't matter. You know what I mean? So truly focus on on customers first and employees second and then yourself last. Unfortunately. But yeah, that will get you to the hard days, will make you wake up the next day and not I wonder, you know, not wanting to go do something else.

00:52:41:05 - 00:52:57:21
Unknown
Exactly. Yes, yes. That's awesome. Well thank you, Miguel, thank you for joining and sharing about your journey. And it's just awesome to learn more about Hidden Pines. And I honestly cannot wait to get back there and have some food. It's been too long, probably been a month, and I need to get back. For those that are interested in stopping at Hidden Pines, what are your hours?

00:52:58:01 - 00:53:14:12
Unknown
And maybe what is one of the seasonal things that they can find on the menu right now that they definitely need to check out? Yeah. So, I very little bit, but we are open every day to 11. Okay. Monday, Sunday we're close at eight, but every other day for sure. 9:00, something on the menu that's very popular right now is our rice bowls.

00:53:14:12 - 00:53:29:10
Unknown
Like I said, if we have any sort of bowl, got to try it, people. And what's in it? It's just cilantro lime rice that we do. Right now we have a fajita natural. It's really popular that people love. And I'm sure next month we'll have another bowl. And it's like, just and give us ideas. We love ideas.

00:53:29:10 - 00:53:49:03
Unknown
Seriously, a lot of our menu is based on what people want and just real quick. One thing that we wanted to do with our restaurant is to make it a one page menu, to make it not where it's a lot of options and stuff like that. But, with all the specials we've done, you know, for the month, monthly specials and our customers, like, you gotta put this on the menu and like, we can't accept that.

00:53:49:03 - 00:54:07:04
Unknown
That makes it not a special anymore. You know, it's like somehow they're on the menu. So till our font gets to be too small to read, we're going to keep them on the menu. So. All right. Yes. There you go. Thanks so much for watching The Real Growth Podcast. Be sure to stop at Hidden Pines and see Danica, the team, and Miguel, and we'll catch you on the next episode.