Latest / The Steve Harvey Morning Show / Melba Wilson Full Interview
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: My next guest restaurant is the Premier Comfort Food. Comfort
- 0:03Speaker 1: Food Destination in New York City. As you will see
- 0:06Speaker 1: from her Instagram page at Melbourne Harlem. Celebrities like nas
- 0:12Speaker 1: Nick Cannon, her cousins sienns April, Ryan dil Hugely and
- 0:17Speaker 1: many more all in your her American comfort food. I
- 0:21Speaker 1: want to know what that is, you know, American comfortable.
- 0:23Speaker 1: She's always seen on the Food Network, whether she is
- 0:25Speaker 1: a judge on Beat Bobby Flay, cooking with the amazing
- 0:29Speaker 1: host on the Kitchen, or trying to pick the winner
- 0:32Speaker 1: and the finale. Are the worst cooks in America? That's
- 0:34Speaker 1: one of my favorite shows. Those people really can't cook.
- 0:37Speaker 1: Please work on the money making conversation, my girl, Melbolle Wilson,
- 0:44Speaker 1: how are you like? You know? I had to put
- 0:47Speaker 1: all those credits in there because some of them were
- 0:49Speaker 1: just so worth talking about now now because Bobby Flay,
- 0:53Speaker 1: that's my boy. Then you got the Kitchen, which you
- 0:56Speaker 1: gotta come on there with a little nice little quick recipes.
- 0:59Speaker 1: You gotta put out real fast so people can capture
- 1:02Speaker 1: at home, and it's kind of like competing. Everybody taste
- 1:05Speaker 1: and sample your stuff on the spot. So you know,
- 1:07Speaker 1: you know, you gotta have you act together and then
- 1:09Speaker 1: but my favorite show, Worst Cooks in them a well,
- 1:16Speaker 1: they truly are the worst cooks when they start out. However,
- 1:20Speaker 1: you know they get in there with Amberrell and they
- 1:22Speaker 1: throw down. They really learned how to cook. And uh,
- 1:26Speaker 1: I've been really inspired and surprisingly happy with some of
- 1:30Speaker 1: the results that have come out of that show. Well,
- 1:33Speaker 1: I'm gonna tell you something. The ones that they cut early,
- 1:36Speaker 1: they just can't cool. They they they somewhere destroying people's
- 1:41Speaker 1: lives right now. You know what, I've been blessed because
- 1:45Speaker 1: I've only done the finale on Worst Cooks and Worst Bakers,
- 1:48Speaker 1: so I consider myself. But you're obviously through some of
- 1:51Speaker 1: those early rounds, I don't know if your girl can
- 1:54Speaker 1: do that, because you they're so bad you almost talk.
- 1:57Speaker 1: You almost think they just you know, they just want
- 2:00Speaker 1: to be on TV. Especially on the celebrity side. You know,
- 2:03Speaker 1: you think they you know, it's like dancing with Stars,
- 2:05Speaker 1: you know, that's the celebrities. You have to regular everyday people.
- 2:08Speaker 1: But you know, if you're a cook person, you really
- 2:11Speaker 1: know they don't that and what that's not what they do.
- 2:14Speaker 1: You know, when they really do know, and you know,
- 2:16Speaker 1: cooking is a labor of love and it's something that
- 2:19Speaker 1: not everyone can do, but it's something that everyone can enjoy,
- 2:23Speaker 1: especially when you get that skinnish product at the end
- 2:25Speaker 1: on your plate. So um. And ultimately that's why I'm
- 2:28Speaker 1: in business, because not everyone can and not everyone wants to.
- 2:32Speaker 1: So well, well, let's talk about that. Okay, we we
- 2:35Speaker 1: we Your intro starts you at you know, restaurant opening,
- 2:39Speaker 1: and we're gonna talk about your new restaurant that's opening.
- 2:41Speaker 1: And I want to put that banner on my social
- 2:43Speaker 1: media and fan club let them know because I go
- 2:45Speaker 1: to New York a lot, and so you're definitely going
- 2:47Speaker 1: to see my mud because I am truly a foodie.
- 2:50Speaker 1: Now you're intro talked about comfort food, American comfort food.
- 2:54Speaker 1: What exactly is that? Well, to me, American comfort food
- 2:58Speaker 1: is food that evokes war and wonderful memories. It's food
- 3:02Speaker 1: that transports you back to great times in your Everybody
- 3:07Speaker 1: in the studio, everybody studio, they perked up their ears. Now,
- 3:10Speaker 1: come on, Dow, come on, don't be messing with us
- 3:13Speaker 1: like that. Now you can be that cheesy, gooey, delicious
- 3:18Speaker 1: macaroni and cheese that your Matha used to throw that
- 3:21Speaker 1: out with a k. Or it can be that tato
- 3:24Speaker 1: salad that Uncle John used to make you know. It's
- 3:27Speaker 1: just that transforms you. And I think these days and Jimes,
- 3:31Speaker 1: we all need to be comforted and take him back
- 3:34Speaker 1: to those times. Y'all, do potato salad at your restaurant. Now,
- 3:38Speaker 1: I don't do potato salad. I do tato salad. It's
- 3:40Speaker 1: a big difference. Now, you don't put no pe in
- 3:43Speaker 1: front of that. Because I'm gonna tell you something that
- 3:46Speaker 1: is a whole You would make me mad. Put some
- 3:50Speaker 1: bad potatoes out the kind of know them in you
- 3:53Speaker 1: because that's the first thing. Because I'm always searching for food.
- 3:55Speaker 1: I'm searching for good potatoes that tato sat. But see
- 3:59Speaker 1: I'm touching that she said tatus out because it's right
- 4:02Speaker 1: my family from South Carolina. So that explains it, all right.
- 4:07Speaker 1: So so this is good comfert food now. Now, so
- 4:11Speaker 1: so what do you where exactly is the restaurant located
- 4:13Speaker 1: the name of the restaurant, Where is it located? What
- 4:15Speaker 1: are the hours? So the restaurant is called Melbourne's easy
- 4:18Speaker 1: for me to remember, and it's on the southwest corner
- 4:22Speaker 1: of one hundred and fourteen Streets in Harlem. So it's
- 4:26Speaker 1: three hundred West one hundred and fourteen Street, New York.
- 4:31Speaker 1: One zero zero to five are Instagram is Melba's within
- 4:36Speaker 1: s Harlem and I'm born bread and Butter in Harlem,
- 4:40Speaker 1: And that's why it was really important for me to
- 4:43Speaker 1: open up in a community that I love so much,
- 4:46Speaker 1: but the community that has changed racial back. I remember
- 4:55Speaker 1: because I moved when I moved to you know, I've
- 4:57Speaker 1: been in New York several times. I've moved to New York.
- 5:00Speaker 1: I first started doing comedy and and you know that
- 5:04Speaker 1: you couldn't even catch a cab north, you know you
- 5:06Speaker 1: they wouldn't even they wouldn't take you north, let alone
- 5:10Speaker 1: past Hall Ofm. You weren't. You weren't going there. That
- 5:12Speaker 1: That's why they had the gypsy cabs and was really
- 5:15Speaker 1: changed the game for Hallm and traffic with Uber. Uber
- 5:19Speaker 1: was picking you up everywhere, and so that really really
- 5:22Speaker 1: changed the game as far as transportation up there, because
- 5:25Speaker 1: you you put your Uber in it, they come get you,
- 5:27Speaker 1: pick you up on the corner, and you go back.
- 5:28Speaker 1: That really changed the whole cab service for for for
- 5:32Speaker 1: everybody in the city of New York, and so for
- 5:35Speaker 1: New York. But I loved a buy Harlem was that
- 5:37Speaker 1: they have always had these unique restaurants where you're going
- 5:41Speaker 1: in you get good original food. I called the food
- 5:44Speaker 1: that you have original food because of the fact that
- 5:46Speaker 1: it does take you back, because so many times you
- 5:49Speaker 1: can't good good vegetables, a good corn bread, a good
- 5:53Speaker 1: good good you know, it's just good food. So let's
- 5:57Speaker 1: go through your menu, and you're putting that together, the menu,
- 5:59Speaker 1: because now you've got me hungry, and I'm trying to
- 6:01Speaker 1: figure out when I'm gonna get back up from New York.
- 6:03Speaker 1: And here's the deal about me, Milk. When I come
- 6:06Speaker 1: to a restaurant, I don't want, no, I don't, I
- 6:08Speaker 1: don't I pay. I'm one of these guys we challenge here.
- 6:12Speaker 1: No no no, no, no no. You come over there with
- 6:13Speaker 1: and then asked me to give me. I got that. No.
- 6:16Speaker 1: I'm gonna really be mad at you because you're an
- 6:18Speaker 1: entrepreneur and so so I always go in so tell
- 6:22Speaker 1: me about and I appreciate that too, Thank youbody. I'll
- 6:25Speaker 1: tell you that that's the only way I work, you know,
- 6:28Speaker 1: Steve Harve and I when we was traveling. We we
- 6:30Speaker 1: we Hey, I got that. I got that because of course,
- 6:33Speaker 1: you know that's at the end of the day when
- 6:36Speaker 1: man comes or when the or when the when the
- 6:38Speaker 1: phone company, because you know, I can't tell them I
- 6:41Speaker 1: got that. Yeah, I need I need to write that check.
- 6:45Speaker 1: So I truly do appreciate that. And when you talk
- 6:49Speaker 1: about supporting small businesses, especially businesses of color, the way
- 6:54Speaker 1: that we can make sure that we stay in business
- 6:57Speaker 1: is through economic development, which means making sure that our
- 7:00Speaker 1: dollars circulate within our community at least eight times. And
- 7:04Speaker 1: that happens when people like you come into these communities
- 7:07Speaker 1: and pay. So I truly thank you. Now here's the
- 7:13Speaker 1: deal because like so so you know Aunt Silvia. So
- 7:17Speaker 1: if you, if you, if you, if you've been in
- 7:19Speaker 1: New York, you know about Silvia's. Okay. In fact, I
- 7:22Speaker 1: remember when I had Steve Harvey do the cover story
- 7:26Speaker 1: for our USA Today, the Life section. I made sure
- 7:28Speaker 1: that interview was done at Silvia's. She understand how you
- 7:32Speaker 1: gotta do stuff. You gotta you know, you don't always
- 7:34Speaker 1: have to eat. But just seeing the name in Life
- 7:37Speaker 1: Life Sections, Steve Harvey, the reporter was talking about the
- 7:41Speaker 1: atmosphere and talking about the food and everything. I knew
- 7:44Speaker 1: it was important that we have to give back and
- 7:46Speaker 1: use our brand to to distribute information about certain locations.
- 7:50Speaker 1: So I know about Silvia, now, Sylvia is when you're
- 7:53Speaker 1: going there and get the heavy plate. Now if you
- 7:55Speaker 1: if you you go up in the Silvia, we're gonna
- 7:58Speaker 1: get back the mailbles and man. But she starts, SA,
- 8:02Speaker 1: I sure did it. I started right there as they
- 8:05Speaker 1: cash here and um. So when you talk about starting
- 8:08Speaker 1: from the bottom, now we're here, um and not ashamed
- 8:12Speaker 1: of it. Very very proud of my beginnings and my route.
- 8:17Speaker 1: So my aunt Sylvia literally laid the blueprint. You know,
- 8:21Speaker 1: it was herself. It was Ophelia dvor who at eleven
- 8:25Speaker 1: years old. Um, you know, I started working for her
- 8:29Speaker 1: in her beauty bar, answering the phone, selling cosmetics because
- 8:33Speaker 1: my cousin worked there during the week and my cousin
- 8:36Speaker 1: was going on Saturdays. And I'll go with her because
- 8:38Speaker 1: I wanted to get out of the house. So learning
- 8:41Speaker 1: how to sell um and just being inspired by amazing
- 8:44Speaker 1: women who defied the odds, who did not accept the
- 8:48Speaker 1: word no and knew that no just meant they had
- 8:52Speaker 1: to find another way to make it happen. They had
- 8:54Speaker 1: to go over it, through it, or around it, but
- 8:57Speaker 1: they had to make it happen. They were truly in
- 9:00Speaker 1: the back phones for me and my success. Cool on
- 9:02Speaker 1: the phone and she's the premier comfort food destination in
- 9:05Speaker 1: New York City. And my girl malboll Wilson, uh my
- 9:08Speaker 1: bore dear usually been in the nas April Ryan Nick Cannon,
- 9:13Speaker 1: Rushan McDonald all, let's go. That's where we go. They
- 9:16Speaker 1: get our comfort food. So I'm plugging at myself. I'm plugging.
- 9:19Speaker 1: I'm already in the building. We'll be right back and
- 9:21Speaker 1: hear about a new restaurant. Also of being the president
- 9:24Speaker 1: of the Hospitality Allowance, the first female ever doing some things. Hi,
- 9:29Speaker 1: just Rashan McDonald and you're listening to money making conversation
- 9:32Speaker 1: on the phone is from straight out of New York City.
- 9:35Speaker 1: She's seen the worst cooks, she's worked with the best cooks.
- 9:38Speaker 1: She's been on this she is who she is man
- 9:42Speaker 1: from the kitchen to Sylvia's, from being a cashier to
- 9:46Speaker 1: her own restaurant called Mailbows with an ass. She's opening
- 9:49Speaker 1: a new restaurant. Tell us about that new restaurant before
- 9:52Speaker 1: we get into anything else because you're excited about it.
- 9:55Speaker 1: Why did you feel the need to open another restaurant?
- 10:00Speaker 1: We Shan's stupid uper excited about it. Um. One of
- 10:02Speaker 1: the things about opening up a business in a community
- 10:05Speaker 1: that you're born in, raised in, and that I still
- 10:08Speaker 1: live in is I have a unique opportunity to lead
- 10:12Speaker 1: by example, to show people within the Harlem community that
- 10:16Speaker 1: we can open up our own businesses in our own
- 10:19Speaker 1: community and succeed, as well as provide employment opportunities. That's
- 10:26Speaker 1: a big deal for me UM to know that I'm
- 10:29Speaker 1: providing a job and opportunity for people in the Harlem
- 10:34Speaker 1: industry to feed their families. That's a huge deal for
- 10:37Speaker 1: me UM as well as leading by example, UM, because
- 10:41Speaker 1: for me, if I can do it, anyone can do it. Well.
- 10:44Speaker 1: That's true and not true at the same time, because
- 10:47Speaker 1: of the fact that, like you said, you started as
- 10:50Speaker 1: a cashier, so you got to you got to see
- 10:52Speaker 1: the basics, and then a lot of people stop there,
- 10:55Speaker 1: you know, because you know, to get beyond that cashier's work,
- 10:58Speaker 1: and also you get to develop a sense colinary skills
- 11:02Speaker 1: to be able goal and also understand how to run
- 11:04Speaker 1: a business. And so that's called effort, and you have
- 11:07Speaker 1: to be consistent at it. And so you went from
- 11:09Speaker 1: from like I said, when I used to go to
- 11:11Speaker 1: uh Silvia's. You know they had a single open mic
- 11:15Speaker 1: night type thing and they had the gospel broad So
- 11:18Speaker 1: you know, these are different things that were instituted. Where
- 11:21Speaker 1: were you up when all this starts happen when you
- 11:23Speaker 1: still at the Silvia's at the time when these are
- 11:25Speaker 1: being instituted, talked to us about because it was more
- 11:28Speaker 1: it was an experience when you went to Silvia's. Well,
- 11:31Speaker 1: I actually so funny story. Sunday was my short day
- 11:35Speaker 1: of the week and Sunday was my big money day. Um.
- 11:39Speaker 1: Back then, Sunday was my sixty dollar a day. That's
- 11:42Speaker 1: when I made sixty dollars on Sundays and the rest
- 11:45Speaker 1: of the week I would make forty dollars a day.
- 11:47Speaker 1: And so Sunday was my big money day. I didn't
- 11:50Speaker 1: work as many hours and I made um, you know,
- 11:53Speaker 1: good money at the time. However, if we were slow,
- 11:56Speaker 1: I would get cut. So I used to host entertainment
- 12:01Speaker 1: events at different venues in the city, and so I said,
- 12:04Speaker 1: why don't I start a gospel brunch at Sylvia's and
- 12:07Speaker 1: I got the band to perform for free, agreed with
- 12:10Speaker 1: my aunt that she would fed them, give them a meal,
- 12:13Speaker 1: and it was a huge hit. And that's how I
- 12:15Speaker 1: started the gospel brunch over at Sylvia's. And then I
- 12:18Speaker 1: started an open mic night at Sylvia's also, which was phenomenal.
- 12:22Speaker 1: It was one of the top open mics in the city.
- 12:25Speaker 1: And that was on Thursday nights and we would have
- 12:28Speaker 1: everybody that was anybody would come by and our host
- 12:31Speaker 1: at the time was Shelby j who later on, as
- 12:35Speaker 1: we all know, went to sing with the One and
- 12:37Speaker 1: Only Prince, So we've had some great people. Jay Z
- 12:41Speaker 1: would come by troll vocally. I mean, we would have
- 12:43Speaker 1: everybody that was any anybody would come through there and
- 12:46Speaker 1: sing with us. Well, you know that's just smart. Now,
- 12:50Speaker 1: how did you come up with these marketing ideas? We
- 12:52Speaker 1: just got a curiosity, trusted your instincts because people are
- 12:55Speaker 1: afraid to change. All I do is served food here,
- 12:57Speaker 1: don't want here, no jokes, and nobody's singing a new gospel.
- 13:02Speaker 1: They're going to church for that because you all know
- 13:04Speaker 1: that if on a Sunday, this is this is true
- 13:06Speaker 1: across America on Sunday if there's a restaurant out there,
- 13:10Speaker 1: and sure if good food. Once church let out, if
- 13:15Speaker 1: you're not in that restaurant, you are in a long line. Well,
- 13:20Speaker 1: well it was. It was a great marketing. M I
- 13:22Speaker 1: be on my part. You know, I'm from Harlem. I've
- 13:24Speaker 1: always been a hustler in a good way, you know. Uh.
- 13:28Speaker 1: That's what being from Harlem has taught me. Its taught
- 13:31Speaker 1: me how to hustle in a positive way, how to
- 13:34Speaker 1: let the things that people see as adversities work in
- 13:37Speaker 1: my favor. So I tell people all the time, being
- 13:40Speaker 1: black and a female and born and raised in Harlem
- 13:42Speaker 1: is the best thing that could have happened to me.
- 13:45Speaker 1: I don't look at it as a detriment. I look
- 13:47Speaker 1: at it as a stepping stone because it's allowed me
- 13:50Speaker 1: to to get into doors and to you know, use
- 13:53Speaker 1: my brainiacs. And when people would say, oh, I'm not
- 13:56Speaker 1: gonna do this because I'm female and because I'm black,
- 13:59Speaker 1: I'm like, and that's exactly the reason I will do
- 14:01Speaker 1: this and I will succeed. So it's just it's looking
- 14:05Speaker 1: at supply and demand. For me, it was okay, the
- 14:08Speaker 1: churches let out, what's the band? What are the bands doing.
- 14:14Speaker 1: Everybody's coming to eat at these establishments. Let's carry that
- 14:18Speaker 1: music on. Let's offer the band, you know, fair wages,
- 14:22Speaker 1: fair pay, and a meal, and you know, they get
- 14:25Speaker 1: to play for another three hours and people come and
- 14:28Speaker 1: they want to hear those So let's say you didn't
- 14:30Speaker 1: get a chance to go to church, you can come
- 14:32Speaker 1: into sility Is and hear that gospel brunch, um, you know,
- 14:35Speaker 1: from one to three and that And that was my idea.
- 14:38Speaker 1: That was my concept, and later on went on to
- 14:41Speaker 1: take it to Windows in the World downtown and it's
- 14:43Speaker 1: something that I also did at Lola's, which was one
- 14:47Speaker 1: twenty Street at the time down town. So it was
- 14:51Speaker 1: a huge success and something that I thoroughly enjoyed. Okay, cool,
- 14:55Speaker 1: let's talk about this. We kind of talked a little
- 14:57Speaker 1: bit about the menu a little bit because I'm going
- 15:00Speaker 1: went through you know, I kind of I'm a I'm
- 15:01Speaker 1: a I'm a a multitasker, so I'm looking up some
- 15:05Speaker 1: articles here, you know, finger licking ribs and barbecue sauce
- 15:11Speaker 1: and mail but trays, three mac and cheese, savory sweeten Savor,
- 15:18Speaker 1: small hush puppies, alcoholm sour cream, pound cake. I'm gonna
- 15:28Speaker 1: go kids to the start cooking right now for you, Chase,
- 15:32Speaker 1: right now. Hush Puppies loved him to Hush puppies. I'm
- 15:37Speaker 1: just a nut for hush puppies. Oh my good cole slap.
- 15:45Speaker 1: And then do you do corn bread there? Because I
- 15:48Speaker 1: might get on the plane today. Do you can call?
- 15:50Speaker 1: So that's my achilles here. I only do corn bread
- 15:52Speaker 1: by request. Um My kitchen a small we seat over
- 15:56Speaker 1: a hundred and so cornbread is not something I do
- 16:00Speaker 1: you every day. Um, it's important for me to keep
- 16:02Speaker 1: my prices at a certain level. And for me, it
- 16:05Speaker 1: don't matter. I'm paying for it. I'm I'm put this
- 16:09Speaker 1: your question in for corn bread. I'm not gonna pay
- 16:11Speaker 1: for corn bread. They're gonna tell me no, but that
- 16:13Speaker 1: corn bread is supposed to be free, and they're gonna
- 16:15Speaker 1: eat a lot of it, and then they're gonna get
- 16:18Speaker 1: old and and my corn's gonna be hot. You know,
- 16:20Speaker 1: it's gonna be piping hot. So I'm ain't know like that.
- 16:23Speaker 1: So absolutely normally corn bread. But if you're coming out,
- 16:28Speaker 1: I promise you I'll get in that kitchen and make
- 16:30Speaker 1: some corny corn bread. Just feel we're we're gonna, we're gonna,
- 16:33Speaker 1: we're gonna play this out because everybody knows me. I
- 16:36Speaker 1: just went up to my board, saw him in Seattle.
- 16:39Speaker 1: June Baby was trying up there, went up there. So
- 16:41Speaker 1: when I say I'm gonna do something, I go and
- 16:43Speaker 1: do it now because he get on a Tuesday night
- 16:46Speaker 1: so you can experience a live music. Okay, cool, this this,
- 16:50Speaker 1: this is all good. This is a really really good conversation. Okay.
- 16:53Speaker 1: So so when you talk about you said in a
- 16:56Speaker 1: small kitchen, you said about it, you said it seets
- 16:58Speaker 1: about a hundred people under the nine. Okay, the new
- 17:02Speaker 1: restaurant what what what? What's the capacity going to be
- 17:04Speaker 1: on that? I'm so excited. The new restaurant is the
- 17:08Speaker 1: spot that seats seventy and it's seafood. It's all the food. Um,
- 17:15Speaker 1: you know, instead of going to city out and you
- 17:16Speaker 1: can you can stay in our neighborhood and come to
- 17:18Speaker 1: Melvin's three minutes away from the original space. And it's
- 17:25Speaker 1: paying homage to the black fisherman because when we change
- 17:30Speaker 1: to this country as slaves, a lot of us came
- 17:32Speaker 1: from the coast and we had fisherman skills and so
- 17:36Speaker 1: we learned how to fish, and so it's it's paying
- 17:39Speaker 1: tribute to women. We have a team of amazing women
- 17:42Speaker 1: that are that are partners with me in this venture.
- 17:46Speaker 1: We have our fishmonger is a female who were super
- 17:50Speaker 1: excited about our our some We have a female so
- 17:54Speaker 1: that's doing the whole wineless who's from how Harlem that
- 17:56Speaker 1: was just written up in Food and Wine magazine. Shan
- 18:00Speaker 1: McCoy are executive chef m Chef Mimi, who is phenomenal,
- 18:05Speaker 1: who lives in Arlom, has a huge sea food background.
- 18:09Speaker 1: And then there's me. So it's women coming together to
- 18:12Speaker 1: celebrate food and we're super duper excited about it. It
- 18:16Speaker 1: will be open the first week in February. And while
- 18:21Speaker 1: it's gonna be amazing, Okay, cool, So you're timing my visit.
- 18:25Speaker 1: You're timing my visit to New York. I got that meeting.
- 18:28Speaker 1: Can do two restaurant stops, that's right, Okay cool. Now,
- 18:32Speaker 1: just a natural transition because I want to talk about
- 18:34Speaker 1: you becoming the first African American female to be the
- 18:37Speaker 1: president of the New York City Hospitality Alliance. Let's tell
- 18:41Speaker 1: everybody what the New York City Hospitality Alliance is not
- 18:44Speaker 1: the hallm but the New York City Hospitality Alliance. And
- 18:47Speaker 1: while I well, I've been a member of the New
- 18:51Speaker 1: York City Hospitality Alliance since its inception. And what it is,
- 18:55Speaker 1: it's over three thousand restaurants, um, all based in in
- 19:00Speaker 1: in the five boons of New York City. Is everyone
- 19:02Speaker 1: from Tao to Lavo, to Nobu to Rebecca Grill to
- 19:06Speaker 1: Sylvia's to b LT Steak. So it is the most
- 19:09Speaker 1: premier restaurant here in the city. And we lobby on
- 19:12Speaker 1: behalf of the needs of not just a restaurant, but
- 19:16Speaker 1: the nightlife venues, you know, from from d L to
- 19:20Speaker 1: um oh god, God, I can't even to Marquee, uh,
- 19:25Speaker 1: you know, to the Gold Bar and some of the
- 19:27Speaker 1: biggest and best places in the city. And we lobby
- 19:30Speaker 1: on behalf of of our of our venues, you know. Um.
- 19:34Speaker 1: The city sometimes under Mayor to Blasio can be very
- 19:37Speaker 1: difficult to business owners um in terms of fees, commercial
- 19:42Speaker 1: property taxes, etcetera. So we lobby on behalf of of
- 19:47Speaker 1: New York owned restaurants and nightclubs. And this is the
- 19:51Speaker 1: first time not only that they've had a female as
- 19:54Speaker 1: the president, but a person of color in general as
- 19:58Speaker 1: a president. So I'm super duper excited and just coming
- 20:02Speaker 1: upon my year one tenure as the president of the
- 20:05Speaker 1: New York City Hospitality Alliance. Well, I want to group
- 20:08Speaker 1: congratulations to you, first of all, and secondly for coming
- 20:11Speaker 1: on my show. You'll be seeing me, I know, Super
- 20:14Speaker 1: Bowls of February. Second, so the week of February nine,
- 20:17Speaker 1: I would be in New York City to visit both
- 20:19Speaker 1: of your restaurants. One of the restaurants I'm especially ordered
- 20:22Speaker 1: that corn bread. Put that out there, and then give
- 20:26Speaker 1: me some good seafood at the other restaurant. But again,
- 20:28Speaker 1: continue your success. Um again, You're special because you wanted
- 20:34Speaker 1: it and you earned it, and I'm gonna support you
- 20:37Speaker 1: not only by a visit, but any social media post
- 20:40Speaker 1: that you want to have please let me know and
- 20:43Speaker 1: I would definitely post the social media when your restaurant,
- 20:46Speaker 1: your two A few restaurants open to New York City
- 20:48Speaker 1: first week about February. Okay, rest I thank you. One
- 20:57Speaker 1: will talk soon, but we'll see each other soon, Okay, Amen,
- 21:00Speaker 1: God bless thank you,