The Exchanges

Q Double drive-thru meaning you pull up and they come out?

A Yeah, no dine-in. It's, no dine-in. It's just, like, two lanes of drive-thru going different directions, either side, these little tiny buildings, and then they had, like, Four locations left with their best and with their best crews. And they said, Hey, look, we want to be in the rental business. You know, we want to be mailbox money. We're not restaurant operators. You got a great concept. You want to take over these four locations. And at first I was like, wait a minute. Like that looks to me like it's a, like if you did a movie making fun of fast food, you know, it'd be these little buildings, right? It's like, that's not my crew. That's not our culture. But then I was like, wait a minute. Like, it absolutely is a great way to grow. So, uh, I talked to my team, and we did it, and then we, we opened four restaurants in four months. We'd gone from, wow, two restaurants, four restaurants in four months, and then the next month, on the fifth month, we opened a mall food court in Baton Rouge, the mall Louisiana, because I wanted to prove that we could work in mall food courts as well, so that was five restaurants in five months.

AI assessment note: “Yeah, no dine-in. It's just, like, two lanes of drive-thru going different directions”

Q In the meantime, were you like experimenting with chicken finger recipes in your apartment? Were you like frying up chicken for friends and, and trying out different spices and, cause you had the idea for the sauce and the chicken and the Fries are another thing that's critical, but the, I mean, were you doing that?

A No, not really. My focus was getting the money. Get the money, and at that point, work with the vendors to tweak the recipes to, to get a better product and do that. For example, like doing the business plan, I asked about spices. I thought it'd be just simple, right? I need poultry seasoning. You know, I thought that'd be simple. It's like, well, there's six grades of poultry seasonings, and one costs, you know, a hundred bucks a box, and one costs 500 bucks a box, and I was like, oh my goodness, you know, I didn't know this. You know, right? So I knew I'd have to come back later to be able to tweak with the vendors, which I did.

AI assessment note: “No, not really. My focus was getting the money.”

Q Okay, so the banks are saying you're not going to get the loan from the banks. You don't have access to family money, so you have to come up with some money to make this happen. How much did you, did you think you needed to raise?

A Ballpark was a hundred, a 150,000 dollars was what in my mind I thought we could start it for, and that's without knowing the location. Right. Craig still has one semester left in college. I'm bartending. We have a business plan, but we just got turned down by every bank in town, and so I'd put the word out there by my friend group, I have to raise a bunch of money to open my chicken finger restaurant, and y'all know how to make some quick money fast. I'm willing to work hard and do anything. Luckily, Through a friend of a friend, you know, I got to meet a guy named Kerry Travis, who was a foreman for Louisiana crews doing turnaround shift work in refineries. And he said, well, that's great. That's great. You go for your dream. Are you, you know, you're willing to do some hard work? Yes, sir. You know, are you willing to work 90 to a hundred hour weeks? Absolutely. Seven days a week. Absolutely. Uh, ok. You seem excited, seem like a hard worker. We can teach you that business. It just, it takes a certain person that wants to work that hard in those conditions in the refinery. And luck would have it, I got work, uh, doing turnaround ship work. Uh, the title was Boilermaker in Refineries in Los Angeles.

AI assessment note: “Ballpark was a hundred, a 150,000 dollars was what in my mind I thought”

Q And by the way, I think right around this time, uh, you also started to date the woman who would become your wife, Gwen. And, uh, and what I, what I love about the story is that From what I read, she was actually a McDonald's franchisee. Is that right?

A Yeah, she sure was. You know, I met Gwen, although we went to high school together, uh, we didn't really know each other, but I met Gwen, and I told her the story about, you know, I'm gonna open this chicken finger restaurant, and she lived by LSU, too. She goes, oh, you're the guy that's doing that. She's like, good luck, and I'm like, what do you mean? And she was, like, playing with me. She goes, look, I've grown up, my, my parents have been McDonald's franchisee my whole life. She goes, I I'm gonna franchise McDonald's. I mean, she grew up flipping burgers, right? And she's like, and I go with the sure thing. McDonald's franchise. She goes, you're crazy. You're totally different, you know, different than me. You're an entrepreneur with this crazy idea, but good luck to you. And so I asked her out that night, but I said, I don't know when I can actually take you out on a date.

AI assessment note: “Yeah, she sure was.”

Q just trying and failing and trying and failing, but already at the outset, you came to the realization that focusing on one thing is the way to go, And I wonder, I mean, did you come to that realization purely out of working for other restaurants and seeing the way they were doing it wasn't working, or was there another influence that led you to that belief and that view?

A You know, I think a lot of it was just instincts and just part of me, and so, you know, I, I just always been a focused person, you know, and also too is, You know, I had worked at different type restaurants, right? You know, restaurants that served large menu, Mexican restaurants that had so many different menu items and all that, that intimidated me doing all those different items and doing it well. It is, it is very, very, very hard, you know, because restaurant business is hard enough by doing it, but if you focus on doing one thing, that I knew I could handle at my young age. And look, without having management experience in restaurants, I never managed a restaurant. I just worked there.

AI assessment note: “I think a lot of it was just instincts and just part of me”

Q Who were, who were all the other people?

A Well, I mean, just, just people I knew in, in Baton Rouge, right? And so friends of my parents, so, you know, um, they would say, hey, what are you doing? I'm like, oh, man. You know, Craig and I are going to open this chicken finger restaurant, and imagine hearing that, and da-da-da, and they're like, you know, common responsibility, didn't you just graduate? Don't you have a, don't you have a, uh, a degree? And I'm like, yeah, and they're like, well, why don't you just go get a job, get yourself a real job, and then if you still want to do this 10 years later, then you'll have enough money, then you can start your little chicken finger restaurant.

AI assessment note: “just people I knew in, in Baton Rouge, right? And so friends of my parents”

Q But I'm just wondering, was, was Casper, or Frederick, or Manns, were they like, wait, who's this guy pointing at you? Like, how, how is he, how is he in the picture? He's not even in the class.

A Exactly, right? You know, but I mean, that's the brilliance of, like, being a college student. You're just more accepting this stuff. They're like, okay, this is cool. Plus, they knew they had You know, a guy that's so motivated about this, plus I knew the restaurant business, you know, I mean, I knew it, and I knew food. For example, I knew exactly what an apron would cost per shift for each crew member, right? And I knew that because I met with a sales rep, and so nobody had that level of detail in their business plan because it's more about ideas and what they want to do. We were, we were going to start this thing, man, so I needed to know every detail for the business, you know, so I basically took my time, and during the days when they're in classes, I met with, I met with sales reps. I called businesses, companies, And got an idea of everything, so our business plan was really spot on. Plus, I'm a little mildly obsessive compulsive, you know, so the details were just really over the top.

AI assessment note: “They're like, okay, this is cool. Plus, they knew they had”

Q into a chicken finger restaurant? We got a fryers, you've got to have a counter, you've got to have a drive-thru window, you've got to have, not that much stuff, but you still need a bunch of stuff. You've got to turn it into a restaurant, and, and you've got a 140 grand. Was that enough money to convert it into a restaurant, and also, like, Set up a drive-through?

A Barely. Barely, barely, barely. But this was great. This is the best part about it, because, you know, I didn't know anything about construction, but I could learn, right? And I could do it cheap. I think we originally got a contractor and got a bid, and it was like over 200,000 dollars. Like, well, we don't have that. And so, uh, I finally met a really nice man who said, look, I'll help you. You can do the work you can. I can pull in experts when you need it. I knew a little bit about, you know, industrial construction with working as a boiler maker. I mean, nothing about regular carpentry, electric, you know, plumbing, uh, all that good stuff, but I learned, and I learned it, and so, you know, we got a jackhammer, and jackhammered all the bad concrete. We learned how to do plumbing. Uh, we learned how to help out electricians. You know, we could save, save money and get actually a real electrician to do things, but we could be the helper putting the pipes in, doing this stuff.

AI assessment note: “Barely. Barely, barely, barely.”

Q So you were, you were the high school quarterback and a pretty good athlete. I think, I mean, Louisiana, I would say, Louisiana, Texas, big football, and Louisiana also baseball states. Did you ever, ever, like, have dreams of playing at the college level? Did you ever think, you know, maybe I can, I can play in college?

A Yeah, I, I did, and I wanted to. I just wasn't good enough to play Division I. I wanted to play major college football, so we're talking LSU, you know, a big Southeastern Conference school, and so I wasn't that good. I actually got offers from smaller schools to go play, but I realized I really wanted that college experience, you know. I wanted the big school. I wanted the, I wanted the, I wanted the party, you know. I wanted to have fun, you know. I'm a kid of the seventies and eighties, man. We grew up with a With the movies of college being just the ultimate, you know, so I wanted to be able to do that.

AI assessment note: “Yeah, I, I did, and I wanted to. I just wasn't good enough”

Q All right, so you guys, so you, so you, you helped them write this proposal, and your name is not on it because you're not in the class, but Obviously you're intimately part of this business plan, and, ah, they submit it. To the professor. And what happens?

A Well, they went to present it. So we were up all night. We were, you know, finishing the details of the plan. You know, I'm a perfectionist. So it's like, wait, one more time. They're like, Todd, it's good. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. And we're rehearsing it. And, um, you know, it finished the last pot of coffee, you know, early morning, whatever time it was, mid-morning. And they went to go present the class. And, uh, I waited. I literally waited. And, uh, and they did, they went and they did it, and then we all met right afterwards. I said, you know, how did it go? And they were a little bit discouraged, like, ah, you know, I don't think he was that crazy about the concept. And, uh, I was like, what do you mean? You know, what on earth? And he said, well, you know, they said good, good business plan, you know, incredible detail, but a concept serving just chicken fingers in South Louisiana that's known for its Cajun and Creole foods, you know, plate lunches. It doesn't sound like something that's regionally what the tastes are of the people to start a restaurant. That was for one. You know, and I'm in my head going over all the reasons that's wrong, right? And they said secondarily, uh, he said that, you know, that the quick service restaurant environment, you know, fast food restaurants, you know, they're, they're, they're going a different way than you're going. You w…

AI assessment note: “they said good, good business plan, you know, incredible detail, but a concept”

Q Did you know how to cook when you were in college?

A Yeah, I did. You know, I, I just, growing up in South Louisiana, food is so much a part of our culture, and, you know, I grew up cooking in my mother's kitchen, and I was always interested in it, so I learned to make intricate Cajun meals when I was young, so, but we make a gumbo, and, uh, you know, that gumbo really could be made in a couple hours, but You know, you want that thing to stretch out all day, and why you want it to is because you're spending time cooking with somebody, and then your family and friends are coming through the kitchen. They're, they're coming in, they're checking on the progress of the gumbo. They want to come in and stir that pot. It's a way to spend time together. It's a way to connect. It's a way to say, I love you.

AI assessment note: “Yeah, I did. You know, I, I just, growing up in South Louisiana”

Q Thank you. Yeah, it's, I mean, it's, it's interesting, because do you guys, I mean, do you do, is catering a significant business for you? I mean, your, your stores are so packed, so I don't know.

A Yeah, it's, it's really not, you know, it's, it can be up to, like, maybe three percent of total sales, right? So we, we actually even looked at, like, when we could, different times and experimented, like, going out, taking catering to places, and it didn't, to have the extra manpower to go get that done didn't make sense. So now we just make it easily packageable. You can pick it up at the restaurant and, But for us, it's just like stay at our model because if you're going after three percent and putting muscle behind that, you're losing focus. You're distracting. And just like with Shane, like him, like we said that too, he said something interesting. He's like, then I can make the great potato chips to go with that. That's still in that same vein. That's a great add on. Your margins are even better on potato chips, but you start doing two different businesses, which it is in that deal. He loses focus. He screws up something that's really working well right now. It is, it happens to all success, right? It's you're doing great, but, but you can also do this. And when you lose the focus, you mess up with what really is your, Your concept.

AI assessment note: “it's really not, you know, it's, it can be up to, like, maybe three percent”

Q Wow. So what did you do? I mean, you had no idea what this meant. I mean, you grew up in Louisiana. It's an oil state, but it doesn't mean you know anything about oil. What did the job actually mean? What did you do?

A Yeah, so, you know, I had to learn all of it. Um, I had no idea what being a bullard maker was. All I knew is you were going to make a bunch of money in a quick period of time and work my butt off. You know, that was it. And a little bit dangerous. Um, so what happens is when, you know, when they shut down a certain section of their refinery to bring it up to date, right? You know, these things have been running for many years, and so there'll be to be safety upgrades, technology upgrades, uh, just replacing, uh, And doing preventative maintenance. So they bring in boiler makers, which I love that term, boiler makers. I thought that was a cool, cool, cool term. You go in and do this work. And look, I learned great things like, you know, cutting things with a torch, you know, like you have this hot rod you're holding with basically battery cables going to a lot of juice, and you can slice through metal like butter, you know, and we cut these things out in pieces and then bring them out the tower.

AI assessment note: “we cut these things out in pieces and then bring them out the tower.”

Q Can you make me a gin and tonic, son? I love that. Where was your first restaurant job?

A The first restaurant job I had was actually, I functioned as a kitchen steward for our fraternity, and, uh, that gave me great experience. I just signed up to do it, uh, you know, my freshman year, and, uh, from there, uh, we had a chef. Her name was Martha, and she was Man, she was an amazing cook. She cooked, you know, just great southern food. We're talking mac and cheese, and collard greens, and fried chicken, and I mean, she could cook great. So I spent my time in the kitchen with her, going over the food, the food quality, and learning that way, and then the, the owner of the business that did this for a lot of fraternities, uh, he taught me things, because I asked about food costs, you know, what, what is your food cost? And he had the real simple answers of, you know, it's a third of what you, uh, Of what you should sell something for. So, you know, if you're gonna sell something for a dollar, your food cost should be 33 cents. Uh, and from there, I just went, worked at different, I can't even remember all the names of them, just different college bars that other people worked at that I could jump onto. And working for these entrepreneurs and learning about food, you realize, you know, how hard of a business it is, uh, and you also realize you have to love it. And, you know, I loved it.

AI assessment note: “The first restaurant job I had was actually, I functioned as a kitchen steward”

Q A lot of money, and you go back to Baton Rouge, and presumably Was this, it's still not enough to launch the business though, right?

A No, we didn't have enough, and, and we knew, we knew we wouldn't have enough coming back, but we knew it would be a great start, and before we went to Alaska, we had located a great piece of property. I mean, absolutely perfect for our business at the North Gates of LSU, where I always wanted to open up. Actually, a good friend had told me this place came open, and We met with a realtor, a guy named Red Reynolds, uh, rest his soul, I mean, what a great guy, and he bought into our, more than anything, he bought into our passion, and so he said, hey, I know you boys will work as hard as you can to make this place work, and the place had turned over so many different times because these different college entrepreneurs would start something, and then it wouldn't work, and then the last tenant was a bike shop that's actually still in business, but they moved next door. Right. So, We had the, we had the place, and so after I finished the commercial fishing in Alaska, Craig had went back, and I got a job, uh, real quickly working as a sport fishing guide, which was just amazing work, you know, it was Alaska, it was incredible, the salmon run, taking fishermen out, you know, and fisher women, women out, there was bears and eagles, and it was amazing, and actually Craig called me and said, hey, uh, Mr. Red says you need to get your ass home, and I was like, are you kidding me? He goes, …

AI assessment note: “No, we didn't have enough, and, and we knew, we knew we wouldn't have enough”

Q Yep, under the breast, you can cut it off, right?

A Yeah, you literally put it, and it's a whole muscle product, and so it's perfect, and we knew what size we wanted, and then they'll talk about what size bird that comes from, and I always went for the highest quality, and that paid off, because people will pay for quality. Now, I didn't price my menu accordingly, and I didn't make much money until I finally adjusted our pricing, but always went for the higher quality and what we could do in-house, like our sauce, I knew we could make that in-house, our garlic butter, I knew we could make that in-house. And, and that freshness of making your sauce in house, you know, we, we evaluated that versus having a place make it for us and putting in a, you know, in a little packet that's vacuum sealed that you have a peel off was night and day to us.

AI assessment note: “Yeah, you literally put it, and it's a whole muscle product”