Imagine transforming the excitement of a music festival into a community hub where families gather, connect, and enjoy a cold brew—this is the vision brought to life by Jamie Minotti and Mark McLary, co-founders of My Yard Live Beer Company. These innovative entrepreneurs have crafted a unique space in San Marcos, California, merging the vibrancy of a brewpub with family-friendly elements like an arcade, playground, and live music. In this episode, we explore their captivating journey from orchestrating music festivals on cruise ships to establishing a solar-powered soundstage company, which ultimately led to the creation of My Yard Live.
Amid the challenges of launching a business during the pandemic, Jamie and Mark's dedication to fostering an inclusive environment shines through. We unravel the personal stories that connect them to the world of disabilities, illuminating how these experiences have shaped their business ethos. Their commitment to inclusivity and community is further underscored by the unwavering support from investors during turbulent times. This episode dives into the significance of creating spaces that welcome all, bridging generational gaps, and reflecting on the integration of individuals with disabilities in their communities.
A heartwarming highlight features the employment success of James Zoul, a remarkable team member with Down syndrome whose journey began with a touching letter from his mother. Jamie and Mark share the profound impact of James’s presence in their team and celebrate his contributions in an industry notorious for high turnover. Join us for an exploration of passion, community, and the profound impact of inclusive business practices.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Greta Harrison (00:00):
Hello, my name is Greta Harrison.
Welcome to Born FabulousPodcast, season 3, episode 28.
The theme of this season isyoung adults with intellectual
disabilities living full livesof independence and
interdependence.
Work is an integral part of afull life in independence.
The next three episodes willfeature Jamie Minotti and Mark
(00:24):
McCleary, who are co-foundersand managing partners of my Yard
Live Beer Company in San Marcos, california, which is a suburb
of San Diego.
My Yard Live has a uniquemission sustainable,
family-friendly refuge withactivities for all ages live
(00:45):
entertainment, quality food andlibations, as well as unique
leisure games, with a focus onbuilding a stronger community.
Their mission further statesthey will create a paradigm
shift in the way thatcommunities interact, play and
bond by inventing an inclusive,family and adult-friendly
gathering space that has theability to be replicated in the
(01:08):
western United States and beyond.
This mission organically led tothe hire of James Zoll when my
Yard Live opened in 2019, monthsbefore the COVID pandemic hit.
James has Down syndrome.
James's job grew over his yearswith my Yard Life, eventually
(01:29):
leading to the unique additionof the four dudes and their
mission.
The four dudes are James andthree of his close friends who
have disabilities.
The following three episodeswill expand this wonderful story
from here.
Now.
Please enjoy this clip of theRing.
The lyrics are by MelissaRiggio, who was the focus of
episodes one through four inseason one.
(01:50):
She had Down Syndrome.
The music and voice are byRachel Fuller.
Rachel Fuller (02:15):
I'm in the rain outside.
I'm following my belief.
I'm looking at the sky.
I saw God following my heart.
(02:37):
I'm an ordinary woman.
Greta Harrison (02:44):
Hello, and we are so excited to welcome two
fabulous entrepreneurs.
Today we are going to bespeaking to co-founders and
managing partners of my YardLive, which is a brewery in San
Diego.
We are going to be speaking toJamie Minotti and Mark McCleary.
I welcome you both to BornFabulous Podcast.
(03:08):
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Hello guys.
Mark McLarry (03:11):
Thanks for having us.
Jamie Minotti (03:13):
Yeah, thanks for the invitation.
We appreciate it.
We're excited.
Greta Harrison (03:16):
Thank you.
I'm hoping that you guys canstart out this interview by
telling us a little bit aboutyour duties, your business, how
you met each other, anythingabout yourselves, a little
backstory.
Mark McLarry (03:32):
Got it.
So, jamie, you want me to start, or yeah?
So Jamie and I actually startedworking together in 2005,.
Right, jamie?
2005 or 4?
5.
We at the time were producing amusic festival, but it was
unique as we were producing iton a music cruise, one of these
(03:53):
big carnival cruise lines.
So we basically came in, kickedoff all their entertainment,
brought in our own entertainment, all these high profile bands
from all over the world.
So that's kind of initially howwe started working together.
At the time, we actually alsohad founded a company called
Alternative Power Productionsand we were a solar powered
(04:16):
soundstage and lighting company.
So what was unique about that,obviously, is that we're doing
these huge concerts 15,000people completely solar powered.
So we integrated the solartechnology into the stages
themselves and then we'rerunning our sound system,
lighting everything, completelysolar powered.
So, for example, we were doinga tour called the Vans Warped
(04:40):
Tour and it was 42 shows in 50days and for the entire 42 shows
we never went to a generator.
We're completely running offalternative energy.
So, and with that too, you know, because of being in that world
, we found ourselves very muchinvolved in a lot of different
types of events and festivals,and a lot of them were community
(05:03):
based, a lot of them were yourmainstream large festivals.
And the more we kept workingthrough these events for example
, these beer festivals and thesewine festivals and these
macaroni festival, baconfestival we were starting to see
this niche in the market, thatfamilies were looking to
(05:27):
integrate more with thesefestivals.
But quite often there was alwayssome kind of divide between the
parents.
So for a parent wanted to gograb, you know, grab a beer,
they could, but they'd have togo in the beer garden and they
were separated by a fence andthe mom was on the other side or
the dad was on the other sidewith their kids and they were
trading and and we were startingto see how there was a niche
(05:49):
there that we, you know thefamilies want to be more
involved in these kind of deals.
And that's kind of when thelight bulb went off, that was
one when the light bulb went offfor my yard live.
The other piece of it too wasis that Jamie and I are both
parents combined.
We've got combined between us,we have six kids and there's
always that that friday nightwhere you ask your kids, hey,
(06:11):
where do you, where do you wantto go to dinner and of course
you get four different answers,you know, and it turns into an
argument, and that you know.
So again it was like, well, youknow, what about?
You know, um, designingsomething, a brick and mortar of
that, that festival that we'retalking about, as well as
something where the parents canbe happy, the kids can be happy,
(06:31):
where, you know, you mentionedthat we're a brewery, we're
actually a brew pub, so we havea restaurant, a brewery, we do
live music, we have a playgroundfor the kids, we have an arcade
, so it's kind of an allencompassencompassing deal where
everyone is happy.
You know, and you know, thebigger, the bigger point of all
(06:53):
of that, and something thatJamie and I have always focused
on, is community.
So when we set out to build myYard Live Beer Co.
We always this is kind of ourtag, underlined tag line was
that we're, you know, we'reopening a community center that
just happens to have a breweryand a restaurant.
Did I miss anything there,jamie?
Jamie Minotti (07:11):
No, I think I think you nailed it.
I mean to that point.
You know, really thehospitality industry as a whole,
mark and I weren't reallyreally interested in going into
hospitality or having a breweryor having a restaurant.
We were interested in putting,you know, a venue together to
(07:34):
create a space where communitycould gather and create memories
and multi-generational, youknow, families can come together
and friends and really, youknow, create that opportunity
for that to take place.
And that came, we found in alldifferent ways and fast forward
(07:56):
to you know, speaking with you.
You know, creating thatcommunity and developing those
relationships really happenedearly on.
And you know, I know we'll getto it later in the conversation,
but speaking and hearing fromJune and receiving that email
about James and involving him,that was one of the first things
(08:19):
that hit Mark and I to say Ithink we're doing this thing,
like I think the division boardand the idea behind it is
starting to work and kind offast forward and we've had the
opportunity to do a lot ofthings with the community and
really excited about it.
Greta Harrison (08:37):
I love that.
So, basically, you built afamily friendly,
intergenerational,family-friendly environment for
people to go relax, have fun,make memories and you're
changing well as your taglinesays the paradigm.
But you're also changingstereotypes of pubs or breweries
(08:57):
too.
Mark McLarry (08:58):
Absolutely Well, you know and you kind of hit a
point about the changingparadigms, Like Jamie had
mentioned it too is that, likewhen we went through the due
diligence of opening the space,one of the things that really
came to light was that people,when they go out, they're more
(09:20):
now looking for an experiencebeyond just getting a meal or a
drink.
What they're really looking foris experiences, and so, for us,
that was 100%.
Our focus was taking all thesedifferent elements that we've
created and creating like amemorable experience.
Yeah, they're going to get agreat burger and they're going
to get a really good beer, butlike they're going to walk away
(09:43):
and be like wow, that was just,that was just a lot of fun and,
and you know, creating thoseexperiences and like you.
Greta Harrison (09:50):
like you said the, the parents and the kids
aren't going to have to beseparated as much.
They're all in the same placehaving different kinds of fun.
I'm sorry, go ahead, jamie.
Jamie Minotti (09:58):
No, and and we always felt like the hospitality
industry as a whole could hadthe ability to make a greater
impact in the communities ofwhich they operated.
And that's kind of our sense ofcreating those memories
creating that space, that safespace, that welcome space,
(10:18):
creating a diverse space, butthen also having the ability to,
you know, have that machine andthat company that can really
reinvest back into the community.
And you know, we opened July of2019.
So Mark and I sat down in 2017with a vision board and a six
(10:42):
pack of beer on the sunroom andvisioned out where we wanted to
be and what we wanted this thingto look like.
There was no MyR Live, therewas no title, there was no
building, there was no anything.
And through the course of twoyears, we developed a business
plan, raised funds, found realestate, brought on some really
great partners and investors andopened our doors in 2019.
(11:05):
And nine months later, shortnine months later, we shut down
for the first time and, you know, became a midst of challenges
over the course of two, two anda half, three years.
And you know, one of the thingsthat we can really sit back and
say is the reason we gotthrough those times, with having
(11:25):
only been open nine months, wasbecause of this community
concept and that's not why wecreated it.
But the reason why we are heretoday is because that community
concept was developed and wasintegrated into my Yard Live and
what my Yard Live is, and thecommunity as a whole has helped
us, helped us really get throughit and, you know, in some ways
(11:48):
been been stronger for it.
And here we are.
You know we've been open since2019, but really here we are
going into 2014 and we've onlybeen fully operational for about
two years, which is crazy tosay.
But we have people come out andsay hey we didn't even know you
existed and all these things.
(12:08):
And it's because you know we'veonly been open for a short
period of time and those are thethings that we kind of remind
ourselves of and remind ourstaff of, and kind of build to
strengthen for the future.
Greta Harrison (12:20):
So 2024 will be like your second or third year,
even though technically it'sbeen longer.
But the community missed you,didn't they?
It sounds like the communitymissed you.
Nobody liked being penned up.
For as long as we had to bepenned up, I mean, it was
necessary.
(12:40):
I'm not complaining, it wasneeded.
We did what we needed to do,but it makes people appreciate
community more.
Did you see that?
Mark McLarry (12:51):
Yeah, well, I think probably one of the best
examples of that I can think ofis literally when we were
mandated to shut down.
In the middle of it we weren'tgenerating income.
We're in the middle of apandemic and one of the toughest
industries to be in the middleof pandemic we had.
We actually brought on a familyas investors and they're like
(13:13):
we're so passionate about whatyou guys have built there and
done there that we want toinvest in you right now to
secure to make sure that youguys are moving forward.
So for us that was like thatwas just the icing, you know,
like this is unbelievable.
Greta Harrison (13:29):
Wow, wow, yeah, that was like sent from above,
sounds like yeah that's, that's,that's just wonderful.
Well, if we talk about yourbefore we move on, you said you
have six kids between you, solet's just talk about you
personally a little bit, If youdon't mind telling me your ages
and there's a reason I'm askingthat.
Mark McLarry (13:50):
I'm 52.
Greta Harrison (13:51):
Okay, and Jamie.
Jamie Minotti (13:54):
I'm pretty sure I'm 48.
Greta Harrison (13:56):
You're pretty sure you're 48.
Okay, and how many kids?
You said you had six kids total, but how many kids do each of
you have?
I have four.
Okay, and how many kids do yousaid you had six kids total, but
how many?
Mark McLarry (14:06):
kids do each of you have?
I have four.
Greta Harrison (14:08):
Okay, and so then, jamie, you have two.
Jamie Minotti (14:11):
I have two.
I have a two-year-old and afour-year-old.
My four-year-old was threemonths I'm sorry, five months
old when we opened our doors in2019.
Open our doors in 2019 and,amidst the, the pandemic, as if
it wasn't stressful enough, wedecided to have a, a baby and uh
(14:32):
, reopen, uh, when the baby wasbasically being born.
Greta Harrison (14:34):
So oh, wow, yeah , that's quite some timing there
quite some timing, okay, andpart of that, uh, that I wanted
to.
The reason I wanted to ask thatwas when you grew up, what was
your exposure to people withdisabilities?
Mark McLarry (14:56):
Well, you know, I don't know if, growing up, I
think the best way for me toanswer it the most exposure I
had to it was my sister-in-lawactually has Down syndrome, so
that would be for me that wouldbe the most exposure I've had to
it.
Greta Harrison (15:16):
Okay, and you might tell me how old your
sister-in-law is.
Mark McLarry (15:20):
She's 40.
Okay, yeah, okay, all right,and you might tell me how old
your sister-in-law is.
Greta Harrison (15:22):
She's a 40.
Mark McLarry (15:22):
Okay, yeah.
Greta Harrison (15:22):
Okay, all right.
And Jamie, what about you?
Jamie Minotti (15:34):
So I grew up in a family of educators teacher and
he ran a camp for folks withspecial needs, mainly middle
schooler, elementary, middleschool and high schoolers,
called Ranger Day Camp.
And when I was four years old Istarted going to Ranger Day
(15:55):
Camp every day, thinking I was acounselor, and fast forward to
the realization that my dad wasgetting really great child care
over the course of the summerswhile I was attending camp.
So my sister and I attendedcamp.
When I was five I went to myfirst Special Olympics state
(16:16):
games and stayed in thedormitories and stayed overnight
for the state games inConnecticut and my dad was
pretty instrumental in in indoing that.
So, um, my exposure has been,you know, really, really my my
whole life and done somevolunteering and and actually
hopefully this Sunday, ifeverything works out, I'm going
(16:39):
to bring my daughter, mydaughter's four, and I'm going
to bring her to the LA CountySpecial Olympics and kind of do
a similar introduction to herswhen I was four years old.
Greta Harrison (16:52):
So that's great.
That's great.
Now, did either of you haveanybody with disabilities in
your schools, in your classes,or that you saw in school, or
did you not really see thepeople with disabilities in
school?
Mark McLarry (17:06):
No, I for sure did .
I grew up through the publicschool system.
I grew up in Palo Alto and theschools there definitely had
special need programs.
But again, it seemed you knowI'm going back to a very young
age like elementary school.
It seemed like they were verymuch.
It was very much a separation.
You know, like I was in my mind.
(17:27):
I kind of remember seeing kidswith disabilities, but it was.
They're always almostsegregated to a degree, and this
I'm talking the 70s, if thatmakes sense.
Greta Harrison (17:38):
Well, it still happens 50 years later.
So I'll tell you that.
I mean it's still the majorityof the cases.
I don't know the percentages,but I would say 80, 90% are
still segregated, it's a verysmall percent who get to get a
traditional education included?
Very small.
And what about you, Jamie?
Jamie Minotti (18:08):
So you know, I would say similarly, I think
there was like kind of a mixedintegration in our school.
Connecticut as a whole, youknow, historically kind of with
the Kennedys and theirinvolvement in Special Olympics
and that kind of thing I thinkConnecticut was, was, was pretty
progressive, or at least myupbringing, upbringing with,
(18:29):
with kind of my integration andhaving folks with special needs
over to dinner, um, and mysister being friends with, uh,
with the girls with Downsyndrome, susie Pyle I still
remember her name Um, I thinkthe, the um, I felt maybe it was
more integrated than itactually was.
Um, my nephew, um, uh, hasautism and uh, here in San Diego
(18:56):
and he's Diego and he's, he'sfully integrated in general ed.
So you know, I think you know,as far as growing up was
concerned, it was, it wasprobably for me, a kind of a
mixed integration or what Iobserved of it.
Greta Harrison (19:13):
I love that that you guys are going to raise
your children to carry on themore inclusive philosophy, and
you're already starting whenshe's four and she'll probably
go to school with people whohave disabilities in her classes
.
So that'll be, that'll be theprogress.
Mark McLarry (19:31):
I was going to mention with my kids going
through the public school systemhere and I live in Point Loma
area that they, they're, they'revery much.
It's an integration for sure,and each class actually will
have an aid dedicated maybe toone or two kids in the class
that are also there to helpduring the class time.
Greta Harrison (19:52):
That's great, that's wonderful.
So how big is my Yard Live?
I know you have severalinvestors.
I know we have two managingpartners.
Can you tell me a little bitabout your location size, how
many employees you have, thattype of thing.
Mark McLarry (20:12):
Well, including the indoor and outdoor, the
entire space is 17,000 squarefeet, okay, and then we have 29
employees.
There's actually four mainpartners JB, myself, a guy by
the name of George Macero andanother guy named Freddie Bench,
and then there's a bunch ofsmaller investors that are kind
(20:34):
of silent investors, okay,investors, yeah, it's got, yeah,
so the indoor space is indoorspace is 10,600 square feet, and
then the remainder goes is allthe outside.
So we have two separate patiosone patio we call the adult
patio because it's got a stageand it's kind of set up like an
(20:57):
Oktoberfest style beer gardenwith lots of picnic tables.
And then we have a completelyseparate outdoor patio that's
got a playground.
We have a play structure outthere, designed by the same
people did Tom Sawyer's Islandat Disneyland, and then inside
we have an arcade inside and, ofcourse, the brewery itself and
(21:17):
then a massive kitchen.
Greta Harrison (21:20):
Okay, so, if I'm sorry, go ahead, jamie, oh.
Jamie Minotti (21:23):
I was just going to continue on.
We have, you know, 30 employees, um and uh, a variety of kind
of subcontractors and and andvendors that go along with the
business.
So prior to prior to thepandemic, we were about 50
strong and then we kind ofcircled back and we're a little
(21:43):
bit more leaner and meaner at 30folks.
Greta Harrison (21:47):
OK, but everything's chugging along and
going well.
You feel like things have havesprung back, like businesses
slowly, slowly springing back.
I would say Slowly springingback Baby steps.
Jamie Minotti (22:00):
Baby steps.
There's new kind of postchallenges with, you know,
expenses and economy and cost ofliving and all of those things
that have kind of sprung up.
But that being said, you knowagain, the reason we're still
chugging along is because of thecommunity support and the
(22:21):
business that's been there fromthe community.
Greta Harrison (22:24):
Okay, well, the reason we are talking today is
because of your wonderfulemployee, james Zoll, and his
employment journey started witha letter, and his employment
journey started with a letter.
I've already spoken to hisparents and his wife's parents.
(22:46):
We've heard the story fromtheir side.
I'd like to hear what it waslike from you all's side when
you got this special letter.
Jamie Minotti (22:56):
We.
So I remember reading, Iremember reading the email and I
was just been coming home fromthe venues sitting in my
driveway checking blast emailsand I saw the email come through
from June.
You know, we were so as we weredeveloping MyAirLive, we were
(23:21):
doing a capital improvementproject on the building and we
actually had a trailer in theback of the building that at
that time we were working out ofwhile the construction was
going on and we were hiringfolks and establishing menu and
recipes and you name it, stilldealing with the capital
(23:42):
improvement project.
So everything community driventhat we wanted to do with the
business, I would say it was onhold.
It was just there, was therewas priorities of opening the
doors of the business and and wewere focused, hyper-focused on
that.
So when that email came through,I remember sharing it with Mark
(24:05):
and Mark seeing it I think Marksaw it come through as well and
we kind of talked about it and,like I mentioned earlier on,
that was like the first of wow,this is exactly what we're
trying to do.
We haven't had the time to doit yet because we're worrying
about opening the doors andkeeping the doors open, but this
is what we trying to do.
We haven't had the time to doit yet because we're worrying
about opening the doors andkeeping the doors open.
But this is what we want to doand you know I shared kind of my
(24:26):
past with you know myinvolvement in just my
experience with folks withspecial needs and and so for
that to be kind of, the firstemail to come through from June
was June was very serendipitous,as they say.
Greta Harrison (24:43):
For the audience's information.
I want them to know that thiswas all precipitated by an
article that was announcing yourbusiness opening correct, that
was in the paper and talkingabout how you were going to be a
different kind of pub slashbrewery, more community minded,
(25:04):
and that's kind of what caughtJune's eye.
And then she wrote a letter andwhat about her letter stood out
to you Because there were a fewthings that I think stood out
to me.
I'm curious, what stood out toyou?
Jamie Minotti (25:18):
Well, I think that and I think June and Jim
really like beer and James and.
James and James, yeah,absolutely.
And.
Greta Harrison (25:33):
James.
That's a great answer.
Well, what I was thinking on aliteral basis was, if I'm not
mistaken, she sent a picture ofJames and his wife, correct Of
their wedding, or a picture ofthem together, and so wasn't
that a little bit out of the boxfor you to see that?
Mark McLarry (25:58):
I wouldn't say it was out of the box, right,
Because, like, as Jamiementioned, you know, and I'm
going to I'm going to give Jamiea lot of credit because he, you
know, he grew up very muchinvolved, you know, involved,
working with people with specialneeds.
And so, when this came through,yeah, we both acknowledge it,
and we both, you know, we bothsaid, yeah, this is exactly what
we're looking to do.
But, you know, it was Jamiethat really took the ball and
(26:21):
ran with it and and, of course,I was 110% on board and so, um,
yeah, all of that stood out tous.
I mean, it definitely like youknow cheesy expression, but it
did.
You know, when we saw thatemail, it definitely it pulled
it, it definitely pulls at yourheart strings, for sure, and and
and we knew that that we weregoing to move forward regardless
.
Greta Harrison (26:42):
It's from a parent standpoint.
For me, it shows independence.
There aren't a lot.
I would love to see more peoplewith significant disabilities
being able to get married, andthere aren't enough.
Yet there's still too, manyhurdles in their way.
So I personally applaud everysingle couple out there who's
(27:05):
been able to do that and I thinkit's wonderful and, like I said
, we need more of it.
But hopefully, by seeing amarried couple, it makes you
think, okay, he's a little moreindependent too.
I mean, we all know marriageisn't easy.
There's ups and downs, right,it's a journey.
Right there, I mean, I've been.
Marriage isn't easy.
There's ups and downs, right,it's a journey, right there.
I mean, I've been married aslong as you guys are old, but
(27:26):
it's a journey and it, you know,there's those ups and downs.
And the fact that he and hiswife, you know, had already been
married some number of years, Ithink that shows some maturity
there too as well.
Mark McLarry (27:44):
But so I mean, the greatest thing of it all is
that James was probably one ofour first hires and and and
guess what?
There's a lot of turnover inthis business.
And guess who's still here?
James?
He's stuck with it and, um, allthrough this, this entire time
through a pandemic, like youknow, we always say that I mean,
how strong can relationships bewhen you've all banded together
and worked through one of theprobably craziest times in the
(28:07):
history of the world, in myopinion a pandemic.
They happen every hundred years, I think they say.
Greta Harrison (28:14):
And you brought up a great point.
Go ahead, Jamie.
Jamie Minotti (28:17):
Oh, sorry, as far as the independence, I think
you know, and I'll speak formyself.
You know we learn, we stilllearn and we are learning a lot
in.
You know as much as you know.
You know I've been around andwith folks with special needs my
(28:38):
entire life and with folks withspecial needs my entire life.
You know, at the same time withthe movement and the
progression of independentliving versus and I don't know
if this is the terminology, butgroup home living and the
differences in the theories andall of those things that go
along with it, those are thingsthat you know honestly to that
(28:59):
point.
And independent living andmarriage and all that stuff was
was was new to me and new to us,and things that we have
continued to learn and and stilllearn with with the folks that
you know help support James andKristen and their involvement
with us and job coaches and allof those things.
(29:22):
So you know, a lot of thatstuff was new to us at the time.
I think the thing for us was itdidn't matter, like it didn't
matter, right, I mean it waslike married, not married,
independent, not independent, orwhatever it was.
You know there's a person who'sinterested in our company and
(29:46):
they've reached out and we wantto sit down, we want to get to
know them and we want to learnabout them, and that's kind of
what we did.
Greta Harrison (29:53):
And and he's loyal to this day.
And and one of the points thatI like that Mark brought up was
the lack of turnover, because somany employers have an issue
with that and they don't realizethat people with disabilities
are not every single person youcan't make that kind of
(30:15):
statement but majority are very,very loyal and there's much
less turnover, so that's a hugeadvantage.
Are there any other advantagesyou'd like to talk about having
James there?
Jamie Minotti (30:29):
I mean just to kind of stick on that turnover.
So Mark referenced it a littleearlier, but I mean I can name a
bunch of advantages of havingJames here, but one,
particularly that kind of maybesomething that's a little
different is actually theturnover and retention of the
(30:53):
staff as a whole and the team asa whole.
I mean we have a lot oflong-time hospitality server,
bartender, brewer, etc.
You name it and having Jamesand not only James here and
we'll kind of get in.
You know a little bit moreabout our other partnerships,
(31:14):
because I'm actually looking outmy office window at six folks
with special needs we have rightnow in the venue that are
working with us.
But you know the ability forour staff who have been
long-term hospitality folks whofocused on serving, to now have
the ability to work with folkswith special needs and help
(31:36):
train them and help support themand be their job coach and, you
know, be their mentor and betheir sounding board and being
those things that I think forour team, not only with
retention and longevity but alsomorale and having something
that's that that's deeper thanjust serving a beer and deeper
(31:57):
than just flipping a burger.
And we have.
We have guys, you know, back inthe kitchen that have worked in
in hospitality and worked inkitchens for over 30 years.
And James is back on our expowindow, which is the window
where you get the food, grabbingthe food and kind of delivering
it back out to the customers.
And James is out there andthese guys are joking and
(32:19):
laughing and asking questionsand the whole thing.
And again, I think all of itkind of ties into that, that,
that that bigger purpose, whichis what Mark and I are all about
.
It's, it's, it's, what's thatbigger purpose?
I don't care if you care, ifyou're making widgets or widgets
or widgets or whatever.
What is that?
What is your purpose and what?
What is that bigger purpose?
(32:40):
And I think you know, havingJames here and the other, the
other I'm calling kids, but theother kids and adults, some are
high school students and someare adults here um, working with
us has kind of created thatbigger purpose, which I think is
not only for the team but forMark and I.
Greta Harrison (32:56):
Is is what we've been trying to do you just very
eloquently stated somethingthat my daughter's boss has told
me personally.
My daughter works for a localrealtor.
He's a very large realtor.
He has several hundredemployees and she works in his
office and she assists themarketing director, and she
(33:17):
explained to me part of thereason that the realtor is so
successful is because it's aboutmore than selling houses.
It's about what you do withyour life and that greater
purpose and that she herself,even though she's a mother of
many children and she's a verybusy person, she loves her job.
(33:38):
She was searching for thatdeeper purpose and she said
having my daughter there hashelped her see, because it's
more than having my daughterthere.
There's involvement in thecommunity she has now and so
forth.
It's shown her a deeper purposeand you just eloquently stated
that.
I wish so many more employerscould see that.
I love that.
(33:58):
Thank you for listening toepisode 28 of Born Fabulous
Podcast, third season.
This was the first of threeepisodes with Jamie Minotti and
Mark McCleary.
When hearing any dates orpromotions mentioned, please
keep in mind that this interviewwas recorded in the fall of
2023.
Short video clips from mostepisodes are available on your,
(34:20):
on our youtube channel and onborn fabulous podcastcom.
You can also hear all releasedepisodes of born fabulous
podcast on youtube.
Now, in episode 29, you willhear jamie and mark further
discuss james's specific thestory of the four dudes,
meaningful employment and more.
(34:42):
It was such an honor to havethis in-depth three-part
conversation with Jamie and Mark.
They are exceptional, evolved,committed and caring business
leaders.
Our world certainly needs moreentrepreneurs like them.
Please follow and like us onFacebook, instagram, twitter and
threads.
If you enjoyed this episode,please consider leaving a review
(35:03):
wherever you heard this podcast.
Now please enjoy this clip ofthe Ring.
The lyrics are by MelissaRiggio, who is the focus of
Season 1, episodes 1 through 4,she had Down Syndrome.
The music and voice are byRachel Fuller.
The rain is falling down downmy way.
(35:27):
The wind is blowing me away.
Hello, my name is Greta Harrison.
Welcome to Born FabulousPodcast, season 3, episode 28.
The theme of this season isyoung adults with intellectual
disabilities living full livesof independence and
interdependence.
Work is an integral part of afull life in independence.
The next three episodes willfeature Jamie Minotti and Mark
(00:24):
McCleary, who are co-foundersand managing partners of my Yard
Live Beer Company in San Marcos, california, which is a suburb
of San Diego.
My Yard Live has a uniquemission sustainable,
family-friendly refuge withactivities for all ages live
(00:45):
entertainment, quality food andlibations, as well as unique
leisure games, with a focus onbuilding a stronger community.
Their mission further statesthey will create a paradigm
shift in the way thatcommunities interact, play and
bond by inventing an inclusive,family and adult-friendly
gathering space that has theability to be replicated in the
(01:08):
western United States and beyond.
This mission organically led tothe hire of James Zoll when my
Yard Live opened in 2019, monthsbefore the COVID pandemic hit.
James has Down syndrome.
James's job grew over his yearswith my Yard Life, eventually
(01:29):
leading to the unique additionof the four dudes and their
mission.
The four dudes are James andthree of his close friends who
have disabilities.
The following three episodeswill expand this wonderful story
from here.
Now.
Please enjoy this clip of theRing.
The lyrics are by MelissaRiggio, who was the focus of
episodes one through four inseason one.
(01:50):
She had Down Syndrome.
The music and voice are byRachel Fuller.
Rachel Fuller (02:15):
I'm in the rain outside.
I'm following my belief.
I'm looking at the sky.
I saw God following my heart.
(02:37):
I'm an ordinary woman.
Greta Harrison (02:44):
Hello, and we are so excited to welcome two
fabulous entrepreneurs.
Today we are going to bespeaking to co-founders and
managing partners of my YardLive, which is a brewery in San
Diego.
We are going to be speaking toJamie Minotti and Mark McCleary.
I welcome you both to BornFabulous Podcast.
(03:08):
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Hello guys.
Mark McLarry (03:11):
Thanks for having us.
Jamie Minotti (03:13):
Yeah, thanks for the invitation.
We appreciate it.
We're excited.
Greta Harrison (03:16):
Thank you.
I'm hoping that you guys canstart out this interview by
telling us a little bit aboutyour duties, your business, how
you met each other, anythingabout yourselves, a little
backstory.
Mark McLarry (03:32):
Got it.
So, jamie, you want me to start, or yeah?
So Jamie and I actually startedworking together in 2005,.
Right, jamie?
2005 or 4?
5.
We at the time were producing amusic festival, but it was
unique as we were producing iton a music cruise, one of these
(03:53):
big carnival cruise lines.
So we basically came in, kickedoff all their entertainment,
brought in our own entertainment, all these high profile bands
from all over the world.
So that's kind of initially howwe started working together.
At the time, we actually alsohad founded a company called
Alternative Power Productionsand we were a solar powered
(04:16):
soundstage and lighting company.
So what was unique about that,obviously, is that we're doing
these huge concerts 15,000people completely solar powered.
So we integrated the solartechnology into the stages
themselves and then we'rerunning our sound system,
lighting everything, completelysolar powered.
So, for example, we were doinga tour called the Vans Warped
(04:40):
Tour and it was 42 shows in 50days and for the entire 42 shows
we never went to a generator.
We're completely running offalternative energy.
So, and with that too, you know, because of being in that world
, we found ourselves very muchinvolved in a lot of different
types of events and festivals,and a lot of them were community
(05:03):
based, a lot of them were yourmainstream large festivals.
And the more we kept workingthrough these events for example
, these beer festivals and thesewine festivals and these
macaroni festival, baconfestival we were starting to see
this niche in the market, thatfamilies were looking to
(05:27):
integrate more with thesefestivals.
But quite often there was alwayssome kind of divide between the
parents.
So for a parent wanted to gograb, you know, grab a beer,
they could, but they'd have togo in the beer garden and they
were separated by a fence andthe mom was on the other side or
the dad was on the other sidewith their kids and they were
trading and and we were startingto see how there was a niche
(05:49):
there that we, you know thefamilies want to be more
involved in these kind of deals.
And that's kind of when thelight bulb went off, that was
one when the light bulb went offfor my yard live.
The other piece of it too wasis that Jamie and I are both
parents combined.
We've got combined between us,we have six kids and there's
always that that friday nightwhere you ask your kids, hey,
(06:11):
where do you, where do you wantto go to dinner and of course
you get four different answers,you know, and it turns into an
argument, and that you know.
So again it was like, well, youknow, what about?
You know, um, designingsomething, a brick and mortar of
that, that festival that we'retalking about, as well as
something where the parents canbe happy, the kids can be happy,
(06:31):
where, you know, you mentionedthat we're a brewery, we're
actually a brew pub, so we havea restaurant, a brewery, we do
live music, we have a playgroundfor the kids, we have an arcade
, so it's kind of an allencompassencompassing deal where
everyone is happy.
You know, and you know, thebigger, the bigger point of all
(06:53):
of that, and something thatJamie and I have always focused
on, is community.
So when we set out to build myYard Live Beer Co.
We always this is kind of ourtag, underlined tag line was
that we're, you know, we'reopening a community center that
just happens to have a breweryand a restaurant.
Did I miss anything there,jamie?
Jamie Minotti (07:11):
No, I think I think you nailed it.
I mean to that point.
You know, really thehospitality industry as a whole,
mark and I weren't reallyreally interested in going into
hospitality or having a breweryor having a restaurant.
We were interested in putting,you know, a venue together to
(07:34):
create a space where communitycould gather and create memories
and multi-generational, youknow, families can come together
and friends and really, youknow, create that opportunity
for that to take place.
And that came, we found in alldifferent ways and fast forward
(07:56):
to you know, speaking with you.
You know, creating thatcommunity and developing those
relationships really happenedearly on.
And you know, I know we'll getto it later in the conversation,
but speaking and hearing fromJune and receiving that email
about James and involving him,that was one of the first things
(08:19):
that hit Mark and I to say Ithink we're doing this thing,
like I think the division boardand the idea behind it is
starting to work and kind offast forward and we've had the
opportunity to do a lot ofthings with the community and
really excited about it.
Greta Harrison (08:37):
I love that.
So, basically, you built afamily friendly,
intergenerational,family-friendly environment for
people to go relax, have fun,make memories and you're
changing well as your taglinesays the paradigm.
But you're also changingstereotypes of pubs or breweries
(08:57):
too.
Mark McLarry (08:58):
Absolutely Well, you know and you kind of hit a
point about the changingparadigms, Like Jamie had
mentioned it too is that, likewhen we went through the due
diligence of opening the space,one of the things that really
came to light was that people,when they go out, they're more
(09:20):
now looking for an experiencebeyond just getting a meal or a
drink.
What they're really looking foris experiences, and so, for us,
that was 100%.
Our focus was taking all thesedifferent elements that we've
created and creating like amemorable experience.
Yeah, they're going to get agreat burger and they're going
to get a really good beer, butlike they're going to walk away
(09:43):
and be like wow, that was just,that was just a lot of fun and,
and you know, creating thoseexperiences and like you.
Greta Harrison (09:50):
like you said the, the parents and the kids
aren't going to have to beseparated as much.
They're all in the same placehaving different kinds of fun.
I'm sorry, go ahead, jamie.
Jamie Minotti (09:58):
No, and and we always felt like the hospitality
industry as a whole could hadthe ability to make a greater
impact in the communities ofwhich they operated.
And that's kind of our sense ofcreating those memories
creating that space, that safespace, that welcome space,
(10:18):
creating a diverse space, butthen also having the ability to,
you know, have that machine andthat company that can really
reinvest back into the community.
And you know, we opened July of2019.
So Mark and I sat down in 2017with a vision board and a six
(10:42):
pack of beer on the sunroom andvisioned out where we wanted to
be and what we wanted this thingto look like.
There was no MyR Live, therewas no title, there was no
building, there was no anything.
And through the course of twoyears, we developed a business
plan, raised funds, found realestate, brought on some really
great partners and investors andopened our doors in 2019.
(11:05):
And nine months later, shortnine months later, we shut down
for the first time and, you know, became a midst of challenges
over the course of two, two anda half, three years.
And you know, one of the thingsthat we can really sit back and
say is the reason we gotthrough those times, with having
(11:25):
only been open nine months, wasbecause of this community
concept and that's not why wecreated it.
But the reason why we are heretoday is because that community
concept was developed and wasintegrated into my Yard Live and
what my Yard Live is, and thecommunity as a whole has helped
us, helped us really get throughit and, you know, in some ways
(11:48):
been been stronger for it.
And here we are.
You know we've been open since2019, but really here we are
going into 2014 and we've onlybeen fully operational for about
two years, which is crazy tosay.
But we have people come out andsay hey we didn't even know you
existed and all these things.
(12:08):
And it's because you know we'veonly been open for a short
period of time and those are thethings that we kind of remind
ourselves of and remind ourstaff of, and kind of build to
strengthen for the future.
Greta Harrison (12:20):
So 2024 will be like your second or third year,
even though technically it'sbeen longer.
But the community missed you,didn't they?
It sounds like the communitymissed you.
Nobody liked being penned up.
For as long as we had to bepenned up, I mean, it was
necessary.
(12:40):
I'm not complaining, it wasneeded.
We did what we needed to do,but it makes people appreciate
community more.
Did you see that?
Mark McLarry (12:51):
Yeah, well, I think probably one of the best
examples of that I can think ofis literally when we were
mandated to shut down.
In the middle of it we weren'tgenerating income.
We're in the middle of apandemic and one of the toughest
industries to be in the middleof pandemic we had.
We actually brought on a familyas investors and they're like
(13:13):
we're so passionate about whatyou guys have built there and
done there that we want toinvest in you right now to
secure to make sure that youguys are moving forward.
So for us that was like thatwas just the icing, you know,
like this is unbelievable.
Greta Harrison (13:29):
Wow, wow, yeah, that was like sent from above,
sounds like yeah that's, that's,that's just wonderful.
Well, if we talk about yourbefore we move on, you said you
have six kids between you, solet's just talk about you
personally a little bit, If youdon't mind telling me your ages
and there's a reason I'm askingthat.
Mark McLarry (13:50):
I'm 52.
Greta Harrison (13:51):
Okay, and Jamie.
Jamie Minotti (13:54):
I'm pretty sure I'm 48.
Greta Harrison (13:56):
You're pretty sure you're 48.
Okay, and how many kids?
You said you had six kids total, but how many kids do each of
you have?
I have four.
Okay, and how many kids do yousaid you had six kids total, but
how many?
Mark McLarry (14:06):
kids do each of you have?
I have four.
Greta Harrison (14:08):
Okay, and so then, jamie, you have two.
Jamie Minotti (14:11):
I have two.
I have a two-year-old and afour-year-old.
My four-year-old was threemonths I'm sorry, five months
old when we opened our doors in2019.
Open our doors in 2019 and,amidst the, the pandemic, as if
it wasn't stressful enough, wedecided to have a, a baby and uh
(14:32):
, reopen, uh, when the baby wasbasically being born.
Greta Harrison (14:34):
So oh, wow, yeah , that's quite some timing there
quite some timing, okay, andpart of that, uh, that I wanted
to.
The reason I wanted to ask thatwas when you grew up, what was
your exposure to people withdisabilities?
Mark McLarry (14:56):
Well, you know, I don't know if, growing up, I
think the best way for me toanswer it the most exposure I
had to it was my sister-in-lawactually has Down syndrome, so
that would be for me that wouldbe the most exposure I've had to
it.
Greta Harrison (15:16):
Okay, and you might tell me how old your
sister-in-law is.
Mark McLarry (15:20):
She's 40.
Okay, yeah, okay, all right,and you might tell me how old
your sister-in-law is.
Greta Harrison (15:22):
She's a 40.
Mark McLarry (15:22):
Okay, yeah.
Greta Harrison (15:22):
Okay, all right.
And Jamie, what about you?
Jamie Minotti (15:34):
So I grew up in a family of educators teacher and
he ran a camp for folks withspecial needs, mainly middle
schooler, elementary, middleschool and high schoolers,
called Ranger Day Camp.
And when I was four years old Istarted going to Ranger Day
(15:55):
Camp every day, thinking I was acounselor, and fast forward to
the realization that my dad wasgetting really great child care
over the course of the summerswhile I was attending camp.
So my sister and I attendedcamp.
When I was five I went to myfirst Special Olympics state
(16:16):
games and stayed in thedormitories and stayed overnight
for the state games inConnecticut and my dad was
pretty instrumental in in indoing that.
So, um, my exposure has been,you know, really, really my my
whole life and done somevolunteering and and actually
hopefully this Sunday, ifeverything works out, I'm going
(16:39):
to bring my daughter, mydaughter's four, and I'm going
to bring her to the LA CountySpecial Olympics and kind of do
a similar introduction to herswhen I was four years old.
Greta Harrison (16:52):
So that's great.
That's great.
Now, did either of you haveanybody with disabilities in
your schools, in your classes,or that you saw in school, or
did you not really see thepeople with disabilities in
school?
Mark McLarry (17:06):
No, I for sure did .
I grew up through the publicschool system.
I grew up in Palo Alto and theschools there definitely had
special need programs.
But again, it seemed you knowI'm going back to a very young
age like elementary school.
It seemed like they were verymuch.
It was very much a separation.
You know, like I was in my mind.
(17:27):
I kind of remember seeing kidswith disabilities, but it was.
They're always almostsegregated to a degree, and this
I'm talking the 70s, if thatmakes sense.
Greta Harrison (17:38):
Well, it still happens 50 years later.
So I'll tell you that.
I mean it's still the majorityof the cases.
I don't know the percentages,but I would say 80, 90% are
still segregated, it's a verysmall percent who get to get a
traditional education included?
Very small.
And what about you, Jamie?
Jamie Minotti (18:08):
So you know, I would say similarly, I think
there was like kind of a mixedintegration in our school.
Connecticut as a whole, youknow, historically kind of with
the Kennedys and theirinvolvement in Special Olympics
and that kind of thing I thinkConnecticut was, was, was pretty
progressive, or at least myupbringing, upbringing with,
(18:29):
with kind of my integration andhaving folks with special needs
over to dinner, um, and mysister being friends with, uh,
with the girls with Downsyndrome, susie Pyle I still
remember her name Um, I thinkthe, the um, I felt maybe it was
more integrated than itactually was.
Um, my nephew, um, uh, hasautism and uh, here in San Diego
(18:56):
and he's Diego and he's, he'sfully integrated in general ed.
So you know, I think you know,as far as growing up was
concerned, it was, it wasprobably for me, a kind of a
mixed integration or what Iobserved of it.
Greta Harrison (19:13):
I love that that you guys are going to raise
your children to carry on themore inclusive philosophy, and
you're already starting whenshe's four and she'll probably
go to school with people whohave disabilities in her classes
.
So that'll be, that'll be theprogress.
Mark McLarry (19:31):
I was going to mention with my kids going
through the public school systemhere and I live in Point Loma
area that they, they're, they'revery much.
It's an integration for sure,and each class actually will
have an aid dedicated maybe toone or two kids in the class
that are also there to helpduring the class time.
Greta Harrison (19:52):
That's great, that's wonderful.
So how big is my Yard Live?
I know you have severalinvestors.
I know we have two managingpartners.
Can you tell me a little bitabout your location size, how
many employees you have, thattype of thing.
Mark McLarry (20:12):
Well, including the indoor and outdoor, the
entire space is 17,000 squarefeet, okay, and then we have 29
employees.
There's actually four mainpartners JB, myself, a guy by
the name of George Macero andanother guy named Freddie Bench,
and then there's a bunch ofsmaller investors that are kind
(20:34):
of silent investors, okay,investors, yeah, it's got, yeah,
so the indoor space is indoorspace is 10,600 square feet, and
then the remainder goes is allthe outside.
So we have two separate patiosone patio we call the adult
patio because it's got a stageand it's kind of set up like an
(20:57):
Oktoberfest style beer gardenwith lots of picnic tables.
And then we have a completelyseparate outdoor patio that's
got a playground.
We have a play structure outthere, designed by the same
people did Tom Sawyer's Islandat Disneyland, and then inside
we have an arcade inside and, ofcourse, the brewery itself and
(21:17):
then a massive kitchen.
Greta Harrison (21:20):
Okay, so, if I'm sorry, go ahead, jamie, oh.
Jamie Minotti (21:23):
I was just going to continue on.
We have, you know, 30 employees, um and uh, a variety of kind
of subcontractors and and andvendors that go along with the
business.
So prior to prior to thepandemic, we were about 50
strong and then we kind ofcircled back and we're a little
(21:43):
bit more leaner and meaner at 30folks.
Greta Harrison (21:47):
OK, but everything's chugging along and
going well.
You feel like things have havesprung back, like businesses
slowly, slowly springing back.
I would say Slowly springingback Baby steps.
Jamie Minotti (22:00):
Baby steps.
There's new kind of postchallenges with, you know,
expenses and economy and cost ofliving and all of those things
that have kind of sprung up.
But that being said, you knowagain, the reason we're still
chugging along is because of thecommunity support and the
(22:21):
business that's been there fromthe community.
Greta Harrison (22:24):
Okay, well, the reason we are talking today is
because of your wonderfulemployee, james Zoll, and his
employment journey started witha letter, and his employment
journey started with a letter.
I've already spoken to hisparents and his wife's parents.
(22:46):
We've heard the story fromtheir side.
I'd like to hear what it waslike from you all's side when
you got this special letter.
Jamie Minotti (22:56):
We.
So I remember reading, Iremember reading the email and I
was just been coming home fromthe venues sitting in my
driveway checking blast emailsand I saw the email come through
from June.
You know, we were so as we weredeveloping MyAirLive, we were
(23:21):
doing a capital improvementproject on the building and we
actually had a trailer in theback of the building that at
that time we were working out ofwhile the construction was
going on and we were hiringfolks and establishing menu and
recipes and you name it, stilldealing with the capital
(23:42):
improvement project.
So everything community driventhat we wanted to do with the
business, I would say it was onhold.
It was just there, was therewas priorities of opening the
doors of the business and and wewere focused, hyper-focused on
that.
So when that email came through,I remember sharing it with Mark
(24:05):
and Mark seeing it I think Marksaw it come through as well and
we kind of talked about it and,like I mentioned earlier on,
that was like the first of wow,this is exactly what we're
trying to do.
We haven't had the time to doit yet because we're worrying
about opening the doors andkeeping the doors open, but this
is what we trying to do.
We haven't had the time to doit yet because we're worrying
about opening the doors andkeeping the doors open.
But this is what we want to doand you know I shared kind of my
(24:26):
past with you know myinvolvement in just my
experience with folks withspecial needs and and so for
that to be kind of, the firstemail to come through from June
was June was very serendipitous,as they say.
Greta Harrison (24:43):
For the audience's information.
I want them to know that thiswas all precipitated by an
article that was announcing yourbusiness opening correct, that
was in the paper and talkingabout how you were going to be a
different kind of pub slashbrewery, more community minded,
(25:04):
and that's kind of what caughtJune's eye.
And then she wrote a letter andwhat about her letter stood out
to you Because there were a fewthings that I think stood out
to me.
I'm curious, what stood out toyou?
Jamie Minotti (25:18):
Well, I think that and I think June and Jim
really like beer and James and.
James and James, yeah,absolutely.
And.
Greta Harrison (25:33):
James.
That's a great answer.
Well, what I was thinking on aliteral basis was, if I'm not
mistaken, she sent a picture ofJames and his wife, correct Of
their wedding, or a picture ofthem together, and so wasn't
that a little bit out of the boxfor you to see that?
Mark McLarry (25:58):
I wouldn't say it was out of the box, right,
Because, like, as Jamiementioned, you know, and I'm
going to I'm going to give Jamiea lot of credit because he, you
know, he grew up very muchinvolved, you know, involved,
working with people with specialneeds.
And so, when this came through,yeah, we both acknowledge it,
and we both, you know, we bothsaid, yeah, this is exactly what
we're looking to do.
But, you know, it was Jamiethat really took the ball and
(26:21):
ran with it and and, of course,I was 110% on board and so, um,
yeah, all of that stood out tous.
I mean, it definitely like youknow cheesy expression, but it
did.
You know, when we saw thatemail, it definitely it pulled
it, it definitely pulls at yourheart strings, for sure, and and
and we knew that that we weregoing to move forward regardless
.
Greta Harrison (26:42):
It's from a parent standpoint.
For me, it shows independence.
There aren't a lot.
I would love to see more peoplewith significant disabilities
being able to get married, andthere aren't enough.
Yet there's still too, manyhurdles in their way.
So I personally applaud everysingle couple out there who's
(27:05):
been able to do that and I thinkit's wonderful and, like I said
, we need more of it.
But hopefully, by seeing amarried couple, it makes you
think, okay, he's a little moreindependent too.
I mean, we all know marriageisn't easy.
There's ups and downs, right,it's a journey.
Right there, I mean, I've been.
Marriage isn't easy.
There's ups and downs, right,it's a journey, right there.
I mean, I've been married aslong as you guys are old, but
(27:26):
it's a journey and it, you know,there's those ups and downs.
And the fact that he and hiswife, you know, had already been
married some number of years, Ithink that shows some maturity
there too as well.
Mark McLarry (27:44):
But so I mean, the greatest thing of it all is
that James was probably one ofour first hires and and and
guess what?
There's a lot of turnover inthis business.
And guess who's still here?
James?
He's stuck with it and, um, allthrough this, this entire time
through a pandemic, like youknow, we always say that I mean,
how strong can relationships bewhen you've all banded together
and worked through one of theprobably craziest times in the
(28:07):
history of the world, in myopinion a pandemic.
They happen every hundred years, I think they say.
Greta Harrison (28:14):
And you brought up a great point.
Go ahead, Jamie.
Jamie Minotti (28:17):
Oh, sorry, as far as the independence, I think
you know, and I'll speak formyself.
You know we learn, we stilllearn and we are learning a lot
in.
You know as much as you know.
You know I've been around andwith folks with special needs my
(28:38):
entire life and with folks withspecial needs my entire life.
You know, at the same time withthe movement and the
progression of independentliving versus and I don't know
if this is the terminology, butgroup home living and the
differences in the theories andall of those things that go
along with it, those are thingsthat you know honestly to that
(28:59):
point.
And independent living andmarriage and all that stuff was
was was new to me and new to us,and things that we have
continued to learn and and stilllearn with with the folks that
you know help support James andKristen and their involvement
with us and job coaches and allof those things.
(29:22):
So you know, a lot of thatstuff was new to us at the time.
I think the thing for us was itdidn't matter, like it didn't
matter, right, I mean it waslike married, not married,
independent, not independent, orwhatever it was.
You know there's a person who'sinterested in our company and
(29:46):
they've reached out and we wantto sit down, we want to get to
know them and we want to learnabout them, and that's kind of
what we did.
Greta Harrison (29:53):
And and he's loyal to this day.
And and one of the points thatI like that Mark brought up was
the lack of turnover, because somany employers have an issue
with that and they don't realizethat people with disabilities
are not every single person youcan't make that kind of
(30:15):
statement but majority are very,very loyal and there's much
less turnover, so that's a hugeadvantage.
Are there any other advantagesyou'd like to talk about having
James there?
Jamie Minotti (30:29):
I mean just to kind of stick on that turnover.
So Mark referenced it a littleearlier, but I mean I can name a
bunch of advantages of havingJames here, but one,
particularly that kind of maybesomething that's a little
different is actually theturnover and retention of the
(30:53):
staff as a whole and the team asa whole.
I mean we have a lot oflong-time hospitality server,
bartender, brewer, etc.
You name it and having Jamesand not only James here and
we'll kind of get in.
You know a little bit moreabout our other partnerships,
(31:14):
because I'm actually looking outmy office window at six folks
with special needs we have rightnow in the venue that are
working with us.
But you know the ability forour staff who have been
long-term hospitality folks whofocused on serving, to now have
the ability to work with folkswith special needs and help
(31:36):
train them and help support themand be their job coach and, you
know, be their mentor and betheir sounding board and being
those things that I think forour team, not only with
retention and longevity but alsomorale and having something
that's that that's deeper thanjust serving a beer and deeper
(31:57):
than just flipping a burger.
And we have.
We have guys, you know, back inthe kitchen that have worked in
in hospitality and worked inkitchens for over 30 years.
And James is back on our expowindow, which is the window
where you get the food, grabbingthe food and kind of delivering
it back out to the customers.
And James is out there andthese guys are joking and
(32:19):
laughing and asking questionsand the whole thing.
And again, I think all of itkind of ties into that, that,
that that bigger purpose, whichis what Mark and I are all about
.
It's, it's, it's, what's thatbigger purpose?
I don't care if you care, ifyou're making widgets or widgets
or widgets or whatever.
What is that?
What is your purpose and what?
What is that bigger purpose?
(32:40):
And I think you know, havingJames here and the other, the
other I'm calling kids, but theother kids and adults, some are
high school students and someare adults here um, working with
us has kind of created thatbigger purpose, which I think is
not only for the team but forMark and I.
Greta Harrison (32:56):
Is is what we've been trying to do you just very
eloquently stated somethingthat my daughter's boss has told
me personally.
My daughter works for a localrealtor.
He's a very large realtor.
He has several hundredemployees and she works in his
office and she assists themarketing director, and she
(33:17):
explained to me part of thereason that the realtor is so
successful is because it's aboutmore than selling houses.
It's about what you do withyour life and that greater
purpose and that she herself,even though she's a mother of
many children and she's a verybusy person, she loves her job.
(33:38):
She was searching for thatdeeper purpose and she said
having my daughter there hashelped her see, because it's
more than having my daughterthere.
There's involvement in thecommunity she has now and so
forth.
It's shown her a deeper purposeand you just eloquently stated
that.
I wish so many more employerscould see that.
I love that.
(33:58):
Thank you for listening toepisode 28 of Born Fabulous
Podcast, third season.
This was the first of threeepisodes with Jamie Minotti and
Mark McCleary.
When hearing any dates orpromotions mentioned, please
keep in mind that this interviewwas recorded in the fall of
2023.
Short video clips from mostepisodes are available on your,
(34:20):
on our youtube channel and onborn fabulous podcastcom.
You can also hear all releasedepisodes of born fabulous
podcast on youtube.
Now, in episode 29, you willhear jamie and mark further
discuss james's specific thestory of the four dudes,
meaningful employment and more.
(34:42):
It was such an honor to havethis in-depth three-part
conversation with Jamie and Mark.
They are exceptional, evolved,committed and caring business
leaders.
Our world certainly needs moreentrepreneurs like them.
Please follow and like us onFacebook, instagram, twitter and
threads.
If you enjoyed this episode,please consider leaving a review
(35:03):
wherever you heard this podcast.
Now please enjoy this clip ofthe Ring.
The lyrics are by MelissaRiggio, who is the focus of
Season 1, episodes 1 through 4,she had Down Syndrome.
The music and voice are byRachel Fuller.
The rain is falling down downmy way.
(35:27):
The wind is blowing me away.
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