Exploring Carbon: A Membership Club Experience in Clayton, Missouri

Send us a text

Step inside Carbon Membership Club with us as we discover one of Clayton's most exclusive gathering places that defies conventional member club stereotypes. Tucked away on Bonhomme Road, this two-year-old establishment operates on a refreshing philosophy summed up by co-owner Kelly Chase: "It's not for everyone" – but those who belong find themselves part of a community where authenticity trumps pretension.

We sit down with relationship expert and nine-time bestselling author Rainie Howard, who shares transformative insights from her book "The Love Habit." Her L-O-V-E framework provides practical strategies for breaking free from toxic patterns like people-pleasing and learning to validate yourself rather than seeking external approval. Howard's wisdom on reinvention resonates deeply – the powerful reminder that you're never trapped in your current circumstances and always have the ability to create a new path forward.

The heart of our visit includes conversations with Carbon's passionate owners, Donn Sorensen and Gina Gamblin, who reveal how they've created a space where business leaders, community figures, and entrepreneurs can connect in meaningful ways. We're treated to culinary masterpieces from Michelin three-star Chef Gian Nicola Colucci, whose Italian steakhouse concept showcases local Missouri farm products alongside handcrafted pasta. His philosophy? "If you have a great product, you don't need to make other sauces." This dedication to quality extends to Carbon's impressive cocktail program, demonstrated by mixologist Shane Doeppke  creative concoctions.

Most poignant is our conversation with Kelly Chase, fighting cancer with the same tenacity that made him a Blues legend. Despite his battle, his passion for building community through Carbon remains undimmed. "Just don't get married to the bed, get up and get active," he shares – a powerful reminder about resilience that transcends his personal journey and speaks to anyone facing life's toughest challenges.

You can see the Live Video To all of our shows at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcRJsM_js_n_aX6Vt-lV2lQ
https://www.facebook.com/inyourcityshow

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:30):
Welcome to In your City Show.
Wow, what a cool place we areat today to do this show it
really is a hidden gem.
No pun intended, because yeah,I couldn't find it on my map
quest.
What's the?

Speaker 2 (00:42):
name of it, carbon, carbon.
And you see the carbon, thediamonds, you know it's like.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yeah, it's super, super cool.
So we're here in Clayton,missouri, on Bonham Road.
So if you're familiar withClayton, if you're from Missouri
, you're going to know wherethis place is.
It's a membership club andwe're going to find out,
throughout the show, more aboutthe location which is gosh,
throughout the show, more aboutthe location which is gosh.
Is it already been a year thatit's been here?
I think so.

(01:07):
Yeah, we'll find out and makesure on that too.
So In your City Show is a showthat actually we've got a brand
new vibe that's going.
I think it's kind of.
I think it's a little sexy,don't?

Speaker 2 (01:17):
you.
Yeah, a lot of exciting news onthis show, yeah yeah, it is.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
We are between our magazines that we own, which is
Clayton, Chesterfield and StCharles City, Lifestyle
magazines that go out to fortyfive thousand of the most
affluent homes every singlemonth.
We are storytellers.
That's what we are, and wereally wanted to bring a mixture
of relationship, whether it bein your business, at home, with

(01:41):
your friends, your family, and amixture of I guess I don't know
fun, excitement, energy,blending that all together,
telling stories that go on inyour city.
That's what we're all about.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
We love telling stories.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
So many people that have the untold story, yeah, and
sometimes we're the first totell it, which is super exciting
.
There's been some reallyamazing aftermath of stories
that we've shared that have madeit all the way to the Today
Show Today.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
Show Grace Strobel, one of our favorite stories ever
.
We can't ever quit talkingabout her.
We love her.

Speaker 1 (02:14):
So welcome to the happy hour, and our hot spot, of
course, is carbon, and I wantto make sure that we get our
question, because we do aquestion of the day.
But the question is you justwalked in to an exclusive,
members-only lounge.
What cocktail are you orderingto enjoy, or maybe impress?
What would you order, gordon?

Speaker 2 (02:33):
Well to impress.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Or well, to enjoy, or to impress, to be part of the
vibe.

Speaker 2 (02:39):
I've always been the old-fashioned guy.
I like the old-fashioned.
Because I'm a little bitold-fashioned, you know what I
mean.
So it kind of fits me In someways.
In a lot of ways you know, as Iget older, I just kind of like
to stay back in theold-fashioned days.

Speaker 1 (02:50):
Something about putting the word old.
Is there another word we couldcome up with in old-fashioned,
new-fashioned, with a bit ofpast with it?

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Maybe something like that rather than to be get older
.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
It's okay to get older, so I just learned because
I love old fashions too.
I don't like them smoke likeyou do, but um, it just looks
cool with the smoke coming off.
I like it better with a bulletrye, with a rye rather than a
regular whiskey in the oldfashion, which it does make a
difference.
In the taste it does, and Icouldn't believe that we tried
an old-fashioned before that wasmade with vodka, which is crazy

(03:21):
.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
I've never had it right here.

Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yeah, this it was a spritzer-type feel, I guess.
I don't know if that's theright word or not.
So we had an amazing event Gotto mention our karaoke for
wishes.
It was quite incredible at theMarquee in Newtown what a
turnout we had.
The singers were phenomenal.
You're an amazing singer.
Everybody is quite impressed byyour voice.
No, not at all.
In fact, you are going to fallover when I tell you after the

(03:45):
show the text message I got frommy niece they would like you to
do a little.
Mike Bublé, how do you say it?
Michael Bublé, Bublé?

Speaker 4 (03:52):
for something.

Speaker 1 (03:53):
So you're going to probably I'm not sure, maybe run
and hide after that, but okay,so I've got to let you know
about the perfect Easter gift.
So is this not cool?

Speaker 2 (04:01):
or what Did you mention about the carrier kit?
Did you say we raised enoughmoney?
Oh, you know what I feel like.

Speaker 1 (04:06):
I was talking to our guest that's going to be on the
show and telling her so muchabout it.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
I don't know One of the coolest things is we raised
enough money to actually grant achild a wish.

Speaker 1 (04:16):
That's the coolest part.
That was our goal, our hugegoal, and that's what it was all
about it wasn't about who wasthe star that night.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
Actually, Skylar was the star.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
She is the Wiss child that came to the event and we
did not know that she was goingto be singing.
It was so impromptu and her momsaid Skylar wants to sing.
And I'm like, well, you do.
And she said yes, and she sanghappy, and I mean she sang that
song like a champ she did.
Oh, she let it down and, andeveryone was just going crazy.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
Watch her made me cry what was even more impressive
was that was on her first songchoice, because we I don't think
we had her first song choice,yeah, and she switched it to
happy and she still knocked itout of the park but she had so
much fun.

Speaker 1 (04:54):
She got back up and sang again.
Yeah, and guess what she'ssaying tequila, oh tequila,
she's 13, she had the wholeplace and everybody was
screaming tequila, I was dancing.
It was a great time.
So I think we'll probably getsucked back into doing it again.
It's a lot of work putting onan event.
A lot of work, months andmonths and months, but totally

(05:15):
worth it.
Make a wish that it was thebest event they've ever had a
third party put on.
Before they do their own, theydon't want to cut down their own
, but I think ours was betterthan theirs too.
I've been doing things for themfor 30 years, so I think it is
so let's hop on over to this box.
Okay.
So Easter's coming up, allright, yes, and Easter baskets,
they're cute, right, butwouldn't you rather have this?
I mean, look at this, so thisis sugar, a company called Sugar

(05:38):
Plum.
So if you go to sugar-plumcom,this is the company they do
birthdays.
Of course there's all kinds ofthings different treat boxes
that you can get, but you getthese adorable individual boxes
inside and Kelly's going to ripit apart Sorry, she's like a
three-year-old on Christmas Day.
So every single box has adifferent candy, chocolates,

(06:00):
pretzels, you name it and we cankind of open up as we move
along.
I don't want to open everysingle, you know one up, but
aren't they precious?
Um, these are butterflies.
Those look like little.

Speaker 2 (06:11):
Um, colorful blocks, gordon's what gordon's hoping
that's going to be in one ofthem chocolate eggs, okay
because that's what that's.

Speaker 1 (06:17):
That's, his deal is chocolate, so he's going to be
trying to find all the chocolate, but then, underneath it, it'll
tell you what it is in each boxand what they are.
So isn't that super cool.
It's amazing.
I absolutely love it.
So what a great Easter present.
Just go to sugar-plumcom andyou can order yourself a Easter
box and make it simple, and youdon't have to get all the little

(06:39):
things all over.
You know everywhere you'regoing, so okay.
So I gotta ask um, are you?
Obviously I know that you are,but uh, a cardinal fan.
Yeah, and the opening seasontimes even through the tough
times.
The opening season story I wasshocked.
I didn't know is this a thingthat the first game that opened

(07:00):
the season was in tokyo?
The cubs, who were of coursethe World Series champs, beat
the Cubs four to one.
Is that normal?
Because didn't we do that forfootball?
They went to.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
London or something like that.
They've been doing a lot forfootball.
I think they may have had mygosh four or five games that
were out of the country.
It's great to introduce toother countries, you know, and
they really get into it.
They pack the stadiums whenthey do it.
So I think it's really neat.

Speaker 1 (07:22):
So on the opening day there's going to be 28 teams,
I'm sorry.
Yeah, 20 teams and 14 games allin one day, that's a lot.
That's an intense day ofbaseball.
Okay, so there's one cool thingI want to make sure that I
mentioned, and that's theHollywood's museum.
So we're going to need to goout to LA.
They have an iconic rideexhibit, so it's a drive through

(07:42):
time.
And I know you love the Dukesof Hazzard, right, I love all
those old shows yeah, so.
Dukes of Hazzard, theScooby-Doo mobile which.
I absolutely love the mysterymachine yeah all intact and
Herbie's Love Bug will be there.
This is a big deal People arecoming from all over.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
I loved Herbie's.
Love came out when I was a kid.

Speaker 1 (08:00):
Didn't you think it was real I?

Speaker 2 (08:01):
did.
I thought it was.
I wanted one.
I wanted it to talk to me.

Speaker 1 (08:04):
All right, so I've got a little game for you.
Uh-oh, let's see what you knowso sadly.
George Foreman oh, yes, we allhave one of his grills, don't we
?
Yes, has passed away.
Which is what a great guy.
And grilling machine.
That was his slogan and thatwas famous.

Speaker 2 (08:23):
Some of that stuff doesn't go together.

Speaker 6 (08:25):
Lean mean and let's grill up some steaks.

Speaker 7 (08:28):
He was lean and mean.

Speaker 1 (08:29):
at one time he got a little chunk of chunk there at
times, but his grill masterthinned him down though.
All right, let's see if youknow your slogans.
The snack that smiles back.

Speaker 2 (08:42):
The snack that smiles back.
You guys know I I'm gonna gowith hostess cupcakes oh, that
would be good, but it's goldfish.

Speaker 1 (08:52):
Yeah, I know I guess they smile back.
All right, the ultimate drivingmachine.
I drive it.
Bmw.
That was a good hint.
King of beers, budweiser, oh,that was fast, you got it.
Is it in you?

Speaker 2 (09:12):
my mind's in a lot of places, but I'm not going to
say it.
This is a PG show, gordon is itin you?

Speaker 1 (09:21):
is it in you anybody know?

Speaker 2 (09:23):
okay, I have no idea.

Speaker 1 (09:24):
Gatorade, gatorade, okay yeah, I didn't know.
The quicker picker upper bountypaper towels you got, you're
killing it yeah okay, don'tdon't live life without it.
But if you live with it, itwill cost you every month.

Speaker 2 (09:47):
Some type of television.

Speaker 1 (09:48):
No, american Express, american Express.

Speaker 2 (09:51):
Oh, if you live with it, it'll cost you Every month
with interest Don't leave homewithout it All right, the
happiest place on earth,disneyland.

Speaker 1 (10:00):
Oh, you almost tied with each other.
You did pretty good, actually,I'm proud of you.
So we've got a great showcoming up and want to make sure
that can't wait to meet RainyHoward.
She is waiting to talk abouther book.
This woman is like she's got itgoing on Nine time bestselling
author, ceo of a multi-milliondollar publishing company you

(10:21):
can ask, borrow money from herand has touched lives of
millions through hertransformative teachings on
relationships.
Don Sorensen cool guy, theowner is here.
He is the owner one of theowners of Carbon Membership Club
.
He's going to show us what thisexperience is all about, this
fabulous dining experience, thecigar lounge we're going to talk

(10:42):
about that.
And then, I am excited, theCarbon's very own Michelin star
chef, which I have not got toask how to pronounce his name
yet, so Gian Nicola Colucci, andI don't even know if that was
right, he's a three-starMichelin star chef.
We've tasted his food, but Ihaven't asked how to say his
name out loud.
He's got to prepare some for us,yes, so we're going to see that
and we're going to get a tasteof Gordon's soul string, so

(11:05):
that's cool as well.
He is going to be with themusic legend Pat Liston From
Mama's Bride.
You're going to get just ataste of it on our show, but
then you'll be able to go toinyourcityshowcom watch the full
version.
And so there we go.
So we're going to bring back,we're going to come back with
Rainy Howard, we're going totalk to her, find out all that
she has to give us advice onrelationship.
There's some things that Ipicked up in her book that I

(11:28):
can't wait to learn more aboutas well.
So we'll be back with more hereon In your City.
Lovely, swanky, sexy carbonright here in Clayton Missouri.

(11:49):
Well, we have our hot seat guestright now on In your City Show,
and it is Rainie Howard, andlet me just tell you a little
bit about her.
She's a nine-time bestsellingauthor, ceo of a multi-million
dollar publishing company andhas touched lives of millions
through her transformativeteachings on relationship.
She empowers others to buildimpactful platforms.
She shared the stories with theworld.
With over 17 years ofexperience, rainey is also
renowned keynote speaker, hostof the Rainey Howard Show

(12:12):
podcast.
She has touched the lives ofmillions, as we talked about,
and her book I have with meright here, the Love Habit.
Love is my favorite word.

Speaker 2 (12:22):
We have like that word all over our house Love,
peace and joy, and the greatestof these is love.

Speaker 1 (12:26):
And the greatest of these is love.
Thank you for bringing that in.
Welcome to the show, Rainey.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 3 (12:33):
I'm excited to be here.
I appreciate you, look lovely.

Speaker 1 (12:40):
I love the colors on you and you're just.
You have a different hairstyleevery time I see you, which is
fun.
I'm the same.
We look back at pictures of ouryears together.
I'm like, oh my gosh, I've hada different hairstyle every year
that I've known you.

Speaker 6 (12:48):
And even one of the different colors.
You have to switch it up.

Speaker 3 (12:50):
I get forged.
Guys get new cars, I get a newhairstyle you have to switch it
up.
I get forged, guys get new cars, I get a new hairstyle.

Speaker 1 (12:56):
That's just the way it goes.
So nine time bestselling, thatmeans you have nine books out
there.
What did you decide that youlove to?

Speaker 3 (13:04):
share.
So I had a dream to become anauthor years before I became an
author and I thought it wasimpossible because I'm like, I
don't know any authors, I don'tknow where to start, how to do
it, but I just remember one dayjust journaling and being in my
quiet time like I would love tobe an author one day.
And I just began to get seriousin 2015 and just went from

(13:29):
there.
I um.
It was really organic becauseit started with me building an
audience through social mediaand talking about things that
people could relate to, likerelationships.

(13:50):
Um, one of my um blog postswent viral after sharing about
my anniversary with my husband.
At the time, I think we werebecause we got married pretty
young I was, we were 21.
We got married and so aroundthe time I shared my anniversary
post, people were like inspired.

(14:11):
The post went viral and peoplewas like asking relationship
questions and like, wow, you'regiving me hope, you know, and
that's what.

Speaker 1 (14:21):
I'm looking for.
I'm like what did I do with allmy amazing questions I have?
To ask you, I'm like I mean gotmarried young and yeah.

Speaker 2 (14:29):
So relationships and having kids are kind of like the
same.

Speaker 3 (14:31):
We just kind of jump into it without even knowing
what we're really doing exactlyand I really felt that way and I
didn't know it would.
Now, here we are I'm gonna datemyself.
We just celebrated 21 years waydated past you.
We celebrated 21 years ofmarriage.
We have two college students.

(14:51):
But, yeah, starting off, youknow, being young and trying to
figure things out, you don'treally know what you're doing.
You know and just learning howto have a healthy relationship
and how to thrive in your life.
And so people were inspired byit and I just started connecting
with more people, writing booksand build this community of

(15:13):
people who wanted to grow intheir lives.

Speaker 1 (15:17):
So and looking through through your book, um,
one of the things that I reallyliked about it is that, um you
talked about, you can becomeaddicted to living a life you
don't like, and and I, since Iread it, I thought about it so
many times, cause I get really,you know, and I get anxiety and
I get I got to take it back toone box at a time.

(15:39):
I do 20 boxes stressing aboutthings for six months down the
road that she's got to do andit's like but I'm working on
them up until that six months.
That comes, you know, andthere's a lot happening and you
worry.
I'm very empathetic, so Ireally take on a lot of energy
from others and worry and so andit's hard to to kind of bring

(15:59):
that down and and you can get ina habit.
Habits are, habits can be great, habits can be really bad, yes,
and you get into a habit ofbreaking down all the time when
something doesn't go your way.
Or you know you're, oh my gosh,just the simplest things of
what am I going to wear.
Or you know my hair doesn'tlook right or something.
And then you get put back inyour humble place.

(16:21):
When you meet Skylar, you know,at the Make-A-Wish, whose life
is just, you know, surgery aftersurgery or things that she's
going through, it's like, oh wow, really I'm worried about you
know what I'm going to wear.
Or you know we worry aboutmoney, people, you know, we
worry about our kids, we there'sso many things that get in the
way of life and we start gettingaddicted to worrying about it.

Speaker 3 (16:42):
Yes, you know, and you know the patterns.
One of the things that Inoticed is I had a big issue
with people pleasing and Irealized how it was affecting my
relationships whether it wascoworkers, family, you know
where I felt like I needed toget other people's approval.
So I was addicted to peoplepleasing and then it was.

(17:05):
It was a habit that I had tolearn how to break free from,
because it started to deplete me.
I felt like I was losing myself, I was exhausted and it was all
about just serving other peopleand I had to learn how to say
what is it that I want and juststarted to focus more on my

(17:25):
goals and the things that thatbuild more self-care in my life
and social media doesn't help.

Speaker 1 (17:31):
It's like how many likes did you get?
Oh, my gosh, nobody liked mypost.
It must be a bad one.
Let me delete it, Cause I meanthat's the dog or the baby yeah.
I mean, we've been put in thisworld where we're in the
spotlight all the time, and howdo we keep that image or that
going?
It's exhausting to worry aboutthat.

(17:52):
And in my case, you know, I'vebeen through like many, many,
many hardships whether it was,you know, my first marriage, or
losing everything in 2008 andall these things and so I had to
that's the other that I reallyloved reinvent, you know,
because you can't be afraid toreinvent yourself.
You don't have to stay in thatsame boat, in that same place.

(18:14):
It's okay to change.
And you talk about getting outof situations, being able to see
the manipulation.
You know that's the thing whenyou're manipulated, you don't
see it.
I mean, that's the whole pointof the word, right?
So you get away from it.
Then you're like wow, how was Iever in that before?
And someone will think they'lllook at you.
You're oh, you are one strong,badass woman.

(18:36):
You know you're like, think ofthat.
But we all have our own deepthings, don't we?
And people don't realize thatwe've fallen or we've come short
of things or have been in angrymoments or been manipulated.
And people think you have itall going on and it's not always
, you know, the case that it'sokay to say you're not okay and

(18:59):
what you can do to get out ofthat right.

Speaker 3 (19:01):
Yeah, you know, I think we are so committed to a
certain identity.
Sometimes you can be in the flowof life and you're like this is
who I am, this is what I do.
But to reinvent yourself is towalk away from whatever you
thought you were, that identitythat's holding you back.
So just being able to recognizewait a minute, this is keeping

(19:23):
me in a place I don't want to beanymore.
It's time for me to re-identifywho I am and where I want to go
and who I want to be.
And so it's all about having avision for yourself and for your
future.
And so it's all about having avision for yourself and for your
future.
And it really does take youstepping back, because sometimes
we're too close to everythingand you got to turn down the
noise, you got to cut off thesocial media sometimes.

(19:46):
Sometimes you, you know somepeople in your life you may like
, if people are dealing withmanipulation, or maybe just
people who are pulling onto themor draining them of energy,
just make some space in order tosee OK, this is who I am and
this is where I want to go in mylife in order to reinvent

(20:07):
yourself.

Speaker 1 (20:07):
And we've been prepped and taught.
Don't you think whether it'syour job, where you're working,
especially a long time ago,where you're?

Speaker 5 (20:16):
working, especially a long time ago.

Speaker 1 (20:17):
Now people quit because it's sunny outside.
But there was a time wherepeople really stayed with
companies and were reallydedicated to one another and you
felt obligated to stay, to getthat watch at 10 years, to get
that you know, to be in thatplace.
And then the same with amarriage man.
You get married.
It's like I mean, those aresome heavy words, death do you
part.
I always tease and say thereshould be five-year contracts
because no one would be upset.
You're like, oh, we're comingup to the end, I'm done.

(20:40):
Or oh, I want to renew.
You know so we just had ourfive-year and I renewed so.
But we grow up in these times,especially our you know age,
that you have to stay committedand you have to stay where
you're at and you have to stayin that marriage or stay in that
job.
And it causes so much damageinternally and physically and

(21:02):
mentally, depending on therelationship that you're in.
And how do you see that?
And how do you?
I know you said to get quiet.
Sometimes that's hard whenthere's so much bad noise going
around you.
But how do you, how do you seethat and make that choice to, to
, to walk away?

Speaker 3 (21:23):
Yeah, you know.

Speaker 1 (21:23):
I always tell people yeah.

Speaker 3 (21:25):
I always tell people that it's not about how many
years you've been in a marriage,it's about the quality of the
marriage, because I've alwaysbeen the kind of person where it
was like, if this is toxic orif this is not work, listen,
it's okay to get a divorce ifthat's just not for you, if it's
unhealthy and people enduresome very toxic situations and

(21:50):
it's like you don't have to gothrough that just to stay in a
relationship.

Speaker 1 (21:54):
But it's hard when you're manipulated or it's hard
when there's money or thingsthat you have or children to be
able to make that choice.
I think it's probably superimportant.
You've got to find somebody youcan trust and have support,
somebody that you can talk to,that's really has you know, your
back, your care.

(22:14):
What can someone get by readingyour book?
And it has so many great thingsin there so many things that
resonated with me, you know.
Tell us what they can get.
Give us some relationship tips.

Speaker 3 (22:26):
Yeah, Well, I want to say one of the techniques in
the book, the love habit,because it's a daily self-care
practice to a happier life andhealthier relationships.
But one of the things is theacronym love L-O-V-E.
L for listen, learn, learn tolisten to your body, learn to
pay attention to your mind, bodyand spirit, learn about you.

(22:47):
And O is to optimize begin tocreate some type of plan that
optimize what helps you to havea better mental health in your
life, whether it's meditation orexercise or whatever that's
best for you.
And so you could find that outin the book.
And then V is to validateyourself, because we often look

(23:08):
for validation out of otherpeople, just like we talked
about with social media, lookingfor the likes what do you think
about me?
But learn how to validateyourself based on your own
personal goals.
And then E is all aboutexperiencing the life that you
desire by just embracing eachand every moment of now, where
you are presently, instead ofthinking so far in advance.

(23:31):
But practice breathing in andbreathing out and taking in
where you are now.

Speaker 1 (23:36):
It's such great advice.
We're definitely sisters fromanother mystery because my when
I was speaking, in that the wordchocolate and all the letters
had a word of what it meant youknow, you were chocolate and
then I also did love.
When I did the golf and the Ilet people pick their own
letters.
That was what I did for that.
But love is a chunk, so it'slike we're so meant to be

(24:00):
friends.
So I look forward to so muchmore.
So the love habit, it is adaily self-care practices for
happier life and healthierrelationships, and it really I
want to say it is truly possible, no matter how bad your life
can, is truly possible, nomatter how bad your life can get

(24:20):
, that it is truly possible tohave true love if you don't
allow yourself to stay in asituation.
Give yourself some time tobreathe and you can really find
it.
And when it comes to evenreinventing yourself that word I
just love it, because whenthings go wrong, you do have the
ability to reinvent your life.
You don't have to stay whereyou're at and who you are, and
you're a prime example of thatas well reinventing and finding

(24:43):
out that you're an author.
You never thought that waspossible, and not only one book,
but nine bestsellings.
So that's incredible.
I know that we have yourinformation on the screen so
that people can be able to getin touch with you, find out more
and tell them a little bit.
So you wrote your books, butyou also do speaking.

Speaker 3 (25:01):
Yes, yes, I am.
I am also a speaker and I havea podcast as well, so I enjoy
all of that and just workingwith other people who want to
grow as a business owner andauthor, and how to turn your
book into a business, because alot of people think that it just
ends with the book, but there'sso much more and I'm so excited
to learn more too.

Speaker 1 (25:22):
We've got a meeting set up, so see where that goes.
So, rainy Howard, thank you somuch for being on the show with
us and enlightening us andhelping us to think more about
our relationship and walk awayfrom toxic mess and know that we
can reinvent ourselves, and youjust need to have some love in
your life.

Speaker 3 (25:40):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (25:40):
Thank you for having me.
I enjoyed this Wonderful.
Thank you so much.
We're going to be back.
We are going to meet the owner,one of the owners of Carbon,
don Sorensen.
Find out about this incredibleplace that we're at right now,
carbon Membership Club, which isfine dining.
There's so much to it.
We're going to let him talkabout it more.

(26:00):
So we'll be back with moreright, gordon?
Well, as we've been talkingabout throughout the show, you
know that we're at Carbon CarbonMembership Club.
It is in the heart of Clayton,which is in Missouri, and this
place is fabulous.
We've been able to experienceit ourselves and we even came in

(26:23):
one night.
We were out and said let's juststop in and get a drink set up
at the bar, and it was cool.
Yeah, I love it here, we loveit.
So it's a complete experience,experience.
And now we're lucky enough tohave two of the owners.
Kelly chase isn't with us rightnow.
He's in the picture, though,but we are going to talk to him,
uh, personally.
Uh, I think tomorrow we'regoing to meet with him, so, and
I'm saying that and it's goingto be on the show, so let's kind

(26:45):
of scratch that part of theshow.
So we have gina gamlin uh gamlin.
And then we have don sorenson,who we have known for quite some
time.
He actually was was one of thehandsome men on our cover a few
years ago, yeah, of our men'sissues.
So back at it again, but adifferent show we're going to
clean that picture up.

Speaker 8 (27:04):
Good enough.

Speaker 1 (27:07):
Wasn't probably the most beautiful backdrop that
we've got going on in here, butwe're sitting in the cigar
lounge.
Is that what you'd call this, acigar lounge?
Yes, sure is?

Speaker 8 (27:16):
Gina looked at me lounge.
Is that what you'd call this acigar?

Speaker 1 (27:17):
lounge.
Yes, it sure is.
Gina looked at me like yeah, ifyou want to.

Speaker 7 (27:21):
What would you call it, Gina?
I would call it the snacklounge.
See, I said that too.

Speaker 2 (27:26):
I said, not only are there cigars in here, but
there's nostalgic candy too,like from my day when I was a
kid.

Speaker 3 (27:34):
I lost it when kid the bubble gum cigar.

Speaker 2 (27:36):
I was like that lasted me for an hour.
I was like chomping on that soI can have a candy cigar while
everyone else has the real onein here.

Speaker 1 (27:43):
Well, you can do just about anything at Carpet.
So when you come in, there's agorgeous bar.
You've got the restaurant anddining kind of two different
areas there.
And then, of course, you comeback here and there's a private
cigar lounge that we're sittingin right now.
Tell us a little bit about.
Tell us about the room thatwe're sitting in right now, the
experience that you have whenyou're in here.

(28:05):
I see boxes on the wall, whichtells me people have their own
private cigar box.
That's right.

Speaker 8 (28:10):
So the whole club is private, not just the cigar
lounge that we're sitting inright now.
But this is a place afterdinner gets popular, Our members
come in here and have the cigarof their own that they enjoy
and of course you can see allthe TV.
So whenever the sport's on oranything like that, our members
come and enjoy that.

Speaker 1 (28:29):
So okay, so we're sitting in the cigar lounge.
It's absolutely gorgeous, lovethat.
Whose idea was it to put thecandy in that in here?
Wow, just absolutely gorgeous,love that.

Speaker 8 (28:37):
Whose idea was it to put the candy in that in?

Speaker 2 (28:38):
here Gina's.
Of course, All the good ideasare Gina's.

Speaker 1 (28:41):
So the three of you have known each other a long
time.
How did you come?

Speaker 8 (28:45):
together.
So I've known Kelly since theday I moved here 16, 17 years
ago.
We met like that day I movedhere and hit it off and became
close buddies.
And Gina, I think we met justmaybe three or four years ago.

Speaker 1 (29:00):
Kelly introduced us and just started kind of thought
about this idea to bringsomething that's private rather
than just an open restaurantthat you come in.
Why did you choose to make amembers-only club versus opening
up a?

Speaker 8 (29:12):
restaurant.
So this first, everyone needsto know that our dearest friend
Kelly.
This is his vision.
It's been in his mind for along time.
All the elements are from Kelly, been improved on by Gina.

Speaker 1 (29:27):
Finishing touches.

Speaker 8 (29:28):
But this is all the elements of his live out every
day in here.

Speaker 1 (29:34):
And he just he had this dream and said, hey, do you
guys wanna to be part of this?
And so the experience is amembership club, so when someone
comes in here they can bring aguest with them, but you need to
be with a member to be here.
What kind of experience doesthat mean by being a member?
What does that?
I see we have your beautifulnewsletter that comes out that
talks about Piano NightWednesdays.

(29:55):
You do a brunch on Sunday.
We came for a specialValentine's night dinner.

Speaker 2 (30:01):
Master's tournament day is coming up the 11th, yeah,
friday so I'm going to make abig.
I'm going to be here for that,yeah.

Speaker 1 (30:07):
There's even now this one.
I just want to make sure Iunderstand the Holman Motors
isn't exactly at this location,or?

Speaker 2 (30:17):
It is.
It'll be held outside.
It is at this location.
So my understanding is you guysblock the streets off when the
cars come in.

Speaker 1 (30:22):
Okay, carbon, you actually get to block the street
.
So who's got the clout to blocka street off?

Speaker 8 (30:27):
Speaking of a great experience we have Shane coming
in here with a couple of ourspecial it is happy hour.

Speaker 7 (30:33):
I'd like to add three words that Kelly brought this
club together, and the threewords were it's not for everyone
.

Speaker 1 (30:40):
It's not for everyone .
It's not for everyone, and thatkind of helps to explain and
lead us into the experience evenmore so.
So, okay, is this the French?

Speaker 6 (30:52):
French 75.

Speaker 1 (30:53):
French 75.
So I'm so excited to try this.
So we put a question out onFacebook which I will ask you
all as well If you were to walkinto a swanky, elegant, sexy
membership club like Carbon,what would you order to enjoy?
Or maybe you would order it toimpress.
What would it be?

(31:13):
I think you ordered it.

Speaker 7 (31:16):
My favorite is tequila with a tad touch of
water.

Speaker 1 (31:19):
And is that what you have right there?
It is, yeah, so you're going tobe a little quiet now.
By the end she's going to betalking.
Cheers to you, cheers to theworld of you guys.

Speaker 8 (31:30):
Oh, thank you.
Cheers to Kelly.

Speaker 1 (31:30):
Now I have to tell you a little secret.
You need to pick somebody'seyes, and when you say cheers,
you've got to look in the eyes.

Speaker 8 (31:39):
Gordon in your eyes you can be a queen.

Speaker 1 (31:41):
If you don't, you'll have been seven years of bad sex
.
Oh my gosh, she did not justsay that, it's true.
I was told by a wise old person.
It looks like we're having agood time, I am not taking it it
does not mean you have to bewith Gord, it just means you,
you know you want to.
You don't want to have bad sex,right?
I just want to make sure Ishare that information.

(32:02):
Okay, and you have to drink.

Speaker 2 (32:04):
Yeah, and something I'm going to ask Kelly when I
see him but and when we put himon the segment, is that one
thing I really love?
What Kelly said was that, eventhough this is a private club,
everyone's accepted, it doesn'tmatter if you're a club member.
You can walk in here in yourwork boots if you have to and if
you want to, and as long asyou're not a what An asshole.

(32:25):
Then you fit right in.

Speaker 1 (32:27):
You've got one simple rule you can't be an asshole.

Speaker 3 (32:29):
Be a good human, that's a, that's a, that's a
really really good rule, so, andI that's a really really good
rule.

Speaker 1 (32:33):
Yeah, I love that, and I guess with the private too
also, you have the ability tohave that privacy that you want
as well.
You know that people aren'tcoming around you and you know
sometimes you don't want to bebothered.
When you're having a moment orsome time, you want to be able
to have that quiet or thatprivate time with that person or
yourself if you're by yourself.

(32:54):
You know Kelly likes to say it-is like-minded people.

Speaker 8 (32:58):
That's what we want in here.
There's no big interviewprocess or anything like that.
It is.
We want like-minded people,whether they be business leaders
, community leaders, religiousleaders, uh, sports figures, uh.
You just have to want to bewith everybody and get along
yeah, you can find out some ofthem.

Speaker 1 (33:15):
We need more of that in this world, don't we Just?

Speaker 2 (33:17):
people getting along.

Speaker 7 (33:19):
The perfect combination between privacy and
exclusivity, and social.

Speaker 1 (33:26):
Between those being part of the club and that how
long has it been now that it'sbeen here?

Speaker 8 (33:31):
Two years in.

Speaker 1 (33:32):
Two years, I couldn't remember what it was Wow,
already two years.
That's quite incredible.
How long was the processgetting in and getting it
finished?
A long time, a long time.

Speaker 8 (33:42):
I wish I remember.
I don't even remember.
I remember talking to Kellyabout it over the years.
I don't remember when it waswhen he said hey, you guys want
to join me, but it's been a longtime in coming.
This has been in his mind for along time.
And then construction, ofcourse, takes way too long.

Speaker 1 (33:56):
Yeah, always does it never goes on time Always does
what has been enlightening or, Idon't know, exciting.
How do you feel being an ownerof something so exclusive and
unique to the city, to the state?

Speaker 7 (34:14):
I love it.
I love the combination ofnetworking.
And you know, when someonecomes in they think that they
don't know everyone else, butsoon after that you see them
high-fiving and hugging andpretty much everybody.
It's just a family and everyoneknows everyone's name and it's
just like a big family reunion.
Yeah, it's really awesome.

Speaker 1 (34:32):
What made you bring in the events?
Where was that?
Is that Kelly idea?
Is that good marketing to bringin this social events, which
that does bring people together?

Speaker 7 (34:45):
Well, I think everyone likes a party right,
but it was a difficult find forus to be to stay exclusive but
yet to bring others in.
So it's a really fine linethere, and we find that the
members want non-members in andwe need to let other people know
that there are opportunities tojoin our club and see how cool

(35:07):
it is.
So we just thought every oncein a while we'd let everyone in,
although it's not for everyone.

Speaker 2 (35:12):
Yeah, I love how you keep saying, oh, it's not for
everyone, the call to the day, Ithink.

Speaker 7 (35:17):
Kelly does have a shirt that says that I'm not for
everyone, I'm not for everyone,and he wears that in the
hospital room.

Speaker 1 (35:24):
Way to lighten up everything, right?
So let me make sure Iunderstand.
So some of these social eventsthat you have, they are open,
some of them, to be able to haveoutside individuals come and
experience the club.

Speaker 7 (35:38):
A member invites you.
Yes.

Speaker 1 (35:39):
A member invites you.
Okay, just want to make surewe're clear on that.
We don't want to think thatjust because you're having the
Carbon Car Show, that means that.

Speaker 8 (35:46):
Well, of course that's outside.
We're closed down this wholestreet for it.
People do wander around and onthat one it's not as exclusive.
People can come through and seeall the beautiful cars.

Speaker 1 (35:56):
What's been one of your most memorable experiences
or memory of the restaurantsince it's been open?
I'm sure there's several, butwhat's something that really
stands out to you?
That's happened here.

Speaker 8 (36:05):
That's a great question, I think, but it's an
impossible for me.
I think every day I come inhere I'm just blessed, as Gina
said, I take incredible pride inbeing involved in this with
Kelly and Gina and what we'vecreated, and I love every day
Sorry, it's a cop-out answer.
I love every day coming in hereand seeing the smiles on our

(36:27):
members' face and their deathsand enjoying great, unbelievable
service.
Our service people are reallydedicated and love the place and
love our members.
Gianni, you're going to enjoysome great food here in a moment
Just coming up yep, michelinthree-star chef.
Our food here is amazing and thedrinks are incredible.

(36:47):
All of our people arepassionate.
Shane, who you know you come inhere more than twice and you're
his best friend.

Speaker 2 (36:54):
It's remarkable, that is so true.
It's like we've been in here afew times since we became
members and it's just thatfeeling of like, when you walk
in, you're just acceptedimmediately and you're felt like
family.

Speaker 1 (37:05):
It feels like family.
What is your favorite dish?
Do you have a favorite go-to inyour hair that you love?
My favorite is the pea soup.
Really, yes, never would havethought that would have.
I didn't see that coming at all, gina.

Speaker 6 (37:24):
That's a three-year-old question.
I don't even know we had peasoup.

Speaker 7 (37:28):
No, Gianni's amazing.
So whether it's on the menu oroff the menu, he's always
striving to make you happy.
It's almost like he can readyour face and he just wants to
serve you.

Speaker 1 (37:38):
Let me say the cheesecake that I had the night
Valentine night was.

Speaker 5 (37:42):
It was the heart I was making funny faces, I'm sure
Cut in half heart.

Speaker 2 (37:46):
Yeah, each person got a side my steak was sensational
as well.

Speaker 8 (37:48):
What I really wish everyone would appreciate is
everything is made here, thecroutons are made here,
everything is made by Johnny andour great chefs here.

Speaker 1 (38:01):
Do you have a favorite?

Speaker 8 (38:03):
I'm going to not answer your question again.

Speaker 1 (38:05):
He's doing it again.

Speaker 8 (38:06):
I love everything.
Look at me.
It looks like I do too.

Speaker 6 (38:11):
I love everybody, everybody's my friend.

Speaker 1 (38:16):
Everybody's my friend .
Wow, I love everyone.
I'm everybody.
Everybody's my friend Wow, Ilove everyone.

Speaker 7 (38:19):
I'm sorry she calls me out on it.

Speaker 1 (38:21):
Look at him she can do that when she looks like that
.
What did a kid?

Speaker 2 (38:26):
say to Tommy boy hey, Gilligan, did you eat the
skipper?

Speaker 1 (38:31):
Are you saying that Tommy ate the skipper?
No, I am, I'm just saying.

Speaker 6 (38:33):
Yeah, look in the mirror there, pal.

Speaker 8 (38:34):
I know I'm just saying Look in the mirror there
pal, I know.

Speaker 1 (38:38):
He's going to go home and run now.

Speaker 2 (38:39):
That's one of their store codes.

Speaker 1 (38:40):
So if someone is interested and they want to be
part of Carbon maybe they wantto just see what it is Do they
call, do they ask for a tour?
Sit down and talk with somebody.
How does the process work ifyou're interested in being part
of Carbon?

Speaker 7 (38:57):
On our website there is a interested in becoming a
member and there's a little formthat you can fill out and we'll
review Just a little form.
See if you're a good fit yeah,because not everyone is.

Speaker 1 (39:04):
Oh, I want to get in.
It's going to make me tryharder, right.

Speaker 8 (39:09):
Yeah, to any member or any of us.
Yeah, and we'll coordinate anopportunity for you to come and
see it and experience it and seeif it's for you.

Speaker 1 (39:16):
Don't be an asshole and you can be here.

Speaker 2 (39:20):
Just be good company.
I'm ready to try some food.
Are you ready?
I'm ready to try some food.

Speaker 1 (39:23):
All right.
So, gina Gamblin, of course,don Sorensen, kelly Chase we
wish was sitting here with us,but we'll add a little Kelly to
the show.
Don't worry, you can see hispicture.
I'm sure there's probably nottoo many people that don't know
who.
Kelly Chase is right and he isthe vision.
He's the man behind this andthis has been a dream of his for

(39:47):
a long time.
So we are glad to have it asour scenery of the show, to be
able to be here, talk about itand to experience it for
ourselves.
So, carbon Membership Clubagain in Clayton, check it out.
You'll be able to check thatout for yourself.
So, gina Don, thank you so muchfor sitting down, having a
little cocktail with us, and nowwe're going to come back.
I said how do I say your name,gian?
Gian, you don't add the whole Nto it.

(40:10):
Canucci yeah, he's fromnorthern Italy and so is my
family, so we had a little bitto talk about before the show
started.

Speaker 8 (40:17):
So thank you so much for spending some time with us,
and we absolutely love it andwe're grateful for you guys in
our community and we're gratefulfor you guys being members.

Speaker 1 (40:25):
Oh, we love it.
We are grateful as well.

Speaker 8 (40:28):
You are great leaders in our community and we love
how you promote.

Speaker 1 (40:32):
Thank you, clip that, clip that and just put the
whole entire show of Don saidAll right, and then we'll clip
and put what Gina and Kelly say.
It's not for everyone.
Thanks so much.

Speaker 2 (40:44):
All right, we'll be right back with Gian Gian
Michelin star chef Kelly Chasebuilt his reputation on
resilience and as a fan favoritewith St Louis Blues, he was
known for his grit,determination and unwavering

(41:07):
loyalty to his teammates Off theice.
That same toughness was fueledwith success as a businessman,
including his exclusivemembers-only club that has
thrived for the past two years.
But today Kelly is facing avery different kind of fight,
one that demands every ounce ofstrength he has.
I'm sitting here with him inthe hospital and you know, kelly

(41:29):
, taking on cancer with the sametenacity that you did on the
ice.
I want to ask you today it'slike how's everything going with
you so far with your fight withthis cancer?

Speaker 4 (41:41):
Yeah, it's funny because, just like every fight,
it's a different kind of, adifferent strength and a
different kind of a battle.
But I'm doing relatively well.
I got hit a little bit with thegraphose disease that comes
after a bone marrow match and itslowed me down.

(42:02):
It was something that wasn'treally in the script for me.
It slowed me down, it wassomething that wasn't really in
the script for me.
But again, like you said, youhave to go in with a mentality
that you're going to get better.
The process is long and it'shard for some people to
understand it, and me included,because I want things done now,

(42:26):
like I'm a let's get going kindof guy.
But I've been very fortunate tobe at Siteman's, where I think
they have the best doctors inthe world, and feel like, hey,
it's just part of another littlejourney I'm going to have to
take before I get back on path.

Speaker 2 (42:41):
Yeah, you know, through all the challenges, one
thing that's remained with youand it's been a is your passion
for building something special,and we're talking about Carbon
Members Club.
That's something that's specialand dear to your heart.
What inspired you to openCarbon Members Club?

Speaker 4 (42:58):
A couple of different things.
I work for Discovery LandCompany, which is a very
exclusive club and company,which is a very exclusive club
and company, and the one thingthat I liked the most about it
was how casual it was and howsincere people were and you
didn't have to put on a $1,000suit to fit in and you didn't
have to, you know, go throughnine interviews of people that

(43:19):
are judging you on yourcharacter.
Of that 20-minute interview, itwas more of I wanted to be, I
wanted to have a club where Ithought anybody should fit in
and have the opportunity to bein that exclusive club and also,
you know, to coincide with whatGina was building with XO.

(43:42):
I thought it would be a greatplayoff of one another.
Now they're not matchedtogether in the same proximity
and location right now, but inthe future I would expect that
we could do that, and the reasonthat's important is is because
I want like-minded people to betogether.
In St Louis, you notice a bigdrop off in a lot of areas where

(44:05):
there's sort of a certain areawhere you wouldn't oh, I would
never live over there, and thenright next to it oh, that's a
great area.
And to me, in order to have anycontinuity, you have to have
people that are like-mindedthinkers, but also people that
care.
Also people that care.

(44:29):
So I thought, well, what agreat place I've seen at
Discovery, at Gaza Ranch inparticular, where I work Massive
deals, business deals, puttogether over a beer napkin.
And I just thought if you couldget young people, young
entrepreneurs, older people thatmaybe have gone through their
vision already and would like tohelp a young person, and

(44:51):
they're sitting there having adrink and the next thing,
something good comes out of itfor the city, then we've just
made it a better place.
So St Louis having a I don'tknow massive airport that
doesn't get used enough therehas to be solutions for stuff
like that.

(45:11):
And who are the young peoplethat are going to solve those
issues?
And who are the people that aregoing to get down and talk
about it and then do somethingabout it and be active, rather
than because it's very easy tosay you know well that problem
will go away or they need to dosomething about it.
Well, who is they?
If you live in this city andyou care about this city, then

(45:33):
maybe you should have a hand inrebuilding some of the things
that are slipping away, and sofor me, that's kind of how I
envisioned it just people comingin and then also not having an
expensive price tag.
That's kind of how I envisionedit just people coming in and
then also not having anexpensive price tag.
You know our cost, plus 20% onour food.

(45:54):
Yeah, we have an initiation fee, but if you come in and use the
place, it's very likely thatyou're going to run into good
people and you're going to likethe atmosphere.
You're certainly going to likethe atmosphere, but you're going
to like the pricing on it andgo.
You know what?
Let's just go to the club, it'seasy.

Speaker 2 (46:11):
You're right and you know what.
Me and Kelly, we just becamemembers, yeah, and we absolutely
love it and it's so true.
We've been there three timessince we've become members and
each time I've met someone new.
But and each time I met someone, someone new but it's just like
the way they make everybodymakes you feel, including
including your clients that arealready members they just make

(46:47):
you feel like family and youfeel to associate and learn
things from older guys inbusiness and make deals.
Did any of that ever play apart in your life as a young
hockey player, where you hadsomeone you looked up to that
was a mentor or someone that youcould be around?
That kind of made you feel theway you're trying to make these
young entrepreneurs feel bybeing able to be around people
that can be mentors to them.

Speaker 4 (47:09):
Yeah, in 94, during the lockout, and I was going
through the process of gettingmy green card and trying to
become naturalized as a citizenand I was able to work, you know
, go do stuff withAnheuser-Busch and I was able to
go with Steve Merritt's groupand Merritt's Travel and learn a
little bit about them.
And then I got into the realestate business as just kind of

(47:32):
an internship with Sansone Group.
So that summer was filled withme learning different trades,
knowing in the back of my headlike I'm not a very good player,
I'm not going to play foreverand I want to learn about some
things that in business thatcould help me.
When I was done playingSelfishly at the time I was

(47:53):
learning from me or I thought Iwas Unselfishly.
Now, looking back, I think I'vebeen able to transition fairly
well into the community afterplaying because I understood
more about St Louis.
I understood more about why weshould drink Anheuser-Busch beer

(48:13):
here, why we should use ourlocal people that have built
businesses here, because they'reresponsible for the growth of
the city and the community.
I held a whole awareness aroundhere of it.
So for me that's sort of whereit started.
And then when I hear good ideas.
Look, I'd never been in a nailsalon in my life and Gina talked

(48:38):
me into coming in and it was acharity event.
It was strictly a charity eventand talked me into coming and
seeing this place of hers and Ididn't have to be in it very
long to understand the businesspart of it like how successful

(48:59):
XO could be but it was the teamthat was built around it and it
was the people that she hadassembled to be a part of the
group that made me go wow, thisis an impressive place.
So getting involved in that,while I had this idea of carbon
in my head for the last threeyears, I think helped propel me

(49:22):
into diving deeper into abusiness.

Speaker 2 (49:25):
Yeah, and you know what you said earlier too.
It's like XO and Carbon.
They're kind of a little mirrorimage of themselves together,
because when you go in they'reboth got this beautiful which.
I don't know who designed bothof them, but they both got this
I had some help.
But they're just beautiful,they're exquisite somehow, I

(49:48):
think.
But they're just beautiful,they're exquisite, they're
luxury, and it's hard to combineluxury and and inviting at the
same time sometimes, becausesome people see something that's
so luxurious and they don'tfeel like it's going to be
inviting.
But that's not the case eitherwith carbon or XO, because me
and Kelly got the privilege ofgoing to XO for the what was it?
The Japanese new year, lunarnew year.

Speaker 7 (50:04):
It was great you know , and it just XO for the.
What was it?
The Japanese New Year.

Speaker 2 (50:06):
Lunar New Year.
Lunar New Year it was great,you know, and it's just the vibe
and the atmosphere.
It's so welcoming and you lookaround and you see all kinds of
people, you know, just enjoyingit and having a good time.
It's got an amazing med spa.
We got to tour the med spa,which is amazing, but we also
got to eat the food and havesome great drinks.

(50:27):
What was the one that I had,with all the bubbles coming out
of it?
Bubbling Berry, bubbling Berry.
I saw somebody else have it andI'm a diva, so, kelly says she
doesn't need a girlfriend,because she's got me, because I
go shopping with her.
I drink girly drinks, and so weenjoyed it.
We really had a good time andyou could actually take both of
them, put them together, closetogether, and you would think

(50:48):
they kind of go together.
You know, because just the wayyou guys designed it is so
classy.

Speaker 7 (50:53):
They do One big difference XO is for everyone
and carbon is not for everyone.

Speaker 2 (50:57):
There you go.
I always love it when you saythat it's not for everyone.
It's not for everyone, I'm notfor everyone.
I'm not for everyone.
That's my line.
I'm not for everyone.

Speaker 4 (51:05):
But you know what I think and Gina, you can talk
about this too who we think isworld class.
So not only do you have a clubagainst the club, one's a public

(51:35):
and one's a private, but wealso wanted to do the job of
making sure that peopleunderstood it was their club,
and once we got to a certainhead count, we didn't decide who
the members were anymore.
The members decided who themembers were.
So that way, if you wantedsomeone in Joe Blow to be in the

(51:59):
club, okay, joe knows the rulesfrom you.
The responsibility is now onyou to principle him, and that
way we can kind of just stepback and learn Now.
We may have made a mistake, Ithink, early on, maybe cutting
the membership off a littleshorter than we should have, but

(52:22):
we wanted to make sure that wewere able to deliver service
Right, and I think we've beenable to do that now and prove to
ourselves that that's the case.
So we would love to see as manymembers as we could in there
and create that you talked abouta vibe earlier.
Create that vibe, that feelingof hey, it's a piano night, it's

(52:42):
a big night, it's going to befun.

Speaker 2 (52:43):
I can't wait.
We haven't been able to makepiano night yet, but I want to
do that.

Speaker 4 (52:47):
Yeah, but again, it's more a feel for creating that
vibe, and that vibe might startat 10 o'clock on Thursday night,
it might start at 4 o'clock onTuesday afternoon you never know
when the vibe's coming.
And that's what we're trying tocreate.
We just want people to come inthere and enjoy themselves and
have a good time and then bringtheir friends in there and their

(53:10):
friends join.
So that's sort of the wholepremise of it.

Speaker 2 (53:14):
Give me.
This is for both of you.
Give me, we'll start with Gina.
Gina, give me a memorablemoment or story from the club
that stands out to you.

Speaker 7 (53:24):
Well, I've had many memorable events there, but I
think one was maybe a DJ forMelanie's birthday and we had
the DJ play until 4 am.
That was a party.
So you just can't do that justanywhere.

Speaker 4 (53:38):
Definitely the Super Bowl.
Went in there just a few guyswanted to watch the game and it
ended up being a great SuperBowl and just hanging around in
there and everybody getting thatfeel in the cigar room like
this is quite a place to watchthe game.

(54:00):
That and the Four Nations, thehockey, four Nations Cup.

Speaker 2 (54:05):
I was there for the last championship.
That was fun.

Speaker 4 (54:14):
Who knew that that game of all things was going to
draw an audience that hockey hadnever seen before?
So I think just finishing upthe evening of the Super Bowl
was probably the best.

Speaker 2 (54:25):
Gina, this question is for you.
If there's one thing you wantpeople to know about Kelly, not
just as a businessman, but as aperson, what would it be?

Speaker 4 (54:35):
Oh boy, don't tell what an ass I am.

Speaker 7 (54:39):
Well, I think anyone that knows Kelly knows that his
honesty is one of the bestthings about him, and he knows
who's great for the club andwho's not, and he's not afraid
to say you're a great fit andmaybe you're not.
So I think that's what keepsour club great.

Speaker 2 (54:59):
Chaser, this one's for you.
Just our last question of theday.
Okay, what message would youshare with others who might be
facing their own difficultfights right now?

Speaker 4 (55:08):
just it's hard for me to say right now because I've
been guilty of it, but justdon't get married to the bed,
get up and get active.
As much as you can be active, beactive and then just have a
sense of you have to have asense of grit or determination

(55:29):
or whatever.
It's hard for a lot of peoplebecause they're by themselves
and they don't have a lot ofguests or visitors, but I think
you know you have to believe inthat you're going to get better
and have that positive energyaround you and then get up every

(55:52):
day and try and do a little bitof something just to make sure
that you're keeping that edge,because you're going to have
down times emotionally, and Itry to have them when no one's
around, because sometimes it'sharder to show leadership if
you're emotional and it's okayto be emotional once in a while.
My emotion used to be anger atall costs.

(56:15):
There was no other.
I didn't have any other emotion.
And now I would say controllingyour emotions, just putting
them in the right, right box andletting them come out at the
right time, is the mostimportant thing for anybody that
has to go through it.
Try and keep those emotions incheck and and when you're going

(56:38):
to have those bad days, try andhave them by yourself well,
brother, I just.

Speaker 2 (56:44):
you are an inspiration to all of us and I
appreciate both of your timetoday, and we can't wait for
those of you who want to be amember at Carbon.
What do they got to do?

Speaker 4 (56:55):
Gina, just come on in Get by this one, Honestly just
come in.
Come in and just check it outand say, hey, I come into, I
wanted to take a look at yourplace.
I heard about it.
I want to come in and take alook at it.
You know, we've asked.
In the history of it, I thinkwe've only asked one person to

(57:18):
leave, and a couple have movedout of town and said that it
didn't work for them becausethey were moving, and one close
friend of mine, which Icompletely understand.
So, um, if you're asking me,just come in and check it out.
You'll be amazed, and you knowwe're 30 or 40 um members away

(57:41):
from being in a spot where thatvibe's there every night yeah so
come on in and be a part of it.

Speaker 2 (57:47):
Awesome.
Well, thank you both so much, Iappreciate it.

Speaker 1 (57:50):
We're like at the coolest part right now.
So a carbon, of course.
Here in Clayton Missouri wehave Shane Debke.
He is the mixologist here atCarbon and he's the one who
brought in so a lot of peoplehave commented that they love
the French 75, which I had neverheard of until asking people

(58:13):
about their drinks.

Speaker 6 (58:14):
Tell us what's in this.
So, french 75 is going to be atequila gin or your choice of
gin, lemon juice and a sparklingwine.

Speaker 1 (58:17):
You know what's funny ?
I'm not a gin person, did you?

Speaker 2 (58:20):
taste it.
I'm not a gin person at all.

Speaker 1 (58:22):
It is fabulous, it's delicious, isn't it great?
Yeah, yes, it's so good.
Make sure you don't havegrapefruit on your face.
It's fabulous.
Okay.
So what else?
Gordon has the old-fashionedyes.
Is that smoked or regular?

Speaker 6 (58:37):
So that is just regular, Okay, Yep, regular
bourbon.
I use an Angel's Envy a coupledashes of bitters and then a
demi syrup Super smooth.

Speaker 1 (58:47):
Okay, and what else have you brought here?
And, of course, the chef isbehind us right now.
You can see a few dishes whichhe's going to talk about.
He's back there preparing evenmore, so we thought we'd find
out about the cocktails.

Speaker 6 (58:57):
So yeah, so a couple cocktails I made.
This is actually on ourcocktail list it's a Red Arrow,
it's going to be a tequila, eggwhites, raspberry and then a
blood orange syrup.

Speaker 1 (59:10):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (59:10):
So, with some raspberries to top it off.

Speaker 1 (59:13):
No absolutely.

Speaker 6 (59:15):
And then we also have a martini.
In this martini it's going tobe a Boboas, obviously in the
bottom, and then there's alsogoing to be a vanilla house-made
syrup.

Speaker 1 (59:25):
What type of martini is that?

Speaker 6 (59:27):
So it's going to be vodka, it's got vodka, and then
it's going to have a vanillasyrup along with coconut water.

Speaker 1 (59:32):
Oh wow, my daughter Casey would love that.

Speaker 6 (59:35):
So yeah, definitely sweet, but very smooth as well.

Speaker 1 (59:36):
Yeah, she likes the princess drink Indeed.

Speaker 6 (59:47):
And then this is actually a spin-off of the
old-fashioned, but it's going tobe a house infused uh, foie
gras fat, uh, bourbon.
So we let it sit in there for acouple of months, be able to
infuse with the different juices, with the fat of the foie gras,
um, and then obviously strained, and then we're going to make
this one.

Speaker 1 (59:53):
Well, that could be our new word of the day.
What is foie gras?
Uh, duck, duck, foie gras.
We're going to be very, in verygood mood here shortly.
Absolutely keep adding all this.
Really the greatest, thegreatest personality.

Speaker 6 (01:00:06):
And then this one actually will be come with a
mousse bouche as well.

Speaker 2 (01:00:12):
Oh wow, Love it look at that all right, give me my
phone over there.

Speaker 1 (01:00:23):
We gotta go, we gotta get it well, I, I think we'll,
we'll get this on film.
You got your, got your camera.
Okay, let's, you're gonna y'all.
Let you open it as soon as hesays he's ready.

Speaker 2 (01:00:35):
Okay very cool absolutely beautiful, perfect.

Speaker 1 (01:00:43):
Thank you so much appreciate it.

Speaker 6 (01:00:45):
Learn a little bit about the drinks.

Speaker 1 (01:00:47):
Nice meeting you as well appreciate your time.
Enjoy the rest, shane debke,mixologist, and look at all this
oh my goodness, wow.

Speaker 9 (01:00:55):
Eeny, meeny, miny moe , and you brought the actual
animal so, yeah, I brought thisone for the reason we are
working really well with oursupplier.
You know this concept behindthe club member, private and

(01:01:17):
having something a little bitunique Of course run around the
food, the concept.
So when we were talking in thebeginning which kind of concept
we're going to bring, I saidlet's bring Italian steakhouse.
It's always been a kind ofthought since the beginning came

(01:01:38):
in St Louis, because St Louisis really big, all Midwest is
really big in meat, they lovemeat, there is a lot of meat
lovers and steakhouse is alwaysbeing popular.
But we are in St Louis, there isa huge Italian heritage.
I'm Italian.
So I say let's fusion these twoconcepts, american and Italian,

(01:02:04):
and try to bring the bestproduct with a elegant
presentation, great flavor and,as much as we can, the right
product.
So I started to looking aroundwith different friends chefs,
which was the, with differentfriends chefs, which was the
great quality of meat.
Finally, I found that thisproduct comes from a root family

(01:02:26):
farm here in Missouri.
It's a small farm oh wow, Ilove that Family production
where they started to produce,you know, the same corn, veggie,
all this kind of stuff, andthen at some point they started
to grow also animal, but ofcourse feed the animal with
their product so they cancontrol all the chain of the

(01:02:47):
production and you can see fromthe meat.
For this reason I brought itthe marbling we have here.

Speaker 1 (01:02:55):
Say one thing wrong the marbling here is incredible.

Speaker 9 (01:02:59):
It looks like a kind of uh vagu beef no, from japan,
but is a local product.
So we're talking about anguscured and growing in the right
way, no organic, biodynamic.
So I'm I follow uh really wellthis kind of product and the

(01:03:21):
point to present it is becausewe age.
I receive the product is 45days age already after it's been
killed and I keep other between25 to 60 days in my dry age
cooler 60 days in my dry age,cooler.

(01:03:47):
So of course we reduce thequantity of water inside in the
product, we concentrate theflavor and for this way there is
this kind of oxidation of theproduct all the way around.
And then we refill and we havea beautiful tender product.
So, sincerely, I always believeif you have a great product, you
don't need to make other saucesand stuff like this.

(01:04:11):
I combine with some Bordelaisesauce and some Holland sauce,
but the main product has to bethe meat.
The main product has to be themeat.
The main ingredient has to bethe meat.
So I don't like to cover ofsauce, I don't like to put other
product.

Speaker 1 (01:04:29):
I don't like that either.

Speaker 9 (01:04:30):
Yeah, because you need to taste the product like
it is.
I remember when I was 19 yearsold, I started to do this job
after the Navy and I was workingwith a famous chef in Italy and
any time we receive a piece ofmeat he was asking me Syred,
don't put anything?
I said what do you mean?

(01:04:51):
No butter, no oil, no zero,because the meat needed to taste
and give you the flavor it has.
And so slowly I started tounderstand what was his idea.
You know I say can you tastethe grass?
You can you taste this, can youtaste that?
You know you started todiscover a different world.
You know, anytime I do here orwhere I was before, the guys the

(01:05:15):
same look me like I used tolook him.
You know.
They say are you crazy?
Why I don't put a little bit ofbutter, herbs?
You know I give flavor, nogarlic.
I say no because you need tounderstand the flavor of the
meat.
Then of course, you can addwhatever you like, you know.
But anyway, this is uh so?

Speaker 1 (01:05:34):
so what is this plate right here?
So?

Speaker 9 (01:05:36):
a wellington is is one of the most popular old
dishes.
Now we're talking about beeffilet.
Wellington is almost 100 yearsold and of course many people
like to go back in this kind ofhistorical plate.
Here we brought the lambWellington.

(01:05:59):
So same procedure of the beefWellington.
We use lamb from Australia.
I really like the productbecause, different than the
Scottish or the American, onehas a nice sight but still have

(01:06:23):
this background of a little bitwild flavor not too much, so
it's not absolutely strong, butas this kind of interesting
flavor or lamb.
So for this reason I I useAustralian.
It's wrapped with classicmushroom and herbs base and then

(01:06:47):
wrapped in peffi pastry here.
We present it with three-waycauliflower.
So we have the green is roasted, the purple is just shaving and
cured with olive oil and salt,a couple of asparagus and at the
bottom we have this cauliflowerpuree from the yellow

(01:07:10):
cauliflower.
So heirloom cauliflower inthree ways.

Speaker 1 (01:07:14):
Smells intoxicating.
Last but not least we have thisLike a little volcano.

Speaker 6 (01:07:19):
I love it, I do everything in-house.

Speaker 9 (01:07:21):
So I like to see the production from zero to the real
product.
That one gave me this passion,this love for this job.
So we make the pasta in-houseand I basically combine shrimps
with the cacio e pepe, theclassic recipe from Rome, a

(01:07:42):
really intense flavor of groundpepper, a touch of sage and of
course I combine it with alittle bit of shrimp sauce to
give a little bit more shrimpnote inside.

Speaker 1 (01:07:59):
Everything is a work of art.
That's what I was going to say.

Speaker 2 (01:08:02):
The presentation is off the charts.

Speaker 9 (01:08:04):
I mean, yeah, that that is uh the the full, the
full point here.
No, I remember, uh, travelaround the world, uh, go to
michelin star restaurant infrance, in italy, in england,
here in the United States.
So we need to stay on the par.
We need to try to give them thesame feeling, also if they are

(01:08:27):
home, also if, in the end of theday, they don't like too much
this fancy stuff many of themthey like more easy stuff, but
really tasteful, really good.
So for this reason, for me it'sreally important the quality of
the product as a base and workwith the right ingredients.

Speaker 1 (01:08:50):
Sure right and I think that was one of our
questions that we had.
What's one ingredient youconsider sacred and you will
never compromise on?

Speaker 9 (01:09:02):
I grew up in Italy, my family from south of Italy.
I was born and raised in northof Italy.
We are really big in using theherbs, so if you travel around
the world you can have adifferent influences.
But in Italy, wherever you go,you have this smell of rosemary,

(01:09:23):
bay leaf, sage, and for methat's really important.
I season my meat with herb salt.
I have some herbs butter in theway that everything reminds me
of my house.
Everything reminds me of thissmell.
This perfume reminds me of thisone.

(01:09:46):
I used to live in Capri, inCapri Island.
I was a chef in a beautifulhotel over there and it's
beautiful.
Wherever you walk there is thisbush of rosemary.
You smell the rosemary all overthe rosemary.
I love the smell of rosemary sofor this way, for me that is a
product, one of the product forme so what does it mean?

Speaker 1 (01:10:09):
I mean I know most people a Michelin star chef.
That's quite a title to havewhat dish or what brought you to
that level?

Speaker 9 (01:10:20):
so again, what dish or what brought you to that
level?
So again, when I was with thisfamous chef, I was telling you
before you know, you are 19years old, you just I was
finished the school, I joined tothe Navy.
My idea was to travel aroundthe world and you know, at that
age you want to destroy theworld.

(01:10:43):
You think you can do whatever.
You do any mistake, peopleforgive you, and you keep going.
I was trying to look for theright direction.
I was looking for a mentor togive me the right direction, and
this guy helped me a lot.
But at some point I had to gowith my will.

(01:11:06):
He, just after three years withhim, he said now it's time you
walk with your legs.
I said okay, so what do I haveto do?
So luckily, I had thisopportunity to work with Lydia
Bastianich in New York City andthere I discovered no Michelin
star but more the luxury style,this point to work for celebrity

(01:11:29):
people, high level, high speedin a luxury city, and I opened
my mind.
So I said this is what I wantto do Discovery three Michelin
star chefs.
Learn from them, started togrow with them, work with them

(01:11:50):
and at some point it becomeautomatic, bring you in a kind
of a way where you cannot getout.
You just need to keep going,because or you give up
completely or just you need tokeep going, because or you give
up completely or just you needto keep going.
And that one brought me there.
So, after Lidia Bastianich, Iran the Grand Hotel Quisisana in

(01:12:10):
Capri, where all around me wasonly celebrity people, and then
from there I moved to London, uk, with Four Seasons and then the
Daniele Hotel in Venice.
I had the opportunity to workfor the most important people in
the world and then at somepoint this one you need to
continue to do it.

(01:12:31):
Be creative, understand whatyou really want to put on the
table.
Everything comes by itself.
Everything comes by itself.
Everything comes by itself.
So when, two years ago, Idecided to move to St Moritz in
Switzerland, I had thisopportunity to run this

(01:12:52):
beautiful hotel in the middle ofthe mountain, 2000 meters above
the sea, the Kempinski Hotel.
I was running four differentcuisines we had the Jewish
cuisine, we have French cuisine,we have Italian restaurant and
we have also the gourmetrestaurant.
No easy, because of course I'mone person executive chef, run
everything, control the cost,control the labor, control the

(01:13:15):
recipe ingredients supplier.
You need to surround yourselfwith the right people and I had
sous chef for each kitchen and,of course, together they put on
the table what was their ideasome adjustment.
They said this is the rightdirection for the Italian
restaurant, this is the rightdirection for the French
restaurant, this is the rightdirection for the gourmet

(01:13:36):
restaurant and the gourmetrestaurant.
Finally, after one year, wereceived the Michelin star.
That was.
We knew it was the rightdirection, we knew it was coming
.
You know, of course I didn'timagine so quick, but you know
it's a great celebration for me,of course, as executive chef,

(01:13:57):
but for all the team, for thehotel, for you know the energy,
the power we put inside in thisjob, because sometimes we see
the food we are really good tocriticize but we don't believe
or we don't understand what isbehind.
You know timing, labor hours.

Speaker 5 (01:14:18):
No, we don't count.

Speaker 9 (01:14:19):
We don't count this one.

Speaker 5 (01:14:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 9 (01:14:21):
So for this reason, I believe who want to start to do
this job need just to have alot of patience, understand the
direction and keep going, Justkeep going, Straight.
No.

Speaker 1 (01:14:35):
Keep going from Italy , switzerland to St Louis.
Carbon must be amazing ifyou're here in St Louis instead
of Switzerland or Italy, rightAnother reason to come to Carbon
.
Exactly to experience theexquisite food that you prepare
here.
It's amazing.

(01:14:55):
So we thank you so much fortaking time to show us your work
of art and you're going to haveto experience it for yourself.
It's quite amazing.

Speaker 3 (01:15:05):
Thank you for sharing your time with us, Janet Gianna
.

Speaker 1 (01:15:08):
Colucci, michelin star chef right here, an elegant
, swanky, lovely, sexy,beautiful, incredible experience
here at Carbon Membership Club.
We appreciate your time so much, thank you.

Speaker 9 (01:15:21):
Thank you for sharing .
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:15:22):
The smell is intoxicating.

Speaker 4 (01:15:25):
Stick my face in it.

Speaker 1 (01:15:27):
All right, we will.
We'll be back.
Of course we're going to hear alittle bit of Soul Strings and
then, of course, you'll be ableto see all of that on In your
City Show.
I'm looking forward to that.

Speaker 2 (01:15:50):
Now tell me, this is Pat's book 13 Notes to Life.
Now, when I saw the title, itwas intriguing.

Speaker 5 (01:16:08):
I'm going to let you tell me what the title means and
how it came about.
Well, a good friend of mine,bill Waterhouse, owned a bar in
Dogtown called the Waterhouseand his dad's name was Marion,
just like John Wayne, and he wasan old electrician and he used
to come.
He's a really good guy, butvery pensive guy.
You know.
You'd think, yeah, just someold union electric.

(01:16:29):
The guy ran deep, you know, andhe was sitting there one time
at the bar and I sat down, mrWaterhouse, I was actually going
to school across the streethere at the time.
So what's up?
He said, you know, I was justsitting here thinking, if you go
octave to octave, because heplayed little keyboards, there's
13 notes in all if you countboth octaves.

(01:16:59):
And from those 13 notes everysong in history has been written
, from Bach to the Beatles, andit's all different.
And how do people do that?
I remember sitting there Atfirst I got really emotional,
like I'm doing now, but then Ithought, oh yeah, a little music
boy going to music college orwent to music college.
Yeah, I was already out ofmusic college.
I'd never thought of that.

(01:17:20):
How absolutely mind-bogglingthat is.

Speaker 2 (01:17:25):
That's incredible.
I didn't either, until I saw it.

Speaker 5 (01:17:27):
Just that stretch of notes every song and people are
still writing them and Icredited him with that in the
book because Billy Waterhousehas passed away and his wife one
time got aggravated at me forusing it.
She said nobody even knows.
I said, marie, you have to readthe whole book.

(01:17:48):
And when she read the book inthe front, I do give Mr
Waterhouse credit for it becausehe was a neat guy.

Speaker 2 (01:17:54):
So she was okay with it.

Speaker 5 (01:17:55):
Yes, she said I'm sorry, I didn't say that.

Speaker 1 (01:17:57):
What an incredible happy hour, I should say, that
we've had here at the CarbonMembership Club.

Speaker 2 (01:18:02):
Food, drinks, incredible guests incredible
venue.

Speaker 1 (01:18:05):
That's been delightful, so we thank you for
having us here to be able tohost In your City show.
It's such an incredible place.
Look at the food we're about todig into it.
So thank you for joining us.
And what we usually say to endeach show, I guess we should say
ciao and and with just talkingto the chef, gianni Colucci, and

(01:18:28):
, but usually, cheers to you all.
Thank you.