February 28, 2025 • 31 mins
Food, and especially BBQ, has the power to bring us together and divide us into crazy feuds of who exactly makes the best style. This week’s guests seem to have finally solved who makes the best BBQ, and it’s them.
Daniel, Brenda, and Benjamin Castillo take a cruise around Santa Ana to walk us through their humble beginnings of cooking and smoking BBQ in their backyard to winning a James Beard Award for Best in Class at their award-winning restaurant, Heritage Barbecue.
Now, they’re venturing out to elevate their current recipes and experiment at their new restaurant, Le Hut Dinette. So buckle up and come on a culinary adventure with Locales Only!
Big thanks to Fletcher-Jones Motorcar of Newport Beach for sponsoring the show and building out the all-electric Mercedes-Benz EQE as our rolling podcast studio!
Daniel, Brenda, and Benjamin Castillo take a cruise around Santa Ana to walk us through their humble beginnings of cooking and smoking BBQ in their backyard to winning a James Beard Award for Best in Class at their award-winning restaurant, Heritage Barbecue.
Now, they’re venturing out to elevate their current recipes and experiment at their new restaurant, Le Hut Dinette. So buckle up and come on a culinary adventure with Locales Only!
Big thanks to Fletcher-Jones Motorcar of Newport Beach for sponsoring the show and building out the all-electric Mercedes-Benz EQE as our rolling podcast studio!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, Hey, Danny, how are you good?
Speaker 2 (00:03):
How are you good?
Speaker 1 (00:04):
It's Eric with Locals Only. I'm gonna be pulling up
in front of your restaurant here in just a couple
of seconds in a white Mercedes.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
See you soon, all right, I'll meet you outside.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Okay, bye bye, bye bye. Hey.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Welcome to Locals Only. I'm Eric Hale, and if you
don't know me, I'm the guy that founded Local Magazine
fourteen years ago in my garage. It's been my job
for all those years to tell you the coolest places
to eat in all of southern California, fun things to do.
So you have date nights that aren't boring, and we've
talked to some really interesting people. Now we have a podcast,
and we're lucky enough to call this Mercedes Benz EQE
(00:43):
all Electric Sedan courtesy of Fletcher Jones Motor Cars in
Newport Beach, our mobile podcast. Do do so, sit back,
buckle up, and enjoy the conversation. Welcome to Local Zone. Today.
On Locals oone, we're going to be cruising around the
Floral Park neighborhood of Santa Anna. We're picking up Danny,
(01:05):
his wife, Brenda, and their son Benjamin. They own Heritage
Barbecue and San Juan Capistrano, which is one a Michelin
bib Gormond and was just nominated for a James Beard Award.
They're opening up a new restaurant called La hut Dinette
in Santa Anna, and we're gonna talk to him about
their growth from meeting each other as very young kids,
(01:26):
getting married young, building a business together that started in
their backyard, and the success that comes with opening a
second restaurant. So sit back, buckle up and enjoy. Locals
only should be unlocked there. You got just come around
(01:50):
the other side there Benjamin to figure out. Well, this
is a courtesy of Fletcher Jones and Newport. They are
nice enough to make this our little rolling podcast studio.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
It's a beautiful car, all right.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Well, welcome everybody, getting buckled up. Day five star Uber ride.
You better give me five stars. So today we're lucky
enough to have Danny, his wife Brenda, and their son Benjamin.
They're gonna be riding with us today. We just picked
them up here in Santa Anna, which we're cruising around
the U. I guess you could call it up and
(02:24):
coming Santa Anna. Everybody's doing something here, and we're gonna
be driving around talking about their culinary journey, the James
Beard nominations, and the opening of their new restaurant. What's
the new restaurant called. We can start at the end
and work our way back to the beginning.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Sure, Yeah, it's called Le Hut Dine Nette, Okay, and that's.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Getting ready to open just in a couple of days. Here.
What was the what was the impetus behind this new restaurant?
Speaker 3 (02:52):
You know, we we were looking for something different. Obviously,
it's a whole other concept, you know, we're I mean,
our last restaurant was a was a barbecue joint, you know,
real Texas style barbecue, real rustic type of food, and
this is something refined, and you know, we wanted to
(03:14):
create a space for our chefs to really put out
what they're capable of doing, since we have a team
of these really you know, talented chefs that are working
for us. So yeah, it's just a really cool spot
for us to have fun and for.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
People that don't know and a lot of people will
know because we'll tell them at the beginning of this.
But the first restaurant, the barbecue place that you kind
of describe as your first place. Tell me about how that,
how that happened, and how you guys got into that business.
Brenda Could started.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Off in our backyard. Actually, we started doing barbecue and
we would have parties with friends, and then it turned into, well,
let's see if we can sell this food to you know,
make some money back instead of just feeding everybody. Yeah,
and then you know, friends and family, and then before
you know what, strangers were coming up in our backyard
on these weekend events, and we thought, well, maybe we
(04:08):
could really make something of this. And eventually we grew
out of our backyard and started going around brewery's in
Orange County. And our problem was we couldn't ever make enough.
We always sold out before we reached into the lines,
and it was just we were We started off with
a five hundred gallon smoker and we thought that thing
was huge, like a beast.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Now we graduated at the restaurant, we have four one
thousand smokers.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
You can see though, so if you're in downtown San Juan,
historic sanu and Capistrano, you'll see Herrits Barbecue. It's kind
of like in the middle of the town. And now
you can see half the lot taken up with these
giant smokers and kind of like, probably the reason the
town smells so good, assume literally the whole town.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
So I was like, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
But so what you're telling me is is what a
lot of people might guess is that you probably had
some great culinary background and went to all these cooking
schools and grew up doing this and all of a sudden,
it's just an overnight success. I mean right, it wasn't
an overnight success.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
It wasn't. It was a lot of hard work. Actually,
when we started doing that, we were both working full
time jobs. I have a credit union banking background and
he was working as a corporate chef. And we were
doing this on the weekend and at nights after work
and while raising our family in our house. And you know,
I put everybody to work and we all did as
a team.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
That's awesome. That's awesome. So now that barbecue, But is
it is it to the point where I feel like
I go through this also? Did you feel like you
just might need another challenge? Is that another reason for
this restaurant? Would you say?
Speaker 4 (05:38):
I think that's a Danny question.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Danny loves a good Yeah, you.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Know, Uh, yeah, I think we we have We still
have our hands full with San Juan, and you know,
anything that we put on top of it at this
point makes things difficult. But really, honestly, it's about kind
of expanding our our restaurant group.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Is what it's about.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
So, you know, we had this idea of going into
it with some of our friends that are you know,
in charge.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Basically of our whole team.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
I mean my cousins, our general manager, my good friend
Nicholas Sachori, who I have worked years with in kitchens,
is our executive chef for San Juan and basically oversees
our whole culinary program throughout all the restaurants. It's about
(06:32):
creating a company where everyone can come up together, you know,
as far as being successful, not just Brenda and I,
but to bring those people along with us. And in
order for us to do that, we have to expand
we have to grow, we have to get bigger, to
have more opportunities. So that's the reason why I'm doing it.
(06:56):
It's more for them, so I and you know, my team,
I want to see them purchasing.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
All of them buying cars.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
So this is not and I think I've had that
mentality in my business a lot of times. Yeah, I
don't need I never need to be rich enough to
have my own jet. Yeah I have two or three
houses or any of this stuff. That's just not me.
And I need to have enough to where my family's
comfortable and I have a nice, comfortable life. But I
love seeing other people to go off and I like
that that foundation is like, it's not we want to
(07:26):
get bigger. We want to make it so that more
people have an opportunity because inside of that one restaurant,
there's not a lot. There's a ceiling, right, there's not
a lot of places to expand. And if you can
take your talents and do other things, you can give
people opportunities.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Yeah, I want to. I want them to feel like
an entrepreneur, like what we are.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
So I want them to feel, you know, like they're
very much a part of this, and you know, because
they are. They're they're the ones that are working hard
every day to make sure that everything, you know, comes
out absolutely perfect.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
They they love the place just like Brandon and I do.
I know it's really.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Hard to find people that, you know, treat the business
like it's theirs.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
So you know, that's that's why we do it.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
That's one of the biggest compliments from customers when they come,
they tell us how they compliment our team and you
could show that they genuinely care, and not just in
the front of the house, but also in the back
of the house. Like it comes out through the food too.
So we're big on hospitality, you know, in the front,
and we're big on good food and you know, all
the way around.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Yeah. I think most restaurants, when I think about it,
you have to have great hospitality, you have to have
great food, and you have to have a great environment
to serve that, right, and if you nail all those
three things, you're going to be successful. Now, Benjamin, you
haven't said too much back there.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
I've got some entrepreneurial parents up here. Yeah, sure, getting me.
You're sure you're pretty proud of them. Has it inspired
you at all or made you think about where you
want to go in life?
Speaker 5 (08:49):
Yeah, I want to help and pursue the business even afterwards.
My dad and mom aren't here to help as much.
My dad as try to get me to not but
this emerge.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
But it's something you're excited about. Being part of the
family business has inspired you.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
I do definitely be a part of it.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
Yeah, our daughter, she I think she wanted to be
a marine biologist, and you know there's other things that
she wanted to do. And I think the more she
saw she got older and she saw this opportunity and
what her mom and I were building. You know, this
family business and it's a generational thing is what we're
trying to create too. So you know, we didn't have
(09:33):
those opportunities from you know, both side of my parents
and Brenda's parents. You know, we didn't really have anybody
that was an entrepreneur or had a business that we
could step into. I always had this thing where I
said that you know, when you go to school, they
always teach you to go work for somebody, but they
never teach you to go off and do your own thing.
(09:53):
And so that's what we're hoping that our kids are
going to learn from us and you know, be able
to talk into something that you know, they can live
their lives comfortable and you know, even take it to
the next level when you know, I want my kids,
my daughter, I told her, I said, and my son,
you know, to both go to business school so that
you can teach your old man, you know, how to
run his business better, how to and what it really
(10:16):
boils down to is we're making good money, yeah, but
we also need to be able to.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Figure out how to hold on to it right, and we're.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
How invested how to make more money, that's what That's
how rich people get rich. And they told them and
they know how to do it. And for my background,
I came from a very poor background. Yes, my dad
worked at a factory, my mom cut air. I didn't
learn any of that, and I didn't have those role models.
And it's funny that you say that about I remember
career day when I was like sixteen or seventeen, They're like,
what do you want to be? And I'm like, what
(10:45):
can I be? All I knew was firefighter, cop, mailman, lawyer, doctor,
Like I'm like, I don't what can you be? And
now I try to tell my daughter that she's going
to business school, she's at college, and I'm like, no,
you can be like anything you want, Like you can
just come up with the crazy ice idea and you
can make that your business. And I'm trying to teach
(11:07):
them that because nobody was there to tell us that,
and the other thing, and yeah, the money thing. That
is a hard one to figure out because like, as
long as I've had money, I just spend it because
I didn't know any better because I never had it before.
So now you're like, oh, you could be investing in this,
you could be doing this, you could be doing this,
And I've had to learn that on my own. So
it is nice that not only can they go to
(11:27):
business school and teach you, but you can also help
them out too and show them what they can attract.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Yeah, it's the American dream, right, it is. It is.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
So let's talk about something different. I really want to
talk I think, but even before we talk about this restaurant,
I think it's so cool to go from backyard and
to the James Bond thing. Right, can you give me
any idea of what that was like? I mean we've
seen it play out in movies, like how people come
by and give you these ratings, like what was it
really like? And what was it like opening the envelopeer,
(11:58):
getting the call in? Just like what the hell like?
What it feel like?
Speaker 4 (12:02):
Every time? It's uh, surprise and humbling in an honor
And this last one, the James Beard nomination. I personally
cried all day, like you happy cheers. We Actually I
found out the same day. We had planned a staff meeting,
so we stopped on the way there and to give.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
A letter and email.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
We got a I got a text message from a
friend congratulating me, and I said what for what? Yeah,
so that's how I found out, and that he sent
me a link to it and opened it up and
I ran out to the to the kitchen. Brenda was
sitting down and I was like, I didn't even say
anything to her. I just showed her, dropped the phone
(12:41):
in front of her and she read it.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
I was sitting there with my four year old, you know,
trying to do breakfast for him and get this big
news dropped literally on my lap, and yeah, it's an honor.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Do you ever get imposter syndrome? Like were you just
like like this ain't us, Like we're just like I'm
a co for a chef and I work at a
credit union, Like what are they given this to us for?
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Like?
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Does it ever feel like that? Or do you feel
like you deserve it?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I just I grab I grab it and I crumble
it up and I push it in the back of
my head.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
And I try not to think about it, yeah, because.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
You know, we have so many other things that we
have to accomplish, and you really don't want to, you know.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Let things like that.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
You know, you never want anything like that to kind
of shadow over you because it gets in the way
of like, you know, hey, I still need to run
this business every day and I still need to focus
on making sure everything is.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
You gotta enjoy it a little bit, Yes, we do.
I mean, I'm gonna give you this. I'm an older
you know, I'm over fifty two. I'm not gonna say
my exact days I'm saying, but like I tend to
crumple things up and stuff I'm away too. Yeah, man,
you got to take a minute and just at least
put it on your own personal fridge for like a week,
you know it just be like we did this. Yeah,
(13:58):
even if you're you gotta take the w's taking a
lot of times.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
You know, we're at the bottom line, We're we've had
to work for everything, right, so we're humble. We're than
to ordering people and nothing was handed to us. So
this kind of stuff when it's you know, quote unquote
added to us, it's just like you know, you got
to keep working for it because you don't know how
long any anything will last. And you know, we're we've
built everything on our own two feet. Nothing again was
handed to us. So it's uh, you know, we when
(14:23):
we take a vacation and it's usually a working vacation. Yeah,
those are the moments we sell, right we look back.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
And by working vacation, I mean you're going to go
try food. Well, we got some good food. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
Like we have a trip coming up in a few
months and we're going to go to Texas and that
there's a festival over there, and you know we'll take
a few future days before and after to celebrate and
hang out, but then come back and it's hit the
ground running again.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
For me, it's always it's another layer of pressure too.
So that's why I try not to think about it
so much, because every accolade means more people are coming out,
you know, means you know, there's there's other people that
want to come in and say, oh, you know, why
is this place even you know, why do they have
to say why they have that?
Speaker 1 (15:06):
It's like for the more love, the more haters you get.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
It's literally it's like the love outweighs the haters. But
there's the haters, and you're always they're always waiting to,
you know, try to you know, tear you down.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
It's crazy. It's like you can just say, like this
barbecue is really good, and people were like, it ain't
Texas barbecue. I'm like, who said it was Texas barbecue?
And have you really been to every Texas barbecue and
this place and done some sort of like high chart comparison,
Like people just like to say that things aren't good.
Just to say that things aren't good.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
It's a it's ninety five percent love and a little five.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Percent hate, and it's hit those folks right, and.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
It's hard to not take it personal or let it
stick on the wall because we've built everything from scratch,
you know, and if.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
They knew that, if they knew that you were mom
and popping did this on your own and everything that
you've accomplished, yeah, they probably wouldn't have a lot of
them still would because they're just crazy.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
And you know it, Like you if you're going to
Heritage and you're going there with a ten twenty bucks yeah,
and you're buying you know, a slice of brisket and
like a piece of bread or something, because you know
that's all you get.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Yeah, you're not gonna experience.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
You're not gonna understand because it's it's a symphony when
you order stuff there. So if you get yourself a
platter and you share it with your friends or your
family and you you're getting to enjoy and see all
these different things that take a lot of time, and
there's a lot of technique, and you have them all
at all the same time together, you can understand. But yeah,
(16:35):
most of the time, the people that say that sort
of thing, I mean, they're not they're not a scene.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
It taking on that symphony theme, right, I'm just gonna
you get that symphony on the plate. And you guys
kind of talked about how you have this beautiful symphony
of staff, right, family staff, staff that feel like family,
and you guys are all working together in concert to
achieve these amazing things. So is it scary Let's go
talk about the new restaurant again. Is it scary opening
(17:02):
up this dinette when kind of the bands all playing
the music really good? Right? Is it scary to like,
now you have to be conducting two bands in two
different places and getting them both to create beautiful music.
Are you does it get to be a little scary that,
you know, if you pay attention to one, the other
one might suffer. Does that come across personally?
Speaker 2 (17:21):
I don't feel scared.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
No, good, good, good.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
They If I didn't have the right people in place,
or a good team at least a foundation of good people,
then I might be worried. But then I probably wouldn't
be doing this if I felt that way anyway, because
you have to be really smart and so you know,
one thing that we're doing is we're we are you know,
(17:47):
being very smart about this, as in you know, where
we have a smaller staff, we're only open a few
days a week, we're only open for lunch, and after
a month we're going to shift gears into doing dinner.
So we'll be open for lunch and for dinner. And
you know, we're going to gauge, you know, our our
(18:08):
clientele and see how much money we're in, what the
market is doing, and everything else, and then we can
expand to Thursdays and to Wednesdays.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
You know.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
So we're we're we have to be strategic and precise,
especially in this you know, this this economy that we're
trying to recover from right now, and you know, prices
for everything are crazy, and so restaurants aren't doing very
well right now. So you know, you have to be
(18:36):
really crazy to open a restaurant right now, or you
can just be really or really good.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I've always said that they're always like they love to
teach you lessons. Like half a restaurant's fail in their
first year. I'm like, yeah, a lot of them don't
have good food, good atmosphere. They don't. You know, there's
there's always a reason for that. It's not like they
just failed because they fail.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Yeah, we don't have investors, but there's people crush it.
You know.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
There's sidecards. Sidecard that kind of revolution revolutionized the donut
in righty, when donuts didn't make any money, they came
in and just said, well, this is how you do it.
You do it really well, and then people will stand
in line for these five dollars donuts.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Right.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Let me ask you this. It's a dinet, the lay
in the front. We're saying something French, right, it sounds
French a little bit. It is how are we pitchinghole
in ourselves? I know we talked about having different chefs
doing different things from different cultures, But how do we
describe it in an elevator? For Thomson, Look, I'm going
to lay hut. It is ex food.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
It well, the foundation for it is a diner, American diner.
But other than that, there's no rules, no rules, So
we're not.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Going to go there for a burger or for a taco.
We could maybe get surprised it is there a set menu?
Is it ever evolving?
Speaker 3 (19:52):
So for lunch, it's going to pretty much be a
set menu, and that will be pretty much your classic
American diner food EVA. And I hate to say like
that because yeah, I mean it's it's that that word
has been used so many times elevated, you know, But but.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
All that means is instead of doing ship on a
single exactly white piece of toast and sausage gravy, you
use Brio Ocean, you use like some sausage from Carlo's
bread the same thing. Okay, God, tuna sandwich becomes we
didn't just we got actual tuna that we so.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Yeah, sutainable tuna. We smoked it.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
You know, That's that's what elevated me exactly right. So
let's go into Yeah, let's talk about that a little
bit more in.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
The French Historic Park district over in San Anas. So
it's a nod to the area we're in. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
So if people don't know that area, it is I
think hidden, that's overused.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
People know Flora Park, it's.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Off the side of the five. You would never know
it's there. And Santa Anna was once the capital, right
it was the it was the heart in downtown. Downtown
was the heart. There was trains, it was. It was
really the hub of Orange County.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Right right, it was.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
It was the county seat. It still is, but it
was like the it was. It was the main place
that people went. And the homes, I mean even not
in that neighborhood. There's beautiful historic Victorian homes all around
downtown Santa Anna. But this neighborhood right here, it's just gorgeous.
It's a pocket that not a lot of people know about.
You might know Floral Park on the other side, which
is stunning, stunning neighborhood. If you've never been, it's worth
(21:38):
it just to drive down the streets. Not everybody at once,
but the neighborhood, did you guys are in? It's a
nod to that because of that neighborhood.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
It's up and coming too, so I'm glad that people
are seeing taking interest in restoring those homes because they
need to be preserved.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
These are kind of where the restaurant is. There's Carlo
who has sixty one hundred bread who's doing a great
job with baking right next door. And then you guys
have these two like quantt huts that like match but
they're not like your old school army quants and hut.
These are concrete and glass and quite beautiful. So yeah,
how did you come across that? What drew you to that?
And honestly the other question too, why Santa Anna? Because
(22:19):
it's so far away from San Juan in a way too.
You know, there's there's Coast of Asa, there's Dana Point,
there's all these other neighborhoods, So maybe why there and
why Santa Ana?
Speaker 4 (22:28):
Well, I'll speak to way back when Danny and I
both have history in Santanna. Okay, I grew up in
Santa Ana. We just went down a street where I'm like, oh,
I used to go to that dentist. I haven't been
down that street and look forever.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
That's awesome.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
And Danny was actually born in Santata.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Okay, so this is homecoming for you guys. Yes, So
that's why this.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
Neighborhood it's you know, there's wild parents that are in
the neighborhood. So one of our first trips down here,
when we were thinking about it, I could hear them
squawking flying bike and it's just like it just triggered
that memory. Yeah, and yeah, it's like coming home.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
That's awesome. And from the time that you were born here,
in the time that you grew up here, we have
seen historic changes in this direct. Correct. It's great that
you're both from Santa Anna. But I know there's also
been a lot of claims, just like in those neighborhoods
you mentioned, of gentrification of pushing people out. I think
you know, you still see in Santa Ana, which is nice.
(23:17):
You might have nice restaurants, but you also have the
stores and sell everything for the Kingstonia.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Yeah, you know, you.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Still have the cowboys shops or the carotops or whatever
you want to call them. So there's been I feel
like in Santa Anna there's been like a nice mixture.
They do a good job of like maintaining the culture
that's here while adding in you know some different and
upgrade or not upgrades, but different cultures.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Yes, yeah, I mean think that people love the fact
that we're Latino too. And you know, we're we're opening
up in an area that's you know, predominantly Latino. So
I really wouldn't we wouldn't call ourselves gentrifiers because you know,
we we're just you know, helping our people see this
(24:00):
you know, opportunity and hopefully inspiring others in the area
to do so. And and and we're not the first.
Santa Is full of Latino you know, entrepreneurs that are
doing amazing things.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Yeah, so let's talk to that, Like, what what is
your plans with Santa Ana with community involvement because if
you grew up here, that's got to be high on
your agenda.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
So for us, yeah, community is like paramount, So that's
number one. I mean, you have this city that's i
mean homeowners Latino homeowners. I mean I don't know the statistics,
but I mean it's really up there. I mean most
of the time. I mean, if you're in an area
like South Orange County, you're they're living in you know,
(24:45):
apartment buildings or some kind of you know house.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Homes, you know, and they're there. They came here.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
You know, you have grandparents and and such that came here,
you know, with these wanting this opportunity to you know,
buy their homes and own their you know, own things
and own land, and and they do that. So now
you have these kids that you know, have the opportunity
to someday maybe even take over these homes.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
But yeah, people are very proud of people up in
Santa Ana and living in Santa Ana. It's like one
of those places where people like fly that flag right.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
Right, yeah, and uh, you know there there's a community.
Is is huge because I feel like we can connect
with this community more than we can even connect in
San Juan. And we really are trying to make that
something that we're going to focus on.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Uh do you plan on bringing any of that into
the menu of traditional Dinderfair down the road?
Speaker 2 (25:44):
I mean there's there's definitely influence.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
It doesn't have to be a Mexican restaurant or a
Latin restaurant, but maybe some influences.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Well we're just hoping that like it'll you know, especially
with the wine, that it will kind of open up.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Well, it's just it's because you know, we're we're doing
this now natural wine program, and I think it's more
approachable because it's, uh, it's unpretentious, you know what I mean.
So I think that people who haven't had wine before
or have been into wine can start here and maybe
you know, work their way up the ladder to you know,
appreciating this this thing that you know of wine drinkers.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
I appreciate it. I try to appreciate it at night.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Yeah, but I mean how it doesn't get any more
classier in my opinion than you know, drinking wine.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
So so I and there's something to that too, right,
Instead of redoing what every restaurant would expect you to do,
part of that is let's let's like open your palate
to other things that exist right right, and educating. Yeah,
like you said, like maybe it is a wine maker's
dinner or something where people start to understand different cuisines
and and you know, appreciating wine and stuff. I think
(26:51):
that's really fair.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
The wine is you know, organic and biodynamic, so you know,
you're talking about sustainability and it's all things that people
bar into right now, especially young people. And so yeah,
I mean these the wines that we're going to be
serving are like I said, very approachable, you know, really juicy.
I mean they're they're meant to be, you know, glugged down.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
You know.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
So yeah, there's there's that, and uh.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Let me ask you about the food a little bit.
That's going to be there. So everything is going to
have the smokiness to.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
It, not everything.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
If you have like the fish sandwich, the tunes, so
what you talked about, the tune is going.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
To be smoked, Yes, the chick is going to be smoked.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Yeah, So everything's going to be a little smoky love.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
So you're you're smoking it down there and then bringing
it up here.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
That's awesome. All right, So let's just let's wrap this
up with all the people out there listening that might
be inspired by your story. What would you tell some
people that are maybe just like considering starting a business,
even if it's not a restaurant.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
I would say, be authentically yourself, don't bend or change
for anybody. Good people will see right through that. You know,
you'd always be yourself, stick to your guns. You know,
whatever you're gonna do, do it one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
That do you have any advice.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
Yeah, I mean I think you know mine comes from
the entrepreneurial part of it is because I'm a hustler
and I learned how to you know, put that turn
it in the right direction. So if you if you're
thinking about doing something, you always have to take that
first step and just do it. It always just takes
that first step, you know, just not being scared and
(28:32):
putting that for that first foot forward.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
And yeah, when I started this, I said, jump and
the jot will appear. Yeah, don't be afraid first, don't
look for the nut, jump in the nut will.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Don't be afraid to fail because a lot of people
don't know that. You know, I've failed so many times
in my life. Yeah, and you know, you just keep
doing whatever you do. And yeah, we're here lessons you'll
live to fight another day.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
And forgot who was listening to It's It was a
guy the other day and he was ninety. It was
on some TV show, But what he said stuck with me,
even if I can't remember his name. He said, what
would you tell your younger self? He said, tell him
it's gonna be okay and it all works out. And
I was like, that hit me so hard because we're
always stressed about the next day, the next week. And
you know, when you look back when you're ninety, you're
(29:18):
gonna be like, man, you had so much fun. I
just wish you would have enjoyed yourself more because it
all worked out. Yeah, you know all right, Benjamin, Do
you have any any advice you want to add advice? Yeah,
any sixteen year olds out there you want to tell
anything too.
Speaker 5 (29:33):
I've seen a bunch of people just won't try it,
to start anything just because they have the mindset they
don't think they can proceed succeed at all. Yeah, that
takes just a little bit of an effort to see
eighty percent, but you can get you know, the twenty
eighty rule.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Yeah, so you think the mindset is super important, just
having that positive mindset and focusing on what's achievable.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
The eighty percent that's achievable. Right.
Speaker 5 (29:57):
If you don't, if you're not passionate about what you do,
I'm most likely what you're doing, you're not going to
succeed very well. My dad, he loves what he does,
and I've seen him growing since I was younger, and
I can only see the business getting better as i've
grown up as well.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
I love that. I think it's cooking too. Oh, it
is cooking too.
Speaker 5 (30:16):
If you like it's cooking, yes, I'm very glad, my chef.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Well, we're gonna leave it right there. I want to
thank Danny, Brenda and Benjamin for joining us on Local
So today. Thank you to Fletcher Jones for this wonderful podcast.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Studio Jones sponsored me.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Yeah a lot of people say that one for this
wonderful rolling podcast studio, the e q E five hundred.
And thanks to everyone at straw Hut Media, to Parker
for editing this, to Ryan, to everyone there, and thank
you for joining us on Locals Only. We'll see you
next time. I want to thank everyone on the straw
(30:59):
Hut Media a team including executive producer Ryan Tillotson and
our editor and producer Parker Jay Hicks. And as always,
a big thank you to Fletcher Jones Motor Cars in
Newport Beach for providing this beautiful Mercedes Benz EQE to
be our rolling podcast studio. Join us next time on
(31:19):
Locales Only, where you can buckle up and go for
a ride in our mobile podcast studio with some of
the coolest people in Southern California,
Hello, Hey, Danny, how are you good?
Speaker 2 (00:03):
How are you good?
Speaker 1 (00:04):
It's Eric with Locals Only. I'm gonna be pulling up
in front of your restaurant here in just a couple
of seconds in a white Mercedes.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
See you soon, all right, I'll meet you outside.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Okay, bye bye, bye bye. Hey.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Welcome to Locals Only. I'm Eric Hale, and if you
don't know me, I'm the guy that founded Local Magazine
fourteen years ago in my garage. It's been my job
for all those years to tell you the coolest places
to eat in all of southern California, fun things to do.
So you have date nights that aren't boring, and we've
talked to some really interesting people. Now we have a podcast,
and we're lucky enough to call this Mercedes Benz EQE
(00:43):
all Electric Sedan courtesy of Fletcher Jones Motor Cars in
Newport Beach, our mobile podcast. Do do so, sit back,
buckle up, and enjoy the conversation. Welcome to Local Zone. Today.
On Locals oone, we're going to be cruising around the
Floral Park neighborhood of Santa Anna. We're picking up Danny,
(01:05):
his wife, Brenda, and their son Benjamin. They own Heritage
Barbecue and San Juan Capistrano, which is one a Michelin
bib Gormond and was just nominated for a James Beard Award.
They're opening up a new restaurant called La hut Dinette
in Santa Anna, and we're gonna talk to him about
their growth from meeting each other as very young kids,
(01:26):
getting married young, building a business together that started in
their backyard, and the success that comes with opening a
second restaurant. So sit back, buckle up and enjoy. Locals
only should be unlocked there. You got just come around
(01:50):
the other side there Benjamin to figure out. Well, this
is a courtesy of Fletcher Jones and Newport. They are
nice enough to make this our little rolling podcast studio.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
It's a beautiful car, all right.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Well, welcome everybody, getting buckled up. Day five star Uber ride.
You better give me five stars. So today we're lucky
enough to have Danny, his wife Brenda, and their son Benjamin.
They're gonna be riding with us today. We just picked
them up here in Santa Anna, which we're cruising around
the U. I guess you could call it up and
(02:24):
coming Santa Anna. Everybody's doing something here, and we're gonna
be driving around talking about their culinary journey, the James
Beard nominations, and the opening of their new restaurant. What's
the new restaurant called. We can start at the end
and work our way back to the beginning.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Sure, Yeah, it's called Le Hut Dine Nette, Okay, and that's.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Getting ready to open just in a couple of days. Here.
What was the what was the impetus behind this new restaurant?
Speaker 3 (02:52):
You know, we we were looking for something different. Obviously,
it's a whole other concept, you know, we're I mean,
our last restaurant was a was a barbecue joint, you know,
real Texas style barbecue, real rustic type of food, and
this is something refined, and you know, we wanted to
(03:14):
create a space for our chefs to really put out
what they're capable of doing, since we have a team
of these really you know, talented chefs that are working
for us. So yeah, it's just a really cool spot
for us to have fun and for.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
People that don't know and a lot of people will
know because we'll tell them at the beginning of this.
But the first restaurant, the barbecue place that you kind
of describe as your first place. Tell me about how that,
how that happened, and how you guys got into that business.
Brenda Could started.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Off in our backyard. Actually, we started doing barbecue and
we would have parties with friends, and then it turned into, well,
let's see if we can sell this food to you know,
make some money back instead of just feeding everybody. Yeah,
and then you know, friends and family, and then before
you know what, strangers were coming up in our backyard
on these weekend events, and we thought, well, maybe we
(04:08):
could really make something of this. And eventually we grew
out of our backyard and started going around brewery's in
Orange County. And our problem was we couldn't ever make enough.
We always sold out before we reached into the lines,
and it was just we were We started off with
a five hundred gallon smoker and we thought that thing
was huge, like a beast.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Now we graduated at the restaurant, we have four one
thousand smokers.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
You can see though, so if you're in downtown San Juan,
historic sanu and Capistrano, you'll see Herrits Barbecue. It's kind
of like in the middle of the town. And now
you can see half the lot taken up with these
giant smokers and kind of like, probably the reason the
town smells so good, assume literally the whole town.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
So I was like, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
But so what you're telling me is is what a
lot of people might guess is that you probably had
some great culinary background and went to all these cooking
schools and grew up doing this and all of a sudden,
it's just an overnight success. I mean right, it wasn't
an overnight success.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
It wasn't. It was a lot of hard work. Actually,
when we started doing that, we were both working full
time jobs. I have a credit union banking background and
he was working as a corporate chef. And we were
doing this on the weekend and at nights after work
and while raising our family in our house. And you know,
I put everybody to work and we all did as
a team.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
That's awesome. That's awesome. So now that barbecue, But is
it is it to the point where I feel like
I go through this also? Did you feel like you
just might need another challenge? Is that another reason for
this restaurant? Would you say?
Speaker 4 (05:38):
I think that's a Danny question.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Danny loves a good Yeah, you.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Know, Uh, yeah, I think we we have We still
have our hands full with San Juan, and you know,
anything that we put on top of it at this
point makes things difficult. But really, honestly, it's about kind
of expanding our our restaurant group.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Is what it's about.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
So, you know, we had this idea of going into
it with some of our friends that are you know,
in charge.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Basically of our whole team.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
I mean my cousins, our general manager, my good friend
Nicholas Sachori, who I have worked years with in kitchens,
is our executive chef for San Juan and basically oversees
our whole culinary program throughout all the restaurants. It's about
(06:32):
creating a company where everyone can come up together, you know,
as far as being successful, not just Brenda and I,
but to bring those people along with us. And in
order for us to do that, we have to expand
we have to grow, we have to get bigger, to
have more opportunities. So that's the reason why I'm doing it.
(06:56):
It's more for them, so I and you know, my team,
I want to see them purchasing.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
All of them buying cars.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
So this is not and I think I've had that
mentality in my business a lot of times. Yeah, I
don't need I never need to be rich enough to
have my own jet. Yeah I have two or three
houses or any of this stuff. That's just not me.
And I need to have enough to where my family's
comfortable and I have a nice, comfortable life. But I
love seeing other people to go off and I like
that that foundation is like, it's not we want to
(07:26):
get bigger. We want to make it so that more
people have an opportunity because inside of that one restaurant,
there's not a lot. There's a ceiling, right, there's not
a lot of places to expand. And if you can
take your talents and do other things, you can give
people opportunities.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Yeah, I want to. I want them to feel like
an entrepreneur, like what we are.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
So I want them to feel, you know, like they're
very much a part of this, and you know, because
they are. They're they're the ones that are working hard
every day to make sure that everything, you know, comes
out absolutely perfect.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
They they love the place just like Brandon and I do.
I know it's really.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Hard to find people that, you know, treat the business
like it's theirs.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
So you know, that's that's why we do it.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
That's one of the biggest compliments from customers when they come,
they tell us how they compliment our team and you
could show that they genuinely care, and not just in
the front of the house, but also in the back
of the house. Like it comes out through the food too.
So we're big on hospitality, you know, in the front,
and we're big on good food and you know, all
the way around.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Yeah. I think most restaurants, when I think about it,
you have to have great hospitality, you have to have
great food, and you have to have a great environment
to serve that, right, and if you nail all those
three things, you're going to be successful. Now, Benjamin, you
haven't said too much back there.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
I've got some entrepreneurial parents up here. Yeah, sure, getting me.
You're sure you're pretty proud of them. Has it inspired
you at all or made you think about where you
want to go in life?
Speaker 5 (08:49):
Yeah, I want to help and pursue the business even afterwards.
My dad and mom aren't here to help as much.
My dad as try to get me to not but
this emerge.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
But it's something you're excited about. Being part of the
family business has inspired you.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
I do definitely be a part of it.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
Yeah, our daughter, she I think she wanted to be
a marine biologist, and you know there's other things that
she wanted to do. And I think the more she
saw she got older and she saw this opportunity and
what her mom and I were building. You know, this
family business and it's a generational thing is what we're
trying to create too. So you know, we didn't have
(09:33):
those opportunities from you know, both side of my parents
and Brenda's parents. You know, we didn't really have anybody
that was an entrepreneur or had a business that we
could step into. I always had this thing where I
said that you know, when you go to school, they
always teach you to go work for somebody, but they
never teach you to go off and do your own thing.
(09:53):
And so that's what we're hoping that our kids are
going to learn from us and you know, be able
to talk into something that you know, they can live
their lives comfortable and you know, even take it to
the next level when you know, I want my kids,
my daughter, I told her, I said, and my son,
you know, to both go to business school so that
you can teach your old man, you know, how to
run his business better, how to and what it really
(10:16):
boils down to is we're making good money, yeah, but
we also need to be able to.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Figure out how to hold on to it right, and we're.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
How invested how to make more money, that's what That's
how rich people get rich. And they told them and
they know how to do it. And for my background,
I came from a very poor background. Yes, my dad
worked at a factory, my mom cut air. I didn't
learn any of that, and I didn't have those role models.
And it's funny that you say that about I remember
career day when I was like sixteen or seventeen, They're like,
what do you want to be? And I'm like, what
(10:45):
can I be? All I knew was firefighter, cop, mailman, lawyer, doctor,
Like I'm like, I don't what can you be? And
now I try to tell my daughter that she's going
to business school, she's at college, and I'm like, no,
you can be like anything you want, Like you can
just come up with the crazy ice idea and you
can make that your business. And I'm trying to teach
(11:07):
them that because nobody was there to tell us that,
and the other thing, and yeah, the money thing. That
is a hard one to figure out because like, as
long as I've had money, I just spend it because
I didn't know any better because I never had it before.
So now you're like, oh, you could be investing in this,
you could be doing this, you could be doing this,
And I've had to learn that on my own. So
it is nice that not only can they go to
(11:27):
business school and teach you, but you can also help
them out too and show them what they can attract.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Yeah, it's the American dream, right, it is. It is.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
So let's talk about something different. I really want to
talk I think, but even before we talk about this restaurant,
I think it's so cool to go from backyard and
to the James Bond thing. Right, can you give me
any idea of what that was like? I mean we've
seen it play out in movies, like how people come
by and give you these ratings, like what was it
really like? And what was it like opening the envelopeer,
(11:58):
getting the call in? Just like what the hell like?
What it feel like?
Speaker 4 (12:02):
Every time? It's uh, surprise and humbling in an honor
And this last one, the James Beard nomination. I personally
cried all day, like you happy cheers. We Actually I
found out the same day. We had planned a staff meeting,
so we stopped on the way there and to give.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
A letter and email.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
We got a I got a text message from a
friend congratulating me, and I said what for what? Yeah,
so that's how I found out, and that he sent
me a link to it and opened it up and
I ran out to the to the kitchen. Brenda was
sitting down and I was like, I didn't even say
anything to her. I just showed her, dropped the phone
(12:41):
in front of her and she read it.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
I was sitting there with my four year old, you know,
trying to do breakfast for him and get this big
news dropped literally on my lap, and yeah, it's an honor.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Do you ever get imposter syndrome? Like were you just
like like this ain't us, Like we're just like I'm
a co for a chef and I work at a
credit union, Like what are they given this to us for?
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Like?
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Does it ever feel like that? Or do you feel
like you deserve it?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I just I grab I grab it and I crumble
it up and I push it in the back of
my head.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
And I try not to think about it, yeah, because.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
You know, we have so many other things that we
have to accomplish, and you really don't want to, you know.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Let things like that.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
You know, you never want anything like that to kind
of shadow over you because it gets in the way
of like, you know, hey, I still need to run
this business every day and I still need to focus
on making sure everything is.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
You gotta enjoy it a little bit, Yes, we do.
I mean, I'm gonna give you this. I'm an older
you know, I'm over fifty two. I'm not gonna say
my exact days I'm saying, but like I tend to
crumple things up and stuff I'm away too. Yeah, man,
you got to take a minute and just at least
put it on your own personal fridge for like a week,
you know it just be like we did this. Yeah,
(13:58):
even if you're you gotta take the w's taking a
lot of times.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
You know, we're at the bottom line, We're we've had
to work for everything, right, so we're humble. We're than
to ordering people and nothing was handed to us. So
this kind of stuff when it's you know, quote unquote
added to us, it's just like you know, you got
to keep working for it because you don't know how
long any anything will last. And you know, we're we've
built everything on our own two feet. Nothing again was
handed to us. So it's uh, you know, we when
(14:23):
we take a vacation and it's usually a working vacation. Yeah,
those are the moments we sell, right we look back.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
And by working vacation, I mean you're going to go
try food. Well, we got some good food. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
Like we have a trip coming up in a few
months and we're going to go to Texas and that
there's a festival over there, and you know we'll take
a few future days before and after to celebrate and
hang out, but then come back and it's hit the
ground running again.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
For me, it's always it's another layer of pressure too.
So that's why I try not to think about it
so much, because every accolade means more people are coming out,
you know, means you know, there's there's other people that
want to come in and say, oh, you know, why
is this place even you know, why do they have
to say why they have that?
Speaker 1 (15:06):
It's like for the more love, the more haters you get.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
It's literally it's like the love outweighs the haters. But
there's the haters, and you're always they're always waiting to,
you know, try to you know, tear you down.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
It's crazy. It's like you can just say, like this
barbecue is really good, and people were like, it ain't
Texas barbecue. I'm like, who said it was Texas barbecue?
And have you really been to every Texas barbecue and
this place and done some sort of like high chart comparison,
Like people just like to say that things aren't good.
Just to say that things aren't good.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
It's a it's ninety five percent love and a little five.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Percent hate, and it's hit those folks right, and.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
It's hard to not take it personal or let it
stick on the wall because we've built everything from scratch,
you know, and if.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
They knew that, if they knew that you were mom
and popping did this on your own and everything that
you've accomplished, yeah, they probably wouldn't have a lot of
them still would because they're just crazy.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
And you know it, Like you if you're going to
Heritage and you're going there with a ten twenty bucks yeah,
and you're buying you know, a slice of brisket and
like a piece of bread or something, because you know
that's all you get.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Yeah, you're not gonna experience.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
You're not gonna understand because it's it's a symphony when
you order stuff there. So if you get yourself a
platter and you share it with your friends or your
family and you you're getting to enjoy and see all
these different things that take a lot of time, and
there's a lot of technique, and you have them all
at all the same time together, you can understand. But yeah,
(16:35):
most of the time, the people that say that sort
of thing, I mean, they're not they're not a scene.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
It taking on that symphony theme, right, I'm just gonna
you get that symphony on the plate. And you guys
kind of talked about how you have this beautiful symphony
of staff, right, family staff, staff that feel like family,
and you guys are all working together in concert to
achieve these amazing things. So is it scary Let's go
talk about the new restaurant again. Is it scary opening
(17:02):
up this dinette when kind of the bands all playing
the music really good? Right? Is it scary to like,
now you have to be conducting two bands in two
different places and getting them both to create beautiful music.
Are you does it get to be a little scary that,
you know, if you pay attention to one, the other
one might suffer. Does that come across personally?
Speaker 2 (17:21):
I don't feel scared.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
No, good, good, good.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
They If I didn't have the right people in place,
or a good team at least a foundation of good people,
then I might be worried. But then I probably wouldn't
be doing this if I felt that way anyway, because
you have to be really smart and so you know,
one thing that we're doing is we're we are you know,
(17:47):
being very smart about this, as in you know, where
we have a smaller staff, we're only open a few
days a week, we're only open for lunch, and after
a month we're going to shift gears into doing dinner.
So we'll be open for lunch and for dinner. And
you know, we're going to gauge, you know, our our
(18:08):
clientele and see how much money we're in, what the
market is doing, and everything else, and then we can
expand to Thursdays and to Wednesdays.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
You know.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
So we're we're we have to be strategic and precise,
especially in this you know, this this economy that we're
trying to recover from right now, and you know, prices
for everything are crazy, and so restaurants aren't doing very
well right now. So you know, you have to be
(18:36):
really crazy to open a restaurant right now, or you
can just be really or really good.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I've always said that they're always like they love to
teach you lessons. Like half a restaurant's fail in their
first year. I'm like, yeah, a lot of them don't
have good food, good atmosphere. They don't. You know, there's
there's always a reason for that. It's not like they
just failed because they fail.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Yeah, we don't have investors, but there's people crush it.
You know.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
There's sidecards. Sidecard that kind of revolution revolutionized the donut
in righty, when donuts didn't make any money, they came
in and just said, well, this is how you do it.
You do it really well, and then people will stand
in line for these five dollars donuts.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Right.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Let me ask you this. It's a dinet, the lay
in the front. We're saying something French, right, it sounds
French a little bit. It is how are we pitchinghole
in ourselves? I know we talked about having different chefs
doing different things from different cultures, But how do we
describe it in an elevator? For Thomson, Look, I'm going
to lay hut. It is ex food.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
It well, the foundation for it is a diner, American diner.
But other than that, there's no rules, no rules, So
we're not.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Going to go there for a burger or for a taco.
We could maybe get surprised it is there a set menu?
Is it ever evolving?
Speaker 3 (19:52):
So for lunch, it's going to pretty much be a
set menu, and that will be pretty much your classic
American diner food EVA. And I hate to say like
that because yeah, I mean it's it's that that word
has been used so many times elevated, you know, But but.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
All that means is instead of doing ship on a
single exactly white piece of toast and sausage gravy, you
use Brio Ocean, you use like some sausage from Carlo's
bread the same thing. Okay, God, tuna sandwich becomes we
didn't just we got actual tuna that we so.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Yeah, sutainable tuna. We smoked it.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
You know, That's that's what elevated me exactly right. So
let's go into Yeah, let's talk about that a little
bit more in.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
The French Historic Park district over in San Anas. So
it's a nod to the area we're in. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
So if people don't know that area, it is I
think hidden, that's overused.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
People know Flora Park, it's.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Off the side of the five. You would never know
it's there. And Santa Anna was once the capital, right
it was the it was the heart in downtown. Downtown
was the heart. There was trains, it was. It was
really the hub of Orange County.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Right right, it was.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
It was the county seat. It still is, but it
was like the it was. It was the main place
that people went. And the homes, I mean even not
in that neighborhood. There's beautiful historic Victorian homes all around
downtown Santa Anna. But this neighborhood right here, it's just gorgeous.
It's a pocket that not a lot of people know about.
You might know Floral Park on the other side, which
is stunning, stunning neighborhood. If you've never been, it's worth
(21:38):
it just to drive down the streets. Not everybody at once,
but the neighborhood, did you guys are in? It's a
nod to that because of that neighborhood.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
It's up and coming too, so I'm glad that people
are seeing taking interest in restoring those homes because they
need to be preserved.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
These are kind of where the restaurant is. There's Carlo
who has sixty one hundred bread who's doing a great
job with baking right next door. And then you guys
have these two like quantt huts that like match but
they're not like your old school army quants and hut.
These are concrete and glass and quite beautiful. So yeah,
how did you come across that? What drew you to that?
And honestly the other question too, why Santa Anna? Because
(22:19):
it's so far away from San Juan in a way too.
You know, there's there's Coast of Asa, there's Dana Point,
there's all these other neighborhoods, So maybe why there and
why Santa Ana?
Speaker 4 (22:28):
Well, I'll speak to way back when Danny and I
both have history in Santanna. Okay, I grew up in
Santa Ana. We just went down a street where I'm like, oh,
I used to go to that dentist. I haven't been
down that street and look forever.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
That's awesome.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
And Danny was actually born in Santata.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Okay, so this is homecoming for you guys. Yes, So
that's why this.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
Neighborhood it's you know, there's wild parents that are in
the neighborhood. So one of our first trips down here,
when we were thinking about it, I could hear them
squawking flying bike and it's just like it just triggered
that memory. Yeah, and yeah, it's like coming home.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
That's awesome. And from the time that you were born here,
in the time that you grew up here, we have
seen historic changes in this direct. Correct. It's great that
you're both from Santa Anna. But I know there's also
been a lot of claims, just like in those neighborhoods
you mentioned, of gentrification of pushing people out. I think
you know, you still see in Santa Ana, which is nice.
(23:17):
You might have nice restaurants, but you also have the
stores and sell everything for the Kingstonia.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Yeah, you know, you.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Still have the cowboys shops or the carotops or whatever
you want to call them. So there's been I feel
like in Santa Anna there's been like a nice mixture.
They do a good job of like maintaining the culture
that's here while adding in you know some different and
upgrade or not upgrades, but different cultures.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Yes, yeah, I mean think that people love the fact
that we're Latino too. And you know, we're we're opening
up in an area that's you know, predominantly Latino. So
I really wouldn't we wouldn't call ourselves gentrifiers because you know,
we we're just you know, helping our people see this
(24:00):
you know, opportunity and hopefully inspiring others in the area
to do so. And and and we're not the first.
Santa Is full of Latino you know, entrepreneurs that are
doing amazing things.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Yeah, so let's talk to that, Like, what what is
your plans with Santa Ana with community involvement because if
you grew up here, that's got to be high on
your agenda.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
So for us, yeah, community is like paramount, So that's
number one. I mean, you have this city that's i
mean homeowners Latino homeowners. I mean I don't know the statistics,
but I mean it's really up there. I mean most
of the time. I mean, if you're in an area
like South Orange County, you're they're living in you know,
(24:45):
apartment buildings or some kind of you know house.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Homes, you know, and they're there. They came here.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
You know, you have grandparents and and such that came here,
you know, with these wanting this opportunity to you know,
buy their homes and own their you know, own things
and own land, and and they do that. So now
you have these kids that you know, have the opportunity
to someday maybe even take over these homes.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
But yeah, people are very proud of people up in
Santa Ana and living in Santa Ana. It's like one
of those places where people like fly that flag right.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
Right, yeah, and uh, you know there there's a community.
Is is huge because I feel like we can connect
with this community more than we can even connect in
San Juan. And we really are trying to make that
something that we're going to focus on.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Uh do you plan on bringing any of that into
the menu of traditional Dinderfair down the road?
Speaker 2 (25:44):
I mean there's there's definitely influence.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
It doesn't have to be a Mexican restaurant or a
Latin restaurant, but maybe some influences.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Well we're just hoping that like it'll you know, especially
with the wine, that it will kind of open up.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Well, it's just it's because you know, we're we're doing
this now natural wine program, and I think it's more
approachable because it's, uh, it's unpretentious, you know what I mean.
So I think that people who haven't had wine before
or have been into wine can start here and maybe
you know, work their way up the ladder to you know,
appreciating this this thing that you know of wine drinkers.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
I appreciate it. I try to appreciate it at night.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Yeah, but I mean how it doesn't get any more
classier in my opinion than you know, drinking wine.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
So so I and there's something to that too, right,
Instead of redoing what every restaurant would expect you to do,
part of that is let's let's like open your palate
to other things that exist right right, and educating. Yeah,
like you said, like maybe it is a wine maker's
dinner or something where people start to understand different cuisines
and and you know, appreciating wine and stuff. I think
(26:51):
that's really fair.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
The wine is you know, organic and biodynamic, so you know,
you're talking about sustainability and it's all things that people
bar into right now, especially young people. And so yeah,
I mean these the wines that we're going to be
serving are like I said, very approachable, you know, really juicy.
I mean they're they're meant to be, you know, glugged down.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
You know.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
So yeah, there's there's that, and uh.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Let me ask you about the food a little bit.
That's going to be there. So everything is going to
have the smokiness to.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
It, not everything.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
If you have like the fish sandwich, the tunes, so
what you talked about, the tune is going.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
To be smoked, Yes, the chick is going to be smoked.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Yeah, So everything's going to be a little smoky love.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
So you're you're smoking it down there and then bringing
it up here.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
That's awesome. All right, So let's just let's wrap this
up with all the people out there listening that might
be inspired by your story. What would you tell some
people that are maybe just like considering starting a business,
even if it's not a restaurant.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
I would say, be authentically yourself, don't bend or change
for anybody. Good people will see right through that. You know,
you'd always be yourself, stick to your guns. You know,
whatever you're gonna do, do it one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
That do you have any advice.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
Yeah, I mean I think you know mine comes from
the entrepreneurial part of it is because I'm a hustler
and I learned how to you know, put that turn
it in the right direction. So if you if you're
thinking about doing something, you always have to take that
first step and just do it. It always just takes
that first step, you know, just not being scared and
(28:32):
putting that for that first foot forward.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
And yeah, when I started this, I said, jump and
the jot will appear. Yeah, don't be afraid first, don't
look for the nut, jump in the nut will.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Don't be afraid to fail because a lot of people
don't know that. You know, I've failed so many times
in my life. Yeah, and you know, you just keep
doing whatever you do. And yeah, we're here lessons you'll
live to fight another day.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
And forgot who was listening to It's It was a
guy the other day and he was ninety. It was
on some TV show, But what he said stuck with me,
even if I can't remember his name. He said, what
would you tell your younger self? He said, tell him
it's gonna be okay and it all works out. And
I was like, that hit me so hard because we're
always stressed about the next day, the next week. And
you know, when you look back when you're ninety, you're
(29:18):
gonna be like, man, you had so much fun. I
just wish you would have enjoyed yourself more because it
all worked out. Yeah, you know all right, Benjamin, Do
you have any any advice you want to add advice? Yeah,
any sixteen year olds out there you want to tell
anything too.
Speaker 5 (29:33):
I've seen a bunch of people just won't try it,
to start anything just because they have the mindset they
don't think they can proceed succeed at all. Yeah, that
takes just a little bit of an effort to see
eighty percent, but you can get you know, the twenty
eighty rule.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Yeah, so you think the mindset is super important, just
having that positive mindset and focusing on what's achievable.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
The eighty percent that's achievable. Right.
Speaker 5 (29:57):
If you don't, if you're not passionate about what you do,
I'm most likely what you're doing, you're not going to
succeed very well. My dad, he loves what he does,
and I've seen him growing since I was younger, and
I can only see the business getting better as i've
grown up as well.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
I love that. I think it's cooking too. Oh, it
is cooking too.
Speaker 5 (30:16):
If you like it's cooking, yes, I'm very glad, my chef.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Well, we're gonna leave it right there. I want to
thank Danny, Brenda and Benjamin for joining us on Local
So today. Thank you to Fletcher Jones for this wonderful podcast.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Studio Jones sponsored me.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Yeah a lot of people say that one for this
wonderful rolling podcast studio, the e q E five hundred.
And thanks to everyone at straw Hut Media, to Parker
for editing this, to Ryan, to everyone there, and thank
you for joining us on Locals Only. We'll see you
next time. I want to thank everyone on the straw
(30:59):
Hut Media a team including executive producer Ryan Tillotson and
our editor and producer Parker Jay Hicks. And as always,
a big thank you to Fletcher Jones Motor Cars in
Newport Beach for providing this beautiful Mercedes Benz EQE to
be our rolling podcast studio. Join us next time on
(31:19):
Locales Only, where you can buckle up and go for
a ride in our mobile podcast studio with some of
the coolest people in Southern California,
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