October 4, 2024 • 50 mins
Ever wondered how a single visionary can transform the culinary world? Meet Sam Fox, the dynamic entrepreneur and restaurateur changing the dining landscape across 23 states. In this episode, we dive into Sam's inspiring journey, from his early days working in his family’s Tucson restaurants to becoming a hotelier and the proud owner of the prestigious Global Ambassador. Discover how a brief, unfulfilling stint in real estate ignited his passion for the restaurant industry, leading him to open his first establishment at just 20 years old. Sam’s story is one of bold risks and invaluable lessons that paved the way for his monumental success.
Join us as we explore the fascinating partnership between Sam Fox and Dr. Andrew Weil that gave birth to True Food Kitchen, a venture that championed healthy dining during challenging times. You'll hear about the pivotal dinner that sparked Sam's belief in the concept’s potential and the hurdles they overcame in expanding the brand during an economic downturn. Sam shares candid insights into the restaurant industry, from growing successful brands like Flower Child, Doe Bird, and North, to navigating celebrity partnerships. It’s a testament to how creativity and business savvy can lead to culinary success.
But we go beyond food. This episode delves into tipping culture, discussing when and how much to tip, and explores Sam's experiences with philanthropy and cutting-edge health practices like hyperbaric chamber recovery. Sam’s active lifestyle, commitment to community welfare, and innovative approach to hospitality paint the portrait of a man dedicated to personal growth as much as business excellence. With heartening stories and meaningful insights, this episode is packed with inspiration and education.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Welcome to our podcast again.
So we've got uh, it's thedoctor and the DJ working title
right now, but our guest todayis Sam Fox.
Entrepreneur, restaurateur,businessman what do we call you,
sam?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Sam.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Sam yeah, but you've like changed the landscape
Hotelier.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Now, oh, hotelier, that's right.
I love that name.
It's very fancy, you've got theGlobal Ambassador.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I can't even say it right.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
You've got the Global Ambassador that opened up about
about a year ago almost a yearago, yeah, but I mean you
changed the landscape of food inArizona.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Oh, thank you.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Right, I mean, you really have Well much broader
than Arizona, california,arizona.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
California, Nashville right, 23 states.
Are you in 23 states?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Yeah, wow.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
What a big portfolio.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Are there any restaurants in other states
outside of this that aren't here, because I know you got the one
with Justin Timberlake inNashville.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, the only other one would be the 1230 Club in
Nashville.
That's just a unique one-offand I've never really done a
one-off outside of Arizona.
All the original brands andrestaurants have all started in
Arizona.
That's the first one we did inNashville and the only one we've
done so far.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
So we're like the food-proving ground.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Yes, Well, just, you know, you have to.
These restaurants are likechildren you have to nurture
them and grow them and developthem.
They don't just happen.
And so I've always wanted to beclose so I could be there every
day, especially in thebeginning when you're doing all
that.
So that was the reasoning forthat.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
So how did it start?
You grew up in Tucson, yeah,working for your parents.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yeah, my parents are in the restaurant business which
restaurant?
Hungry Fox on Broadway, andthey're still there A little
breakfast place that my dad had,a Mexican restaurant and a
couple other places.
And you know, the whole timewhen I was going to school and
growing up it was a hardrestaurant career.
My parents did not want me togo in the restaurant business.
(01:59):
They were mom and poprestaurants.
They worked opening to close.
It wasn't some big fancypayroll.
They, you know, they cooked andcleaned and swept and did
everything and, um, you know,just made enough to make a
living.
But it was not, uh, some sortof fancy job that I might have
today.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
So what happened?
How did it start?
How did you go?
Speaker 2 (02:19):
I, was going to school at the university of
Arizona as a sophomore and I wasin real estate finance.
My parents moved away toFlorida to take care of my
grandfather.
They insisted that I did not gointo the restaurant business.
I was interning at a realestate firm.
That guy I was interning fortold me to go to his wife's
house in Tucson Country Club andshe had something that she
(02:42):
wanted me to do as an intern.
In college you ran errands andpicked up lunch and you made
copies, and so I was going overthere.
I thought I was picking up somedry cleaning and she knocked.
She opened the door and saidhey, I have a flat tire.
I need you to change my flattire.
It was July in the summer.
I'm this little preppy intern.
I got my khaki pants on and mywhite shirt and she goes can you
(03:04):
change the tire?
I said yeah, and I'm not reallymechanically inclined, so it
took me about an hour to changethe tire.
About 150 degrees on theasphalt.
My clothes are ruined.
I get in the car.
She barely says thank you.
I drive back to the real estatefirm, which is at Williams
Center, walked in and to my bossand said I quit and walked out
of the door and I said I'm nevergoing to work for anyone, ever
again.
(03:24):
I dropped out of school, didnot tell my parents, took my
tuition money and then raisedsome money from some friends and
family and took over the oldCosmolina space on Campbell and
opened Gilligan's Bar and Grillin 1992.
That's how I got into therestaurant business.
I was 20 years old when Isigned the lease.
Give me goosebumps.
But I couldn't open therestaurant until I was 21
(03:45):
because I had to get a liquorlicense.
Sure, I thought I was thesmartest 21 year old in the
world which I wasn't and I'd saythat was my three.
I had the business for almostfour years.
That was my business, sort ofcrash course on sort of.
I call it the restaurantbusiness.
I was always good at therestaurant side of things.
My parents had restaurants andhospitality became natural and
(04:06):
easy to me.
The business side, which myparents weren't great at either,
was something that I had towork at.
And then having that restaurantwith really not a lot of money,
I kind of shoestringed ittogether and running a business
for three years with no money,you learn a lot about business
and you learn a lot aboutyourself and you know what works
(04:29):
and what doesn't work and yougot to make sure you know where
every penny is and so really afoundation for who I am sold.
That business cost $45,000 toopen.
I sold that business four yearsthree and a half four years
later and for $500,000 it's kindof crazy and then got into some
other restaurants in Tucson,had a restaurant called City
Grill, merged with the peoplethat owned Buddies and we had
five restaurants together and Iwas partners in that.
(04:49):
I owned a third of that.
My partners owned two-thirds ofit.
They were late 50s, early 60s Iwas 26, 27 at the time and we
worked together, learned a lotfrom them and learned a lot of
things that I didn't like abouthow they ran their business and
we kind of became oil and water.
They were like I said we weretwo different places in our life
.
They were playing golf and Iwas working.
(05:10):
They'd come in and tell me whatto do and I was offended by
that.
They probably were right, but Iwas offended by it.
And after three or four years ofbusiness together we had five
restaurants.
They basically came to me andsaid we're firing you.
And I said, well, I didn't knowI could get fired from my own
company I'm the owner andrealized that I could Big
business lesson for me there andwas embarrassed.
(05:31):
I was kind of this guy inTucson had all these restaurants
and was going to move out ofTucson to New York.
A friend of mine just bought abusiness in New York called Dina
DeLuca.
That was already there and heacquired it.
He was a mentor of mine.
In fact, they own radiostations in Tucson and that's
how I got to know a guy namedBill Phelan.
Did you know Bill at all, boy?
Speaker 1 (05:51):
that name sounds familiar.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Yeah, bill, they owned a whole bunch of radio
stations around the country.
I can't remember the company,but Bill would come into my
first restaurant and he wouldmentor me and and then over the
years I got to know him and thenwhen my partners fired me from
that, he goes.
Oh, you should go talk to a guynamed Leslie Rudd who was
living in Napa at the time.
Leslie had bought this DeanDeLuca brand and at the same
(06:13):
time, while all this was goingon, I started to date a girl
that was seven years youngerthan me and she was a senior in
college at the University ofArizona.
We came serious.
I went to New York.
I got offered the job.
I knew, if I took the job, thatmy wife or my girlfriend at
that time would be over and Iknew I was going to want to
marry her.
(06:33):
And here I am, 26 years later.
I've married that girl, goodchoice.
I got fired from my company.
It was the best thing thathappened to me and sort of was
going to move out of Tucson, butdecided to stay, get engaged
and opened Wildflower in Tucsonin 1998, still in our portfolio,
150 restaurants later we're uphere in Phoenix and had about 16
, 17 different brands.
(06:53):
We've grown the company, we'vegrown brands, we've had one-offs
.
We have 40 or 50 of other units.
We've sold True Food, we'vesold Sauce and then almost four
years ago a little over fouryears ago I sold my whole
company to the CheesecakeFactory and I'm still there
today running the business andthey're been amazing partners
(07:14):
and we have a really good thinggoing.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
So I want to ask you to me, Sam, you're kind of like
the pioneer of concepts, though,Because everybody now wants to
do concepts in the restaurantbusiness but you started it.
You were the first guy who saidthere's a trend here that we
can we can you know, play off of.
So how did you come up with theidea?
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Well, all ideas are different, but all the ideas
came from.
As far as true food goes, ifyou're referring to true food,
andy Weil, who is our partner init, his business people,
reached out to me and said hey,you want to come?
Andy wants to talk to you aboutdoing a restaurant.
I said I don't want to do arestaurant with Andy and Andy
used to come to my restaurantsand eat all the time and you
know, Andy, was this sort ofearly to sort of healthy eating.
(07:59):
He was an early adopter, earlyadopter and I was like you know,
I don't need that, I don't wantto have a partner who's a
doctor and have these crazythings.
And so Andy invited me down tohis house down in Tucson and I
took my wife and we had dinnerand cooked a whole bunch of food
that I would never eat.
I would never eat it and it wasall good.
I went down there just as sortof as a courtesy to somebody the
(08:21):
business people and I leftthere going shit, we should do
this.
And so we worked on sort ofputting our deal together and
sort of what we thought itshould be.
And then we found a locationand we opened the original one
almost 15, 16 years ago and theday we opened it's been
(08:45):
successful ever since.
We got approached in sort ofthe third month by a guy named
Rick Federico, who's thechairman of the board and CEO of
PF Chang's, and they said I washaving lunch with him at True
Food to talk to him about tryingto hire somebody that had
worked for him to be mypresident.
And kind of early in my careerI've always wanted to sell a few
(09:10):
things.
You know.
I saw my parents how hard theyworked and these, you know, when
I didn't have a lot ofrestaurants.
You know you have restaurantsand you have cash flow and it's
great, but you really are notreally creating any sort of
wealth or any sort of long-termcapital.
It's always these are somewhatdepreciating assets as you open
these buildings, and so so Rickand I had a great relationship
and I was interviewing this guynamed Russell Owens, who has
(09:32):
become my president, has beenwith me since that lunch that
day, and at the end of it hesaid what are you doing with
True Food?
Because he knew I was alwaystrying to sell him something.
He won't buy sauce.
You want to buy this?
And I said I don't know, wejust opened, we're figuring it
out.
He goes well, we want to buy it.
I go what you want to buy it?
I said well, I only have one.
And we made a deal but theywould give me some growth
capital.
(09:53):
Grow it to five.
It was in the middle of 2007,2008.
There's really no capital outthere.
It's sort of in the earlystages of the financial crisis.
So Rick gave me $10 millionalmost on a handshake a little
more than a handshake, but itwas a very loose terms and the
deal was we'd go and open, we'dget to five units and once we
did they would either make mepay them back the 10 million or
(10:15):
they'd be my partner.
And so they became my partner.
They were publicly traded.
They in turn got bought by abig private company and they
took them private.
And so my partners wound upbecoming a private equity firm
out of New York and it's alittle interesting ride, a lot
of learning experiences throughthat for sure.
And our structure was grow to20, and then we would exit.
(10:36):
So we grew to 20, we exited.
We wound up staying on for alittle bit.
Oprah bought in at the sametime when we were exiting.
She was on the board.
I got to meet Oprah and be onthe board a little bit and then
sort of completely divested ourinterest about a year and a half
later and we've been out foralmost eight years.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
So true food has nothing to do with?
Speaker 2 (10:55):
nothing to do with anything that we have not no
true food for the last seven oreight years.
Wow, yeah, neither does Andyand he does.
He kept his money.
Oh, he did.
I took my money out and he does.
He kept his money in the deal.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Oh, he did.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
I took my money out.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Wow.
So if a new true food pops upsomewhere, you have nothing to
do with it?
Correct, yeah.
So I grew up in the restaurantbusiness with my dad in Tucson.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
In fact he had a Taco Bell that he sold to Greasy
Tony.
Do you remember Greasy Tony?
Yeah, sure, yeah, that was.
My dad owned the rights to thetaco bell in all of arizona and
sold it in 1977 to go open atsambo's yeah, that didn't work.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Yeah, that didn't work out.
It's okay, right.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Yeah, it didn't work out, yeah but I remember him
coming home after 18, 19 hours.
I remember taking off his shoesand he'd go and he would
massage his feet and he'd tellme about appreciating the little
things in life.
Right, he's cause he worked hisass off.
Yeah, um, and it makes me thinkabout health and fitness and
how he never had time toexercise until much later.
So here you are, running theserestaurants.
Are you exercising?
(11:57):
Are you eating right?
Are you your worst customer?
Speaker 2 (12:00):
You know, we um.
Yeah, you know true, food wasnot how I ate.
I was a Zinberger guy, right.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Zinberger's not bad.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
But yeah, but I'm a fries.
There's a burger there calledthe Sandburger.
It's bacon, it's ThousandIsland, it's cheese.
And so that was me.
I was the Sandburger.
And then we opened up true foodand I'm like, okay, this isn't
you know.
So I was when we developed thewhole brand.
The whole brand was developedabout food that I liked, not
(12:30):
what Andy liked.
I knew.
You know Andy's audience was10% of the world at that time,
right, right, and I figured ifwe can make it that I liked it,
I was the other 90% and so thatwas really I'm.
We worked on the food in mytest kitchen and it was healthy
and if I liked it we would.
We would make it as a menu itemand you know Andy would share
(12:50):
ingredients and ideas and youknow we were really really,
really early to kale, reallyearly, and you know, and just
like see buckthorn and just somethings that I never heard of at
the moment in time.
But you know I just dove intoit and you know it turned out to
be, you know, great.
And so that was sort of thefirst time where I started to
say, okay, maybe I need to takecare of myself a little bit
(13:12):
better.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Oh, really so.
Did you do blood work?
Did you do stuff like that?
And you're like I got to eatbetter.
Um, do you feel better?
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Well, I don't want to tell you what happened, but I
had a minor heart attack andfrom eating all the red and I
had a stent put in my heart, uh,16, 15, like right after true
food opened, and so that wassort of a wake up call.
And so then I started to get ona program and did you know
you're having?
Speaker 1 (13:35):
a heart attack.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
I knew I was having a heart attack.
It was the craziest thing I wasum that day.
I was actually at zen burgerand I was talking to someone and
my breath got sort of.
I was like, oh my God, what'shappening?
I sat down, caught my breath.
I thought I was a little bitdizzy and didn't really think
that much of it, and I wasliving at the waterfront at the
(13:57):
time, above Sauce there, and wehave Olive and Ivy and culinary
dropouts there as well, and Iwas sleeping, sleeping and I
took an Ambien that night andliterally when I take an Ambien
I never, never wake up.
I'd wake up in the morning,literally at two 30 in the
morning.
I woke up and I'm like my chestwas.
(14:17):
I was like, oh my God,something is wrong and I
couldn't really tell it wasn'tlike a serious.
I just couldn't tell what wasgoing on.
And so I literally I get out ofbed and I put on my clothes and
my wife goes what are you doing?
I go, I'm going to the hospital.
I think I have a heart attack.
She goes well, let me call anambulance.
I go.
No, I live in a high rise with90 other people.
I go, I'm not getting cartedout, I'm not.
(14:40):
I drove myself to Osborne andtold him I was having a heart
attack.
The doctor there kind of lookedme over, did some things,
thought I was having some sortof like angina or something, and
was there for two hours.
He goes, I can't find anythingthat's wrong.
And he goes.
I said, well, I'm telling youthere's something wrong.
And I said I'm not leaving hereuntil I see the cardiologist
(15:10):
Cause he's not going to be inuntil six in the morning.
This is like four, four, 30.
I said I'll wait.
Waited in the emergency room.
Cardiologist came in and a hourlater I'm in the stent lab
having a stent.
But then they did some sort oftest and my blood everything was
elevated, blah, blah, blah,blah, blah.
And so, yeah, it's kind ofactually somewhat of you know,
I've kind of changed my wholelifestyle after that and it was
kind of good.
That was so minor and just youknow, so it was just a great
(15:35):
wake-up call early in my lifethat I needed to do something
about that.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
You were way young.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
So yeah, I was 39.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Did your dad have any kind of thing like that?
Is it her.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
You know my dad has been put in, but he was in his
sort of seventies by the time hehad that.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
So since then you've completely changed Like.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
I don't know if I can really change.
You know, you feel different.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Well, you know, she's my doctor.
I know, and she's and she'stold me about, and I've talked
to a couple people that have it.
So now that you've had it forso long, is your life normal?
Yeah, like you don't go, god Ican't go climb Camelback because
I have a stent.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
No, I'm in the best shape I've ever been in.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Okay, that's what I was wondering.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Yeah, I mean yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I did the keto diet for aboutthree years, lost a lot of
weight, and then you know I'deat.
You know, when you're in therestaurant business and you're
working in the restaurants, youkind of eat at the end of the
(16:32):
night, every night, and you havesort of this access to all of
this food, right, and so it was.
I had just to change when andwhat I ate, and so I tried to
eat as early as possible.
No, I see you, you're an earlyeater and uh, yeah, and so
that's right.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
So it's you, yeah, yeah, I actually have a
reservation.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Let's go at 5 30 and everyone looks like 5 30, you
know.
So, like for eating, I'll eatat 5 30 six o'clock for dining.
That's a whole nother so youknow, going out to dinner having
a drink, that's a whole notherexperience.
Yeah, you know so well.
Out to dinner having a drink,that's a whole nother experience
.
Yeah, you know so.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Well, so then you went when you opened up Flower
Child.
I'll tell you about a Sammoment.
I'll never forget this becauseit sticks with me every time I
go to Flower Child.
I remember I see they're eatingand you were at another table
and you came over and you go,you got to try this.
You go, the corn that they'vequinoa, quinoa corn with yogurt.
(17:27):
Yeah, you're like, you gottatry this.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
And I remember it was freaking phenomenal oh good,
every time I go, that's thething I get, and I just remember
that moment.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
That's when you sat down.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Yeah, right, it's, that's fantastic.
We have 36 flower children.
Now what?
Speaker 1 (17:36):
yeah, yeah that was the first one, though, wasn't it
?
That was the first one, yeahyeah, 36, yeah 36 what's the
next thing?
Actually?
I also remember when you toldme you were going to open Doe
Bird.
You got this concept.
Check this out.
It's called Doe Bird.
Nobody knows what it is yet,but here's what we're doing.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Nobody knows why it's called Doe Bird.
Why is it called Doe?
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Bird?
Well, because it's pizza andbird Pizza and chicken, yeah Is.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
You know well we did the hotel.
But I mean we're opening toHenry tomorrow in Nashville Will
you be there.
Yeah, I'm going out tomorrow,Wow.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Henry's blowing up too, right LA.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Yeah, so we have one in LA Coronado, coronado, which
is by far, pound for pound, ourbest one.
It's crazy how busy Coronado isit's packed?
And we just opened a Blanco inCoronado as well over the summer
.
So that's great and you knowwe're opening a whole bunch of
Blancos here in town.
We have one opening at PV Mall,we have one opening out in
(18:33):
Peoria, we have one opening inTempe, and so we're really going
to grow.
I mean we're growing our growthbrands.
Our growth brands are in myportfolio.
North is in the Cheesecakeportfolio now.
Flower brands are in myportfolio.
North is in the cheesecakeportfolio now.
Flower Child is in ourportfolio somewhat.
But the goal there is really iswe scale these restaurants up
and they get to a certain scaleof size.
(18:54):
Then our partners that havereally great expertise of
growing two and 300 restaurantskind of step in and help us grow
the rest of those brands.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
But the hotel just you.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
The hotel is one of one.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
One of one.
Is there going to be anotherone?
Speaker 3 (19:06):
One of two maybe coming.
We want to be the first to saythat yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
I don't know yet.
We'll see.
We'll be a year in December.
I think it's a little too earlyfor us to sort of get into it.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
But we think about it well.
You know what's funny.
Sometimes I drive by placesthat are being torn down and
they look bad.
I'm like I bet you, a globalambassador would be great right
here, like that one place it'son indian school and it's just,
it's, it's all nothing now, it'sjust old buildings.
And I go is that too close fora global ambassador, or do you
only want to have one in thecity?
Speaker 2 (19:37):
yeah, there's gonna be.
It'd only be one in the city.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Yeah, okay yeah, and what's the concept of Global
Ambassador?
Is it a place like you?
Is the pitch like, hey, it's aplace where you want to come for
three or four days if the SuperBowl's here, or is it?
It's not like a resort whereyou go for two weeks.
How do you?
What do you call it boutique-y?
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Yeah, boutique hotel.
What do you think it is?
Speaker 1 (19:57):
I'd love to hear what you think it is tell you live
there for 10 days for 10 days,yeah, it was you know what?
I was blown away by something.
I was blown away by the staffyeah, the friendliness of the
staff, and I said to blake mywife.
I was like how does he hirethese people?
Like how do you?
Because I mean I have eightpeople on my show and hiring
them was a pain in the ass weonly have nine thousand that's
(20:19):
what I'm saying, like I mean youknow, it's just training,
giving everyone the tools to besuccessful.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Hire the right people that you know maybe, um, just
have the right hospitalitymindset and then set the example
, lead by example and, like Isaid, making sure that they have
all the tools to be successfulat their job and take away the
excuses and, uh, just sort oflive up to a certain standard
every single day and never takepasses well, I gotta tell you,
(20:43):
pj, first class.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
That guy, yeah, yeah, first class.
So when you say it's one of one, you mentioned Andrew Weil and
a couple other partners who areyour partners in the hotel and
how does that come about?
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yeah, my partners in the hotel.
Well, brian Franks, who's mydevelopment partner?
Franks, love Franks.
Yeah, you know Brian.
You know Brian.
And we have an investment fromDevin Booker, we have an
investment from Dierks Bentleyand we have an investment from
Larry Fitzgerald, and so I askedthose guys to join us at the
hotel.
As far as being investors, youknow, I really wanted these
Arizona icons, people who I lookup to in Arizona, who I think
(21:18):
are doing great things in theirfield, but also great people.
That was even more important.
You know, obviously they'regreat at their sports, but
they're all great humans andvery giving to the community and
I thought they would representand sort of align ourselves with
them.
And so those guys were quickyeses and it's been great.
(21:38):
They've been nothing butsupportive.
We don't sort of play that up.
It's just sort of some known,some not known.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Oh, it's great the way it started organically.
I mean just like you know,kendall Jenner posting that she
was having dinner the othernight.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Yeah, she was there with that whole bunch of rooms
and they were doing some stufffor the tequila and just yeah.
And then she went to Tucson.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
She was in Tucson too , but it was like I saw you
repost her thing and I was likewhat?
And I was, I was just there twomonths ago.
No, well, actually I was therea couple weeks ago.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
So, yeah, it was fun to have her in.
She's been in a few times, yeah, I've seen.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
I remember one time she came out of a Pilates class
and somebody posted it.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Like she's just like hanging out there.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Yeah, but you get it because she was.
I don't want to say what's hisface, but you know I mean, but
anyway, and then you got JustinTimberlake, the thing with
Justin Timberlake.
So are you starting to branchinto the celebrity world?
Speaker 2 (22:30):
You know it's not by design.
You know the Justin thinghappened very organically,
accidentally, and it's turnedout to be great.
And you know it's not somethingthat we seek out, it's not
something like we're not outthere trying to partner up with
celebrities.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Does he approach you?
Speaker 2 (22:48):
His team kind of asked let's do something
together.
And that was very vague.
I'm really good at sort ofputting things together.
Andy's got an idea.
I'm the guy that actually cando the work and do the heavy
lifting and put it together.
Like I'm the guy that likeactually can do the work and do
the heavy lifting and put ittogether.
So I think we get a lot ofcalls from a lot of people
(23:10):
asking us to help them putthings together and we only have
so much time and energy and youknow it's not always.
You know you have to be carefulwhen your partners are with
celebrities and sometimes yourplaces can be busy for the wrong
reason or be busy for the rightreason or a lot of things can
go sort of sideways.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
But we've had nothing but success with all of our
partners are there any companiesor restaurants or concepts that
you said no to and then you seelater that it's taken off um?
Not that I recall but we say noa lot.
Okay, we say no a lot, we sayno a lot.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Okay, we say no a lot .
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Is there anything you said no to?
That was just so ridiculous,like what's a ridiculous concept
?
Somebody pitched you.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Justin Bieber's people wanted to do Drew House
as a fast food, fast casualrestaurant in the Valley and I
don't know if that would havebeen ridiculous just because, um
, his popularity, but just thefood idea and what they wanted
to do it was just a little,wasn't really something that?
Speaker 1 (24:14):
what's your take on that stuff like uh, with mr
beast doing the mr beast burgerin these ghost kitchens and
stuff and I think that came andwent right yeah, you know a lot
of that.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
I mean, kevin hart just opened a whole bunch of
restaurants and closed them.
Closed them right yeah you knowit's.
If you're you know you have tobuild a business on the business
.
And oh, by the way, it just sohappens to be right.
So, and so is an investor right.
But when sometimes people takecelebrities and they make it
more about the celebrity thanwhat the restaurant wants to be,
(24:42):
how long is that shelf life,you know?
Speaker 1 (24:44):
how long is that going to last?
And so, that's never ourapproach you know, I gotta say
on my birthday I had dinner atthea, at the global ambassador,
and they brought out this newcake for my birthday.
Yeah, and you know I had beentexting you a lot the last
couple days before then.
So I do.
I felt I didn't want to overdomy texting to you but it was
phenomenal, yeah, and they saidthey just put it on sabrina, our
new pastry chef, who came fromatlanta, did that, and so you
(25:07):
know what I'm talking about yeah, we used to give a.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
They came to be like you know, if it was your
birthday, we'd give you like, uh, this little um, um, uh, like
this little greek uh uh dessert,and it was kind of small and
the team were like you know, wehave all these people over
celebrating, enjoying themselves, spending a lot, spending a lot
of money.
We've got to do somethingbetter.
So they came up with this cakeand Sabrina's our new gal and
it's great, it's phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
I was like I think I texted Sam like 10 times the
last two days I go do I want totext him and tell him how great
this cake is Sure I won't Samewith the steak too.
We always stuff.
You never hear that enough.
I didn't want to overdo mytexting to you especially after
you helped me in my crisis.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Sam, do you have final say?
Do you test everything?
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Every single item, okay.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
And you say I like it , tweak it.
This isn't really where we wantto be.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Yeah, we have a big chef team, we have a big
culinary operation, we have atest kitchen in the Henry that
the gentlemen and the ladies arein there cooking all the time
and we're just always working onfood.
And I'll come up with a lot ofideas and I'll say, okay, let's
do this and this, and then theteam will sort of run with it.
You know just like how I canput deals together.
The chef team can put the menusand the food together for me,
(26:16):
and then we have a great workingrelationship.
Uh, my, my culinary partnerclint's been with me 18 years,
19 years, and so you know wehave a pretty good routine,
pretty good idea what we likeand what we don't like, and what
I'm doing is the difference isI don't let the chefs cook for
what they want.
(26:36):
I want the chefs to cook what Ithink the guest wants, and so
we really take that approach ofyou know, what do the guests
want, not what Sam Fox wants ornot what you know some chef that
might want.
You know 32 ingredients andstack up something or whatever.
And so we're.
You know we try and take anapproach of what does our guests
that walk into the door want toeat?
Speaker 1 (26:56):
But are you doing focus groups on who your guest?
Speaker 2 (26:58):
is no no no-transcript.
I mean they might need thatrestaurant, but I'm not doing a
focus group on that Wow and howpeople like to eat.
(27:21):
I got a lot of data by havingall the restaurants so I see
what sells and what doesn't sell.
And when we were doing we hadOlive and Ivy on its 19th year
and I was working in therestaurants all the time and
people would be like, do youhave any gluten-free items?
I'm like, what's gluten-free?
And then I kept hearing it andthen Andy called and said, oh,
(27:41):
we need to do something aroundhealthy eating, and so all those
things just kind of clicked.
So when you see trends oryou're in the restaurants you
can kind of see what works anddoesn't work.
And sometimes you can also putitems on menus.
Let's say we wanted to do, youknow, the pizza at Dober.
We can put that on a menu itemsomewhere and see if it gets
sort of any traction.
Sometimes you're going to beled into false sort of success.
(28:03):
When you special something andyou verbal it like all the chefs
go, oh, it's sold like crazy.
Do a verbal special?
I go it's sold like crazy,because bobby the server is
saying, oh, this is a greatspecial and blah, blah, blah.
Then you put it on the menu andit never sells.
And so there's the art andscience to everything that we do
.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
What about advice for anybody?
Because I've heard people saydon't get in the restaurant
business, don't start therestaurant business it's very
difficult and I did it andfailed.
Yeah, bought two pizza placesand it was terrible, are you?
Speaker 2 (28:32):
what happened to your pizza places?
Speaker 1 (28:33):
uh, I I kind of went in as an investor, yeah, and I
didn't want to be part of theday-to-day and then the people I
went in with, decided theydidn't want to do anymore.
And I was stuck with these tworestaurants.
And what'd you do with them?
I?
I gave one away and sold theother one.
Yeah, yeah, I lost my ass, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
So I mean this is not a hobby, right, right.
And so I always tell people,being a minority investor, as a
passive investor in therestaurant business and, by the
way, I had plenty of peopleearly trusted me and give me
money, but it's probably not agreat investment- you know, yeah
, and so what you see is a lotof people.
Oh, I want to be an investor, Iwant to go to the restaurant, I
(29:09):
want to be the owner, right,Until they have to show up and
work at like.
Be there, yeah, and it's not asglamorous as it seems Right, and
so I you know.
My advice would be that, if youwant to be in the restaurant
business, that you're in it,that you've worked in a
restaurant, that you understandit, that you're well capitalized
(29:30):
, more money than you think youneed, and just because you can
bake a great cake at home or youcan make a great cheeseburger
doesn't mean that that can be agreat restaurant.
Now, a lot of people have hadthose items and have turned them
into great restaurants, but theodds of that are really, really
low.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
By the way, I've been meaning to tell you this.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Oh, you got a restaurant idea?
No, but I have a menu idea foryou or something you could sell.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Right, those protein balls at the gym, at the Global
Ambassador, those need to be forsale somewhere.
Okay, are they, or no?
Speaker 2 (29:57):
No, we can sell them at the market, at Lay Market
they're freaking fantastic thankyou.
That's what I'm talking about,right?
Speaker 1 (30:02):
yeah, yeah, we made it yeah, you just have them
there as you work out.
They have these little proteinballs that are so addicting and
it's to me I was I was talkingmy wife about.
She was they should sell these,they should make these.
I'm like, totally yeah, howmany did you eat?
Oh, we eat them all day yeah, Igained 19 pounds staying in
your hotel.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
No, you did yes, I did, yes, I did, but you didn't
really.
Did you actually use the gym?
I used to just eat the proteinballs.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
It's a great gym.
It's a fantastic hotel.
It's one of my favorite placeshere.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
Let's pivot on that because we talk about him
opening up the hotel, but noteverybody has a membership.
They don't have like you have.
You obviously have a gym forhotel guests, but you did
something very unique yeah andyou opened up this experience
yes, for locals correct or, I'msure, people who don't even live
in Arizona.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
We have some out-of-town members, yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
To have an exclusive membership to have a different
experience.
Where did that come from?
Speaker 2 (30:49):
You know it just came from having you know.
We knew when we were doing thehotel that we wanted to build
out incredible gyms, incrediblespas, incredible, you know, the
wellness area of that andtypically a hotel on its own
probably making an ROI on that,investing in all of that stuff
(31:12):
and being able to give that totheir hotel guests.
And so we wanted to do amembers club and the members
club typically would have a hardtime getting all that stuff on
its own.
So we took the members idea andwe took the hotel idea and we
put them together so we couldhave a great experience and
invest enough into the facilityand the capabilities of what we
(31:34):
were doing there.
And so that's how that's sospecial.
I mean it's a nice gym, we gotincredible amenities.
We have cold plunge and steamand sauna and cryo and now the
infrared saunas are working.
Finally, and all these amazingthings that if they were on its
own it would be really, reallyhard, but together it really
really works.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
That's yeah.
And there's so many people Iwas going to say on my street we
both live on the same streetthere's a handful of people on
our street that go there.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
You should be a member, I should.
I heard there's a wait list.
Well, you might know someone.
There you go.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
It's such a great but here's the thing you got these
great protein bars in the gym.
Then you go down to locker roomand there's reese's peanut
butter cups.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
There's snickers bars .
Yeah, maybe you should enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
But I like just sitting there, yeah, and like I
was doing all I was on my phone,I was a little bit of, I was
prepping some stuff.
It was just peaceful.
Yeah, you know what I mean?
Because at my house I got sixdogs three kids.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
It's chaos.
There's a calm there during theday.
Yeah, very lively at night.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Very lively at night.
Oh my God, at night it's a showyeah.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
A lot going on.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, we don't talk a lot aboutthe membership, but you know
it's something we have and we'refortunate we have a lot of
great people that believed in usand so, yeah, kind of keep it a
little on the down low.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Let me ask you something controversial.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Okay, all right, let's say fast casual
restaurants.
You have a couple of those Afew.
Okay, what's restaurants?
You have a couple of those foryou.
Okay, what's the tipping?
So what's your take on thewhole tipping thing that, like
it's so frustrating as acustomer?
Yeah, when you walk up to aplace, yeah, and you order your
food, yeah, and then they giveyou a number, yeah, then they
turn the thing around and askyou for a tip, yeah and they
don't do anything.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
Yeah, we don't have that system which which turns
around we.
There's a tip line on yourcredit card right, but there's,
we don't have a tip um prompt,so my take on it is do whatever
you feel comfortable yeah, butthen you always feel like I get,
so I would get irritated youget tip shamed you tip on to go
food to go food.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
Yeah, yeah, like you go, I don't really go, I don't
go to full service restaurant.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
Do you tip on to go food?
Speaker 1 (33:52):
a full service restaurant.
I don't know if I do, if I waspicking up to-go, I would I mean
, hey, we have incredibleemployees that are working hard.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
Right, they get paid.
You know tips are alwaysappreciative it's not required,
but you know it's a nice gestureif you think that someone is
going above and beyond or atleast doing sort of, you know,
getting you through yourexperience in an efficient way
okay if they're going above andbeyond.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
But like if you go up and you order food and say, hey
, I want to, I want to get the,the, the flying avocado, yeah,
turkey, the flying turkey thing,whatever.
And then they give you a number, they turn around, you tip,
then you sit down and they bringyou your food and then they go
do you need anything else?
I go, huh, yeah, can I get afork and knife?
Well, they, they're up there.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Oh, okay, what am I.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
Well, they shouldn't say that they should say I
should get that for you, andthen maybe, if they say that,
then I'm not, I'm just pointingthings out Because it is kind of
turning into a big thing If youget on social media.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
There's jokes 100% yeah, the cop pulls you over,
sure.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
Yeah, but the dry cleaners.
I was at a liquor store in SanDiego this summer and I was
buying a whole bunch of beer andwhatever for Fourth of July.
The bill was $600.
The guy flips it over and theminimum, you know, sometimes
it's like $1, $5.
The minimum was 10%.
Yeah.
So, I'm not taking $60.
(35:10):
I'd carry it all out to my car.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Right, so that's what I mean.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
But I like your answer.
You're like do you tip to go IfI get I?
Speaker 3 (35:18):
really get to go.
I think it's a percentage.
That's what's really cute.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
They're all all the usually all the front of the
house.
Employees are working for tips,right, and they all share.
You give a girl a dollar tofive dollars at their cash
register, or somebody else, andyou know it goes to everybody in
the in the building and they'reall working hard, and so you
know they don't want to call youcheap, do they?
Speaker 1 (35:40):
no, I always.
John jay is a cheap guy.
No, I've got I guess what guesswhat?
Because people know you right,so I always overdo it.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
You know what always happens is um, you know, when I
go out to restaurant I'll put mycredit card down and I I'm
already a generous tipper.
I appreciate everyone's hardwork, and a lot of times they'll
be like oh, here's your card,sam Fox, and oh, I used to work
for you.
And then they sort of give youlike they know you at the end.
Yeah, it's terrible, and so nowthat costs you an extra.
Instead of a 30% tip, thatcosts me a 50%.
(36:07):
If I tell, if the and I'm likeit's 2020.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
I'm going to give 20, 25%.
Then they'll say oh my God, Ilisten to your show every day,
yeah.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
And then it's like, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, so
that's exactly what you mean.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
Yes, yeah, yeah, so crazy man.
Hey, are there any stories youcould tell us about the Global
Ambassador?
Has there been anything?
That's just a fun story to tellchaos.
I remember when I was livingthere.
I remember I was going you know, I would get up really early.
I was like 4 am going to get mycar and the valet guy goes hey,
I'm really sorry about thenoise last night.
I'm like noise Right, I didn'thear anything.
(36:41):
He goes, oh well, there was aconcert last night at Footprint
Center.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
It was a Mexican band and they rented out the whole
fifth floor and they had a partyup until five minutes ago and
I'm like I didn't hear a thing.
Yeah, like what a night thatmight have been.
Yeah, right, yeah, so is that.
Have you heard other thingslike that?
Or I mean, there's a lot ofstories that happen in a hotel
that I'm learning about.
Yeah, like, probably nothingthat I really want to get into
oh, okay yeah but there's.
I mean, hey, you have 150 rooms,you have a thousand people
coming through the door.
You know there's good, bad andall the other stuff in between.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
So, um, yeah, it's amazing how comfortable people
can feel outside of their homeright, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah is
being in the hotel business waydifferent than being in the
restaurant business?
Speaker 2 (37:28):
you know it's 24 7.
You know the concert was in themiddle of the night, you didn't
hear about it, but probably awhole bunch of other guests
heard that concert and probablycomplained.
And you know so you're always,you're always on, you're never
closed.
A lot of hotels before COVIDit's kind of a fun fact never
had doors that locked, becausehotels are always open.
Covid, it's like a lot of theseplaces had to close for COVID
(37:49):
had to put locks on doors and sowe're always open.
We're always there 24 hours,seven days a week.
You know Christmas, 4th of July, and so there's a lot of things
that a lot of people are comingthrough the building and a lot
of you know it's life.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
Okay, so can you, as the owner, the CEO, the
president, can you get sleepLike, or do you use your phone
always on and it's peoplecalling, texting, you know?
Speaker 2 (38:09):
we have an amazing team that sort of insulates me
from most of that, from most ofthat, and it depends on sort of
what could happen.
You know, if a water main brokeor if something truly bad
happened with it, I needed to bealerted.
The team would get a hold of me.
But we have an amazing teamthere that keeps me out of it.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
But what about, just generally speaking about sleep?
Do you focus on that at all?
Speaker 2 (38:35):
That's my new thing right now.
Yeah, yeah, the sleep thing issomething that I somewhat
struggled with.
As far as you know, I neverhave a problem falling asleep.
I can fall asleep as quickly asanybody.
I have a weird thing I actuallydo need to fall asleep with the
TV on.
So I have a timer on my TV, soI put on the 30 minute or 15
(38:56):
minute timer and I just kind ofclose my eyes and it's sort of
my calm app basically, which Ialso have.
And, um, you know, I fall asleepand then sometimes I have a
hard time staying asleep.
Three or four in the morningwake up, my mind's racing, and
so I struggle a little bit withmanaging through that.
And, um, you, you know we getup early to begin with our kids,
(39:22):
you know, when they were livingthere before they go off to
college, you know we get upearly.
We also have a dog.
Dogs don't always make.
You know my dog's sleeping onmy head, moving around all the
time.
Hey, I'm also not getting anyyounger.
Sometimes I go to the bathroomin the middle of the night.
So my problem is, if I wake up,I have a hard time falling back
to sleep.
So if I have to go to thebathroom, the dog hear a weird
noise, or something like that,I'll wake up and then I struggle
(39:45):
.
And what always happens is if I, let's say, I have my alarm set
for 5.45 am, um, I'll wake upsometimes at three and I'll fall
back asleep at 5 15 and I'llwake up at 5, 45 and I'm like oh
my god, I feel like it so youdon't monitor your sleep, you
don't wear an aura ring or awhoop or any of that stuff but I
used to.
And then what did I do?
I mean, okay, good sleep score,bad sleep score, right, I don't
(40:08):
change my and you know I neverchanged anything about it.
Speaker 3 (40:12):
You Do you change it?
We have a guest that would helphim.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
Yeah, the sleep doctor.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
Yeah, we actually had the sleep doctor on our podcast
.
You know he sleeps with the TVon.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:22):
He worked with Oprah.
Speaker 2 (40:23):
Wow, now would you ever believe that would be
healthy to do to sleep with theTV on?
What did he say about that?
Speaker 3 (40:27):
Actually.
So I?
I mean I just did a podcastwith him on another podcast and
he actually said I'm the onlysleep professional in the US
that says you can go to sleepwith the TV on.
It doesn't matter, it doesn'tchange the problem.
Okay good, I feel better aboutmyself, so maybe yeah, so I'll
tell you how to listen to thatpodcast and you might actually
get something out of it, I doneed to put the phone down.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
Yeah we all know that's bad.
Speaker 3 (40:56):
But yeah, blue light it's really more about the
activity of the brain.
When you have your phone on,you're actually processing
information.
You're telling the brain wakeup.
I need to respond, I need to beappropriate, and that's a
bigger issue than just thelighting.
But there's help for you Sam.
There's help for you Sam.
Speaker 1 (41:11):
There's ways around your problem.
But you know you brought up awhile ago that you were taking
Ambien to go to sleep.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
This was a while back .
Right, so you don't take thatanymore, I'll take a melatonin
once in a while, but you knowI'll never do anything more than
like three nights in a row.
So if I have a hard night ofsleep I'll maybe take melatonin.
I travel a lot, so if I travelI usually take a melatonin.
So if I'm going to Nashvillefor the next couple of days, two
hour time change, I'm workingall day, working all day.
(41:38):
I get back to the hotel room at10, 11 o'clock at night and you
know it's just sort of I'mwound up and you know.
So it kind of takes me a minuteto sort of settle in and I'll
take a melatonin.
And so if I do that for acouple three days but I never do
more than three days- Do youdrink coffee?
I do drink coffee in the morning, neither during the day, and I
usually have like I always poura full cup but I never drink the
(42:00):
whole cup.
I'm a big iced tea guy, so kindof like the coffee is a means
to get me to my iced tea.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
Because your energy level is off the charts.
Man.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
Oh, thanks.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
Off the charts.
Speaker 3 (42:17):
What time do you when you go to bed it?
Speaker 2 (42:18):
kind of depends.
It could be anywhere from 9.30to 11.30.
That's late for us, yeah.
So yeah, I mean, you get upearly, you get up early.
I was at your clinic, you'rethere early and I would say, you
know, I like to be in bed by 10o'clock.
Speaker 1 (42:30):
What about working out now?
Speaker 2 (42:32):
Yeah, so at the Global.
You know I have a gym in myhouse.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
I don't, what about working out now?
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Yeah, so At the Global.
You know I have a gym at myhouse.
I don't really like to work out.
I do when I want to do likeweights and heavy things like
that.
Brian, who's the trainer there?
Speaker 1 (42:45):
Oh, that guy's great.
Speaker 2 (42:46):
Yeah, and he's worked .
I've worked with him.
He used to work in one of myrestaurants 12, 13 years ago,
and so he's got greathospitality for a trainer and so
I'll go with him one or twodays a week in the afternoon.
It's hard.
I don't like to be in therewhen there's a lot of people,
because then I don't get nothingdone Right, and I'm talking to
people and then it's like nextthing you know, so I'll work out
(43:08):
at home.
I play a lot of pickleball.
I play a lot of pickleball.
I do the loop, you know, on ourstreet.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
So I do that, the castle loop or just the loop
loop.
Speaker 2 (43:15):
The loop, loop, but I'll start at my house, go all
the way down and then go all theway up.
What I love about it, it's onehour.
If I go fast, I can do it inlike 53 minutes, and so I'll do
that maybe twice a week.
Now that it's getting nice,I'll pick that up, for sure I
don't have to do it so early inthe morning and um, and then.
You know, I just try and stayactive, I just try not to sit.
(43:43):
I'm not a desk sitter, right,you know, um, where was I?
I was uh, um, we, I did theloop and we were um.
We're doing something out atthe Cardinals called the
Morgan's athletic club Club.
They built a new facility andwe're managing the hospitality
in there, and so Sunday therewas our first game.
I did the loop before I wentout there, and the loop is 8,000
(44:07):
, 9,000 steps for me, maybesomewhere right around there,
and I looked at my steps at theend of the day and I had 21,000
steps.
So I just try to keep active,right, right, right.
Speaker 1 (44:19):
When you say you're opening this thing at the
Cardinal Stadium, is it?
It's called?
What's it called it's?
Speaker 2 (44:22):
called the Morgan's Athletic Club.
They created a new 350 newseats in the end zone.
Oh, I saw that yes, and sothose seats come with
hospitality.
It's almost like courtside atthe Suns game.
But, is it called?
Hey, sam Fox is doing this.
It's called the MorgansAthletic Club, hosted by the
global ambassador.
Speaker 3 (44:41):
And the Morgans.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
Athletic Club.
Morgans was the first name ofthe Cardinals in the 1800s, late
1800s, before they came theCardinals.
And so they came to us andasked us to help put the package
together.
Like I said, said, people wantus to help put things together
and that's what we do, and thatwhen, um, you know, michael
bidwell and the team were, uh,had some great vision and we
(45:02):
kind of just took their visionand ran with it god, that's
fantastic man dude, you're likea genius it's unbelievable man,
I don't know about that.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
Yeah, you know, it's funny.
You brought up covet.
I remember.
Remember, when COVID shuteverything down, I was like
concerned that my favoriterestaurants would go out of
business.
So I would call all the ownersof the restaurants on my show.
Remember, I'd put you on.
Speaker 3 (45:22):
I was like what's going on.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
Yes, you were great.
Keep this place pumping.
Yeah, you were great.
It was scary times, for wereclosed like crazy yeah.
Just you know, the unknown isnever a great feeling.
Speaker 1 (45:34):
You can't see that happening.
Speaker 2 (45:35):
You can't see that happening again can you, I mean,
who knew that was happening?
Speaker 1 (45:39):
I just can't, I can't .
Speaker 2 (45:40):
I don't think like.
Do you think like that?
Speaker 1 (45:42):
What no?
Speaker 3 (45:43):
I'm reading somebody else in the room here.
Behind the scenes yeah, we gota CIA guy.
Speaker 1 (45:51):
Come on, he's not talking.
I don't let my wife like that Iknow, I want to ask him one
more thing, because I know we'rerunning out of time.
Speaker 3 (45:56):
So, Sam, you're also into philanthropy.
Speaker 2 (45:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (45:59):
And you've done a lot to give back to the community.
Speaker 2 (46:01):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (46:01):
So I just want to touch on that.
The one project that I saw wasI think it was Feed the Soul.
Speaker 2 (46:07):
Yep, is that right, yeah Is yeah, that's you know we
have in our organization and inour personal household we sort
of have a mission of.
We want to feed people and wewant to do a lot of things for
children.
So we're big in Panda, big thetitle sponsor of the Panda
fashion show every year.
We've got a big commitment tothem.
(46:28):
We do a lot of things with Feedthe Soul.
We raise money for the foodbank.
We do a lot of things for youMom All the ones that everyone
knows.
We're really awful.
Speaker 1 (46:40):
You just did with us with our Love Up Foundation.
Remember we started for fosterkids, a program where, after
they graduate high school, theycould get a job working for Fox
Concepts somewhere and get themready.
Speaker 2 (46:50):
We also try and come up with fun, creative stuff,
like we'll do something for foran auction item.
Hey, come get an internship fortwo weeks and spend the day
with me.
You know just kind of like funstuff that makes it more
interesting.
But you know, we're veryfortunate.
The community has beenincredibly supportive of us and
it's our obligation and it'ssort of it's our mission we want
(47:14):
to do right by the people thattake care of us, and so children
, people that need a meal, allof that.
That's something that we workon and talk about all the time
to try and make this community alittle bit better.
Speaker 1 (47:25):
That's fantastic.
Thanks, man hey.
So what do you think so far ofthe podcast?
Was it good?
Speaker 2 (47:29):
I mean I was on, was it good?
Speaker 1 (47:34):
I thought good, I mean, I was honest, is it good?
I thought it was a good podcast, the crowd likes it.
Speaker 3 (47:36):
I have a question for carrie real quick, because I'm
noticing your legs right here.
Oh, is that weights?
Speaker 1 (47:39):
no, what is that?
It's?
Speaker 3 (47:40):
not weights.
I was a guinea pig for a newproject oh, wow, wow right I
thought it was actually it's acool story.
So there you know.
We all know that there's allkind of lasers and different
treatments that people will usefor different things.
Speaker 1 (47:54):
For skin tightening.
Speaker 3 (47:55):
Oh, one of those things.
There is a product out thatactually cores your skin out.
Speaker 2 (48:01):
Cores.
Speaker 3 (48:02):
Cores.
So it takes chunks of your skinout to create holes and then
those holes grow back togethertighter.
So it's a way of avoiding atuck or a lift, so you're
removing skin in these littlemicro cores, and then those
micro cores fill back in withcollagen and they get tighter
and it tucks everything up.
So normally this is done aroundnecks.
Speaker 1 (48:24):
Like for you.
John Jay, we can talk aboutyour neck.
You try everything, I doeverything, girl, but I
volunteered to do it on my knees.
Speaker 2 (48:31):
You're like an infomercial for all this stuff.
I volunteered to do it on myknees.
You're like an infomercial forall this stuff?
Speaker 3 (48:33):
Yeah, he is I volunteered to do it on my knees
.
But this is why I volunteered,because he said normally the
recovery time is three weeks andI said I doubt that to be true
if you use hyperbaric.
Speaker 2 (48:42):
So what do you think I did?
Speaker 3 (48:44):
So I postulated out that if someone did this,
instead of being down for threeweeks with the visible remnants
of this, that you could fix itin a week.
So I am two days out from thisprocedure.
Speaker 2 (48:56):
The hyperbolic chamber.
Have you been?
Speaker 1 (48:58):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (48:58):
Oh yeah, all the time , yeah, I broke my ribs and they
took care of me over there.
Speaker 1 (49:02):
I went there seven, eight days in a row and tried to
speed up my recovery.
Speaker 2 (49:06):
I had to travel to Europe.
Speaker 3 (49:08):
He's like I need these fixed.
I'm like I got to do whatever Ican to try and heal this.
How'd you break your ribs andrib fractures are like four to
six weeks to repair.
Speaker 2 (49:15):
It's kind of a crazy story.
I got a little vertigo and Ifell.
I was actually in my gymstretching in the morning and I
fell into a wooden sort of chairarm rail and crashed like,
violently, threw my body into itand broke three ribs.
I thought I was.
It was the most pain I've everhad in my life, and so you went
to hyperbaric.
(49:36):
I was so yeah so I went and thenI was like into it for four or
five days.
I'm like, oh my God, this isthe most pain I've ever had.
And friends of ours recommendedgoing to the hyperbaric chamber
and it was great.
What a great setup you havethere.
It's amazing and it was great.
Speaker 3 (49:51):
What a great setup you have there.
It's amazing.
So bottom line, that's why it'sthis.
But it is like the first daythere was blood oozing down my
legs.
It looked horrific.
And this is day two and, yes,it's noticeable, but it's about
80% better.
Speaker 1 (50:04):
So I think, about day seven, you will be able to tell
how long do you go in theIberberg Chamber for?
Speaker 3 (50:08):
I usually go in for 90 minutes because I'm going to
stop my life and turn off myphone and get in.
I got to get some seriousconcentration out of it well.
Speaker 1 (50:17):
Thank you, sam Sam Fox Restaurants.
What's the website?
Speaker 2 (50:22):
boxconceptscom global ambassador fall 30 club all
different, All different.
Oh yeah, that's right.
Yeah, we got it all.
Welcome to our podcast again.
So we've got uh, it's thedoctor and the DJ working title
right now, but our guest todayis Sam Fox.
Entrepreneur, restaurateur,businessman what do we call you,
sam?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Sam.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Sam yeah, but you've like changed the landscape
Hotelier.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Now, oh, hotelier, that's right.
I love that name.
It's very fancy, you've got theGlobal Ambassador.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I can't even say it right.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
You've got the Global Ambassador that opened up about
about a year ago almost a yearago, yeah, but I mean you
changed the landscape of food inArizona.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Oh, thank you.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Right, I mean, you really have Well much broader
than Arizona, california,arizona.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
California, Nashville right, 23 states.
Are you in 23 states?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Yeah, wow.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
What a big portfolio.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Are there any restaurants in other states
outside of this that aren't here, because I know you got the one
with Justin Timberlake inNashville.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, the only other one would be the 1230 Club in
Nashville.
That's just a unique one-offand I've never really done a
one-off outside of Arizona.
All the original brands andrestaurants have all started in
Arizona.
That's the first one we did inNashville and the only one we've
done so far.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
So we're like the food-proving ground.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Yes, Well, just, you know, you have to.
These restaurants are likechildren you have to nurture
them and grow them and developthem.
They don't just happen.
And so I've always wanted to beclose so I could be there every
day, especially in thebeginning when you're doing all
that.
So that was the reasoning forthat.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
So how did it start?
You grew up in Tucson, yeah,working for your parents.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yeah, my parents are in the restaurant business which
restaurant?
Hungry Fox on Broadway, andthey're still there A little
breakfast place that my dad had,a Mexican restaurant and a
couple other places.
And you know, the whole timewhen I was going to school and
growing up it was a hardrestaurant career.
My parents did not want me togo in the restaurant business.
(01:59):
They were mom and poprestaurants.
They worked opening to close.
It wasn't some big fancypayroll.
They, you know, they cooked andcleaned and swept and did
everything and, um, you know,just made enough to make a
living.
But it was not, uh, some sortof fancy job that I might have
today.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
So what happened?
How did it start?
How did you go?
Speaker 2 (02:19):
I, was going to school at the university of
Arizona as a sophomore and I wasin real estate finance.
My parents moved away toFlorida to take care of my
grandfather.
They insisted that I did not gointo the restaurant business.
I was interning at a realestate firm.
That guy I was interning fortold me to go to his wife's
house in Tucson Country Club andshe had something that she
(02:42):
wanted me to do as an intern.
In college you ran errands andpicked up lunch and you made
copies, and so I was going overthere.
I thought I was picking up somedry cleaning and she knocked.
She opened the door and saidhey, I have a flat tire.
I need you to change my flattire.
It was July in the summer.
I'm this little preppy intern.
I got my khaki pants on and mywhite shirt and she goes can you
(03:04):
change the tire?
I said yeah, and I'm not reallymechanically inclined, so it
took me about an hour to changethe tire.
About 150 degrees on theasphalt.
My clothes are ruined.
I get in the car.
She barely says thank you.
I drive back to the real estatefirm, which is at Williams
Center, walked in and to my bossand said I quit and walked out
of the door and I said I'm nevergoing to work for anyone, ever
again.
(03:24):
I dropped out of school, didnot tell my parents, took my
tuition money and then raisedsome money from some friends and
family and took over the oldCosmolina space on Campbell and
opened Gilligan's Bar and Grillin 1992.
That's how I got into therestaurant business.
I was 20 years old when Isigned the lease.
Give me goosebumps.
But I couldn't open therestaurant until I was 21
(03:45):
because I had to get a liquorlicense.
Sure, I thought I was thesmartest 21 year old in the
world which I wasn't and I'd saythat was my three.
I had the business for almostfour years.
That was my business, sort ofcrash course on sort of.
I call it the restaurantbusiness.
I was always good at therestaurant side of things.
My parents had restaurants andhospitality became natural and
(04:06):
easy to me.
The business side, which myparents weren't great at either,
was something that I had towork at.
And then having that restaurantwith really not a lot of money,
I kind of shoestringed ittogether and running a business
for three years with no money,you learn a lot about business
and you learn a lot aboutyourself and you know what works
(04:29):
and what doesn't work and yougot to make sure you know where
every penny is and so really afoundation for who I am sold.
That business cost $45,000 toopen.
I sold that business four yearsthree and a half four years
later and for $500,000 it's kindof crazy and then got into some
other restaurants in Tucson,had a restaurant called City
Grill, merged with the peoplethat owned Buddies and we had
five restaurants together and Iwas partners in that.
(04:49):
I owned a third of that.
My partners owned two-thirds ofit.
They were late 50s, early 60s Iwas 26, 27 at the time and we
worked together, learned a lotfrom them and learned a lot of
things that I didn't like abouthow they ran their business and
we kind of became oil and water.
They were like I said we weretwo different places in our life
.
They were playing golf and Iwas working.
(05:10):
They'd come in and tell me whatto do and I was offended by
that.
They probably were right, but Iwas offended by it.
And after three or four years ofbusiness together we had five
restaurants.
They basically came to me andsaid we're firing you.
And I said, well, I didn't knowI could get fired from my own
company I'm the owner andrealized that I could Big
business lesson for me there andwas embarrassed.
(05:31):
I was kind of this guy inTucson had all these restaurants
and was going to move out ofTucson to New York.
A friend of mine just bought abusiness in New York called Dina
DeLuca.
That was already there and heacquired it.
He was a mentor of mine.
In fact, they own radiostations in Tucson and that's
how I got to know a guy namedBill Phelan.
Did you know Bill at all, boy?
Speaker 1 (05:51):
that name sounds familiar.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Yeah, bill, they owned a whole bunch of radio
stations around the country.
I can't remember the company,but Bill would come into my
first restaurant and he wouldmentor me and and then over the
years I got to know him and thenwhen my partners fired me from
that, he goes.
Oh, you should go talk to a guynamed Leslie Rudd who was
living in Napa at the time.
Leslie had bought this DeanDeLuca brand and at the same
(06:13):
time, while all this was goingon, I started to date a girl
that was seven years youngerthan me and she was a senior in
college at the University ofArizona.
We came serious.
I went to New York.
I got offered the job.
I knew, if I took the job, thatmy wife or my girlfriend at
that time would be over and Iknew I was going to want to
marry her.
(06:33):
And here I am, 26 years later.
I've married that girl, goodchoice.
I got fired from my company.
It was the best thing thathappened to me and sort of was
going to move out of Tucson, butdecided to stay, get engaged
and opened Wildflower in Tucsonin 1998, still in our portfolio,
150 restaurants later we're uphere in Phoenix and had about 16
, 17 different brands.
(06:53):
We've grown the company, we'vegrown brands, we've had one-offs
.
We have 40 or 50 of other units.
We've sold True Food, we'vesold Sauce and then almost four
years ago a little over fouryears ago I sold my whole
company to the CheesecakeFactory and I'm still there
today running the business andthey're been amazing partners
(07:14):
and we have a really good thinggoing.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
So I want to ask you to me, Sam, you're kind of like
the pioneer of concepts, though,Because everybody now wants to
do concepts in the restaurantbusiness but you started it.
You were the first guy who saidthere's a trend here that we
can we can you know, play off of.
So how did you come up with theidea?
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Well, all ideas are different, but all the ideas
came from.
As far as true food goes, ifyou're referring to true food,
andy Weil, who is our partner init, his business people,
reached out to me and said hey,you want to come?
Andy wants to talk to you aboutdoing a restaurant.
I said I don't want to do arestaurant with Andy and Andy
used to come to my restaurantsand eat all the time and you
know, Andy, was this sort ofearly to sort of healthy eating.
(07:59):
He was an early adopter, earlyadopter and I was like you know,
I don't need that, I don't wantto have a partner who's a
doctor and have these crazythings.
And so Andy invited me down tohis house down in Tucson and I
took my wife and we had dinnerand cooked a whole bunch of food
that I would never eat.
I would never eat it and it wasall good.
I went down there just as sortof as a courtesy to somebody the
(08:21):
business people and I leftthere going shit, we should do
this.
And so we worked on sort ofputting our deal together and
sort of what we thought itshould be.
And then we found a locationand we opened the original one
almost 15, 16 years ago and theday we opened it's been
(08:45):
successful ever since.
We got approached in sort ofthe third month by a guy named
Rick Federico, who's thechairman of the board and CEO of
PF Chang's, and they said I washaving lunch with him at True
Food to talk to him about tryingto hire somebody that had
worked for him to be mypresident.
And kind of early in my careerI've always wanted to sell a few
(09:10):
things.
You know.
I saw my parents how hard theyworked and these, you know, when
I didn't have a lot ofrestaurants.
You know you have restaurantsand you have cash flow and it's
great, but you really are notreally creating any sort of
wealth or any sort of long-termcapital.
It's always these are somewhatdepreciating assets as you open
these buildings, and so so Rickand I had a great relationship
and I was interviewing this guynamed Russell Owens, who has
(09:32):
become my president, has beenwith me since that lunch that
day, and at the end of it hesaid what are you doing with
True Food?
Because he knew I was alwaystrying to sell him something.
He won't buy sauce.
You want to buy this?
And I said I don't know, wejust opened, we're figuring it
out.
He goes well, we want to buy it.
I go what you want to buy it?
I said well, I only have one.
And we made a deal but theywould give me some growth
capital.
(09:53):
Grow it to five.
It was in the middle of 2007,2008.
There's really no capital outthere.
It's sort of in the earlystages of the financial crisis.
So Rick gave me $10 millionalmost on a handshake a little
more than a handshake, but itwas a very loose terms and the
deal was we'd go and open, we'dget to five units and once we
did they would either make mepay them back the 10 million or
(10:15):
they'd be my partner.
And so they became my partner.
They were publicly traded.
They in turn got bought by abig private company and they
took them private.
And so my partners wound upbecoming a private equity firm
out of New York and it's alittle interesting ride, a lot
of learning experiences throughthat for sure.
And our structure was grow to20, and then we would exit.
(10:36):
So we grew to 20, we exited.
We wound up staying on for alittle bit.
Oprah bought in at the sametime when we were exiting.
She was on the board.
I got to meet Oprah and be onthe board a little bit and then
sort of completely divested ourinterest about a year and a half
later and we've been out foralmost eight years.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
So true food has nothing to do with?
Speaker 2 (10:55):
nothing to do with anything that we have not no
true food for the last seven oreight years.
Wow, yeah, neither does Andyand he does.
He kept his money.
Oh, he did.
I took my money out and he does.
He kept his money in the deal.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Oh, he did.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
I took my money out.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Wow.
So if a new true food pops upsomewhere, you have nothing to
do with it?
Correct, yeah.
So I grew up in the restaurantbusiness with my dad in Tucson.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
In fact he had a Taco Bell that he sold to Greasy
Tony.
Do you remember Greasy Tony?
Yeah, sure, yeah, that was.
My dad owned the rights to thetaco bell in all of arizona and
sold it in 1977 to go open atsambo's yeah, that didn't work.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Yeah, that didn't work out.
It's okay, right.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Yeah, it didn't work out, yeah but I remember him
coming home after 18, 19 hours.
I remember taking off his shoesand he'd go and he would
massage his feet and he'd tellme about appreciating the little
things in life.
Right, he's cause he worked hisass off.
Yeah, um, and it makes me thinkabout health and fitness and
how he never had time toexercise until much later.
So here you are, running theserestaurants.
Are you exercising?
(11:57):
Are you eating right?
Are you your worst customer?
Speaker 2 (12:00):
You know, we um.
Yeah, you know true, food wasnot how I ate.
I was a Zinberger guy, right.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Zinberger's not bad.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
But yeah, but I'm a fries.
There's a burger there calledthe Sandburger.
It's bacon, it's ThousandIsland, it's cheese.
And so that was me.
I was the Sandburger.
And then we opened up true foodand I'm like, okay, this isn't
you know.
So I was when we developed thewhole brand.
The whole brand was developedabout food that I liked, not
(12:30):
what Andy liked.
I knew.
You know Andy's audience was10% of the world at that time,
right, right, and I figured ifwe can make it that I liked it,
I was the other 90% and so thatwas really I'm.
We worked on the food in mytest kitchen and it was healthy
and if I liked it we would.
We would make it as a menu itemand you know Andy would share
(12:50):
ingredients and ideas and youknow we were really really,
really early to kale, reallyearly, and you know, and just
like see buckthorn and just somethings that I never heard of at
the moment in time.
But you know I just dove intoit and you know it turned out to
be, you know, great.
And so that was sort of thefirst time where I started to
say, okay, maybe I need to takecare of myself a little bit
(13:12):
better.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Oh, really so.
Did you do blood work?
Did you do stuff like that?
And you're like I got to eatbetter.
Um, do you feel better?
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Well, I don't want to tell you what happened, but I
had a minor heart attack andfrom eating all the red and I
had a stent put in my heart, uh,16, 15, like right after true
food opened, and so that wassort of a wake up call.
And so then I started to get ona program and did you know
you're having?
Speaker 1 (13:35):
a heart attack.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
I knew I was having a heart attack.
It was the craziest thing I wasum that day.
I was actually at zen burgerand I was talking to someone and
my breath got sort of.
I was like, oh my God, what'shappening?
I sat down, caught my breath.
I thought I was a little bitdizzy and didn't really think
that much of it, and I wasliving at the waterfront at the
(13:57):
time, above Sauce there, and wehave Olive and Ivy and culinary
dropouts there as well, and Iwas sleeping, sleeping and I
took an Ambien that night andliterally when I take an Ambien
I never, never wake up.
I'd wake up in the morning,literally at two 30 in the
morning.
I woke up and I'm like my chestwas.
(14:17):
I was like, oh my God,something is wrong and I
couldn't really tell it wasn'tlike a serious.
I just couldn't tell what wasgoing on.
And so I literally I get out ofbed and I put on my clothes and
my wife goes what are you doing?
I go, I'm going to the hospital.
I think I have a heart attack.
She goes well, let me call anambulance.
I go.
No, I live in a high rise with90 other people.
I go, I'm not getting cartedout, I'm not.
(14:40):
I drove myself to Osborne andtold him I was having a heart
attack.
The doctor there kind of lookedme over, did some things,
thought I was having some sortof like angina or something, and
was there for two hours.
He goes, I can't find anythingthat's wrong.
And he goes.
I said, well, I'm telling youthere's something wrong.
And I said I'm not leaving hereuntil I see the cardiologist
(15:10):
Cause he's not going to be inuntil six in the morning.
This is like four, four, 30.
I said I'll wait.
Waited in the emergency room.
Cardiologist came in and a hourlater I'm in the stent lab
having a stent.
But then they did some sort oftest and my blood everything was
elevated, blah, blah, blah,blah, blah.
And so, yeah, it's kind ofactually somewhat of you know,
I've kind of changed my wholelifestyle after that and it was
kind of good.
That was so minor and just youknow, so it was just a great
(15:35):
wake-up call early in my lifethat I needed to do something
about that.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
You were way young.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
So yeah, I was 39.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Did your dad have any kind of thing like that?
Is it her.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
You know my dad has been put in, but he was in his
sort of seventies by the time hehad that.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
So since then you've completely changed Like.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
I don't know if I can really change.
You know, you feel different.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Well, you know, she's my doctor.
I know, and she's and she'stold me about, and I've talked
to a couple people that have it.
So now that you've had it forso long, is your life normal?
Yeah, like you don't go, god Ican't go climb Camelback because
I have a stent.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
No, I'm in the best shape I've ever been in.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Okay, that's what I was wondering.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Yeah, I mean yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I did the keto diet for aboutthree years, lost a lot of
weight, and then you know I'deat.
You know, when you're in therestaurant business and you're
working in the restaurants, youkind of eat at the end of the
(16:32):
night, every night, and you havesort of this access to all of
this food, right, and so it was.
I had just to change when andwhat I ate, and so I tried to
eat as early as possible.
No, I see you, you're an earlyeater and uh, yeah, and so
that's right.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
So it's you, yeah, yeah, I actually have a
reservation.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Let's go at 5 30 and everyone looks like 5 30, you
know.
So, like for eating, I'll eatat 5 30 six o'clock for dining.
That's a whole nother so youknow, going out to dinner having
a drink, that's a whole notherexperience.
Yeah, you know so well.
Out to dinner having a drink,that's a whole nother experience
.
Yeah, you know so.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Well, so then you went when you opened up Flower
Child.
I'll tell you about a Sammoment.
I'll never forget this becauseit sticks with me every time I
go to Flower Child.
I remember I see they're eatingand you were at another table
and you came over and you go,you got to try this.
You go, the corn that they'vequinoa, quinoa corn with yogurt.
(17:27):
Yeah, you're like, you gottatry this.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
And I remember it was freaking phenomenal oh good,
every time I go, that's thething I get, and I just remember
that moment.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
That's when you sat down.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Yeah, right, it's, that's fantastic.
We have 36 flower children.
Now what?
Speaker 1 (17:36):
yeah, yeah that was the first one, though, wasn't it
?
That was the first one, yeahyeah, 36, yeah 36 what's the
next thing?
Actually?
I also remember when you toldme you were going to open Doe
Bird.
You got this concept.
Check this out.
It's called Doe Bird.
Nobody knows what it is yet,but here's what we're doing.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Nobody knows why it's called Doe Bird.
Why is it called Doe?
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Bird?
Well, because it's pizza andbird Pizza and chicken, yeah Is.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
You know well we did the hotel.
But I mean we're opening toHenry tomorrow in Nashville Will
you be there.
Yeah, I'm going out tomorrow,Wow.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Henry's blowing up too, right LA.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Yeah, so we have one in LA Coronado, coronado, which
is by far, pound for pound, ourbest one.
It's crazy how busy Coronado isit's packed?
And we just opened a Blanco inCoronado as well over the summer
.
So that's great and you knowwe're opening a whole bunch of
Blancos here in town.
We have one opening at PV Mall,we have one opening out in
(18:33):
Peoria, we have one opening inTempe, and so we're really going
to grow.
I mean we're growing our growthbrands.
Our growth brands are in myportfolio.
North is in the Cheesecakeportfolio now.
Flower brands are in myportfolio.
North is in the cheesecakeportfolio now.
Flower Child is in ourportfolio somewhat.
But the goal there is really iswe scale these restaurants up
and they get to a certain scaleof size.
(18:54):
Then our partners that havereally great expertise of
growing two and 300 restaurantskind of step in and help us grow
the rest of those brands.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
But the hotel just you.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
The hotel is one of one.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
One of one.
Is there going to be anotherone?
Speaker 3 (19:06):
One of two maybe coming.
We want to be the first to saythat yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
I don't know yet.
We'll see.
We'll be a year in December.
I think it's a little too earlyfor us to sort of get into it.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
But we think about it well.
You know what's funny.
Sometimes I drive by placesthat are being torn down and
they look bad.
I'm like I bet you, a globalambassador would be great right
here, like that one place it'son indian school and it's just,
it's, it's all nothing now, it'sjust old buildings.
And I go is that too close fora global ambassador, or do you
only want to have one in thecity?
Speaker 2 (19:37):
yeah, there's gonna be.
It'd only be one in the city.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Yeah, okay yeah, and what's the concept of Global
Ambassador?
Is it a place like you?
Is the pitch like, hey, it's aplace where you want to come for
three or four days if the SuperBowl's here, or is it?
It's not like a resort whereyou go for two weeks.
How do you?
What do you call it boutique-y?
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Yeah, boutique hotel.
What do you think it is?
Speaker 1 (19:57):
I'd love to hear what you think it is tell you live
there for 10 days for 10 days,yeah, it was you know what?
I was blown away by something.
I was blown away by the staffyeah, the friendliness of the
staff, and I said to blake mywife.
I was like how does he hirethese people?
Like how do you?
Because I mean I have eightpeople on my show and hiring
them was a pain in the ass weonly have nine thousand that's
(20:19):
what I'm saying, like I mean youknow, it's just training,
giving everyone the tools to besuccessful.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Hire the right people that you know maybe, um, just
have the right hospitalitymindset and then set the example
, lead by example and, like Isaid, making sure that they have
all the tools to be successfulat their job and take away the
excuses and, uh, just sort oflive up to a certain standard
every single day and never takepasses well, I gotta tell you,
(20:43):
pj, first class.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
That guy, yeah, yeah, first class.
So when you say it's one of one, you mentioned Andrew Weil and
a couple other partners who areyour partners in the hotel and
how does that come about?
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yeah, my partners in the hotel.
Well, brian Franks, who's mydevelopment partner?
Franks, love Franks.
Yeah, you know Brian.
You know Brian.
And we have an investment fromDevin Booker, we have an
investment from Dierks Bentleyand we have an investment from
Larry Fitzgerald, and so I askedthose guys to join us at the
hotel.
As far as being investors, youknow, I really wanted these
Arizona icons, people who I lookup to in Arizona, who I think
(21:18):
are doing great things in theirfield, but also great people.
That was even more important.
You know, obviously they'regreat at their sports, but
they're all great humans andvery giving to the community and
I thought they would representand sort of align ourselves with
them.
And so those guys were quickyeses and it's been great.
(21:38):
They've been nothing butsupportive.
We don't sort of play that up.
It's just sort of some known,some not known.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Oh, it's great the way it started organically.
I mean just like you know,kendall Jenner posting that she
was having dinner the othernight.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Yeah, she was there with that whole bunch of rooms
and they were doing some stufffor the tequila and just yeah.
And then she went to Tucson.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
She was in Tucson too , but it was like I saw you
repost her thing and I was likewhat?
And I was, I was just there twomonths ago.
No, well, actually I was therea couple weeks ago.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
So, yeah, it was fun to have her in.
She's been in a few times, yeah, I've seen.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
I remember one time she came out of a Pilates class
and somebody posted it.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Like she's just like hanging out there.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Yeah, but you get it because she was.
I don't want to say what's hisface, but you know I mean, but
anyway, and then you got JustinTimberlake, the thing with
Justin Timberlake.
So are you starting to branchinto the celebrity world?
Speaker 2 (22:30):
You know it's not by design.
You know the Justin thinghappened very organically,
accidentally, and it's turnedout to be great.
And you know it's not somethingthat we seek out, it's not
something like we're not outthere trying to partner up with
celebrities.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Does he approach you?
Speaker 2 (22:48):
His team kind of asked let's do something
together.
And that was very vague.
I'm really good at sort ofputting things together.
Andy's got an idea.
I'm the guy that actually cando the work and do the heavy
lifting and put it together.
Like I'm the guy that likeactually can do the work and do
the heavy lifting and put ittogether.
So I think we get a lot ofcalls from a lot of people
(23:10):
asking us to help them putthings together and we only have
so much time and energy and youknow it's not always.
You know you have to be carefulwhen your partners are with
celebrities and sometimes yourplaces can be busy for the wrong
reason or be busy for the rightreason or a lot of things can
go sort of sideways.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
But we've had nothing but success with all of our
partners are there any companiesor restaurants or concepts that
you said no to and then you seelater that it's taken off um?
Not that I recall but we say noa lot.
Okay, we say no a lot, we sayno a lot.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Okay, we say no a lot .
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Is there anything you said no to?
That was just so ridiculous,like what's a ridiculous concept
?
Somebody pitched you.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Justin Bieber's people wanted to do Drew House
as a fast food, fast casualrestaurant in the Valley and I
don't know if that would havebeen ridiculous just because, um
, his popularity, but just thefood idea and what they wanted
to do it was just a little,wasn't really something that?
Speaker 1 (24:14):
what's your take on that stuff like uh, with mr
beast doing the mr beast burgerin these ghost kitchens and
stuff and I think that came andwent right yeah, you know a lot
of that.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
I mean, kevin hart just opened a whole bunch of
restaurants and closed them.
Closed them right yeah you knowit's.
If you're you know you have tobuild a business on the business
.
And oh, by the way, it just sohappens to be right.
So, and so is an investor right.
But when sometimes people takecelebrities and they make it
more about the celebrity thanwhat the restaurant wants to be,
(24:42):
how long is that shelf life,you know?
Speaker 1 (24:44):
how long is that going to last?
And so, that's never ourapproach you know, I gotta say
on my birthday I had dinner atthea, at the global ambassador,
and they brought out this newcake for my birthday.
Yeah, and you know I had beentexting you a lot the last
couple days before then.
So I do.
I felt I didn't want to overdomy texting to you but it was
phenomenal, yeah, and they saidthey just put it on sabrina, our
new pastry chef, who came fromatlanta, did that, and so you
(25:07):
know what I'm talking about yeah, we used to give a.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
They came to be like you know, if it was your
birthday, we'd give you like, uh, this little um, um, uh, like
this little greek uh uh dessert,and it was kind of small and
the team were like you know, wehave all these people over
celebrating, enjoying themselves, spending a lot, spending a lot
of money.
We've got to do somethingbetter.
So they came up with this cakeand Sabrina's our new gal and
it's great, it's phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
I was like I think I texted Sam like 10 times the
last two days I go do I want totext him and tell him how great
this cake is Sure I won't Samewith the steak too.
We always stuff.
You never hear that enough.
I didn't want to overdo mytexting to you especially after
you helped me in my crisis.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Sam, do you have final say?
Do you test everything?
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Every single item, okay.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
And you say I like it , tweak it.
This isn't really where we wantto be.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Yeah, we have a big chef team, we have a big
culinary operation, we have atest kitchen in the Henry that
the gentlemen and the ladies arein there cooking all the time
and we're just always working onfood.
And I'll come up with a lot ofideas and I'll say, okay, let's
do this and this, and then theteam will sort of run with it.
You know just like how I canput deals together.
The chef team can put the menusand the food together for me,
(26:16):
and then we have a great workingrelationship.
Uh, my, my culinary partnerclint's been with me 18 years,
19 years, and so you know wehave a pretty good routine,
pretty good idea what we likeand what we don't like, and what
I'm doing is the difference isI don't let the chefs cook for
what they want.
(26:36):
I want the chefs to cook what Ithink the guest wants, and so
we really take that approach ofyou know, what do the guests
want, not what Sam Fox wants ornot what you know some chef that
might want.
You know 32 ingredients andstack up something or whatever.
And so we're.
You know we try and take anapproach of what does our guests
that walk into the door want toeat?
Speaker 1 (26:56):
But are you doing focus groups on who your guest?
Speaker 2 (26:58):
is no no no-transcript.
I mean they might need thatrestaurant, but I'm not doing a
focus group on that Wow and howpeople like to eat.
(27:21):
I got a lot of data by havingall the restaurants so I see
what sells and what doesn't sell.
And when we were doing we hadOlive and Ivy on its 19th year
and I was working in therestaurants all the time and
people would be like, do youhave any gluten-free items?
I'm like, what's gluten-free?
And then I kept hearing it andthen Andy called and said, oh,
(27:41):
we need to do something aroundhealthy eating, and so all those
things just kind of clicked.
So when you see trends oryou're in the restaurants you
can kind of see what works anddoesn't work.
And sometimes you can also putitems on menus.
Let's say we wanted to do, youknow, the pizza at Dober.
We can put that on a menu itemsomewhere and see if it gets
sort of any traction.
Sometimes you're going to beled into false sort of success.
(28:03):
When you special something andyou verbal it like all the chefs
go, oh, it's sold like crazy.
Do a verbal special?
I go it's sold like crazy,because bobby the server is
saying, oh, this is a greatspecial and blah, blah, blah.
Then you put it on the menu andit never sells.
And so there's the art andscience to everything that we do
.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
What about advice for anybody?
Because I've heard people saydon't get in the restaurant
business, don't start therestaurant business it's very
difficult and I did it andfailed.
Yeah, bought two pizza placesand it was terrible, are you?
Speaker 2 (28:32):
what happened to your pizza places?
Speaker 1 (28:33):
uh, I I kind of went in as an investor, yeah, and I
didn't want to be part of theday-to-day and then the people I
went in with, decided theydidn't want to do anymore.
And I was stuck with these tworestaurants.
And what'd you do with them?
I?
I gave one away and sold theother one.
Yeah, yeah, I lost my ass, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
So I mean this is not a hobby, right, right.
And so I always tell people,being a minority investor, as a
passive investor in therestaurant business and, by the
way, I had plenty of peopleearly trusted me and give me
money, but it's probably not agreat investment- you know, yeah
, and so what you see is a lotof people.
Oh, I want to be an investor, Iwant to go to the restaurant, I
(29:09):
want to be the owner, right,Until they have to show up and
work at like.
Be there, yeah, and it's not asglamorous as it seems Right, and
so I you know.
My advice would be that, if youwant to be in the restaurant
business, that you're in it,that you've worked in a
restaurant, that you understandit, that you're well capitalized
(29:30):
, more money than you think youneed, and just because you can
bake a great cake at home or youcan make a great cheeseburger
doesn't mean that that can be agreat restaurant.
Now, a lot of people have hadthose items and have turned them
into great restaurants, but theodds of that are really, really
low.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
By the way, I've been meaning to tell you this.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Oh, you got a restaurant idea?
No, but I have a menu idea foryou or something you could sell.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Right, those protein balls at the gym, at the Global
Ambassador, those need to be forsale somewhere.
Okay, are they, or no?
Speaker 2 (29:57):
No, we can sell them at the market, at Lay Market
they're freaking fantastic thankyou.
That's what I'm talking about,right?
Speaker 1 (30:02):
yeah, yeah, we made it yeah, you just have them
there as you work out.
They have these little proteinballs that are so addicting and
it's to me I was I was talkingmy wife about.
She was they should sell these,they should make these.
I'm like, totally yeah, howmany did you eat?
Oh, we eat them all day yeah, Igained 19 pounds staying in
your hotel.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
No, you did yes, I did, yes, I did, but you didn't
really.
Did you actually use the gym?
I used to just eat the proteinballs.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
It's a great gym.
It's a fantastic hotel.
It's one of my favorite placeshere.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
Let's pivot on that because we talk about him
opening up the hotel, but noteverybody has a membership.
They don't have like you have.
You obviously have a gym forhotel guests, but you did
something very unique yeah andyou opened up this experience
yes, for locals correct or, I'msure, people who don't even live
in Arizona.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
We have some out-of-town members, yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
To have an exclusive membership to have a different
experience.
Where did that come from?
Speaker 2 (30:49):
You know it just came from having you know.
We knew when we were doing thehotel that we wanted to build
out incredible gyms, incrediblespas, incredible, you know, the
wellness area of that andtypically a hotel on its own
probably making an ROI on that,investing in all of that stuff
(31:12):
and being able to give that totheir hotel guests.
And so we wanted to do amembers club and the members
club typically would have a hardtime getting all that stuff on
its own.
So we took the members idea andwe took the hotel idea and we
put them together so we couldhave a great experience and
invest enough into the facilityand the capabilities of what we
(31:34):
were doing there.
And so that's how that's sospecial.
I mean it's a nice gym, we gotincredible amenities.
We have cold plunge and steamand sauna and cryo and now the
infrared saunas are working.
Finally, and all these amazingthings that if they were on its
own it would be really, reallyhard, but together it really
really works.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
That's yeah.
And there's so many people Iwas going to say on my street we
both live on the same streetthere's a handful of people on
our street that go there.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
You should be a member, I should.
I heard there's a wait list.
Well, you might know someone.
There you go.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
It's such a great but here's the thing you got these
great protein bars in the gym.
Then you go down to locker roomand there's reese's peanut
butter cups.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
There's snickers bars .
Yeah, maybe you should enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
But I like just sitting there, yeah, and like I
was doing all I was on my phone,I was a little bit of, I was
prepping some stuff.
It was just peaceful.
Yeah, you know what I mean?
Because at my house I got sixdogs three kids.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
It's chaos.
There's a calm there during theday.
Yeah, very lively at night.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Very lively at night.
Oh my God, at night it's a showyeah.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
A lot going on.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, we don't talk a lot aboutthe membership, but you know
it's something we have and we'refortunate we have a lot of
great people that believed in usand so, yeah, kind of keep it a
little on the down low.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Let me ask you something controversial.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Okay, all right, let's say fast casual
restaurants.
You have a couple of those Afew.
Okay, what's restaurants?
You have a couple of those foryou.
Okay, what's the tipping?
So what's your take on thewhole tipping thing that, like
it's so frustrating as acustomer?
Yeah, when you walk up to aplace, yeah, and you order your
food, yeah, and then they giveyou a number, yeah, then they
turn the thing around and askyou for a tip, yeah and they
don't do anything.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
Yeah, we don't have that system which which turns
around we.
There's a tip line on yourcredit card right, but there's,
we don't have a tip um prompt,so my take on it is do whatever
you feel comfortable yeah, butthen you always feel like I get,
so I would get irritated youget tip shamed you tip on to go
food to go food.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
Yeah, yeah, like you go, I don't really go, I don't
go to full service restaurant.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
Do you tip on to go food?
Speaker 1 (33:52):
a full service restaurant.
I don't know if I do, if I waspicking up to-go, I would I mean
, hey, we have incredibleemployees that are working hard.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
Right, they get paid.
You know tips are alwaysappreciative it's not required,
but you know it's a nice gestureif you think that someone is
going above and beyond or atleast doing sort of, you know,
getting you through yourexperience in an efficient way
okay if they're going above andbeyond.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
But like if you go up and you order food and say, hey
, I want to, I want to get the,the, the flying avocado, yeah,
turkey, the flying turkey thing,whatever.
And then they give you a number, they turn around, you tip,
then you sit down and they bringyou your food and then they go
do you need anything else?
I go, huh, yeah, can I get afork and knife?
Well, they, they're up there.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Oh, okay, what am I.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
Well, they shouldn't say that they should say I
should get that for you, andthen maybe, if they say that,
then I'm not, I'm just pointingthings out Because it is kind of
turning into a big thing If youget on social media.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
There's jokes 100% yeah, the cop pulls you over,
sure.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
Yeah, but the dry cleaners.
I was at a liquor store in SanDiego this summer and I was
buying a whole bunch of beer andwhatever for Fourth of July.
The bill was $600.
The guy flips it over and theminimum, you know, sometimes
it's like $1, $5.
The minimum was 10%.
Yeah.
So, I'm not taking $60.
(35:10):
I'd carry it all out to my car.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Right, so that's what I mean.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
But I like your answer.
You're like do you tip to go IfI get I?
Speaker 3 (35:18):
really get to go.
I think it's a percentage.
That's what's really cute.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
They're all all the usually all the front of the
house.
Employees are working for tips,right, and they all share.
You give a girl a dollar tofive dollars at their cash
register, or somebody else, andyou know it goes to everybody in
the in the building and they'reall working hard, and so you
know they don't want to call youcheap, do they?
Speaker 1 (35:40):
no, I always.
John jay is a cheap guy.
No, I've got I guess what guesswhat?
Because people know you right,so I always overdo it.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
You know what always happens is um, you know, when I
go out to restaurant I'll put mycredit card down and I I'm
already a generous tipper.
I appreciate everyone's hardwork, and a lot of times they'll
be like oh, here's your card,sam Fox, and oh, I used to work
for you.
And then they sort of give youlike they know you at the end.
Yeah, it's terrible, and so nowthat costs you an extra.
Instead of a 30% tip, thatcosts me a 50%.
(36:07):
If I tell, if the and I'm likeit's 2020.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
I'm going to give 20, 25%.
Then they'll say oh my God, Ilisten to your show every day,
yeah.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
And then it's like, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, so
that's exactly what you mean.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
Yes, yeah, yeah, so crazy man.
Hey, are there any stories youcould tell us about the Global
Ambassador?
Has there been anything?
That's just a fun story to tellchaos.
I remember when I was livingthere.
I remember I was going you know, I would get up really early.
I was like 4 am going to get mycar and the valet guy goes hey,
I'm really sorry about thenoise last night.
I'm like noise Right, I didn'thear anything.
(36:41):
He goes, oh well, there was aconcert last night at Footprint
Center.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
It was a Mexican band and they rented out the whole
fifth floor and they had a partyup until five minutes ago and
I'm like I didn't hear a thing.
Yeah, like what a night thatmight have been.
Yeah, right, yeah, so is that.
Have you heard other thingslike that?
Or I mean, there's a lot ofstories that happen in a hotel
that I'm learning about.
Yeah, like, probably nothingthat I really want to get into
oh, okay yeah but there's.
I mean, hey, you have 150 rooms,you have a thousand people
coming through the door.
You know there's good, bad andall the other stuff in between.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
So, um, yeah, it's amazing how comfortable people
can feel outside of their homeright, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah is
being in the hotel business waydifferent than being in the
restaurant business?
Speaker 2 (37:28):
you know it's 24 7.
You know the concert was in themiddle of the night, you didn't
hear about it, but probably awhole bunch of other guests
heard that concert and probablycomplained.
And you know so you're always,you're always on, you're never
closed.
A lot of hotels before COVIDit's kind of a fun fact never
had doors that locked, becausehotels are always open.
Covid, it's like a lot of theseplaces had to close for COVID
(37:49):
had to put locks on doors and sowe're always open.
We're always there 24 hours,seven days a week.
You know Christmas, 4th of July, and so there's a lot of things
that a lot of people are comingthrough the building and a lot
of you know it's life.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
Okay, so can you, as the owner, the CEO, the
president, can you get sleepLike, or do you use your phone
always on and it's peoplecalling, texting, you know?
Speaker 2 (38:09):
we have an amazing team that sort of insulates me
from most of that, from most ofthat, and it depends on sort of
what could happen.
You know, if a water main brokeor if something truly bad
happened with it, I needed to bealerted.
The team would get a hold of me.
But we have an amazing teamthere that keeps me out of it.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
But what about, just generally speaking about sleep?
Do you focus on that at all?
Speaker 2 (38:35):
That's my new thing right now.
Yeah, yeah, the sleep thing issomething that I somewhat
struggled with.
As far as you know, I neverhave a problem falling asleep.
I can fall asleep as quickly asanybody.
I have a weird thing I actuallydo need to fall asleep with the
TV on.
So I have a timer on my TV, soI put on the 30 minute or 15
(38:56):
minute timer and I just kind ofclose my eyes and it's sort of
my calm app basically, which Ialso have.
And, um, you know, I fall asleepand then sometimes I have a
hard time staying asleep.
Three or four in the morningwake up, my mind's racing, and
so I struggle a little bit withmanaging through that.
And, um, you, you know we getup early to begin with our kids,
(39:22):
you know, when they were livingthere before they go off to
college, you know we get upearly.
We also have a dog.
Dogs don't always make.
You know my dog's sleeping onmy head, moving around all the
time.
Hey, I'm also not getting anyyounger.
Sometimes I go to the bathroomin the middle of the night.
So my problem is, if I wake up,I have a hard time falling back
to sleep.
So if I have to go to thebathroom, the dog hear a weird
noise, or something like that,I'll wake up and then I struggle
(39:45):
.
And what always happens is if I, let's say, I have my alarm set
for 5.45 am, um, I'll wake upsometimes at three and I'll fall
back asleep at 5 15 and I'llwake up at 5, 45 and I'm like oh
my god, I feel like it so youdon't monitor your sleep, you
don't wear an aura ring or awhoop or any of that stuff but I
used to.
And then what did I do?
I mean, okay, good sleep score,bad sleep score, right, I don't
(40:08):
change my and you know I neverchanged anything about it.
Speaker 3 (40:12):
You Do you change it?
We have a guest that would helphim.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
Yeah, the sleep doctor.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
Yeah, we actually had the sleep doctor on our podcast
.
You know he sleeps with the TVon.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:22):
He worked with Oprah.
Speaker 2 (40:23):
Wow, now would you ever believe that would be
healthy to do to sleep with theTV on?
What did he say about that?
Speaker 3 (40:27):
Actually.
So I?
I mean I just did a podcastwith him on another podcast and
he actually said I'm the onlysleep professional in the US
that says you can go to sleepwith the TV on.
It doesn't matter, it doesn'tchange the problem.
Okay good, I feel better aboutmyself, so maybe yeah, so I'll
tell you how to listen to thatpodcast and you might actually
get something out of it, I doneed to put the phone down.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
Yeah we all know that's bad.
Speaker 3 (40:56):
But yeah, blue light it's really more about the
activity of the brain.
When you have your phone on,you're actually processing
information.
You're telling the brain wakeup.
I need to respond, I need to beappropriate, and that's a
bigger issue than just thelighting.
But there's help for you Sam.
There's help for you Sam.
Speaker 1 (41:11):
There's ways around your problem.
But you know you brought up awhile ago that you were taking
Ambien to go to sleep.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
This was a while back .
Right, so you don't take thatanymore, I'll take a melatonin
once in a while, but you knowI'll never do anything more than
like three nights in a row.
So if I have a hard night ofsleep I'll maybe take melatonin.
I travel a lot, so if I travelI usually take a melatonin.
So if I'm going to Nashvillefor the next couple of days, two
hour time change, I'm workingall day, working all day.
(41:38):
I get back to the hotel room at10, 11 o'clock at night and you
know it's just sort of I'mwound up and you know.
So it kind of takes me a minuteto sort of settle in and I'll
take a melatonin.
And so if I do that for acouple three days but I never do
more than three days- Do youdrink coffee?
I do drink coffee in the morning, neither during the day, and I
usually have like I always poura full cup but I never drink the
(42:00):
whole cup.
I'm a big iced tea guy, so kindof like the coffee is a means
to get me to my iced tea.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
Because your energy level is off the charts.
Man.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
Oh, thanks.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
Off the charts.
Speaker 3 (42:17):
What time do you when you go to bed it?
Speaker 2 (42:18):
kind of depends.
It could be anywhere from 9.30to 11.30.
That's late for us, yeah.
So yeah, I mean, you get upearly, you get up early.
I was at your clinic, you'rethere early and I would say, you
know, I like to be in bed by 10o'clock.
Speaker 1 (42:30):
What about working out now?
Speaker 2 (42:32):
Yeah, so at the Global.
You know I have a gym in myhouse.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
I don't, what about working out now?
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Yeah, so At the Global.
You know I have a gym at myhouse.
I don't really like to work out.
I do when I want to do likeweights and heavy things like
that.
Brian, who's the trainer there?
Speaker 1 (42:45):
Oh, that guy's great.
Speaker 2 (42:46):
Yeah, and he's worked .
I've worked with him.
He used to work in one of myrestaurants 12, 13 years ago,
and so he's got greathospitality for a trainer and so
I'll go with him one or twodays a week in the afternoon.
It's hard.
I don't like to be in therewhen there's a lot of people,
because then I don't get nothingdone Right, and I'm talking to
people and then it's like nextthing you know, so I'll work out
(43:08):
at home.
I play a lot of pickleball.
I play a lot of pickleball.
I do the loop, you know, on ourstreet.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
So I do that, the castle loop or just the loop
loop.
Speaker 2 (43:15):
The loop, loop, but I'll start at my house, go all
the way down and then go all theway up.
What I love about it, it's onehour.
If I go fast, I can do it inlike 53 minutes, and so I'll do
that maybe twice a week.
Now that it's getting nice,I'll pick that up, for sure I
don't have to do it so early inthe morning and um, and then.
You know, I just try and stayactive, I just try not to sit.
(43:43):
I'm not a desk sitter, right,you know, um, where was I?
I was uh, um, we, I did theloop and we were um.
We're doing something out atthe Cardinals called the
Morgan's athletic club Club.
They built a new facility andwe're managing the hospitality
in there, and so Sunday therewas our first game.
I did the loop before I wentout there, and the loop is 8,000
(44:07):
, 9,000 steps for me, maybesomewhere right around there,
and I looked at my steps at theend of the day and I had 21,000
steps.
So I just try to keep active,right, right, right.
Speaker 1 (44:19):
When you say you're opening this thing at the
Cardinal Stadium, is it?
It's called?
What's it called it's?
Speaker 2 (44:22):
called the Morgan's Athletic Club.
They created a new 350 newseats in the end zone.
Oh, I saw that yes, and sothose seats come with
hospitality.
It's almost like courtside atthe Suns game.
But, is it called?
Hey, sam Fox is doing this.
It's called the MorgansAthletic Club, hosted by the
global ambassador.
Speaker 3 (44:41):
And the Morgans.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
Athletic Club.
Morgans was the first name ofthe Cardinals in the 1800s, late
1800s, before they came theCardinals.
And so they came to us andasked us to help put the package
together.
Like I said, said, people wantus to help put things together
and that's what we do, and thatwhen, um, you know, michael
bidwell and the team were, uh,had some great vision and we
(45:02):
kind of just took their visionand ran with it god, that's
fantastic man dude, you're likea genius it's unbelievable man,
I don't know about that.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
Yeah, you know, it's funny.
You brought up covet.
I remember.
Remember, when COVID shuteverything down, I was like
concerned that my favoriterestaurants would go out of
business.
So I would call all the ownersof the restaurants on my show.
Remember, I'd put you on.
Speaker 3 (45:22):
I was like what's going on.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
Yes, you were great.
Keep this place pumping.
Yeah, you were great.
It was scary times, for wereclosed like crazy yeah.
Just you know, the unknown isnever a great feeling.
Speaker 1 (45:34):
You can't see that happening.
Speaker 2 (45:35):
You can't see that happening again can you, I mean,
who knew that was happening?
Speaker 1 (45:39):
I just can't, I can't .
Speaker 2 (45:40):
I don't think like.
Do you think like that?
Speaker 1 (45:42):
What no?
Speaker 3 (45:43):
I'm reading somebody else in the room here.
Behind the scenes yeah, we gota CIA guy.
Speaker 1 (45:51):
Come on, he's not talking.
I don't let my wife like that Iknow, I want to ask him one
more thing, because I know we'rerunning out of time.
Speaker 3 (45:56):
So, Sam, you're also into philanthropy.
Speaker 2 (45:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (45:59):
And you've done a lot to give back to the community.
Speaker 2 (46:01):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (46:01):
So I just want to touch on that.
The one project that I saw wasI think it was Feed the Soul.
Speaker 2 (46:07):
Yep, is that right, yeah Is yeah, that's you know we
have in our organization and inour personal household we sort
of have a mission of.
We want to feed people and wewant to do a lot of things for
children.
So we're big in Panda, big thetitle sponsor of the Panda
fashion show every year.
We've got a big commitment tothem.
(46:28):
We do a lot of things with Feedthe Soul.
We raise money for the foodbank.
We do a lot of things for youMom All the ones that everyone
knows.
We're really awful.
Speaker 1 (46:40):
You just did with us with our Love Up Foundation.
Remember we started for fosterkids, a program where, after
they graduate high school, theycould get a job working for Fox
Concepts somewhere and get themready.
Speaker 2 (46:50):
We also try and come up with fun, creative stuff,
like we'll do something for foran auction item.
Hey, come get an internship fortwo weeks and spend the day
with me.
You know just kind of like funstuff that makes it more
interesting.
But you know, we're veryfortunate.
The community has beenincredibly supportive of us and
it's our obligation and it'ssort of it's our mission we want
(47:14):
to do right by the people thattake care of us, and so children
, people that need a meal, allof that.
That's something that we workon and talk about all the time
to try and make this community alittle bit better.
Speaker 1 (47:25):
That's fantastic.
Thanks, man hey.
So what do you think so far ofthe podcast?
Was it good?
Speaker 2 (47:29):
I mean I was on, was it good?
Speaker 1 (47:34):
I thought good, I mean, I was honest, is it good?
I thought it was a good podcast, the crowd likes it.
Speaker 3 (47:36):
I have a question for carrie real quick, because I'm
noticing your legs right here.
Oh, is that weights?
Speaker 1 (47:39):
no, what is that?
It's?
Speaker 3 (47:40):
not weights.
I was a guinea pig for a newproject oh, wow, wow right I
thought it was actually it's acool story.
So there you know.
We all know that there's allkind of lasers and different
treatments that people will usefor different things.
Speaker 1 (47:54):
For skin tightening.
Speaker 3 (47:55):
Oh, one of those things.
There is a product out thatactually cores your skin out.
Speaker 2 (48:01):
Cores.
Speaker 3 (48:02):
Cores.
So it takes chunks of your skinout to create holes and then
those holes grow back togethertighter.
So it's a way of avoiding atuck or a lift, so you're
removing skin in these littlemicro cores, and then those
micro cores fill back in withcollagen and they get tighter
and it tucks everything up.
So normally this is done aroundnecks.
Speaker 1 (48:24):
Like for you.
John Jay, we can talk aboutyour neck.
You try everything, I doeverything, girl, but I
volunteered to do it on my knees.
Speaker 2 (48:31):
You're like an infomercial for all this stuff.
I volunteered to do it on myknees.
You're like an infomercial forall this stuff?
Speaker 3 (48:33):
Yeah, he is I volunteered to do it on my knees
.
But this is why I volunteered,because he said normally the
recovery time is three weeks andI said I doubt that to be true
if you use hyperbaric.
Speaker 2 (48:42):
So what do you think I did?
Speaker 3 (48:44):
So I postulated out that if someone did this,
instead of being down for threeweeks with the visible remnants
of this, that you could fix itin a week.
So I am two days out from thisprocedure.
Speaker 2 (48:56):
The hyperbolic chamber.
Have you been?
Speaker 1 (48:58):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (48:58):
Oh yeah, all the time , yeah, I broke my ribs and they
took care of me over there.
Speaker 1 (49:02):
I went there seven, eight days in a row and tried to
speed up my recovery.
Speaker 2 (49:06):
I had to travel to Europe.
Speaker 3 (49:08):
He's like I need these fixed.
I'm like I got to do whatever Ican to try and heal this.
How'd you break your ribs andrib fractures are like four to
six weeks to repair.
Speaker 2 (49:15):
It's kind of a crazy story.
I got a little vertigo and Ifell.
I was actually in my gymstretching in the morning and I
fell into a wooden sort of chairarm rail and crashed like,
violently, threw my body into itand broke three ribs.
I thought I was.
It was the most pain I've everhad in my life, and so you went
to hyperbaric.
(49:36):
I was so yeah so I went and thenI was like into it for four or
five days.
I'm like, oh my God, this isthe most pain I've ever had.
And friends of ours recommendedgoing to the hyperbaric chamber
and it was great.
What a great setup you havethere.
It's amazing and it was great.
Speaker 3 (49:51):
What a great setup you have there.
It's amazing.
So bottom line, that's why it'sthis.
But it is like the first daythere was blood oozing down my
legs.
It looked horrific.
And this is day two and, yes,it's noticeable, but it's about
80% better.
Speaker 1 (50:04):
So I think, about day seven, you will be able to tell
how long do you go in theIberberg Chamber for?
Speaker 3 (50:08):
I usually go in for 90 minutes because I'm going to
stop my life and turn off myphone and get in.
I got to get some seriousconcentration out of it well.
Speaker 1 (50:17):
Thank you, sam Sam Fox Restaurants.
What's the website?
Speaker 2 (50:22):
boxconceptscom global ambassador fall 30 club all
different, All different.
Oh yeah, that's right.
Yeah, we got it all.
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