May 19, 2026 • 34 mins
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
It's that time time, time, time, lock and load till
Michael Vari show is on the air. We are hating
for mass extinction. Thing you if that's it end at
there as humans destroy our own habitat.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I can't imagine there will be a human on the
planet in ten years. I suspect it'll be No.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I'm sorry, did you say ten ears?
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yes, in my outlaid voice.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
We're still putting one hundred and sixty two million tons
into it every single day, and the accumulated amount is
now trapping as much extra heat as would be released
by six hundred thousand herosimaclass atomic bombs exploding every single
day on the Earth. That's what's boiling the oceans, creating
these atmospheric rivers and the rain bombs, and sucking the
moisture out of the land, and creating the droughts and
(00:52):
melting the ice and raising the sea level and causing
these waves of climate refugees predicted to reach one billion
in this cent We would lose our capacity for self
governance on this world. We have to.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Well, you heard that story CBS News as so many
covering the story of Tim Sparks, Who's the president of
a corporation that is a Pizza Hut franchise bringing back
the retro Pizza Hut classic locations. And I am really
we don't do a lot of interviews on the show,
(01:31):
as you know. When we do, it's because it's something
that interests me personally, and this one, I must say,
interests me a great deal. Tim Sparks, let me start
with whoever is doing your PR You chose a good
one because this story is everywhere.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Well, Michael, actually I don't have anybody doing our PR.
This actually all started with we were one of the
first locate, our first franchises to actually do a classic
location and uh, we have one in Delanaga, Georgia that
really took off on social media. We have influenced through
(02:14):
in Delanaga, Georgia. Homo stassa Florida mechanic Pennsylvania. I don't
want to say daily, but at least one to two
sometimes three a week, and it started to kind of
go viral on its own online and the really neat
things I go to the stores I really like to
talk to, you know, people that are actually dining in
(02:34):
and I visiting a couple of stores started hearing that
they're coming from, you know, two three hours away. And
uh and I like the I really liked the classic look.
I mean I've been doing this.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
Yeah, yeah, I mean I started when I was eighteen
and so, you know, but we we I was a
pizza customer before I started working there, and for our families,
that was our big night out on Friday night, you know,
that's where we went. And so yeah, it's close to
my heart. I didn't know it was going to touch
this many people, but it's definitely something that's really taken
off over the last three or four years for us.
(03:10):
So we have thirty eight locations now that are classics,
and going to open up another one later this year
in Prairie Dushine, Wisconsin. And you've probably got twelve more
that fit into the classic category based on the shape
of insize of our buildings. So we'll keep We're going
to keep keep moving.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Let's go back through your story and then I want
to update that here. You said that you were a
customer before you went to work there. Tell me about
your family and what Pizza Hut was to y'all, and
then how you started working there.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Okay, it's an interesting store. So my dad was in
the Air Force and listed, so you know, we weren't
you know, we were making a living, but we weren't
well off, and so anytime we could go out to eat,
it was usually at our local pizza hut, and then
if things were really good, we'd actually go play pup
pup golf after and so you have those kind of
fun man, you.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Are a nostalgia guy. I love this same here. I'm
fifty five. This is my upbringing.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
For sure.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
So then.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
Later in my brother, my older brother, was going to
Bellevue College in Bellevue, Nebraska, and he started working at
a pizza hut. So that was really my first introduction
to it outside of us going in to eat as
a family. And then over time I ended up living
in Hawaii for a while again my dad was stationed there,
and when I graduated from high school, I was in
(04:38):
upstate New York. My sister still lived in Hawaii and
she bought me a one way ticket. I was eighteen,
I moved back to Hawaii. I needed a job and
I started washing dishes in the Mapunapuna Pizza Hut on
the island of o Wahoo. When I was eighteen years old.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
And so is that where you first went to work
was the Island.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Per Pizza? Yeah, I worked for a Hawaii Pizza Incorporated
for about a year. I moved back to I moved
to Upstate New York about a year later, and that's
when I first started working for Dalen Corporation. And that's
the company that I operate now.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Okay, And that's how you pronounced a la and d Okay.
I was wondering about that.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Yeah, and what did you make quick story on? Yeah,
let me tell you quick story on that for the Dayalen.
It's one of our partners actually worked in the very
first pizza the Day had opened. So our name comes
from Dale, Albert, Larry and Norm Development. That's where we
came up with the word data.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Okay, I figured it was an amalgamation little port Monteau.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
What was that?
Speaker 2 (05:43):
I said, A little portmanteau, a little acronym of of
of the names. I love that.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
That's a story, Yeah, that's exactly what it is.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
So when you went to work there, what was the
first job you were doing. Were you in the kitchen,
were you bussing tables? Were you doing it where you
run the cash Riddish a little bit of everything.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
No, I started washing dishes. That was literally what I
did for about the first two weeks. And then, you know,
one night we were busy and they said, Tim, get
up here, and I said, I don't know how to
make pizza, and they said, well, we're going to teach
you right now. So I got got the old throne
to the fire training and that really was that was it.
I'm sure obviously I washed dishes some more, but from
(06:25):
that point forward I became a cook. And then so
when I got up to upstate New York, when I
started working for Dalen, uh, you know, I had a
year experience and so I ended up becoming a shift manager,
then an assistant manager, then an RGN and so we
had two two locations in Plattsburgh, New York. I ran
as a restaurant general manager. Then I, uh, you know
(06:45):
again just kind of further my career. I said I
would move if they if they needed me too. So
I moved to Luisa, Virginia and opened the pizza up there.
Then I moved to Dalgren, Virginia, opened the pizza up there.
I moved to Only, Virginia and opened the pizza up there.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
In these locations when you were opening these.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Well, I moved there. I mean I was at each
of those locations for over a year in each of
each of those and then uh, then I took over
our North Carolina market, uh uh, and then went and
took over our Chesapeake market and did a little bit
moving around like that. Then we actually bought an interest
in a barbecue restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee called Red Hot
(07:26):
and Blue. So I moved to Nashville and started running
that for us as well. Then we also did an
Ara Breads down Southern Florida, so I moved to Southern Florida.
I was our offices in which Thal Kansas. I moved
to Southern Florida and oversaw all of our ops for
the Panera Breads. And then we also opened up some
(07:46):
Sonic Drive and so we've dabbled in a lot of
different things, but we've always.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Had they been Tim, hold with me for just a moment.
You have invariably seen the story of the Pizza Hut
returning to its principles and absolutely gangbusters. People are responding
to this and loving it. We'll talk more to Tim
Starks coming up.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
With the Michael Mary American.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Tims Barks is our guest. You've probably seen the story
by now, this fellow who had this vision of bringing
Pizza Hut back to the pizza Hut that you and
I grew up with, the pizza Hut that our producer,
Ramon Roebliss worked at, the Pizza Hut of the red
cups and the pac man and the salad bar and
(08:33):
sitting down as a family. And what we're finding is
it's about something even bigger than pizza Hut. It's about
our return to a time and to values before all
these things that were such conveniences replaced a family conversation
and a night out with the family and the kids.
Maybe it was after a ballgame, or maybe it was
(08:54):
to celebrate a good grade. We love this. We think
that these cultural hallmarks like this represent what could be
a major trend toward a very good thing. And as
I said, they're bigger than Pizza Hut or even pizza
or even dining out. They're about taking back control of
your life and your values and how you live it
(09:16):
because it's ephemerald to be gone before you know it.
Tim Sparks is our guest. Tim, I want to go
back to your career for a moment. So you did
not go to college. You're going from one location to
the next, to the next to the next. For these
guys opening these pizza huts. Back what year would this
have been, Well.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
The late eighties, early nineties is when I was opening
opening up. Then I could over my first district in
the early nineties.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Okay, and you went through some of the different brands
that you had. So your college was you got OJT
on the job training, I mean your college, your education
was actually getting in there and getting after it.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Yeah. If you look at my Facebook page, i'd say
I went to the College of Hard Knocks. Yeah, yeah,
it was you know what it was. It was tough
too early on. I mean, it's a unique story that
people sometimes like to hear. I don't I wouldn't ever
discourage anybody from going to college, but there's certainly ways
to be successful if you don't. And uh so, yeah,
(10:22):
I mean, but I mean, listen, I was living in
an apartment with four bedrooms, and I didn't even know
who the other three guys were that were in those
other bedrooms. You know, I had a suitcase, that's all.
I had a suitcase. And some clothes. I didn't have furniture.
I had nothing, And I guess that motivates you right
to the only meal I had some days where it
(10:43):
was my employee meal at pizza Hut. So so, yeah,
grant the brand means a lot. Has given me everything
I have in my life, and I've given it a
lot as well. But yeah, let me can certainly become
successful by working hard.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
So when you would move into these locations, you know,
and you were talking about kind of out of the ways,
weren't major cities, and you were going into these towns
to open a pizza hut, were those ground up or
what was going on? Had you all bought a failing location,
were you doing a ground up construction? What was going on?
Speaker 4 (11:12):
Yeah, the majority of our locations are we built them
from the ground up. They're all free standing units for
the most part. We do have some inlines now, but
back in the day, they were all free standing units,
and we have acquired some over the years from other franchises,
but the majority of our our companies ones that we
built from the ground up.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
So you've had a lot of experience watching not just
this concept, but other concepts what works and what doesn't.
I asked a fine dining guru, Tony Vilone, a late
Tony Vilone here in Houston. He had at the time
the top high end, white tablecloth restaurant that anybody famous
that came through town had to eat at. And I said, Tony,
(11:54):
what's one thing that any restaurant tour could do, even
if they don't have all the money in the world,
they're not as fancy and all that. He said, serve
hot food hot and cold food cold. Uh heat the
heat the plates for entrees and chill the plates for salads.
And I have studied who does that and who doesn't.
It's a little thing, but it does go a long way.
(12:15):
When you walk into a restaurant, now not just a
pizza hut. What do you notice of successful restaurants and
what do you notice of those that are failing?
Speaker 4 (12:26):
I think one of the biggest well, I mean, I'm
gonna say weak because you know, my wife what we
have a hard time going to restaurants because we that's
what we do. We continue to work right, we analyze
what's going on, and we're very detail oriented. She handles
the facilities side of our business. And so you know,
if we see a crack tile. You know, if we
(12:48):
see those kind of things, that matters. And then from
a food perspective, yeah, if hot food doesn't serve hot
and I don't mean warm hot, and you know it
has to be hot and old. Who called that's vital.
But but currently, for me, the biggest thing I talked
about when we're having a success at our classics right
(13:08):
now is that we just have some really good people
working for us. And you know, when you've got smiling,
friendly faces, you know they're giving you good attentive service.
They're not on their phones right, they're paying attention to
use their guests. To me, that's one of the most
important things that we can have. And you know, it's
really frustrating. I will tell you locally here recently we
(13:29):
went in and we sat down and literally made great
eye contact and had had the servers continue their conversation
and not even say, you know, hello, And so that frustrates.
That frustrates me as a consumer, but also frustrates me
as a restaurant owner. And for me coming up through
my career as in our GM, you know, running restaurants
(13:50):
probably the hardest thing for me. By the time I
became a district. You know, an out of store supervisor
was when I was in the stores during business hours,
I was I got all to get stuck in a
dining room because we're just having great conversations and talking
to all my guests. So we're all we're a small
town in America. You know, the majority of our stores are
in seventy five hundred and less people in town, and
(14:14):
you know, you get to know everybody, you get to
know them by a name, and I think that personal
connection does go a long way. And even in the
service industry. Now, you know, if you see phones out
in employees' hands, then then you already know there's a
problem there because if they're at work, their phones shouldn't
be in their hands, right.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
It's interesting because I owned a place called the Redneck
Country Club and we were a concert venue, bar restaurant,
and it was very We had a couple of strict
rules in one of which is the phone does not
come out during the entirety of the time you're on property.
And it was interesting how many people who worked with
(14:56):
us said to me, who were waitresses, bartenders on I
didn't realize how connected, how addicted I was to that thing,
and it's a relief to almost have someone tell you
put the darn thing down, think for yourself, connect with
the moment, Engage with the moment. And I do see that.
You know, you see people at the at the station.
(15:18):
Let's take a pizza hut or a pizza joint, and
you see people there. They're in the station, They're on
their phone and they're they're playing what I would call
grab ass with each other, and the customer is not
being taken care of. The return to values. I think
in some sense that makes it harder to more challenging
to run a restaurant today, because that is an additional
(15:40):
distraction that young people have that perhaps we didn't have
to deal with we were coming up, and you wouldn't
have had to deal with when you first started. Tim Parks.
Tim Sparks as our guest. The story has gone quite
viral of late. We were very excited to get a
bit of his time because we've been watching it everywhere,
this pizza hut concept of coming back to the way
(16:02):
life used to be in the in the eighties. We'll
talk more about that coming up the Michael Verry Show.
Timmo Box is our guest. I was delighted he was
willing to visit with us. It's the Daylent corporation that
owns a lot of these Pizza Hut franchises. It's been
(16:23):
all over the news, it's been all over social media,
this concept of bringing back the you know, the old
pizza hut concept that might have seemed tired to many,
bringing that back and cleaning it up and bringing back
the things that we missed, you know, the Tiffany style lamps.
Let's start, let's go one by one. I saw that
(16:45):
your struggle is is finding enough of the Tiffany style lamps.
I guess they're not made anymore.
Speaker 4 (16:52):
Yeah, that's correct. Yeah, I guess they had a minimum
order of like five hundred when they stopped producing them
or pizza you know, stop by eye them and so yeah,
we've really struggled finding them. But now since this interview
kind of viral, we've had a few producers reach out
to us that say they can probably produce them for us.
(17:12):
So I'm hoping that's accurate, because not only do we
still need more, I've had some other franchisees reach out
as well and ask, and we still have you know,
we have some classical locations that don't have the Tiffany
lights because they weren't being produced anymore. So we're going
to go back and once we find a producer to
make them for us, we're going to go back and
reinstall those into the ones that don't actually have them
(17:35):
right now.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
They're so distinctive.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
Yeah, absolutely, they they're They're necessary. I mean, they really
do bring the whole look together for sure.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Okay, those those red cups. One of the things that
people talk about was the red cup that you only
ever had at Pizza Hut. Are those still made?
Speaker 1 (17:57):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (17:58):
They are. Yeah. You know, the lamps I knew were important.
I had no idea how important the red cups, right,
that those really resonated with people to that time in
their life or that, you know, eighties and nineties, and
it's it's it doesn't get old, you know. Anytime somebody
comes in for the first time in one of our
one of our classics, they one hundred percent and we'll
(18:22):
always make a comment about, oh my god, they have
the red cups. So it's it's actually really neat and
they do still make them, and uh, and we're using
them for sure.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
The vinyl boots. Uh, did you do you all have
a Is that something you do yourself or is that
something that Pizza Huts kept the same company busy over
all these years.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
Well, yeah, we have a couple of booth makers that
uh that we give We give them the specs and
then they make it for us. But yeah, that that
was that was company driven that we didn't personally design those.
But the red the red booths are definitely a big,
big play on it. We also have the green green
cars that we're back in the day, so yep.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
And it's salad bars.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
So the so the salad bars are important to me,
not just as a business person. That goes back to
when we would eat as a family as well. And
if my dad hears this, he's going to get frustrated
because when we when we ate a home, I would
not eat salad. I would not eat my lettuce and
my mom put a whole bunch of stuff in it,
right and I had and I wouldn't allowed to leave
(19:26):
the table until I ate it, you know, and I'd
force it down Fannie, but I just didn't like it.
But man, we go to Pizza Hut and I could
just put a bowl of lettuce and some of our
Italian dressing on it. I mean I was in heaven.
So so yeah, we have those in almost every one
of our dining assets. We do have salad bars.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
What's your father's name, Jack, and tell me about Jack
spars Well.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
Jack was in the in the Air Force for twenty
eight years. He retired as a chief Master Sergeant and
serving bit got hit purple heart. Then he after he retired,
he retired notusin Texas and became a postman and then
they wanted to get him into management and he said
he had had enough of that. He was chief security
(20:13):
police during his twenty eight years and then he retired
to the postman. So he's had a good life. He's
got two pensions. He's doing well.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
I saw a reference to the pac Man game. Are y'
all bringing back the pac Man games as well?
Speaker 4 (20:30):
So you know it does help complete the look. We
did start to do that. We've got the one that
was in that article. We happened to be in Camchanack, Pennsylvania,
and we do have one there. And it's another thing
that people talk about all the time, this is the
pac Man, pac Man machine and the jukebox. So we
(20:50):
did bring it back. It's not just a pac Man
machine because of technology now. But it is the sit
down type. But it's got Gallaga, mister do. It's got
like forty different games from back in the day, so
actually pretty fun. I have to be careful when I
visit the stores that have them because I get caught
up on those of course I played as a.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Kid, right, yeah, yeah, And look, there's a lot better
graphics on stuff today, and I tell my kids, my
kids have no interest in that stuff because the graphics
are better now and Mortal Combat or whatever else. But
it's just it's a moment, right, It's recapturing how you
felt at a moment in your life when for some
reason things felt better. Let me ask you, Tim Sparks.
(21:34):
These are the pizza hut franchise ease that you've been
hearing about that are bringing back to the nostalgia of
the vintage stores when you saw over these. You know,
there's websites where a pizza Hut goes out of business
and it becomes a church, or it becomes a barbecue joiner,
whatever it becomes. I'm assuming as as wetted as you
(21:56):
are to this business, and it's history that that had
to break your heart would y'all ever go in, Have
you gone in and bought one of those old stores
and brought it back? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (22:08):
You know a lot of those well not Sometimes it's
not just that they went out, they left town. Sometimes
they became a delivery unit in a you know, a
in a strip plaza. But yeah, you know, I truly
believe this that outside of some kind of a major
economic thing going on in a small town, we should
(22:30):
not have any of them go out of business. Normally,
when they do, it's because our operations aren't very strong.
And I mean that.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Let me ask you, Tim Sparks. Uh, these are the
pizza hut franchisease that you've been hearing about that are
bringing back to the nostalgia of the vintage stores when
you saw over these. You know, there's websites where a
pizza hut goes out of business and it becomes a church,
or it becomes a barbecue joiner, whatever it becomes. I'm
(23:00):
assuming as as wetted as you are to this business
and it's history that that had to break your heart.
Would y'all ever go in, Have you gone in and
bought one of those old stores and brought it back? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (23:13):
You know, a lot of those. Well not Sometimes it's
not just that they went out, they left town. Sometimes
they became a delivery unit in a you know, in
a plausa. But yeah, you know, I truly believe this
that outside of some kind of a major economic thing
going on in a small town, we should not have
(23:34):
any of them go out of business. Normally, when they do,
it's because our operations aren't very strong. And I mean
that for us too, for dayl And it's not just
you know, I'm not speaking like like we're perfect and
and but yeah, it is tough to see that. I
get it because it's such an eyicic look that everybody
knows it was a pizza hut, you know, even though
when we do shut them down, we do be identify
(23:54):
and by getting rid of the red roof and and
changing the windows from the trapezoid shape. But uh, yeah,
it's tough to see those. And when I travel through town,
through towns that you know, aren't ours, and I see
those out and you always wonder how long has it
been close? You know, what really what really were the
circumstances and could it could it one day make a comeback?
(24:15):
You know, could it could it one day become a
peep sete again. And I think that opportunity is probably
out there for some of those places. You know, we
just got to get the brand aligned and into understanding
that we are. What makes us different from our competitors
is is our dining rooms and it's a certainly competitive
advantage that we should take care, take take advantage of,
and protect and take care of.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Well, what's interesting that I think anybody can take away
from it, even if you're not in hospitality, is it
comes back to fundamentals. I mean, your play is nostalgia.
But if all you do is bring back the red
cups and pac Man and the food doesn't deliver and
the customers aren't taken care of, you're not going to succeed.
And you know that. So at the end of the day,
these are these are the icing on the cake. But
(24:59):
you have to have solid fundamentals and the customer experience
in a safe environment with clean food at a price
point they can afford that tastes good. And if you
do that, then the cool stuff that we're talking about,
it just makes it that much more enjoyable. And we
wish you the absolute best. I love this. I'm rooting
for your success. Tim Sparks, the Dayland Corporation, large pizza
(25:23):
hut franchise e. Thanks for taking time with us.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
Thank you. What ees do you want right?
Speaker 1 (25:29):
What do you want?
Speaker 4 (25:31):
You want to sit the Michael Berry?
Speaker 3 (25:33):
Just say the word and I'll throw a asshole around
it and plug down.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Oh yes, the great Dusty Hill of easy Top would
be seventy seven today. Of course we lost him. Becau
zz Top continues on our friend Frank Beard on the drums,
Billy Gibbons lead vocals and lead guitar. Hard to believe
that little band from Texas was just three members. What
(26:19):
a big sound, what a glorious, glorious sound, what a story.
They are so legendary in Texas and in Houston especially.
You just can't begin to imagine. Everybody in Houston the
greater Houston area has a zz Top story. Either you
(26:41):
ran the marathon next to them, and you know they're
very identifiable because the beards of the three members. Dusty
had a beard and Billy had a beard, and the
third member didn't have a beard, Frank Beard, but his
name was Beard the drummer. They are, They are favorite
sons to be sure their favorite sons. To be sure,
(27:02):
I don't think we discussed the fact that the Supreme
Court rejected the bid by Virginia Democrats to restore their
ten to one map. I mean to restore their map.
The decision was ten to no. The decision actually I
think it was six' to, three and the map would
(27:24):
have skewed the state Of virginia congressional allocation. Dramatically it's
very important that you win elections so that you can
do things like pick who's going to be on The Supreme.
Court it's very important that you win, elections if for
no other, reason to Keep democrats out of, power because
(27:46):
they will abuse that and when they get in, power
they will abuse that power to keep you from ever accumulating.
POWER i truly believe we are closer to the precipice
than we ever date their. Power you'll never be able
to dislot. Them and we have watched democrats grow more
(28:10):
aggressive and less concerned with whether you care about what
they're doing than ever, before AND i don't foresee that.
CHANGING i think it gets worse if you look at
the candidates they're putting up. Now these are not candidates
who are trying to win votes in the. Middle these
(28:32):
are candidates who are trying to excite the extreme. Fringe
they didn't Have Alexandria Cassio cortez this. Before they didn't
Have Ilhan, omar they didn't have the, squad didn't have
crazy people Like Jasmine. Crockett you'd have a random person
here and there with a big, mouth but not people
(28:54):
basically calling for the overthrow of the. Country they didn't
Have Bernie. SANDERS i, mean this is. Craziness they have
become such an extreme party that they've lost the base
of who and what they, were which was working Class.
Americans AND i saw something written the other day basically
(29:20):
saying that they appeal now to a highly college, educated
master's educated, fringe lunatic white, liberal extreme, progressivism redistribution. Socialists
but they lost the people who were the core of their,
party and in so, doing despite the race talk and all,
(29:45):
this they lost a lot of minorities in the process as.
Well and they didn't see that. Coming they always thought
they could take blacks for. Granted all they had to
do was scream racism and let The maxine Waters is
and The cynthia McKinney's and The Frederica. Wilson let them
(30:06):
scream racism and they'd be able to keep blacks on. Board,
ever so often jump up and say they're going to
put you back in. Chains Remember Joe biden said that
they're going to put you back In. Chaine nobody's trying
to put anybody in. Chains and, LOOK i will tell
you that black voters are still skewing Heavily, democrat but
(30:29):
more and more every, election more and more blacks are,
recognizing wait a, second this is really detrimental to people
that look like, Me this race based, racism this. NONSENSE
i think more and more people are, saying we're supposed
to be electing black officials to represent us because we're,
(30:51):
Black but all they're really doing is hustling and stealing for,
themselves some of whom end up in prison because of.
It look at the congressman From florida last. Week look
at Ray nagan who went to. Prison look at the
mayor Of baltimore who went to. Prison look At Kwame
kilpatrick who went to prison In. Detroit all of them
on promises of representing black, folks but really just stealing
(31:15):
money for themselves and The Democrat. Party AND i think
this was due to outside. INFLUENCES i Think soros recognized
that the utter destruction of The United states could not
come from the middle. Out it had to start from
the outside. End it had to be finding the true,
(31:41):
believers the truly crazed nut cult extremists Like Bernie, sanders
and building upon. Them and what they did is they
said to the moderates in the, process if you want
to continue to be part of this, party you're going
(32:02):
to need to move to the. Left and you can
get elected officials to do, that because this is their.
Job this is about job security and. Advancement but you
can't get the voter to do. That, see the voter
doesn't need left wing. Policies the voter doesn't need to
agree With Bernie sanders OR aoc Or Gavin. Newsom the
(32:24):
voters just want their. Country they just want, Opportunity they
just want good things for their. Kids and they watched
these these socialist policies come. In they Watched. Obamacare they, said,
oh good health care for, everybody and they found, Out,
oh it's not health care for. Everybody it is if
you don't have health, care you pay a. Tax OH
(32:46):
i thought you were giving me free health. Care, no
they can't do. That it's hatred of the. Rich it's
playing on envy and. Jealousy, hey there's some rich people out.
There they created a, product they scaled, it they got.
Rich let's hate them, together join with me BECAUSE i hate. Them,
well in some, cases that's a way to win an,
election but in, time there's no. Payoff what are you
(33:11):
going to do for people who agree to share your
hatred for? Wealth what are you going to? Deliver they're
going to think there's a payoff for. This we take their.
Wealth this is The French revolution of seventeen eighty. Nine
if we take their, wealth we get some of their.
Wealth their wealth is a penny a person when you
(33:35):
spread it, out look at The bell. Curve and people
have really begun to, Understand, hey wait a, second there's
a political class in both. Parties and despite all their,
talk despite all their, rhetoric despite all their, promises they're
in it. Together they're the political. Class they're the only
(33:57):
ones benefiting from any of. This and so more and
MORE i think this created a gap For trump to
come in and, say, HEY i don't like The. Democrats
by the, WAY i don't like the. Media they're not fair,
referees AND i don't like most of The, republicans and
he tapped into ten years, in he's tapped into a
(34:22):
distrust and disgust with Even republican establishment figures Like John.
Cornyn and that's why he Endorsed Ken paxton's and, GENTLEMEN i,
usns let me thank you and good, night
It's that time time, time, time, lock and load till
Michael Vari show is on the air. We are hating
for mass extinction. Thing you if that's it end at
there as humans destroy our own habitat.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I can't imagine there will be a human on the
planet in ten years. I suspect it'll be No.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I'm sorry, did you say ten ears?
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yes, in my outlaid voice.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
We're still putting one hundred and sixty two million tons
into it every single day, and the accumulated amount is
now trapping as much extra heat as would be released
by six hundred thousand herosimaclass atomic bombs exploding every single
day on the Earth. That's what's boiling the oceans, creating
these atmospheric rivers and the rain bombs, and sucking the
moisture out of the land, and creating the droughts and
(00:52):
melting the ice and raising the sea level and causing
these waves of climate refugees predicted to reach one billion
in this cent We would lose our capacity for self
governance on this world. We have to.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Well, you heard that story CBS News as so many
covering the story of Tim Sparks, Who's the president of
a corporation that is a Pizza Hut franchise bringing back
the retro Pizza Hut classic locations. And I am really
we don't do a lot of interviews on the show,
(01:31):
as you know. When we do, it's because it's something
that interests me personally, and this one, I must say,
interests me a great deal. Tim Sparks, let me start
with whoever is doing your PR You chose a good
one because this story is everywhere.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Well, Michael, actually I don't have anybody doing our PR.
This actually all started with we were one of the
first locate, our first franchises to actually do a classic
location and uh, we have one in Delanaga, Georgia that
really took off on social media. We have influenced through
(02:14):
in Delanaga, Georgia. Homo stassa Florida mechanic Pennsylvania. I don't
want to say daily, but at least one to two
sometimes three a week, and it started to kind of
go viral on its own online and the really neat
things I go to the stores I really like to
talk to, you know, people that are actually dining in
(02:34):
and I visiting a couple of stores started hearing that
they're coming from, you know, two three hours away. And
uh and I like the I really liked the classic look.
I mean I've been doing this.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
Yeah, yeah, I mean I started when I was eighteen
and so, you know, but we we I was a
pizza customer before I started working there, and for our families,
that was our big night out on Friday night, you know,
that's where we went. And so yeah, it's close to
my heart. I didn't know it was going to touch
this many people, but it's definitely something that's really taken
off over the last three or four years for us.
(03:10):
So we have thirty eight locations now that are classics,
and going to open up another one later this year
in Prairie Dushine, Wisconsin. And you've probably got twelve more
that fit into the classic category based on the shape
of insize of our buildings. So we'll keep We're going
to keep keep moving.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Let's go back through your story and then I want
to update that here. You said that you were a
customer before you went to work there. Tell me about
your family and what Pizza Hut was to y'all, and
then how you started working there.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Okay, it's an interesting store. So my dad was in
the Air Force and listed, so you know, we weren't
you know, we were making a living, but we weren't
well off, and so anytime we could go out to eat,
it was usually at our local pizza hut, and then
if things were really good, we'd actually go play pup
pup golf after and so you have those kind of
fun man, you.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Are a nostalgia guy. I love this same here. I'm
fifty five. This is my upbringing.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
For sure.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
So then.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
Later in my brother, my older brother, was going to
Bellevue College in Bellevue, Nebraska, and he started working at
a pizza hut. So that was really my first introduction
to it outside of us going in to eat as
a family. And then over time I ended up living
in Hawaii for a while again my dad was stationed there,
and when I graduated from high school, I was in
(04:38):
upstate New York. My sister still lived in Hawaii and
she bought me a one way ticket. I was eighteen,
I moved back to Hawaii. I needed a job and
I started washing dishes in the Mapunapuna Pizza Hut on
the island of o Wahoo. When I was eighteen years old.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
And so is that where you first went to work
was the Island.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Per Pizza? Yeah, I worked for a Hawaii Pizza Incorporated
for about a year. I moved back to I moved
to Upstate New York about a year later, and that's
when I first started working for Dalen Corporation. And that's
the company that I operate now.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Okay, And that's how you pronounced a la and d Okay.
I was wondering about that.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Yeah, and what did you make quick story on? Yeah,
let me tell you quick story on that for the Dayalen.
It's one of our partners actually worked in the very
first pizza the Day had opened. So our name comes
from Dale, Albert, Larry and Norm Development. That's where we
came up with the word data.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Okay, I figured it was an amalgamation little port Monteau.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
What was that?
Speaker 2 (05:43):
I said, A little portmanteau, a little acronym of of
of the names. I love that.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
That's a story, Yeah, that's exactly what it is.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
So when you went to work there, what was the
first job you were doing. Were you in the kitchen,
were you bussing tables? Were you doing it where you
run the cash Riddish a little bit of everything.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
No, I started washing dishes. That was literally what I
did for about the first two weeks. And then, you know,
one night we were busy and they said, Tim, get
up here, and I said, I don't know how to
make pizza, and they said, well, we're going to teach
you right now. So I got got the old throne
to the fire training and that really was that was it.
I'm sure obviously I washed dishes some more, but from
(06:25):
that point forward I became a cook. And then so
when I got up to upstate New York, when I
started working for Dalen, uh, you know, I had a
year experience and so I ended up becoming a shift manager,
then an assistant manager, then an RGN and so we
had two two locations in Plattsburgh, New York. I ran
as a restaurant general manager. Then I, uh, you know
(06:45):
again just kind of further my career. I said I
would move if they if they needed me too. So
I moved to Luisa, Virginia and opened the pizza up there.
Then I moved to Dalgren, Virginia, opened the pizza up there.
I moved to Only, Virginia and opened the pizza up there.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
In these locations when you were opening these.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Well, I moved there. I mean I was at each
of those locations for over a year in each of
each of those and then uh, then I took over
our North Carolina market, uh uh, and then went and
took over our Chesapeake market and did a little bit
moving around like that. Then we actually bought an interest
in a barbecue restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee called Red Hot
(07:26):
and Blue. So I moved to Nashville and started running
that for us as well. Then we also did an
Ara Breads down Southern Florida, so I moved to Southern Florida.
I was our offices in which Thal Kansas. I moved
to Southern Florida and oversaw all of our ops for
the Panera Breads. And then we also opened up some
(07:46):
Sonic Drive and so we've dabbled in a lot of
different things, but we've always.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Had they been Tim, hold with me for just a moment.
You have invariably seen the story of the Pizza Hut
returning to its principles and absolutely gangbusters. People are responding
to this and loving it. We'll talk more to Tim
Starks coming up.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
With the Michael Mary American.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Tims Barks is our guest. You've probably seen the story
by now, this fellow who had this vision of bringing
Pizza Hut back to the pizza Hut that you and
I grew up with, the pizza Hut that our producer,
Ramon Roebliss worked at, the Pizza Hut of the red
cups and the pac man and the salad bar and
(08:33):
sitting down as a family. And what we're finding is
it's about something even bigger than pizza Hut. It's about
our return to a time and to values before all
these things that were such conveniences replaced a family conversation
and a night out with the family and the kids.
Maybe it was after a ballgame, or maybe it was
(08:54):
to celebrate a good grade. We love this. We think
that these cultural hallmarks like this represent what could be
a major trend toward a very good thing. And as
I said, they're bigger than Pizza Hut or even pizza
or even dining out. They're about taking back control of
your life and your values and how you live it
(09:16):
because it's ephemerald to be gone before you know it.
Tim Sparks is our guest. Tim, I want to go
back to your career for a moment. So you did
not go to college. You're going from one location to
the next, to the next to the next. For these
guys opening these pizza huts. Back what year would this
have been, Well.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
The late eighties, early nineties is when I was opening
opening up. Then I could over my first district in
the early nineties.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Okay, and you went through some of the different brands
that you had. So your college was you got OJT
on the job training, I mean your college, your education
was actually getting in there and getting after it.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Yeah. If you look at my Facebook page, i'd say
I went to the College of Hard Knocks. Yeah, yeah,
it was you know what it was. It was tough
too early on. I mean, it's a unique story that
people sometimes like to hear. I don't I wouldn't ever
discourage anybody from going to college, but there's certainly ways
to be successful if you don't. And uh so, yeah,
(10:22):
I mean, but I mean, listen, I was living in
an apartment with four bedrooms, and I didn't even know
who the other three guys were that were in those
other bedrooms. You know, I had a suitcase, that's all.
I had a suitcase. And some clothes. I didn't have furniture.
I had nothing, And I guess that motivates you right
to the only meal I had some days where it
(10:43):
was my employee meal at pizza Hut. So so, yeah,
grant the brand means a lot. Has given me everything
I have in my life, and I've given it a
lot as well. But yeah, let me can certainly become
successful by working hard.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
So when you would move into these locations, you know,
and you were talking about kind of out of the ways,
weren't major cities, and you were going into these towns
to open a pizza hut, were those ground up or
what was going on? Had you all bought a failing location,
were you doing a ground up construction? What was going on?
Speaker 4 (11:12):
Yeah, the majority of our locations are we built them
from the ground up. They're all free standing units for
the most part. We do have some inlines now, but
back in the day, they were all free standing units,
and we have acquired some over the years from other franchises,
but the majority of our our companies ones that we
built from the ground up.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
So you've had a lot of experience watching not just
this concept, but other concepts what works and what doesn't.
I asked a fine dining guru, Tony Vilone, a late
Tony Vilone here in Houston. He had at the time
the top high end, white tablecloth restaurant that anybody famous
that came through town had to eat at. And I said, Tony,
(11:54):
what's one thing that any restaurant tour could do, even
if they don't have all the money in the world,
they're not as fancy and all that. He said, serve
hot food hot and cold food cold. Uh heat the
heat the plates for entrees and chill the plates for salads.
And I have studied who does that and who doesn't.
It's a little thing, but it does go a long way.
(12:15):
When you walk into a restaurant, now not just a
pizza hut. What do you notice of successful restaurants and
what do you notice of those that are failing?
Speaker 4 (12:26):
I think one of the biggest well, I mean, I'm
gonna say weak because you know, my wife what we
have a hard time going to restaurants because we that's
what we do. We continue to work right, we analyze
what's going on, and we're very detail oriented. She handles
the facilities side of our business. And so you know,
if we see a crack tile. You know, if we
(12:48):
see those kind of things, that matters. And then from
a food perspective, yeah, if hot food doesn't serve hot
and I don't mean warm hot, and you know it
has to be hot and old. Who called that's vital.
But but currently, for me, the biggest thing I talked
about when we're having a success at our classics right
(13:08):
now is that we just have some really good people
working for us. And you know, when you've got smiling,
friendly faces, you know they're giving you good attentive service.
They're not on their phones right, they're paying attention to
use their guests. To me, that's one of the most
important things that we can have. And you know, it's
really frustrating. I will tell you locally here recently we
(13:29):
went in and we sat down and literally made great
eye contact and had had the servers continue their conversation
and not even say, you know, hello, And so that frustrates.
That frustrates me as a consumer, but also frustrates me
as a restaurant owner. And for me coming up through
my career as in our GM, you know, running restaurants
(13:50):
probably the hardest thing for me. By the time I
became a district. You know, an out of store supervisor
was when I was in the stores during business hours,
I was I got all to get stuck in a
dining room because we're just having great conversations and talking
to all my guests. So we're all we're a small
town in America. You know, the majority of our stores are
in seventy five hundred and less people in town, and
(14:14):
you know, you get to know everybody, you get to
know them by a name, and I think that personal
connection does go a long way. And even in the
service industry. Now, you know, if you see phones out
in employees' hands, then then you already know there's a
problem there because if they're at work, their phones shouldn't
be in their hands, right.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
It's interesting because I owned a place called the Redneck
Country Club and we were a concert venue, bar restaurant,
and it was very We had a couple of strict
rules in one of which is the phone does not
come out during the entirety of the time you're on property.
And it was interesting how many people who worked with
(14:56):
us said to me, who were waitresses, bartenders on I
didn't realize how connected, how addicted I was to that thing,
and it's a relief to almost have someone tell you
put the darn thing down, think for yourself, connect with
the moment, Engage with the moment. And I do see that.
You know, you see people at the at the station.
(15:18):
Let's take a pizza hut or a pizza joint, and
you see people there. They're in the station, They're on
their phone and they're they're playing what I would call
grab ass with each other, and the customer is not
being taken care of. The return to values. I think
in some sense that makes it harder to more challenging
to run a restaurant today, because that is an additional
(15:40):
distraction that young people have that perhaps we didn't have
to deal with we were coming up, and you wouldn't
have had to deal with when you first started. Tim Parks.
Tim Sparks as our guest. The story has gone quite
viral of late. We were very excited to get a
bit of his time because we've been watching it everywhere,
this pizza hut concept of coming back to the way
(16:02):
life used to be in the in the eighties. We'll
talk more about that coming up the Michael Verry Show.
Timmo Box is our guest. I was delighted he was
willing to visit with us. It's the Daylent corporation that
owns a lot of these Pizza Hut franchises. It's been
(16:23):
all over the news, it's been all over social media,
this concept of bringing back the you know, the old
pizza hut concept that might have seemed tired to many,
bringing that back and cleaning it up and bringing back
the things that we missed, you know, the Tiffany style lamps.
Let's start, let's go one by one. I saw that
(16:45):
your struggle is is finding enough of the Tiffany style lamps.
I guess they're not made anymore.
Speaker 4 (16:52):
Yeah, that's correct. Yeah, I guess they had a minimum
order of like five hundred when they stopped producing them
or pizza you know, stop by eye them and so yeah,
we've really struggled finding them. But now since this interview
kind of viral, we've had a few producers reach out
to us that say they can probably produce them for us.
(17:12):
So I'm hoping that's accurate, because not only do we
still need more, I've had some other franchisees reach out
as well and ask, and we still have you know,
we have some classical locations that don't have the Tiffany
lights because they weren't being produced anymore. So we're going
to go back and once we find a producer to
make them for us, we're going to go back and
reinstall those into the ones that don't actually have them
(17:35):
right now.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
They're so distinctive.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
Yeah, absolutely, they they're They're necessary. I mean, they really
do bring the whole look together for sure.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Okay, those those red cups. One of the things that
people talk about was the red cup that you only
ever had at Pizza Hut. Are those still made?
Speaker 1 (17:57):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (17:58):
They are. Yeah. You know, the lamps I knew were important.
I had no idea how important the red cups, right,
that those really resonated with people to that time in
their life or that, you know, eighties and nineties, and
it's it's it doesn't get old, you know. Anytime somebody
comes in for the first time in one of our
one of our classics, they one hundred percent and we'll
(18:22):
always make a comment about, oh my god, they have
the red cups. So it's it's actually really neat and
they do still make them, and uh, and we're using
them for sure.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
The vinyl boots. Uh, did you do you all have
a Is that something you do yourself or is that
something that Pizza Huts kept the same company busy over
all these years.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
Well, yeah, we have a couple of booth makers that
uh that we give We give them the specs and
then they make it for us. But yeah, that that
was that was company driven that we didn't personally design those.
But the red the red booths are definitely a big,
big play on it. We also have the green green
cars that we're back in the day, so yep.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
And it's salad bars.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
So the so the salad bars are important to me,
not just as a business person. That goes back to
when we would eat as a family as well. And
if my dad hears this, he's going to get frustrated
because when we when we ate a home, I would
not eat salad. I would not eat my lettuce and
my mom put a whole bunch of stuff in it,
right and I had and I wouldn't allowed to leave
(19:26):
the table until I ate it, you know, and I'd
force it down Fannie, but I just didn't like it.
But man, we go to Pizza Hut and I could
just put a bowl of lettuce and some of our
Italian dressing on it. I mean I was in heaven.
So so yeah, we have those in almost every one
of our dining assets. We do have salad bars.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
What's your father's name, Jack, and tell me about Jack
spars Well.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
Jack was in the in the Air Force for twenty
eight years. He retired as a chief Master Sergeant and
serving bit got hit purple heart. Then he after he retired,
he retired notusin Texas and became a postman and then
they wanted to get him into management and he said
he had had enough of that. He was chief security
(20:13):
police during his twenty eight years and then he retired
to the postman. So he's had a good life. He's
got two pensions. He's doing well.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
I saw a reference to the pac Man game. Are y'
all bringing back the pac Man games as well?
Speaker 4 (20:30):
So you know it does help complete the look. We
did start to do that. We've got the one that
was in that article. We happened to be in Camchanack, Pennsylvania,
and we do have one there. And it's another thing
that people talk about all the time, this is the
pac Man, pac Man machine and the jukebox. So we
(20:50):
did bring it back. It's not just a pac Man
machine because of technology now. But it is the sit
down type. But it's got Gallaga, mister do. It's got
like forty different games from back in the day, so
actually pretty fun. I have to be careful when I
visit the stores that have them because I get caught
up on those of course I played as a.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Kid, right, yeah, yeah, And look, there's a lot better
graphics on stuff today, and I tell my kids, my
kids have no interest in that stuff because the graphics
are better now and Mortal Combat or whatever else. But
it's just it's a moment, right, It's recapturing how you
felt at a moment in your life when for some
reason things felt better. Let me ask you, Tim Sparks.
(21:34):
These are the pizza hut franchise ease that you've been
hearing about that are bringing back to the nostalgia of
the vintage stores when you saw over these. You know,
there's websites where a pizza Hut goes out of business
and it becomes a church, or it becomes a barbecue joiner,
whatever it becomes. I'm assuming as as wetted as you
(21:56):
are to this business, and it's history that that had
to break your heart would y'all ever go in, Have
you gone in and bought one of those old stores
and brought it back? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (22:08):
You know a lot of those well not Sometimes it's
not just that they went out, they left town. Sometimes
they became a delivery unit in a you know, a
in a strip plaza. But yeah, you know, I truly
believe this that outside of some kind of a major
economic thing going on in a small town, we should
(22:30):
not have any of them go out of business. Normally,
when they do, it's because our operations aren't very strong.
And I mean that.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Let me ask you, Tim Sparks. Uh, these are the
pizza hut franchisease that you've been hearing about that are
bringing back to the nostalgia of the vintage stores when
you saw over these. You know, there's websites where a
pizza hut goes out of business and it becomes a church,
or it becomes a barbecue joiner, whatever it becomes. I'm
(23:00):
assuming as as wetted as you are to this business
and it's history that that had to break your heart.
Would y'all ever go in, Have you gone in and
bought one of those old stores and brought it back? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (23:13):
You know, a lot of those. Well not Sometimes it's
not just that they went out, they left town. Sometimes
they became a delivery unit in a you know, in
a plausa. But yeah, you know, I truly believe this
that outside of some kind of a major economic thing
going on in a small town, we should not have
(23:34):
any of them go out of business. Normally, when they do,
it's because our operations aren't very strong. And I mean
that for us too, for dayl And it's not just
you know, I'm not speaking like like we're perfect and
and but yeah, it is tough to see that. I
get it because it's such an eyicic look that everybody
knows it was a pizza hut, you know, even though
when we do shut them down, we do be identify
(23:54):
and by getting rid of the red roof and and
changing the windows from the trapezoid shape. But uh, yeah,
it's tough to see those. And when I travel through town,
through towns that you know, aren't ours, and I see
those out and you always wonder how long has it
been close? You know, what really what really were the
circumstances and could it could it one day make a comeback?
(24:15):
You know, could it could it one day become a
peep sete again. And I think that opportunity is probably
out there for some of those places. You know, we
just got to get the brand aligned and into understanding
that we are. What makes us different from our competitors
is is our dining rooms and it's a certainly competitive
advantage that we should take care, take take advantage of,
and protect and take care of.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Well, what's interesting that I think anybody can take away
from it, even if you're not in hospitality, is it
comes back to fundamentals. I mean, your play is nostalgia.
But if all you do is bring back the red
cups and pac Man and the food doesn't deliver and
the customers aren't taken care of, you're not going to succeed.
And you know that. So at the end of the day,
these are these are the icing on the cake. But
(24:59):
you have to have solid fundamentals and the customer experience
in a safe environment with clean food at a price
point they can afford that tastes good. And if you
do that, then the cool stuff that we're talking about,
it just makes it that much more enjoyable. And we
wish you the absolute best. I love this. I'm rooting
for your success. Tim Sparks, the Dayland Corporation, large pizza
(25:23):
hut franchise e. Thanks for taking time with us.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
Thank you. What ees do you want right?
Speaker 1 (25:29):
What do you want?
Speaker 4 (25:31):
You want to sit the Michael Berry?
Speaker 3 (25:33):
Just say the word and I'll throw a asshole around
it and plug down.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Oh yes, the great Dusty Hill of easy Top would
be seventy seven today. Of course we lost him. Becau
zz Top continues on our friend Frank Beard on the drums,
Billy Gibbons lead vocals and lead guitar. Hard to believe
that little band from Texas was just three members. What
(26:19):
a big sound, what a glorious, glorious sound, what a story.
They are so legendary in Texas and in Houston especially.
You just can't begin to imagine. Everybody in Houston the
greater Houston area has a zz Top story. Either you
(26:41):
ran the marathon next to them, and you know they're
very identifiable because the beards of the three members. Dusty
had a beard and Billy had a beard, and the
third member didn't have a beard, Frank Beard, but his
name was Beard the drummer. They are, They are favorite
sons to be sure their favorite sons. To be sure,
(27:02):
I don't think we discussed the fact that the Supreme
Court rejected the bid by Virginia Democrats to restore their
ten to one map. I mean to restore their map.
The decision was ten to no. The decision actually I
think it was six' to, three and the map would
(27:24):
have skewed the state Of virginia congressional allocation. Dramatically it's
very important that you win elections so that you can
do things like pick who's going to be on The Supreme.
Court it's very important that you win, elections if for
no other, reason to Keep democrats out of, power because
(27:46):
they will abuse that and when they get in, power
they will abuse that power to keep you from ever accumulating.
POWER i truly believe we are closer to the precipice
than we ever date their. Power you'll never be able
to dislot. Them and we have watched democrats grow more
(28:10):
aggressive and less concerned with whether you care about what
they're doing than ever, before AND i don't foresee that.
CHANGING i think it gets worse if you look at
the candidates they're putting up. Now these are not candidates
who are trying to win votes in the. Middle these
(28:32):
are candidates who are trying to excite the extreme. Fringe
they didn't Have Alexandria Cassio cortez this. Before they didn't
Have Ilhan, omar they didn't have the, squad didn't have
crazy people Like Jasmine. Crockett you'd have a random person
here and there with a big, mouth but not people
(28:54):
basically calling for the overthrow of the. Country they didn't
Have Bernie. SANDERS i, mean this is. Craziness they have
become such an extreme party that they've lost the base
of who and what they, were which was working Class.
Americans AND i saw something written the other day basically
(29:20):
saying that they appeal now to a highly college, educated
master's educated, fringe lunatic white, liberal extreme, progressivism redistribution. Socialists
but they lost the people who were the core of their,
party and in so, doing despite the race talk and all,
(29:45):
this they lost a lot of minorities in the process as.
Well and they didn't see that. Coming they always thought
they could take blacks for. Granted all they had to
do was scream racism and let The maxine Waters is
and The cynthia McKinney's and The Frederica. Wilson let them
(30:06):
scream racism and they'd be able to keep blacks on. Board,
ever so often jump up and say they're going to
put you back in. Chains Remember Joe biden said that
they're going to put you back In. Chaine nobody's trying
to put anybody in. Chains and, LOOK i will tell
you that black voters are still skewing Heavily, democrat but
(30:29):
more and more every, election more and more blacks are,
recognizing wait a, second this is really detrimental to people
that look like, Me this race based, racism this. NONSENSE
i think more and more people are, saying we're supposed
to be electing black officials to represent us because we're,
(30:51):
Black but all they're really doing is hustling and stealing for,
themselves some of whom end up in prison because of.
It look at the congressman From florida last. Week look
at Ray nagan who went to. Prison look at the
mayor Of baltimore who went to. Prison look At Kwame
kilpatrick who went to prison In. Detroit all of them
on promises of representing black, folks but really just stealing
(31:15):
money for themselves and The Democrat. Party AND i think
this was due to outside. INFLUENCES i Think soros recognized
that the utter destruction of The United states could not
come from the middle. Out it had to start from
the outside. End it had to be finding the true,
(31:41):
believers the truly crazed nut cult extremists Like Bernie, sanders
and building upon. Them and what they did is they
said to the moderates in the, process if you want
to continue to be part of this, party you're going
(32:02):
to need to move to the. Left and you can
get elected officials to do, that because this is their.
Job this is about job security and. Advancement but you
can't get the voter to do. That, see the voter
doesn't need left wing. Policies the voter doesn't need to
agree With Bernie sanders OR aoc Or Gavin. Newsom the
(32:24):
voters just want their. Country they just want, Opportunity they
just want good things for their. Kids and they watched
these these socialist policies come. In they Watched. Obamacare they, said,
oh good health care for, everybody and they found, Out,
oh it's not health care for. Everybody it is if
you don't have health, care you pay a. Tax OH
(32:46):
i thought you were giving me free health. Care, no
they can't do. That it's hatred of the. Rich it's
playing on envy and. Jealousy, hey there's some rich people out.
There they created a, product they scaled, it they got.
Rich let's hate them, together join with me BECAUSE i hate. Them,
well in some, cases that's a way to win an,
election but in, time there's no. Payoff what are you
(33:11):
going to do for people who agree to share your
hatred for? Wealth what are you going to? Deliver they're
going to think there's a payoff for. This we take their.
Wealth this is The French revolution of seventeen eighty. Nine
if we take their, wealth we get some of their.
Wealth their wealth is a penny a person when you
(33:35):
spread it, out look at The bell. Curve and people
have really begun to, Understand, hey wait a, second there's
a political class in both. Parties and despite all their,
talk despite all their, rhetoric despite all their, promises they're
in it. Together they're the political. Class they're the only
(33:57):
ones benefiting from any of. This and so more and
MORE i think this created a gap For trump to
come in and, say, HEY i don't like The. Democrats
by the, WAY i don't like the. Media they're not fair,
referees AND i don't like most of The, republicans and
he tapped into ten years, in he's tapped into a
(34:22):
distrust and disgust with Even republican establishment figures Like John.
Cornyn and that's why he Endorsed Ken paxton's and, GENTLEMEN i,
usns let me thank you and good, night
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Bleep! with Ana Navarro
Fear thrives in silence and confusion. Ana Navarro rejects both. Her voice is an antidote to today’s chaos. Her new podcast, Bleep! with Ana Navarro, takes on today’s most pressing issues with the voices most connected to it: decision-makers, political leaders, cultural shapers, and people on the frontlines of the story. The conversations acknowledge the emotions we all feel—despair, sadness, fear— but emerge with knowledge, perspective, and hope. The belief is simple: fearless dialogue can transform fear into courage, and courage into change. When fear dominates the headlines, this show digs deeper. Because information, debate, and conversation don’t just ease fear, they give us power to shape the future.
Hey Jonas!
Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.