Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The views and opinions expressed in the following programmer those
of the speaker and don't necessarily represent those of the station,
he GE's staff, management, or ownership.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Good morning, you'll find out with Pete and the Poe Cold,
I'm Peter Leonners.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
And I'm the poet Goals and we're on their.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
This morning with Jeff Watkins, the owner of Indulge, a
new restaurant opening up in Poughkeepsie. And before we get
to Jeff, we're going to go right to the Poe
Cold for her weekly poem prayer incantation. Go please let
it roll.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Okay, Peter, I'm going to do a poem quote, be you.
And and since we have Jeff one, he's an entrepreneur,
and the entrepreneurship is about being you.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Be you.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
I am complex, i am not flat nor one dimensional.
I'm beyond four corners. I change, I grow, I evolve.
I have depth that even I can't see. I am
consistently inconsistent, which enables me to stay the same. I'm
a stream of consciousness with one common thread me. So
be you, Be you too.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, And Jeff, I know it's a lot of excitement,
and you're opening up this new restaurant called Indulge, which
I want to say, is a great name.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Thank you, thank you. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Indulge is something I've done all my life. I've tried
not to. But you're a restaurant Indulged. Give us a
sense of where it is and uh, when it's opening
and all.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Okay, So right now, it's located in Poughkeepsie thirty five,
main stream Poughkeepsie, New York, next to the river front.
Also down there we have Mahoney's. So it's in the
same uh, I'm gonna say plazas.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Mahoney's and Mahoney's on the opposite.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Is on the opposite and we're the first building coming
into the uh to the parking lot of the between
the train station and Mahoney's.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
So anybody who knows has ever gone to a met
Scheese which is used to be in.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
This Yes, yes, so that's what it is. We took over,
me and my business partner Pedro. We took over the
old Amichi's building.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
And uh, it's a big space.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Right, very big. Yeah. You know, I got a lot
of good players, you know on deck now. So we
we are we're doing We're doing very well. You know.
We we actually opened up, uh you know, with Latin
and Soul Buffet back in August, and then basically what
I did was, I think around October we shut down
(02:30):
just to renovate and to move forward, just to change
things up a bit.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
So so what you learned August and October made you
think I don't know how to do this better.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Yes, I definitely wanted to be better than what it
was when I first started out, you know, so you know,
just getting things back on track with you know, with
everything and coming we're still gonna have the same menu
plus new things. We have a piece of area that
we'd be opening up as well coming forward, and also
the bar downstairs will be and.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
When you say, the same menus.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
So we started off with Latin and Soul Buffet was
just it was a it was a combination between Latin
food and soul full combined in one buffet, you know
what I mean. So you will see like the impregnadas
and Spanish rice, and then you'll see like, uh, you
know that we have like we had the corn bread,
we had the sweet potatoes, we had the turkey legs
(03:24):
that everybody loved. All of this stuff is gonna be
as well mac and cheese. Yes, it was just a
combination of the two combined fish.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I had some.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
Yeah, we have pork ribs there, we had we had
steel beef. We had a variety of different things there.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
It was you're gonna have all that plus more.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
All that plus more.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Yeah, definitely, And you had you had a nice you know,
uh we talked a little earlier before the show, but
you had a nice traffic, nice nice flows. So I
know that people are waiting in the wings for you
to open back up.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
And yeah, it was a blessing, you know. I you know,
anybody coming into business not knowing what you know, the
outcome is gonna be. To see the traffic that I
had was amazing.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
You know.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Poughkeepsie definitely showed out for me. And then it started
drawing a lot of people from even from Newburgh. And
I had a lot of kids that used to from
Newburgh schools, middle school and high school. They had come
for lunch, you know what I mean, Uh, to the
to the buffet. So it was it was nice. It
was definitely. You know, any business guy, I would love
to see something like that.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Now are you are you connected to Poughkeepsie as far
as born and raised or Newburgh or so.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
I moved to Poughkeepsie when I was a young kid.
I probably was around eight or nine. My mother moved
us up here from far rockaway, Queens, Okay. So I
considered Poughkeepsie my hometown. You know, I grew up here.
My best friends is from here, you know. So yeah,
I'm I consider myself from Poughkeepsie, but I was born
in Queens.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
So how did you put your team together? You know?
Was it something unique that you were looking for?
Speaker 3 (05:04):
And yeah, all right, so well, I mean it started
off during the pandemic up in Auburny, New York. I
actually bought my my kid's mother at the time when
we were together, I had bought her her first restaurant.
It was called Donnie's Kitchen. It was named after our
first daughter. So then with that she went, we had that,
(05:27):
and then I got rid of that restaurant, and then
she went and got another restaurant with her sister in
the concept that was placed there. That's what I brought
down here to Poughkeepsie. So basically, you know, I do
have knowledge of the restaurant business as far as you
know the question that you asked. Far as the team wise,
you just your pick. I'm very good at picking the
(05:50):
best out of you know, what I need. So if
I need a chef, I'm gonna pick the best chef.
If I need a prep person, I'm gonna pick the
best prep person. And that's pretty much what I was doing.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
You know.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
The first couple of weeks I had, I called it tryouts,
you know what I mean, those who can you know,
keep especially the traffic that we had, they had to
stay up to, you know, to part with everything. I
kept those guys, you know, and now I got a
great team, definitely.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
So let's talk about the entrepreneur spirit. Yeah, you know
what took you down the path of wanting to be
an entrepreneur?
Speaker 3 (06:27):
All right? So the backstory is, you know, by trade,
I'm a bridge painter. I've been a bridge painter in
the Union for thirteen years and the you know, they
pay us very decent money. But I felt like for me,
you know, if I can save this money and invest
it into myself, then I don't have to rely on
(06:48):
you know, somebody paying me giving me a check you
know what I mean every week. So that was that
was it for me. Like you know, I was given
opportunity to make great money, you know, working from all
the way from Aubany all the way out to Manhattan
on bridges. So with that being said, you know, I
just invested in myself and so that way, you know,
I don't have to you know, it wasn't just that.
(07:09):
It was also you know, to leave something back for
my kids as well. You know, I can't leave them
back you know, a four one K or paycheck, and
so you know, to leave them something you know that
that that can stay in the family and their kids
kids can benefit from. It's the one, the number one
reason why you know, I went in to entrepreneurship.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
So it's about the legacy.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
It's the legacy. Absolutely, It's definitely the legacy.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
I appreciate that. If you're just tuning in, you're listening
to finding out with Pete and the poet Gold. I'm
Peter and I'm the Poe of Gold and we're here
with Jeff Watkins, owner of Indulge Buffet Bar and Pizzeria,
located right here in the city of Poughkeepsie.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Yes, thirty five Main Street, next to the waterfront.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Next to the waterfront, I want.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
To say that as Jeff is talking about investing yourself
and making it happen for generations, I like that song,
but I also want to point out, and this is
not to be discouraging, This is to underline the excitement
of that vision. And the word entrepreneur is from a
(08:15):
French word means to live in fear. And the reason
when entrepreneurs live in fear that no matter how much
they do their work and build the structures and what that,
you still need the customers to show up and you
can't depend on that. In other words, so if you're
(08:36):
an entrepreneur in a restaurant or you're an entrepreneur on
Wall Street, it's all scary. And judging from the word,
it's scary all the time. Have you experienced any of that?
Speaker 3 (08:49):
I mean, yeah, well, coming into anything, you know, you're nervous.
You know me come and me bringing a restaurant into
the town that I grew up in. I was nervous.
But also know that, you know, I know a lot
of people he is, so I know that you know
they was going to pull together, but I didn't know
how big it was going to be. It was actually
bigger than I thought it was going to be so
(09:10):
you know that's a blessing, but definitely nervous. You know,
I was definitely nervous, not knowing whether if it was
going to sink or swim.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
You know what I mean, Yeah, entrepreneur, I means being scared.
And you know, your notion that you've got to build
a business and pass on to your kids, and what
do you want to make your gets scared for too.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
I just want to make them comfortable. You want to
be comfortable.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
You say bridge and painting, and I that's comfortable. You know.
The thing is, you can't become actually rich painting a bridge.
You can become very comfortable, and you as an entrepreneur,
there is an excitement to the notion it can be
bigger than I thought. Yes, that's very very exciting. Yeah, yeah,
(10:04):
engine to drive.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
You absolutely talk to us a little bit about Pedro
your partner.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Correct, Yeah, yeah, Pedro, that's my partner. You know Pedro,
he owns a couple of businesses out here in Poughkeepsie.
So basically when I was when I had shut down
for a little while, I needed a strong business partner
and me and him, you know, we've talked even when
I had the restaurant open before I to shut it
down for a little second, and for me, it was
(10:29):
just an old brainer. You know, he's already had I
think he owns Rita and Sons, so he has a kitchen. Yeah,
he owned. He he knows, he's into a lot of
i'm gonna say this, a lot of missing pieces. He's
he was that, you know. So now that he's in
on the on board with me, we're getting a lot
done and moving forward. This is gonna be bigger than
(10:50):
you know when I first actually came out, so you know,
and Pedro is a great guy. I wish he was
here today and he was running late. He had to
take care of something.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
But we could always have you guys back.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Yeah, absolutely absolutely. But he's he's a he's a great guy.
You know, he's somebody that I look up to business wise.
He knows a lot of people. He already put me
in a room with a lot of people that I
needed to I mean to bring this restaurant to his
next level.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
And is he from he's.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
From a Keepsie as well. I know Pedro for many
many years, okay, and we grew up with each other.
So yeah, it's definitely Uh, it's exciting, you know, it's exciting.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I want to point out it's kind of it's a
strong relationship you and Pedro. I've never laid eyes on Pedro,
so everybody else was. I grew up with Pedro, and
you're saying we grew up together. Really means you have
a bond there. It's more important than both of you.
We we grew up together means that's real, not only collaboration,
(11:49):
but friendship.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and respect some money man, Yeah yeah.
And going into business, you need that, you know, because
I had businesses that went astray because you know, everybody
wasn't on the same page. But when you have somebody
that's on the same page as you and have the
same vision as you, is bound to just you know,
go to the next level of things.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
So, and it's almost where uh talking to a Pedro,
which it's a way of emphasizing, you know the other restaurants.
You have soul food and Latin food. You know, this
is an unusual combination. You have soul food, you have
Latin food, and you're also very casually mentioned you have
(12:31):
a pizzeria. Part of well man, let's talk about this.
This is like America coming together. There is a word
multi cultural.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
So that's that's the whole that was I'm glad you
caught that. So that was pretty much the whole thing
of what we're trying to do. We want to bring
all the cultures together, you know, underneath one roof. So
like I was explaining to you earlier, you know, we
have the buffet, but like we we were scheduled to
have like every three weeks, we have like it might
(13:00):
be Italian Week, we're nothing but Italian dishes, and then
three weeks after that it might be Vegan Week where
we have nothing but vegan food there for a week.
So we keep switching it up to bring everybody in,
to draw everybody in underneath, you know, underneath one roof,
and you know, just pray that you know, everybody enjoys
what they eat. And so far, so good.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
And I'm going to remove one word from your vocabulary.
That's what we're trying to do. That's what we're going
to do, Vega. Yes, that's what we're going to do.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
And we'll picture on you, jeff uh what you say.
You know, one week might be Italian but the other
Vegan week. But you also have your standard. Yes, so
it's not the whole restaurant. It becomes vegan should have
your standard selections as well as vegans. Yes, absolutely, yes,
(13:52):
I want to make sure we have that clear because
I and pizza.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Pizza never goes a styalon and you know, and it's
in a space where everyone knows that it was it was.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
It was already a piece. Yes, so it's like why
not bring that back, right? You know what our little
spin on it?
Speaker 1 (14:11):
You know, it's the window. Are you going to utilize it?
Definitely going to use the one okay, yes, the side
window was iconic.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Yes, yes, we're definitely gonna use the window as well.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Okay, excellent.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
And let me I say you when you say bring
cultures together under one roof, I mean it's a nice phrase,
but we also know that underneath it. Uh, you know,
there's a lot of racial tension in America, and which
includes Poughkeepsie and so to have Latin food and soul
food already you're talking about going beyond the tention between
(14:45):
black people and uh find of people. And on top
of that, uh, you know, you have the tension with
white people and you know, basically everybody if if if
you're not white, We're going to find your reason to
have a little tension with you.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
So vice versa. But the other way, kids, kids with
the other side, we just we just want to live,
you know.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
And let me say, as a white person, the only
white is in the room, including Cindy here, Sydney. Uh,
you know we're brought up to make sure everyone knows
we're white.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Yeah, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
And everyone doesn't like that. So swell, maybe we got
to get used to that, and maybe we get used.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
To it through absolutely Yeah, they said the fullest to
the heart.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
So absolutely. But to your point, Peter, and then I
don't want to, you know, go down the total racial
lens here. But but but to your point, you know,
there there is there is a a translating slave trade.
There is a relationship you know, between between Latin America
and and and and rather the Latin community and the
(15:57):
Black community historically. So the food is really just a
matter of where the boat dropped you off. And you know,
I mean, it's it's you know, it's you know, that's
that's all it is. But we have such an original
origin collectively, I think just as as cultures, we sort
of fell into the construct of racism that's built into America.
(16:17):
But without that construct, you know, we'd be all playing
drums together, you know what I'm saying, and sitting down
and eating the food and enjoying ourselves. And if you're
just tuning in, you're listening to finding out a pet
in the Poet Gold and on the Poet Gold and
we're having a rich conversation here with Jeff Walkin, who
is the owner of Indulge, a buffet bar and pizzeria
located where the old Amichi used to be in the
(16:39):
city of Poughkeepsie and Sydney's. Yes.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Absolutely, so you might want to say my microphone for
a moment.
Speaker 4 (16:49):
Yeah, So, speaking from the Vassar and student kind of community,
were you guys have any college nights or anything like that.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Yes, we definitely haven't college nights. I'm actually in the
work right now. I believe what Maris they have Maris
Bucks or something like that, the same thing. Yeah, So
we're definitely we're definitely gonna have uh people, We're definitely
gonna have thanks for the college kids. Absolutely we are.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
Yeah, and you can like drop off those flyers.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
And hang them in.
Speaker 4 (17:17):
Yeah, absolutely, because I know, especially in that area there
used to be a place called river I don't know
if you guys are familiar with that.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
The what do you mean the restaurant that's behind me cheese?
I think no, it's actually front the riverfront, it's behind.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
And you know that area is really important to Vaster students.
I can't speak to the Mariast community, but I know
that we're also very happy to have that space field
and especially Vassar students wanting to explore the food culture
of Poughkeepsie. I feel like it's kind of hard to
get off campus and find good food that is so
multi dimensional. There's a lot of Italian in the area,
(17:56):
just in Arlington. Yeah, and I know I'm particularly very excited.
So you also said you have vegan food. Do you
have a vegan chef? Because I know a lot of vegans.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
So yeah, so on on on the next come on,
this come out. We're definitely gonna have a vegan chef,
so we but it's not gonna be it's gonna be
like a We're gonna have like a slot there where
it's gonna be vegan food for a lot of vegans.
Because when I opened up the first time, I had
a lot of vegans come in and ask me, like
where where's our food at?
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Right? Right?
Speaker 3 (18:24):
But I'm just getting my feet wet, so you know,
you know, I'm trying to put everything together for that.
Like I said, I want to hit all angles, hit the.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
Hit the gluten free community. Yes please please, yeah, question
in this area? Okay, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Let me say there are a lot of vegans are
and you know when I worked there, vegans have a
natural just taste for meat and they have a bit
of a natural distaste for people I like me. You know,
(19:03):
it's true and funny. I mean it was better than
true and funny. If I make it up will be
one thing.
Speaker 4 (19:11):
So I know. You also mentioned about using the fullness
of the space. You talked about the basement bar and
then the upper levels the restaurant, right, yes, so what
are you planning to do with that lower space?
Speaker 3 (19:20):
So the lower space, I'm glad you asked that the
lower space is actually a bar. But what I'm going
to bring into the town is We're gonna have comedy
night there. We're gonna have poetry, We're gonna have one
live band there, We're gonna have open mic, and then
we will be renting the space out for anybody that,
(19:41):
you know, parties or events or whatever. I believe the
Post Office already rented it out about a month ago
they had their party down there. So yeah, it's gonna
be it's gonna it's I want to bring, like, uh,
something new to the town, like something that you're seeing
in New York City, you know right here and Keepsie.
You know a lot of people there get on on
(20:03):
the train just to go to New York City. When
we can have it right hand for.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
Keepsie, absolutely, and I think that's going to be really
huge for both college communities also to have access to
because I know there are trivia nights near us and
stuff like that, but it's really hard to kind of
have a consistent event kind of space. Yeah, all right,
so I know that's going to be amazing. I definitely
spread the word at asking.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Please do, thank you, thank.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
You, and Jeff I want to I have an impression
I don't This is not advice. I don't give advice,
but I want to say, the more we talk to you,
the more exciting US guests. And you know, Sydney's questions
make uh more exciting. And there's a way in which
you can give us that excitement upfront with a fastball.
(20:48):
I mean, you know, I mean, because not everybody's going
to be as curious as Sydney and you know, so
make it easy for us to like it.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Let me how much time do we have?
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Level?
Speaker 1 (21:02):
I mean, it's okay, great, so so so four okay four.
So I want to know from behind the scenes, how
supportive is the city of Poughkeepsie on an administrative level.
How you know, for people out there who were thinking
about being an entrepreneur and opening up businesses in Poughkeepsie,
how was it for you to navigate some of the paperwork,
(21:22):
you know support?
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Uh yeah, so the paperwork and everything was was cool.
Everybody was telling me I was gonna have a big heart,
like a hard time with the fire department and health department.
Not so much the fire department, you know, but it
was pretty smooth.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
You know.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
As long as everything is up to part by cold,
you know what I mean, you should have a you
shouldn't have a problem with, uh well, opening up your business.
But far as the community, they definitely showed a lot
of love and support for me, and I'm truly truly
appreciative of that.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
So if you had a suggestion or someone who wanted
to be in the business for themselves, particularly in the
city of Poughkeepsie, Uh, what would you say to them?
Speaker 3 (22:06):
The first thing I would say is, uh, keep your family,
you know, out of business, you know, just keep it
you know, amongst friends and you know, stuff like that.
But to start off, I would basically say, like, you know,
it's it's gonna be hard in the beginning, you know,
but you just got to keep to it. You can't
(22:27):
give up, like you know, it's gonna be rough. Just
keep pushing it. Then you'll see, like you know, you
it just start climbing. Like the word of mouth, word
of mouth and social media was a beast for me
out here in Poughkeepsie, you know, because already of me
growing up here, that was the word of mouth. But
then on online, you know it I had people coming
all the way from the Bronx R just to come
(22:48):
on the train, stop here, eat and then go back.
So that was that was that was something that I
you know, I really appreciate that. That was nice.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
You know.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Yes, and if people foodies like myself, you know, we
will travel for go and you're in a prime location,
you know, a wonderful location.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
And what I want to say is that that's a
big endorsement when you say, if you're up to code,
the city is easy on it. So I would say
it's like a re endorsement because you want to be up.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
To colde absolutely yea and fity.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Administration to make sure you're up to code and they're
not looking to makes you overcoded. I'm putting in a
a good word for the city administration on that.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Yeah, absolutely no, And it's and it's important. I think
a report just recently came out about local restaurants that
in the Hudson Valley in general that may not have
met the code level. And so I was I was
going through the list this morning to see if any
of the restaurants I eat at that listen, what were
the violations?
Speaker 3 (23:54):
Yeah, And I'm gonna tell you this, being you know,
a restaurant owner, if it's not up to cold as
something terribly wrong. You know, So you know, if you
want it to be up the cold, because you know
people can get sick if it's not. That's what that means,
right right, and then that's not good business period right
right right?
Speaker 2 (24:13):
So well, let's go down for your customers. I mean, yeah, absolutely,
nobody's going to get sick.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
We don't have many left. Maybe give us a sense
again of a Nammy restaurant where it's at.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
Yes, all right, so that thank you. The name of
the restaurant, it's Cold Indulged, is located at thirty five
Main Street for Keepsie, New York. That's down by the
river front, in the same plaza as Mahoney's. And yes,
we're excited to come back out brand new. We have
the bar area, we have the pizza, and we have
our Latin and so buffet. You know that's that's still there.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
So yes, and you're going to be uh. The estimated
opening date is the last week.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Of the last week of December. Yes, okay, it's the
estimate opening date for us.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
Yes, okay, all right.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Well I want to indulge right away. Just make sure
people are I'm looking forward to the new year to
indulge right at thirty five minutes right by the river,
a great river restaurant.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
And really quick before we go, do you have a
social media or website?
Speaker 3 (25:22):
Yes, we will have a social media put up in
the next week.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Right now.
Speaker 3 (25:26):
The social media that's up there it's the old one,
so everything got to be Instagram, to be Instagram and Facebook. Yes,
it's going to be indulged.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Okay, fantastic. Well to our listeners, thank you so much
for listening and tuning in once again to finding out
with Pete and the Poet Goat.
The views and opinions expressed in the following programmer those
of the speaker and don't necessarily represent those of the station,
he GE's staff, management, or ownership.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Good morning, you'll find out with Pete and the Poe Cold,
I'm Peter Leonners.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
And I'm the poet Goals and we're on their.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
This morning with Jeff Watkins, the owner of Indulge, a
new restaurant opening up in Poughkeepsie. And before we get
to Jeff, we're going to go right to the Poe
Cold for her weekly poem prayer incantation. Go please let
it roll.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Okay, Peter, I'm going to do a poem quote, be you.
And and since we have Jeff one, he's an entrepreneur,
and the entrepreneurship is about being you.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Be you.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
I am complex, i am not flat nor one dimensional.
I'm beyond four corners. I change, I grow, I evolve.
I have depth that even I can't see. I am
consistently inconsistent, which enables me to stay the same. I'm
a stream of consciousness with one common thread me. So
be you, Be you too.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, And Jeff, I know it's a lot of excitement,
and you're opening up this new restaurant called Indulge, which
I want to say, is a great name.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Thank you, thank you. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Indulge is something I've done all my life. I've tried
not to. But you're a restaurant Indulged. Give us a
sense of where it is and uh, when it's opening
and all.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Okay, So right now, it's located in Poughkeepsie thirty five,
main stream Poughkeepsie, New York, next to the river front.
Also down there we have Mahoney's. So it's in the
same uh, I'm gonna say plazas.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Mahoney's and Mahoney's on the opposite.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Is on the opposite and we're the first building coming
into the uh to the parking lot of the between
the train station and Mahoney's.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
So anybody who knows has ever gone to a met
Scheese which is used to be in.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
This Yes, yes, so that's what it is. We took over,
me and my business partner Pedro. We took over the
old Amichi's building.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
And uh, it's a big space.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Right, very big. Yeah. You know, I got a lot
of good players, you know on deck now. So we
we are we're doing We're doing very well. You know.
We we actually opened up, uh you know, with Latin
and Soul Buffet back in August, and then basically what
I did was, I think around October we shut down
(02:30):
just to renovate and to move forward, just to change
things up a bit.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
So so what you learned August and October made you
think I don't know how to do this better.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Yes, I definitely wanted to be better than what it
was when I first started out, you know, so you know,
just getting things back on track with you know, with
everything and coming we're still gonna have the same menu
plus new things. We have a piece of area that
we'd be opening up as well coming forward, and also
the bar downstairs will be and.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
When you say, the same menus.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
So we started off with Latin and Soul Buffet was
just it was a it was a combination between Latin
food and soul full combined in one buffet, you know
what I mean. So you will see like the impregnadas
and Spanish rice, and then you'll see like, uh, you
know that we have like we had the corn bread,
we had the sweet potatoes, we had the turkey legs
(03:24):
that everybody loved. All of this stuff is gonna be
as well mac and cheese. Yes, it was just a
combination of the two combined fish.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I had some.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
Yeah, we have pork ribs there, we had we had
steel beef. We had a variety of different things there.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
It was you're gonna have all that plus more.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
All that plus more.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Yeah, definitely, And you had you had a nice you know,
uh we talked a little earlier before the show, but
you had a nice traffic, nice nice flows. So I
know that people are waiting in the wings for you
to open back up.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
And yeah, it was a blessing, you know. I you know,
anybody coming into business not knowing what you know, the
outcome is gonna be. To see the traffic that I
had was amazing.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
You know.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Poughkeepsie definitely showed out for me. And then it started
drawing a lot of people from even from Newburgh. And
I had a lot of kids that used to from
Newburgh schools, middle school and high school. They had come
for lunch, you know what I mean, Uh, to the
to the buffet. So it was it was nice. It
was definitely. You know, any business guy, I would love
to see something like that.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Now are you are you connected to Poughkeepsie as far
as born and raised or Newburgh or so.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
I moved to Poughkeepsie when I was a young kid.
I probably was around eight or nine. My mother moved
us up here from far rockaway, Queens, Okay. So I
considered Poughkeepsie my hometown. You know, I grew up here.
My best friends is from here, you know. So yeah,
I'm I consider myself from Poughkeepsie, but I was born
in Queens.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
So how did you put your team together? You know?
Was it something unique that you were looking for?
Speaker 3 (05:04):
And yeah, all right, so well, I mean it started
off during the pandemic up in Auburny, New York. I
actually bought my my kid's mother at the time when
we were together, I had bought her her first restaurant.
It was called Donnie's Kitchen. It was named after our
first daughter. So then with that she went, we had that,
(05:27):
and then I got rid of that restaurant, and then
she went and got another restaurant with her sister in
the concept that was placed there. That's what I brought
down here to Poughkeepsie. So basically, you know, I do
have knowledge of the restaurant business as far as you
know the question that you asked. Far as the team wise,
you just your pick. I'm very good at picking the
(05:50):
best out of you know, what I need. So if
I need a chef, I'm gonna pick the best chef.
If I need a prep person, I'm gonna pick the
best prep person. And that's pretty much what I was doing.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
You know.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
The first couple of weeks I had, I called it tryouts,
you know what I mean, those who can you know,
keep especially the traffic that we had, they had to
stay up to, you know, to part with everything. I
kept those guys, you know, and now I got a
great team, definitely.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
So let's talk about the entrepreneur spirit. Yeah, you know
what took you down the path of wanting to be
an entrepreneur?
Speaker 3 (06:27):
All right? So the backstory is, you know, by trade,
I'm a bridge painter. I've been a bridge painter in
the Union for thirteen years and the you know, they
pay us very decent money. But I felt like for me,
you know, if I can save this money and invest
it into myself, then I don't have to rely on
(06:48):
you know, somebody paying me giving me a check you
know what I mean every week. So that was that
was it for me. Like you know, I was given
opportunity to make great money, you know, working from all
the way from Aubany all the way out to Manhattan
on bridges. So with that being said, you know, I
just invested in myself and so that way, you know,
I don't have to you know, it wasn't just that.
(07:09):
It was also you know, to leave something back for
my kids as well. You know, I can't leave them
back you know, a four one K or paycheck, and
so you know, to leave them something you know that
that that can stay in the family and their kids
kids can benefit from. It's the one, the number one
reason why you know, I went in to entrepreneurship.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
So it's about the legacy.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
It's the legacy. Absolutely, It's definitely the legacy.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
I appreciate that. If you're just tuning in, you're listening
to finding out with Pete and the poet Gold. I'm
Peter and I'm the Poe of Gold and we're here
with Jeff Watkins, owner of Indulge Buffet Bar and Pizzeria,
located right here in the city of Poughkeepsie.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Yes, thirty five Main Street, next to the waterfront.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Next to the waterfront, I want.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
To say that as Jeff is talking about investing yourself
and making it happen for generations, I like that song,
but I also want to point out, and this is
not to be discouraging, This is to underline the excitement
of that vision. And the word entrepreneur is from a
(08:15):
French word means to live in fear. And the reason
when entrepreneurs live in fear that no matter how much
they do their work and build the structures and what that,
you still need the customers to show up and you
can't depend on that. In other words, so if you're
(08:36):
an entrepreneur in a restaurant or you're an entrepreneur on
Wall Street, it's all scary. And judging from the word,
it's scary all the time. Have you experienced any of that?
Speaker 3 (08:49):
I mean, yeah, well, coming into anything, you know, you're nervous.
You know me come and me bringing a restaurant into
the town that I grew up in. I was nervous.
But also know that, you know, I know a lot
of people he is, so I know that you know
they was going to pull together, but I didn't know
how big it was going to be. It was actually
bigger than I thought it was going to be so
(09:10):
you know that's a blessing, but definitely nervous. You know,
I was definitely nervous, not knowing whether if it was
going to sink or swim.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
You know what I mean, Yeah, entrepreneur, I means being scared.
And you know, your notion that you've got to build
a business and pass on to your kids, and what
do you want to make your gets scared for too.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
I just want to make them comfortable. You want to
be comfortable.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
You say bridge and painting, and I that's comfortable. You know.
The thing is, you can't become actually rich painting a bridge.
You can become very comfortable, and you as an entrepreneur,
there is an excitement to the notion it can be
bigger than I thought. Yes, that's very very exciting. Yeah, yeah,
(10:04):
engine to drive.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
You absolutely talk to us a little bit about Pedro
your partner.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Correct, Yeah, yeah, Pedro, that's my partner. You know Pedro,
he owns a couple of businesses out here in Poughkeepsie.
So basically when I was when I had shut down
for a little while, I needed a strong business partner
and me and him, you know, we've talked even when
I had the restaurant open before I to shut it
down for a little second, and for me, it was
(10:29):
just an old brainer. You know, he's already had I
think he owns Rita and Sons, so he has a kitchen. Yeah,
he owned. He he knows, he's into a lot of
i'm gonna say this, a lot of missing pieces. He's
he was that, you know. So now that he's in
on the on board with me, we're getting a lot
done and moving forward. This is gonna be bigger than
(10:50):
you know when I first actually came out, so you know,
and Pedro is a great guy. I wish he was
here today and he was running late. He had to
take care of something.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
But we could always have you guys back.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Yeah, absolutely absolutely. But he's he's a he's a great guy.
You know, he's somebody that I look up to business wise.
He knows a lot of people. He already put me
in a room with a lot of people that I
needed to I mean to bring this restaurant to his
next level.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
And is he from he's.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
From a Keepsie as well. I know Pedro for many
many years, okay, and we grew up with each other.
So yeah, it's definitely Uh, it's exciting, you know, it's exciting.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I want to point out it's kind of it's a
strong relationship you and Pedro. I've never laid eyes on Pedro,
so everybody else was. I grew up with Pedro, and
you're saying we grew up together. Really means you have
a bond there. It's more important than both of you.
We we grew up together means that's real, not only collaboration,
(11:49):
but friendship.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and respect some money man, Yeah yeah.
And going into business, you need that, you know, because
I had businesses that went astray because you know, everybody
wasn't on the same page. But when you have somebody
that's on the same page as you and have the
same vision as you, is bound to just you know,
go to the next level of things.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
So, and it's almost where uh talking to a Pedro,
which it's a way of emphasizing, you know the other restaurants.
You have soul food and Latin food. You know, this
is an unusual combination. You have soul food, you have
Latin food, and you're also very casually mentioned you have
(12:31):
a pizzeria. Part of well man, let's talk about this.
This is like America coming together. There is a word
multi cultural.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
So that's that's the whole that was I'm glad you
caught that. So that was pretty much the whole thing
of what we're trying to do. We want to bring
all the cultures together, you know, underneath one roof. So
like I was explaining to you earlier, you know, we
have the buffet, but like we we were scheduled to
have like every three weeks, we have like it might
(13:00):
be Italian Week, we're nothing but Italian dishes, and then
three weeks after that it might be Vegan Week where
we have nothing but vegan food there for a week.
So we keep switching it up to bring everybody in,
to draw everybody in underneath, you know, underneath one roof,
and you know, just pray that you know, everybody enjoys
what they eat. And so far, so good.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
And I'm going to remove one word from your vocabulary.
That's what we're trying to do. That's what we're going
to do, Vega. Yes, that's what we're going to do.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
And we'll picture on you, jeff uh what you say.
You know, one week might be Italian but the other
Vegan week. But you also have your standard. Yes, so
it's not the whole restaurant. It becomes vegan should have
your standard selections as well as vegans. Yes, absolutely, yes,
(13:52):
I want to make sure we have that clear because
I and pizza.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Pizza never goes a styalon and you know, and it's
in a space where everyone knows that it was it was.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
It was already a piece. Yes, so it's like why
not bring that back, right? You know what our little
spin on it?
Speaker 1 (14:11):
You know, it's the window. Are you going to utilize it?
Definitely going to use the one okay, yes, the side
window was iconic.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Yes, yes, we're definitely gonna use the window as well.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Okay, excellent.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
And let me I say you when you say bring
cultures together under one roof, I mean it's a nice phrase,
but we also know that underneath it. Uh, you know,
there's a lot of racial tension in America, and which
includes Poughkeepsie and so to have Latin food and soul
food already you're talking about going beyond the tention between
(14:45):
black people and uh find of people. And on top
of that, uh, you know, you have the tension with
white people and you know, basically everybody if if if
you're not white, We're going to find your reason to
have a little tension with you.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
So vice versa. But the other way, kids, kids with
the other side, we just we just want to live,
you know.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
And let me say, as a white person, the only
white is in the room, including Cindy here, Sydney. Uh,
you know we're brought up to make sure everyone knows
we're white.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Yeah, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
And everyone doesn't like that. So swell, maybe we got
to get used to that, and maybe we get used.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
To it through absolutely Yeah, they said the fullest to
the heart.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
So absolutely. But to your point, Peter, and then I
don't want to, you know, go down the total racial
lens here. But but but to your point, you know,
there there is there is a a translating slave trade.
There is a relationship you know, between between Latin America
and and and and rather the Latin community and the
(15:57):
Black community historically. So the food is really just a
matter of where the boat dropped you off. And you know,
I mean, it's it's you know, it's you know, that's
that's all it is. But we have such an original
origin collectively, I think just as as cultures, we sort
of fell into the construct of racism that's built into America.
(16:17):
But without that construct, you know, we'd be all playing
drums together, you know what I'm saying, and sitting down
and eating the food and enjoying ourselves. And if you're
just tuning in, you're listening to finding out a pet
in the Poet Gold and on the Poet Gold and
we're having a rich conversation here with Jeff Walkin, who
is the owner of Indulge, a buffet bar and pizzeria
located where the old Amichi used to be in the
(16:39):
city of Poughkeepsie and Sydney's. Yes.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Absolutely, so you might want to say my microphone for
a moment.
Speaker 4 (16:49):
Yeah, So, speaking from the Vassar and student kind of community,
were you guys have any college nights or anything like that.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Yes, we definitely haven't college nights. I'm actually in the
work right now. I believe what Maris they have Maris
Bucks or something like that, the same thing. Yeah, So
we're definitely we're definitely gonna have uh people, We're definitely
gonna have thanks for the college kids. Absolutely we are.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
Yeah, and you can like drop off those flyers.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
And hang them in.
Speaker 4 (17:17):
Yeah, absolutely, because I know, especially in that area there
used to be a place called river I don't know
if you guys are familiar with that.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
The what do you mean the restaurant that's behind me cheese?
I think no, it's actually front the riverfront, it's behind.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
And you know that area is really important to Vaster students.
I can't speak to the Mariast community, but I know
that we're also very happy to have that space field
and especially Vassar students wanting to explore the food culture
of Poughkeepsie. I feel like it's kind of hard to
get off campus and find good food that is so
multi dimensional. There's a lot of Italian in the area,
(17:56):
just in Arlington. Yeah, and I know I'm particularly very excited.
So you also said you have vegan food. Do you
have a vegan chef? Because I know a lot of vegans.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
So yeah, so on on on the next come on,
this come out. We're definitely gonna have a vegan chef,
so we but it's not gonna be it's gonna be
like a We're gonna have like a slot there where
it's gonna be vegan food for a lot of vegans.
Because when I opened up the first time, I had
a lot of vegans come in and ask me, like
where where's our food at?
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Right? Right?
Speaker 3 (18:24):
But I'm just getting my feet wet, so you know,
you know, I'm trying to put everything together for that.
Like I said, I want to hit all angles, hit the.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
Hit the gluten free community. Yes please please, yeah, question
in this area? Okay, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Let me say there are a lot of vegans are
and you know when I worked there, vegans have a
natural just taste for meat and they have a bit
of a natural distaste for people I like me. You know,
(19:03):
it's true and funny. I mean it was better than
true and funny. If I make it up will be
one thing.
Speaker 4 (19:11):
So I know. You also mentioned about using the fullness
of the space. You talked about the basement bar and
then the upper levels the restaurant, right, yes, so what
are you planning to do with that lower space?
Speaker 3 (19:20):
So the lower space, I'm glad you asked that the
lower space is actually a bar. But what I'm going
to bring into the town is We're gonna have comedy
night there. We're gonna have poetry, We're gonna have one
live band there, We're gonna have open mic, and then
we will be renting the space out for anybody that,
(19:41):
you know, parties or events or whatever. I believe the
Post Office already rented it out about a month ago
they had their party down there. So yeah, it's gonna
be it's gonna it's I want to bring, like, uh,
something new to the town, like something that you're seeing
in New York City, you know right here and Keepsie.
You know a lot of people there get on on
(20:03):
the train just to go to New York City. When
we can have it right hand for.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
Keepsie, absolutely, and I think that's going to be really
huge for both college communities also to have access to
because I know there are trivia nights near us and
stuff like that, but it's really hard to kind of
have a consistent event kind of space. Yeah, all right,
so I know that's going to be amazing. I definitely
spread the word at asking.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Please do, thank you, thank.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
You, and Jeff I want to I have an impression
I don't This is not advice. I don't give advice,
but I want to say, the more we talk to you,
the more exciting US guests. And you know, Sydney's questions
make uh more exciting. And there's a way in which
you can give us that excitement upfront with a fastball.
(20:48):
I mean, you know, I mean, because not everybody's going
to be as curious as Sydney and you know, so
make it easy for us to like it.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Let me how much time do we have?
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Level?
Speaker 1 (21:02):
I mean, it's okay, great, so so so four okay four.
So I want to know from behind the scenes, how
supportive is the city of Poughkeepsie on an administrative level.
How you know, for people out there who were thinking
about being an entrepreneur and opening up businesses in Poughkeepsie,
how was it for you to navigate some of the paperwork,
(21:22):
you know support?
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Uh yeah, so the paperwork and everything was was cool.
Everybody was telling me I was gonna have a big heart,
like a hard time with the fire department and health department.
Not so much the fire department, you know, but it
was pretty smooth.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
You know.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
As long as everything is up to part by cold,
you know what I mean, you should have a you
shouldn't have a problem with, uh well, opening up your business.
But far as the community, they definitely showed a lot
of love and support for me, and I'm truly truly
appreciative of that.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
So if you had a suggestion or someone who wanted
to be in the business for themselves, particularly in the
city of Poughkeepsie, Uh, what would you say to them?
Speaker 3 (22:06):
The first thing I would say is, uh, keep your family,
you know, out of business, you know, just keep it
you know, amongst friends and you know, stuff like that.
But to start off, I would basically say, like, you know,
it's it's gonna be hard in the beginning, you know,
but you just got to keep to it. You can't
(22:27):
give up, like you know, it's gonna be rough. Just
keep pushing it. Then you'll see, like you know, you
it just start climbing. Like the word of mouth, word
of mouth and social media was a beast for me
out here in Poughkeepsie, you know, because already of me
growing up here, that was the word of mouth. But
then on online, you know it I had people coming
all the way from the Bronx R just to come
(22:48):
on the train, stop here, eat and then go back.
So that was that was that was something that I
you know, I really appreciate that. That was nice.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
You know.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Yes, and if people foodies like myself, you know, we
will travel for go and you're in a prime location,
you know, a wonderful location.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
And what I want to say is that that's a
big endorsement when you say, if you're up to code,
the city is easy on it. So I would say
it's like a re endorsement because you want to be up.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
To colde absolutely yea and fity.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Administration to make sure you're up to code and they're
not looking to makes you overcoded. I'm putting in a
a good word for the city administration on that.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Yeah, absolutely no, And it's and it's important. I think
a report just recently came out about local restaurants that
in the Hudson Valley in general that may not have
met the code level. And so I was I was
going through the list this morning to see if any
of the restaurants I eat at that listen, what were
the violations?
Speaker 3 (23:54):
Yeah, And I'm gonna tell you this, being you know,
a restaurant owner, if it's not up to cold as
something terribly wrong. You know, So you know, if you
want it to be up the cold, because you know
people can get sick if it's not. That's what that means,
right right, and then that's not good business period right
right right?
Speaker 2 (24:13):
So well, let's go down for your customers. I mean, yeah, absolutely,
nobody's going to get sick.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
We don't have many left. Maybe give us a sense
again of a Nammy restaurant where it's at.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
Yes, all right, so that thank you. The name of
the restaurant, it's Cold Indulged, is located at thirty five
Main Street for Keepsie, New York. That's down by the
river front, in the same plaza as Mahoney's. And yes,
we're excited to come back out brand new. We have
the bar area, we have the pizza, and we have
our Latin and so buffet. You know that's that's still there.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
So yes, and you're going to be uh. The estimated
opening date is the last week.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Of the last week of December. Yes, okay, it's the
estimate opening date for us.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
Yes, okay, all right.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Well I want to indulge right away. Just make sure
people are I'm looking forward to the new year to
indulge right at thirty five minutes right by the river,
a great river restaurant.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
And really quick before we go, do you have a
social media or website?
Speaker 3 (25:22):
Yes, we will have a social media put up in
the next week.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Right now.
Speaker 3 (25:26):
The social media that's up there it's the old one,
so everything got to be Instagram, to be Instagram and Facebook. Yes,
it's going to be indulged.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Okay, fantastic. Well to our listeners, thank you so much
for listening and tuning in once again to finding out
with Pete and the Poet Goat.
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