The Breakfast Club Sits Down With Larry Morrow To Discuss Expanding New Orleans Restaurants, Caribbean Cuisine, Work-Life Balance. Listen For More!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wake that ass up in the morning.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Breakfast Club Morning. Everybody's DJ, Envy, Jess Hilarrys Charlamagne, the guy.
We are the Breakfast Club. We got a special guest.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
In the building.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Friend to the room, Larry Morrow.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Welcome back, sir, Thank you, thank you, thank you for
having me. How you doing.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
I'm doing well, man. How's everything with you?
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Everything's good man, Just just working, just working.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I gotta say thank you first because for people that
don't know, I have a twenty one year old son.
He plays football for University of Miami, and he was
down for Super Bowl and he wanted to go out,
and you know, super Bowl is very expensive. CARDI b
was going to Larry's spot and he was like, y'all
want to go? Do you know anybody. I'm like, I
might know somebody. I called Larry and Larry gets him
in and Larry took care of him, had bottles for him.
(00:42):
He was like, Dad, I got to pay. I'm like,
I'm not paying for that. So Larry took care of him.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
So thank you, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
He had a great time, was out. He was out
later than me most nights.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, that twenty one year old energy.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Now Larry a good brother man.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
When I landed in New Orleans and literally everybody in
their mama was like, you got.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
To go to one of larry spots. You gotta go,
you gotta go on the Larry's box. And guess what,
Larry opening up another spot.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Spicy Mango. Yep, New Orleans Caribbean fusion.
Speaker 5 (01:10):
So tell us about it and be something so spicy Mango.
It's a new spot I'm opening up right there, and
it's called French Frenchman Street. So Frenchman is like a
It's like Bourbon but more local live music versus strip
clubs and bars like live music restaurants, and we were
opening right at the forefront of it. So the new
(01:31):
concept of opening up New Orleans Cribbean fusion given like
different vibes. You know, it'd be like one of one
of New Orleans. You know, we have Caribbean spots, but
but we don't have that fusion to where you can
get like that like that to Loan vibe. You know,
we're upbeat, good food, you know, good vibes.
Speaker 6 (01:48):
One thing I noticed about your restaurants, because I've been
to all of them, you treated me very nice, me
and my team very great. Super Bowl weekend. Is that
your ambiance is always lit. It's always like you're out
of somewhere, you know.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
But I want to know this.
Speaker 6 (02:03):
Where's your your accent?
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Accent?
Speaker 3 (02:06):
You're from New Orleans?
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (02:08):
Now, why you don't sound like everybody else does?
Speaker 5 (02:10):
A lot of a lot of people say I sound
like I'm from New Orleans. A lot of people say
I don't. I travel a lot? So I mean, since
you know my early twenties, you know, nineteen twenty years old,
I traveled, I will come to New York. A lot
of people tell me I sound like I'm from New York.
But a lot of my friends are from New York,
like a lot of my good friends, so.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
I know you just don't sound like one of them.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
Down This is a stupid question because you know there's
twenty thirty restaurants that exist in a city at one time.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Do you ever feel like you're competing against yourself?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Now?
Speaker 5 (02:42):
I think all different concepts and different vibes. Like if
you want like more of a New Orleans Southern cuisine,
you go Tomorrow's.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
If you want.
Speaker 5 (02:51):
Asian fusion, you go to Sun Chun. You want a
steakhouse vibe, different Ambiance.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Royal Steakhouse is amazing.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Yeah, totally different vibe you go Tomorrow Steak.
Speaker 5 (02:59):
But if we want like more brunch outdoor type of vibe,
you go to Monday. And Monday's are totally different, you know,
spot than all of them. So when people ask me
which one I like the best, it's kind of hard
to say because they're all different.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
So it's all offer different vibes.
Speaker 5 (03:15):
So if they were more similar, maybe I can say
which one I like the best, But you know, depends
on what I want.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Which one are you at the most?
Speaker 5 (03:24):
At one point I was at Monday the most because
that's what the office, you know, is, But right now
I'm at Spicy Mango. I'm at Morrows cauld We just
you know, last year we bought the building. Then we're renovating,
so we upstairs had Airbnb's gutted. It made it a
kitchen bar dining, private dining. So the expansion went from
holding eighty five people to hold them maybe you know,
close to two hundred.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
Where you have a real Jamaicans in there sucking their
teeth at you when people come in.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Right, we got a lot of people, so it's it's
actually our one our head chefs. You know, she's Jamaican,
so yeah, we're definitely gonna have the real thing nick
Caribbean vibes and fusion.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Now.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Also, you know you do this with your mom and
your grandmother. Yes, so break that down. I was working
with your mom and your grandma because sometimes family business
is not the best thing in the world.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Man, working with your mother.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
And I love your mom and grandma. I love them
to death. They always come out the kitchen show love
to say, you know hello, So I love them.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Man.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
It's crazy because work with my mom is definitely early on,
she had to like it was, you know, we'll meet
up at work and she they still think I'm a son,
but mamy business partner. So it was a total different
experience because we had to learn to work with each other.
You know, we never worked with each other in that capacity,
so it was challenging.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
You know.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
It was times where we were just you know, it
was tough for us to get along just because we're
you know, mom and son and you know, partners and stuff.
So it was tough for me and my grandma. Uh,
you know, I opened up that spoty eye and I
named it after her. It was like my me, you know,
paying homage to just her journey, just everything she's done,
(04:59):
you know, coming from career to America and building that
you know, that that foundation for us to build on.
It's kind of me giving her flowers while she can
still smell them. So that's where sun chunk comes from.
And uh, you know, I open that up and you know,
it's been cool. Of course, she wants things to be
the way that she envisioned, and sometimes, you know, it's
not really the way that you can operate a business
(05:23):
that does as much value as we do. More like
a mom and pop, yeah you can, but you know we're.
Speaker 6 (05:28):
More of like high functioning.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Yeah, you know, more of like a corporate setup.
Speaker 5 (05:32):
Now have hr have you know, marketing directors, just the
whole team, you know, close to five hundred employees.
Speaker 6 (05:39):
You got some nice studs working in Mondays too. I
wanted to say that, see some good studs. There's some nice,
handsome and pretty still you know, because that's.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Why Mondays all the time.
Speaker 6 (05:49):
Yeah, I haven't yet, Like you like your food, I
was like, yeah, so I don't have.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Like studn muffins. Do you know.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Listen, when they hear this, they're gonna be yes, I.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Love that already loved jes Now I'm a stud magnet.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
When you and your mom bump heads, like how do
you how do you shift it from business to personal?
Speaker 3 (06:17):
You know, you bump head and then you still got
to go back to being your mom's son.
Speaker 5 (06:20):
Well, so it will of course it would affect personal,
but it was more so when we first started to
partner up because we had to figure out how to
operate with each other. Uh, she wanted her way, I
wanted my way, and unfortunate, you can have it both
ways sometimes, you know, sometimes you gotta really decide on
which way we're going.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
So it's just us just just learning.
Speaker 5 (06:41):
And but it did affect personal at times because if
we're not talking at work, we're not talking you know,
at home or and they affect our personal.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
And it's a challenge.
Speaker 5 (06:50):
But you know, you got to be patient and you
got to just really learn how to operate with you know,
with family. You know, in amongst of just operating a business.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Was the Super Bowl weekend everything you thought it was
gonna be.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Yeah, man, super Bowl was. You know.
Speaker 5 (07:04):
My whole thing was to just uh, when I do
put when I produce events, it's not just about making money,
It's about showing up, showing up for the New Orleans
as a whole. And you know, just when people come
in New Orleans like as y'all know, I like to
show that Southern hospitality. So I wanted to roll it
out and you know, get it popping. So that's what
I did. You know, we had Travis Scott, Cardy b Meek,
(07:26):
Gilly Wilow, h Glorrilla.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Uhl.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
Fifty end of not showing up because he has some
something happy had, Cooming Town, Sexy, red Kias and not
and everybody.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
It was crazy all.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
That different spots I saw the party.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
Yeah, so I had three different venues. I own a
spot called Hide and Seek which is a club, a
spot called Treo which is the club and not running out,
this venue called Empire, and some good friends of my own,
Alonzo and Joey. So I did that, and you know,
the whole goal was to just really you know, you know,
the last time we had an opportunity like this was
All Star in twenty seventeen. So when something like this happens,
(08:05):
I feel like it's a time to not just make money,
but to really just have a great time and sure, everybody,
how we do it in New Orleans?
Speaker 2 (08:14):
I was gonna ask, you know, during COVID, a lot
of restaurants that first did bad and then they picked
back up. But then when the world opened back up,
a lot of restaurants closed. We see it, PF Chains
they had problems and Applebee's TGF Fridays, Red Lobster. Even so,
how is the restaurant business as far as you and
how are you you sustaining?
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Well?
Speaker 5 (08:33):
It was one of those things where, you know, COVID
kind of slowed everybody down, and me coming out of COVID,
I was so motivated to do something, figure it out
because I felt like it slowed everything down that I
was doing. So I opened up Treehouse in twenty twenty
one Memorial Weekend, and you know, everybody wanted to be outside.
So I'm making, you know, the most money ever made.
(08:54):
And so I got a taste for like I had
Marrows open, I opened up Treehouse, and I got a
taste for them. Like I'm making this fast money, I
wanted to reinvest it. So a lot of spots that
were calling about to rent, they you know, they weren't available.
But at one point, you know, everybody started calling me.
And during COVID Man, I committed to like four locations,
five locations because I opened up open up after the
(09:16):
Treehouts opened up five more locations, and you know, it
kind of really just made me level up. You know,
I was just you know, COVID made everybody feel like
they had to do something, to do more. And so
you know, now, Spicy Mango, I'm finally getting to a
point where we're about to open up due to just
me not really understanding the industry and how much time
and money it takes. But it was a grind and I'm.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Glad I did it. It taught me a lot.
Speaker 5 (09:40):
But you know, to commit to so much and not
really have a full understanding of what's all required, you know,
it's like you really rolling the dice. So I'm blessed
to just be at this point now where we're about
to open up and you know, this is seven location
and we've been blessed to see a lot of success
in the industry.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
What's the ultimate goal for you?
Speaker 5 (10:00):
Ultimate goal is, of course, it's to inspire the next
generation of black you know, restaurant tours, black hospitality, because
in this industry, it's not many people that look like
us that I can go to and get advice from.
I have a lot of friends who I talk to
have great successful businesses and that's been great mentors to me,
(10:20):
but it's not many people that I can talk to.
So I think definitely inspiring the next generation of black culinary,
Black hospitality, but also you know, growing something that you know,
like just just something for my family. You know, it's
bigger than just the money. It's the legacy. It's about
(10:41):
building something that you know can take care of me
and my family, you know, not just this generation, but
the next one.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
You know, if somebody said to me, somebody I've forgot
who I talk to, this like, yeah, we might connect
with more roles the franchise And I'm like, franchising franchise Yeah,
Like why would you leave?
Speaker 1 (10:55):
No?
Speaker 4 (10:55):
All?
Speaker 5 (10:56):
No, well well no, so so I'm not franchising, right
I got a lot of people who called about franchising
or just even companies that want to invest into what
we're doing the Hospitality group.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
But right now it's like, you know, we're doubling down.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
Actually had a conversation yesterday with a good friend who
invested into a lot of different ventures and extremely successful,
and he was just like, man, it's time to start
taking you know, it's time to start raising money. Right,
you're doing extremely well, but imagine how how bigger you
can get if you do so. I'm I'm I'm conflicting
on what we're what we're gonna do, but the goal
is to you know, become you know, one of the
(11:29):
largest black hospitality groups in the country and not limited
to you know, we just wanna be able to inspire
people through what we're doing. I never knew I was
gonna be in this industry, but to be in it
and to do something with my moms, to have my
family involved, it's a feeling less indescribable.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
You know, is Atlanta in Houston next? Houston host time
spend most time.
Speaker 5 (11:53):
I've been living in Houston for like three and a
half years. You know, I got some homies out there
who who've kind of been a tremendous help, like a life.
There's some guys in the industry, you know, hospitality industry
that I really am. I in respect what they do,
you know, because they've they've done it even prior to
me getting into it. You know, I will see what
they're doing and that's one of the people that I
can say that Junior Martin, Big Jay, that I was
(12:15):
really inspired by somebody who looked like me.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
You know, is the food gonna taste the same though
it is?
Speaker 5 (12:20):
You know, I'm like, I'll be there, my mom would
be there, and it's a forty five minute flight, right.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
You know, we're real.
Speaker 5 (12:25):
You know, it's all about just the just the structure
that you have, like the chefs and just the systems
that you have. So you know, I ain't no about everything, man,
so I may ensure that you know, we're on point
with that.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
How was I was doing tammering with your mom?
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Oh man? Tamor with my mom? Was?
Speaker 5 (12:42):
That was dope, man, because we did it what Tuesday?
We came out here for that and it was a
different experience because you you know, grew up you watch
these talk shows and to be on and they got
the door that open in the audience and you walk
out and everybody just you know, screaming and stuff. It
was pretty cool, totally different experience.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
When do you get.
Speaker 6 (13:00):
Rest because you got restaurants in the day, you got
all these businesses, and then at nights you still do
your events, like where do you even get rest?
Speaker 1 (13:11):
So, like, I'm so used to it.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
So just say if I get in at one, two
am or even later, you know, I use the next
day to really rest. You know, I got to catch
up on my rest because I'm really like if I
get in late, I still got to wake up early.
I still wake up, I go to the gym. I
like to follow the same regiment. And I think, you
know that consistency has really helped me, just not just
in my morning routine, but my day to day life
(13:33):
really helped me, you know, get to I MAC, you know,
so I rest.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Whenever, you know, whenever you can.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
Yeah, when if I get in, like some days I
go in early and I just rest, and you know,
some days I get in late. So but I could
never like, you know, just get a four nice rest
of course if I'm coming in late, so I still
got to get up early.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Adam, what jesster, you also got a child, yes, a.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Five year old, so you got a favre. Wow, man,
it's a girl, boy girl a girl.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (14:01):
So she demands daddy's time too, and it's crazy.
Speaker 5 (14:05):
She told me, said, Daddy, he's taking me and mommy
on the date she'd be looking forward to the date,
you know. So, yeah, it's a full time job. But
you're just, you know, just figuring it out. Like I
don't have it all figured out. Every day is a
new day, and we just bad. I'm just trying to
figure how to balance it. But I make it work,
you know, got to. I have no other choice.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
With your employees, how difficult it is. We're dealing with
different personalities.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Oh man, I think that's the most difficult challenge.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
But and when you have to let somebody go, do
you do it? Or does the human resource department do it?
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (14:37):
Human resources? At one point when we were a lot smaller,
I would do it. But you know, I realized I
had to remove myself from a lot of that just
because you know, I can't be the I can't be
the person hiring the firing.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
You know.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
At this point, you know my team they hire and
they fire as well. But it's tough dealing with a
bunch of different personalities. But I think we have a
great team.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
I love it. It's like one big family.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
So you know, it's not I wouldn't say it's the
toughest because you know, a lot of people who work
with with us. You know, I've been known for a
long time, and you know, even though we've known each
other for a long time, we don't let that affect
how we operate. So it's it's cool, man. I love it.
Speaker 6 (15:18):
When is Spicy Mango open?
Speaker 5 (15:20):
So Spicy Mango is about about thirty to forty five
days out, So sometime next month in May, we'll be opening.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
Soft. Won't really.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Do a grand opening, probably into June or closer to essence,
So you know we're going to take our time, Yeah,
just to kind of ease into it, not really like
you know, broadcasting that we're open, but just open Soft
and get the kinks out, just so that when we
do fully open, you know, we'll prepare.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Yeah, you know a load.
Speaker 4 (15:48):
You always are very you know, you're the consummate businessman,
always so professional.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
What happened with you and the food reviewer? I can't
really ask whatever.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
It was a video of Larry interacting with a few
reviewer and the full reviewer tried to well, he tried
to take his phone.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
You know, you try to take your phone.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Man, I don't remember what happened. I don't know what happened.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
Just throwing hands, No damn.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
But now.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
You know what I produces his asshole Now that's why
they were playing walking No.
Speaker 5 (16:26):
No, it's honestly, uh man, just being a black man
and successful young in a city where like New Orleans,
I think in any city, Uh, you just run the
issues at times, you know, like I'm outside majority like
more than nine nine percent of people, and when you are,
you know, things happen.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
I mean, but you need security though, Larry, you know, I.
Speaker 5 (16:49):
Know I have security, but you know, it's like I
like to be alone a lot of times.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
That's the issue. I like to be alone a lot
of times.
Speaker 5 (16:55):
So people don't know I'm like this introvert extrovert to
where I've been around so many people for so long
that I enjoy being alone. So it's kind of like
what I've morphed into over the years just because of
you know, it's so much in this industry. But I
just learned, like you know, just just sometimes things happen,
(17:16):
and you know, there's never no hard feelings, but you know,
at the end of the day, you know, when it
comes to anything that is mine, I'm definitely protected, you
know by any mean, so just sometimes unfortunate situations happened,
and ain't never intentional, but you know, it just happened.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
And it's interesting here you said that you've been living
in Houston the last few years because I thought you
were still.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
No, But I'm never really there.
Speaker 5 (17:38):
I'm never really there just because once I committed, I
moved out there during EIDA and that's when a storm
hit New or was in twenty twenty one, the first
year of everything really opened up, and I thought I
was gonna be able to be.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Out there more. But when when that happened, when I.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
When I committed to all these restaurants, like I couldn't
go to Houston and spend all the time I wanted
out there because I didn't know that it was gonna
acquire all this time and energy, and so you know,
I ended up just keeping it just so I won't
get so comfortable in New Orleans and decide not to
take that next step, you know, so because I'm really
looking forward to that next step in that next chapter,
to where we expand, and I think, you know, I've
(18:16):
done a great job of just doing what we're doing
in New Orleans, but now it's time to just really
spread those wings.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
All right, Well, we appreciate you for joining US Orleans
because people in the comments were saying that that you
needed to get out of New Orleans because the hate
is so real for successful people.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Do you feel that way, man?
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (18:31):
And my og told me he had a conversation yesterday, right, Canaan, Right,
and he was just saying that, like, you know, being
a black man ain't easy, man, just no matter where
you are, just being successful in black wherever you are,
it's different. Because like I had a conversation with a
front of mine as well. He looked different than me, successful,
extremely wealthy, and I explained to him and say, you
won't you know, you don't have the same problems that
(18:53):
I have. And I mean I have the same problems
you have. But you know, being black and successful in
any city, especially as all the city where it's not
as big as in New York, right, I mean you
can sometimes be a target, are just standing out, so
you know, it's it's tough, but you know that just
would come with it, you know, it's not something It
made me realize that years and years ago I used
(19:16):
to you know, I become more protective about what's mine
and not so open about everything. You know, so because
you start to just realize that, man, it just ain't
the best just for everybody to know everything about what
you got.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Going on, what's happening.
Speaker 5 (19:31):
I'm already outside a lot, you know, I mean just
because I'm got my businesses and stuff.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
So you know, it's tough, but you know, it is
what it is. It come with it.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Somebody gotta do it.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Somebody got to do it right, all right.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Well, if you're in New Orleans, definitely check out tell
them the lineup. But all the restaurants, so come to
New Orleans.
Speaker 5 (19:47):
Check out Morrow's Monday Sun Chung, Morrow's Steak, Spicy Mango
is opening up in about thirty or forty five days
in New Orleans. Cribban Fusion, and you gotta come to Treehouse.
Gotta come to the Treehouse. You gotta come to hide
and see, you know. So so far as seven locations,
we'll maybe open up more soon. Just really depend on uh,
(20:09):
this really depends on a few different things. But yeah,
definitely plan on moving to Houston.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
I love man, what just said is true because it
got it got the ambiance, but then it got just
the dope ass subverern food like and then Larry set
me and my wife up because it was our anniversary.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
That weekend, we had a ball. Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
I appreciate y'all. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
If you one night life, that's it's one of the
safest places to go to. You check out your treathouse
on Mondays. It's like I said, you never know who's
in that. I've been in the times where Nas was in
the back cut in the corner chilling.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
I'd have been a time.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Where Fabers in there. Cardial, it doesn't matter. But appreciate
you for joining us.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Bro. I appreciate y'all. Thank y'all. It's Larry Morrow.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning. Wake that ass up
in the morning.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
The Breakfast Club.
Wake that ass up in the morning.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Breakfast Club Morning. Everybody's DJ, Envy, Jess Hilarrys Charlamagne, the guy.
We are the Breakfast Club. We got a special guest.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
In the building.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Friend to the room, Larry Morrow.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Welcome back, sir, Thank you, thank you, thank you for
having me. How you doing.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
I'm doing well, man. How's everything with you?
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Everything's good man, Just just working, just working.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I gotta say thank you first because for people that
don't know, I have a twenty one year old son.
He plays football for University of Miami, and he was
down for Super Bowl and he wanted to go out,
and you know, super Bowl is very expensive. CARDI b
was going to Larry's spot and he was like, y'all
want to go? Do you know anybody. I'm like, I
might know somebody. I called Larry and Larry gets him
in and Larry took care of him, had bottles for him.
(00:42):
He was like, Dad, I got to pay. I'm like,
I'm not paying for that. So Larry took care of him.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
So thank you, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
He had a great time, was out. He was out
later than me most nights.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, that twenty one year old energy.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Now Larry a good brother man.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
When I landed in New Orleans and literally everybody in
their mama was like, you got.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
To go to one of larry spots. You gotta go,
you gotta go on the Larry's box. And guess what,
Larry opening up another spot.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Spicy Mango. Yep, New Orleans Caribbean fusion.
Speaker 5 (01:10):
So tell us about it and be something so spicy Mango.
It's a new spot I'm opening up right there, and
it's called French Frenchman Street. So Frenchman is like a
It's like Bourbon but more local live music versus strip
clubs and bars like live music restaurants, and we were
opening right at the forefront of it. So the new
(01:31):
concept of opening up New Orleans Cribbean fusion given like
different vibes. You know, it'd be like one of one
of New Orleans. You know, we have Caribbean spots, but
but we don't have that fusion to where you can
get like that like that to Loan vibe. You know,
we're upbeat, good food, you know, good vibes.
Speaker 6 (01:48):
One thing I noticed about your restaurants, because I've been
to all of them, you treated me very nice, me
and my team very great. Super Bowl weekend. Is that
your ambiance is always lit. It's always like you're out
of somewhere, you know.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
But I want to know this.
Speaker 6 (02:03):
Where's your your accent?
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Accent?
Speaker 3 (02:06):
You're from New Orleans?
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (02:08):
Now, why you don't sound like everybody else does?
Speaker 5 (02:10):
A lot of a lot of people say I sound
like I'm from New Orleans. A lot of people say
I don't. I travel a lot? So I mean, since
you know my early twenties, you know, nineteen twenty years old,
I traveled, I will come to New York. A lot
of people tell me I sound like I'm from New York.
But a lot of my friends are from New York,
like a lot of my good friends, so.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
I know you just don't sound like one of them.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
Down This is a stupid question because you know there's
twenty thirty restaurants that exist in a city at one time.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Do you ever feel like you're competing against yourself?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Now?
Speaker 5 (02:42):
I think all different concepts and different vibes. Like if
you want like more of a New Orleans Southern cuisine,
you go Tomorrow's.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
If you want.
Speaker 5 (02:51):
Asian fusion, you go to Sun Chun. You want a
steakhouse vibe, different Ambiance.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Royal Steakhouse is amazing.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Yeah, totally different vibe you go Tomorrow Steak.
Speaker 5 (02:59):
But if we want like more brunch outdoor type of vibe,
you go to Monday. And Monday's are totally different, you know,
spot than all of them. So when people ask me
which one I like the best, it's kind of hard
to say because they're all different.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
So it's all offer different vibes.
Speaker 5 (03:15):
So if they were more similar, maybe I can say
which one I like the best, But you know, depends
on what I want.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Which one are you at the most?
Speaker 5 (03:24):
At one point I was at Monday the most because
that's what the office, you know, is, But right now
I'm at Spicy Mango. I'm at Morrows cauld We just
you know, last year we bought the building. Then we're renovating,
so we upstairs had Airbnb's gutted. It made it a
kitchen bar dining, private dining. So the expansion went from
holding eighty five people to hold them maybe you know,
close to two hundred.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
Where you have a real Jamaicans in there sucking their
teeth at you when people come in.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Right, we got a lot of people, so it's it's
actually our one our head chefs. You know, she's Jamaican,
so yeah, we're definitely gonna have the real thing nick
Caribbean vibes and fusion.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Now.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Also, you know you do this with your mom and
your grandmother. Yes, so break that down. I was working
with your mom and your grandma because sometimes family business
is not the best thing in the world.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Man, working with your mother.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
And I love your mom and grandma. I love them
to death. They always come out the kitchen show love
to say, you know hello, So I love them.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Man.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
It's crazy because work with my mom is definitely early on,
she had to like it was, you know, we'll meet
up at work and she they still think I'm a son,
but mamy business partner. So it was a total different
experience because we had to learn to work with each other.
You know, we never worked with each other in that capacity,
so it was challenging.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
You know.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
It was times where we were just you know, it
was tough for us to get along just because we're
you know, mom and son and you know, partners and stuff.
So it was tough for me and my grandma. Uh,
you know, I opened up that spoty eye and I
named it after her. It was like my me, you know,
paying homage to just her journey, just everything she's done,
(04:59):
you know, coming from career to America and building that
you know, that that foundation for us to build on.
It's kind of me giving her flowers while she can
still smell them. So that's where sun chunk comes from.
And uh, you know, I open that up and you know,
it's been cool. Of course, she wants things to be
the way that she envisioned, and sometimes, you know, it's
not really the way that you can operate a business
(05:23):
that does as much value as we do. More like
a mom and pop, yeah you can, but you know we're.
Speaker 6 (05:28):
More of like high functioning.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Yeah, you know, more of like a corporate setup.
Speaker 5 (05:32):
Now have hr have you know, marketing directors, just the
whole team, you know, close to five hundred employees.
Speaker 6 (05:39):
You got some nice studs working in Mondays too. I
wanted to say that, see some good studs. There's some nice,
handsome and pretty still you know, because that's.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Why Mondays all the time.
Speaker 6 (05:49):
Yeah, I haven't yet, Like you like your food, I
was like, yeah, so I don't have.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Like studn muffins. Do you know.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Listen, when they hear this, they're gonna be yes, I.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Love that already loved jes Now I'm a stud magnet.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
When you and your mom bump heads, like how do
you how do you shift it from business to personal?
Speaker 3 (06:17):
You know, you bump head and then you still got
to go back to being your mom's son.
Speaker 5 (06:20):
Well, so it will of course it would affect personal,
but it was more so when we first started to
partner up because we had to figure out how to
operate with each other. Uh, she wanted her way, I
wanted my way, and unfortunate, you can have it both
ways sometimes, you know, sometimes you gotta really decide on
which way we're going.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
So it's just us just just learning.
Speaker 5 (06:41):
And but it did affect personal at times because if
we're not talking at work, we're not talking you know,
at home or and they affect our personal.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
And it's a challenge.
Speaker 5 (06:50):
But you know, you got to be patient and you
got to just really learn how to operate with you know,
with family. You know, in amongst of just operating a business.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Was the Super Bowl weekend everything you thought it was
gonna be.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Yeah, man, super Bowl was. You know.
Speaker 5 (07:04):
My whole thing was to just uh, when I do
put when I produce events, it's not just about making money,
It's about showing up, showing up for the New Orleans
as a whole. And you know, just when people come
in New Orleans like as y'all know, I like to
show that Southern hospitality. So I wanted to roll it
out and you know, get it popping. So that's what
I did. You know, we had Travis Scott, Cardy b Meek,
(07:26):
Gilly Wilow, h Glorrilla.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Uhl.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
Fifty end of not showing up because he has some
something happy had, Cooming Town, Sexy, red Kias and not
and everybody.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
It was crazy all.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
That different spots I saw the party.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
Yeah, so I had three different venues. I own a
spot called Hide and Seek which is a club, a
spot called Treo which is the club and not running out,
this venue called Empire, and some good friends of my own,
Alonzo and Joey. So I did that, and you know,
the whole goal was to just really you know, you know,
the last time we had an opportunity like this was
All Star in twenty seventeen. So when something like this happens,
(08:05):
I feel like it's a time to not just make money,
but to really just have a great time and sure, everybody,
how we do it in New Orleans?
Speaker 2 (08:14):
I was gonna ask, you know, during COVID, a lot
of restaurants that first did bad and then they picked
back up. But then when the world opened back up,
a lot of restaurants closed. We see it, PF Chains
they had problems and Applebee's TGF Fridays, Red Lobster. Even so,
how is the restaurant business as far as you and
how are you you sustaining?
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Well?
Speaker 5 (08:33):
It was one of those things where, you know, COVID
kind of slowed everybody down, and me coming out of COVID,
I was so motivated to do something, figure it out
because I felt like it slowed everything down that I
was doing. So I opened up Treehouse in twenty twenty
one Memorial Weekend, and you know, everybody wanted to be outside.
So I'm making, you know, the most money ever made.
(08:54):
And so I got a taste for like I had
Marrows open, I opened up Treehouse, and I got a
taste for them. Like I'm making this fast money, I
wanted to reinvest it. So a lot of spots that
were calling about to rent, they you know, they weren't available.
But at one point, you know, everybody started calling me.
And during COVID Man, I committed to like four locations,
five locations because I opened up open up after the
(09:16):
Treehouts opened up five more locations, and you know, it
kind of really just made me level up. You know,
I was just you know, COVID made everybody feel like
they had to do something, to do more. And so
you know, now, Spicy Mango, I'm finally getting to a
point where we're about to open up due to just
me not really understanding the industry and how much time
and money it takes. But it was a grind and I'm.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Glad I did it. It taught me a lot.
Speaker 5 (09:40):
But you know, to commit to so much and not
really have a full understanding of what's all required, you know,
it's like you really rolling the dice. So I'm blessed
to just be at this point now where we're about
to open up and you know, this is seven location
and we've been blessed to see a lot of success
in the industry.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
What's the ultimate goal for you?
Speaker 5 (10:00):
Ultimate goal is, of course, it's to inspire the next
generation of black you know, restaurant tours, black hospitality, because
in this industry, it's not many people that look like
us that I can go to and get advice from.
I have a lot of friends who I talk to
have great successful businesses and that's been great mentors to me,
(10:20):
but it's not many people that I can talk to.
So I think definitely inspiring the next generation of black culinary,
Black hospitality, but also you know, growing something that you know,
like just just something for my family. You know, it's
bigger than just the money. It's the legacy. It's about
(10:41):
building something that you know can take care of me
and my family, you know, not just this generation, but
the next one.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
You know, if somebody said to me, somebody I've forgot
who I talk to, this like, yeah, we might connect
with more roles the franchise And I'm like, franchising franchise Yeah,
Like why would you leave?
Speaker 1 (10:55):
No?
Speaker 4 (10:55):
All?
Speaker 5 (10:56):
No, well well no, so so I'm not franchising, right
I got a lot of people who called about franchising
or just even companies that want to invest into what
we're doing the Hospitality group.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
But right now it's like, you know, we're doubling down.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
Actually had a conversation yesterday with a good friend who
invested into a lot of different ventures and extremely successful,
and he was just like, man, it's time to start
taking you know, it's time to start raising money. Right,
you're doing extremely well, but imagine how how bigger you
can get if you do so. I'm I'm I'm conflicting
on what we're what we're gonna do, but the goal
is to you know, become you know, one of the
(11:29):
largest black hospitality groups in the country and not limited
to you know, we just wanna be able to inspire
people through what we're doing. I never knew I was
gonna be in this industry, but to be in it
and to do something with my moms, to have my
family involved, it's a feeling less indescribable.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
You know, is Atlanta in Houston next? Houston host time
spend most time.
Speaker 5 (11:53):
I've been living in Houston for like three and a
half years. You know, I got some homies out there
who who've kind of been a tremendous help, like a life.
There's some guys in the industry, you know, hospitality industry
that I really am. I in respect what they do,
you know, because they've they've done it even prior to
me getting into it. You know, I will see what
they're doing and that's one of the people that I
can say that Junior Martin, Big Jay, that I was
(12:15):
really inspired by somebody who looked like me.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
You know, is the food gonna taste the same though
it is?
Speaker 5 (12:20):
You know, I'm like, I'll be there, my mom would
be there, and it's a forty five minute flight, right.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
You know, we're real.
Speaker 5 (12:25):
You know, it's all about just the just the structure
that you have, like the chefs and just the systems
that you have. So you know, I ain't no about everything, man,
so I may ensure that you know, we're on point
with that.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
How was I was doing tammering with your mom?
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Oh man? Tamor with my mom? Was?
Speaker 5 (12:42):
That was dope, man, because we did it what Tuesday?
We came out here for that and it was a
different experience because you you know, grew up you watch
these talk shows and to be on and they got
the door that open in the audience and you walk
out and everybody just you know, screaming and stuff. It
was pretty cool, totally different experience.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
When do you get.
Speaker 6 (13:00):
Rest because you got restaurants in the day, you got
all these businesses, and then at nights you still do
your events, like where do you even get rest?
Speaker 1 (13:11):
So, like, I'm so used to it.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
So just say if I get in at one, two
am or even later, you know, I use the next
day to really rest. You know, I got to catch
up on my rest because I'm really like if I
get in late, I still got to wake up early.
I still wake up, I go to the gym. I
like to follow the same regiment. And I think, you
know that consistency has really helped me, just not just
in my morning routine, but my day to day life
(13:33):
really helped me, you know, get to I MAC, you know,
so I rest.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Whenever, you know, whenever you can.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
Yeah, when if I get in, like some days I
go in early and I just rest, and you know,
some days I get in late. So but I could
never like, you know, just get a four nice rest
of course if I'm coming in late, so I still
got to get up early.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Adam, what jesster, you also got a child, yes, a.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Five year old, so you got a favre. Wow, man,
it's a girl, boy girl a girl.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (14:01):
So she demands daddy's time too, and it's crazy.
Speaker 5 (14:05):
She told me, said, Daddy, he's taking me and mommy
on the date she'd be looking forward to the date,
you know. So, yeah, it's a full time job. But
you're just, you know, just figuring it out. Like I
don't have it all figured out. Every day is a
new day, and we just bad. I'm just trying to
figure how to balance it. But I make it work,
you know, got to. I have no other choice.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
With your employees, how difficult it is. We're dealing with
different personalities.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Oh man, I think that's the most difficult challenge.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
But and when you have to let somebody go, do
you do it? Or does the human resource department do it?
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (14:37):
Human resources? At one point when we were a lot smaller,
I would do it. But you know, I realized I
had to remove myself from a lot of that just
because you know, I can't be the I can't be
the person hiring the firing.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
You know.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
At this point, you know my team they hire and
they fire as well. But it's tough dealing with a
bunch of different personalities. But I think we have a
great team.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
I love it. It's like one big family.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
So you know, it's not I wouldn't say it's the
toughest because you know, a lot of people who work
with with us. You know, I've been known for a
long time, and you know, even though we've known each
other for a long time, we don't let that affect
how we operate. So it's it's cool, man. I love it.
Speaker 6 (15:18):
When is Spicy Mango open?
Speaker 5 (15:20):
So Spicy Mango is about about thirty to forty five
days out, So sometime next month in May, we'll be opening.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
Soft. Won't really.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Do a grand opening, probably into June or closer to essence,
So you know we're going to take our time, Yeah,
just to kind of ease into it, not really like
you know, broadcasting that we're open, but just open Soft
and get the kinks out, just so that when we
do fully open, you know, we'll prepare.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Yeah, you know a load.
Speaker 4 (15:48):
You always are very you know, you're the consummate businessman,
always so professional.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
What happened with you and the food reviewer? I can't
really ask whatever.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
It was a video of Larry interacting with a few
reviewer and the full reviewer tried to well, he tried
to take his phone.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
You know, you try to take your phone.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Man, I don't remember what happened. I don't know what happened.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
Just throwing hands, No damn.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
But now.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
You know what I produces his asshole Now that's why
they were playing walking No.
Speaker 5 (16:26):
No, it's honestly, uh man, just being a black man
and successful young in a city where like New Orleans,
I think in any city, Uh, you just run the
issues at times, you know, like I'm outside majority like
more than nine nine percent of people, and when you are,
you know, things happen.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
I mean, but you need security though, Larry, you know, I.
Speaker 5 (16:49):
Know I have security, but you know, it's like I
like to be alone a lot of times.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
That's the issue. I like to be alone a lot
of times.
Speaker 5 (16:55):
So people don't know I'm like this introvert extrovert to
where I've been around so many people for so long
that I enjoy being alone. So it's kind of like
what I've morphed into over the years just because of
you know, it's so much in this industry. But I
just learned, like you know, just just sometimes things happen,
(17:16):
and you know, there's never no hard feelings, but you know,
at the end of the day, you know, when it
comes to anything that is mine, I'm definitely protected, you
know by any mean, so just sometimes unfortunate situations happened,
and ain't never intentional, but you know, it just happened.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
And it's interesting here you said that you've been living
in Houston the last few years because I thought you
were still.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
No, But I'm never really there.
Speaker 5 (17:38):
I'm never really there just because once I committed, I
moved out there during EIDA and that's when a storm
hit New or was in twenty twenty one, the first
year of everything really opened up, and I thought I
was gonna be able to be.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Out there more. But when when that happened, when I.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
When I committed to all these restaurants, like I couldn't
go to Houston and spend all the time I wanted
out there because I didn't know that it was gonna
acquire all this time and energy, and so you know,
I ended up just keeping it just so I won't
get so comfortable in New Orleans and decide not to
take that next step, you know, so because I'm really
looking forward to that next step in that next chapter,
to where we expand, and I think, you know, I've
(18:16):
done a great job of just doing what we're doing
in New Orleans, but now it's time to just really
spread those wings.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
All right, Well, we appreciate you for joining US Orleans
because people in the comments were saying that that you
needed to get out of New Orleans because the hate
is so real for successful people.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Do you feel that way, man?
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (18:31):
And my og told me he had a conversation yesterday, right, Canaan, Right,
and he was just saying that, like, you know, being
a black man ain't easy, man, just no matter where
you are, just being successful in black wherever you are,
it's different. Because like I had a conversation with a
front of mine as well. He looked different than me, successful,
extremely wealthy, and I explained to him and say, you
won't you know, you don't have the same problems that
(18:53):
I have. And I mean I have the same problems
you have. But you know, being black and successful in
any city, especially as all the city where it's not
as big as in New York, right, I mean you
can sometimes be a target, are just standing out, so
you know, it's it's tough, but you know that just
would come with it, you know, it's not something It
made me realize that years and years ago I used
(19:16):
to you know, I become more protective about what's mine
and not so open about everything. You know, so because
you start to just realize that, man, it just ain't
the best just for everybody to know everything about what
you got.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Going on, what's happening.
Speaker 5 (19:31):
I'm already outside a lot, you know, I mean just
because I'm got my businesses and stuff.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
So you know, it's tough, but you know, it is
what it is. It come with it.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Somebody gotta do it.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Somebody got to do it right, all right.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Well, if you're in New Orleans, definitely check out tell
them the lineup. But all the restaurants, so come to
New Orleans.
Speaker 5 (19:47):
Check out Morrow's Monday Sun Chung, Morrow's Steak, Spicy Mango
is opening up in about thirty or forty five days
in New Orleans. Cribban Fusion, and you gotta come to Treehouse.
Gotta come to the Treehouse. You gotta come to hide
and see, you know. So so far as seven locations,
we'll maybe open up more soon. Just really depend on uh,
(20:09):
this really depends on a few different things. But yeah,
definitely plan on moving to Houston.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
I love man, what just said is true because it
got it got the ambiance, but then it got just
the dope ass subverern food like and then Larry set
me and my wife up because it was our anniversary.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
That weekend, we had a ball. Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
I appreciate y'all. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
If you one night life, that's it's one of the
safest places to go to. You check out your treathouse
on Mondays. It's like I said, you never know who's
in that. I've been in the times where Nas was in
the back cut in the corner chilling.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
I'd have been a time.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Where Fabers in there. Cardial, it doesn't matter. But appreciate
you for joining us.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Bro. I appreciate y'all. Thank y'all. It's Larry Morrow.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning. Wake that ass up
in the morning.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
The Breakfast Club.
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