Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, Detroit.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
One fronts, Well, I'm walking down the street and I
see American Coney Island and I duck in there, and
I see Jovacari's Andiamo and then I see Bar Canada
and there's a hockey stick with moleson Canadian and the
(00:27):
bats blue.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
And I thought, am I in Detroit?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
And I'm not.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
I'm in Las Vegas.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
And so is Chris Sodoropolis, who's running at least one
of these businesses and more in Las Vegas where you've
brought Michigan and Detroit with a Lansing background to business here.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
It's been over a decade now, hasn't it. Yeah, we've
been here now in Las Vegas for twelve years. So yeah,
it's been in Greek twelve years here at the beach,
you know, here on Fremont Street. So the hotel is
called The D. We're broadcasting this week for the F
one race.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
The name the D implies Detroit, but it's not necessarily
Detroit exclusive.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
How do you explain this? So the D has a
lot of different meanings. You know, obviously it has homage
Detroit because you know, we're here, and so is Andiamo's.
But also he has homage to the downtown, you know
for Downtown Freemastra. And also the guy who brought us
all here, Derek. You know, his nickname's d so you
know the d And I.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Can get a Zingerman's coffee around the corner here, or
go up and see our man there at Circa Paul
sagan On, one of the Zingerman's founders, who has that
deli there.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
So you make us feel at home here.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
But how did the idea and I'm sure you've told
the story a million times, but how did the idea
come about that you would be here?
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Did they come looking for you? Yeah, so they actually
came up to us. You know, I wasn't always part
of the family business. Grace was always at the leader
of the helm. And one day Derek walked in at
American Coney Island and introduced himself to Grace. Says, hey,
my name's Derek Stevens. I'm doing this in Vegas. I
love you guys. You know my dad brought me here.
(02:01):
I bring my kids here. You guys are a staple.
You know, we're doing it in Vegas and we want
you guys to be part of it. And you know,
next thing, you know, he's flying Grace out. I was
in California working for another company. Traveling Grace calls me
up and says, I want to do it, but I
need help. And that's where I kind of jumped in
kind of thing because I was already in the aspects
(02:22):
of you know, franchise or kind of thing, but with
this is not a franchise. It's his own but like
you know, running teaching people how to run their restaurants
from the farm.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
So you're like Michael Corleone, you thought you were out
and they pulled you back in pretty much.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
You know, that was my whole goal, you know, my
entire life. I grew up in the restaurant in history.
I miss Saturdays as a kid. You know, my son
who's nine now, you know, I was nine years old
and I was busting tables and serving coffee all day
and I didn't get to watch cartoons and all that,
and I grew up with it. An undergrad, you know,
worked in restaurants, and then after college I was out.
I worked in the Middle East. I had a great
(02:57):
job working for the royal family and that kind of
became obsolete after nine to eleven and started working doing
franchising and like with these guys for a Peter Sandwich franchise.
And then I was about to be out again. I
was gonna take a job as a VP of Toys
r US International in Jersey. Oh and then my sister,
(03:18):
you didn't do that international soil are on. So you
never know, is it? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (03:22):
But Mike wasn't the guy from the Wolverines, the athletic director.
Did he work there? Or did I dream that at
Toys r David Brandon?
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Didn't he go over there for a while? Think he did? Yeah,
So I don't know. I don't follow Michigan sports.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Didn't you go to Michigan Michigan stage, I'm got to
correct you're wiki?
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Yeah, I'm a sparty Wayne State after that? Right?
Speaker 2 (03:42):
No, I just oh, you know what I'm thinking of
Derek Stevens. Say, that's a different guy, you know, the
owner of this whole thing. Isn't that a point of
contention with you being a Spartan?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Then he's a Wolverine, Yeah, but you know it's one
of those things. He supports all Michigan sports. He's not,
you know, either Michigan Mischians, they've western all this.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Did you go to the White House this week. The
Saudi Prince MBS was there. It worked for him, didn't you.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
That was eons ago. So now I just focus on
hot dogs, hot dogs, burgers and wings. You know, that's
pretty much my costs on right now. Well, they weren't
serving that in Saudi Arabia. Yeah now, but that was
back in my supply chain days.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
So yeah, wow, that's fascinating. What can you share one
anecdote of what it was like to work in Saudi Arabia.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
With Saudi Arabia, it was great, you know, It's one
of those things they treated I was outsider, treated me
really well. So yeah, no complaints, you know what an adventurer.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Now, Grace comes on the program quite a bit, your sister,
Grace Carros And is it odd for you to be
outside of Detroit on Thanksgiving Day when the parade and
the Lions.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Are you going back? Here's the thing, I actually still
live in Detroit. I live in Northville. I because you know,
we have two other restaurants, you know, you Paul Saganaw.
You mentioned about Saginaw's Eli Also I started Victory Burger
and Wings the sports park there that we have lot
of heritage to Michigan. You know, we use Wolverine meats
and different things and fresh product that we get shipped.
(05:06):
And also you know up there at stadium, sim swim
the concessions there with Paul, he's on partners with him
on that. But I actually live in Northville. I'm and
I come down here about one week a month check
on everything. You know, I got my team here, I
got every location. You know, we got managers, we got
a director who kind of has been with me, my
right hand man for the last twelve years. And yeah,
(05:29):
I come back and forth. You know, I spend about
ten days a month here and the rest of my
time in downtown with Grace or you know, you.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Don't want to raise a family in Las Vegas.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
That's one of those things, you know, I got you.
I love Michigan. You know, I love Detroit, and you know,
Northfield's got one of the best school districts in the
state and country, and that's where you know what kind
of raise my kids up at. So give us a
little you know, we're living the high life this week
with the Formula one race and the Flying Circus comes
(05:58):
to town, as they do in places like the Middle East,
for instance.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
But when you are at Circa at Stadium Swim and
Circa is owned by Derek Stevens as well as the
d where we're sitting right now in an American Coney Island,
believe it or not. When Stadium Swim, when you're there,
you're going over there maybe to oversee the operation, check
in on things when it's at its finest.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
So describe the scene. See, well, just like any other
day club you'd see on people on vacation. You know,
you got about four thousand plus people all hanging out
in different pools and drinking and eating and just have
the time of their lives. It's pretty fun.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Actual and various types of clothing image I always you know,
everyone's got a bathing suit on.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
You know, we've all experienced the day club aspects. You know.
One of my favorite things is, you know, having like
March Madness. You know, we had a tradition with all
my college remates from Michigan State that every March Madness
we're always together at in Vegas watching basketball plays. And
one of the coolest thing is watching sparty you know,
in a pool, having a drink and making best at
(07:01):
the end. You know, So it's pretty fun. You know,
I found out.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
You know, I used to say, when you stay overnight
at a casino like fire Keepers in Michigan, you can
wake up at two in the morning and say, oh,
I feel like going down and rolling the bones. The
trick is here at the D you can wake up
at two in the morning and say, I feel like
too loose with mustards.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
You could have that here. You know. It's one of
those things. It's you know, America is pretty much run
on hotdog and beer, so we got you covered. You know. Well,
I noticed when you check into the D.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Now, I'm a travel writer, so I'm lucky.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
I've been all over the world.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I never went to a hotel where you go to
the check in desk and they pour you a free
beer at check in.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Might as well, you know, they got to get you
started somehow. You know. The casino doesn't live on hopes
and dreads, you know. And it's a Moulton.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
The lady says, now, this is a beer called Moulson.
And I was laughing because you know, I grew up
watching Don Cherry on Channel nine and Hockey Night in Canada.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
I know what a Molson is. I know it's hilarious.
But you know a lot of people from the West,
don't you know. Well, I appreciated the gesture. It was
just cute. Yeah, No, it's great. You know, as you're
sitting there waiting to fill out your paperwork and sign
all your things away for your room to wait for
your keys, I just don't have a drink.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
It softens the blow for sure. All kinds of celebrities
of coming here, haven't think.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Yeah, we've seen some great people in here. It's been awesome.
You know, a lot of people come in cognito. We
don't even see him and know and next you know,
we see a social media post kind of thing. You know,
it's like, all right, look stopped you you.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Know, there's Lewis Hamilton come in the Ferrari driver.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
You know. But it's been great, you know, like you know,
all of a sudden, you're kind of walking in and
there's Dana White hanging out with his crew and just
eating and all that stuff. So it's good.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
No, there's another White House invitation for you, and he
has that wrestling match on the South launch.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
I don't right, hopefully you know, well, thank you very.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Much for the time and congratulations on this business. And
if you come to the d you're having a coney dog.
And if you're going downtown Detroit for the Thanksgiving Parade
or the Lions game, or any time, say hi to
Grace Carros at American Coney Island.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Thank you. So much.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Of this is Chris buck with Michigan Reimagined podcast. And
when it comes to managing your finances and planning for
your future, I suggest you contact my friends at Wagoner Financial.
Whether you're just getting started, getting ready to retire, or
anywhere in between, Wagoner Financial can help you make smart
financial decisions. Don't navigate a complex problem on your own.
Wagoner as the expertise to help you feel confident that
you're making the right financial choices. Contact an advisor by
(09:22):
calling five one seven eight five three three three sixty
seven or visit their website at wagonerhyphen Financial dot com.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
Our path to a top ten state is only as
strong as our strength of commitment. It's time to compete
to win. When we do better by our kids, invest
in people, accelerate our economy, and get the fundamentals right,
we will feel a powerful win in our sales that
will move Michigan over. That's a top ten state. Business
(09:50):
Leaders for Michigan is the state's business roundtable. We're committed
to make Michigan more competitive. Time to be bold, Michigan,
It's time to compete.
Speaker 5 (09:59):
To When it comes to healthcare costs, we often focus
on one thing, our insurance premiums. But what if we're
only seeing part of the picture. The truth is our
health insurance costs reside downstream at the end of the
cost equation. But to really understand what's driving up costs,
we need to look upstream to the healthcare system itself. Upstream,
(10:20):
there are costs like the price is charged by hospitals
and doctors, and the cost of prescription drugs, healthcare administration,
and technology. These costs flow downstream directly into your health
insurance premium. That's why Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
is advocating for a system wide solution to address the
rising cost of healthcare. Blue Cross knows that healthcare is personal,
(10:43):
needs to work for everyone, and affordability matters, and that
starts with shedding light on the entire cost equation, from
upstream costs to downstream premiums. Want to learn more, visit
miibluedaily dot com. Slash Affordability
Hello, Detroit.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
One fronts, Well, I'm walking down the street and I
see American Coney Island and I duck in there, and
I see Jovacari's Andiamo and then I see Bar Canada
and there's a hockey stick with moleson Canadian and the
(00:27):
bats blue.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
And I thought, am I in Detroit?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
And I'm not.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
I'm in Las Vegas.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
And so is Chris Sodoropolis, who's running at least one
of these businesses and more in Las Vegas where you've
brought Michigan and Detroit with a Lansing background to business here.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
It's been over a decade now, hasn't it. Yeah, we've
been here now in Las Vegas for twelve years. So yeah,
it's been in Greek twelve years here at the beach,
you know, here on Fremont Street. So the hotel is
called The D. We're broadcasting this week for the F
one race.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
The name the D implies Detroit, but it's not necessarily
Detroit exclusive.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
How do you explain this? So the D has a
lot of different meanings. You know, obviously it has homage
Detroit because you know, we're here, and so is Andiamo's.
But also he has homage to the downtown, you know
for Downtown Freemastra. And also the guy who brought us
all here, Derek. You know, his nickname's d so you
know the d And I.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Can get a Zingerman's coffee around the corner here, or
go up and see our man there at Circa Paul
sagan On, one of the Zingerman's founders, who has that
deli there.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
So you make us feel at home here.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
But how did the idea and I'm sure you've told
the story a million times, but how did the idea
come about that you would be here?
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Did they come looking for you? Yeah, so they actually
came up to us. You know, I wasn't always part
of the family business. Grace was always at the leader
of the helm. And one day Derek walked in at
American Coney Island and introduced himself to Grace. Says, hey,
my name's Derek Stevens. I'm doing this in Vegas. I
love you guys. You know my dad brought me here.
(02:01):
I bring my kids here. You guys are a staple.
You know, we're doing it in Vegas and we want
you guys to be part of it. And you know,
next thing, you know, he's flying Grace out. I was
in California working for another company. Traveling Grace calls me
up and says, I want to do it, but I
need help. And that's where I kind of jumped in
kind of thing because I was already in the aspects
(02:22):
of you know, franchise or kind of thing, but with
this is not a franchise. It's his own but like
you know, running teaching people how to run their restaurants
from the farm.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
So you're like Michael Corleone, you thought you were out
and they pulled you back in pretty much.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
You know, that was my whole goal, you know, my
entire life. I grew up in the restaurant in history.
I miss Saturdays as a kid. You know, my son
who's nine now, you know, I was nine years old
and I was busting tables and serving coffee all day
and I didn't get to watch cartoons and all that,
and I grew up with it. An undergrad, you know,
worked in restaurants, and then after college I was out.
I worked in the Middle East. I had a great
(02:57):
job working for the royal family and that kind of
became obsolete after nine to eleven and started working doing
franchising and like with these guys for a Peter Sandwich franchise.
And then I was about to be out again. I
was gonna take a job as a VP of Toys
r US International in Jersey. Oh and then my sister,
(03:18):
you didn't do that international soil are on. So you
never know, is it? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (03:22):
But Mike wasn't the guy from the Wolverines, the athletic director.
Did he work there? Or did I dream that at
Toys r David Brandon?
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Didn't he go over there for a while? Think he did? Yeah,
So I don't know. I don't follow Michigan sports.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Didn't you go to Michigan Michigan stage, I'm got to
correct you're wiki?
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Yeah, I'm a sparty Wayne State after that? Right?
Speaker 2 (03:42):
No, I just oh, you know what I'm thinking of
Derek Stevens. Say, that's a different guy, you know, the
owner of this whole thing. Isn't that a point of
contention with you being a Spartan?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Then he's a Wolverine, Yeah, but you know it's one
of those things. He supports all Michigan sports. He's not,
you know, either Michigan Mischians, they've western all this.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Did you go to the White House this week. The
Saudi Prince MBS was there. It worked for him, didn't you.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
That was eons ago. So now I just focus on
hot dogs, hot dogs, burgers and wings. You know, that's
pretty much my costs on right now. Well, they weren't
serving that in Saudi Arabia. Yeah now, but that was
back in my supply chain days.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
So yeah, wow, that's fascinating. What can you share one
anecdote of what it was like to work in Saudi Arabia.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
With Saudi Arabia, it was great, you know, It's one
of those things they treated I was outsider, treated me
really well. So yeah, no complaints, you know what an adventurer.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Now, Grace comes on the program quite a bit, your sister,
Grace Carros And is it odd for you to be
outside of Detroit on Thanksgiving Day when the parade and
the Lions.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Are you going back? Here's the thing, I actually still
live in Detroit. I live in Northville. I because you know,
we have two other restaurants, you know, you Paul Saganaw.
You mentioned about Saginaw's Eli Also I started Victory Burger
and Wings the sports park there that we have lot
of heritage to Michigan. You know, we use Wolverine meats
and different things and fresh product that we get shipped.
(05:06):
And also you know up there at stadium, sim swim
the concessions there with Paul, he's on partners with him
on that. But I actually live in Northville. I'm and
I come down here about one week a month check
on everything. You know, I got my team here, I
got every location. You know, we got managers, we got
a director who kind of has been with me, my
right hand man for the last twelve years. And yeah,
(05:29):
I come back and forth. You know, I spend about
ten days a month here and the rest of my
time in downtown with Grace or you know, you.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Don't want to raise a family in Las Vegas.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
That's one of those things, you know, I got you.
I love Michigan. You know, I love Detroit, and you know,
Northfield's got one of the best school districts in the
state and country, and that's where you know what kind
of raise my kids up at. So give us a
little you know, we're living the high life this week
with the Formula one race and the Flying Circus comes
(05:58):
to town, as they do in places like the Middle East,
for instance.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
But when you are at Circa at Stadium Swim and
Circa is owned by Derek Stevens as well as the
d where we're sitting right now in an American Coney Island,
believe it or not. When Stadium Swim, when you're there,
you're going over there maybe to oversee the operation, check
in on things when it's at its finest.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
So describe the scene. See, well, just like any other
day club you'd see on people on vacation. You know,
you got about four thousand plus people all hanging out
in different pools and drinking and eating and just have
the time of their lives. It's pretty fun.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Actual and various types of clothing image I always you know,
everyone's got a bathing suit on.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
You know, we've all experienced the day club aspects. You know.
One of my favorite things is, you know, having like
March Madness. You know, we had a tradition with all
my college remates from Michigan State that every March Madness
we're always together at in Vegas watching basketball plays. And
one of the coolest thing is watching sparty you know,
in a pool, having a drink and making best at
(07:01):
the end. You know, So it's pretty fun. You know,
I found out.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
You know, I used to say, when you stay overnight
at a casino like fire Keepers in Michigan, you can
wake up at two in the morning and say, oh,
I feel like going down and rolling the bones. The
trick is here at the D you can wake up
at two in the morning and say, I feel like
too loose with mustards.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
You could have that here. You know. It's one of
those things. It's you know, America is pretty much run
on hotdog and beer, so we got you covered. You know. Well,
I noticed when you check into the D.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Now, I'm a travel writer, so I'm lucky.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
I've been all over the world.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I never went to a hotel where you go to
the check in desk and they pour you a free
beer at check in.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Might as well, you know, they got to get you
started somehow. You know. The casino doesn't live on hopes
and dreads, you know. And it's a Moulton.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
The lady says, now, this is a beer called Moulson.
And I was laughing because you know, I grew up
watching Don Cherry on Channel nine and Hockey Night in Canada.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
I know what a Molson is. I know it's hilarious.
But you know a lot of people from the West,
don't you know. Well, I appreciated the gesture. It was
just cute. Yeah, No, it's great. You know, as you're
sitting there waiting to fill out your paperwork and sign
all your things away for your room to wait for
your keys, I just don't have a drink.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
It softens the blow for sure. All kinds of celebrities
of coming here, haven't think.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Yeah, we've seen some great people in here. It's been awesome.
You know, a lot of people come in cognito. We
don't even see him and know and next you know,
we see a social media post kind of thing. You know,
it's like, all right, look stopped you you.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Know, there's Lewis Hamilton come in the Ferrari driver.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
You know. But it's been great, you know, like you know,
all of a sudden, you're kind of walking in and
there's Dana White hanging out with his crew and just
eating and all that stuff. So it's good.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
No, there's another White House invitation for you, and he
has that wrestling match on the South launch.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
I don't right, hopefully you know, well, thank you very.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Much for the time and congratulations on this business. And
if you come to the d you're having a coney dog.
And if you're going downtown Detroit for the Thanksgiving Parade
or the Lions game, or any time, say hi to
Grace Carros at American Coney Island.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Thank you. So much.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Of this is Chris buck with Michigan Reimagined podcast. And
when it comes to managing your finances and planning for
your future, I suggest you contact my friends at Wagoner Financial.
Whether you're just getting started, getting ready to retire, or
anywhere in between, Wagoner Financial can help you make smart
financial decisions. Don't navigate a complex problem on your own.
Wagoner as the expertise to help you feel confident that
you're making the right financial choices. Contact an advisor by
(09:22):
calling five one seven eight five three three three sixty
seven or visit their website at wagonerhyphen Financial dot com.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
Our path to a top ten state is only as
strong as our strength of commitment. It's time to compete
to win. When we do better by our kids, invest
in people, accelerate our economy, and get the fundamentals right,
we will feel a powerful win in our sales that
will move Michigan over. That's a top ten state. Business
(09:50):
Leaders for Michigan is the state's business roundtable. We're committed
to make Michigan more competitive. Time to be bold, Michigan,
It's time to compete.
Speaker 5 (09:59):
To When it comes to healthcare costs, we often focus
on one thing, our insurance premiums. But what if we're
only seeing part of the picture. The truth is our
health insurance costs reside downstream at the end of the
cost equation. But to really understand what's driving up costs,
we need to look upstream to the healthcare system itself. Upstream,
(10:20):
there are costs like the price is charged by hospitals
and doctors, and the cost of prescription drugs, healthcare administration,
and technology. These costs flow downstream directly into your health
insurance premium. That's why Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
is advocating for a system wide solution to address the
rising cost of healthcare. Blue Cross knows that healthcare is personal,
(10:43):
needs to work for everyone, and affordability matters, and that
starts with shedding light on the entire cost equation, from
upstream costs to downstream premiums. Want to learn more, visit
miibluedaily dot com. Slash Affordability
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