@ForkReporter | Hour 2

Burger King Closings
Jason Middleton Talks Macro
Fanny's Restaurant-Gianni Russo

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey, it's Neil Savedri. You'relistening to kf I Am six forty the
four Report on demand on the iHeartRadioapp. Don't forget. If you do
listen to us on the iHeartRadio app, there's a follow button that you can
press and that allows us to sendyour breaking news and the like from KFI.
So please do that. Don't forget. Twala Sharp coming in at five

(00:25):
o'clock right after us, and thenyou have Steve Gregory and Unsolved, and
then you have for the Coast,and then you have Coast to Coast and
then tomorrow morning at six am,it's the Jesus Christ Show, which is
live. So please if Tony's gottabe up, and as the producer,
I gotta be up, then pleasejoin us, keep us company. So

(00:49):
that's tomorrow at six am. Thanksfor that. Do you wanna do you
have time, Jason, you wantto chat or do you want to chat
a little bit later? Can yougive me a couple of minutes because I've
got an active news story going on, not a problem. Do what you
gotta do. I sprung it onyou. I was just going to start

(01:11):
down a different path and I thoughtI'll check you do you and I'll get
this news together. I'll do me, thanks man, I'm the only one
that would dare peace to do me. Okay, this is what made me
think of Jason Middleton, of course, who you can hear on Macro tomorrow.
As a matter of fact, twoto four, so Burger King is

(01:34):
set to close hundreds of restaurants,and this was going to make me go
down a financial focus, not onlywith this, but another story about Chipotle,
who is saying it's getting harder andharder to have restaurants in California.
And I think these things all cometogether in this particular case. You've got

(01:56):
Burger King set to close hundreds ofrestaurants. I like Burger King now,
I like most of the food chainsI'm you know. I loved McDonald's.
We didn't get a lot of fastfood as a kid. It just was
too expensive for a large family thatwas broke, so we didn't have a
lot of fast food. Occasionally wedid get McDonald's and talk about Those were

(02:21):
the two that I remember growing up, with a third member of that being
Windy's. Those were the ones thatwe had in our area and so I
enjoy many of them, probably theone I go to the least is maybe
Jack in the Box, and ithas nothing to say about their food.
It just was I guess never myjam. I've told you many times that

(02:46):
as far as Windy's goes, thatI think it's one of the most underrated
fast food joints on the planet.And that also ties into this because they
have fewer locations in California, becauseCalifornia is a pain in the butt to
deal with the politics. So allof these kind of things tied together in

(03:07):
this particular case when it comes toBurger King. There may be some other
connections, but you've got confirmations thatthey planned to close between three hundred four
hundred stores across the nation the firstquarter report comes out. Hundreds of Burger
King locations are closed every year,and right now they're looking at doing more.

(03:35):
These things happened because of many differentthings. The pandemic actually shifted a
lot of fast food arise in fastfood eating because it was one of the
few places that were open. Youremember, you couldn't sit at a place,
so you could go and you grab. But there are still still problems
of these restaurants getting back on theirfeet, so there'll be one hundred twenty

(04:00):
four Burger King locations that have alreadyshut down since just January one, and
that leaves ultimately fewer than seven thousandrestaurants in the United States. So it's
starting to get thinner, and maybethat's just not the jam for people.
Burger King. The Whopper is agreat burger, it's delicious. I'm not

(04:27):
crazy about their fries personally, andother things that they've tried. I know
they had sliders for a while Ithought was really great, but ultimately nothing
kept them afloat. And I thinkwe're going to see more and more of
these things happening. Places are justgoing to have a hard time keeping up

(04:50):
with different laws and finances, andif you're not busting out, if you're
not the one that's making the bestof the best at it's going to be
hard to stand out. Now,back to Chipotle, their CEO says doing
businesses in California is getting harder andharder, and the environment as a whole

(05:11):
stinks, and so they keep havingthese ambitions for growth in the state,
but they're wrestling with it. Sothey're examining currently the state's challenges and there's
a lot of places that they operatethat they talk about where it's just easier.

(05:34):
And as I said, chatting aboutWendy's talking to some of the owners,
I was like, I said,how come you know I have to
set it when I'm going for adrive. I set in my GPS where
there's a Wendy's. It where's therea Wendy's, and it will tell me.
And I asked, I said,how come it's so hard to find

(05:56):
Wendy's the but you know every offram is going to have a McDonald's.
And I was told that it's becausepolitics and everything else makes it very difficult
to have these fast food places inCalifornia, just easier to have them other

(06:17):
places. So if you go toother parts of the country, you're going
to find out that it's like there'sWendy's all over the place. I think
this is going to cause bigger problemsin the long run. I think right
now you have McDonald's has I don'tknow three maybe new restaurants that are completely

(06:40):
under you know, personed, it'scompletely it's all you do it on your
phone, or you do it ona kiosk and you've got somebody watching over
things. But that's it. Thereis no I mean, it's it's people
are worried about AI and all ofthat, and they'll be plenty of time
to worry about that, but rightnow you're gonna have robots, more robots,

(07:06):
more robots taking these jobs and takingover that, and that's the only
way they're going to be able tomake these things happen. I mean,
fast food is supposed to be quickand it's supposed to be easy. However,
now it's the cost is rising,minimum wage. I know there's an

(07:30):
argument for all these things, butultimately, I think we're going to see
a massive change in fast food inparticular, and here in California, I
think we're going to see another waveof a change for restaurants. I mean,
we thought, hey, they're comingback, it's going to be great,
and then you have the city andthe powers that be coming out saying

(07:55):
okay, but now you're gonna haveto be permitted for the decks that you
belt and all this. And Iget that there's got to be some safety
stuff and all that, but allthese costs going into it, the cost
of food going up, all ofthese things, I don't know what the
experience is going to be on theflip side places not being able to find

(08:16):
help or staff a place. Ihad some friends that are opening up a
new pizzeria that I'm very very schefdriven, very excited about it, and
I hit them up sat ed loveto have you on the show. They
say, oh, that's great,We're not ready yet. We're still having
staffing issues, I mean, evento open. So I all these little

(08:43):
stories are coming together pointing to thesame thing. There's going to be a
massive change going on the way weexperience food. And I don't know who
the last folks standing are going tobe, you know, I just don't.
And I love all of the piecesof the puzzle. I love chain

(09:05):
restaurants, I love fast food restaurants, I love mom and pop joints,
I love schef drivins. I loveit all, but it all kind of
has to be there for the wholething to work, you know, the
whole system to work out. Soanyways, something's a bruin. As these

(09:28):
things continue to get more difficult andmore difficult. You're listening to the Fork
Report with Niels of Adra on demandfrom KFI Amzi forty. Don't forget to
follow us on that app not justlisten to us there, but follow and
that way you will get breaking newsfrom KFI. And if we're having special
guests on a show, anything thatwe feel you'd want to know, we
can send out to you. Ido it again. That's not to say

(09:52):
I'm better than you, but maybea little bit because I get the news,
so maybe you should do it allright, I think I gave everything
else right. Who I am,what we are, what we do here
on the Fork Report. Don't forgetyou've got Twalla Sharp for Soul Cow Saturdays.
Don't shake your head at me.You just don't say it with the

(10:15):
soul you know you need the SoulCow Saturdays like you're all soul Cow Saturdays.
Soul You see the difference. No, you know. I have a
picture of you, Miss Kayla,when Twala was in here during a break
and he and I were speaking aboutabout Star Wars or something, and the
look on your disapproving face was sohorrible. I'm going to make a meme

(10:41):
of it. Please do not dothat. I support you. Were just
not happy, That's all I'm saying. Any who, Welcome, Welcome,
one and all. Always a greattime to have three hours together and to
chat about food. I wanted tobring Jason Middleton in and talk about Of
course, Jason Middleton is not onlydo you hear on the news, but

(11:03):
he is a great resource for financesthat we use here, including his show
that's on tomorrow from two to fourcalled Macro. He kind of clears out
the garbage and really focuses on,you know, what really means the talk
of the town when it comes tomoney and what it means to you.

(11:24):
So I was chatting with back andforth. We were texting and talking a
little bit about what's going on withfood. He was excited some eggs are
coming down and things like that,so we wanted to pull him in.
What's what's well? Let me goingon, sir. Thank you first,
thanks for the intro. That's that'scool because what you just did talking about
AI and the fast food industry inthe last segment is kind of what I

(11:45):
tried to do on this show too. There's a lot of click bait headlines
coming out about artificial intelligence. Nowthat doesn't mean that all of it is
crazy. It is it is crazy, but some of it's really stupid too,
So we try not to do that. Now, the AI effect on
the fast food industry. Definitely somethingthat effects labor force. Talk about something
macroeconomic, nothing more than you know, wages, labor force, unemployment.

(12:05):
So just wanted to shout out aboutthat too. Also, so do you
feel do you feel that that's goingto be what controls robotics and that in
that there's going to be less needfor crew staff or machines are going to
get smarter. What is it thatis going to change? I wish I
could be definitive about this. Iwant to say, yes, it's going

(12:26):
to replace certain things. But andyou're going if you're going through a drive
through and you're getting responses and it'sit's displaying on the old screen, you
can review. A lot of thatis already AI. A lot of that
is already voice recognition and reply.So the person inside could be seeing the
screen at the same time you're seeingthe screen, and it's making sure the
order is correct. You're not necessarilyalways talking to a human when you're going

(12:48):
through those drives. That's one.The second one is you know Amazon had
those stores in San Francisco, justa couple of blocks down from the studio
where I used to work, andyou could walk in if you registered,
you could walk in, take whichyou went and just walk out. Oh
yeah, we have them out hereas well. Yeah, well those closed
in San Francisco. Well we're allintelligence. Well that's that's before everything started

(13:09):
to go south and on Market Street. But um, but they closed one
way before things went south, andthen this one is just closing recently.
And Rich de Muro earlier today wastalking about on his show as well.
Oh he had a fascinating point aboutthat. Rich who's heard from eleven to
two here on KFI, made astatement that he helped or his wife helped

(13:30):
somebody by grabbing at one of thosestores, those Emazon's stores, grabbing something
off the top of the shelf tohelp someone and then got charged for it,
right because the store saw her takeit. Right. And so the
next time he went to the store, somebody asked him to help her,
this old woman, help her withsomething, and he said no. And
he's the nicest guy on the phone, the nicest guy I've ever met.

(13:54):
But but for Rich would be like, I'm really sorry, I can't do
that. He was trying to makea point to himself, I think more
than anything. But yeah, butso AI is not there yet now it's
going to disrupt almost everything, andthere's always going to be bad guys technology.
Look, I tell people all thetime, a hammer is a piece
of technology. You can build ahouse, you can kill your neighbor.
Technology can be used either way.Wow, this went dark, Yes,
But I do think that I thinkthe upsides to AI are going to be

(14:16):
better. I think that white collarpurge is a little bit more prevalent right
now that fast food workers. Iffast food workers made more money, they
might come after those a little bitfaster. I think that we've already seen
a little bit of displacement already there. Though I've been enjoying the AI,
everyone always does its oppenheimer after it'sdone. Oh I wish I didn't do
this. But you know, we'renot dropping bombs on everybody either. Now

(14:39):
we have them. Some could arguethat they've kept us from having wars and
that all you need to do isto drop one or two and everybody goes,
Okay, we don't want to godown that path. I think you
should understand the tech first, andso that's my job right now. I'm
learning about prompts, understanding how AIworks, how you engage with it,

(15:00):
as a human and so far I'menjoying it. I know that there are
problems. Like you said, everythingyou know, books aren't evil, well
the words maybe if you want to, if you want to protect the labor
force and the society at large,get in front of it with some regulation.
This was my soapbox last week onthe show. On my show,

(15:22):
was that getting in front of itwith regulation. Can't we learn from our
past mistakes by being behind on everythingwhen it comes to this, including digital
and cryptocurrency for instance. We couldhave been in front of that too.
So I don't want to get toofar off of it. I do have
you do have to think about that, but yes, and I do think
now. It was a positive signthat at least the White House. You
know, it was virtue signaling ina lot of ways, but it still

(15:43):
they had people at the White Housethis week to talk about AI and possible
regulation. They had some of theright players in the room. So that's
a great start. So we're alreadya little bit ahead of the game.
I just hope we can stay upthere a little bit. Agreed real quickly.
Egg prices, food prices coming backdown. Wholesale egg prices are going
to hit a dollar in about twoweeks. So that that's what that's what
the retailers pay the wholesalers. Idig that, But that's going to be

(16:03):
the lowest then almost exactly two years. Wow. So the the supply and
demand, you know, being outof flux, out of flocks, I'd
do it. Eggs that coming through. Look, it was as a buck
twenty two last week wholesale. Okay, in December it was five dollars forty
six wholesale, and in about twoweeks it's going to hit right around a

(16:26):
dollar, it looks like. Sowe've cleared out the avian flu situation,
we've cleared out the pandemic black swanevent that we all had to go through
economically, and finally the eggs aregoing to come in at what they should
have been all along. Do youthink the farmers or powers that be might
try and push it for a littlelonger. I don't think so. In

(16:47):
a few reasons. I listened toa lot of read a lot of earnings
reports last week, and retailers arestarting to admit in earnings calls with shareholders,
hey we may not be able tokeep these prices. That's high for
very long, because consumers are gettingwise and I think the same thing is
going to happen. I think thatthe expectation has changed. We all were
used to the whole. Hey,we have a supply chain creat chink in

(17:07):
it, and it's just it's that'snot the case anymore. Good and best
for restaurants and breakfast houses and allof that. Who have just been taken
in the shorts again. Awesome JasonMiddleton. He's a stud you can listen
to and the only guy I've everseen walk around here barefoot. I'm not
gonna get into all right, let'sI'm sure Robin, nobody's hurt, nobody

(17:30):
heart Neil, I've been here thirtyyears, first time any who, Jesus
doesn't even walk around here barefoot,So just saying all right, But you
can listen to him tomorrow from twoto four on macro So please do,
please, please do. You're listeningto The Fork Report with Neil Savedra on
demand from KFI amziz forty. Don'tforget to follow us on that app.

(17:52):
It is the Fork Report. I'mNeil Savedra, and of course i'm your
friendly neighborhood Fork Reporter don't forget yougot Tell of Sharp coming up at five,
and then at seven you've got Unsolvedwith Steve Gregory, and and then
tomorrow morning, don't forget, you'vegot The Jesus Show Live, which I
produced, and Tony Engineers. Soif we've got to be up, you'd

(18:17):
be up please, starting at six. So no joke. Recently, before
we get to our next guest,I had, you know, every time
they change our information here at thestation for whatever reason. Then I changed
my phone and it dumped not thenumbers, but a bunch of names on
my phone, and I thought Iknew who it was from, and I

(18:41):
was right, but I had todo that thing, that awkward thing where
you have to go I'm sorry,I know, and then people don't believe.
I'm like, no, seriously,you're in my phone. There's just
no name attached. It was ChristinaGonzales from Fox eleven and saying that she
was listening, but which is verysweet. She's, uh, if you're
not familiar, a very amazing person, been on the forefront of news and

(19:04):
events here in Los Angeles for quitesome time. But I just think it's
funny, and I thought it washer and there's something that I had memory.
Maybe we had text in the past, but anyways, so that was
very nice. But it made melaugh. And she was giving a shout
out to Arby's. She's like,what about Arby's. I do like Arby's,
I do, I just never havebeen around. They're one of those

(19:26):
ones that two are few and farbetween, little of all things. Both
those are real close to my house. Both and get the curly fries from
the ARBs. Yeah, yeah,the beef and chatter. Come on,
that was like high school. Yeah, you just don't. They're just they're
they're few and far between. SoI agree with that little shout out there.

(19:47):
Um, okay, So we havebeen wanting to introduce you to a
bunch of people. Some good folkshave been on with us before. We
wanted to talk about the folks fromFanny's Restaurant and we got Gianno Russi rather
Russo can you bring them up forme? Tony, Hey, welcome back
to the FOURK Report. Hey areyou there? I'm here, man,

(20:11):
there you are? How are you? I'm great? How are you guys
doing excellent? Bring us up tospeed. What's going on in my life?
I'm I'm as signed. Yeah,I don't know how deep you have
to go. It's not an onion. We're trying to appeal here. Okay.
Well, the thing is that fortunatelyat Fanny's last Sunday, they gave

(20:37):
me the honor of featuring me todo the tour of the Godfather exhibit.
And then we had a dinner whichthe company I'm involved with them the Grand
Ambassador to quarterly on fine Italian foods. We did an amazing four course dinner

(20:57):
three hundred people, and now we'regoing to do this every Sunday thereafter at
Fanny's at the Academy Museum of theMotion Pictures. Now we this was a
big deal when you guys were open. Of course, there was a lot
of stuff going on with the pandemiclike, but the Academy Museum of Motion

(21:19):
Pictures is yeah, now open andFanny's is a major part of that,
and you're going to be doing someof these themed things about this particular event.
What the focus was on foods themedfor the Godfather. You have the

(21:40):
from the olive oil and it isan Italian olive oil and the culinary collection
there from the motion picture. Isthat fair to say? Well, mess
beyond that, because what we haveis jenkoalive oil, and we also have
every character like Clemenzo's meat sauce wasspeeched this Sunday. Now we have Sunny's

(22:06):
Hot and Spicy, we have Alfredo'sAlfredo sauce. So every Sunday you go
there, you're going to experience anew flavor based on a character from the
movie. Unfortunately has been fifty twoyears, so it's not a new brand.
It's a brand that's been well establishedand we're happy to say we're in

(22:27):
seventy three countries and about to gointo Beijing, China. Well, it's
just amazing and you being a partof the iconic motion picture, how does
this make you feel? And jumpinginto tying in the food with the film
that is so beloved, Well,it's it's fifty two years that I got

(22:52):
involved in this film and now youknow, it's part of a legacy and
I have something that will lead togenerations of my own because of the fact
that Paramount Viacom and CBS had givenus the rights for the world for everything
digestible, So it's a pretty bigdeal for me. Actor and host of

(23:15):
this event, Gianni Russo who playsportrays Carlo Rezi of Courrizi. Of course,
what the in this particular way bringingit to life via food? What
are some of the memories? Wasfood? You know, food takes a
place in the film throughout the filmin different scenes. Was there you know,

(23:36):
was there food that was actually usedin scenes or was it all kind
of prop food that you had topretend to eat? Oh? No,
no, I mean when you thinkabout certain scenes, like you're saying that
we're replicating. When they put upthe Science of gentle Olive oil, that

(23:56):
was truly a novel of oil fromSicily, and you know, I we
own that mark. And then whenClemenza the character was seaching Michael how to
make a sauce when you have togo to the mattresses, when families go
to war, you have to cookfor a hundred people. So we had

(24:18):
the ingenuity of incorporating scenes and charactersand made a collection of the quarterlyon Fine
Italian Foods. And if you goonline, anybody that's listening, go to
quarterleone find Italian Foods and you'll seeall of this is available to you.
Wow, hang tight, we're gonnatake a quick break. We're going to

(24:41):
come back. This this concept ofgoing this coming up on April thirtieth,
an exclusive dinner menu. It's inspired, No, we're coming, We're coming
up again, or this every monthor every Sunday, right, every Sunday.
But it started on April thirtieth.Sorry about that. So it started
on April thirtieth and then you andit changes slightly the menu as it goes

(25:02):
on Sunday by Sunday. And whenis this going to go on at infinitum?
Or is does this have an enddate? Well, they told us
that the exhibits going to be thereto twenty twenty four, So do you
do the fifty two Sundays and temmand you are, oh, I'm in.
So this is a very special dinneropportunity. And the host, of

(25:25):
course, as actor Gianni Russo,who is with us. Now, we'll
come back talk more about the foodof such an amazing film like The Godfather.
As this all takes place there atthe Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
Stick around, we'll be back withmore. You're listening to The Fork Report
with Neil Savedra on demand from KFIamzix forty. Hey everybody, it's the

(25:47):
Fork report all things food, beverageand beyond. I am your well fed
host, Neil Savedra, how doyou do? Thanks for hanging out with
us today. Obviously this is aplace where we just enjoy food, celebrate
it, talked about the culture behindit, cool things going on in the
city, people you should know,and cooking at home and everything in between.

(26:11):
There's a really an event that isan elongated event going on at Fanny's
Restaurant in Cafe of course that islocated at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
And to talk about this particular happening, it started on April Sunday,
April thirtieth. Now we're in Mayand it's going to be going on Sundays.

(26:33):
It sounds like it's going to begoing for quite a while. And
it's a menu inspired by the foodreferences from The Godfather. And to talk
about that and fill us in ona little bit of what's going on is
Gianni Russo. Of course, heplayed Carlo Ritzie in the nineteen seventy two
film The Godfather, also in Godfathertwo Welcome Back. So, the the

(27:00):
foods, the authenticity of the foodsyou growing up in little Italy, if
I'm not mistaken, has got tobe important to you. Well, not
only that I'm from Sicily. Andit's ironic that Mario Puzo wrote that Don
Corteleone was born eighteen ninety. Ijust bought a macaroni company in Corterleone that

(27:26):
was created in eighteen ninety. Sonot only is our pasta a part of
the creation in a fictitious way,it's part of the creation in a realistic
way. So all our digestibles aretotally authentic. And that's why I'm so
inspired to be a part of this. And obviously, as you mentioned,

(27:49):
I was in the movie and what'sbetter than that? Oh, the combination,
you can't ask for more. There'ssomething special, not only about The
Godfather. It really changed moviemaking,and the food from Italy that has come
to the States that has changed.It is still to this day considered to

(28:12):
be the most loved food in theUnited States. Why do you think the
longevity of the film and longevity ofItalian food that's so special? Well,
you know, I think the longevityof the food itself. It's always as
we could far back as we canremember, the Italian restaurant some pizza and

(28:34):
all that has been part of theItalian culture. But I think the Godfa
the movie itself through are people whoare not interested in it to be a
part of it. And I watchedso many wannabes now dressing like characters through
the years. In fact, Iwatched the transition from John Gotti going from

(28:56):
sweatsuits to ties, and I,why did you change? Is all?
They were all influenced by Michael andSonny Cordleone, which I thought was funny,
you know. Yeah, So it'sweird when you go back and see
all the hurdles or learn about allthe hurdles that needed to be respected at

(29:18):
the time. The term mafia isnot even used in the film, if
I'm not mistaken, and all thesethings and that, yet the film also
influenced Mafioso's so interesting. That's interesting. You should bring that up because anybody
knows the history. The only reasonI got the Pot and the Godfather I

(29:40):
was not an actor. And theItalian Anti Defamation League was created by a
good friend of mine and was representedby Barry Schlatnick, attorney, and I
saw an opportunity to step in becausethey were trying to boycott the film from
me even being made, and fortunatelywe were able to influence the people at

(30:03):
Paramant and got the cooperation the unionsand the locations. And I got my
reward was I got the part ofCarla Rizzy, which was a significant part.
And I'm not an actor. Iwasn't an actor, so to me,
it's changed my life, I meanimmensely. But you sang before you

(30:25):
performed right prior to the film.No, I did nothing. But I'm
the only person in the world Icould say. Malon Brando was my only
acting teacher. Frank Sinato was theonly singing teacher. And I was a
messenger for the mob as a kid. That's my whole you know. Invection,
I gotta tell you jokingly at thebeginning, talking about you know,

(30:48):
your life, we could. Iwant to go to this dinner and I
want you to sit at my tablebecause I'm not even gonna start with Marylyn
Monroe. I'm not gonna start withany of this stuff. I want to
sit down and talk to you.I appreciate you taking the time. If
for those that want to learn more, go to Fanny's La f a n

(31:10):
n YSLA dot com. This dinnerlooks amazing. It's on Sunday nights.
You can't make reservations through Resie,but you can call and make reservations there
at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictureswhere Fannies is and get in on this
dinner that is hosted by Gianni Russo, who has taken his time to come

(31:33):
chat with us. You're a fascinatingguy, and I hope we bump into
each other at one of these meals, because I have many more questions for
you, sir, and I thankyou for the privilege of being on your
show. The privilege was all mine. Brother, have a wonderful, wonderful
day, and I appreciate your time. It is The Fork Report. I'm
Neil Savedra. This is KFI andKSTHD to Los Angeles, Orange County.

(31:55):
You're listening to The Fork Report withNeil Savedra on demand from f I AM six forty