WEBVTT
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Good day everybody.
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Welcome back to The Deal podcast.
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Gus, welcome to the studio, man.
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Um, why don't you tell us a little bit about who you are and what do you do?
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Thank you so much guys for having me.
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Um, born in Brazil, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
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Uh, uh, got my whole family still back home.
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Mom, dad, sister, everybody back home.
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Um, grew up playing tennis, uh, you know, since I was eight years old.
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And, uh.
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My dad told me that you, you got some talent we need to explore.
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And, um, from there, you know, basically not only myself but my whole family, my immediate family dedicated our lives to really invest on, on me as a tennis player.
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Um, played.
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All over the world by the time I was 12 years old, uh, traveling.
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And it became clear that, you know, like any other country except for United States, uh, collegiate sports are inexistent all around the world.
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So I knew there was a decision to be made when I graduated from high school that, you know, if I want to continue to play tennis, either I'm gonna be a full-time professional, which I knew how hard I was going to be.
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Or hopefully I'll get an opportunity to go to United States and play college tennis.
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Um.
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In a university.
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So in my, you know, 15 years old got started getting some offers, you know, from some universities, and, uh, realized that, you know, hopefully I'll end up in the States.
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Originally, my, my dream was literally just to graduate, undergrad, uh, at that time, you know, in the mid nineties.
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Graduating from, uh, United States College was a huge deal, bigger than it is today in the sense that you get your bachelor degree and you go back, you're gonna be in good shape.
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Obviously, as the world became more connected, um, still very much of a value, but not as much.
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And, uh, you know, people now will go deeper into grad school and all that.
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So as I evolve into, uh, uh.
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My, my few years in college, it became clear that I think I'm gonna stay in this place if I can find a way to stay here, you know, so moved to the United States in 97, um, started college in 98.
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Uh, graduated with a, uh, four year degree in, uh, marketing and management, Georgia Southwest State University, where Jimmy Carter's from President Jimmy Carter.
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Well, he's from Plains, five minutes away from America's, Georgia.
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And, um.
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When my coach recruited me, he told me, you're gonna be right outside Atlanta, you know, and I'm from a big city, Sao Paulo, 18 million people, you know, and didn't speak any English in the mid nineties.
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And when I got to Atlanta, little did I know that America's, Georgia was three hours south from Atlanta.
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You know, good news, I had a good scholarship, but I lived in a very small town called Americas, Georgia, which I'm very grateful for the years there, but.
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It was quite an adjustment for me, you know, living where we were from and the, the bustling of a big city, but quickly adjusted into South Georgia.
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You know, when they told me Americas, it was like, it must be an awesome town.
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Yeah,
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Americas America, let's go.
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And turns out that it was quite a, a transition for me, but very, very blast at.
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I got the scholarship and I got to get my education, you know, uh, free of charge.
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Very lucky, you know, thankful for the investments my parents made for me to get there.
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And, uh, into my first couple summers in college, I went to get a job in New York City to teach tennis.
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And, um, I was in, um, in South Hampton, uh, teaching on the weekends.
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And, uh, I met some folks from Louisiana.
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Uh, at that time they were developing the River Ranch development.
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Uh, some of the guys coaching the camp were also Louisiana residents.
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That one was a coach at UL and one was a, a coach at Troy University.
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And we connected, we became good friends.
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They said, look, you're not coming back here next summer.
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You're going back to South Louisiana.
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There is a new club called City Club and you're gonna come teach for us there in the summer rather than go to back to New York City.
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So following year, I believe I was a sophomore.
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I drove I 10, made my first trip, stay at a member's house, and, uh, began my life in Lafayette as far as connecting, creating, network, and creating, you know, some relationships.
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And came back my final two years in college and got offered a job.
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Robert Dego at that time.
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Um, rest in peace past last year, uh, has been a huge influence for me.
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And, uh, offered me opposition to not only teach tennis and be able to start my financial career, my professional career, but also open up doors for marketing and business within the development where, you know, projects like Rhythms on the River.
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I was very involved in the beginning and I always had an affinity for production and for creating experiences and, um, so City Club and River Ranch really opened up the doors for me after my few years in college.
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Getting to know some people and creating some business network and obviously some strong friendships and moved here full time in 2004.
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After graduating from college, my dad drove me out here after playing.
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The, uh, national finals in Mobile and dropped me off at the Grove Plantation.
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Uh, at that time, I believe it was where, uh, KFC was right there on C Sao and gave me a little money.
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Open a bank account at Hibernia Bank, Hibernia Capital One now, and, uh, got me a little futon.
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I said, look, go, you know, get started.
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Uh, call us if you need, you know, and, um.
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From there, I, I began kind of, you know, building my, my family and my career here in Lafayette and like I was mentioning to you guys off, off air, you know, but South Louisiana is so similar to the culture in South Brazil, despite the language difference.
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It was, it was kind of, you know, living in Georgia and New York and different states.
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You know, Louisiana is, is such a kind of Caribbean mix, you know, there's so much going on in the state, culturally speaking, and family bonds and, you know, the way we eat, the way we party, the way we come together, very different from the rest of the country.
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And, uh, it really brought me, it made me feel like home.
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Uh, and, uh, fast forward.
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I'm here for a long time now.
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You know, I, I've been living here longer than I've lived in Brazil, you know, so became a, um, an American citizen.
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I believe now going on close to 10 years.
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Um, thankfully for my wife, of course, as most of y'all know, the, the legal structure for citizenship in this country at times can be very challenging.
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You know, we went, I went through several different types of visas, rather, was student visa, specialty visa, work visa.
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And at some point you run out and you hit the wall and the government says, what are you gonna do?
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Um, if you don't have a deep pocket to, you know, apply for specific strategic visas, you, you have to, uh, you know, figure out other ways.
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Luckily, I, I was in a relationship with my wife now of, you know, we're about to be 12 years married next, uh, next Friday, two amazing voice, uh, Luca, Marco, and, um, so I'm very grateful for Catherine to, you know, really support me and, um.
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Love me and allow me to, you know, help me, you know, stay in, you know, after 20 some years, um, which, you know, another conversation for another day when it comes to, you know, immigration and all that.
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But, you know, it, I, I was lucky that I was able to transition in a, in a proper way without any sort of hiccups.
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Um, as I know a lot of friends don't have the same luck, so, you know, love Lafayette.
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Um, I learned what means to be a community person in this town.
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You know, we didn't really learn in Brazil.
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There's a lot of skepticism and cynicism in Brazil about politics, such a big town.
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So it's very hard to create that community bond unless you know people.
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But not until I came to Louisiana really, you know, and meeting people, um, like your brother Jude, um, so many people there.
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Really don't have any business in putting so much time into the community.
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And it's a thing here, you know, and I think Americans in general really put the time into, connect the dots with the community.
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So to me that was another passion of mine that grew and I'm very grateful for this town for all the opportunities that, you know, me and my family have been able, and of course my partner and our team, you know, so it's been a interesting role for me.
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You know, uh, I'm very, very proud and humble that I get to speak to you guys and share a little bit about it.
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So.
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Hmm.
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Well grateful for the story here.
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I like listening to you.
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It's a mix between the accent, the hand gestures and the movement.
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And it, it's like, uh, I have a lot of friends from, from Brazil occasion.
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Right?
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Exactly.
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Exactly.
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So, um.
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You mentioned your, your first kind of job, right?
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You were training in tennis, but you, you got offered in a position by Robert, right?
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Correct.
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And you became a mentor and advisor.
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What was that, kind of like that first job that set you in your, into your career and then, like, what is it that you do?
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Yeah, that's a good question.
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Yeah.
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Sometimes I ask myself the same, but, uh,
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yeah.
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Um, I think, I think what became clear was when I graduated with an undergrad in marketing and business, the, the opportunities were very basic, right?
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You go into a sales position, you go into a corporate position, and you know, we, I was lucky to have those positions, but I've always fell with my bone.
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You know, I, I started working.
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Out of a need, you know, uh, when I was 14 years old, I was good enough of a tennis player to begin teaching adults at that age already.
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And, um, we went through a rough patch financially with my family where, where there was some really big corruption in the country and things sets got frozen.
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And, and I remember how stressful that was for my dad.
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My dad was a chemical engineer for a big oil farm in Brazil.
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But nonetheless it affected us big time.
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And um, I was lucky to get offered to.
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Not only teach a few nights a week after practice to beginner adults, but I went to a Jesuit school up to my junior year in high school, and in 97 there was a Brazilian player called Gustavo Kean, same name as me, Guga, you know, and he was the first tennis player ever in Brazil that won three French opens.
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And so he became a sensation in the country.
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People are like, is that why your name Gus?
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I was like, well, he's only two years older than me, you know?
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Uh, but nonetheless what happened was at, when I left that Jesuit school, because I got a better, a better scholarship to finish high school, that Jesuit school called me, says, why don't you come teach the kids here?
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Because tennis was blowing up.
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So it was a very interesting experience that I got to go back to the school that I wanted to finish senior year, but because of a, a better opportunity, I moved.
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But I still get you.
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I got you.
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So it is always been kind of in my blood to, to work, figure it out.
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So, and I knew that tennis opened so many doors.
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You know, I knew that I could create network through tennis because I, from the moment I started traveling as a young kid, I made a lot of connections.
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So when I met those guys in New York, I knew that when I graduated I can take the easy way out, which is to find a job.
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Corporate, whatever that was.
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Or I could go back to tennis and, and continue to grow the network and then see where I can go as an entrepreneur.
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So when I went to City Club and when I, when I moved full time in 2004, river Entry was still kind of growing Right.
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Development wise.
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And they were, you know, starting to develop other developers within the state.
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So.
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Jordan, uh, Robert's son, Jordan Dago now running the developments and we still have a lot of collaboration with them, a lot of activation.
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We do a lot of work for them.
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He was a tennis prodigy, you know, so when I moved full-time, Jordan was still nine, 10 years old, but already number one state.
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So I became kind of his full-time coach and became very close to the Dago family.
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And I always told Robert, Robert, any opportunities that may arise.
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Outside from tennis, please keeping me mind.
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And he will come to me and say, Hey guys, we're building the ban Law firm.
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Do you want to open a pest control company?
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Or you wanna open a janitorial business?
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You know?
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And um, so my first business, two years before Katrina in 2003, as I was still teaching tennis and creating events and tournaments and being very active, a city club in River Ranch, uh, was a, a janitorial company.
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We, my, my partner and I at that time, Chad Abert.
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Open h and r Professional Cleaning Services.
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A Bear Zen, which still exists today, is owned by our manager of 15 years ago.
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She bought us out and all the cleaning that we need, we still hire h and r today, which is super sweet to see that family take that company to the next level.
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So I've always felt.
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That I was not gonna be tied to one place.
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And, um, had a, had a, you know, a knack for creating things, putting people together, uh, creating investment opportunities.
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And, um, from that development of the cleaning company, I ended up, you know, selling my shares to Chad and jumped on a new opportunity.
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When Robert came to me one day, I was actually hitting tennis balls with him, was like, I just went to Destin.
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We have a condo there, there is a. There's a concept there called Tropical Smoothie Cafe.
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And uh, at that time, Robert and Rodney were looking into possibly putting a smoothie king or something to that in the Square River range.
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And he's like, would you be interested in being a managing partner?
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You know, go learn about this industry.
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No problem.
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So ship me down to Destin and, uh, I learned about Tropical Smoothie.
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This is going on well back in 2010.
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So we opened a tropical smoothie location.
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Um.
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Obviously we learned a lot.
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The location was challenging, the concept was unknown.
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You know, in the Louisiana today, you know, thousands of locations owned by a, uh, investment company in Atlanta is a thriving, uh, uh, uh, franchise.
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And, uh.
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So as we were struggling after a couple years operating Tropical Smoothie, I saw this guy on Scrubs showing up and BJ Chris, which now is my full-time business partner, and uh, he was in the medical sales, graduated from ul, played football free while, so we kind of had that sports connection, became good friends and.
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He was in a search for a new business outside of the medical business and uh, he liked tropical smoothie.
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And as I was kind of, you know, having my first failure out of many and that the location wasn't working for us, he was opening his new location.
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'cause we didn't control the territory.
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So he was opening the oil center.
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Um, we ended up closing River Ranch and BJ and I, BJ opened his tropical smoothie with his partner and Bahi and I somehow got into businesses and we bought into Dick's Daiquiris.
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I don't know if y'all remember on Call Salon Today.
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Uh, we, we owned a real estate, but we operated Dick's Daiquiris at Daiquiris Shop for 10 years.
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We purchased Jefferson Strip Pub.
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That's how I met, you know, all the downtown folks.
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And we kind of really, for 10 years, bought.
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Businesses that were failing and try to bring them back, learn a lot about the food and beverage and hospitality industry, create a very strong bond in our relationship, in our partnership.
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And that's when we opened Social Entertainment, which is our holding company today, going on almost 18 years ago.
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I didn't even know you guys had Dick Stackery.
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I
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love the burgers.
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Yeah, we had Dick Daries.
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We, uh, you know, my parents were like, are you selling alcohol through the window?
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What?
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You know.
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I said, I said, well, you send me to the grocery store when I was 12 years old to buy outgoing re Brazil.
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So we kind, you know, we got, oh, it's true, you know.
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But my point is, is that, you know, BJ's stars really thriving on Tropical Smoothie, the brand really catch on.
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And one day he came back to me and says, look, I'm ready to take this concept to the next level.
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Uh, I want to come back.
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You know, we were at that point, we were already, you know, deep into business.
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You know, Dick's was running, uh, which very fortunately we.
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When COVID hit, we, we felt that was time to back out, but we were able to actually, after 10 years of paying lease, we were lucky to actually purchase the property.
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Uh, and now we lease the property to a brand new business out of, uh, uh, off the hook.
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They just opened up really good business.
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I believe they're thriving in Louisiana and, uh, Jefferson Street Pub was another, you know, another lesson.
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We, we, we learned what it means to run a college bar.
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Uh, we learned what it means to have a massive building with a lot of history and the dynamic of downtown and night life.
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And, you know, we, we learned a lot about what downtown was lacking at the time.
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And I think that was the passion for me was identifying, you know.
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What could, could be done by, you know, the private sector and what the government wasn't doing, and then kind of got really interested in leading.
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Um, I created the downtown Lafayette Restaurant Bar Association at that time because they didn't have one.
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There was no representation.
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Um, a lot of the business owners help catapult that and, and today, I believe, you know, fast forward, you know, very proud of all the work and investments that so many of us have made.
00:17:51.164 --> 00:18:00.884
Rather, is a Blake that has been there from the beginning, or a Michelle Isel from Tsunami that was there from the beginning, or us coming in and really identifying the, the.
00:18:01.815 --> 00:18:05.775
The areas that downtown needs investment or support.
00:18:05.775 --> 00:18:10.275
And, um, but you know, from there, you know, tropical Smoothie.
00:18:10.305 --> 00:18:13.454
Now we're looking at 12 locations that we own and operate.
00:18:13.515 --> 00:18:15.404
We just opened Gonzales last week.
00:18:15.795 --> 00:18:17.984
We're in the process of opening Bruce Star Youngsville.
00:18:17.984 --> 00:18:26.835
So a big, a big portion of our portfolio under social entertainment is really the development and growth of Tropical Smoothie Cafe.
00:18:27.329 --> 00:18:34.470
Through the state of Louisiana, we're looking to have roughly 15 locations within the next year and, and really continue to grow.
00:18:34.470 --> 00:18:45.839
So for us, you know, for BJ and I, it's, it's mind boggling to look back and see this, this district managers and general managers and all these people, you know, growing with us.
00:18:46.109 --> 00:18:49.500
When years ago all we had was a bunch of bartenders in service.
00:18:49.500 --> 00:18:52.140
Not that they were important, but once you start getting.
00:18:53.099 --> 00:18:58.559
Families and people that really depend on you, you know, the responsibility really, uh, hit us, you know?
00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:06.240
And today we're fortunate to have 300 employees across all our businesses, several managers, people that have been with us for a long time, and.
00:19:07.888 --> 00:19:16.919
Social entertainment provided all these great opportunities, you know, all those beginning businesses that we kind of hot podge our way through it or try to figure it out.
00:19:16.980 --> 00:19:20.878
You know, we were lucky that we were able to get out of the Jefferson Street Pub before COVID.
00:19:21.419 --> 00:19:24.569
You know, we would've been really tough for us to operate a club during COVID.
00:19:24.569 --> 00:19:32.878
So we got out at the same time we got out, we created Central Pizza downtown and you know, obviously has been a huge success for us.
00:19:32.939 --> 00:19:33.000
Um.
00:19:33.750 --> 00:19:49.380
After learning and making so many mistakes in the food and beverage industry, central Pizza has really, uh, you know, with the partnership of John and Mike and Colin, you know, together we build a beautiful brand, a beautiful product, and we opened our second location last year in Bursar.
00:19:49.619 --> 00:19:55.470
So we hope to take Central Pizza out, you know, beyond regionally as well, but.
00:19:56.684 --> 00:20:14.773
We, you know, we quickly realized that we had a knack for entertainment production, hospitality consulting, and, you know, a little bit was a little bit of a need, you know, while BJ was still working full-time to try to make ends meet.
00:20:14.834 --> 00:20:16.214
I backed out of tennis.
00:20:16.244 --> 00:20:19.064
It was easy for me to get out of tennis than him get outta medical.
00:20:19.604 --> 00:20:23.294
And I, I work full time in the company until he was able to do the same.
00:20:23.294 --> 00:20:25.184
And today after it's been about.
00:20:25.740 --> 00:20:34.799
Going on four years now that we're full-time together, focusing on our company and the social entertainment portfolio has grown tremendously.
00:20:35.309 --> 00:20:36.779
Uh, rather good or bad.
00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:44.910
You know, we're obviously now learning what really matters, what, you know, um, what the focus should be, but you know, that's kind of who we are.
00:20:44.910 --> 00:20:47.549
You know, him and I are managing partners of our company.
00:20:49.244 --> 00:20:50.625
Under social entertainment.
00:20:50.625 --> 00:20:52.634
There are several other investments that we have.
00:20:52.815 --> 00:20:55.785
Friends, family, and a strategic investors part of it.
00:20:55.785 --> 00:21:00.914
And for the most part, the investments that we are, um, involved.
00:21:01.484 --> 00:21:03.494
We are usually also the managing partners.
00:21:03.494 --> 00:21:10.815
We are usually the ones that kind of put the deal together and the responsibility of, uh, running the project, doing it right by our partner.
00:21:10.815 --> 00:21:13.125
So we take a lot of pride in.
00:21:14.144 --> 00:21:21.734
Being very involved in everything we do, rather, we provide administrative support, bookkeeping support, all the way to management, support, or even development.
00:21:21.734 --> 00:21:30.555
So lots of, uh, amazing projects have come out from this umbrella of social entertainment, many great events that we've done, and, uh.
00:21:31.709 --> 00:21:36.148
So, yeah, so today, you know, we celebrated 15 years of social entertainment.
00:21:36.148 --> 00:21:39.209
That's the serving good vibes is kind of our slogan, you know?
00:21:39.269 --> 00:21:46.709
Um, and, uh, we're going in 2000, uh, 26 now with hopefully a more mature approach.
00:21:46.740 --> 00:21:58.109
Um, and really kind of looking at what we've created and, and really making sure that the decisions that we make now are really based on our family, uh, based on.
00:21:58.574 --> 00:22:00.044
The team that have been with us.
00:22:00.044 --> 00:22:08.834
And you know, when you're in this type of line of work, I don't know if the same thing happens with attorneys, but in the line of work we're in, it's very easy for you to make it about yourself.
00:22:08.834 --> 00:22:10.544
You know, oh, this, I'm gonna do, this is so cool.
00:22:10.544 --> 00:22:17.714
And it's very ego driven, you know, and, and when you have this kind of outside personality, the way I have, sometimes you get caught up.
00:22:18.420 --> 00:22:22.769
In the moment where you're creating so many things and you're like, okay, but what is the purpose?
00:22:22.769 --> 00:22:26.609
You know, like, let, let's kind of take a step back and figure out what what we're doing here.
00:22:26.609 --> 00:22:34.950
And, uh, I think, you know, uh, as much as we celebrated serving good vibes for 15 years, we also knew internally we have things we need to clean up.
00:22:35.490 --> 00:22:37.470
We have things that we don't need to be doing anymore.
00:22:37.470 --> 00:22:38.549
We need to be focusing.
00:22:38.549 --> 00:22:42.809
And, uh, that's been a big, um, a big time in our careers.
00:22:43.349 --> 00:22:43.500
Um.
00:22:44.174 --> 00:22:49.545
This last, you know, several months to make sure that we tie things up and continue to grow in the community.
00:22:49.634 --> 00:22:51.315
So I talk a lot, guys.
00:22:51.494 --> 00:22:52.244
Forgot to tell y'all that.
00:22:52.634 --> 00:22:53.295
That's awesome.
00:22:53.595 --> 00:22:54.164
That's awesome.
00:22:54.765 --> 00:23:01.755
Well, tell me about that discernment a little bit because, um, I feel like a lot of people just kind of take life as it comes at them.
00:23:02.384 --> 00:23:07.755
Uh, it sounds like you've put a lot of intentionality into what's next and you know what's good for your family.
00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:09.329
Walk us through that.
00:23:09.329 --> 00:23:10.769
How do you, how do you approach that?
00:23:10.829 --> 00:23:12.119
Well, I'll, I'll have to be honest.
00:23:12.119 --> 00:23:14.398
I think we didn't do that for a long time.
00:23:14.519 --> 00:23:20.789
I think there is a, there is a, you know, a huge push for that to happen now, right?
00:23:20.789 --> 00:23:21.419
I think we.
00:23:22.394 --> 00:23:36.704
We were just trying to see what we could create and what kind of conglomerate we could put together and figure out what this hospitality, production hos, uh, portfolio will look like, rather as a collection of real estate investments or operational businesses.
00:23:37.334 --> 00:23:42.763
And, uh, the type of events and, you know, partnerships we have with developers and municipalities.
00:23:44.174 --> 00:23:53.505
But you know, I, I wish I could tell you that, that that kind of like maturity came few years ago where we could have saved a lot of heartaches and a lot of.
00:23:54.134 --> 00:24:01.125
Time spent on things that, but I think that goes for, you know, many folks that are out there trying to create their own path, you know?
00:24:01.664 --> 00:24:07.125
Um, I don't have any experience in what it means to be on the corporate world to where there's things that are more structure.
00:24:07.664 --> 00:24:17.684
So we had to learn how to create our own structure, and we had to learn how to make ends meet, and at the same time, make sure we're doing right by whoever's investing, whoever's working for us.
00:24:17.684 --> 00:24:23.085
And it's been a, it's been a process and I think the last two years have become very clear that.
00:24:23.670 --> 00:24:34.559
You know, we celebrate the wins, but also we recognize that it took a lot to get there and how do we kind of shrink things up, clean things up, and make sure that we focus on what really matters.
00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:34.769
You know?
00:24:34.769 --> 00:24:41.039
And I think many business owners go through that and, um, I think is a, is a time in our careers that we're going through.
00:24:41.099 --> 00:24:41.369
So.
00:24:41.984 --> 00:24:42.224
Yeah.
00:24:42.230 --> 00:24:44.414
You, you hope that business owners go through it.
00:24:44.460 --> 00:24:44.759
Yes, exactly.
00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:46.394
Some of some of 'em do, some of 'em don't.
00:24:46.394 --> 00:24:46.545
Yeah.
00:24:46.664 --> 00:24:49.875
It feels like some of 'em just chase money until the day they die.
00:24:50.115 --> 00:24:50.384
Yeah.
00:24:50.414 --> 00:24:50.595
Yeah.
00:24:50.595 --> 00:24:57.375
It, it's very clear, you know, that that's definitely is not a driving factor for us, you know, because if it was, we're in the wrong business.
00:24:57.404 --> 00:24:57.704
Right.
00:24:58.125 --> 00:25:00.720
The idea that creating experience is putting a lot of time, taking a lot of.
00:25:02.505 --> 00:25:06.315
Uh, and expecting a return at the end when after everybody got paid.
00:25:06.315 --> 00:25:12.404
Usually it's not the greatest business proposition, and in the restaurant business, it's a very tough industry, right?
00:25:12.674 --> 00:25:18.704
We know the margins, we know the success rates, and we know how many we have failed to be able to get a good one.
00:25:18.704 --> 00:25:24.525
Like Centro, we know how many times we fail to get a good one like tropical, so we don't take it for granted.
00:25:24.525 --> 00:25:31.065
But, but there is a level of, you know, recognizing that, you know.
00:25:32.805 --> 00:25:35.295
You gotta throw a bunch of things in the wall and see what sticks.
00:25:35.295 --> 00:25:39.704
But at some time when, if you create some sort of foundation, you probably don't need to do that as much.
00:25:39.704 --> 00:25:39.974
You know?
00:25:40.005 --> 00:25:46.095
And, and you know, we, we hear that in podcasts all the time and interviews that you really learn from your failures.
00:25:46.095 --> 00:25:47.684
And it, it's, it's clear as day.
00:25:47.744 --> 00:25:49.244
That's just the reality, you know?
00:25:49.888 --> 00:25:54.000
Uh, because the successes for people like us is that, well, let me do it again.
00:25:54.029 --> 00:25:54.869
I want it again.
00:25:54.869 --> 00:25:55.589
You know, that's fine.
00:25:56.398 --> 00:26:03.029
But if you really sit down and really figure out how the heck you went wrong and what could you done better, what could you set better?
00:26:03.029 --> 00:26:05.220
What, how could you handle the situation better?
00:26:05.669 --> 00:26:15.480
I respectfully, if the other side also made a mistake, but, you know, it's become very easy for, for us in this society to just put it aside and go, let's just move on.
00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:17.759
And I don't really have to analyze the situation.
00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:18.869
I think for us.
00:26:19.349 --> 00:26:32.549
We, we worked so hard to, to get to where we are, to be able to have more stability, that we, we know how hard the failures, uh, can be, but also how edu you know, educational.
00:26:32.549 --> 00:26:38.910
It can be, and it's been tremendous for us, you know, because we failed a bunch of times already to be able to do some good things.
00:26:40.875 --> 00:26:43.424
So you built a holding company, right?
00:26:43.664 --> 00:26:46.694
And you scaled it to have a lot of investments.
00:26:46.694 --> 00:26:46.845
Correct?
00:26:46.845 --> 00:26:51.464
A lot of businesses, you know, one of the portfolio is 12 locations, tropical Smoothie.
00:26:51.464 --> 00:26:51.615
Correct.
00:26:51.855 --> 00:26:53.954
And you have a bunch of other things in there, right?
00:26:53.954 --> 00:26:54.285
Correct.
00:26:55.634 --> 00:26:58.244
You guys were on this path of build, build, build, build, build.
00:26:58.305 --> 00:27:03.194
And now you're saying that you're kind of looking at some things of going maybe what should we pull back?
00:27:03.194 --> 00:27:04.545
What should we divest?
00:27:04.785 --> 00:27:08.414
How do you, how do you approach acquisitions versus divestitures?
00:27:08.595 --> 00:27:12.704
I think one of the, the angles that we had was, you know, we, we knew.
00:27:13.035 --> 00:27:15.224
That if we can invest in real estate.
00:27:15.434 --> 00:27:15.644
Mm-hmm.
00:27:15.884 --> 00:27:22.095
Uh, even though we were, you know, not cash heavy for many, many years, we knew that we had great relationships.
00:27:22.095 --> 00:27:24.075
Do we feel that we can take care of our partners?
00:27:24.075 --> 00:27:26.144
Like we have taken care of partners in restaurants?
00:27:26.144 --> 00:27:32.744
We knew that if, even in the times we failed in restaurants, we still took care of our partners.
00:27:32.894 --> 00:27:40.724
So we're like, man, if you, if, if that was that hard and we got it done, maybe in other strategic, more passive investments.
00:27:41.503 --> 00:27:47.744
We can do the same with investors because if we got through the tough ones, maybe if we have good opportunities, we can do that.
00:27:48.105 --> 00:28:06.824
And what happened was we got into a, a kind of a, a moment in our lives where we acquire some real estates, rather they were strategic for our own use or some were with a hope of something becoming and then some investments.
00:28:08.339 --> 00:28:11.489
We probably in a way fantasize the potential of 'em.
00:28:11.519 --> 00:28:11.609
Mm-hmm.
00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:14.699
And they became clear that those were long-term.
00:28:15.584 --> 00:28:24.434
Uh, they were not bad investments, but they were projects that probably the payout or the, or the results will be so long from now.
00:28:24.434 --> 00:28:27.194
And, and at that time we're like, well, we're, we're about to have boys.
00:28:27.194 --> 00:28:30.734
You know, BJ has two boys, one, you know, Levi and Carter.
00:28:30.734 --> 00:28:32.144
I have Luca and Marco.
00:28:32.174 --> 00:28:33.674
They're pretty much six and eight.
00:28:33.674 --> 00:28:37.125
You know, it all happened, not intentional, you know, we got married at the same time.
00:28:37.604 --> 00:28:56.023
And we've had this kind of very unique, uh, path together and we are now realizing for us to move in a new direction, some of those investments in, even though they, they have been great investments, they're not investments, they're gonna give us some sort of return short term, which we believe now is also important.
00:28:56.023 --> 00:28:57.674
You know, when you look at the hotel.
00:28:58.349 --> 00:29:04.680
As you know, Jude, I mean the hotel is a project that is gonna be legacy for downtown in many ways for the community.
00:29:05.190 --> 00:29:08.819
A lot of patient investors have been waiting for us to execute this.
00:29:08.819 --> 00:29:14.279
I believe we're in the right path, but in all honesty, this is a project where.
00:29:14.924 --> 00:29:18.194
A lot of the investors, their kids will be ripping the benefits of this investment.
00:29:18.194 --> 00:29:22.275
You know, and that's fine, but we don't want so many of those investments to be like that.
00:29:22.275 --> 00:29:29.654
So in a way, there was a, it was a maturity for us to recognize that, look, we love this project, but what is it doing for us right now?
00:29:29.984 --> 00:29:32.174
How is that really fitting within the portfolio?
00:29:32.174 --> 00:29:36.494
How much is bogging down or team knowing that it's not bringing the returns?
00:29:36.494 --> 00:29:38.174
But yes, it is creating equity.
00:29:38.670 --> 00:29:50.130
So there's a lot of valuation, not just per se, on businesses, they're not doing well, but even real estate investments that we believe are great investments, but not quite fitting or direction now.
00:29:50.130 --> 00:30:03.539
So I don't know if that answers your question, but that's kind of to us, you know, we are not just analyzing what doesn't work and we're trying to get, we're actually making some really tough decisions of things that actually do work.
00:30:03.539 --> 00:30:05.759
Things that actually do bring some money in.
00:30:06.509 --> 00:30:13.138
But it's not really in, in line with our ultimate vision, which is do a little less with what we have.
00:30:13.679 --> 00:30:17.519
Don't get, you know, don't get involved in too many new deals.
00:30:17.549 --> 00:30:29.279
Focus on the ones we have, execute'em really well, and, um, and start focusing on some projects that will bring some, some returns more immediately, whether it's an operational business or a direct investment.
00:30:29.279 --> 00:30:31.470
So that's kind of what our mentality has been.
00:30:32.669 --> 00:30:33.075
Yeah, I mean.
00:30:33.720 --> 00:30:42.089
You've obviously got a lot of passion in everything you do, Gus, and um, I like how there's a lot of action to all the ideas that you have.
00:30:42.150 --> 00:30:42.420
Correct.
00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:49.920
Um, you know, I remember when I was a kid, you know, nearly 40 years ago, uh, people were talking about making downtown great.
00:30:50.640 --> 00:30:54.059
And my entire life people have been talking about making downtown great.
00:30:54.065 --> 00:30:54.295
Correct.
00:30:54.660 --> 00:30:55.140
And.
00:30:56.160 --> 00:31:04.890
Hotel Lafayette is the fulfillment of a very, very long conversation about what does it take to develop downtown and to, you know, what it needs to be.
00:31:04.890 --> 00:31:07.829
And so, uh, just awesome that you guys are doing that.
00:31:07.859 --> 00:31:09.150
What, how did that
00:31:09.154 --> 00:31:10.019
Well, thank you for your help by the way.
00:31:10.500 --> 00:31:10.740
Yeah.
00:31:11.009 --> 00:31:11.700
Happy to help.
00:31:12.059 --> 00:31:15.930
Um, you know, what is it that drove that passion?
00:31:15.930 --> 00:31:17.039
What is it that you know?
00:31:17.819 --> 00:31:23.220
Causes you to take action on passion, you know, whereas most people are gonna talk about things but not, not follow through.
00:31:23.250 --> 00:31:28.019
Well, downtown was easy because downtown was right there for us to see the goods and the bads, right?
00:31:28.019 --> 00:31:37.799
So coming in and, and taking over Jefferson Street Pub back in 2010 and having zero experience of nightlife, zero experience of running a bar in a restaurant.
00:31:37.799 --> 00:31:43.888
But we saw as a good opportunity, low entry level cash wise, and we're like, let's just see this through.
00:31:43.888 --> 00:31:44.789
We can do this right.
00:31:45.630 --> 00:31:49.170
But we were able to see everything that was happening outside our four walls.
00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:51.359
You know, can we control everything within the four walls?
00:31:51.359 --> 00:31:52.049
Yes, we can.
00:31:52.740 --> 00:31:53.970
If we fail, it's on us.
00:31:53.970 --> 00:31:54.480
No problem.
00:31:54.480 --> 00:32:10.559
But when you're in a, in a district like downtown and after, you know, being part of DDA and DLU and being part of, uh, going to amazing trips and meeting amazing consultants, even though there was a little bit of fatigue in all the, all the research done, because people fell for a long time, there was no movement.
00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:10.799
Right.
00:32:11.369 --> 00:32:12.960
What became clear is that.
00:32:14.535 --> 00:32:21.045
And I always use this comparison when we had Dick's Daries on Col Saloon, you have cars driving 30, 40 miles an hour.
00:32:21.404 --> 00:32:24.494
You got the Dinos across the street, you got all these open restaurants.
00:32:24.494 --> 00:32:32.654
And, but when you're downtown, even with the same distance, physical distance, uh, the, the, the, the necessity for.
00:32:33.628 --> 00:32:43.289
Businesses and members of that district should be more, United is way more important than on that side of town because it's just a different way the district is set up.
00:32:43.289 --> 00:32:48.450
So for us, we felt Dick's daiquiris or any other business for that matter, was in the island.
00:32:48.450 --> 00:32:49.859
We gotta take care of ourselves.
00:32:50.160 --> 00:32:52.200
If we need the city, we'll call them for help.
00:32:52.650 --> 00:32:56.490
But there was not a lot of collaboration because it's just everybody's fast pace.
00:32:56.700 --> 00:32:57.539
Well, downtown.
00:32:57.929 --> 00:33:01.259
One, somebody's mistake can affect everybody overnight.
00:33:01.259 --> 00:33:01.500
You know?
00:33:01.500 --> 00:33:11.969
So it became clear there was a disconnect between the business owners, uh, more the entertainment, food and beverage than, you know, the attorneys.
00:33:11.969 --> 00:33:15.509
I think the, the, the daytime businesses had a more together, right?
00:33:15.509 --> 00:33:17.459
They kind of understood what needed to be done.
00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:19.049
They had the ability to invest.
00:33:19.634 --> 00:33:24.194
They were making investments already, but the nightlife was kind of dragging down the progress, right?
00:33:24.674 --> 00:33:27.795
Rather was irresponsible operators, or rather, it was.
00:33:28.289 --> 00:33:33.539
Uh, not enough, you know, uh, incentive from the city to keep the city clean, the streets clean, or the city, you know.
00:33:33.960 --> 00:33:42.569
So it became very clear and one thing that became clear is that everybody was just pointing fingers, oh, I don't, I don't succeed because of that, the issues because of this.
00:33:43.049 --> 00:33:53.994
And that was one of the ideas of bringing the, that the D-L-R-B-A, you know, which was DLU existed, which is kind of the cultural arm programming arm of downtown that puts on.
00:33:54.539 --> 00:33:58.019
Downtown alive and in DDA is the development arm of downtown.
00:33:58.470 --> 00:34:04.319
But there was no cohesion for how our restaurants and bars and retail really growing together.
00:34:04.319 --> 00:34:08.610
And when we created that organization, I had no business in doing that.
00:34:08.610 --> 00:34:09.239
I was young.
00:34:09.239 --> 00:34:22.528
Uh, we created a quick bylaw, we created some registration fees, and we actually were able to at least, uh, provide some understanding that the issues going on downtown.
00:34:23.550 --> 00:34:28.469
Wasn't as easy as going, if the city does this for me, we'll be fine.
00:34:28.619 --> 00:34:29.039
Right?
00:34:29.460 --> 00:34:31.619
And it was always contingent on that, right?
00:34:31.619 --> 00:34:36.150
Well, we have these issues because we haven't got the city to do this, or we haven't got the city to do that.
00:34:36.630 --> 00:34:40.889
But there was very little responsibility coming from US operators and are we doing the right thing?
00:34:40.889 --> 00:34:44.639
Are the property owners leasing the properties to the right folks?
00:34:45.030 --> 00:34:47.969
Are the tenants really doing the right job?
00:34:47.969 --> 00:34:52.260
So it wasn't hard to identify.
00:34:52.750 --> 00:34:58.335
The, the, the challenges and all the work that people previous from us were trying to accomplish.
00:34:58.875 --> 00:35:09.253
I think really what came together was the understanding that the only way that you get to the, you know, the big win is a bunch of incremental small wins, right?
00:35:09.315 --> 00:35:17.713
That was, we will go to all this, you know, big mayors Pittsburgh saying the only way we got downtown Pittsburgh back was a bunch of incremental wins, right?
00:35:17.864 --> 00:35:18.914
For you to get the big win.
00:35:18.914 --> 00:35:23.309
And so I think Hotel Lafayette is a.
00:35:18.914 --> 00:35:23.309
It's not just our investment group.
00:35:23.309 --> 00:35:39.989
I think it's all these small wins that we've gotten from every, whether it is the government, you know, doing the cup, the conditional use permit, which kind of got rid of the moratorium and allow us to rethink how we do businesses for food and beverage.
00:35:40.500 --> 00:35:40.860
Uh.
00:35:41.835 --> 00:35:47.295
The ambassador program that DDA just put in place, which is cleaning downtown on a daily basis.
00:35:47.775 --> 00:35:51.255
Uh, new businesses that have taken a chance in downtown.
00:35:51.735 --> 00:36:06.884
And so all these little wins over the years I think is kind of catapulting us and other investors to take bigger risks, you know, so it's not, it is definitely not by accident, you know, even you said the composition of partners in the Hotel Lafayette.
00:36:06.914 --> 00:36:09.914
It is the representation that.
00:36:10.485 --> 00:36:14.054
All these folks, all these entities that have putting money.
00:36:14.534 --> 00:36:19.635
When we bought Dawns from Mr. Rocky and Ms. Brenda, my office was right next door.
00:36:19.635 --> 00:36:22.574
And I remember going and getting an old fashioned and getting a gumbo.
00:36:23.114 --> 00:36:27.315
And this is, you know, two, three years before COVID and going to Mr.
00:36:27.315 --> 00:36:27.614
Rock.
00:36:27.614 --> 00:36:31.755
Mr. Rocky, if you ever deal know you about to be 80 years running this restaurant.
00:36:31.755 --> 00:36:33.135
You know, we never thought COVID was coming.
00:36:33.135 --> 00:36:35.715
It's like, if you ever decide to sell this property, think about us.
00:36:35.715 --> 00:36:44.400
You know, we may not be, you know, a. Family name in town that you may recognize, but please give us the opportunity to take over this piece of real estate.
00:36:44.878 --> 00:36:59.789
We knew from so many meetings how important and iconic that specific site was for downtown because it comes, you know, the access from Johnston, from Congress, the, the, the how close is to the Parks.
00:36:59.969 --> 00:37:02.789
Vermilion is one of the most charming streets downtown.
00:37:02.789 --> 00:37:05.219
So we knew there was potential and, uh.
00:37:05.639 --> 00:37:06.480
Never gonna forget.
00:37:06.480 --> 00:37:07.679
I was sitting at Pamona.
00:37:07.679 --> 00:37:13.110
It was just when Joan Bell Edwards, uh, announced that he was shutting down the bars and restaurants in March, 2020.
00:37:13.679 --> 00:37:17.460
And I got a call from Todd Trahan, uh, that was representing Mr.
00:37:17.460 --> 00:37:19.289
Rocky says, you, you got two weeks.
00:37:19.695 --> 00:37:22.125
Otherwise we're gonna go live on the MLS.
00:37:22.425 --> 00:37:25.184
I was like, two weeks I'm shutting down all my businesses, you know?
00:37:25.664 --> 00:37:28.574
And I called, my business partner says, we don't have that kind of money.
00:37:28.574 --> 00:37:30.675
This is what they want us to buy now, what should we do?
00:37:30.675 --> 00:37:36.375
And that's when we're like, are we just going to back up out of fear of the unknown?
00:37:36.375 --> 00:37:36.914
We COVID?
00:37:36.974 --> 00:37:42.375
Are we just gonna tell straight up to guys like your brother and other major investors of downtown?
00:37:43.215 --> 00:37:54.494
Which is important to say, when I say investors of downtown are guys like your brother or Petra Hunt, that not only has put up money, but they're in boards, they're constantly involved even today, you know?
00:37:54.735 --> 00:37:59.985
So to me it was like, if I can tell these guys, are you passionate?
00:38:00.014 --> 00:38:00.945
Are you patient?
00:38:01.514 --> 00:38:02.445
We don't have a plan.
00:38:02.684 --> 00:38:06.315
Can we buy this property together and try.
00:38:06.719 --> 00:38:10.920
Based on all the consulting advising we have gotten and what downtown needs.
00:38:10.920 --> 00:38:15.000
And it was clear, downtown needs a hotel and downtown needs a full service brewery.
00:38:16.050 --> 00:38:27.389
Little do we know we're gonna be able to do both, you know, and we began seven years ago, as you remember, drew, we, we tried many different directions knowing that at the end of the day, we gotta deliver.
00:38:27.449 --> 00:38:27.690
You know.
00:38:28.619 --> 00:38:32.909
And uh, and a couple years ago, I would say a year and a half ago, we, we were.
00:38:33.284 --> 00:38:35.684
Pretty adamant about going into one direction.
00:38:35.684 --> 00:38:39.134
We, we had secured bioTE Brewery, Carlos and Stephanie.
00:38:39.134 --> 00:38:42.554
Amazing people in Arville, created an amazing concept.
00:38:43.485 --> 00:38:49.364
And we were like, you know what, this may not be the greatest return, but we feel the need to activate.
00:38:49.394 --> 00:38:50.835
It's been too many years.
00:38:51.465 --> 00:38:52.755
Let's get this done.
00:38:52.815 --> 00:39:01.994
And as we are in the process of getting this done, we got a ho a call from the hotel, which today is our ho, our partner, um, from Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
00:39:02.804 --> 00:39:03.943
These guys are phenomenon.
00:39:03.943 --> 00:39:12.253
They, they, they put in several hotels across from Austin to Nashville, and we went back to our partners and says, uh, we think we got a deal here.
00:39:12.253 --> 00:39:13.213
You know, what do y'all think?
00:39:13.335 --> 00:39:15.494
And they're like, well, what about the brewery?
00:39:15.614 --> 00:39:16.065
Whatcha gonna do?
00:39:16.065 --> 00:39:25.934
It's like, well, we're gonna tell them that we want the brewery to be the food and beverage component, but they control that, you know, so we, we talk to those guys, say, look.
00:39:27.945 --> 00:39:31.994
We know that a lot of hotels that you guys open, usually you create your own concept.
00:39:32.025 --> 00:39:35.144
You control the food and beverage part of the hotel.
00:39:35.144 --> 00:39:38.625
They have a hotel in Baton Rouge downtown, and you know, we visit and all that.
00:39:39.255 --> 00:39:43.454
But would you consider allowing us to bring bioTE into the fold?
00:39:43.844 --> 00:39:52.635
Because this is what the research has shown, that if we can put this combination together of hotel and brewery, it could be a home run from downtown.
00:39:52.635 --> 00:39:55.934
Secondly, we already have a deal with these guys, you know, we know.
00:39:56.969 --> 00:40:01.469
It'll be the first brewery downtown and it's the first brewery that opened in Acadiana Byta Brewery.
00:40:01.469 --> 00:40:03.960
So they, it was a no-brainer for them.
00:40:04.019 --> 00:40:11.190
You know, we worked out a partnership and a collaboration where, you know, allows us to actually have a lot of involvement once the hotel was open.
00:40:11.190 --> 00:40:16.108
We're not just gonna be silent partners to where, let the hotel just run the show.
00:40:16.170 --> 00:40:24.298
We're gonna have involvement in how we activate the pool, how we activate room service, how we activate the, the private event, and, you know.
00:40:25.469 --> 00:40:39.480
I, I knock on the wood because I will only believe this is happening when the poor foundation in a couple weeks, you know, until we see some beings going up, you know, I'm not telling my partner this is a hundred percent happening, even though we are locked and loaded, ready to go.
00:40:40.019 --> 00:40:42.869
We had an amazing, groundbreaking ceremony a few months ago.
00:40:42.869 --> 00:40:44.940
We're about to have another one coming up soon.
00:40:44.940 --> 00:40:53.340
And, uh, we are, we are ready to get this baby open, hopefully, um, you know, uh, by first quarter, 2027 the latest, so.
00:40:53.715 --> 00:40:55.545
You're all entrepreneur though.
00:40:55.815 --> 00:41:01.125
I just, I love it because so many people approach business feeling like everything needs to be perfect.
00:41:01.125 --> 00:41:03.344
They need a plan that's fully baked, right?
00:41:03.344 --> 00:41:08.204
They need to be able to show financials and, and walk through what the business is gonna be in five years.
00:41:08.804 --> 00:41:12.255
And, you know, most successful entrepreneurs I know aren't like that.
00:41:12.315 --> 00:41:17.264
You know, it's, they're building the plane as they're taking off and it's like, oh, hopefully we got the wings bolted on.
00:41:17.324 --> 00:41:19.215
Oh, hopefully we put the engines on.
00:41:19.260 --> 00:41:19.480
But,
00:41:19.664 --> 00:41:21.440
but he is a fine line, you know, because, you know.
00:41:22.440 --> 00:41:26.730
We, we get the luxury to tell our investors, can you be patient?
00:41:27.329 --> 00:41:32.489
Are you passionate for a project that can be possibly monumental for the city?
00:41:33.059 --> 00:41:45.028
You know, we, we hope to what, what we believe, you know, working with L-P-T-F-A, that this, this project will bring over a hundred jobs, construction time, and a hundred jobs once it's open, right?00:41:45.420 --> 00:41:49.019
And there will be a focus in how we're gonna hire strategically within.00:41:49.559 --> 00:41:53.099
Uh, more needed areas within the downtown area.00:41:53.099 --> 00:41:53.278
Right?00:41:53.278 --> 00:41:54.480
So that is exciting.00:41:54.480 --> 00:42:04.409
But we have also have to be very careful, you know, because that type of entrepreneurship sometimes does not translate into what the expectations of that investor may be.00:42:04.829 --> 00:42:05.309
So.00:42:05.655 --> 00:42:10.695
You know, there's only so many passion projects that we can throw at somebody and say, can you be patient with us?00:42:10.695 --> 00:42:15.014
Some projects we have to really tighten up and have a return and, and be able to deliver.00:42:15.014 --> 00:42:21.644
So those goes back to that evaluation of where we are and are we, are we making good decisions when it comes to that?00:42:21.644 --> 00:42:23.534
Not just for us, but for everybody else involved.00:42:23.534 --> 00:42:26.925
But yeah, there, there, there's a level of, you know.00:42:28.170 --> 00:42:35.983
Yeah, not feeling that we need to have everything cooked up all the time, but also there is lessons that we, maybe we should have things a little more cooked up here, you know?00:42:35.983 --> 00:42:37.693
So it's a balance, you know,00:42:38.085 --> 00:42:39.164
Al always a balance.00:42:39.170 --> 00:42:40.934
Yeah, but you know what, it's, it's worth it.00:42:41.384 --> 00:42:48.704
I mean, there's, there's no other project in my lifetime that has had the impact on downtown that that hotel will.00:42:48.704 --> 00:42:48.764
Yeah.00:42:48.855 --> 00:42:49.213
So00:42:49.213 --> 00:42:52.753
it's worth, it's, it's extremely worth humbling to, you know, being not from here and.00:42:53.849 --> 00:42:55.349
And I feel like I'm from here.00:42:55.349 --> 00:42:56.760
You know, I'm treated like I am.00:42:56.760 --> 00:42:58.050
I feel a hundred percent.00:42:58.050 --> 00:43:15.269
But nonetheless, it really is, you know, when you take it personally and when you kind of evaluate, you know, what my wife and I have done and what we have grown, you know, the families we have, the, the parents we have, and BJ and his upbringing, and Ryan, you know, Ryan pco, I mean, my goodness, the guy that.00:43:15.329 --> 00:43:27.239
You know, the guy just goes, you know, John, you know, we build a really solid management team outside from the investors, and we had to come together and for seven years we never had an argument.00:43:27.239 --> 00:43:41.699
You know, we, things got really tough for a while, you know, and the four of us all have our own things going on, you know, and it's in the middle of this, like adulthood, you know, our thirties and forties and, and, uh, a lot of big investors kind of, Hey, what's going on?00:43:41.699 --> 00:43:41.969
You know?00:43:43.304 --> 00:43:45.554
But we stay, you know, we stay on path.00:43:45.554 --> 00:43:52.693
We communicated the best way we could and, and it kind of, we got a little lucky in the end where kind of the, the, the dominoes kind of fell together.00:43:52.693 --> 00:44:02.144
But it, it is, it is almost hard to believe that we, we, we might be looking at a 82 hotel room with a pool, with a brewery downstairs.00:44:02.835 --> 00:44:12.338
And also the public benefit that this project is bringing, you know, you look at Taylor Street, which is right between the development and parks and city.00:44:13.545 --> 00:44:27.014
You know, and all the work that Kevin and downtown and the mayor, uh, you know, all the, the city council in really understanding, you know, how do we put this project together outside the four walls of the hotel?00:44:27.014 --> 00:44:32.130
And, you know, the, the Taylor Street's gonna become a plaza fully designed with fountains and even.00:44:32.804 --> 00:44:36.824
Even, uh, um, flood remediation underneath, which we know we have some problems.00:44:36.824 --> 00:44:40.724
And so the project is, is turning out to be way more than we thought.00:44:40.784 --> 00:44:51.045
You know, we, we think that it could be a huge, um, economic engine for, you know, for this area, for downtown that very much needs a heavy investment.00:44:51.045 --> 00:44:56.054
And we hope it brings more, you know, we know what residential has done when EJ opened the municipal.00:44:56.460 --> 00:45:04.259
He took a huge risk, you know, um, because there was no concept, proof of concept of how residential was gonna work downtown.00:45:04.259 --> 00:45:07.528
And, uh, from what I, you know, talking to him, he's doing great.00:45:07.949 --> 00:45:10.949
Uh, residential has to continue to grow.00:45:10.949 --> 00:45:12.239
A hotel is gonna help.00:45:12.239 --> 00:45:16.920
That s gonna help, you know, improve the nightlife, right?00:45:16.920 --> 00:45:23.699
Once you start having more residents, people are gonna start being able to, you know, so much a business owner can complain in a district.00:45:23.985 --> 00:45:25.545
When they go home to another district.00:45:26.025 --> 00:45:29.085
But when you got people living there, you know, the game changes, right?00:45:29.085 --> 00:45:45.465
So, uh, and when you have guests staying there, you know, uh, so we hope that not only we are successful as a project, not just for us, for, for investors, but we hope that unleashes a tremendous amount of, uh, future investments, not just for downtown but North side.00:45:45.465 --> 00:45:53.175
And, you know, Kenneth has been extremely involved, um, as our, you know, as our city councilman, really helping us move the needle.00:45:53.715 --> 00:46:05.324
Um, so it's, it's been a lot of work, but, you know, we, we look forward to seeing that concrete truck man just parking by the next week and just dumping it.00:46:05.414 --> 00:46:06.675
And then we're like, okay, let's go.00:46:06.764 --> 00:46:06.945
You know?00:46:06.945 --> 00:46:07.215
Yeah.00:46:07.215 --> 00:46:07.815
Any day now.00:46:07.844 --> 00:46:08.474
Any day now.00:46:08.474 --> 00:46:08.715
Yeah.00:46:08.719 --> 00:46:08.800
Yeah.00:46:09.135 --> 00:46:09.405
So,00:46:10.155 --> 00:46:13.664
Gus, one of the traditions we have, uh, we love your passion.00:46:13.994 --> 00:46:14.295
Thank you.00:46:14.295 --> 00:46:19.760
We love, we love your heart for the city, for downtown, and, uh.00:46:20.864 --> 00:46:23.144
Thank you for coming here and, and sharing that with us, man.00:46:23.144 --> 00:46:23.355
There you go.00:46:23.773 --> 00:46:26.443
Uh, one of the traditions we have is the guest.00:46:26.443 --> 00:46:31.753
Before you get to leave a, a question for you, so I haven't read this yet, but we're gonna read this to you.00:46:32.144 --> 00:46:32.534
Alright.00:46:34.543 --> 00:46:39.914
When people talk about you, when you are not in the room, what will they say about you?00:46:41.414 --> 00:46:44.503
That's from, uh, Jared and, uh, Rachel.00:46:45.134 --> 00:46:46.153
Oh, Jared and Rachel.00:46:47.969 --> 00:46:51.344
Yeah, Jerry has been a huge supporter of, uh, you talking about Jerry Doe.00:46:51.344 --> 00:46:51.585
Mm-hmm.00:46:51.778 --> 00:46:52.079
Yeah.00:46:52.259 --> 00:46:57.659
Jerry has been a huge supporter, um, haven't spoke to him in a, in a, in a long time.00:46:57.659 --> 00:47:08.219
I, I'll, I'll be honest, you know, uh, I, I think he will be full of me not to admit the fact that there is a lot of, uh, a lot of ego in here.00:47:08.309 --> 00:47:12.028
Uh, a lot of, a lot that needs to be flushed out and, and matured.00:47:12.119 --> 00:47:12.599
Um.00:47:13.215 --> 00:47:19.155
Like I said, when you're in this line of work, you have to do a really good job in making nothing, try not to make things about yourself.00:47:19.994 --> 00:47:24.344
I think there's gonna be an evolution on that, but when it comes to that is that, I hope it's positive.00:47:24.344 --> 00:47:30.405
You know, I hope that, uh, folks see the passion, like you say, and, and folks see that.00:47:30.824 --> 00:47:42.195
You know, I, I, I think BJ and I feel like we have done a good job in taking care of our people, even in times when we made mistakes in how we handle our partners, our employees, our managers.00:47:42.809 --> 00:48:00.000
Um, I'm very fortunate you maintain amazing relationships with people beyond that, but, but nonetheless, you know, I, I think when you put yourself in that position, when you, when you are that aggressive and you are that outspoken and, and you are still try to learn how to be a good human00:48:00.480 --> 00:48:00.690
mm-hmm.00:48:00.929 --> 00:48:04.289
I think, uh, you know, messages can be mixed, you know, uh, no doubt.00:48:04.380 --> 00:48:06.929
Uh, but I think at the end of the day, the.00:48:07.440 --> 00:48:12.840
I think the, the main goal for me is, you know, am I being a solid father?00:48:12.989 --> 00:48:14.579
You know, like my father was.00:48:14.579 --> 00:48:15.150
Mm-hmm.00:48:15.155 --> 00:48:29.880
Uh, am I able to tell my kids that they can truly see my flaws and not be scared to see them and know that it's okay to see them and, and know it's okay to learn from them rather than, you know, just kind of covering it up.00:48:29.880 --> 00:48:32.699
I think the same thing goes for how I do business today.00:48:32.699 --> 00:48:32.920
I was.00:48:34.934 --> 00:48:39.105
There was a level of kind of trying to really man cure things sometimes.00:48:39.105 --> 00:48:49.335
And you know, today I feel a bit more confident in being able to tell people how I really feel and it, it took time and it took courage and it took, you know, uh, a little of time to really understand.00:48:49.335 --> 00:48:53.684
So, you know, to answer Jared and Rachel, I think it's a mixed bag.00:48:53.684 --> 00:48:56.235
You know, I think people will have their own perceptions.00:48:56.235 --> 00:49:02.355
At the end of the day, I am very grateful to be in this town and I will continue to try to do everything I can.00:49:02.938 --> 00:49:07.619
To, to show my, you know, how grateful I am for the opportunities I got.00:49:07.619 --> 00:49:15.000
But, you know, we've done, we've, we've been in business so many, so many people and so many times, and we've reached so many folks.00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:31.739
So I think sometimes, uh, feedback can be questioned, but I, I, I full heartedly believe that, that, um, at the end of the day, you know, I. I want to know that whatever happens, I did the right thing, uh, maybe too late or maybe in the right time.00:49:32.039 --> 00:49:39.838
But to me it's knowing that whatever situation or that I was able to, to make a right, and to me that's very important.00:49:39.929 --> 00:49:43.528
Um, the, whether it's a personal thing or a business thing, you know, so00:49:44.278 --> 00:49:44.519
cool.00:49:45.284 --> 00:49:48.074
Well, Gus, thanks for coming on the show.00:49:48.074 --> 00:49:55.875
Uh, for the people in the audience, we'll, we'll include your contact information in the show notes for them to kind of follow your work and, and see what you're doing.00:49:56.355 --> 00:50:01.514
Um, and then we're gonna leave you with some gifts, but you, you have a question for the next guest.00:50:01.514 --> 00:50:05.773
So after we say goodbye today, you get a pass on a question to the next person.00:50:05.773 --> 00:50:05.858
Sounds good.00:50:06.155 --> 00:50:20.405
But for, for the people in the audience, thank you for listening into this, this story, uh, shared by Gus and, and the vision that he casted in, in his, uh, message on, on moving forward and, and revitalizing downtown and, and seeing what that's gonna happen.00:50:20.795 --> 00:50:26.195
We encourage you to come visit and, and see downtown and, and see the progress and see what's going on.00:50:26.195 --> 00:50:28.505
And we're, we're grateful for all the great things that you're doing, Gus.00:50:28.505 --> 00:50:29.855
So thanks for coming on the show.00:50:29.855 --> 00:50:34.775
Ladies and gentlemen, hope to see you here in, uh, downtown Lafayette is what they, how they say here.00:50:35.059 --> 00:50:36.739
And we'll see Y all on the next episode.00:50:36.889 --> 00:50:37.460
Cheers guys.00:50:37.820 --> 00:50:38.039
Thank you guys for the opportunity.
