Holy Guacamole Podcast

We return to Good Neighbor Shop, one year after opening we talk to Chef DJ Neal who created the menu and drew on his vast experience over the last several years.

Dave Seel was eager to have DJ on our show, and you'll hear why; his work experience is wide and varied; he was mentored by Roy Yamaguchi (Roy's Hawaiian Fusion/Baltimore), opening team at Momofuku... the list goes on and on! We love his ability to collaborate, be that welcoming presence in the room. And Loving Spoon Collective is a tidy creation out of his need to serve industry people late at night, and now it's taken a completely new direction, including coursed dinners with an artist performing Grace.

Please follow and support good people, including DJ Neal.

Good Neighbor Shop on IG

Good Neighbor Shop's website. If you don't live here they have many lovely homeware you can get and well as Spice Wallah!

Loving Spoon Collective on IG

Journey with this Indian family, and their desire to share their culture through food. You'll hear from the mother, daughter and son--Radhika, Maithali and Shantanu. Their perspectives are wonderfully presented. Radhika came to the US as an architecture student. Met her husband, and after getting married and having her two lovely children, she started cooking for friends. That evolved into cooking at the farmers markets, to cooking in food halls, and now settles into a distinctly independent restaurant. They're serving small plates. Radhika, whose curiousity for India's history and cuisine never grows old.

Some months they have a Regional Cuisine menu. It's the family's way of sharing lesser known dishes from small towns and regions. As we have Nashville Chicken, they have equally curious dishes, and this is a wonderful way to experience the breadth of India's history and culture in a 3, 4, or 5 course meal.

We do not hear Amit's voice, the husband, father and architect in the family. Happy Fathers Day to all the unique and wonderful fathers who nurture the best a family can give in a community. Thank you to all the immigrants who settle in the US and share so much!

Their voices and stories are infectious. They enjoy and care what they serve, and are eager for you to enjoy India's amazing food culture.

Website

Instagram

Holy Guacamole is a free podcast. We would love for you to subscribe, download and/or review the show.

Biz Tips are super brief episodes. The goal iss to improve your finances, or your systems for independent restaurants.

If you are a fan of local restaurants, cafes and foodtrucks

This episode in about finding one streams of income for your business: subscriptions. Martha Lucius encourages owners to look at their business and find five to seven streams of income. Here are a few examples of streams of income:

--dine in (obviously)

--carryout (how can you keep that a steady stream of income post pandemic

--catering (whether this is office catering, fine dining service and food, or platters of food for a bridal shower, this can improve your business).

--popups, and collaborations (maybe on-site or off-site, but another concrete source of funds)

--Bottle Shop (if your liquor license permits, then find a way to build social media and messaging to improve sales ...great profit in this one)

--Subscriptions (this can be an ongoing, quarterly and seasonal revenue stream, a monthly special 3 - 5 course meal with a chef/speaker, a wine dinner, a beer dinner, an online cooking class, a monthly in-person cooking class).

The stats on the growth of subscriptions are impressive. Right now the subscription industry accounts for $650 billion in todays US economy. It's expected to increase to $1.5 trillion by 2025!

Enjoy the show.

Limoncello, in Baltimore, is by all rights a wine bar. That's the simple definition. The complete story is its a family from Monte di Pocida, just outside Naples.

As the world re-opens Holy Guacamole is focusing on businesses that are resilient and focused on teams, hospitality and their culture. Dave chose Limoncello because of their single-mindedness to remain strong in spite of the pandemic, and their extraordinary attention to detail! Their true nature as talians shows in the food (amazing), and their massive pride in how they serve. Genarro -- chef on premise -- ensures you eat well, and that each plate is spectacular looking. The wines they choose have stories as much as character. Vinnie -- their GM -- can share as little as much as you'd like to hear. Cocktails and aperitifs are carefully chosen. Pride and attention to detail is in their blood. Limoncello represents that pride beautifully.

Their website is here.

Their lively and infectious Instagram is here. Their creativity shines brightly, follow if you like what you see.

Meet Kirsten Lapointe, who thought she'd open a vegan cafe...Well, that's what she thought she was doing. But life, the pandemic and her creativity took over. In this interview you'll hear her perspective, her experience and her philosophy that led her to turn this spot into a community space (think yoga, workshops and tarot readings) with the comfort of an artists studio, and the warmth of Kirsten's infectious laugh and conversation. Great spot to find a local artists products--a gift for yourself or to a friend. We talk about edible flowers, gardening and mowing your lawn in a labryinth pattern, as part of what this cafe is to the many people who have discovered it in Hampden. It's right near Falkenheims, 36th Street, and Foraged. Check out her website. Her Instagram has so much personality and joy, you'll probably find it infectious too!

Occasionally we run a mini episode as a short discussion of a particular topic. This weeks episode is more editorial from Martha Lucius exploring "where are we now"? Independent restaurants are facing minimal local restrictions, the pandemic is slowing, vaccination rates are rising, and everyone going back to "normal".

If you like what you hear, please consider writing a review. It helps our audience find this very niche podcast.

Jump into the conversation with Tim Riley and Dave Seel as they talk about Rainbow Unicorn, energy drink. We take off from there, with Tim, who talks about this new show, BigSommEnergy.

Those of us in the hospitality industry know that energy drinks have been ubiquitous! So Tim, who is a talented, knowledgeable sommelier has taken his skills in a new direction, and is just having fun! How does anyone navigate caffeine, taste, flavor profile, and every other direction energy drinks can go.

Jolt, Surge, Monster and Red Bull might be ones you know. You also might know terminology of wine tasting. Tim takes his wine scoring in a completely hilarious direction!

Tim took his idea and put it on Tik Tok, and now has an active lively community within his 90K+ following.

Remember to support your favorite podcast by subscribing, reviewing and sharing. Thank you for following Holy Guacamole.

Find Tim Riley on IG here and on Tik Tok here. Listen, learn and laugh.

Absolute Bakery & Cafe is tucked in Mancos, Colorado. Martha chats with owner David Blaine, and learns the history and roots this bakery has built over its many years at the center of the community.

Like many cafes David discovered just how important his business is to the community. We talk about how theyve managed to keep sales steady, and like other cafes, how limited seating and limited hours created a streamline system that they may not want to give up as things reopen.

We are pleased to have David represent many small cafes and bakeries in the US and how they manage to keep "made from scratch" alive and well. How intertwined they are with farmers and makers in their community. Independent businesses come in many shapes and sizes, and all have a strong following. At Absolute they meet people regularly that have heard about their bakery from a friend and are visiting to tell the Blaines. Listen for the high praise from a French family!

Visit their website and visit their cafe on your next trip through Colorado! And follow their journey on Instagram here.

We all have interesting and funny stories about how we got into this industry. Craig tells his origin stories, and it might cause you to nod in agreement!

You'll learn about The Lunchbox Lady and then (because he's just chillaxing with that) he added on a season popup called Bmore Big Softy, which is soft-shell crab sandwiches. If you are at all interested in getting into the popup game, this is the episode for you! And if that's not your thing, you'll certainly get hungry listening!

Instagram: The Lunchbox Lady and Bmore Big Softy

Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland, our local chapter, is selling tickets to Night of a Million Meals. Local or not, you can purchase and support their mission. This years' zoom event is on May 17th, and can come with a meal kit for $75.

Today's show includes two interviews.

--Stephanie Archer Smith, Executive Director at Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland starts the show and shares their mission and example of how Meals on Wheels works to make a difference. We explore the importance of this event. Meals on Wheels is eager to expand their message of serving seniors. We hear how Meals on Wheels has responding to increased demands of at-home seniors since the beginning of the pandemic; and how they extend their mission with More than a Meal--supporting seniors with additional services they may not be aware of--medical, financial assistance and more.

--Chef Anthony Franklin speaks to the role Cosima plays in participating in Night of a Million Meals by creating a cocktail and a spring dinner. Night of a Million Meals appreciates the relationship Cosima is fostering with the kind support of owner Judith Golding.

We explore Meals on Wheels desire to continue to evolve Night of a Million meals, in a year when food insecurity for seniors is an acute concern in our city; and balance that with giving back to three businesses who support their mission by providing the items in the meal kit box. Building upon the relationship with one restaurant Cosima, one catering company, Chef's Expression, and one cake company, Cakes by Jason, Meals on Wheels will have a successful event, and have supported independent restaurants when they need (and appreciate) support.

The takeaway? As a restaurant, find a way to continue the journey to connect with one or two local non-profits, whose mission aligns with your mission or vision. Happy listening.