THE KZOO PODCAST

This week Nathan and Rachel meet with Tanya Thompson the owner of The Aroma Labs!

She has always had a passion for helping people and started out in her very own home. Tanya had her very own space at The Park Trade Center and just a short year ago she transitioned to an even more beautiful space downtown on the Kalamazoo Mall. In fact, we visited just 2 weeks after her grand opening!

The Aroma Labs is all about the experience. You get to create your own scent and turn it into a perfume, body scrub, lotion, air freshener, bath bombs, and SO much more! You can stop in or make an appointment. Give them a call to set up your visit! She is the perfect person to visit for any special corporate events!

Tune in now to hear more! Visit the links below for more information or to contact us for an episode

In this weeks episode Nathan and Rachel sit down with the official Willy Wonka of Kalamazoo, Tom Holmer of Rocket Fizz.

Get ready to take a trip down memory lane when you set foot into the store. It's what childhood (and adult) dreams are made of: CANDY AND SODA! Rocket Fizz offers over 500 different types of Soda ranging from root beer, to a special Dr Pepper tasting soda, to, dare we say it..RANCH flavor! Rocket Fizz is known for its crazy flavors if you're willing to venture way out of your comfort zone. They also carry alot of novelty items ranging from tin signs, candy from your childhood, and as their website says "Rocket Fizz is Kalamazoo's wacky, sugary, soda-y, dad joke loaded emporium of all things sweet and weird". I think that speaks for itself! Tune in now!

In this weeks episode, Nathan and Rachel sit down with Jessica Thompson of BeeJoyful Shop located downtown Kalamazoo on the Kalamazoo Mall.

BeeJoyful Shop is Michigan's first Zero Waste shop with lots of options to transition your lifestyle from single use plastic to going plastic free. BeeJoyful Shop opened up a little over a year ago and offers everything from shampoo and conditioner bars, to toothpaste tabs, re-usable food wraps made right in the shop, deodorant blocks, shave bars, a refill station and so much more!

Tune in to this weeks episode to hear all about how BeeJoyful Shop got its name, exciting new ventures, and so much more!!

Read more on BeeJoyful Shop with the links below and be sure to follow Jessica on Tik Tok!

In this NEW Round Table episode/mini-series, Nathan, Rachel, and Jay discuss food and business around Kalamazoo!

Biggest Issues Facing Restaurants/Businesses

What we would like to see in Kalamazoo

Personal Favorite Places for:

Pizza

Burgers

Sushi

Mexican

Fine Dining

Dive Bars

Personal Experiences with local businesses/restaurants during Covid

Restaurants/Businesses we would like to see come in

Best/Worst Food Trends of 2020

Places We Learned To Love During Covid

Also a HUGE Thank You to 600 Kitchen & Bar for letting us record in the loft and feeding us delicious food!

Foodie Friday is finally here! This week Nathan and Rachel sit down with Becky the Owner of Pop City Popcorn!

In this episode we talk about all things popcorn and how Becky got into the popcorn business.She started out selling homemade jams, and it has magically transformed into the many flavors of Pop City Popcorn. Don't worry, there is absolutely NOT a mayonnaise flavor and Nathan is not allowed around food ever again... Just Kidding. He is just not allowed to create any special popcorn flavors...EVER.. Literally ever.. for eternity ..

Pop City Popcorn is Located on the Kalamazoo Mall and the perfect spot to swing by before or after dinner downtown for a late night snack! They are celebrating 8 total years in business and 3 since they have taken over! They also ship locally and nationwide and a subscription box just might be in your near future! You can also find them on Grub Hub

Tune in to hear more about Pop City Popcorn!

Foodie Friday is back! This week Nathan and Rachel sit down with Natashia from Nonla Burger!

Whether you pronounce it NON-la, or NONE-la or " NON - LA" (listen to hear that version) its an all around amazing burger. We touch base on how the NONLA brand got started, how they came about the Nonla Burger locations, and we briefly touch base on the other NONLA restaurants - NONLA Vietnamese and NONLA Taqueria. Their Specials are outta this world AMAZINGGGGG

We love the NONLA Burger Concept, the locations, and most of all the FOOD! If you haven't stopped by yet, we highly recommend you try any and all of their locations.

shhhh.... there is also talk of a NEW NONLA BURGER location and possibly more... tune in NOW!

Welcome back to Foodie Friday! This week Nathan and Rachel are back with the first episode of 2021 and had the pleasure of meeting with Joanna from The Kalamazoo Stillhouse.

We had a full tour of the facility, seeing the process of how their spirits are made, how things have been in 2020, and where to purchase their products and so much more! Everything is made locally onsite and distributed to local restaurants and grocery stores across Michigan. We also touch base on how Joanna and her husband got into the industry and what makes their products so special to Kalamazoo.

Have you tried their spirits before? If so, leave your favorite in the comment below! Don't forget to use the hashtag #HonestSpiritsLocalPeople when sharing your photos from The Kalamazoo Stillhouse

Read more about The Kalamazoo Stillhouse here:

In this episode Nathan brings back Clayton Lyczynski (Founder of GWG: St Joseph County) and Kalamazoo County GWG Founder Cody Livingston. They discuss how a group of guys can get together and change their community, through giving. GWG has already raised over half a million dollars for local non-profits.

Mission:

Guys Who Give is a group of men with a desire to inspire and who are committed to making a difference in their local communities. The Mission is to reach out and help local charities with the funds they need to do the amazing work they are doing in their community. Collectively, the group can make a powerful impact to the charitable community and donate over $10,000 per quarter and $40,000 annually per market. This mission is accomplished by finding 100+ men to each contribute $100 at the quarterly events to benefit a chosen local charity that changes each quarter. All charities and organizations up for consideration must serve the county of the local chapter; the idea is to keep it local and have an impact that WE can SEE.

Why should you become a member?

LOCAL IS IMPORTANT.

You want 100% of your donations to go to a local charity in your community.

LIMITED TIME BUT BIG HEART.

You may not have time in your busy life to volunteer but you do want to help those in need and can commit to 60 minutes per quarter and $100 per quarter.

TOGETHER WE ACCOMPLISH GREAT THINGS.

You want to be a part of creating a powerful group that will make an IMMEDIATE, POSITIVE, and DIRECT impact on those in need in our community.

CONNECTING.

You enjoy meeting other men who care about the local community and causes.

Welcome back to Foodie Friday! We took a short hiatus and Rachel had Covid, but we are stoked to be back for your listening pleasure.

This week Nathan and Rachel sit down with owner and chef, Keith Langdon of Full City Cafe right here in Portage.

27 years ago Keith and his wife had a passion for coffee and originally decided to open up a coffee shop. Fast forward they opened the first location of Full City Cafe, moving to their location now, location in Portage 15 years ago. Full City Cafe is breakfast and lunch only and they have put themselves on the map with their over the top, creative, and most of all, delicious food. Most popular is their Miyako breakfast bowl, followed closely by their Cuban Sandwich. While 2020 has been difficult for most restaurants, Full City Cafe is always thinking of new creative ways to adapt. They are now offering take home Meal Kits and Christmas meal to-go!

Tune in to hear more! Follow Full City Cafe here:

Welcome back to Foodie Friday! This week Nathan and Rachel sit down with Marketing Manager Jeremy from Fieldstone Grill.

FieldStone Grill is part of the Millennium Group Restaurants located in the plaza off of Center Street. With an up-north cabin like feel, it gives off all the cozy lodge vibes. In this episode we cover what foods they offer, wine dinners, Thankgsiving and Christmas specials, how things have been going this year and what to expect.

We also got to try some of their new menu items, including their newly revamped pizzas!

Tune in to hear more about FieldStone Grill and find them here on Social Media!