The Joe Rogan Experience - Joe Rogan Experience #1583 - John Terzian & Craig Susser

00:00:02.000 The Joe Rogan Experience.

00:00:16.000 So, gentlemen, let's start.

00:00:18.000 Just introduce yourself.

00:00:19.000 John, introduce yourself.

00:00:20.000 Tell people what you do.

00:00:21.000 I'm John Terzian.

00:00:22.000 I own a company called H. Wood Group.

00:00:24.000 So we have restaurants, nightclubs, Delilah, Nice Guy, Bootsy Bellows are some of them. 0.71

00:00:30.000 And Craig?

00:00:31.000 I'm Craig Susser.

00:00:32.000 I've got to feel like such a slacker compared to that.

00:00:34.000 Yeah, you should.

00:00:35.000 I own a place called Craig's Restaurant and a vegan ice cream company called Craig's Vegan.

00:00:41.000 A place called Craig's.

00:00:42.000 Very modest.

00:00:43.000 It's one of the best restaurants in LA. Very highly respected place.

00:00:47.000 And we're here to talk about what the fuck is happening to the restaurant industry during this pandemic and how crazy it is. 0.76

00:00:54.000 You know, I've talked about this before, but having you guys on so you could say firsthand what it's been like to you and what this experience has been like... 0.98

00:01:05.000 How poorly it's been handled.

00:01:08.000 I want to give people a sense of this at home, what it's like from two men who have made their living in the hospitality and restaurant industry.

00:01:16.000 Yeah.

00:01:17.000 Yeah, I mean, you want to start, Craig?

00:01:19.000 Well, no.

00:01:20.000 The funny thing is, it's like, we're the rule followers.

00:01:23.000 Yeah.

00:01:23.000 We're the ones that are used to handling the health department.

00:01:26.000 We're the ones that are used to, you know, doing everything that, you know, from a safety standpoint, right?

00:01:32.000 And now, we're the ones that are being crushed or being...

00:01:51.000 I mean, you can go to a mall and go shopping.

00:01:55.000 You can go on an airplane from LA to, you know, New York, take your mask off and eat.

00:02:02.000 And that's okay.

00:02:03.000 But you can't eat outdoors in a restaurant in LA that's following social distancing, all the health guidelines.

00:02:10.000 I mean, we know our business.

00:02:12.000 And so, it's been really hard since, what, it started March 15th.

00:02:17.000 We shut down.

00:02:19.000 We were then told to put glass in between our boots, so we did that.

00:02:23.000 We opened for about 10 days.

00:02:26.000 We did UV lights in the air conditioning systems. 1.00

00:02:29.000 Air filtration, all the stupid... 1.00

00:02:30.000 Absolutely. 1.00

00:02:31.000 And then we built patios.

00:02:33.000 I personally spent $250,000 We're good to go.

00:02:58.000 The money that they make at the restaurant.

00:03:00.000 It's their livelihood.

00:03:01.000 It's how they feed their families.

00:03:02.000 They send money back to the countries that they came from.

00:03:06.000 This is a larger issue.

00:03:09.000 And the reason it's a larger issue is one little restaurant like Craig's, we have 90 employees.

00:03:17.000 A furniture store might have five or six.

00:03:19.000 So when you shut down an industry like that, it really has a huge economic impact.

00:03:24.000 And then it has a social impact.

00:03:26.000 Because we all love to eat.

00:03:28.000 It's the one thing we have in common.

00:03:30.000 We like to get together as people.

00:03:32.000 I'm a giant fan of restaurants.

00:03:34.000 It's one of my favorite things to do is to go out to eat.

00:03:36.000 And living in L.A., It was so frustrating.

00:03:39.000 It was bizarre.

00:03:41.000 It doesn't make sense.

00:03:42.000 Now, when you guys get the orders, when they tell you what's shut down or what's open, is there anyone you communicate with?

00:03:48.000 Is there anyone that's involved in government that you've had conversations with?

00:03:52.000 No, that's the issue.

00:03:53.000 That's the biggest issue that we have is they refuse to communicate to any of us.

00:03:57.000 And I can't quite figure out why.

00:04:00.000 We hear about it on the news.

00:04:01.000 We've joined with about 40...

00:04:05.000 30, 40 other main owners that are all in the area.

00:04:10.000 And I think it's the one thing that's kind of a silver lining in all this is that we've all teamed up to kind of try to figure out what's going on.

00:04:17.000 But we find out about it from the news, and we have to just make these moves within 24 hours.

00:04:23.000 It's absolutely absurd.

00:04:24.000 And we've reached out.

00:04:25.000 I've reached out to Newsome.

00:04:27.000 I've reached out to Garcetti.

00:04:28.000 And they do nothing.

00:04:29.000 They put you on phony task force.

00:04:31.000 They lie.

00:04:32.000 They have no idea how serious this is.

00:04:36.000 And I commend you for having us on.

00:04:38.000 No one else wants to speak about it.

00:04:39.000 Everyone's too scared of backlash.

00:04:41.000 But what backlash?

00:04:42.000 I don't think they understand that LA is crumbling.

00:04:46.000 Yeah, I think people are thinking it's black and white.

00:04:48.000 If you say anything somewhat negative, they view you as you're anti-COVID, you're wanting to kill everybody, and that's not the case.

00:04:55.000 You're a science denier, right.

00:04:56.000 Yeah, that's not the case.

00:04:57.000 But that's not the issue.

00:04:58.000 So we're not denying that there's an issue.

00:05:00.000 We're not denying that people are getting sick.

00:05:01.000 We're not denying that there are...

00:05:03.000 We all are in this together.

00:05:05.000 So how do you do it well?

00:05:07.000 How do you do it smartly?

00:05:08.000 Where should we be spending money?

00:05:11.000 A perfect example is they're doing rapid testing in certain areas.

00:05:14.000 So instead of losing all of this revenue, why don't they invest in smart technology That has rapid testing that allows people to go to a restaurant, get a rapid test, you're positive, you're negative, and then you get to go into the restaurant.

00:05:29.000 Like we did here today.

00:05:31.000 Exactly.

00:05:31.000 We got rapid testing today.

00:05:33.000 Everyone's a fine where we can sit down and have a conversation, have no paranoia.

00:05:36.000 You could do that at a restaurant.

00:05:38.000 I was telling you about Stubbs BBQ here in Austin where Dave Chappelle and I have been doing shows.

00:05:43.000 Great establishment.

00:05:43.000 We do 400 seats.

00:05:45.000 We test everyone.

00:05:46.000 People get their way in advance.

00:05:48.000 They test them.

00:05:49.000 They get a COVID test, which gives them a nice peace of mind.

00:05:52.000 Like, oh great, I don't have it.

00:05:53.000 Then you get to sit down and enjoy a show.

00:05:55.000 And the place is packed.

00:05:56.000 And so the business is making money.

00:05:58.000 Everyone's having a good time.

00:06:00.000 It's possible.

00:06:01.000 Well, that's what a lot of people are doing in LA, right?

00:06:03.000 So they're having parties in LA. And a lot of them are doing rapid testing beforehand.

00:06:07.000 So everybody gets a wristband.

00:06:08.000 Then everybody in the party knows that everybody's negative.

00:06:12.000 But isn't the mayor threatening to shut those kind of parties down?

00:06:15.000 He's threatening to shut water off.

00:06:17.000 And by the way, he's done it.

00:06:18.000 Yeah, water and power, which we're living in like a dictatorship.

00:06:21.000 I literally feel like L.A. is like a third world country right now.

00:06:24.000 Never seen anything like this. 0.99

00:06:25.000 Well, if you go to Venice or you go to downtown L.A. and you see the encampments, it's fucking bananas. 1.00

00:06:31.000 I mean, third world countries wouldn't allow that shit. 1.00

00:06:34.000 It's worse. 1.00

00:06:35.000 This is some sort of dictatorship happening that to me is a bigger picture.

00:06:40.000 If other governments, if other states, counties, cities see that they can just shut an industry down so easily, get a name for themselves, get their name out there… What's stopping everyone else from doing this?

00:06:54.000 Exactly.

00:06:54.000 It's new power.

00:06:55.000 So here's Venice Beach.

00:06:56.000 Look at this video.

00:06:57.000 This is, I mean, this is very mild in comparison to some of the videos that I've seen.

00:07:02.000 But there's one from downtown LA that literally, so Venice Beach, all the boardwalk, that whole area, is now just encampments.

00:07:11.000 Wilshire and San Vicente?

00:07:13.000 It's pretty bad, right?

00:07:14.000 It's terrible.

00:07:16.000 Wilshire and San Vicente is bad.

00:07:18.000 Downtown LA is absolutely the worst.

00:07:20.000 Downtown LA is bananas.

00:07:22.000 Thousands and thousands of tents.

00:07:24.000 And I don't know how they're going to put that genie back in the bottle.

00:07:27.000 Now you've got, they're trying to clean up, because they're trying to, like, this is a health hazard. 1.00

00:07:31.000 You've got, like, human shit in the streets. 0.99

00:07:33.000 Like, how do we clean this? 1.00

00:07:34.000 So they're trying to clean up.

00:07:35.000 And now activists are stopping them from cleaning up.

00:07:38.000 They're like, your actions are violence, and they're holding hands and blocking cleanup crews.

00:07:43.000 Like...

00:07:43.000 But think about how many more people you've just added to the homeless roles because of all the industries that have been shut down.

00:07:52.000 Yeah.

00:07:52.000 And people that can't feed their families.

00:07:54.000 Yeah.

00:07:55.000 That's the hard part.

00:07:56.000 It's like, you know, John, we all know the same people.

00:07:59.000 And I actually, in my heart of hearts, think that...

00:08:07.000 They believe that they're helping.

00:08:09.000 That's my belief.

00:08:11.000 That's cute.

00:08:12.000 And I disagree with that.

00:08:12.000 I disagree wholeheartedly.

00:08:14.000 I know that.

00:08:15.000 But I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt.

00:08:17.000 That doesn't mean I agree with them or agree with what they're doing in the least.

00:08:21.000 But I will give a shout-out to, like, the city of West Hollywood, the mayor, Lindsay Voherveth, Paul Arevalo.

00:08:27.000 They have been so business-friendly.

00:08:29.000 They're trying to help as much as they can.

00:08:32.000 The permits, the ability for me to get my patio up and running, they moved in lightning speed.

00:08:39.000 But I'll give you an example.

00:08:40.000 I got the front patio built.

00:08:42.000 It finished on a Friday.

00:08:43.000 And on Saturday, I got shut down.

00:08:45.000 That's worthless.

00:08:46.000 So, what did I just spend 60 grand?

00:08:48.000 And there's no evidence that shows that outdoor dining is contributing significantly to the COVID spread.

00:08:55.000 There's no evidence.

00:08:55.000 They actually had to admit that, finally.

00:08:57.000 In court, the county has no evidence of a nexus between any sort of outbreak with outdoor dining.

00:09:05.000 So, how do they make this arbitrary distinction between outdoor dining and going to Walmart, or what they're calling essential?

00:09:12.000 They don't.

00:09:13.000 It doesn't make any sense.

00:09:14.000 There isn't.

00:09:16.000 Thank you.

00:09:17.000 Shut us down, right, for three weeks, right around, what was it, Thanksgiving?

00:09:22.000 Yes.

00:09:23.000 And some friends of ours took them to court and said, you know, how can you just shut down an industry with no evidence?

00:09:32.000 And they said, oh, we have plenty of evidence.

00:09:33.000 We have six studies and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

00:09:36.000 And then they actually got to court and they had nothing.

00:09:39.000 Nothing.

00:09:39.000 All the evidence was from indoor dining.

00:09:41.000 Not one piece of paper.

00:09:42.000 And they had to admit it.

00:09:43.000 So when they admit it, then what happens?

00:09:45.000 No, but now they're appealing it.

00:09:48.000 Why?

00:09:48.000 By the way, they've hired an outside counsel, so they're spending more money.

00:09:53.000 And you think these people have our best intentions?

00:09:54.000 Come on.

00:09:56.000 You're just being too nice.

00:09:57.000 This guy, Newsom wants a name for himself, and no one's calling him out, and it's absolutely insane to me.

00:10:02.000 Okay, here's the number one thing that boggles my mind.

00:10:06.000 You have a problem.

00:10:08.000 We all agree there's an illness, okay?

00:10:10.000 Yes.

00:10:10.000 The rates of hospitalizations are going up.

00:10:13.000 Infections are going up.

00:10:14.000 But the rates of death are going down.

00:10:16.000 Okay.

00:10:16.000 So, we have an issue.

00:10:18.000 Why not get together as a community and say, you know what?

00:10:21.000 We're going to grab a couple of restaurant people.

00:10:23.000 We're going to grab some doctors in the field. 0.99

00:10:26.000 Have a committee.

00:10:26.000 And have people that have real-world experience.

00:10:29.000 Not PhDs.

00:10:30.000 Not theoretical...

00:10:32.000 People that have real experience in the industry, grab them, grab a round table and say, okay, we have this problem.

00:10:39.000 How do we mitigate it and how do we move forward smartly?

00:10:42.000 I've never been asked.

00:10:43.000 John's never been asked.

00:10:44.000 No doctor that I know in the wide variety of people that I take care of has ever been asked their opinion by the county, state, on any level.

00:10:54.000 He's right.

00:10:55.000 That's the problem.

00:10:56.000 And I reached out directly.

00:10:57.000 I have Garcetti's email.

00:11:00.000 I email this mayor, puts me on with some random person from the office, then puts me on with the county.

00:11:07.000 And I say, hey, get us together.

00:11:08.000 Why don't you actually talk to real restaurant owners?

00:11:11.000 This is when they were thinking about – this is when they were going to do the curfew, right?

00:11:14.000 There was a 10 p.m.

00:11:15.000 curfew.

00:11:16.000 And I said, where's the 10 p.m.

00:11:18.000 curfew come from?

00:11:19.000 Oh, well, when people get inebriated, they get looser, and then they're super spreaders at restaurants.

00:11:24.000 And I'm like, okay, why 10 p.m.?

00:11:27.000 That's the time when people really start getting inebriated.

00:11:30.000 And I was like, but you realize you could at least say, hey, close up, let people make sure they get their check paid, and be out the door by midnight, 11.30, whatever it might be, rather than everyone out the door by 11.30.

00:11:44.000 10pm.

00:11:45.000 He said, well, you could seat someone at 9 and then kick them out at 9.50.

00:11:49.000 And I was like, do you have any understanding of the restaurant industry at all?

00:11:54.000 Not one.

00:11:55.000 Had not contacted any restaurateur.

00:11:58.000 They went to a 10pm curfew.

00:12:00.000 Three days later...

00:12:01.000 Shut it all down.

00:12:02.000 They just said, you know what?

00:12:03.000 We're just shutting everything down.

00:12:04.000 By the way, they've never heard no from anybody's.

00:12:06.000 You want to do six people or less?

00:12:09.000 Okay.

00:12:10.000 You want tables six feet apart?

00:12:11.000 Okay.

00:12:12.000 You want to do an 11 o'clock curfew?

00:12:15.000 Okay.

00:12:15.000 A 10 o'clock curfew?

00:12:16.000 Okay.

00:12:17.000 We've said yes to everything they've wanted.

00:12:20.000 And yet they still find a way to shut the industry down.

00:12:23.000 Well, why?

00:12:24.000 This is what I understand.

00:12:25.000 Why?

00:12:25.000 Who's making the decisions?

00:12:27.000 I personally think, again, I don't think Craig wants to say this, but I personally think it is politicians trying to make a name for themselves.

00:12:35.000 How does it make a name for yourself?

00:12:37.000 But I think it's fear.

00:12:38.000 I honestly think it's fear.

00:12:39.000 What?

00:12:40.000 I think it's fear.

00:12:41.000 That they're going to be seen as not having done something and people are being killed.

00:12:47.000 Newsom is on the news almost every day.

00:12:50.000 So much so that people get off the news, man.

00:12:53.000 Like this guy is speaking left and right.

00:12:55.000 He really thinks that he's the savior situation.

00:12:58.000 And I think that is where it's some sort of political gain situation in his mind.

00:13:04.000 And it's control.

00:13:07.000 By the way, I just found out recently, and I've been in this business for 15 years, I had no idea that we're considered independent restaurants.

00:13:18.000 Not franchise.

00:13:19.000 We had no representation.

00:13:21.000 We had no lobbyists.

00:13:22.000 The representation for the restaurant community is driven by big fast food chains.

00:13:28.000 Well, they have no incentive to help independent restaurants.

00:13:30.000 You know, McDonald's and all these people, which, God bless them, but they're thriving in COVID. So we just get bullied around, essentially, because there's no lobbyists.

00:13:40.000 And so we're kind of like sitting ducks in this situation.

00:13:44.000 And I kind of feel like we're somewhat trying to be a voice here for the independent restaurant world.

00:13:49.000 And it's not just LA. I mean, think about- It's much bigger.

00:13:53.000 New York and LA were trendsetters, right?

00:13:56.000 The country watched what happened in LA and New York and they followed.

00:14:00.000 And now LA and New York have just completely dropped the ball and everybody else is kind of rising up.

00:14:06.000 Well, they're examples of government overreach.

00:14:09.000 They're examples of government overreach without any thought whatsoever to these independent businesses.

00:14:14.000 It's a slippery slope.

00:14:15.000 How much more is that going to happen?

00:14:17.000 That is a big fear.

00:14:18.000 Well, it's also a slippery slope because what happens if it doesn't come back?

00:14:21.000 What happens if you drive down Melrose and those things stay boarded up?

00:14:24.000 What happens if downtown LA stays filled with tents?

00:14:27.000 What do you do?

00:14:28.000 Well, how many restaurants are going to be able to come back?

00:14:31.000 I mean, like I said before, we'll manage.

00:14:33.000 We'll figure out a way.

00:14:35.000 And John's point, like, Governor Newsom actually did help with something. 0.71

00:14:39.000 I was trying to get, you know, a back patio done, and there were a couple of health department rules, and his office did step in and said, that's ridiculous.

00:14:46.000 You should allow that and make that happen.

00:14:48.000 And they changed a rule that benefited not just my restaurant, but all restaurants.

00:14:53.000 Big Newsom fan over here.

00:14:54.000 No, no.

00:14:55.000 I'm just trying to, like, I'm trying to split the difference.

00:14:58.000 Like, I want it to be an honest conversation of, I think your policies are wrong.

00:15:05.000 I don't dislike you as a person.

00:15:07.000 Right?

00:15:07.000 There's a big distinction.

00:15:09.000 Sure.

00:15:09.000 Okay?

00:15:10.000 So that's all I'm trying to say.

00:15:11.000 But I will say that on the reservation list...

00:15:18.000 Somebody's name that rhymes with spaghetti will not get a reservation, okay?

00:15:22.000 I'll do that.

00:15:23.000 I mean, I will say, I've spoken out about him, and we got targeted pretty hardcore, openly.

00:15:28.000 They targeted you?

00:15:29.000 They came, health came every night when I finally, where are the permits for al fresco?

00:15:34.000 Where's this?

00:15:35.000 Every single night.

00:15:36.000 I'm like, you were here last night.

00:15:37.000 Well, you know, we were instructed to come every night.

00:15:39.000 I said, okay.

00:15:40.000 You were instructed to come every night because you talked out against Garcetti?

00:15:44.000 Ann Newsome, correct. 1.00

00:15:45.000 Jesus fucking Christ. 0.99

00:15:46.000 And my thing is, I agree, it's nothing personal. 1.00

00:15:50.000 It's their policies, their arbitrary policies.

00:15:52.000 How does it make sense that, you know, there's a million people passing through TSA a day?

00:15:57.000 I looked up all the stats.

00:15:58.000 How does it make sense that we can fly...

00:16:01.000 Here, for example, anywhere, Austin, New York, wherever it might be, and go right back in the same day with zero issues, zero checks, zero anything.

00:16:12.000 Yet, outdoor dining is completely shut down.

00:16:14.000 By the way, this is the first time in nine months I've left L.A. And the only reason, the way I got down here through JetEdge, by the way, thank you for a great ride.

00:16:22.000 And Private Suite.

00:16:22.000 And you guys are the best.

00:16:24.000 You're a big baller.

00:16:25.000 You should use JetEdge.

00:16:27.000 But I'm flying back United tonight, and it's the first time in nine months that I've left L.A. And I'm not a science denier and I take precautions and I'm around a lot of people.

00:16:39.000 When the patio was open, I was around 150, 180 people a night.

00:16:43.000 But you can go from LA to New York.

00:16:47.000 You can take your mask down and eat.

00:16:49.000 You can land in LA. You can go in a hotel.

00:16:52.000 You can then go to a mall and go shopping.

00:16:54.000 You can grab some food to go.

00:16:57.000 We could sit together and eat outdoors in the mall.

00:17:01.000 But I can't go outdoor and eat at a restaurant that employs 90 to 100 people and keep a business afloat.

00:17:11.000 We're not thriving.

00:17:13.000 Outdoor dining isn't blowing the doors off of the revenue.

00:17:17.000 It allows us to keep all of the people employed.

00:17:20.000 It allows employees to make some money.

00:17:22.000 We're paying payroll taxes.

00:17:24.000 We're paying sales taxes.

00:17:26.000 And we're just one little place.

00:17:28.000 There's 30,000 restaurants in Los Angeles.

00:17:31.000 Now, one of the reasons they cited for shutting it down was they found that 10% of the restaurants weren't abiding by the rules.

00:17:38.000 So, well, I would say then why don't you go to those 10% restaurants and shut them down or give them warnings to the point where they do come into line.

00:17:48.000 So if they're not social distancing and they're not wearing masks and shields and they're not wearing gloves and they're not doing all the things that you've asked restaurants to do, well, then you can target them.

00:18:00.000 But to shut down an entire industry because you feel like you have a couple of bad actors makes no sense.

00:18:06.000 None of this makes any sense, and this is the first time we were talking about this before the show, that people are realizing how important it is who the mayor is, how important it is who the governor is. 0.93

00:18:16.000 And the fact that the mayor is actively targeting you guys, because you've spoken out against these fucking ridiculous draconian restrictions that don't have any... 0.94

00:18:24.000 There's no logic behind them. 0.98

00:18:26.000 There's no studies.

00:18:28.000 Obviously, when you take them to court and they show that the studies are about indoor dining and not outdoor, they're lying.

00:18:33.000 And they're coming after you, like targeting you?

00:18:37.000 Well, we all know that the biggest spreaders are right, the distribution centers.

00:18:41.000 Construction, for some reason, and I don't understand why, but construction is a really big number.

00:18:47.000 So I just, I didn't mean to cut you off, but I was just like, I don't understand the logic behind it.

00:18:54.000 And the thing that I keep seeing in my head is the abject fear.

00:18:59.000 Of the employees.

00:19:00.000 Because they don't know what's going to happen next.

00:19:03.000 They don't know when we're going to open.

00:19:04.000 They don't know when they're going to get a paycheck.

00:19:06.000 When they're going to get their tips.

00:19:07.000 And we've kept on most of our people.

00:19:09.000 We haven't let our people go.

00:19:11.000 So it's costing the restaurant a lot of money.

00:19:13.000 But it's a family, and it's the holidays, and I don't want to be that guy that lets people go during the holidays.

00:19:18.000 But when are we reopening?

00:19:20.000 Are we going to reopen?

00:19:21.000 Well, if you close Thanksgiving, it was a super spreader event.

00:19:23.000 Well, then I guess Christmas is.

00:19:25.000 Well, it was supposed to be three weeks, right?

00:19:27.000 So are you back open?

00:19:28.000 No, so that was a lie, too.

00:19:30.000 And they were openly lying about three weeks because when I would call the county, the inside that had the county, they were like, it's a minimum six weeks.

00:19:40.000 I'm like, well, why are you guys saying three weeks publicly?

00:19:42.000 We don't want pandemonium to happen.

00:19:44.000 I'm like, you realize this is the problem.

00:19:47.000 There's zero trust.

00:19:48.000 And when they said it, three weeks would have come right before holidays.

00:19:53.000 Their whole point was to get past January 1st.

00:19:55.000 Now I'm hearing they want to go until February or March and just keep it fully shut.

00:20:00.000 The county order is over.

00:20:01.000 The county order is over now, but they're saying that the state order supersedes it because ICU numbers are high.

00:20:09.000 Okay, so if Thanksgiving was a super spreader event and they were protecting us against that, then Christmas is one.

00:20:15.000 Then New Year's Eve is one.

00:20:17.000 So you've got to figure at the earliest, if we get lucky...

00:20:21.000 March.

00:20:21.000 January 20th?

00:20:23.000 Maybe three weeks after New Year's Eve would make sense.

00:20:27.000 If we're lucky.

00:20:28.000 They have to stop lying and saying that they have science behind this.

00:20:32.000 Honestly.

00:20:34.000 You're not controlling this thing.

00:20:36.000 You either shut down the entire country, no airports, nothing.

00:20:39.000 Shut everything down.

00:20:40.000 Literally nothing.

00:20:42.000 Or you can't just pick and choose what's going to be open or not.

00:20:45.000 It literally makes zero sense.

00:20:47.000 And I don't know why no one has thought of this or is telling them this.

00:20:50.000 I can't quite figure out who's advising these guys.

00:20:52.000 I think what happens is once you make a decision and you do something, it's very difficult to say that that decision was wrong.

00:20:58.000 Sure. 1.00

00:20:58.000 No matter how stupid it is. 1.00

00:20:59.000 Because if nothing's changed in terms of the virus's impact and the ICU numbers, but yet you decide to open up restaurants again, that means you're admitting that you made a mistake. 1.00

00:21:08.000 Sure.

00:21:08.000 Well, look at the numbers have skyrocketed.

00:21:10.000 We've been closed since November 25th.

00:21:12.000 The numbers have continued to skyrocket.

00:21:14.000 Yeah, there's almost 400,000 cases in the last seven days in LA. Well, I saw a chart and it said that the highest number they could attribute to restaurants at all was 3%.

00:21:24.000 Okay, so that's a perfect example.

00:21:26.000 So if you're not going to a restaurant that's licensed and says, okay, you can have six people or less and there's eight feet apart and all of the rules that we abide by.

00:21:35.000 If you're not going to go to a restaurant, well, then you're going to have people over in your house.

00:21:39.000 And they're not abiding by the rules.

00:21:41.000 Right, no.

00:21:41.000 Okay?

00:21:42.000 And there's not six people, eight people.

00:21:44.000 It's usually 12 people or 15 people or 20 people.

00:21:47.000 And look, we all know that the spread is coming from, you know, in-home dining.

00:21:52.000 Yeah.

00:21:53.000 Okay?

00:21:53.000 A lot of it.

00:21:54.000 Because people want to get together.

00:21:55.000 We're social animals.

00:21:56.000 We do not want to be isolated.

00:21:58.000 You're not stopping families from getting together.

00:22:00.000 And we're seeing it.

00:22:01.000 We see orders come in for 30 people, 40 people at homes.

00:22:06.000 How is that okay?

00:22:08.000 I don't know the numbers, but I know that we're doing it in larger pans and things like that.

00:22:12.000 So it's not my job to enforce that, and I try not to ask too many questions.

00:22:17.000 And I'm all for it.

00:22:18.000 I want people to have fun.

00:22:19.000 At this point, it's insane.

00:22:21.000 I don't see an end in sight the way it's going, especially in California.

00:22:25.000 I see the end being people just mass exiting out of California.

00:22:28.000 Sure.

00:22:29.000 And they're already doing it.

00:22:30.000 They're losing the soul of the state.

00:22:32.000 And I'm born and raised L.A. I live and die for it.

00:22:35.000 I have 15 places there.

00:22:37.000 You know, I've never left, and this is the first time I'm sad about the city and state that I'm from.

00:22:46.000 I have a real fear of it never returning.

00:22:48.000 I said that to my friends back in May, and they're like, you're out of your mind.

00:22:52.000 I'm like, I'm telling you, the foundation is eroding, and there's no plan to keep it alive.

00:22:58.000 There's no plan.

00:23:00.000 When they have the comedy store shut down, they literally wouldn't allow someone to be on stage inside and broadcast to people outside.

00:23:09.000 They had tables outside.

00:23:10.000 They had these people set up outside.

00:23:12.000 They let them have people outside and serve food and drinks. 0.99

00:23:15.000 But they wouldn't let someone be inside on a stage and broadcast to a fucking screen outside. 0.99

00:23:21.000 Right. 0.99

00:23:21.000 It made no sense. 0.99

00:23:23.000 Zero.

00:23:23.000 I was talking to Jeff Ross last week.

00:23:25.000 By the way, he'd be very impressed.

00:23:27.000 You actually have water and coffee.

00:23:29.000 He said you will find nothing to eat or drink and Joe should be embarrassed.

00:23:33.000 And I'm here to tell you.

00:23:34.000 I don't know.

00:23:35.000 He's making that up.

00:23:36.000 He's just fat and he needs food every five minutes. 1.00

00:23:39.000 Fuck you, Jeff. 1.00

00:23:40.000 Okay, I'm part of the reason he's fat. 1.00

00:23:42.000 Easy on that.

00:23:43.000 I'm friends with you.

00:23:44.000 He knows I love him.

00:23:45.000 And I love him too.

00:23:46.000 So the thing is, he was saying like, at Saddle Ranch, which is right next door to the Comedy Store, they had outdoor dining in a parking lot.

00:23:53.000 And they were abiding by all the rules.

00:23:54.000 And the Comedy Store wanted to do the same thing.

00:23:57.000 And they wanted to have a comic 10, 15 feet away.

00:24:00.000 They wouldn't allow it.

00:24:00.000 And they wouldn't allow it.

00:24:01.000 And you're like, I don't understand.

00:24:03.000 There's no logic at all.

00:24:05.000 Yeah, and you go to stores, and there's one clerk.

00:24:08.000 There's no regulation of the 200 people in the store, all half-mask on, bumping into each other.

00:24:14.000 It's madness.

00:24:16.000 Madness.

00:24:16.000 Yeah.

00:24:17.000 So a restaurant can actually be controlled.

00:24:21.000 Yeah.

00:24:21.000 I'm not even arguing for...

00:24:22.000 I own a bunch of nightclub stuff.

00:24:24.000 I'm not arguing for any of that.

00:24:25.000 I think we'd be safe in that regard.

00:24:27.000 I'm all for the COVID safety of what you can actually control.

00:24:31.000 But this is madness.

00:24:32.000 But when you come here, and you come to Austin, and you go to a restaurant, and you realize, like, oh, you can actually eat at a restaurant here.

00:24:39.000 You can go inside, and it's normal.

00:24:42.000 Yeah, I felt alive again.

00:24:43.000 It's crazy.

00:24:44.000 No, it was really weird.

00:24:44.000 We had dinner last night, and we were inside, and I was looking around going, this is so bizarre.

00:24:48.000 Felt like I was doing something wrong.

00:24:49.000 I've taken friends to dinner that have not left L.A., and they've come here to visit, and I've taken them to dinner, and they have this look on their face like they're like, someone need to come take us away?

00:24:59.000 They're cutting their food up like they're Willy Wonka.

00:25:02.000 I really think these health inspectors, I feel like I'm in like I now know what, like, Prohibition era it was.

00:25:08.000 Speakeasy life.

00:25:09.000 Real similar.

00:25:10.000 I mean, I literally am afraid.

00:25:12.000 I'm like going out the back door when I see a health inspector.

00:25:14.000 I don't know what is going on here.

00:25:15.000 Well, it's the same logic.

00:25:16.000 When someone has the ability to tell people what to do, then they feel like they have some sort of a right to do that.

00:25:22.000 And they enforce these rules.

00:25:24.000 Yeah.

00:25:25.000 That don't make any sense, but they feel like they're right because it's written somewhere.

00:25:29.000 And this is the problem with human beings when it comes to power.

00:25:31.000 Power is very intoxicating for people.

00:25:34.000 And when you have some sort of a situation like this, where you have this pandemic, where you can semi-justify the wielding of this power, people will do it with impunity, and that's what you're seeing right now.

00:25:45.000 And I will say, like he said earlier, a majority of what this is a voice for the employees, 100%.

00:25:50.000 But also independent restaurant operators, you know, from small to big, you know, majority of independent restaurant owner operators are family owned.

00:25:58.000 There's, you know, five person families eating off of, you know, their one restaurant establishment they own, two restaurant establishments they own.

00:26:05.000 They're scared to speak out, one.

00:26:08.000 Two, if they want to speak out, there's no outlet.

00:26:12.000 There's no one to talk to.

00:26:14.000 And I think that this suppression is what's the strange situation that I see.

00:26:20.000 Well, there's also a very clear blowback.

00:26:22.000 Like you're saying, you're getting inspected every night.

00:26:26.000 That...

00:26:27.000 Should be criminal.

00:26:28.000 It should be.

00:26:28.000 That's an abuse of power, and you're clearly not doing this because you think someone's doing something wrong.

00:26:34.000 100%.

00:26:34.000 Right, one of the things they...

00:26:36.000 And the guy felt bad.

00:26:37.000 He said, I don't know.

00:26:38.000 I have to do this.

00:26:38.000 They keep talking about it is the fact that the reason they shut down all of the restaurants was because they couldn't...

00:26:45.000 They inspect 20,000 to 30,000 restaurants on a regular basis because they just didn't have the manpower, yet they're at his place five, six nights in a row.

00:26:53.000 Exactly.

00:26:53.000 So it doesn't make any sense.

00:26:55.000 It's like... 0.99

00:26:55.000 That's so fucking dirty. 0.99

00:26:57.000 That's corruption. 1.00

00:26:58.000 I know it is.

00:26:59.000 That is corruption.

00:27:00.000 And I think they think it was going to stop me or have me be scared.

00:27:03.000 It's the opposite.

00:27:04.000 I have nothing to hide.

00:27:05.000 I have no skeletons in my closet.

00:27:06.000 I don't care.

00:27:07.000 They need to be called out.

00:27:08.000 This can't happen to...

00:27:10.000 I got into this business out of love and I still love it.

00:27:15.000 This whole scenario has made me be like, should we move everything to places that want us?

00:27:23.000 Dallas and Austin and Miami.

00:27:25.000 That's how sad it is in LA and California.

00:27:28.000 They're going to lose people that are at the top of their game in our industry.

00:27:34.000 And clearly in other industries, as we've seen the exodus from all the other titans that are in other industries, why?

00:27:41.000 For what?

00:27:41.000 Well, that's how people feel about comedy clubs as well.

00:27:43.000 It's the same sort of environment.

00:27:45.000 I've gotten phone calls from every major comedy club owner in this country trying to figure out how to open up in Austin.

00:27:52.000 Because they're like, we've got to get out of LA. But think about it.

00:27:54.000 We're two people, and we represent, like I said, we're on a chain of about 40 people, and we all feel the same way.

00:28:00.000 Nobody's a denier.

00:28:01.000 Nobody's saying there isn't an issue.

00:28:03.000 And we're all rule followers.

00:28:05.000 We're all willing to do whatever we can do to make sure that people feel safe, that the county's involved, the city's involved, and the state's involved.

00:28:13.000 And yet, there is no answer we can give them to where they say, okay, that makes sense.

00:28:19.000 Let's try it.

00:28:20.000 Well, I think it's because they're not being held accountable.

00:28:22.000 There's no way you can hold them accountable.

00:28:25.000 There's nothing you can do.

00:28:26.000 Nothing you can do.

00:28:26.000 It's not like, you know, this is a democratic society, right?

00:28:29.000 But it's not with everything.

00:28:31.000 You don't get to vote on whether or not you're allowing outdoor dining.

00:28:35.000 It's not like you can present evidence to the people.

00:28:38.000 Like, this is why it's safe.

00:28:40.000 This is what we're going to do.

00:28:41.000 And then you allow people to vote.

00:28:43.000 They would overwhelmingly vote.

00:28:44.000 Here's the thing.

00:28:44.000 They were voting with their feet.

00:28:46.000 Yes, they were going.

00:28:51.000 Packed.

00:28:51.000 To the limits that we were supposed to be.

00:28:54.000 It wasn't like insane.

00:28:57.000 So yes, they were voting.

00:28:59.000 And here's the thing, besides the employees that are just like heartbroken and they don't know where to go or what to do, Yeah.

00:29:24.000 Normal.

00:29:25.000 And what I think we're realizing through this whole time is that we are social animals.

00:29:29.000 We spend so much time on our technology and our devices that kind of pull us apart.

00:29:33.000 This time over the last eight or nine months has realized how much we actually need each other and how much we get from each other.

00:29:40.000 What's it like being in a comedy club with 400 people and hearing people laugh and doing it together?

00:29:46.000 That's a big difference than sitting in your home by yourself.

00:29:51.000 And being isolated and worried about a disease and just freaking out about your kids and your family and should I do this or should I do that or how am I going to pay for this or how am I going to keep my employees or how am I going to keep my business afloat?

00:30:05.000 The stress is almost worse than the actual disease.

00:30:09.000 Yeah, well that's the case with a lot of people.

00:30:11.000 The suicides are up, drug addictions up.

00:30:13.000 And mental health is through the roof.

00:30:15.000 Yeah, through the roof.

00:30:16.000 Yeah, there's a lot of issues.

00:30:17.000 There's vodka in this, by the way.

00:30:19.000 Well, you can have some if you want.

00:30:21.000 We have booze here. 0.65

00:30:22.000 But the unwillingness to course correct is one of the most disturbing things about this.

00:30:27.000 Like the understanding that this is deteriorating these businesses, destroying small businesses, destroying restaurants, destroying bars, destroying comedy clubs, and no willingness to course correct or make some sort of, like find some sort of middle ground.

00:30:41.000 And LA's being impacted hugely, but think about the restaurant scene in New York.

00:30:46.000 I mean, it's 30 degrees there and it's snowing.

00:30:49.000 And they're going outside.

00:30:50.000 But at least they can go outside.

00:30:51.000 How about that?

00:30:52.000 They're still allowing outdoor dining.

00:30:53.000 Yeah.

00:30:54.000 But New York is allowing outdoor dining.

00:30:56.000 They are. 0.99

00:30:56.000 Which is fucking bananas. 0.99

00:30:57.000 Like, why isn't LA? Explain that to me. 0.98

00:31:00.000 I think back when this all started, when everyone thought this was like the Black Plague and this was the worst thing ever, everyone understood shutting everything down.

00:31:08.000 I think now that we've seen what's going on, I don't see why they can't correct it and say, you know, there's a safe way to do this.

00:31:16.000 Well, not only that, the disease itself, because it's not what we thought it was going to be, particularly when you look at the deaths now, the deaths are way down low.

00:31:24.000 The people that I know that have gotten it, including Jamie, Jamie kicked it in a day.

00:31:28.000 This is not something to destroy our entire economy for.

00:31:31.000 I had it, and the same way.

00:31:33.000 But it affects everyone different.

00:31:35.000 We're 100%.

00:31:36.000 It's definitely something to be safe about.

00:31:39.000 With that said, is there a way to have there be safe outdoor dining like we've seen everywhere else?

00:31:46.000 Yes.

00:31:47.000 And that is the issue.

00:31:48.000 But there's a fundamental failure of leadership because all they're looking at is how to shut things down.

00:31:53.000 There's been no emphasis whatsoever on improving people's health.

00:31:57.000 No emphasis whatsoever on vitamin supplementation or improving your immune system.

00:32:02.000 Zero.

00:32:03.000 Zero discussion of that.

00:32:04.000 It's all power.

00:32:05.000 Yeah.

00:32:06.000 Okay, so if the argument is we're really trying to fight the disease and we're trying to lower the incidence of transmission.

00:32:15.000 Flatten the curve.

00:32:15.000 Okay, flatten the curve.

00:32:16.000 Then you take the places where it's happening the most and you get rid of those.

00:32:23.000 But you can't.

00:32:24.000 But you don't get rid of a restaurant business where, what is it, 1.4% transmission rate?

00:32:28.000 Mm-hmm.

00:32:29.000 That's the latest thing I heard.

00:32:31.000 Well, I think what you're saying is very important that you guys are independent and you don't have lobbyists because it seems to show, it highlights the real inefficiencies of this system or the real flaws of this system.

00:32:42.000 All you have to do is look at Chipotle's numbers.

00:32:44.000 Look at Chipotle's numbers.

00:32:46.000 They're through the roof.

00:32:47.000 Yeah, and by the way, God bless them.

00:32:48.000 I'm happy.

00:32:49.000 By the way, I'm a fan.

00:32:49.000 I like the food.

00:32:50.000 I'm happy for it, but the issue is exactly that.

00:32:54.000 Everyone, miraculously, groups that have lobbyists Are going fine.

00:32:59.000 All filming is going, by the way. 0.98

00:33:01.000 Well, you've seen that video, I'm sure, of the woman who has the outdoor dining area that's across the fucking parking lot. 1.00

00:33:07.000 She's getting shut down, and they're setting up these dining areas, these outdoor dining areas for motion pictures. 0.86

00:33:13.000 Okay, so I said, okay.

00:33:15.000 It's insane.

00:33:15.000 I understand.

00:33:16.000 It's unfair.

00:33:16.000 The film crew is being tested, and that's why they're together.

00:33:20.000 She's suing Newsom.

00:33:21.000 Newsom's sued by restaurant owner over California coronavirus.

00:33:23.000 He just clearly doesn't care, though.

00:33:25.000 Here's the gray area.

00:33:26.000 Why didn't they hire her to cater the event that was happening 20 feet from her place? 0.99

00:33:33.000 That way she makes a couple of bucks, and you're kind of like striking a balance. 1.00

00:33:38.000 Well, they probably have some sort of union deal in terms of catering.

00:33:41.000 I guarantee the amount of...

00:33:45.000 The required amount of recall numbers to recall Newsom is going to happen and nothing's going to happen to him.

00:33:50.000 That's how rigged I think everything is.

00:33:52.000 Well, they did – they recalled Gray in – was it 2003 when Schwarzenegger became the governor?

00:33:58.000 Yes.

00:33:58.000 I mean it can happen.

00:33:59.000 And if things keep deteriorating, it can happen.

00:34:02.000 People have lost all faith in him after that French laundry incident.

00:34:05.000 The French laundry thing – I think people are laughing about it, and it's funny, but it's also...

00:34:10.000 He just got caught doing that.

00:34:13.000 One time.

00:34:13.000 How many other times?

00:34:14.000 We all know his winery is open.

00:34:16.000 Miraculously, wineries are an exception to restaurants.

00:34:19.000 Well, in his county, in the area where his winery is, it's open.

00:34:22.000 Sure.

00:34:23.000 How's that fair?

00:34:24.000 Yeah, it doesn't make any sense.

00:34:25.000 It makes no sense, but...

00:34:26.000 They're going to say that the transmission rates and the incidence of infections there are low.

00:34:32.000 Yeah.

00:34:32.000 Right?

00:34:33.000 So...

00:34:34.000 Sure.

00:34:34.000 That's what he tried to say about the French Laundry, that it's a low-impact area.

00:34:37.000 He also said he was outside at French Laundry. 1.00

00:34:39.000 But there's a fucking chandelier. 1.00

00:34:41.000 Clearly there's a chandelier above his head. 1.00

00:34:43.000 Outside means stars above your head.

00:34:46.000 That's what outside means. 0.99

00:34:47.000 Outside doesn't mean a fucking chandelier. 0.99

00:34:51.000 That's a roof, bro. 0.99

00:34:52.000 No, it's a roof.

00:34:53.000 That's not outside.

00:34:54.000 Mirrors on the wall.

00:34:55.000 We see it all, buddy.

00:34:56.000 Yeah.

00:34:56.000 Sliding glass door.

00:34:58.000 That's inside.

00:34:59.000 Looked like a nice dinner, though.

00:35:00.000 Yeah.

00:35:00.000 Looked great.

00:35:02.000 Listen, I don't fault him for eating dinner in a restaurant. 0.99

00:35:06.000 Neither do I. I fault him for telling everybody else to not eat dinner and to be safe and to not do anything and to put your fucking mask on in between bites of food. 0.99

00:35:15.000 At home. 0.99

00:35:15.000 Yeah. 0.99

00:35:15.000 And meanwhile, he didn't have a mask on at all. 0.99

00:35:17.000 They're sitting right next to everybody.

00:35:19.000 It's bananas.

00:35:20.000 The whole thing is bananas.

00:35:21.000 Yeah, completely carefree.

00:35:22.000 I love the fact that it's not even helping them.

00:35:25.000 Like with Garcetti, Black Lives Matter is at his house 22 days in a row protesting.

00:35:29.000 He couldn't have tried to be more progressive.

00:35:32.000 It wouldn't be possible.

00:35:33.000 He's bend the knee at every single chance he could. 1.00

00:35:36.000 And they're like, fuck you. 1.00

00:35:37.000 We don't want you. 1.00

00:35:38.000 Get out.

00:35:39.000 Defund the police.

00:35:39.000 Because he's got no backbone.

00:35:40.000 He doesn't stand for anything.

00:35:42.000 I just think the whole thing is being run by academics that don't really have any real world experience.

00:35:49.000 I don't know if it's academics.

00:35:51.000 I don't believe it's academics.

00:35:52.000 I think it's bureaucrats.

00:35:53.000 I think by the time they get it...

00:35:54.000 Bureaucrats is the key. 0.99

00:35:55.000 With a complete lack of any...

00:35:58.000 They have no desire to understand any aspect.

00:36:00.000 Well, but I think...

00:36:01.000 Okay, so the bureaucrats are giving their knowledge by the academics that have no real world experience. 0.83

00:36:07.000 Yeah.

00:36:08.000 I don't even think they're getting knowledge from the academics.

00:36:10.000 I don't.

00:36:10.000 I think they're just looking at statistics and they're making arbitrary decisions.

00:36:14.000 And I think, here's the problem.

00:36:16.000 There's no real consequences.

00:36:17.000 I think if their income was directly related to the amount of income of their county or of their city...

00:36:22.000 They're all getting their paychecks.

00:36:24.000 The Board of Supervisors that voted to shut down dining are all getting their paychecks.

00:36:30.000 By the way, good example.

00:36:32.000 Supervisor, cool.

00:36:34.000 Is single-handedly the one that actually put the nail in the coffin for the shutdown?

00:36:38.000 What does she do right after? 0.99

00:36:40.000 She goes to a restaurant for lunch.

00:36:42.000 Literally ate out the day she made the decision.

00:36:45.000 She said, the most dangerous thing you can do is eat at a restaurant and then went and ate at a restaurant.

00:36:53.000 Did she?

00:36:53.000 Well, that's what's so bizarre about this, what happened with Birx.

00:36:57.000 Like, she resigned now.

00:36:58.000 She told people.

00:37:01.000 I think she's going to help with the Biden transition and then whatever.

00:37:04.000 Is that what she's doing? 0.99

00:37:05.000 I thought she quit. 0.83

00:37:06.000 I thought she just stepped down completely. 0.97

00:37:08.000 I think she stepped down completely because the blowbacks have been pretty substantial.

00:37:11.000 Told people not to go anywhere, don't do anything, don't go see your family members.

00:37:15.000 Then went to go see your family members.

00:37:17.000 It's across the board.

00:37:18.000 They're all doing it.

00:37:19.000 They all say, do as I say, not as I do.

00:37:21.000 How does that make sense? 1.00

00:37:22.000 Fucking bananas. 1.00

00:37:24.000 This is really clown world. 1.00

00:37:26.000 And again, the people that are paying the price are the people that can least afford to pay the price. 0.82

00:37:32.000 And that is the people that are lowest on the rung, the dishwashers, the busboys, the waiters, and...

00:37:38.000 Buying retirement.

00:37:39.000 After buying...

00:37:40.000 What day is this?

00:37:42.000 This today?

00:37:42.000 Hi, retirement.

00:37:44.000 Yeah, eyeing it.

00:37:45.000 Uh-huh.

00:37:45.000 Okay.

00:37:46.000 Yeah.

00:37:46.000 Good call.

00:37:47.000 It's like Garcetti came out saying that L.A. needs him, so he's choosing to not go to the White House.

00:37:52.000 Sure, buddy.

00:37:53.000 Oh, that's hilarious.

00:37:54.000 Yeah, sure, buddy.

00:37:54.000 Yeah.

00:37:55.000 They're protesting outside of your house for 22 days in a row.

00:37:57.000 L.A. will pay you to be gone, dude.

00:37:59.000 Yeah, that is a very unpopular mayor.

00:38:02.000 And just a weirdly...

00:38:05.000 Yeah.

00:38:07.000 Yeah.

00:38:20.000 Oh yeah, it makes me want to run.

00:38:22.000 I just don't want to get involved in that.

00:38:25.000 You know, I mean, it's like, that is the issue.

00:38:28.000 It's like, this is who we have.

00:38:30.000 That's our leaders.

00:38:31.000 This is our only option.

00:38:32.000 I never gave any consideration at all as to who the mayor was.

00:38:36.000 I never thought about it.

00:38:37.000 I'm just like, oh, the mayor?

00:38:38.000 What's his name?

00:38:38.000 Garcetti?

00:38:39.000 Going to the store.

00:38:40.000 See ya.

00:38:40.000 Going to this restaurant.

00:38:41.000 Going to Felix. 1.00

00:38:42.000 I've never thought it's so important that you have to scrutinize every potential decision they could make because if something goes wrong, if the shit hits the fan like it has, those people, these fucking incompetent morons that don't have... 1.00

00:39:00.000 There's no consequence whatsoever for their poor decision making. 1.00

00:39:03.000 The only consequence is they might get voted out in a few years.

00:39:07.000 That's it.

00:39:07.000 And they don't care.

00:39:08.000 But here's the funny thing.

00:39:09.000 The city of West Hollywood...

00:39:11.000 Everybody on, you know, from the mayor on down, they're not in favor of this, and they want our restaurants open.

00:39:17.000 The city of West Hollywood has been excellent for the Comedy Store as well.

00:39:19.000 They're fantastic.

00:39:20.000 They just have no power.

00:39:22.000 Yes, they don't have the power.

00:39:22.000 And the city of Beverly Hills has voted, you know, they voted against shutting all this down.

00:39:28.000 But they just don't have the power because they are run by, you know, County Health.

00:39:32.000 I think that's the issue is the abuse of power you said earlier.

00:39:35.000 It's like to me, because it's affected our personal industry so much, it's been eye-opening on the local politics up to state basically.

00:39:46.000 And I think that's the bigger picture is the fact that this can actually happen.

00:39:50.000 It could happen to any industry.

00:39:51.000 It could happen to anyone.

00:39:52.000 They can flex this power when they need to.

00:39:55.000 Yeah, and I really do think it's a small amount of people that are responsible for this.

00:39:59.000 I really do.

00:39:59.000 I think it's a small amount of people that have made poor decisions from the beginning, but decisions in the beginning that probably they thought were good decisions that we all would have agreed to because we did think this was going to be the plague.

00:40:11.000 We thought this was going to wipe out a giant percentage of our population.

00:40:14.000 It turned out to not be that.

00:40:15.000 Right.

00:40:15.000 But there's been no course correction, and these people have dug their heels in, and now they're exercising this newfound power that never existed before.

00:40:24.000 The mayor's never had the ability to shut down entire industries.

00:40:27.000 The governor's never had the kind of ability that they have now to decide who goes to school and who doesn't.

00:40:34.000 I frankly don't even know how it's legal now.

00:40:36.000 It's probably not.

00:40:38.000 They could keep citing public health, but I'm not sure what the threshold is for it to be legal for them to...

00:40:45.000 To actually shut down...

00:40:46.000 Well, you would think if you're going to cite public health, you would need a mountain of data to support your position.

00:40:51.000 100%.

00:40:51.000 Before you can make this life-changing decision.

00:40:53.000 So the county single-handedly decided to shut down restaurants.

00:40:57.000 They said they had all this data.

00:40:58.000 They went to court.

00:41:00.000 The judge said, show us the data.

00:41:01.000 They came back with nothing.

00:41:03.000 Right.

00:41:03.000 Okay?

00:41:03.000 They lost.

00:41:04.000 Because they showed data that was from inside dining.

00:41:07.000 There was no one piece.

00:41:09.000 It was indoor dining.

00:41:11.000 They got caught doing that.

00:41:12.000 So yes, one piece, but it was indoor.

00:41:13.000 And now they're appealing the ruling Using an outside law firm that doesn't even work for the city.

00:41:19.000 But why would they appeal the ruling?

00:41:21.000 Because they don't want to admit...

00:41:22.000 Because what you said is they're not going to admit the wrong.

00:41:24.000 Yeah, because if they admit that they're wrong, then they could be held responsible.

00:41:29.000 If someone sues them, if all the restaurants got together and sued them for the lost wages and for destroying an industry, it would be devastating.

00:41:38.000 The only way they can stay afloat is if they maintain this position that they're doing it to help people.

00:41:44.000 And then they said, you know, the big thing John and I hear, and yes, it does help a little bit, but at least we left you with, you know, food to go and delivery.

00:41:54.000 That does not help.

00:41:54.000 That is complete BS. But that's a lack of understanding about your business.

00:41:57.000 God bless Craig for making money on it.

00:41:59.000 You do not make money on delivery and to go.

00:42:01.000 It's a lack of understanding of the business.

00:42:03.000 Completely.

00:42:04.000 Yeah.

00:42:04.000 Well, it's also a lack of understanding of the margins that a business operates on when it's a restaurant, even if you're full every night.

00:42:09.000 Right.

00:42:10.000 So if you look at it...

00:42:11.000 But the delivery services win.

00:42:13.000 Oh, Postmates and DoorDash are winning.

00:42:15.000 So if you look at it, you've got 30% food cost, you've got 30% labor cost, you've got 20% for rent, utilities, incidentals, insurance, all that other stuff.

00:42:26.000 So at best, with no mistakes, And everybody doing everything perfect.

00:42:31.000 And the refrigerator not breaking or the plumbing not breaking or any of that stuff not happening.

00:42:35.000 You might be at 15, 12% profit rate, right?

00:42:39.000 Yeah.

00:42:40.000 But then Postmates, DoorDash, they come in and they take their piece.

00:42:44.000 18%.

00:42:44.000 So you're losing on a good night.

00:42:47.000 Yeah.

00:42:47.000 There's no shot at making money.

00:42:49.000 You're just kind of stemming the bleeding.

00:42:50.000 So Postmates takes 18% and you need 15%.

00:42:53.000 If you're at full capacity, You're getting 15% profit.

00:42:59.000 And then Postmates takes 18, so you're losing three.

00:43:02.000 At least.

00:43:03.000 At least.

00:43:04.000 Jesus Christ, that's crazy.

00:43:06.000 This last round, I mean, God bless Christ, we stopped everything except for one of our barbecue, our slab place.

00:43:12.000 Everything else, we've just stopped and just going to wait to reopen, whenever that is.

00:43:18.000 Whenever dictator Newsom allows it.

00:43:20.000 There's no point to fight this.

00:43:24.000 He's right, and you're defending the guy.

00:43:26.000 Stop being scared, Craig.

00:43:27.000 No, it's not about scared.

00:43:28.000 You are scared.

00:43:28.000 It's about Stockholm Syndrome.

00:43:30.000 No, it's not.

00:43:31.000 What's he going to do, arrest you?

00:43:32.000 No, I actually...

00:43:33.000 Actually, he may do that to me.

00:43:34.000 No, I actually... 0.99

00:43:35.000 If you move out of LA, he won't have shit on you. 0.98

00:43:37.000 I like the guy, and I just have... 0.99

00:43:39.000 There's something inside me that's, like, hoping that they're doing it for, like, you know, whatever.

00:43:43.000 What?

00:43:44.000 Yeah, you're out of your mind.

00:43:45.000 That's why you're here, bro. 0.99

00:43:46.000 You are out of your mind. 0.97

00:43:48.000 I know, I'm out of my mind.

00:43:49.000 You're just a good guy. 1.00

00:43:51.000 Good for you for being so loyal to a friend that's fucking stabbing you in the back with a poison knife. 1.00

00:43:55.000 Okay, alright. 1.00

00:43:56.000 It's true, though. 0.82

00:43:58.000 It's true.

00:44:00.000 What were we talking about?

00:44:01.000 If he makes a reservation at Craig's, are you having a meet there?

00:44:03.000 Honestly.

00:44:04.000 Gavin?

00:44:04.000 Yes.

00:44:05.000 First name basis now.

00:44:06.000 I got you.

00:44:07.000 Bro, someone's gonna nuke your building.

00:44:09.000 Yeah.

00:44:10.000 I'll put it this way.

00:44:11.000 I won't allow the reservation for you.

00:44:13.000 I'll put a stop to that.

00:44:14.000 Here's the thing about that guy.

00:44:16.000 The people that know him say he's a very nice guy.

00:44:18.000 I'm sure he is.

00:44:18.000 He actually is a really nice guy, and I actually do think he thinks he's doing the right thing.

00:44:23.000 He's doing the wrong thing.

00:44:24.000 No, I think it's power-hungry.

00:44:25.000 I think he thinks he's going to be president.

00:44:27.000 I think he thinks he's going to be president as well. 1.00

00:44:28.000 And I think he thinks we're all idiots and don't see through that. 0.99

00:44:31.000 Well, he's hired a crisis management firm to try to deal with what's happened, the blowback from the French Laundry incident. 1.00

00:44:36.000 I don't know if he'll be able to get over that because he handled it so poorly.

00:44:39.000 You know what he should have come out and said?

00:44:41.000 Yeah, I like eating out too, actually.

00:44:42.000 I messed up in that regard.

00:44:44.000 There's a little statement of like, I should have, if I had known so many people, I would have stood up and shut up.

00:44:51.000 And gone home.

00:44:52.000 But I didn't. 0.99

00:44:53.000 I just fucking partied. 0.99

00:44:54.000 I ate a thousand dollar meal. 1.00

00:44:56.000 It was great.

00:44:57.000 No, listen, you can't Defend hypocrisy.

00:45:00.000 You can't.

00:45:01.000 There's nothing he could have said.

00:45:02.000 What it is is it shows you the type of person that wants to be a politician in the first place.

00:45:06.000 The type of person that wants to control people.

00:45:09.000 It also shows you how bad people want to be at social gatherings.

00:45:13.000 I don't blame him.

00:45:14.000 It's his friend's 50th birthday.

00:45:15.000 Go! 0.95

00:45:16.000 Yes, but even the lie of it being outdoors.

00:45:21.000 The lie was so deep.

00:45:23.000 You think there are no pictures?

00:45:24.000 He didn't think there were pictures.

00:45:26.000 That's the point.

00:45:27.000 Someone took a picture from the outside.

00:45:29.000 Literally, the thing that drives me crazy is Sheila Kuhl going to dinner on the very day she voted to close them.

00:45:37.000 Did you hear her excuse?

00:45:38.000 What'd she say?

00:45:39.000 She tried to say it's her favorite restaurant and she wanted to go tell them how sad she feels.

00:45:45.000 Claims she didn't eat.

00:45:46.000 Pictures of her actually eating.

00:45:49.000 No explanation to the stat, by the way.

00:45:51.000 All a lie.

00:45:51.000 Meanwhile, a couple days later, she gave an interview as to why she voted no, and she said she read all the scientific data that was given to her.

00:45:59.000 There wasn't any.

00:46:01.000 Oh, God. 0.98

00:46:02.000 Dirty people. 0.94

00:46:03.000 Well, that's who we're being led by. 0.95

00:46:06.000 How is there no consequences for that?

00:46:09.000 This is what I don't understand.

00:46:10.000 Well, because people – I don't know if they pay attention to the voting.

00:46:13.000 Yeah, we need more like you to raise – I think – I don't live there anymore.

00:46:18.000 It's easy.

00:46:18.000 I know, but – yeah, but you have a – we need people to actually be outspoken about it because the only way to do it is they have a fear of bad press, of bad – Even word of mouth, essentially.

00:46:32.000 Right now, everyone is being suppressed.

00:46:35.000 From the beginning, once they realized what the actual disease was, that it wasn't as dangerous as we thought it was, still dangerous, still we need to be precautious, but they should have made an adjustment and protected the vulnerable people.

00:46:50.000 They should have focused on isolating the vulnerable people, protecting the vulnerable people, shielding them from contact and from infection.

00:46:59.000 That's what should have been done.

00:47:00.000 And we should have opened everything else up.

00:47:02.000 Yeah.

00:47:02.000 I mean, look, at the end of the day, there are people sick and there are people dying.

00:47:07.000 And, you know, I lost a really good friend and a mentor, the bartender at Dantana's.

00:47:12.000 Mike passed away from COVID early back in March and April.

00:47:16.000 So it's hit me personally.

00:47:18.000 That's why I'm not a denier.

00:47:20.000 That's why I'm not saying that there isn't an issue to be dealt with.

00:47:23.000 Well, I don't think anybody's saying that.

00:47:25.000 Well, that's the whole point.

00:47:26.000 So here's the point. 1.00

00:47:27.000 If you make a case for opening up restaurants, you're an idiot, you're a denier, you don't understand the severity of the issue. 1.00

00:47:35.000 Instead of saying, isn't there a gray area somewhere here? 1.00

00:47:37.000 Isn't there a way of doing this smartly?

00:47:40.000 Why aren't we investing the billions of dollars we're losing in tax money into testing efficiently?

00:47:47.000 So that these venues can open.

00:47:49.000 There has to be a consideration for the negative impact on these businesses and the health consequences of people being out of work and the mental health consequences, the drug addiction, all the things that go along with it.

00:48:02.000 You can't just look at the impact of the numbers.

00:48:05.000 You have to look at the impact on the community.

00:48:07.000 You have to look at the impact of what's the long-term health of the culture.

00:48:12.000 You're destroying an immense part of the city.

00:48:15.000 Going out to dinner is a huge part of people's social life.

00:48:21.000 They're like, what do you want to do?

00:48:23.000 Let's go to a restaurant.

00:48:24.000 People love it.

00:48:25.000 It's probably one of the number one things that people like to do.

00:48:28.000 Get together with some friends.

00:48:29.000 Have some wine.

00:48:30.000 Have some food.

00:48:31.000 By the way, it was about the only thing you could do.

00:48:34.000 In, you know, it was July, August, September, October.

00:48:37.000 It was about the only freedom you had is to get together with your friends and go out to dinner.

00:48:42.000 It was about the only thing that was normal in your life.

00:48:44.000 Yeah.

00:48:44.000 I mean, you've got to miss all your comedy friends living down here in Austin.

00:48:47.000 You've got to miss all your community back in L.A. A lot of them are moving here.

00:48:50.000 They're all coming.

00:48:51.000 Yeah.

00:48:51.000 I don't blame them.

00:48:52.000 It's like everybody's trying to figure a way out.

00:48:54.000 I would keep a few out.

00:48:54.000 I would keep Saget out.

00:48:56.000 I would keep Dice.

00:48:59.000 I want Dice to move here. 0.90

00:49:00.000 I want Dice to move.

00:49:01.000 I want to see him walking around with sweatpants.

00:49:03.000 Dice and I are brothers.

00:49:04.000 I know, you told me.

00:49:05.000 You were telling me the story.

00:49:07.000 Tell the whole thing.

00:49:08.000 Okay, so for a while...

00:49:09.000 I was an actor for a while, and Dice and I, he was nice enough to get me a role in a movie.

00:49:16.000 You know, everybody says, dude, I'm going to hook you up.

00:49:18.000 Nobody ever does.

00:49:19.000 Right.

00:49:19.000 But Dice did.

00:49:20.000 Which one?

00:49:20.000 Was it Ford Fairlane?

00:49:22.000 It was with...

00:49:24.000 God, Don the Dragon Wilson was the lead.

00:49:26.000 Oh, wow!

00:49:27.000 Yeah, that's how big a movie this was.

00:49:29.000 So, anyway.

00:49:31.000 There it is.

00:49:31.000 Right there.

00:49:32.000 Whatever it takes.

00:49:33.000 There you go.

00:49:34.000 Yes.

00:49:35.000 Wow.

00:49:36.000 Wow.

00:49:36.000 So, Dice and I, we do the movie.

00:49:40.000 He's at dinner with his parents.

00:49:42.000 And he says, I don't have your name in my phone.

00:49:44.000 And I'm like, Susser, S-U-S-S-E-R. He goes, what kind of fucked up last name is that? 0.99

00:49:48.000 So, he puts it in his phone. 0.99

00:49:50.000 And right then, his mom's head jerked up.

00:49:53.000 And she goes, Susser? 0.99

00:49:54.000 You know an owl?

00:49:55.000 And I go, yeah.

00:49:57.000 Why?

00:49:57.000 She goes, how well do you know him?

00:49:59.000 I go, I know him pretty well.

00:50:00.000 She goes, you know he's got a tattoo?

00:50:01.000 I go, yeah.

00:50:02.000 She goes, what's the tattoo?

00:50:03.000 I said, it's a heart.

00:50:04.000 She goes, what's in the middle of a heart?

00:50:05.000 I said, a name.

00:50:06.000 She goes, what's the name?

00:50:07.000 I said, Jackie.

00:50:08.000 She goes, I'm Jackie.

00:50:10.000 My dad.

00:50:11.000 That's insane.

00:50:13.000 No, it's insane.

00:50:15.000 3,000 miles away and 40 years later, my dad was dating her, got called up in Korea, figured he was a paratrooper, he figured he wasn't making it back, did seven jumps in Korea.

00:50:29.000 What?

00:50:30.000 And comes back, meets my mom, three weeks, gets married, never sees Jackie again.

00:50:35.000 I thought maybe you were Dice's brother or something.

00:50:37.000 So that's why Dice calls me his little brother.

00:50:40.000 Wow.

00:50:41.000 That's incredible.

00:50:42.000 But by the way, that's also why my dad said, don't ever get a tattoo.

00:50:45.000 Wow.

00:50:47.000 But still, you didn't have the tattoo.

00:50:49.000 But if he didn't have the tattoo, you wouldn't have the story.

00:50:53.000 That's a good point.

00:50:54.000 And you wouldn't find the connection.

00:50:55.000 There's no way.

00:50:56.000 It would have probably taken a long time for you to figure out the connection.

00:50:58.000 That's a movie, by the way.

00:50:59.000 No, and I remember back in the old, like when I started at Dan Tanis, I mean, that was the Sam Kinison era.

00:51:04.000 Yeah, you tell me that, too.

00:51:06.000 That's when, like, it was bonkers.

00:51:08.000 I missed that.

00:51:09.000 I missed all that.

00:51:11.000 And he was on fire.

00:51:12.000 Yeah, he was an animal.

00:51:14.000 By the way, the way he lived on stage is the way he lived in real life.

00:51:18.000 They fixed a bullet hole in this.

00:51:19.000 I was furious because I went there.

00:51:21.000 They cleaned up the comedy store when everything was booming over the last few years and it was killing it.

00:51:25.000 They fixed the back sign because it was cracked and there was a bullet hole in it.

00:51:28.000 I'm like, what did you do?

00:51:30.000 That was Sam Kinison's bullet hole.

00:51:32.000 Sam and Dice got in some sort of an argument. 1.00

00:51:35.000 So Sam shows up, pulls out a gun, and shoots a hole through the fucking sign. 0.99

00:51:39.000 And to this day, the bullet hole in the back is there, but they fix the cracked sign. 1.00

00:51:44.000 I'm like, why would you fix that?

00:51:46.000 That's Sam Kinison's bullet hole!

00:51:48.000 But that's how wild that place was.

00:51:51.000 He was pulling out guns and shooting signs in West Hollywood, in the parking lot.

00:51:56.000 My only thing right now to stay positive is that whenever this comes back, it's going to be off the charts again.

00:52:04.000 It's going to be nuts.

00:52:04.000 Roaring 20s-ish.

00:52:05.000 It will be the roaring 20s of the 2000s.

00:52:08.000 I think it will be.

00:52:10.000 It's just like, what's going to be...

00:52:13.000 When does it switch over?

00:52:14.000 Is it the vaccine?

00:52:15.000 Is it people relaxing a little bit?

00:52:18.000 Is it more testing?

00:52:20.000 You don't hear much about Singapore, Thailand.

00:52:23.000 They've got it under control.

00:52:24.000 Well, New Zealand has it the most under control, but obviously they're an isolated island, but I have friends in New Zealand.

00:52:29.000 They stopped traveling. 0.99

00:52:30.000 They're fucking partying. 1.00

00:52:31.000 They have no masks on. 1.00

00:52:32.000 They're going to restaurants.

00:52:33.000 They have no cases.

00:52:34.000 They've done the best, but they've also...

00:52:37.000 They live on an island, and there's only 4 million-plus people.

00:52:40.000 Are they allowing travel to and from?

00:52:42.000 I don't believe so.

00:52:43.000 And I think if you do go, there are very strict quarantines.

00:52:45.000 There's a girl who just got arrested. 0.97

00:52:47.000 She's a teenager.

00:52:48.000 She violated the restrictions in the Cayman Islands, and she's going to jail for four months.

00:52:52.000 Yeah, it's insane. 1.00

00:52:53.000 They have a 14-day very strict quarantine, and she went out, and they're like, fuck you. 1.00

00:52:58.000 I firmly believe, at this point, It's not a controllable thing. 1.00

00:53:03.000 You're talking about a virus situation.

00:53:05.000 I think the goal should be as much testing, as much safeguards as possible.

00:53:09.000 I don't think you can just shut the world down.

00:53:12.000 Treatment, and then concentrating on immune response and health.

00:53:16.000 Their Georgia college student who broke Cayman Islands quarantine received...

00:53:19.000 What does that say?

00:53:20.000 Reduce sentence.

00:53:21.000 I'm going to go bail her out. 0.57

00:53:23.000 Let's go get her out. 1.00

00:53:25.000 I can't uncover it.

00:53:28.000 I did not do that.

00:53:29.000 Wow.

00:53:30.000 She got a reduced sentence.

00:53:31.000 What's the reduced sentence?

00:53:32.000 Two months.

00:53:33.000 Four months to two months.

00:53:35.000 Okay.

00:53:35.000 Still, 60 days.

00:53:37.000 We should offer her a job when we're open. 1.00

00:53:39.000 I want to go break her out. 1.00

00:53:41.000 Feel bad for her.

00:53:42.000 I don't.

00:53:44.000 That's crazy. 0.99

00:53:44.000 I mean, look, I don't think she should go to jail, but they should scare the shit out of her. 0.99

00:53:48.000 Like, you can't just go out. 0.96

00:53:49.000 Like, what if she got it?

00:53:50.000 Well, she spreads it to this community that doesn't have it. 0.99

00:53:53.000 They've got a quarantine rule.

00:53:55.000 They do. 1.00

00:53:55.000 Follow the fucking rule. 1.00

00:53:56.000 If you want to go to the Cayman Islands, it's 14 days. 1.00

00:53:58.000 But here was the rule.

00:53:59.000 We knew that flying down here, we were going to see you, we were going to get tested first, and then we were coming in here.

00:54:05.000 We agreed to it.

00:54:07.000 You have to agree to certain common sense.

00:54:10.000 If the county came back and said, listen, we've kind of rethought it.

00:54:15.000 Why don't we reopen at like 40%, social distancing, distance the tables, have shields, and let's see where we go. 0.90

00:54:24.000 We would all be in.

00:54:25.000 Yeah.

00:54:26.000 You know?

00:54:26.000 Well, it's just one of those things where I just don't think they're going to do anything logical and sensible at this point.

00:54:33.000 I think they're in defensive mode, and I think they're realizing that there's so many people that are upset with them.

00:54:38.000 And the only thing that they have over them is to maintain this power and to keep their rule.

00:54:44.000 That's sadly true.

00:54:45.000 This is even more bizarre.

00:54:47.000 So we started doing some direct deliveries to not only cut out Postmates and DoorDash and the percentage, but also people actually enjoy seeing our servers deliver their food.

00:54:59.000 It's a moment in their day that's like something normal.

00:55:03.000 It's the food that they like and it's a person that they know.

00:55:06.000 We're good to go.

00:55:22.000 And then people are always asking, I think they're asking John as well, what can we do to help you while things are...

00:55:28.000 And I'm like, order food, order wine, order t-shirts, order Craig's vegan ice cream, order any of the products that people have and keep the restaurants alive until we can get past this moment and get back to operating because...

00:55:44.000 As far as I know, I think 70 to 75% of all the restaurants have already closed.

00:55:48.000 Yeah.

00:55:48.000 And I'm not sure how many are coming back.

00:55:50.000 Is it really that much?

00:55:50.000 Yeah.

00:55:51.000 70 to 75%?

00:55:53.000 Yeah.

00:55:53.000 And I really don't know who's coming.

00:55:55.000 I think there's going to be very low comeback rate.

00:55:59.000 Jamie, what is it like in Columbus?

00:56:02.000 Closed day of 10 p.m.

00:56:03.000 curfew.

00:56:04.000 It's like what we were talking about earlier.

00:56:06.000 It's boring, not good.

00:56:08.000 No one likes it.

00:56:09.000 Everyone's...

00:56:09.000 You know what's what?

00:56:10.000 10 p.m.

00:56:10.000 curfew, but do they have indoor dining?

00:56:14.000 I can't confirm that.

00:56:15.000 I don't think so.

00:56:16.000 When I was there in July, yes.

00:56:18.000 I don't know about now.

00:56:20.000 Florida's wide open.

00:56:21.000 Florida's crazy. 1.00

00:56:22.000 You can do a fucking arena there. 1.00

00:56:23.000 It's insane. 1.00

00:56:24.000 Yeah, they don't give a shit. 1.00

00:56:25.000 They don't care. 0.99

00:56:26.000 What are their cases like?

00:56:27.000 Lower than California.

00:56:29.000 What?

00:56:30.000 Really?

00:56:31.000 Yeah, but they have 24, 25 million people.

00:56:34.000 Florida, California's 39, 40 million people.

00:56:37.000 That's not that big of a difference.

00:56:39.000 Yeah.

00:56:39.000 I agree.

00:56:40.000 I agree, but they have a lower case situation.

00:56:44.000 Now, it's run through Florida.

00:56:46.000 They were hit months ago, so it's a little bit skewed.

00:56:52.000 But I think that's kind of my point, is that I don't think you can man-made...

00:56:56.000 I don't think you can just control it.

00:56:58.000 I think you can stop this thing.

00:56:59.000 You have to just do a minute precautions.

00:57:00.000 There's a Dutch study that just came out that said the more you close, the more you force people together in unsafe areas.

00:57:09.000 Alex Berenson, who was on the podcast yesterday, used to write for the New York Times, that's his argument.

00:57:13.000 And he's pointing out all the instances of places like California that have had the most strict lockdowns, but have the worst numbers.

00:57:21.000 You're literally forcing people into the worst environment possible to keep the spread of the virus down.

00:57:26.000 You're forcing them together.

00:57:29.000 That's a smart analysis.

00:57:30.000 I don't know why that isn't more out there.

00:57:33.000 You know what I mean?

00:57:33.000 No one wants to be objective about this.

00:57:36.000 Everybody has an opinion, they start with it, and then they dig their heels in.

00:57:40.000 I'd be the first one to say, look, of all the draconian measures that California has taken, If it had knocked down the number of infections, I'd have been, okay, I'm wrong.

00:57:50.000 100%. 1.00

00:57:51.000 I'm an idiot. 1.00

00:57:52.000 You were right. 0.99

00:57:52.000 I'm sorry. 0.99

00:57:53.000 Okay, it was worth it.

00:57:55.000 100%.

00:57:55.000 But it hasn't.

00:57:56.000 The numbers are exploding and we're locked down.

00:58:00.000 Off the charts.

00:58:01.000 Off the charts.

00:58:02.000 Yeah.

00:58:03.000 That's proof in itself.

00:58:04.000 It's inverse of what they expected.

00:58:05.000 Yeah.

00:58:05.000 Well, you're also getting people that are drinking more because they're depressed, and if you're drinking more, your immune system gets shattered.

00:58:12.000 There's so many different things that they're doing that it seems like on paper it should work, but it doesn't, and they didn't course correct.

00:58:19.000 No, and then we're being forced, not only are we out of business, we were forced to spend a lot of money through all of these different measures.

00:58:28.000 Not only weren't we making the regular revenue that we were making, we were then spending money that we were supposed to spend.

00:58:34.000 Then we were cut in half.

00:58:36.000 Then there was a curfew.

00:58:37.000 And now it's just like...

00:58:39.000 How about no one's talking about there's no plan to reopen?

00:58:42.000 By the way, I get city officials calling me, asking me if I've heard anything.

00:58:48.000 What?

00:58:49.000 Yeah.

00:58:49.000 They want to know if I'm hearing anything in the wind.

00:58:51.000 From who?

00:58:51.000 Because your friends with Gavin?

00:58:52.000 Can you call Gavin up?

00:58:54.000 What's with the first name basis thing?

00:58:55.000 Call him up.

00:58:55.000 I don't even have his email.

00:58:57.000 You're about to call him by a nickname.

00:58:59.000 No.

00:59:00.000 If you see him, does he say, hello, Craig?

00:59:02.000 Do you shake your hand?

00:59:03.000 I'm just not making it personal.

00:59:05.000 Be honest.

00:59:06.000 He ordered some vegan ice cream.

00:59:07.000 Is that why?

00:59:08.000 I'm just not making it personal.

00:59:10.000 You guys are making it personal.

00:59:11.000 Does he say hi, Craig?

00:59:12.000 If I see you, I'm going to say hi, Craig.

00:59:14.000 This is a good question.

00:59:14.000 I haven't actually asked him.

00:59:16.000 If someone says, are you friends with Joe Rogan, you can say yes, I'm your friend.

00:59:20.000 If you saw me walking by a street in two days, would you stop and go, all right, Greg?

00:59:24.000 Yeah, I think he would.

00:59:25.000 Just like good old G would to you. 0.94

00:59:28.000 First of all, Jeff Ross has spoken so highly of you for so long.

00:59:32.000 We've been friends for 25, 30 years.

00:59:35.000 And everybody loves your place.

00:59:36.000 Your place is one of the most beloved restaurants in LA, for sure.

00:59:40.000 It's home for a lot of people.

00:59:41.000 It is.

00:59:41.000 It's that whole vibe is what I'm talking about.

00:59:45.000 We live in a crazy world, even in normal times.

00:59:48.000 So to get together, to have a good time, somebody may sit down, and across the way is somebody that they know, and it's a party, and it's fun, and it's personal, and it's all that good stuff.

01:00:00.000 And guess what?

01:00:00.000 We've all risen through the ranks together.

01:00:02.000 Well, it also trickles down from the top.

01:00:05.000 You've developed this environment where you have this friendly, family, fun environment.

01:00:13.000 Well, that's one of the reasons why we didn't let anybody go during COVID. We've let the busboys on furlough and the bartenders.

01:00:19.000 We've kept everybody else.

01:00:21.000 Austin, Travis County moves to stage 5 COVID-19 restrictions just ahead of Christmas.

01:00:25.000 What does that mean?

01:00:26.000 Just announced this.

01:00:27.000 Wow.

01:00:28.000 Just today?

01:00:29.000 Breaking.

01:00:30.000 20 minutes ago.

01:00:31.000 So does that mean like...

01:00:32.000 Restaurants move to 90% capacity.

01:00:34.000 They might not allow people in them, they're saying.

01:00:37.000 Really?

01:00:38.000 They're suggesting contactless delivery only.

01:00:41.000 Maybe Newsom is here.

01:00:42.000 They're not forcing them to shut down.

01:00:44.000 I was just trying to read so I could explain to you quickly.

01:00:46.000 I feel like the California officials came in.

01:00:49.000 No, I actually went.

01:00:50.000 I actually think that the thought process is like, let's knock this down for Christmas and New Year's and let's just see if we can slide by.

01:00:58.000 Sure, I just don't think that that's the way to knock it down.

01:01:01.000 Austinites are advised to avoid all gatherings with anyone outside the household and avoid in-person dining and shopping.

01:01:07.000 Businesses, including retail and restaurants, are recommended to only operate through contactless operations such as delivery.

01:01:14.000 Curbside service.

01:01:15.000 They may have a curfew.

01:01:16.000 Mmm.

01:01:16.000 Look at that guy.

01:01:18.000 Paranoid.

01:01:19.000 Knows it's coming.

01:01:20.000 Yeah, he does.

01:01:21.000 He's like, oh, man. 0.99

01:01:23.000 They're gonna fucking... 0.99

01:01:24.000 They're gonna hate me. 0.99

01:01:25.000 Yeah.

01:01:26.000 I don't think they really know how to stop the contact, particularly when it comes to the holidays.

01:01:33.000 Of course they don't.

01:01:33.000 I just don't think they know.

01:01:34.000 And I don't want to admit that.

01:01:36.000 They're throwing...

01:01:37.000 Janet Zuccarini from Felix said... 1.00

01:01:40.000 I think they're throwing a bunch of shit against the wall and hoping it sticks. 1.00

01:01:43.000 Right. 1.00

01:01:44.000 Well, what did Alex say yesterday?

01:01:45.000 What was his advice?

01:01:46.000 What would he do if he...

01:01:47.000 He said the lockdowns are literally the worst thing we could do.

01:01:50.000 It's terrible for children.

01:01:52.000 Children not being in school is devastating for them socially.

01:01:55.000 It's devastating for their emotional growth.

01:01:57.000 He's like, this is devastating for the economy.

01:01:59.000 You have to take into consideration all the impacts.

01:02:02.000 You can't just think about the health consequences or the spread of the virus.

01:02:05.000 You've got to think about the health consequences from people.

01:02:08.000 Doing drugs, being depressed, suicides are way up.

01:02:11.000 There's a lot of factors here.

01:02:13.000 He actually made an argument that masks aren't effective.

01:02:17.000 He's like, they're just not.

01:02:18.000 If you have one of those serious N95 fully sealed on your face, yeah.

01:02:23.000 He goes, but people are wearing bandanas.

01:02:25.000 That's not stopping the spread of anything. 1.00

01:02:29.000 But it keeps people from thinking you're an asshole. 1.00

01:02:32.000 That's the best thing about a mask. 1.00

01:02:33.000 Like, oh, the guy's got a mask.

01:02:34.000 He's trying to do the right thing.

01:02:36.000 Like I said, we're both rational human beings.

01:02:38.000 Tell us what to do.

01:02:39.000 Tell us how to do it.

01:02:40.000 And we're going to do it.

01:02:42.000 And the problem is, we go through all of these exercises at...

01:02:48.000 I mean, the expense is enormous.

01:02:51.000 And it's not helping.

01:02:53.000 Yeah.

01:02:54.000 That's what's so...

01:02:54.000 Yeah, we've essentially rebuilt restaurants outdoor.

01:02:56.000 Our own restaurant, we've basically rebuilt outdoor.

01:02:59.000 Yeah, that's what Felix did in Venice.

01:03:01.000 They took over the back parking lot area and it was nice to be able to go there and eat.

01:03:05.000 That's what we did at Delilah.

01:03:05.000 Everybody begged me to open up a second Craig's and I did it.

01:03:08.000 Right outside the first one.

01:03:09.000 Yeah.

01:03:10.000 Crazy.

01:03:11.000 I mean, it's nuts. 0.89

01:03:12.000 That's the issue.

01:03:15.000 Imagine a world where everything comes back to normal.

01:03:19.000 How long does it take for these 75% of all restaurants to return?

01:03:24.000 Does that ever happen?

01:03:26.000 Well, it takes a lot of investment, right?

01:03:29.000 A lot.

01:03:29.000 You need a lot of capital to get started.

01:03:31.000 Yeah, I don't think people realize how much it takes to actually reopen these places.

01:03:36.000 Okay, so in order to keep the restaurant open and to keep our employees employed and not furlough them and not let them go, we got some PPP money back in May that lasted six weeks.

01:03:51.000 80% of it was for payroll labor.

01:03:54.000 I've reinvested almost what I invested in the first place, 10 years ago, to keep the restaurant open during this time.

01:04:02.000 So, it's not even...

01:04:05.000 You gotta re-adore inventory or re-adore everything.

01:04:08.000 It's a tremendous amount of capital just to kind of get started.

01:04:11.000 And then it's not just the capital to get started.

01:04:13.000 It's you need a little bit of reserve in the bank because it's not linear, right?

01:04:19.000 You open, you get busy, you have slow nights, busy nights.

01:04:23.000 Things aren't happening as efficiently as they should be.

01:04:27.000 But once you get up to 8, 9, 10 months, the restaurants are efficient, you're rolling, there's not a lot of waste, people are doing things well, and your costs come down, your profits go up, and then all of a sudden you've got a business.

01:04:40.000 Right?

01:04:40.000 So there's going to be a lot of people that are going to gravitate towards their favorite places because it's like it feels like a hug and that's like, oh, thank God I get to go to this place or that place.

01:04:49.000 Go to your favorite dish.

01:04:51.000 Right, exactly.

01:04:52.000 See your favorite waiter.

01:04:53.000 And then you're going to start to try the newer places that are coming back out.

01:04:57.000 So how long will it take back to get back to it?

01:05:00.000 Years.

01:05:00.000 I mean, yeah.

01:05:01.000 And I have a gut feeling these officials just...

01:05:05.000 I think they really don't think highly of our industry.

01:05:08.000 I think they think there'll just be another restaurant that opens anyway.

01:05:11.000 Well, that's what Trump said in the beginning.

01:05:14.000 It's one of the things he said.

01:05:16.000 That was such a crazy statement.

01:05:18.000 The restaurants would be open, maybe it would be a different owner. 1.00

01:05:22.000 What the fuck are you saying? 0.99

01:05:23.000 Welcome to my life. 1.00

01:05:24.000 I've been doing this for 30 years.

01:05:26.000 It's people's livelihoods.

01:05:27.000 I think that's the part that people really need to understand.

01:05:32.000 To your question, I think it's going to take the strong ones to survive.

01:05:39.000 It's going to be tough for most to survive.

01:05:40.000 It's going to take the really super successful ones that have a lot of capital.

01:05:44.000 Have a lot of capital or just are going to have a, you know, if there's a will, there's a way type of attitude.

01:05:49.000 Like, there's nothing stopping me from having our places reopen.

01:05:52.000 Will it be a challenge?

01:05:53.000 It's not easy, you know, but I think it's going to weed out a lot of people.

01:05:58.000 And I think there's a lot of people, sadly, they're going to fall by the wayside, unfortunately.

01:06:02.000 It's just so strange that you guys who own successful places aren't given any information.

01:06:08.000 Zero.

01:06:09.000 I can't imagine that.

01:06:10.000 None.

01:06:11.000 I can't imagine that.

01:06:12.000 Zero.

01:06:12.000 It doesn't make any sense.

01:06:13.000 No, I literally call people and go, what are you hearing?

01:06:17.000 And they're like, what are you hearing?

01:06:18.000 And I'm like, wait, what?

01:06:20.000 You're the one that's supposed to be looked in. 0.82

01:06:22.000 I'm like, okay.

01:06:23.000 That's nuts.

01:06:23.000 I'll call you if I hear anything.

01:06:25.000 We got shut down.

01:06:28.000 And we had no previous warning.

01:06:29.000 On the news.

01:06:31.000 But yet, all these other places that have been proven to be the things that spread the virus the most, they haven't shut down.

01:06:39.000 Correct.

01:06:40.000 And that's the big question.

01:06:41.000 Is it lobbyists?

01:06:42.000 Is it money talking?

01:06:43.000 Whatever it is, it's insane to me.

01:06:45.000 So do you think it's one of those things where they feel like they have to do something that shows they're trying to stop the spread of the virus?

01:06:52.000 Yeah.

01:06:52.000 Even though it's not effective?

01:06:53.000 Yes.

01:06:54.000 At least they can show they're taking steps.

01:06:56.000 And then they can say, this virus is out of control.

01:06:59.000 And they take the weight away from their own decisions.

01:07:02.000 And they just say, look, this is just a dangerous virus.

01:07:04.000 We need more restrictions.

01:07:06.000 They don't...

01:07:07.000 They don't take responsibility for the fact that the restrictions they put in place have been totally ineffective.

01:07:12.000 Correct.

01:07:13.000 I think that is definitely a big part of it.

01:07:16.000 I mean, at the end of the day, the virus's job is to spread, right?

01:07:20.000 That's its job.

01:07:21.000 It's to go from host to host to host.

01:07:23.000 So just by shutting down certain industries and not shutting down other industries, I don't think that that's an effective way to do it.

01:07:32.000 And I'm afraid of what the next one is.

01:07:34.000 Are they going to keep coming up with, oh, we got a new strain, we got a new COVID? Well, there's a new strain right now in the UK. You've seen that, right?

01:07:40.000 Yes.

01:07:40.000 And I know the media plays it up, and it's like, so every year, are we able to just shut down?

01:07:47.000 Is that going to be the new thing?

01:07:50.000 Like, when does it stop?

01:07:51.000 The thing is, I think, like, we just touched on it a couple minutes ago, we've taken away that moment of getting together with your friends and having a couple of laughs and forgetting about the world's problems for just a minute, you know?

01:08:02.000 That social interaction where you have your favorite meal in your favorite place, and even if it's socially distant, and even if it's, you know, all that stuff is all on the table.

01:08:13.000 They've taken away all of those moments, and I don't know what it's doing to our, like, psychology.

01:08:18.000 I don't know what it's doing to, like, our brains, because we're not allowed to see our friends.

01:08:23.000 And then what I've had to come in, and I think, John, I think we've touched on it, is There are some people that are like, oh, I'm coming tomorrow.

01:08:31.000 We're great.

01:08:31.000 And I'm like, okay, cool.

01:08:32.000 And then there's other people I haven't seen for like seven or eight months.

01:08:35.000 And I just check in on text and I'm like, I don't make a judgment.

01:08:38.000 That's what you feel comfortable doing.

01:08:39.000 And I've had to become okay with it.

01:08:41.000 In the beginning, I started to take it a little personal.

01:08:44.000 But now I'm kind of like, okay, that's your level of comfort.

01:08:49.000 Okay, cool.

01:08:50.000 Like, I get it.

01:08:51.000 But yeah, it's dividing a lot of people.

01:08:53.000 There's some people that we were supposed to see over Christmas that I'm not sure they're going to want our family over because I'm down here doing this show.

01:09:00.000 But if you get tested when you go back to LA, that's not going to be enough for them?

01:09:04.000 Yeah, but I mean, like, technically, I mean, I guess you're supposed to wait five days after, you know, taking a commercial flight.

01:09:11.000 But you've come down here and you've come in contact with all people that have been tested, all people that show negative.

01:09:16.000 Then you're going to go back and you'll test negative.

01:09:19.000 You tested negative here and they're still not okay with that.

01:09:22.000 Some people are, some people aren't.

01:09:24.000 But you have to go to the supermarket and stand right in front of that cashier and not have any idea.

01:09:28.000 Will Gavin be over for the holidays?

01:09:31.000 You're getting really cute.

01:09:32.000 You know what I gotta do?

01:09:33.000 I gotta buy you a razor.

01:09:35.000 That's what I gotta do.

01:09:36.000 I gotta buy you a razor.

01:09:37.000 I lost a bet.

01:09:38.000 Yeah, I lost a bet.

01:09:39.000 That's all new.

01:09:40.000 I've never seen this, by the way.

01:09:41.000 What is the bet?

01:09:42.000 I lost this, you know, I bet my, one of my best friends, we had this weight loss challenge thing that we did.

01:09:47.000 It was, you know, all we do is bet each other and I lost.

01:09:49.000 Well, that's a hell of a manly beer.

01:09:51.000 But by the way, keep it.

01:09:52.000 So is the weight, so is the weight loss challenge.

01:09:54.000 Who does a weight loss challenge amongst a bunch of guys?

01:09:57.000 All we do is bet each other and stuff, you know?

01:09:59.000 This is what happens during COVID. Oh, look at you.

01:10:01.000 Clean shaving.

01:10:01.000 Look how handsome you are.

01:10:03.000 I like you better with the beard.

01:10:04.000 I'm going to tell you what.

01:10:05.000 Gives me a little more edge, right?

01:10:06.000 Yeah, a little swarmy, don't you think?

01:10:08.000 Yeah.

01:10:10.000 Don't trust that unsavory character.

01:10:13.000 He's opening.

01:10:15.000 What can be done that's not being done in terms of the people listening to this?

01:10:22.000 I mean, is there anything they could do?

01:10:23.000 Could they reach out to anybody?

01:10:25.000 Is there a way that we can organize where there can be some sort of impact from the people that are hearing this right now and listening to this and furious?

01:10:36.000 Yeah.

01:10:38.000 You know, I think he's...

01:10:39.000 Craig said it earlier.

01:10:40.000 I do think it's important to order, you know, to keep supporting the restaurants you love, the local ones especially, the ones that you love.

01:10:49.000 I think that my goal is to have people in their mind understand that it isn't as black and white.

01:10:56.000 If you challenge this shutdown, you aren't saying you're anti-COVID safety.

01:11:01.000 You aren't some big bad person that wants...

01:11:05.000 It's quite the opposite.

01:11:07.000 It's taking an intelligent approach to how to actually have an age-old industry keep going.

01:11:14.000 And in my opinion, I think people need to have that mindset more and more and speak out to whoever.

01:11:21.000 I don't know if there's a direct way to do any of this.

01:11:24.000 There isn't an easy way to have a voice.

01:11:26.000 I think the key is just having people's mindset change.

01:11:29.000 And as much as they can spread that, I think that's important.

01:11:32.000 I think it's really important to contact, you know, we're so used to paying attention to the national politics that I think the local politics have become really, really important.

01:11:42.000 So reaching out to the L.A. County commissioners.

01:11:44.000 Right now, if I literally canvassed 100 people I guarantee you they probably wouldn't even be able to name her one. 0.53

01:11:51.000 And those inboxes need to be filled with their emails.

01:11:54.000 They need to get annoyed.

01:11:55.000 They need to be able to call them.

01:11:57.000 They need to be able to say, look, we're not science deniers.

01:12:01.000 There's a disease.

01:12:02.000 We completely understand.

01:12:03.000 But this is an outlet for us.

01:12:05.000 There's got to be a way to get going.

01:12:09.000 And I think...

01:12:11.000 You know, on a national level as well, contacting representatives, their voices need to be heard.

01:12:18.000 Look, all politicians want to get reelected, right?

01:12:21.000 So we have a voice.

01:12:26.000 I also think you've got to give people the ability to make their own decisions.

01:12:29.000 This has never been the role of the politician to tell people how and how not to take risks and what to do with their lives.

01:12:37.000 Especially sensible, well-thought-out risks that have been mitigated as much as possible, like social distancing, like making sure that you follow all the health protocols, making sure that restaurants are compliant.

01:12:51.000 I mean, there's a way to do this.

01:12:53.000 It's totally possible.

01:12:54.000 Especially with outdoor dining.

01:12:55.000 There has never been, and I've been in the business 30 years, I've had my own place, January 12th will be 10 years, okay?

01:13:01.000 There's never been an instance where a health inspector came in and said, clean that, I don't like the way that looks, reorganize that, and it hasn't been done in an instant.

01:13:13.000 We're rule followers.

01:13:15.000 That's how we stay in business.

01:13:17.000 The last thing in the world I want to hear is that somebody got sick from eating at one of my places.

01:13:23.000 So we're instinctively instilled with all of that.

01:13:28.000 Safety is our first protocol.

01:13:30.000 So driving people away from those institutions is insanity.

01:13:37.000 It is insanity.

01:13:38.000 How do you think this plays out?

01:13:39.000 Like, if you had to guess, what do you think happens at the end of all this?

01:13:44.000 I think they're going to keep doing these rolling shutdowns, sadly.

01:13:47.000 And I think it's going to take a lot of uproar.

01:13:51.000 I think it's going to take more of us banding together and actually putting a stop to how it's being handled.

01:14:00.000 I think that's the only shot we have.

01:14:02.000 It's not as optimistic as I would like, but I think if and when it ever opens again, ideally you get safe outdoor dining opening in January, even February.

01:14:14.000 And I think proving it to everyone that it's going safely I think is all we're really asking for now and then eventually open the rest as more vaccines happen and more people kind of change their mindset toward it is what my optimistic goal would be.

01:14:29.000 It seems like there's a lot of restaurants that don't have outdoor dining as an option.

01:14:33.000 That's the unfortunate.

01:14:34.000 I have several places that can't open.

01:14:37.000 They have only indoor.

01:14:38.000 You don't have a parking lot.

01:14:39.000 You don't have a place in front.

01:14:41.000 It's a nightmare.

01:14:42.000 I don't know how that's fair either.

01:14:44.000 It does not seem like a fair system that's going on.

01:14:49.000 And I know life isn't fair, but I think it's crazy to be dictated like this.

01:14:54.000 Look, I think that we should spend a fortune or...

01:15:01.000 Look, they're spending so much money on so many other things.

01:15:04.000 Why aren't they spending money and developing rapid testing?

01:15:08.000 Rapid testing would eliminate a lot of the issues that we're even talking about.

01:15:12.000 Have it everywhere.

01:15:13.000 And have it everywhere, literally.

01:15:14.000 At department stores, at airports, at restaurants.

01:15:18.000 That's probably the best way to do it.

01:15:20.000 Well, the rapid testing we're using here, you could use that at your restaurant.

01:15:25.000 100%.

01:15:25.000 Wouldn't be that hard.

01:15:27.000 100%.

01:15:27.000 Wouldn't be that hard to have a station out front of the restaurant.

01:15:30.000 Like, your reservation's at 8, you must get there at 7 to get rapid testing.

01:15:34.000 Make that required.

01:15:34.000 Make that a law.

01:15:35.000 Yes.

01:15:35.000 Yeah.

01:15:36.000 I don't care with that.

01:15:37.000 You get rapid tested.

01:15:38.000 You drop your mask for a second.

01:15:41.000 They swab you.

01:15:41.000 You wait over there for 15 minutes.

01:15:44.000 Oh, McDonald, party of two.

01:15:46.000 You're good.

01:15:47.000 You guys are good.

01:15:47.000 You had to use the word McDonald?

01:15:49.000 I don't know.

01:15:49.000 Really fast.

01:15:50.000 Jack in the box, party of two.

01:15:52.000 You're good.

01:15:55.000 Yeah, and then just add it to the bill.

01:15:57.000 It's just a price of going out to there.

01:15:59.000 Part of the bill.

01:16:00.000 My god, people would jump on that.

01:16:01.000 100% they would.

01:16:02.000 100%.

01:16:02.000 The opportunity to go out.

01:16:03.000 Just give people the option.

01:16:04.000 Yes.

01:16:05.000 Well, this is the problem.

01:16:07.000 Politicians have never been in a position where they can tell people what they can and can't do and make up laws.

01:16:13.000 What I'm so shocked about is, and we both do it in the restaurant business, when we were busy, we were handling 300, 400 people a night.

01:16:21.000 Of all the doctors that I've asked, nobody has been contacted by the county.

01:16:28.000 To ask them their opinion.

01:16:30.000 And somebody else said to me, well, they're not epidemiologists or they're not infectious disease doctors.

01:16:35.000 They're doctors, right?

01:16:37.000 So get them from across the board and ask them their opinion.

01:16:40.000 How do you fight this thing and do it well?

01:16:44.000 If you're not getting guidance from the federal government, I don't care.

01:16:47.000 We're a big state and we've got a lot of money and we've got a lot of resources and we're capable of tackling anything.

01:16:53.000 So use the intellectual capital that we have.

01:16:57.000 And we've got enormous wealth.

01:16:59.000 Yeah, I think the wealth is going to diminish rapidly after this pandemic is over, unfortunately.

01:17:04.000 100%.

01:17:04.000 I also think California needs government that's much more friendly to business and understands how important it is to have thriving businesses, to have all the other things you want.

01:17:15.000 All these other things you want are dependent upon the tax revenue.

01:17:18.000 The tax revenue is dependent upon successful businesses.

01:17:21.000 If you have practices and you have decisions that you're making that are unfriendly to businesses, you're going to lose all that money.

01:17:28.000 And then what are you going to do?

01:17:29.000 Are you going to tax the rich?

01:17:30.000 Because this is how they're looking at it.

01:17:32.000 This new wealth tax that they're proposing.

01:17:34.000 So then you're going to have people just move.

01:17:36.000 So then they're trying to say, well, if you move, we're going to tax you for the next 10 years.

01:17:40.000 Well, good luck with that.

01:17:42.000 Because that's not real.

01:17:43.000 I love how Elon handled it, Musk.

01:17:46.000 Yeah.

01:17:46.000 I mean, that's the type of...

01:17:47.000 We need more people standing up to these people.

01:17:50.000 Well, you've just had Tesla move, Hewitt Packard move, Oracle move.

01:17:53.000 I mean, those are...

01:17:54.000 Huge companies.

01:17:56.000 Huge companies.

01:17:56.000 And we're finding...

01:17:59.000 You know, as we were closing the patio, a lot of people were saying goodbye to us.

01:18:03.000 And I'm like, goodbye?

01:18:04.000 What do you mean?

01:18:04.000 They're like, we're leaving.

01:18:05.000 We're moving to Florida.

01:18:06.000 We're moving to Texas.

01:18:07.000 We're moving to Arizona.

01:18:08.000 And I'm like, wait, for real?

01:18:10.000 For good?

01:18:10.000 And they're like, yeah, we've just had enough.

01:18:12.000 We're done.

01:18:12.000 Well, so many people are like, this is enough.

01:18:15.000 Fucking Kat Von D just moved to Indiana. 1.00

01:18:18.000 Like, everybody's going crazy. 0.99

01:18:19.000 It's one of those things where it's like, you were telling me about your friend out there who talked to Newsom and was saying, I'm moving because of you.

01:18:27.000 Yeah.

01:18:28.000 There's been a lot of people that are really just down and upset that it's being handled so poorly.

01:18:35.000 But it's not being handled poorly everywhere.

01:18:39.000 Texas is recognizing that there is an issue. 0.96

01:18:41.000 Obviously, this new COVID quarantine, whatever the fuck they're calling it, what are they calling it? 0.63

01:18:51.000 I kind of feel like we're fighting for our lives here in a lot of ways because I feel like California is handling it so poorly that if something doesn't happen, I don't know how this industry is reopening the way it should. 0.91

01:19:04.000 They're not even talking about how to reopen.

01:19:06.000 And also, when we got shut down right at Thanksgiving, You know, a lot of people had to lay off a lot of people in our industry.

01:19:14.000 And there was no, like, number for unemployment or no rapid way for people to get taken care of.

01:19:22.000 So you've basically, a lot of restaurants laid off all of their employees the day before Thanksgiving, going into the holidays.

01:19:28.000 So there's no, like, thought process of, like, well, how is that going to affect the 400 or 500,000 people that are employed by the restaurant business?

01:19:38.000 Right.

01:19:38.000 I am one of the fortunate ones that have chosen to keep most of my people on.

01:19:43.000 Most people can't afford to do that.

01:19:44.000 So how are you helping those people?

01:19:47.000 There's no consideration.

01:19:49.000 It's almost like there's too many decisions to be made across the entire state with all the different businesses.

01:19:54.000 There's too many decisions to be made and they don't have the answers.

01:19:59.000 And so they're just digging their heels in.

01:20:01.000 But other states are, as you said, other states are handling it better.

01:20:04.000 Yeah.

01:20:04.000 Well, it's unfortunate that it's been these Democrat-run states, because I agree with them on so many different things, so many social issues.

01:20:14.000 But then when it comes to the way they handle business, it's fucking terrible. 0.99

01:20:18.000 It's really terrible. 0.99

01:20:19.000 It's terrible what's going on.

01:20:20.000 Yeah.

01:20:21.000 I mean, I am happy to pay my taxes.

01:20:24.000 I am happy to make sure that other people are being taken care of that are less fortunate.

01:20:29.000 I totally get it.

01:20:30.000 But you have to enable us to operate for us to be able to contribute that way.

01:20:36.000 There has to be a balance.

01:20:36.000 Right.

01:20:37.000 Yeah.

01:20:37.000 And how do you think this ends?

01:20:40.000 You know, I actually think that probably outdoor dining will resume at some point, three to four weeks after New Year's Eve, because that's considered another big super spreader event, right?

01:20:51.000 So it'll take about three weeks for that to crest, I think.

01:20:55.000 And then I think outdoor dining resumes in some aspect.

01:21:00.000 Hopefully the vaccines start to take effect.

01:21:02.000 Yeah.

01:21:03.000 That might be our only hope.

01:21:05.000 That might be the only hope.

01:21:06.000 And then hopefully things start to open back up maybe in April and May.

01:21:10.000 And then June, July, it really starts to kind of feel like we might be past this in a large point.

01:21:16.000 Unless, you know, you get another strain that's different, that is resistant to the vaccine.

01:21:21.000 And then you're looking kind of like right back where you were.

01:21:24.000 Shut down.

01:21:25.000 Yeah.

01:21:26.000 So, I mean, I don't know.

01:21:28.000 That's scary.

01:21:29.000 It's a scary thought.

01:21:30.000 I am an optimist.

01:21:32.000 And I'm hoping that, like, you know, that that's kind of the road that we're headed towards.

01:21:38.000 Have you considered moving?

01:21:40.000 I haven't considered moving.

01:21:42.000 I have considered...

01:21:44.000 I always said I'll never open up another Craigs, but that thought pattern has changed.

01:21:49.000 So we're looking at other cities to maybe open in and diversify a little bit more.

01:21:56.000 And then Craig's Vegan is, you know, it's weird.

01:21:59.000 Even meat eaters, you know, this new term called flexitarians, where, you know, people are meat eaters, they eat eggs and milk and all kinds of stuff, but if they're looking for a way to cut back, they usually look for a non-dairy.

01:22:12.000 Dessert or something like that.

01:22:13.000 So that industry is exploding.

01:22:16.000 So the ice cream is doing really, really well.

01:22:18.000 Sales are great.

01:22:19.000 And then we're opening up a scoop shop at the Resorts World in Vegas.

01:22:24.000 It'll be kind of like the first vegan ice cream scoop shop, which will be really, really cool.

01:22:28.000 How did you formulate your ice cream?

01:22:30.000 It's made out of cashews.

01:22:32.000 But I mean, did you work with someone?

01:22:34.000 Oh, no, no.

01:22:35.000 Do it to taste?

01:22:36.000 So our chef, Kirsten, is great.

01:22:37.000 And by the way, I want to give a big shout out to the kitchen and to Chef Kirsten.

01:22:42.000 They've had to deal with, if you think about it internally, our crews.

01:22:46.000 What they've had to do, they went from a complete shutdown.

01:22:50.000 They were preparing food to go in the middle of a pandemic in March and April when nobody knew anything and they were still showing up for work.

01:22:57.000 And we were doing deliveries and to-go's just to make people feel comfortable.

01:23:02.000 And they were scared.

01:23:03.000 And they were doing it.

01:23:04.000 And then we reopened for 10 days indoors.

01:23:08.000 So we were doing to-go and indoor.

01:23:10.000 And then we did outdoor And to go and delivery.

01:23:14.000 So Chef has done a masterful job of kind of like...

01:23:18.000 Navigating.

01:23:19.000 Yeah, pulling it in and out and navigating.

01:23:21.000 It's been insane.

01:23:22.000 And by the way, this is not easy.

01:23:24.000 This is not just a machine.

01:23:26.000 These are people and they're scared of getting the disease as well.

01:23:30.000 And they're trying to adhere to all the new protocols of the health department.

01:23:34.000 Masks, gloves, social distancing.

01:23:37.000 While they're, you know, prepping our, you know, you want your salad with no garbanzo meats and tomatoes and you want it chopped and you want your fish grilled.

01:23:45.000 You know, all those special orders are all being taken care of.

01:23:47.000 So they've done an amazing job.

01:23:49.000 And then we just noticed that back seven or eight years ago, we put some vegan items on the menu because some of our customers were demanding it.

01:23:58.000 And more and more people started to ask for it.

01:24:02.000 And so what we were realizing was if you've got a group of six people and one is a vegan, they're the one that makes the decision where you eat.

01:24:10.000 So we were like, well, we want a diverse clientele and we want them, let's not give them an excuse to go somewhere else.

01:24:17.000 So we started making vegan entrees.

01:24:19.000 That turned into a whole vegan section of the menu, which makes up about 18% of our sales.

01:24:24.000 So it's not insignificant.

01:24:27.000 And then we wanted it to be a complete meal, so we came up with a vegan ice cream.

01:24:31.000 And Chef just kind of buried his head in the books and figured out how to make ice cream.

01:24:37.000 And ice cream is essentially fat and sugar.

01:24:40.000 And it's the combination, and that's what makes it so delicious.

01:24:42.000 So you're using like cashew fat.

01:24:44.000 Right, so we're using cashew butter.

01:24:47.000 And we've reduced the amount of sugar, so it's rich, it's creamy, and it gives you that, like, satisfaction, but it's got no animal products, and it's a third less sugar.

01:24:58.000 So, you know, we're the base of the shake at certain, you know, hamburger, Fatburger's been great.

01:25:05.000 We're rolling into Johnny Rockets.

01:25:07.000 We're at some supermarkets, Gelson's, Air One, you know, so it's actually- Yeah, so if you go to Fatburger and you order a vegan shake, I mean, it's unbelievable.

01:25:17.000 And it's a third less sugar.

01:25:19.000 Uh-huh.

01:25:20.000 Wow.

01:25:20.000 And then we're on it.

01:25:23.000 How are you pulling that off?

01:25:25.000 Are you using Stevia?

01:25:26.000 No, no, no.

01:25:26.000 It's regular sugar.

01:25:27.000 It's just, look, you know, Halo Top made a decision to do high protein and low sugar, right?

01:25:34.000 So they made a certain product.

01:25:37.000 Some people enjoyed it.

01:25:38.000 What is Halo Top?

01:25:39.000 Halo Top was an ice cream that was like really hit about two years ago because you could eat the whole carton and it was only 200 calories.

01:25:46.000 Yeah.

01:25:46.000 That sounds like hell.

01:25:49.000 But I think that they gave up, you know, so our product has great flavor and great texture.

01:25:57.000 And so we just, you know, Chef kept playing with the values and we kept just tasting and tasting and tasting it.

01:26:03.000 The great thing is you go on craigsvegan.com and people are shipping it all across the country and we deliver it on dry ice.

01:26:09.000 So good vegan products are kind of I would say an LA, New York kind of thing.

01:26:16.000 I think they've started the trend and so a lot of the places in the middle of the country haven't been able to kind of get their hands on really good products.

01:26:23.000 Whole Foods obviously has a really good cross-section now.

01:26:26.000 Trader Joe's has a really good cross-section now.

01:26:28.000 So we're just kind of rolling out nationally.

01:26:30.000 So we've used this time during COVID to kind of pivot into, okay, well, I guess we'll do food to go.

01:26:39.000 Okay, well, I guess we'll do outdoor dining.

01:26:41.000 Okay, well, I guess we'll put our foot on the accelerator on craigsvegan.com and let's just see where we can go.

01:26:49.000 Yeah.

01:26:50.000 It's made me more resourceful.

01:26:52.000 It's made the crew more resourceful.

01:26:54.000 I mean, like I said, what the kitchen's been through and what chef's been through, it's just been incredible.

01:27:01.000 And I give a big shout out to all the restaurant workers.

01:27:05.000 That especially in March, April, and May, that we're coming to work every day when we didn't know as much as we did about the disease.

01:27:12.000 And people were really worried about dying.

01:27:14.000 And we were hearing people on ventilators.

01:27:16.000 And we didn't have ways to mitigate the disease.

01:27:20.000 And they were still showing up for work.

01:27:22.000 And these are the very people that are being hurt by the shutdown now.

01:27:25.000 Yeah.

01:27:26.000 So that's what really fires me up.

01:27:28.000 Like, these are the people that risked their lives to go to work to make sure that people were being fed and the way you're paying them back is by shutting down their industry.

01:27:39.000 Now, do you have other things along with Craig's Vegan Ice Cream?

01:27:43.000 Do you have like ice cream sandwiches?

01:27:44.000 Are you selling a bunch of different products?

01:27:46.000 No, so we're going to kind of get into that development of ice cream sandwiches right now.

01:27:50.000 So the scoop shop at the Resorts World will have shakes.

01:27:53.000 We'll have floats. 0.78

01:27:55.000 We'll have sundaes.

01:27:56.000 We're going to do vegan cookies.

01:27:58.000 We make an unbelievable vegan bolognese that people eat.

01:28:02.000 What's the meat?

01:28:03.000 It's a product called Hungry Planet.

01:28:06.000 And so it's all plant-based.

01:28:09.000 Are you vegan yourself?

01:28:11.000 I was vegan until the pandemic.

01:28:13.000 The pandemic switched you over?

01:28:15.000 I mean, I've lost 28 pounds.

01:28:19.000 Depression causes.

01:28:20.000 During the pandemic?

01:28:21.000 Yeah.

01:28:21.000 Depression has just cost weight loss.

01:28:24.000 So what am I eating?

01:28:26.000 Not much of anything.

01:28:28.000 But that's the way I deal with stress.

01:28:30.000 Just from stress?

01:28:30.000 Yeah.

01:28:31.000 I think you could probably take a poll and say, okay, people have either gained 25 pounds or they've lost 25 pounds.

01:28:39.000 A lot of people have gotten heavy on the alcohol, unfortunately.

01:28:42.000 Yeah.

01:28:42.000 And I'm trying not to medicate my way through.

01:28:46.000 I'm trying to use this as a way of saying, okay, How can I use this as an opportunity to either be a better leader?

01:28:56.000 How can I get our people through this?

01:28:59.000 How do I get the restaurant to survive?

01:29:01.000 How can I speak up for an industry?

01:29:03.000 It's not about Craig's.

01:29:05.000 Craig's will be fine.

01:29:06.000 It's about our employees, it's about the other restaurants, and it's about the little mom and pop shops that don't have a voice.

01:29:13.000 It's also about the decisions being made that affect you.

01:29:15.000 You have no power over yourself for the first time ever.

01:29:18.000 And there's no place to go.

01:29:19.000 Like John said, you're the only one or few that have said, come on and let's talk about it.

01:29:25.000 And we have a lot of outlets and I've never, you know, and you're right.

01:29:28.000 So what happens when you reach out?

01:29:31.000 You know, they go down the road and then they all don't want to do it.

01:29:36.000 And they come back and they say, look, we just can't, whatever, you know, editor or media person or whatever, it's like the superior doesn't want the backlash, you know, whatever it might be.

01:29:45.000 Where is the backlash coming from at this point?

01:29:48.000 Well, I think the general public is aware of what's going on, that you've lost 75% of all restaurants due to this arbitrary decision.

01:29:57.000 I think there's a lot of public out there, and I don't blame them, that are very scared of the virus, and that's fine, but they're not looking at it in the way of, there's this balance.

01:30:07.000 And so, there's that, and then, yeah, they don't want the backlash from the officials.

01:30:13.000 From government officials, which is crazy to me.

01:30:15.000 But the other point, too, and I know John has done this as well, is like I said, it's not just about us.

01:30:21.000 It's about the mom and pops.

01:30:22.000 It's about the employees.

01:30:23.000 But we're also donating food to Cedar Sinai to help the frontline workers.

01:30:28.000 We've donated food and ice cream to Children's Hospital.

01:30:31.000 We've donated...

01:30:32.000 Ice cream to children mending hearts to charities.

01:30:35.000 We're actually in the middle of this pandemic, also a resource for these people and paying it forward.

01:30:42.000 We're not blind to the sacrifices that people are going through.

01:30:45.000 It's not just about our industry.

01:30:47.000 We're all in this together.

01:30:48.000 So Cedars called on Saturday night and they had a flex and they had a lot of patience and they had more employees there than they thought they were going to have.

01:30:57.000 And she was like, I know it's seven o'clock.

01:30:58.000 I know you're busy.

01:31:00.000 Do you have anything?

01:31:01.000 Yeah.

01:31:01.000 And at 9.30, they picked up 100 meals to feed frontline workers.

01:31:06.000 And that's not a pat on the back for us.

01:31:09.000 The kitchen actually came through in the middle of a rush and did it. 0.78

01:31:16.000 So it's about all of us together.

01:31:19.000 The restaurant industry provides so much.

01:31:24.000 Yeah, the chefs have been rock stars.

01:31:26.000 They're unsung here.

01:31:27.000 Our chefs have been insane.

01:31:29.000 To navigate this has been absolutely insane.

01:31:32.000 Closing, opening, delivery only, outdoors.

01:31:34.000 I mean, they're complete rock stars.

01:31:36.000 But what dawned on me is the trickle down on this closure.

01:31:39.000 You know, I was in an Uber in LA and the guy was so down.

01:31:42.000 I was like, you're doing okay?

01:31:43.000 And he's like, well, you know, he didn't know who I was, didn't know anything.

01:31:47.000 And he's like, yeah, the restaurants, he's like, I can't, I gotta leave town.

01:31:51.000 They're all closed, so I have no business.

01:31:53.000 I realize how many people it affects.

01:31:56.000 Janitor services.

01:31:59.000 Obviously everyone knows chefs, waiters, bartenders, all that, but there's so much that it extends to that this industry is keeping people going business-wise.

01:32:09.000 The complete disregard for all of that from officials is what's driving me insane and why I'm so angry.

01:32:17.000 Take a look at it.

01:32:18.000 I was talking to the flight attendants and the pilots and I'm like, what are you guys going to do now?

01:32:21.000 And they're like, we got to find a place to eat.

01:32:25.000 Like, that was never our...

01:32:27.000 We just would go out to eat or we'd find something.

01:32:30.000 We have to actually...

01:32:30.000 It's so late, we have to find a place that we can actually get food.

01:32:33.000 And how much this is forcing people to eat unhealthy.

01:32:36.000 Unhealthy because they have to go to these fast food places.

01:32:38.000 Unhealthy and it's also causing underground, quote-unquote underground type establishments to happen.

01:32:44.000 Is that happening?

01:32:45.000 Which are unsafe.

01:32:45.000 Oh, yeah.

01:32:46.000 Tons.

01:32:47.000 Do you have a password to get into a restaurant?

01:32:49.000 No, but there's people making sandwiches, and they're selling them online, and who knows where they were made?

01:32:54.000 Who knows how they were made?

01:32:56.000 And it's also driving people to gather at places.

01:33:00.000 There's chefs at houses, and they're having 50 people.

01:33:03.000 Hiring a chef to come in.

01:33:05.000 Hiring a chef.

01:33:06.000 There's people doing it for business out of houses, illegally doing it.

01:33:11.000 But that's what everyone's being driven towards.

01:33:14.000 But the interesting thing is, so it's also thinking outside the box, not just for us in the restaurant business, but for everybody.

01:33:20.000 So Netflix is a really good client, and they're great.

01:33:24.000 So they've got a bunch of premieres, they've got a bunch of movies that they want to...

01:33:27.000 So now what we've been doing is virtual premieres.

01:33:30.000 So we've been creating, with Chef and our events team, these boxes that get delivered to people's homes, and it may be 100 people On the same day, and so they get to eat the same box of food from Netflix while they're watching the premiere of a show.

01:33:48.000 And so that whole end of our business has kind of increased.

01:33:52.000 It doesn't make up for what we do on a regular basis, but okay, that's a new kind of a thing, and it's a new way of doing premieres.

01:33:59.000 And I wonder if the old style of premieres are going to come back.

01:34:03.000 Because the celebrities that are in the show, they just get to Zoom regularly.

01:34:07.000 In, right?

01:34:09.000 Promote whatever they're promoting.

01:34:11.000 Everybody gets to eat the same food from their favorite restaurant.

01:34:13.000 They're not in the same environment.

01:34:16.000 And so I wonder if that's going to change or not.

01:34:19.000 Not the same thing.

01:34:19.000 That would make me sad if premieres don't come back.

01:34:22.000 I agree, but I don't know what it's going to do.

01:34:24.000 I don't know.

01:34:25.000 But what's interesting is Netflix, Warner Brothers, Universal, they've all decided to kind of figure out a way to promote their products in a different way and also help support the restaurants that they like doing business with.

01:34:41.000 Which is important.

01:34:42.000 Yeah, it's devastating the comedy community.

01:34:44.000 It's devastating, I know.

01:34:46.000 No, I mentioned the other day, I spent some time with Chris Spencer, and I said, what are you doing tonight?

01:34:51.000 And he goes, oh, I'm doing a little gig on Ventura Boulevard.

01:34:54.000 I go, what do you mean?

01:34:55.000 He goes, well, it's a little outside thing, and there's like, I don't know, there's 20, 25 people, and he was so excited.

01:35:01.000 Yeah.

01:35:02.000 To just have a mic in front of his face and to be out and about.

01:35:05.000 And then, you know, we were talking to our good friend Jeff and Jeff's been on the road for 30 years, you know, performing in all over the country.

01:35:12.000 And he said to me, there's a part of me that's, it's kind of nice not to be, you know, in a suitcase on the road all the time and taking this little bit of a break.

01:35:24.000 But he goes, I'm not one of those comics that needs a microphone in his face to be happy all the time.

01:35:30.000 But I'm jonesing for it a little bit.

01:35:32.000 So it's interesting how everybody's kind of taking it differently.

01:35:36.000 Yeah, a lot of comics don't realize how bad they love it until they go and do it again.

01:35:40.000 I did a gig with Ron White out here a few weeks back, and he hadn't done any stand-up in eight months.

01:35:45.000 And he's like, you know, I think I'm kind of retired.

01:35:48.000 Yeah.

01:35:49.000 And he goes on stage and kills, and then afterwards he grabs you by the shoulder and he goes, whatever we have to do, we're doing this again.

01:35:55.000 He got his fix again, and he's like, you realize people love having a good time, whether it's having a good time at a restaurant, having a good time at a comedy club.

01:36:03.000 You're taking away a big chunk of their life enjoyment.

01:36:07.000 It takes away from their quality of life.

01:36:09.000 It takes away from their socializing.

01:36:11.000 It takes away from their mental health.

01:36:13.000 It's a big impact, and it's not something you can just diminish without any consideration.

01:36:19.000 Yeah, I'm here because of Dave and Cena and their team.

01:36:22.000 And I've been begging, I'm like, when are you going to come back in LA? It's like, why come there?

01:36:26.000 There's nothing we can do shows for.

01:36:28.000 We just drove away all these great comics that want to be doing stuff.

01:36:34.000 In L.A., I mean, that's what we're known for.

01:36:36.000 And I miss those interactions, like, when they come in the restaurant, and, I mean, to just get told off by one of those guys, or just have, like, a sharp little, like, right between the eyes.

01:36:44.000 Like, I miss that moment.

01:36:45.000 I miss that moment.

01:36:50.000 Yeah, it's fun.

01:36:52.000 Yeah, it's devastating to the store.

01:36:54.000 The store, they don't know what to do.

01:36:56.000 I know.

01:36:56.000 And there's no indication whatsoever that they're going to get to open up anytime soon.

01:37:00.000 No.

01:37:01.000 I mean, it might be, literally, it might be six, seven months before they're allowed to do outside shows.

01:37:06.000 I mean, who knows?

01:37:07.000 Well, I know that from concert venues and things like that, I don't think they're even booking shows until September 2021. Right.

01:37:13.000 Yeah, I have some stuff booked in New York in October of 2021, and I'm like, maybe.

01:37:20.000 Maybe.

01:37:20.000 Maybe that's real.

01:37:21.000 But there's a lot of people that are doing virtual stuff.

01:37:23.000 I know there's a lot of virtual shows over New Year's Eve, New Year's Day.

01:37:27.000 I don't know.

01:37:27.000 But you know what?

01:37:28.000 People are starved for entertainment.

01:37:29.000 Most talent don't want to do virtual shows, though.

01:37:32.000 No, you don't get the interaction, but at least it's something to look forward to.

01:37:36.000 If you want to see your favorite people, at least you'll tune into something.

01:37:42.000 We're so deprived right now of everything that you're willing to...

01:37:48.000 Think about it.

01:37:49.000 If I said to you two years ago, so-and-so would be on Zoom and you could buy tickets, you'd be like, why would I do that?

01:37:54.000 Why are they doing that?

01:37:55.000 Yeah, it doesn't make any sense.

01:37:58.000 Look, I'm hoping that this vaccine opens things up again.

01:38:01.000 I'm hoping.

01:38:02.000 But I don't think that the governors that have been particularly draconian, I don't think they're going to lighten that up.

01:38:10.000 I think that's who they are now.

01:38:11.000 I think this is a real problem.

01:38:13.000 We've let a genie out of the bottle.

01:38:15.000 We need more voices.

01:38:17.000 Telling people how it is.

01:38:18.000 We also need more pro-business, some business-friendly politicians to run. 1.00

01:38:23.000 People who realize, like, hey, fuck this. 0.99

01:38:26.000 This is really affecting our communities. 1.00

01:38:28.000 This is really affecting our livelihoods.

01:38:30.000 This is affecting our businesses and our mental health.

01:38:33.000 And I'm not going to stand for it anymore.

01:38:35.000 I'm going to run.

01:38:36.000 We need more of those people.

01:38:37.000 That's a big thing I'm going to get behind is the people, next people running.

01:38:40.000 Yeah.

01:38:41.000 Well, we all need to do that.

01:38:42.000 Important aspect.

01:38:43.000 Yeah.

01:38:43.000 It didn't seem like a big deal.

01:38:45.000 Whoever the governor was or the mayor was, like, look, I'm busy.

01:38:50.000 I put my nose to the grindstone.

01:38:51.000 I'm going.

01:38:52.000 I'm not paying too much attention to them until the record skips.

01:38:56.000 Like, what?

01:38:57.000 I can't work. 1.00

01:38:58.000 Who the fuck are you? 1.00

01:39:00.000 A person is telling all these people they can't work, and it's based on what? 1.00

01:39:04.000 They don't have to tell you?

01:39:05.000 They don't have to show you?

01:39:07.000 Follow the science.

01:39:08.000 We trust the science. 1.00

01:39:09.000 There's no such thing as the science, you fucking asshole. 1.00

01:39:12.000 What is the science? 1.00

01:39:14.000 That's not even a real term.

01:39:16.000 No.

01:39:17.000 Essentially, the governor abdicated all decision-making to each individual county health inspector.

01:39:26.000 He just kind of threw his hands up and said, okay, I'm not going to make the decision.

01:39:29.000 They're all going to make the decisions.

01:39:31.000 So, you know, we're open or closed based on one person's opinion.

01:39:35.000 It's bananas.

01:39:37.000 Literally insane.

01:39:38.000 It's got to be stopped.

01:39:39.000 But here's the worst part about it.

01:39:41.000 I've got people that go down to Orange County, Laguna, Newport.

01:39:45.000 They stay for the weekend.

01:39:46.000 They eat in a hotel.

01:39:48.000 30-minute drive.

01:39:49.000 They eat in a restaurant.

01:39:50.000 Yep.

01:39:50.000 And they come back to L.A.? Yeah.

01:39:52.000 Yeah, that's crazy.

01:39:53.000 What they've done is they've just pushed all of that money out of L.A. County.

01:39:57.000 Well, they've also reinforced this idea in a lot of people's heads that have leaned right, that are right-leaning people, that the Democrats are not business-friendly, that Democrats are not going to support them.

01:40:08.000 It's pretty clear.

01:40:10.000 Yeah, Huntington, Lagoon, those are all red areas.

01:40:16.000 Yeah, it's sad that that's what it's come to.

01:40:19.000 Yeah, it's a real eye-opener.

01:40:21.000 And it's one of those things where people that were always wary of government are now, like, super paranoid.

01:40:28.000 I mean, I am now.

01:40:31.000 I mean, how many businesses do you have running that have stopped?

01:40:34.000 16. Jesus Christ, that must be insane.

01:40:37.000 Insane.

01:40:38.000 And, you know, some I have no hope.

01:40:40.000 You know, three are nightclubs, for example.

01:40:42.000 I have no hope.

01:40:43.000 2022 be able to open nightclubs?

01:40:45.000 23?

01:40:45.000 Maybe, right?

01:40:46.000 Maybe.

01:40:47.000 Yeah.

01:40:47.000 You just wake up and you try to navigate.

01:40:50.000 How do I lead?

01:40:52.000 It's a minefield.

01:40:52.000 Also, my employees don't want to see me moping around going, oh my god, I don't know what's going to happen.

01:40:58.000 So I'm kind of like, don't worry about it.

01:41:00.000 We're going to get through this.

01:41:01.000 I know we're going to get through this.

01:41:02.000 And when we come back, we're going to be stronger.

01:41:04.000 So stick together.

01:41:05.000 Stay positive.

01:41:06.000 How do we do a house party?

01:41:08.000 How do we do catering for Netflix?

01:41:10.000 How do we sell more ice cream?

01:41:12.000 How do we do more food to go?

01:41:13.000 How do we sell more t-shirts?

01:41:15.000 We're doing Christmas gift box.

01:41:17.000 We're doing New Year's Eve boxes.

01:41:18.000 So it's like New Year's Eve in a box.

01:41:20.000 How do we get more of that going?

01:41:22.000 We started a COVID testing company.

01:41:24.000 I mean, that's how much we pivot.

01:41:26.000 Well, see, that is the immediate short-term solution.

01:41:30.000 The immediate short-term solution is allow rapid testing.

01:41:34.000 You guys could still be open.

01:41:36.000 It's not that difficult to do.

01:41:38.000 It's all available.

01:41:39.000 Now, we're not talking about the technology of eight, nine months ago.

01:41:41.000 We're talking about what's available right now.

01:41:43.000 We have this whole COVID testing company.

01:41:46.000 And I went to the county about this.

01:41:48.000 I said, just have us, let us be able to require testing.

01:41:52.000 No.

01:41:53.000 Why?

01:41:54.000 Don't know.

01:41:55.000 Exactly.

01:41:56.000 That's why it's nonsense.

01:41:57.000 That's why it's crazy that these people get to make the laws.

01:41:59.000 How about invest to make it cheaper, quicker, and more available?

01:42:04.000 Yeah.

01:42:04.000 Makes sense to me.

01:42:05.000 Well, I think there's a lot of people that just as it is would accept the additional charge to their meal.

01:42:11.000 100%.

01:42:12.000 100%.

01:42:13.000 It would just be like, look, we want to go out.

01:42:15.000 We'll just factor in the extra charge of the COVID test and we'll go.

01:42:21.000 Again, you show up at 7. You write your name down and show your driver's license.

01:42:27.000 They mark down what your temperature is.

01:42:30.000 They test you.

01:42:31.000 You're negative.

01:42:32.000 You go on inside.

01:42:33.000 You have a couple of drinks.

01:42:34.000 You sit down like a normal human.

01:42:35.000 It's possible to do.

01:42:37.000 We have a drive-through for it.

01:42:39.000 Hundreds a day go through it at Peppermint, our place.

01:42:42.000 It's a drive-through testing.

01:42:44.000 That's how much the demand is.

01:42:45.000 And I don't know why we're not amping that up around the city and county.

01:42:49.000 It's because these people have too much to think about.

01:42:52.000 There's too many decisions to make.

01:42:54.000 And I don't think they're really that competent.

01:42:57.000 Right.

01:42:57.000 You know, I mean, that's what we're finding out.

01:42:59.000 That might be the real problem.

01:43:00.000 When you have someone like that woman who decided to shut down outdoor dining and then go to a restaurant, that should be it for you. 1.00

01:43:07.000 That should be it for you.

01:43:08.000 There's no incentive because she's getting a paycheck. 1.00

01:43:14.000 Exactly.

01:43:15.000 All of them are getting paychecks.

01:43:16.000 We were talking about before that if the paychecks of the politicians was directly dependent upon the income That was coming in from the businesses being open.

01:43:25.000 If they really had an incentive to keep these businesses thriving because they actually benefit from it financially.

01:43:34.000 I agree.

01:43:35.000 That's what we need to do.

01:43:36.000 I'm hoping, and I'll go back on the positive side, and I'm just hoping that they see that this spike wasn't a result of dining and wasn't a result of some of the businesses that they've shut down, that maybe after the first of the year they start loosening some of these things and start really kind of thinking outside the box.

01:43:59.000 Well, call your bestie.

01:44:00.000 Call your bestie.

01:44:00.000 Call your guy, dude.

01:44:01.000 I don't have direct access.

01:44:02.000 Just show him that inverse situation.

01:44:04.000 By the way, I love this.

01:44:06.000 He's got more direct access than I do.

01:44:08.000 I do, and I'm speaking very candidly about the fact that this guy doesn't know what he's doing.

01:44:13.000 And if he does, it's because he's trying to get a name for himself.

01:44:17.000 Well, the fact that you've spoken out and they've visited you every single day.

01:44:21.000 That's why I'm really angry.

01:44:22.000 Oh my god, that should make you furious.

01:44:23.000 That has the opposite effect, because you're not breaking the rules.

01:44:28.000 Right.

01:44:28.000 So all you're doing is being harassed, and so they're doing these strong-arm tactics, but they don't really have a leg to stand on.

01:44:34.000 Right.

01:44:35.000 They couldn't do anything, yeah, in that regard.

01:44:36.000 But they came and threatened every single night.

01:44:43.000 Literally, didn't miss a night.

01:44:45.000 Nuts.

01:44:45.000 That should be criminal.

01:44:47.000 That should be criminal.

01:44:48.000 It's why I'm so angry, because it's like, is this causing people to be scared to speak?

01:44:53.000 I mean, I hate to say this, but what society are we living in?

01:44:57.000 Literally, what society are we living in?

01:44:58.000 Well, it's not just that.

01:45:00.000 It's also extremely incompetent, because there are 30,000 restaurants that are open.

01:45:04.000 If they're visiting you every night, that means there's probably violations they're not catching.

01:45:09.000 100%.

01:45:10.000 Well, that's the whole point.

01:45:12.000 We're the rule followers.

01:45:16.000 If what you're saying is the reason we closed you is because 10% of the people weren't following the rules, then why don't you stay on that 10%?

01:45:26.000 And help us stay open.

01:45:30.000 Literally, watching Chef Kirsten go through every day trying to figure out what to make, Who's on the payroll?

01:45:40.000 Who's available?

01:45:41.000 What's the schedule?

01:45:42.000 Do we have an event?

01:45:43.000 Do we have an outside event?

01:45:45.000 Are we open?

01:45:46.000 Are we closed?

01:45:48.000 It's literally like a tiger by the tail.

01:45:52.000 Well, listen, shout out to all the people that are trying to do it the right way.

01:45:55.000 Shout out to all the mayors and all the health department officials that it's not their fault.

01:46:00.000 All the people where, the West Hollywood folks that are really trying to help businesses.

01:46:05.000 By the way, couldn't be a more pro-business friendly place, City of West Hollywood.

01:46:10.000 I pretty much only want to be open in West Hollywood.

01:46:14.000 I hear nothing but good things.

01:46:15.000 It's by far the best.

01:46:17.000 Lindsay, who, Mayor, first name basis, by the way.

01:46:20.000 And I can get to her.

01:46:23.000 They need more power.

01:46:24.000 And Paul Aravalo.

01:46:25.000 That's the truth.

01:46:26.000 Everybody at that city, from the plan checkers, building and safety, fire department, everybody went out of their way To make sure that we got our patios open as quickly as possible.

01:46:39.000 Tell Lindsey to run for mayor. 1.00

01:46:41.000 Mayor of the whole city.

01:46:43.000 I like that.

01:46:44.000 Yeah.

01:46:45.000 Or governor.

01:46:46.000 There you go.

01:46:47.000 Jesus Christ.

01:46:48.000 Why don't we start?

01:46:48.000 We'll start it right now.

01:46:49.000 Well, I think we really do need something to change in terms of the way people look at government because this has opened up a lot of people's eyes that it is important.

01:46:58.000 I want Caruso to run for mayor.

01:47:00.000 He's a type that would understand both.

01:47:02.000 Rick's a really good operator, first name basis, by the way.

01:47:07.000 Text him after the show.

01:47:09.000 Rick's shipping him some ice cream.

01:47:12.000 But he gets it.

01:47:14.000 He's an operator, but he's also a safety guy, and he gets it.

01:47:19.000 Well, let's hope that the politicians that are making these piss-poor decisions, that the new ones are going to learn.

01:47:25.000 I mean, that's what I'm hoping, that we're going to learn from this pandemic, and if something else does happen down the line, we'll be much better prepared for it.

01:47:32.000 I'm really worried about places like California that have gone so far down the wrong path that I just don't see how it corrects course and comes back to some sort of a rational...

01:47:43.000 I agree.

01:47:44.000 Well, I'm also concerned about all the people that are leaving LA. I'm also concerned about all the people that are leaving New York.

01:47:50.000 Because those are the people that spend money in places like mine and John's and other mom-and-pop places.

01:47:57.000 Those are the people that keep our employees employed.

01:47:59.000 Right, because those are the people that can leave.

01:48:02.000 There's a lot of folks that don't have the resources to just pack up and leave.

01:48:06.000 They don't have these resources.

01:48:07.000 They can't fly private suite.

01:48:09.000 They can't do these things, essentially.

01:48:12.000 And so...

01:48:13.000 Everyone's forgetting about that fact.

01:48:14.000 That's where the masses are.

01:48:16.000 Especially to just get up and move your whole household.

01:48:18.000 Totally.

01:48:18.000 And move your business.

01:48:20.000 By the way, I love LA. I love living in LA. I think it's a great city and it's diverse and it's fun and it's energetic and it's got comedians and actors.

01:48:29.000 It did.

01:48:31.000 People always say to me, how do you get the crowd you get?

01:48:35.000 And I go, it's just a part of the community.

01:48:38.000 It's just an interesting community.

01:48:40.000 So it's a blast.

01:48:42.000 And by the way, everybody that goes in there that's famous, we met, they weren't famous.

01:48:47.000 You're not born famous.

01:48:48.000 You're not born being top of the heap comedian. 1.00

01:48:51.000 You busted your ass and you work. 0.99

01:48:54.000 So I've been doing this for 30 years. 1.00

01:48:55.000 We've known each other forever. 0.99

01:48:57.000 I was a 22-year-old idiot running around town, not sure what I was going to do. 0.98

01:49:01.000 I didn't know I was going to have a restaurant called Craig's. 0.99

01:49:03.000 But we've all kind of come up together and we all support each other.

01:49:07.000 Well, that's one of the beautiful things about restaurants like yours or like Dan Tana's where you go there and it's this crazy melting pot of generations.

01:49:17.000 I'm actually scared of historic places that are going to not be able to reopen.

01:49:24.000 There's a lot of legendary ones that no one's talking about that are at risk of not being able to reopen unless they're saved.

01:49:30.000 Yeah.

01:49:30.000 I was just watching, so I watched a thing on Showtime about the comedy store, and I was thinking, like, if you didn't have open mic Mondays, Right?

01:49:39.000 Nobody would have had a voice.

01:49:40.000 Right.

01:49:41.000 Nobody would have learned their craft.

01:49:42.000 Yeah.

01:49:43.000 Nobody would have had a place to fail.

01:49:45.000 Yeah.

01:49:45.000 Right?

01:49:46.000 And then, you know, you go to a restaurant.

01:49:49.000 I remember going to Dantana's.

01:49:50.000 I literally, I was an actor.

01:49:52.000 I had six bucks in my pocket.

01:49:53.000 I was invited to dinner.

01:49:54.000 I couldn't afford anything on the menu except a light beer.

01:49:57.000 I ordered the light beer for $3.50 and I made some sort of lame excuse as to why I couldn't stay for dinner.

01:50:02.000 Right.

01:50:02.000 I literally, I had no money.

01:50:04.000 And then I ended up working there.

01:50:06.000 And then I ended up running it.

01:50:08.000 And then I ended up leaving and opening up my own place.

01:50:10.000 So everybody starts somewhere.

01:50:14.000 But comedy stores, restaurants, little venues like the Troubadour, those are all the places that people get to learn their trades, right? 0.98

01:50:24.000 When I started out as a waiter, I didn't know shit. 0.93

01:50:27.000 But they molded me and I learned, right? 0.74

01:50:30.000 So where's all that happening right now?

01:50:34.000 All of those young people that are trying to learn comedy, trying to be an actor, trying to be whatever it is that they're trying to do, none of that's happening right now.

01:50:43.000 Yeah, it's true.

01:50:45.000 The development of comedy has been devastating to the people that have just started out.

01:50:50.000 Maybe they're like 10 months, a year in.

01:50:52.000 That's such a critical period that can make or break the next future generation of headliners.

01:50:58.000 And they're stalled, and a lot of them have taken jobs, and a lot of them are just giving up on the whole dream of comedy.

01:51:04.000 I kind of also feel bad for college students.

01:51:05.000 If you're 18, 19, 20, that whole college experience is...

01:51:10.000 How about high school kids graduating?

01:51:12.000 Your graduation's virtual? 0.99

01:51:13.000 What the fuck is that? 1.00

01:51:15.000 I got two seven-year-old twins. 0.99

01:51:16.000 They're home.

01:51:17.000 They're on Zoom.

01:51:18.000 There's no social interaction.

01:51:20.000 Yeah, it's not good.

01:51:21.000 It's not good in so many ways.

01:51:22.000 I give a lot of credit to my wife because she's home with them all the time. 0.94

01:51:26.000 It's like...

01:51:27.000 You're not only a mom, you're scared about the pandemic yourself.

01:51:32.000 You've probably got a parent or two that you're scared about because they're older and they're more susceptible.

01:51:37.000 You've got two kids that are scared and they don't know what's going on.

01:51:40.000 You got an erotic husband who's got a business that's like barely hanging on. 0.99

01:51:44.000 So it's, I mean, it's a lot.

01:51:45.000 Our wives deserve a lot of credit. 1.00

01:51:47.000 Absolutely.

01:51:48.000 Big, big.

01:51:48.000 Well, listen, gentlemen.

01:51:49.000 By the way, I'm on first name basis with my wife.

01:51:53.000 Do you email her or text her?

01:51:55.000 How does it work?

01:51:56.000 No, I can actually get to her.

01:51:58.000 I'm not sure she wants me to get to her.

01:52:01.000 Listen, I hope we've made some sort of an impact with this conversation.

01:52:06.000 I hope people are listening and I hope that it has some sort of an effect and I hope they do put pressure on these bureaucrats.

01:52:13.000 I hope they let these people know what you're doing as a real consequence, not just to the businesses and the community, but people are going to remember what you've done.

01:52:22.000 You can't just...

01:52:24.000 This is a bad choice.

01:52:25.000 Yeah.

01:52:26.000 It's...

01:52:27.000 Yeah, I mean, I just hope we all get through this, and I hope at some point down the line, this is a great story that we tell a lot of people in the past, and we sound like these old bastards that keep repeating the same old story about, remember the time of the pandemic? 0.96

01:52:42.000 Shit, I hope that's two years from now. 0.95

01:52:44.000 I hope two years from now we're laughing it up and toasting and appreciating. 0.99

01:52:49.000 That's one thing that I think will come out of this for the people that make it on the other end.

01:52:53.000 You're going to appreciate how bad it was and how weird it was.

01:52:57.000 It's funny, I looked at a bottle of champagne the other day and I thought to myself, what am I waiting for?

01:53:02.000 Literally, what am I waiting for?

01:53:05.000 Crack it because you never know what's coming tomorrow.

01:53:07.000 So you might as well live it today.

01:53:09.000 Well gentlemen, best of luck.

01:53:12.000 Let's do this again when everything's popping.

01:53:15.000 Thank you for having us.

01:53:17.000 Seriously, thanks for having us out because there's not a lot of people who want to have this conversation.

01:53:23.000 We're all rational people.

01:53:24.000 We all understand there's an issue.

01:53:25.000 But how do you get through it with some common sense?

01:53:28.000 That's all we're asking.

01:53:30.000 Well, and you're also asking for some respect for your business.

01:53:33.000 I mean, it's crazy that they just feel like they can arbitrarily shut you down, again, because you don't have lobbyists, because you are independent.

01:53:40.000 You're not a part of some gigantic fast food corporation that has a massive influence on these politicians.

01:53:47.000 Yeah, our companies are like families, literally.

01:53:49.000 And so our family units are now shut down.

01:53:53.000 It's a really sad case.

01:53:54.000 And so I commend you for doing this because this will make some sort of impact, and it's a start at least.

01:54:00.000 Well, my pleasure.

01:54:01.000 Best of luck to everybody.

01:54:03.000 And my heart goes out to all you people out there that are struggling.

01:54:06.000 Whether it's business owners, restaurants, bars, stand-up comedy clubs.

01:54:11.000 All of you.

01:54:11.000 Alright, thank you gentlemen.

01:54:12.000 Thanks again.

01:54:13.000 Thank you very much.

The Joe Rogan Experience - December 24, 2020

Joe Rogan Experience #1583 - John Terzian & Craig Susser

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