In this first episode of "It's Cool, I Know the Owner,” by The Horton Group, our host Zach Schmidt, sat down with Charles Martinez and Andrew Zeiden, the dynamic duo behind Chicago's newest hot spot, Grandma Annie's Pizza and Chicken.

Hi everyone. And welcome to the very first episode of it's cool. I know the owner podcast, I'm Zach Schmidt with the Horton Group and today my first guest ever are Charles Martinez and Andrew is a Dan of G and he's Pizzeria.

So let's get into it. Yeah, we're going to start it off with some product here, little Za. This is, this is why we're here, right? Thank you. Thank you so much showing this off right here. It's the pizza. Still love. This is what we're trying to show the whole park in Chicagoland area, little bit of background on all of us. I've known these guys for 15-plus years Charles and I went to college together. I've known Andrew for years, as well. Thank you. We've all been in and out of the hospitality industry for years

and yeah, they just opened this business and I'm just starting this podcast. So I thought it was appropriate to, you know, show their - a little bit of love and find out what's going on behind the scenes. What is a? We want to get to know the owner. So let's go. Boom. Ready to have excited to get this thing going. So, I guess what I'm curious about is I've known you guys actually separately. How did you guys get to know each other? What made you go into business? I guess Andrew. Let's start with you. Tell me a little bit about your past. What got you to this point? So, I feel like I've been have to tell you my whole adult life ever since high school and knew this kind of what I want to do with. You know, from the beginning, we threw parties, we did a vents, you know, from houses the barns the we did with there was a spot in the Clarendon Hills was called the Arabian Nights farm and so it was cheap was like 150 bucks arriving for the night. So at that point, I had a company that was planning a production doesn't 15 years old was like zero gravity days and so we used to rent this. Barn on these. Don't eat much is here. Yeah, for sure.

And then like we just kind of like kept Well, moving forward and moving forward and I got into promoting, you know, I was in the city for a long time, they probably before I should have been and then

by the time I was 21 and under age action, actually alleged alleged Leslie. They said that the collective hit but you know, it is what it is at this point. And by the time I was 21, everybody thought I was 30. So

I've been at this point, what was going on? But from managing clubs to do it. Auto Service management at festivals and then, you know, I've been in Nightlife probably the last 10 years salad.

But, you know, there's nothing more. There's nothing better than there's nothing better than. Now that we're the, we got food establishment and this is coming a long way, because the last time Andrew and I were doing stuff, it was shocking to beers and we did some college parties. So where did you guys start working together? Where do you like officially meet and start working? Together. As far as like bars, promotions events will be back before we, we were friends before. We actually started working out for sure, and we just knew each other from nightclubs. We at that point, I think 16 clubs usually 15 clubs like missions Asian. At that point he had a he was doing this DJ thing and, you know, he was the hottest thing in the analogous. So yeah, tell us a little bit about that. Bartlett Superstar

Bartlett, Farrington else. In wait, everybody, stop talking. It's Pizza time. All right, let's do it. We got. Yeah. Cheers the Pizza, Boys. Cheers boys, Silo Silo, Grandma, Annie success. So let's see how it is. This can also be a pizza review. Charles you started DJing and high school who's selling CDs out of the back of my guard 7-Eleven

hustling. I mean see I think that's why Adrienne die.

He Longs. Well, we both have the same kind of like past annoyed. We've always made our own money found angles and let people didn't see and just got out there and got actors, right? So once we did start doing business together, we just kind of Saw II like yo, like we could do some cool. The other thing is, you know, by by being in like the game of, you know, making your own money, you fail on a lot of things, right? And so you learn a lot of what Not to do. And now that, you know, we're both in our 30s, we've gone through years of, you know, ups and downs. I be it's been a roller coaster. I think for both of us, even though because you'll kill it for two years and that they're broke and then comes back and you're trying to figure out the next move. Yep. What did you do? When you reflect on that? And when you go into another venture, you bring all that experience with you. So if you want as your like discussing this, there was a bunch of situations where like All right, put a good idea if you don't have XYZ place or when I was working XYZ plays, you know, we did it this way, didn't work, so we want to try it this way and all that comes together and makes this, you know, what, I think that's what makes this work and we're agile. We always were not like set in stone that this has to be a certain way, and I think that's been a great way for us to expand the way that Andrew and I communicate. Because in the beginning, we started putting ads on to started getting into like, you know, the nitty-gritty doubled like black-and-white type decisions, right? Or it's like we're going this way or this way. Yeah, there has to be some give-and-take. You have to compromise,

a business relationship is like a marriage, right? So does, it doesn't matter. Anyway, you look at it. You're with the, I'm with him more than anybody else in my life. I talk to him more than anybody else. Yeah. Like he's he and this point he is my partner, the highs and lows, you got to learn to deal with each other work together, live together. We, I mean do we want the the first six months of trying to figure out our pizza recipe and our though we're going to kill each other, you know what I mean? But then it comes down to a point where We feel. We remember they were both were both going for the same goal, right? So like we're I'm passionate one way, he's passionate another way and then our passion will provide together because both of us don't want to be wrong because this is all we've been living and thinking for the last six months. But then you take a step back and you're like alright, bro? Like you're some stuff you make sense, some stuff I make sense. Let's figure out what really makes sense. Instead of talking about it, let's try and like that's kind of like our new thing is like we're not going to argue about things that we don't know. We're going to Try them. And then we're going to make it. What are you open to? What works best we have, what the customer wants, what? Yeah, you know, what looks best taste mess? The big. We have to be open to that and we balance each other very well, because it's like, there's a lot of things I'm not good at and like the enzyme as a as a good business owner, you have to figure out what you're good at, what you're not good at. But you have to because everybody is not good at everything. So you need to bring on. Like, when you get married again, you got to find somebody. That's they call it, your partner, your better half. So he's my better half of business, you know? We Each other very well. I'm loud. Obnoxious, the I'm go, he's meticulous, he's talking related and slow so it's like between both of us. He's really well and everything no notnot. I'm sorry, no, he takes his time, he's calculated this time. Get it lit. He just actually well, I'm like I'm thinking about thinking once I get there and I think you can apply that almost anything, right? Maybe it comes down to, I'm willing to compromise to see if you are right. It Kate. And then about then on the flip side of it, you have to be open on the other end of the equation, where, if you are wrong, right? And that's hard because this thing like Andrew saying we're living here, like we're putting insane amount of hours and it's not just ours over here. Took me when I'm at home with my brain doesn't stop. I don't care where you're at because we're just now. I know, you know although we were open, we're not. This is our first one right? They get the game plan is and just one restaurant we want to be able to take this thing and push it at scale and that's where my priming. Background really helps because I work as a software developer during the day. So I have my career as well as business just like Andrew. He's got his hands and other things too. Right? So you got two guys that are doing 90 hours on an hours. But this the thing that is really that we're passionate about and that's why when, you know, he feels one way and I can maybe, you know, I talk shit about I'm sorry if I don't put on beeping even an hour everybody if I talk shit about it it's not that I'm talking shit about him but he feels like it's not have been vice versa like he'll say something about About something that I make. And I'll be like, this doesn't look right abla. I take it personally. No shit. Alright, so something I wanted to bring up, you started bringing it up. How you guys myself? We've all been in different Industries as well as hospitality and you come from bars clubs. Promotions events, you've Charles you've done DJ now you're working with Cook County software development, you do all these apps and software stuff me I've from most of my the last 12 years of my life have been in Hospitality or managing bars restaurants. Herbs. And now working for Horton. Working in Commercial Insurance, taking a different path, but how have you guys taken those other walks of life and paths and applied it to this business? You're starting

out what is it taught you and how are you applying it to Graham? And I have taken every loss of ever had and I've thought about it all the way through. So, like, before I do anything here, I think about it, 10 different ways. The think about it. From my point of view, I think about it from a Mark employees, feel point of view. I think about it. From his point of view, I try to like, see the bigger picture of the things that are, that we have to make real decisions on. And then once I figure out that, I feel like this can work then will you know, which we try to, we try that way. And also it's like that's kind of where I'm at. So, the biggest thing I learned from bars restaurants clubs. Hospitality is the smallest, task the smallest issue problem. My life. I'm just constantly in like, solution mode. That's been the biggest industry, you have to be. That's that's been the biggest thing. Like, I get a, it can be something as trivial as a flat tire or someone passed away in my life. Something something small, or something. Terrible has happened. And, you know, I might sulk for a second, but I'm instantly in like, how am I going to fix this? How's it going to go going forward and how does it affect the people around me? And you have to be constantly on your toes? You know what? I swear, I saw something on Instagram one time probably years ago and it said you have two options. Either it, can you fix the issue? Then why worry can you not fix the issue? Then why were either way? It's the same answer, right? So, it's like, what is the point of stressing yourself out and getting to a point where your, you, your brain and everything is just ruined because you have are your anxiety ridden and like people that are out there. I feel so bad for them sometimes because it's like dude like I get it I get the frustration, I get things Aya tea but like we have to use the power of the mindset and push ourselves through. Provide every day to be a bad day if you want. Princess, your pressure is a privilege. Yeah. Like the fact that you have pressure means you're doing so good. Yeah. I mean when we were talking about this earlier, stay uncomfortable. Yeah. Well you have to do something new. Put the pressure on cause more problems in your life and you'll grow. Yeah, I agree. Absolutely. I feel like people just need to take small wins. People forget about the small wins, the little things, you hear it all. The time, little things matter. But people forget about the little kids. Any friend, how you frame stuff? I keep 100% mental. Like the way you talk to yourself that the manifestation is real and all that you can say if you say, you're going to be miserable every single day, you're going to be miserable every single day. But if you wake up and say, I'm going to say hi to 10 people that somebody's going to smile at you. It's not even a little things. Again, it's a little things in life, like the person that holds the door open, the the, you know, the lady did that didn't have 25 cents for food so you give it to her. It's the little things role that we have to as a community. People need to be kind to each other and I feel like we just need to get that back. Yeah, I mean and as you guys were opening this place before before it was painted before you're doing any branding or advertising, then you say people were like popping their heads in like what is this? What is this going to be? No, it's Pizza. We need this here. We're excited. We want this. We had I was we were living here and that point like I mean every single day working on the recipes. Get in this place. Cleaned up in the. First thing we do is we put the oven. Yeah. And then we build everything around the other. And, and the reason why is, because Andrew and I, and although Henry has, he's a background, I had zero experience in pizza and we didn't want to just go and use somebody else's recipe. Yeah. So you know these I think I showed you the pictures of the first pieces that came out. They are bears. They look like they're worth like not not totally sellable, it's not delivery. Its not even DiGiorno. That's what it. Like it was you know you shouldn't you do like the jacket

Jackson's fire Jax is Jax's fire but like the one that's like 400 heated, that's like two dollars. A pizza for started. It was it was bad. It was really bad. But again, you know, it was learning process down there. I mean, you said you were working on do for like four months plus from six months from scratch. Now you're the do man. Yeah. Well Yeah, so I did as I was being done, you know, this there is a lot of battles around the oven as well as battles around the room and this entire place, 10 was so heavy bro. Like every single one of these corners of the building every every single tire there was like a long discussion. You know because again we're so invested in this is like this place is a piece of nothing was easy. Yeah. It's a part of us. I was going to ask you guys why the pink but I mean to me, it's fairly obvious. The Branding, just for me, you know, knowing you guys Guys, coming in and out of this place, doing the insurance for this place. Not only are you guys my first episode there? My first client with the Horton Group, but my guy a chance, she's pretty solid much love. So yes, a lot of money from our competitors, that's actually that's actually for real. That is yeah. And Zach is actually helped out on smaller family stuff that he saved my family, a lot of money on some stuff. So I got, I had a lot of faith in Zack and I have huge It was funny, it was really fighting assault that on Halloween, we had a customer come in. And so I'm talking, I'm talking to him. He really nice guy who say, oh I live right there, Bubba blah, blah, he's like, yeah, I tell all my friends and make a left at the pink building. I'm like, now we're a landmark in Humboldt Park, so it's awesome, but no, but in reality, you know, my thing was, we do a lot of things were festivals. Where, you know, where at where at a bunch of festivals, we have been doing fastest for a long time, this will be our first year as grandma. Annie said it, that's going to be our brand. But you know, all the big festivals in Chicagoland, we do and we needed a Brandon match that we you know, we have old school, feel old school menu with, you know, a new school by. So it's like, you know, a lot of. I feel like people think modern food is like, when they, when you think modern food anything like small, you think, you know, not flavorful like simple dishes, you know? So we want the old, minimalistic decorative. We went, we went the Old School pizza big Martians big sandwiches but we want the new school Bible. You know how the swag is good that comes from our family. Like fibroids we all said the same stuff before where it's like you never want to run out of food and family party kind of like everything that we serve we want to make sure there's value in it. You're going to be full because people were should always be leftovers. Whoa, people work hard for their money. It worked hard for their money and it's I feel like it's a scam if you charge a lot and don't action for by a lot. And then on the other side of that you know The Branding is Andrew and I are huge on our families, right? Like families, everything and family can be everything from your actual blood to your really close friends but you take care of the people. Our love doesn't make you really loyalty. That's exactly. And and and so you know the name is based on my grandmother passed away, right? But like in our are you know

me rural doesn't represent necessarily what you look like. But we want to show people that this place is should be your grandma. Didn't look like a like a gangster, Betty White? No don't be talking like there's there's three words that describe what this business is and you're the one that came up with it. What is good more food? Good Mood Food. Good movie footage but I mean, just think about this, right? Every time you eat when you get your girl right here at dinner with your girl. She's been yelling at you all this. She wants to get out to eat. She takes the first bite of her food. What's the first thing she's doing? She's doing like that, little happy closes. The happiness food is supposed to bring people together and what is supposed to say. It's supposed to make you happy when you're eating it, bro. Especially when you go to a restaurant, right? You work, you know, a lot of people work, $9 to $15 an hour, right? You spent $30 on a pizza. You just paid two hours of your life to eat that pizza. You better like that food. That's you better like that food, and that's what it is. I want people to walk in and I wanted to do the happiness. I want good mood food to be a drag our slogan, but I want you to feel it. Turn that bad mood into a good mood. Well, you walk in here. I want you to, I want I want all your issues go away. I want you to think about eating your food. I want you to smile because you're in a happy area. I want you to look at the pink and it brightens you up. I want you to take a picture with the slice, slice, baby. I want you to just Embrace what you have instead of thinking about all the negatives programmable. You know, it's not even about. It's a, even though social media is a huge Outreach. Now, I mean, that's where that's where all bad brands are built right now. So obviously we want to stay proactive and social media and that's why we made an Instagram will place. But, you know, I mean, a lot of it is more of we had envisioned and it's cool to see what we had on paper, and then we had and renderings and then We had in real life and it's like the process of getting here is the coolest part, and you can't have any type of business without people. People are the most important to your business. So that's another thing that's very difficult, is learning your people. Because if you don't learn your people, you're never going to have a successful business. Everybody has to get disciplined different. You can't talk to this guy. How you talk to this guy and you have to work. I mean and that's that's what's huge about Hospitality, if you're working in a bar restaurant club, whatever a hotel, you know. You're a specific type of person, but you're surrounded by all walks of life, different religion, ethnicity

income, status stature, everything like you're learning, how to how to react to someone who's Super Rich, maybe middle class, maybe black white, hispanic, whatever it may be. You're learning how to react, and treat these people. You know, we're all on a common ground, treat everyone. The same tree at everyone respectfully. Its Hospitality be hospitable, you know what? I feel. But I feel like Like me, a newborn both were in a very high volume, luxurious neighborhood for a long time, before we before, you know, we moved on to the next steps of our life and working at those places of being in that neighborhood and then coming over to a whole other side of the world. Right things that mattered over there, don't matter over here. Yeah you know things that we expected to be different because of how things are ran over. There aren't There's Community here. There's there's families here. There's real neighborhood respect here. Like, you know, who your neighbors are? I've been living in my building for five years. I don't I couldn't tell you my neighbors names, you know, that's the cool thing about it. I won't work. So, let's go old school. They had that Community is. Thus, coolest thing is even with some of our employees, like, like all my aunt's become by, she was gonna propose you to walk over and have some pizza. Yeah, we ended up. I mean, you guys don't have regular so quickly where What we hired a guy that works here, great guy, his aunt was right next door, we had no idea. I bet she's gonna help you whenever you need it. Well, they're all gonna die. That's the cool thing about it over here is that everybody is so kind, it's like it's a great it's a great neighborhood. If it's first part for slogan, pretty good. Mood food you come in here, it's not you know, you love the food. We're gonna have a conversation. You're going to have a good time and you know it's going to be consistent every time you help. Yeah. It's nope. There's no bullshit. I think the hard thing is going to be

being able to take that culture because right now, the culture is coming off of an injury to my selves like by then, hopefully our employees see that and they also can act the same way we act, right? But now we want to go to location. 3, 4 5 6. You know are the employees are going to be around this much right? At that point, you're going to be a level out and it's going to be I think the next big battle isn't necessarily just Another place open, its figure out how to duplicate that culture. Yeah, me and him have been talking about doing business multiple times multiple times. We had another company before this called mentors. We, you know, we were pretty much reselling different products and stuff like that and we just kept trying things and we're like, you know what, let's just go back to what we know and that's taking care of people, I've come from food, so, inside, between both of us, we knew how to how to manage and how to work together and how to make. Not only a That is going to be likeable by, not just one genre of people, but whole gender of people and then on top of that have something that like, we can put our name on a bill, you'll work products. I mean, it's just a good concept for you guys. We've all come from crazy bars and clubs and high-energy venues and like now yeah we're getting a little bit older. We've seen crazy shit, maybe want to chill a little and now you guys is owners of the business you want to be in control of stuff, not, you know, other people King your gigs, making your schedule. Telling you what? You're going to get paid, what you're going to do? What's on the menu? What are the drinks? Learn this. You guys are in control now. And you know, I think again, the cool thing is watching your idea turn into a real. Yeah, said that I keeps I mean I saw this place when it was like dust and dirt and no paint. And when we, yeah, we first came out. It's like you said, you stayed in budget. You kept it simple, but it still looks great. It looks clean, it looks modern. And yet it's still simple. It, you know, he did did what you had to do, you know, I'm in my 30s to I'm thinking future career and I knew somebody who is an insurance guy that I've known for years. I actually met him at a bar. We get back to contacts and networking. That I've known him for six years. And he's been talking to me about insurance forever, and it's like, oh no, I'm 26 years old, I have so much more to do in Hospitality insurance, no chance. Like, I'm good where I'm at and then the years went by, I was like, it's making More and more sense. You know, maybe I'm getting a little burnt out the hours, the flexibility, the balance of life. And

just, you know, every the balance, the money, you can make the career path. We don't have a balanced and like, yeah, yeah, and I'm just starting to learn what that is, but because of things like this, I'm never going to get away from Hospitality. I'm always going to have life lessons. I'm always going to be connected, and going out and talking to people. That's why I love that. I do insurance for bars restaurants, clubs hotels, all that. Tough. So I'll never be disconnected and shit. I'm sure I'll own. I'll invest in own in bars and restaurants, maybe I'll work on them again. One day like you can't get out of it. It's hard. It's in you, it's in you wait. So the hospitality industry is one of the most hard-working Industries in the world has a nightlife, think about how many issues you you deal with in one night. He

makes everybody changed. Yeah, you have the nicest person in the world, walk in and you'll have the Grinch walk out. So like, you're Dealing with every single mindset, every single type of Personality, every single issue, the things that you can tell about issues that you ran into being in Nightlife, just managing bars. The stories you could just tell from that alone. Bro, that you have to learn how to deal with everything and I feel that it's Investments. Yeah, it's not like any other work environment especially when alcohol is involved like you're saying because yeah you could have someone who walks in perfectly happy they get blackout drunk and leave pissed fighting going crazy on the staff or maybe, maybe they walk in pissed, they're having a terrible night. Sometimes

sometimes Walmart gets wild shots of Walmart. The people of Walmart watching is the best they deal with a lot. I too but know, somebody could walk in pissed. I'm having a terrible day. This went wrong. This one wrong. Bad day at work. They go in. They have the night of their life, they walk out. Thanks for having me. This was great, the alcohol. You gave him a memory. You gave them an experience so it could go either way and that's why you're like you're constantly working on the Fly. The different types of people and the state of mind they're in because you know They're drinking, they're doing other things. They're doing all kinds of things. Well, then we can't watch a thousand people at every moment on multiple floors and rooms and everybody unwinds different everybody. Right deals with stress differently. It's the definition of customer service period, because like, what? I can be an accountant, that can be an insurance. I could work at a bank whatever I could be an Uber driver. You're not dealing with Uber drivers, are dealing with hammered people all the time, but my point is

But yeah, you're dealing with a whole different mindset of person. They're so unpredictable. And you have to be as unpredictable as then. Going back to the not be able to please everybody. At the end of the day, you have to identify where your core tenants are and based on that. As long as you deliver that every time like you say, this is what we are. If you deliver it every time then those, you know, 10% of people that don't aren't happy with the product or whatever it is. You done nothing to feel bad about it because you don't know what that person. Through, you know that day. However, if it's something that we, it's no longer fitting what our tenants are, or what our standards are well. Now, we had to figure it out that is, are, you know, that's our issue, right? And sometimes you gotta figure out, which side of the fence that problems laying on, right? We have to figure out is this someone that's, you know, not necessarily who are for customers going to be there? Be a bad day, do we deliver what we say? We're going to deliver or was it that we actually dropped the ball? And that's probably one of the biggest issues managing, right? And then you have to decide because there's certain cultures where it's the customer's always, right? And there's other cultures where it's on any of my employees back. No matter what? Well, I, so part of me, me personally, I wanted to get on the other side of things. So people think like, oh, you went from an exciting career to insurance at so boring. But it's really not because, you know, you can try to prevent things from happening from within the club but we obviously deal with stuff after it happens claims whatever. But I used to be the person calling the cops calling the ambulance is putting out the fires dealing with all that and then damage control and all the pr the next day. So now, you know, I kind of wanted to get on the other side of the risk. And yeah, you're dealing with it after the fact, but that's the whole point of getting insurance, right? Like, you know, people think I don't want to pay for this things are never going to happen but shit, all have happens especially in bars and clubs so that was it. That's what made it. A smooth transition for me because I've seen it all from Inside seen people do stupid stuff and now I know how to mitigate that risk and you know, how to protect these bars. Go also realizing there's nothing easy. Like you bought your property last year. Yeah.

Every single thing you see, on the internet is how buying properties is missing the world's passive income. All you do is collect checks and eventually don't have to have a boss. Tell me if any of that is real after you bought it, Yeah, and then I did deal with a 10-month eviction. Is that the right? There's my first 10. A single Dollar in this world that you earn that is passive, right? So it's you know, before you take a step forward and then anything you need to make sure that you're right because if you don't it's not going to be successful because the amount of work, it takes to make something successful, especially when it's from the foundation up. It's your little detour. I mean, if you, if you laid it out on paper and said, hey, you're going to work extra hours and for your first year, not only are you going to not make one of your lose money, right? Yeah, and then you look at the times especially in a restaurant, if someone came to you in proposed that to use a job, relax instantly, you have to be insane to be an entrepreneur, right? And I don't know how many people told me even in this Venture. Don't know why are you are, you know, using our work for opening up a bit. now A restaurant, like It's not just because other people couldn't do, it does mean that we can't be right, right. And it's, but at the same time to go into it. You can't be naive. You have to understand. If this is, you have to love the game for one. And then for two at the realize that you are, had to make sacrifices in your life in order to make this thing work because you can't have the Instagram lab. You know, that people portray that, you know, this is such a beautiful lifestyle of you're saying. And also be successful and be the person that's building this thing just doesn't exist.

All right. Well, you heard it from Andrew and Charles and Grandma Annie's. I'm Zach Schmidt host of, it's cool. I know the owner. Now, you guys actually do know the owners. Thanks for listening, until next time, good day.

Hi everyone. Welcome to the very first episode of, it's cool. I know the owner podcast and today, my first guest, ever our Charles Martinez and Andrew is a Dan of G and he's Pizzeria, you know, we balance each other very well. I'm loud obnoxious. Yeah, I'm go. He's meticulous, he's calculated and slow. So it's like between both of us. He's really slow and everything. No notnot, I'm sorry now. When wait, Stop talking. It's Pizza time. All right, let's do it. We got. Yeah. Cheers the Pizza, Boys. Cheers boys. Silo, Silo dram. And he's a success. So let's see how it is. This can also be a pizza review.

Hi everyone. Welcome to the very first episode of, it's cool. I know the owner podcast, you know, we balance each other very well. I'm loud. Obnoxious. Yeah, I'm go. He's meticulous. He's calculated and slow. So it's like between both of us. He's really slow and everything. No notnot. I'm sorry now. When wait everybody stop talking? It's Pizza Time. Yeah. Cheers. The pizza noise. Cheers boys, Silo Silo. Grandma. Annie success.