Coffee& Ep. 8 (Transcript)

Q Taylor: Wake your ass up and get some coffee.

Speaker 2: To us, coffee isn't just a beverage.

Jimmy: It's a community.

Speaker 2: It's an accumulation of the global network of fair trade farmers to the independently owned coffee shops working together to bring the freshest coffee to their local neighborhoods.

Q Taylor: You're listening to Coffee And, powered by Acme Radio Live.

Q Taylor: Hello everybody. Welcome to Coffee And Podcast powered by Acme Radio Live. My name is Q Taylor. I got my girl Rachel sitting in with us today.

Rachel: Thanks for having me.

Q Taylor: Jim is out again. He's working a second job. He's hustling, and welcome back, Nate. He was not with us last week.

Nate: I was not with us. I was alive.

Q Taylor: What were you doing?

Nate: I was working, I was making coffee.

Q Taylor: Okay.

Nate: I couldn't make it.

Q Taylor: That's a good excuse.

Nate: I had to pour those caps. Pour those lattes.

Q Taylor: That's a good excuse.

Nate: Thank you, I was working on that one.

Q Taylor: It's getting chilly in Nashville by the way.

Nate: It is.

Rachel: It's hot coffee season.

Nate: Jacket weather baby.

Q Taylor: Hot coffee season, and I got a good friend, old friend, one of the dopest people I know as our guest today. His name is Mr. Max Goldberg. Thanks for coming.

Max G: Great to be here. Thank you for having me.

Q Taylor: Max Goldberg, everyone, him and his brother own a company called Strategic Hospitality, which means they also drink a lot of coffee. One of the places is one of my favorite speakeasy style joints, The Patterson house. They also got Merchant's Restaurant.

Q Taylor: If you want to really do it up and celebrate some dope, high end, high quality food, I would check out The Catbird Seat, if you want to get some good coffee, they got Pinewood Social and [inaudible 00:01:39] located inside of Pinewood Social. They got Bastion, they got Henrietta Red, and if you go to the baseball game and check out The Sounds, is it The Sounds?

Max G: It's The Sounds.

Q Taylor: It's The Sounds. They got the band box as well, so thanks for being here today man.

Max G: Great to be here and I want to point out Nate's hat for rocking that. That Opryland-

Nate: Opryland, old school.

Q Taylor: Oh that's what's up.

Nate: Yeah. Old school 90s.

Max G: I think I had that season pass with that awkward kids photo and that had took me right back.

Nate: Do you have this one?

Max G: I don't think, I don't know if I have that one, but I might talk to you after this show and see if I can steal that from you.

Nate: Absolutely.

Rachel: That's the stamp of a true Nashvillian, if you not only remember Opryland but you had a season pass to Opryland.

Nate: Oh yeah, that's intense.

Max G: Zoom, zoom, we actually had some of our initial stuff at Henrietta Red named after Opryland rides.

Nate: That's awesome.

Max G: Fun little Nashville fact.

Rachel: But then they tore it down to build a mall, because who wants a mall over a theme park? No one.

Nate: No one. No one. Although discount shoes though. Just kidding.

Q Taylor: So is that the wave going to the new Opryland place and swimming in that spot? Didn't you do that one day with your girl, Nate?

Nate: I have never been to a water park with my girl.

Q Taylor: Okay. Maybe that was Jim.

Nate: Although-

Rachel: You got to change that.

Nate: It would be a good time. But like I said, it's jacket season. I'm going to have to wait.

Q Taylor: So Max-

Rachel: Hot tub season.

Q Taylor: So you're a busy man. Tell me what a typical day is for you when you go to work.

Max G: Well, I wake up, I kiss my picture of you that I have next to the bed and just say thank goodness Q is here.

Max G: My day typically starts around 4:30 in the morning. I'll wake up, I'll check nightly emails, kind of see what happened in the businesses based on the night before and then I'll shift a calendar around a little bit if there's anything that needs to happen, try to get in the gym if I can a couple of days a week, just cause I think it's important to have that outlet, and then really will spend a good portion of the day working on the businesses and in the businesses, and everyday we meet with different folks from our financial team, our marketing team, individual businesses. We have set meetings, and then a good chunk of the day is also focused on growth. We've got a lot of great stuff happening right now, and that's internal growth and then also some new projects that are in development.

Max G: And then a portion of the day is always spent on on some of the community efforts that Benjamin and I both try to be a part of. And so really trying to break it up where there's a good chunk working on the business, in the business, and then personal development as well.

Q Taylor: That's what's up, man. And I was curious to know, it's funny, I've known you for a long time and weirdly enough, I never asked this question, and my question is how did this all start?

Q Taylor: I know Ben is one of my closest guy homies too, and I know he's been hustling for a long time. Your brother has some mad passion man. I've never seen, I still am just blown away by him. He's just always in front of the computer trying to look up some kind of trend or just research and stuff. So how did this all start, man?

Max G: He's the older, taller, better looking version of me. So pretty lucky they work with my best friend and brother and partner up with him. But really he was the visionary that saw it. He saw this momentum of what was happening in Nashville, and when he went to university of Miami, he got exposed to some of the nightlife scene there and would come back to Nashville. And there was so much great things happen in Nashville, but a lot of the same things kind of happening over and over again. And this was 15 years ago, 16 years ago, and he put together a plan to bring that lounge kind of vibe from Miami to Nashville and partnered up with our friend Austin Ray, and they opened up Bar 23 in an area that nobody wanted to be in, which is funny enough, The Gulch today.

Q Taylor: Isn't that crazy? Shout out to Austin Ray.

Max G: And they created a place that Bar 23 was Benjamin Austin Ray. So that was the bar portion. They're both 23 years old and the corners 11th and 12th street, I think the ceilings were 23 feet high. There was all these little touches that we always tried to incorporate into our spaces that started back then, and we still apply today, and Benjamin's too humble to say it, and Austin's too humble to say it. But that was one of the spots that I think was important for the hospitality scene in Nashville and ultimately both of our companies, because Bar 23 was named as one of the top nightlife spots in the world. And so this project that these two 23 year old kids that I don't think thought would ever happen make a career out of this. And I think our parents are still waiting for us all to get real jobs.

Max G: But opened up and saw some success there and then had an empty warehouse, believe it or not, in The Gulch next door, created City Hall. And then after that, Benjamin got a phone call from some incredible folks out of California, the Tower Investments Family. And they just bought this building from bud adams and said, "Hey, I've got this space on Broadway. Do you want to check it out?" And it was on the wrong side of the street, which is kind of been a typical trip for us. That we don't go to it necessarily the best areas, but always have tried to create spaces that people will come and hang out in.

Max G: And Benjamin opened up Paradise Park and at that point thought there was some momentum here happening in Nashville. It was really visionary that saw this momentum and flew to New York and we had conversations over six months and just decided to partner up.

Max G: And in August of 2007, so 12 and a half years ago, moved back to Nashville, and we've essentially been opening up a restaurant every year since.

Q Taylor: That's amazing, man.

Nate: That's crazy.

Rachel: Did they ever close?

Max G: We've had a few things that have transitioned. We had a French restaurant in Midtown that was a passion project and was great, but just we couldn't figure out how to really get it going, and so we ended up making the decision to close that, which was tough. And then we actually had a very successful business downtown in Paradise Park and the 411 Broadway building. And we ended up realizing that the building was going to sell and was going to sell to an outside investor. And it was really important for Benjamin I to try to preserve local ownership on lower Broadway. So we went to an incredible guy named Bert Matthews, who's really an expert in real estate, who we had worked on with Pinewood and said, "Here's what's been presented to us. What do you think? "And he said, "I think you should it, I want to do it with you." And we ended up putting a group together and purchasing the building to preserve local ownership in lower Broadway, and have since opened the Downtown Sporting Club.

Q Taylor: And tell us about that. You got the Ribbon Room inside of Downtown Sporting Club. Tell us about that concept. And what's also cool is there's a nice coffee component inside when you first walk in as well, which obviously this is a coffee podcast. So let's dive into Downtown Sporting Club.

Max G: Benjamin and I always try to create spaces where we'd want to go. We've never opened up a business to make money. We've always thought, "What's the first place we would want to go, what doesn't necessarily exist in Nashville?" And then hopefully the financial gain will come later. And we're very sophisticated in our backhouse financials. And I can tell you what every seat should be generating every minute, but we never let that dictate the decisions we make. And we never let a dollar compromise the integrity of what we're trying to do.

Max G: And so at the sporting club, we try to create a space that really did cater to locals, that would celebrate the momentum we saw with the Preds fans and people going to concerts. And we also recognize that there's this incredible influx of tourists that coming in for everything fun that's happening in Nashville, whether it's a convention that's in town or a bachelorette.

Max G: And we'd really try to create a space that would cater to all. And one thing that we learned at Pinewood is that it's really fun to extend people's stays. So we do have different floors and different components of the Downtown Sporting Club.

Max G: You have the ability to go in and have breakfast, you have the ability to go in and take shots at 2:00 AM. Maybe sometimes both. We want to make sure that we cater to those different folks. And there's been so much success of Nashville, and we celebrate it, we got a lot of friends who were coming into town and they said "We'd love to stay in Nashville, but it's just gotten too expensive in these hotels." And so we tried to open up the perception of the most value hotel. So we have Lay Lava bath products, we have Casper mattresses, we have really, really comfortable spaces and aesthetically beautiful spaces.

Max G: A little bit smaller hotel rooms than maybe some of our counterparts, but the price point's about half. So people that are coming to town can actually stay on lower Broadway.

Q Taylor: How many rooms are in the building? 3.

Max G: We've got 20.

Q Taylor: Okay.

Max G: 20, and we recognize that Benjamin's got these cute little kids, and they love bunk beds. We've put in a few bunk bedrooms, which also works well for people coming in, maybe with larger groups. We've got some rooms that actually overlook Broadway. So those are pretty fun. Especially when there's the madness going on-

Q Taylor: And soundproof too, right?

Max G: Oh yeah. We spent a lot of a time figuring out the soundproofing and brought in a soundproofing expert, which is a serious job, and you can actually be in the rooms and even with all the noise outside, it's very, very quiet. T.

Q Taylor: That's amazing man.

Max G: And we also put in noisemakers in every room. And then my brother had an idea in the shower, which is where he has his best idea. So maybe we can film the next one in the shower with him, but to create a Broadway sound mitigation kit. So on top of that we also have earplugs and eye masks a shot of Jack Daniels.

Q Taylor: That's what's up.

Nate: That's so sick.

Q Taylor: That's awesome.

Q Taylor: Nate, you wanted to know a little bit about Pinewood as well, because that's your-

Nate: I have a lot of questions. First, I just think it's so cool. Was the original plan, let's open up a ton of restaurants, or was it like, "Let's open something up? Let's open a thing up and then let's open," opportunity just came? What was the original vision for everything?

Max G: It's hard to focus with that gorgeous hat.

Nate: Oh thank you so much.

Max G: The original plan was to come back and actually take Paradise Park to other markets. We looked at some of the SCC schools and thought this would be a really cool growth plan. And so when I moved back, couldn't afford a car, so rented a place downtown, which funny enough, I don't think I could afford today if you reverse the time, but walk to work every day and just learn every aspect of Paradise Park. And there wasn't a single thing I couldn't do, which was a great sense of pride. And we thought, all right, let's take this to some other cities. And what we found out is that it was just too much fun to be in Nashville, and we just decided that we really wanted to make our efforts here, and I wish I could say there was this grand business plan. We used to say we're a mom and pop shop now pop and pop shop, but really first generation just entrepreneurial brothers trying to figure it out.

Max G: And so there wasn't necessarily a plan. It just what are we into? What doesn't exist and what opportunities present themselves? And Benjamin and I are constantly thinking "This would be really fun" or "This would be great" or "What doesn't exist?" Or if we go to another city, I love the Pablo Picasso quote. I think that's who said it. Good art is borrowed, great art is stolen. So what do we see elsewhere? We gain inspiration and try to bring it back to our hometown that we grew up in and are super proud of.

Nate: That's awesome.

Q Taylor: That's what's up.

Nate: I love, especially I looked on your guys' website and it has all the list of the stuff that's open right now, and then it has your history, and I feel like a lot of people stray away from history that's non-existent anymore, because it makes it look like bad. Like "Oh well why isn't that open? It must've not done well," but you guys embrace that, and it looks like you're always moving forward, and I think that's so cool, because what keeps people from opening things is failure and it looks like you guys aren't afraid of that at all, because you're constantly like "Yeah we had this cool thing, didn't really work out over there, but then we made this happen, we made this happen" and I respect that so much. I think that's such a cool thing and what's necessary in creating very cool spaces is that you can't get lucky like the first time or the second time or something like that. It's really cool to see everything that you guys are doing and that you embrace where you came from too.

Max G: Well thanks man. I think that if you don't remember the past, you're condemned to repeat it. That's something that's been said a thousand different ways. And I also think it's important to fail forward, right? We make mistakes every day. I'm sure I'm going to fail three or four times today and it's what we do here and apply it.

Q Taylor: Same here.

Max G: Yeah, absolutely. Other than us wear matching shoes, which looks fantastic.

Nate: Yeezy season.

Max G: But I think it's how you feel that really defines how you succeed. And I think we're really lucky that we've created a runway and created a team around us that allows us to push a little bit farther and harder. And the reality is if we were smart, we'd probably just replicate and try to figure out a way to really dial in systems and take a successful product to elsewhere.

Max G: And we just started having too much fun creating individual spaces here in Nashville. And as a result, you make a lot of mistakes, and then it's how you pivot, how you evolve and what we do. Everyone in this room has a race without a finish line, and it's a living, breathing organism that's a full contact sport. And every day we ask ourselves, what are we doing today to become a better restaurant group? What are we doing today to impact the guests more successfully? And we obsess over the guest experience. Absolutely obsess over it. And the number one thing we want people to feel in our space is that warmth. And I live by that Maya Angelou quote that people may not remember what you said or what you did, but they'll always remember how you made them feel.

Max G: And it's when our space is, whether you're getting a $9 cheeseburger or $250 chef's tasting restaurant at Catbird, and we want you to feel that warmth and that perception of value. So you leave feeling like, "Wow, this was a great experience." And the four of us get to play. And one of the greatest spaces in the world, the hospitality space, where we get to impact people's lives. And what's better than that? What's better than being part of people's memories? And if someone comes in with a great day, let's help them celebrate it, and a bad day, let's make it better. And the fact that we get to be part of those memories is one of the greatest joys of my career.

Q Taylor: That's my dude. We're going to take a break right there, Coffee And Podcast powered by Acme Radio Live.

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Q Taylor: We're back, Coffee And, powered by Acme Radio Live. My name is Q, got my homie Rachel and Nate in the building.

Rachel: It's true.

Nate: Yep.

Q Taylor: And our awesome guest, man. I'm really glad that you're here today. Mr Max Goldberg from Strategic Hospitality. Stumbled on those words a little bit.

Q Taylor: We talked about a lot of cool things man. And we're very lucky to have you here today man. It's been great. And we're lucky that Nashville is... Nashville, I feel like, it's been great that Nashville has birthed people like you in a way. And what I mean by that is there's a lot of creative people in this city, and what you and Ben have done is just a bunch of different things that push your creative brain on the table.

Q Taylor: So talk about why Nashville? In a way, because you could have, Ben went to the University of Miami, you went to school in Boston. You could have done this somewhere else. Right? So why come back here and do that?

Max G: That's a great question. I think that Nashville has the confidence of the East, but the manners and charm of the South, and Nashville is a city where everyone wants everyone else to do well, which is pretty unique, and I can speak to it in the hospitality space and in my experience when things have been opening, instead of supporters or guests going in thinking, "All right, what's wrong with this space?" They want to give it a chance, and they go in and they think "What's right with this space?" And every project that we've ever done. Most people say you're crazy to do it. Why? But different than other cities, they'll come and at least check it out, and then it's up to us to make sure that we execute the guest experience.

Max G: But Nashville, why is it different? I think there's a hundred different factors. I think that there's been this momentum building that has been set in place 30 years ago. I think that the location of where it is in the country, I think what's happening at the airport, everyone has this shared vision of growth. But I think at the core, it's a kind city. I think Nashville is the kindest city I've ever been a part of. And I even remember 15 years ago when I'd have friends come back and visit from New York or London or wherever it was, and they land at the airport and they'd be like, "Hey, I told somebody I was heading to this area and they offered me a ride. Are they going to murder me?" I was like, "No, they probably just wanted to make sure he got there safely."

Max G: And that's been the spirit of the city. And I don't know if this number has shifted, but I think there's 102 people a day moving here right now. And what's been pretty incredible for me is that I've seen people who come in. with this guarded personality a little bit from some of these other cities. And then as soon as they enter into the spirit of the party, if you will, of Nashville, the guard comes down and they take on that kindness.

Max G: And I remember seeing Carl Dean at one of his exit speeches and he said, "I just want to remember it as being kind." And I think that's the spirit of Nashville and something that I try to embody.

Max G: And I think that you can make decisions based on two choices, love and fear. If you make a decision based on love, even if it's the wrong decision and things go off kilter, you'd at least did it for the right reasons, the kind reasons. And when you do it from fear, which I think is a lot of times where you do have the animosity and that hatred, it can create a lot of tension. And luckily Nashville hasn't really seen that. And so I think that Nashville is the most exciting city in the world. I think that what's going to happen over the next 18 to 24 months is going to be massive.

Q Taylor: Massive.

Max G: And I think that Nashville will become one of the most important cities in the country.

Q Taylor: Yeah.

Nate: Dang, I love that.

Rachel: Can you follow up with why? Why is it going to be one of the most important cities in the country?

Max G: I think you're going to continue to see massive people making investments from a business perspective. And I think that you'll also see the community outreach. There's a lot of interesting things happening with affordable housing. You see a lot of things that are interesting from a community's perspective, and I think you're starting to see this global spotlight on Nashville where you have people from all over the world coming here and investing here, and then ultimately staying here.

Q Taylor: What are some of the ways you've tapped into connecting with the community, whether there's things that you make sure you volunteer with on a yearly basis or what are some of the things that you and Ben are doing from a giving back perspective?

Max G: Sure. We always try to be good stewards to the community, and I can speak to myself personally. I'm really fortunate to serve on the Oz Arts Board. Arts are super important to me. I'm serving the CVC board with Butch Spirit which is pretty incredible. The community foundation board spirited by Ellen Layman, which is great.

Max G: And then for me personally, I try to give back as much as I can, and I can talk about a couple things, but selfishly, about nine years ago when I was back in Nashville, we had established ourselves a little bit, I had a little bit of time and a little bit of money that I could invest into something. And so I called a good friend of mine and I said, "Hey, early education's really important to me. Is there anything that you know that's out there where there's a need?"

Max G: And he said, "Yeah, Kip Academy, this charter school program has something really interesting going on, you should go check it out." So we went to chat with a guy who ultimately became a great friend, Randy Dow, and he said, "Well, the fifth grade boys want to have a basketball team, but they don't have anybody to coach it. And we don't really have allocated funds to do it. And I said, "Well, I'll do both."

Q Taylor: You coached the basketball team?

Max G: Championship basketball team.

Q Taylor: Max Goldberg, you fucking coached little kids in basketball? You have the worst jump shot ever.

Max G: Hey, I didn't say I could play, but-

Q Taylor: Continue, we'll sidebar on that.

Max G: What's that? Yes. I was at three point specialist. Thank you.

Q Taylor: What's up?

Max G: Coached for four years and on that team, the first year, he wasn't great at basketball but a great student and got to meet somebody who ultimately became like my son, Brian Davis, who we ended up hanging out and then behind the scenes help create a scholarship for him to go to university school where Benjamin and I went, along with a great friend, Mark Lombardi, and he is now on a full academic scholarship in his junior year at Georgetown.

Q Taylor: He's doing good up there, right?

Max G: Killing it. And so he was back here this past summer working with Jim Cooper's office where my mom is and-

Q Taylor: He actually worked in some of the restaurants too and on his off time too. Right?

Max G: He's worked in almost every restaurant and been fired from two of them. And I remember he called me, because he had to take his ACT, and he emailed last minute, and he called me after he goes, "Man, I got fired." I think he was expecting me to step in. I was like, "Wow, that's really embarrassing for you." I don't know what to tell you.

Q Taylor: He's a good kid.

Max G: He's doing great. And it's fun to see his community focus where he knows he wants to come back to Nashville and make an impact after college.

Max G: And so to see that is pretty special. And we also try to participate anywhere we can where there's a need. There's so many different organizations we try to participate with and work with, but we definitely want to be part of the community and make sure that we're giving back as well.

Q Taylor: That's awesome, man.

Nate: We've got some regulars from KIPP Academy.

Q Taylor: Come into the shop.

Nate: Yeah. Make them lattes all the time.

Q Taylor: It's crazy.

Nate: Oat milk, honey and cinnamon, extra hot.

Q Taylor: They're bougie now too.

Nate: Yeah, they're the best though.

Q Taylor: Americanos.

Nate: Yep, shout out KIPP Academy.

Q Taylor: Oat milk, yeah.

Rachel: Very trendy.

Nate: Oat milk. It is trendy.

Max G: And then I'm in a development right now where I'm doing this Henry Crown Fellowship at the Aspen Institute. And one of the things they help you do is launch a venture. And one of the things that I ultimately learned through Brian and then speaking at a couple of schools is that some of our schoolkids, their access to good food just isn't there.

Max G: And food deserts are a real thing. And I remember speaking to a fourth grade class about how we try to source as thoughtfully as we can from different farms around the area and talked about how I was really proud of these tomatoes we just got in, and this girl raised her hand and I said, yeah. And she goes, well, "Tomatoes are dirty. They come from the ground." And I said, "Well, what do you think is clean?" And she said, "Well, a Burger King wrapper is perfectly compact." And it was this light bulb moment that went off that it is not her fault at all. She just didn't have access or knowledge to great food. So one of the things that I'm working on right now through the Henry Crown Fellowship is this venture called Urban Farms, where I'm going to try to find different parcels of land and actually have produce and things that can be grown on it, have the kids come and work, see where their food actually comes from, and then ultimately sell it in a concession-style deal, or in the restaurants, they also learn about the fiscal responsibility of it.

Max G: So that's something that hopefully will come to fruition here in the next couple of years.

Q Taylor: Just like your concepts, man. You diving into a lot of different things and they're all different too in a lot of ways. But at the end of the day, it's about service and taking care of other people. And I noticed what you've done as well as far as taking care of other people, investing in people that you're working with, you've put ownership into the people that you're partnering with. And it's not just about you and Ben, it's about your team as well. With Josh, what he's doing at Bastion, and tell us a little bit about Henrietta Red as well.

Max G: Sure, nobody works for us. Everyone works with us. And that's a mentality that we focus on, and we are lucky to work with some of the most talented people in the world.

Max G: And so Bastion, which was received a few James Beard nominations, has been named one of the best restaurants in the country. All these incredible awards and also just one of my favorite places to go. That is Josh's restaurant that we get to be a part of. And so our strategy now is to really look internally who we're working with and partner with them and then grow together.

Max G: And so we got Bastion with Josh, we got some other fun things we're working on with him. Julia over at Henrietta Red, that was her vision with her partner Allie that they created that we got to be a part of. And ultimately, my great friend Michael Rousse who saved that corner space in German Town for us for five years, to his chagrin, but he did.

Q Taylor: Shout out to Mike, former Times player, right?

Max G: Captain for two years, one of my closer friends and saved that space for us.

Max G: And then Julia had this great idea for a catering company. So we launched the party line with her, and then Trevor who was one of our chefs at Catbird, our second chef, we bought a building in 12 South. We have our little ice company, we're a partner with our beverage director Matt in there, our office space in the front. We've got a steamed dumpling, fried yos and cock gory spot that's Trevor's vision that we get to be a part of. And so our strategy to try to continue to do things with these incredible people we get to work with is something that's personally really rewarding and also just super fun.

Q Taylor: That's legit. We'll take another break right there. Got our homie Max Goldberg, Coffee And powered by Acme Radio Live

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Speaker 16: Acme Feed And Seed has always been where the locals go since 1891, but we think it's time to take it up a notch. Join us on Tuesdays at Acme Feed And Seed for local of industry night, powered by Acme Radio Live. Every Tuesday we'll have some of our favorite up and coming Nashville acts showing you more of authentic music city. We've also got drink specials from some of our favorite Tennessee brews. Hap and Harrys, Nash, IPA Hoppy Tonk Bear Leaner, and Gypsy Queen Cider. So go where the locals go, and head to Acme Feed And Seed every Tuesday night. For the full calendar and more head to Acmefeedandseed.com.

Speaker 17: Throw back Thursday is so last year. Make you way to Acme Feed And Seed Way Back Wednesday where we dance through the decades every Wednesday night. Join us at 101 Broadway to dance to the disco sounds of the group line, or jam out to your favorite 80s, 90s, or early 2000 hits. While you're dancing, enjoy $1 off beers from Oscar Blues, Live Wire, and Cigar City. The decades did party is going down, down baby yo street in a Range Rover, every Wednesday night at Acme Feed and Seed. For more information on Way Back Wednesdays, head do our calendar at acmefeedandseed.com.

Nate: This is Nate. You're listening to the Coffee And podcast powered by Acme Radio Live.

Q Taylor: Welcome back. Coffee And podcast powered by Acme Radio Live. My name is Q Taylor. Got our awesome guest, Max Goldberg, in the building. Ms Rachel.

Rachel: Hello.

Q Taylor: Mr. Nate dog.

Nate: Hello.

Q Taylor: Shout out to Warren G, regulate. Follow Max on his Instagram at Max R. Goldberg, correct?

Max G: Yeah, I think so. I think that's right.

Q Taylor: And my recommendations, if you're coming into Nashville, check out Downtown Sporting Club at Downtown Sporting Club is their IG, and it's like three or four doors down from Acme, Pinewood Social, Pinewood, Nashville is their Instagram handle. If you are interested in coffee, obviously follow us at Eight and Roast on Instagram or go to our website at www.8th&Roast.com, and don't forget we just opened up a few months back. Our second location on Charlotte Avenue, that's 4104 Charlotte Avenue. We do brunch on the weekends, open daily at 6:00 AM, and 7:00 AM on the weekends.

Q Taylor: Boom. Max, I want to talk about some of your favorite things, places to travel, outside of Henrietta Red, Bastion, Merchants, Pinewood Social. What are some of your favorite things to do in Nashville and some of your places of dining and places to drink coffee and hang out with your girlfriend?

Max G: Well, your place is obviously, I've got to say that. My go to Nashville spot, if I have anybody who's coming in from out of town, that I think represents the city represents the embodiment of hospitality, is Kahlil Arnold and Arnold's mean three, I think Arnold's mean three is so much about what I love about our industry, and I think Kahlil is probably one of the greatest stewards of hospitality in the city.

Max G: So Arnold's would be a go to.

Q Taylor: Arnold's Country Kitchen?

Max G: Yeah, Arnold's Country Kitchen.

Q Taylor: Country kitchen.

Nate: Eighth Avenue.

Max G: And I've never done drugs, but that bread pudding is just as close. I walk in, I'm like, "I'm tweaking," I just start scratching. But that place is pretty special. I mean there's so many great spots in Nashville. I can just speak to what recently. Sunday Supper at City House, The Kitchen Pie, the belly ham pizza, meatballs. It's hard to beat that on a Sunday night.

Q Taylor: Shout out to Tandy.

Max G: I think that if you want to venture a little bit out, The History Of The Picnic is pretty special. And killer chicken salad. And then our grandfather introduced us to a place out in Bon Aqua, Tennessee. He grew up during the great depression, and didn't have much and then worked with the same company for 50 years, and made a little bit of money where he could purchase a farm. And the reason he did that is because he thought if the world went bad again, at least can feed his family. And the halfway point between Nashville and his farm was this place, The Beacon Light. And it's some of the best fried chicken I've ever had. There's so many places I could highlight, but I'll keep it short and say those three.

Q Taylor: Give me your top three coffee shops in Nashville.

Q Taylor: We know two.

Max G: I got to say obviously Roast is up there, but we have a special place in our heart for Crema, what's happening there, and we have Crema served in a lot of the restaurants and then we have an outpost to the sporting club and at Pinewood. There's so many great coffee spots. Yesterday I actually went into Barista Parlor, had a great time there. There's countless great coffee spots, but I find myself selfishly just Because it convenience. I'm at Crema all the time.

Rachel: Can I also step in and ask, you like what you're doing or you like what is going on at Crema, is that the sustainability aspect? Because over at Crema, everything is compostable. They don't really have any waste. I know that it's one of the places, if you bring in your own coffee cup, you get a pretty solid discount.

Max G: That's part of it. Also when we were conceptualizing Pinewood, we went to that Crema right across the street and got to know Ben and Rachel and just completely fell in love with them. And I say this with complete affection, but I love how nerdy they are because it's the same way we are. And I think that coffee and cocktails actually line up a lot in terms of the attention to detail, the sourcing. I had no idea about the importance of altitude and where the coffee beans were coming from and all these things, and the fact that they took a chance with us to say "We've got this very successful brand, and we're going to take it and work with you at Pinewood" was a big deal for Pinewood. And I think a big part of our success.

Max G: I believe you go home with the girl that took you to the dance. So it's easy to say yes, I will always love to be part of Crema. But I also just think it's really, really damn good coffee.

Nate: It's so good.

Q Taylor: It's the best.

Nate: Also shout out, they just opened up a new location in East off of Trinity, their takeaway cafe. Very cool space, brand new. Head on over there. Crema is so dope.

Q Taylor: And outside of Nashville, where are some of your favorite places to travel and you get inspiration from that you kind of take and bring back to the city?

Max G: New York and Chicago are always great sources of inspiration. Recently I've completely fallen in love with Charleston. Taken a couple of trips there and just love the community there and the food scene that's happening.

Max G: And then I never thought this would happen, but my better half is from London, and I've worked on that direct flight to London, a huge deal for our city and we've been over a couple of times and we're going back for the holidays this year. London has become one of my favorite places in the world. Absolutely. Just some of the best food, and they get kind of a bad rap. I always made these jokes about how bad the food was going to be when we went over. I've had some of the weirdest, best meals in my life. We had this one Israeli restaurant and I was blown away, had some of the best Chinese food I've ever had in London. Just the craziest things and just completely fallen in love with that city and that culture. So if you haven't taken that direct flight, hop on it.

Q Taylor: Man, this guy's great.

Rachel: Don't have to ask me twice.

Nate: No way.

Q Taylor: Well thanks for being here today man. It's been awesome man. And I can come over to the house soon and get some food with you.

Max G: Anytime you want.

Q Taylor: Got to cook for me soon.

Max G: Done. We'll make some dumplings.

Q Taylor: Max Goldberg, Coffee And podcast powered by Acme Radio Live.

Nate: Coffee isn't just a beverage.

Jimmy: It's a community.

Nate: It's an accumulation of the global network of fair trade farmers to the independently owned coffee shops working together to bring the freshest coffee to their local neighborhoods. I'm Nate.

Jimmy: And I'm Jimmy and we're roasters and baristas of one of Nashville's finest coffee shops, 8th & Roast, on Coffee And the podcast, we'll dive deep into coffee trends, the craft culture of brewing, and answer all your questions about how these coffee communities impact your daily lives.

Nate: So tune in to listen live every Wednesday morning at 10:00 AM via AcmeRadioLive.com. Show is also available on all podcast platforms.