What It Costs to Build a $12M-a-Year Grocery Store ft. Sammy Nussdorf of Meadow Lane

The Brokeback Contessa aka Sammy Nussdorf, founder of New York’s newest luxury grocery store, Meadow Lane, joins Haley to dish building in public, viral scandals, how much Meadow Lane makes a month, creating your own narrative, mythmaking in the press, and those viral chicken fingers. Free Index Fund Guide: https://www.mrsdowjones.com/free/4-index-funds-we-love-in-2026 Financial Tea with Mrs. Dow Jones is a Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us at @sonypodcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  There's always been incoming insecurity and massive wealth disparity in this city. So I don't know why that was suddenly new. I guess maybe they were polling statistics. But there's always been scale to goods and services. There's always been a range from automobiles, from Toyota to Rolls Royce, from economy to first class, from, you know,

• 0:24Haley Sacks?

  Generic to name brand.

• 0:25Speaker 00

  McDonald's to Michelin fine dining restaurant. You know, from an affordable grocery store to a not so affordable grocery store. Why is this news?

• 0:34Haley Sacks?

  Zara to Chanel.

• 0:35Speaker 00

  Correct. Like what's, and these are all necessities. Foods are necessity. Automobiles are necessity. Healthcare is a necessity. There's always been a range. So I didn't understand why my 20, my 2,000 square foot store was getting blasted so much because there's other stores that sell very similar things for higher price tags, but they didn't get the press coverage we did. And that is because of my marketing on TikTok.

• 1:02Haley Sacks?

  Yes.

• 1:02Speaker 00

  It, it generated enough buzz where like other, that others didn't.

• 1:09Haley Sacks?

  What's up, rich people? It's me Haley, AKA Mrs. Dow Jones, and this is Financial Tea.

• 1:17Haley Sacks?

  Okay. So I just gave my apartment a major refresh and hands down the hardest thing to get right was the rug. I just couldn't find one that fit right. And I really wanted something that pulled the room together because like a rug is a big deal. But then I found Ernesta and Ernesta's amazing, you guys. It makes designer quality rugs custom cut to the exact size of your space. So it actually fits instead of almost fits and looks great the first time. Like in the past, I've just defaulted to stock sizes when buying rugs. And also like when you're in a New York City apartment, that really just doesn't cut it, but they're all weirdly shaped. But with Ernesta, you can send photos and dimension to Ernesta's design team and they help you get the size exactly right,

• 2:01Haley Sacks?

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• 2:24Speaker 02

  The other day I was going through my desk and I found a journal right from when I graduated and it had pen and paper, how much I spent each day. At this time, I think I was making around $40,000 and access cash flow was pretty tight. So I had to watch every penny. I think about how far we've come with technology and advancements to help us with this stuff. We don't need a journal with pen and paper anymore. The answers are out there and Monarch is one of those answers. Monarch is literally, it's like having a financial advisor in your pocket. So you can use AI to help see what you're spending. Monarch will help you have full visibility in your accounts. It will help you see your trends.

• 3:07Speaker 02

  It will help you set goals, map out big purchases, see if you're actually on track to where you wanted to be. You can ask Monarch's AI assistant, anything about your finances. It's like, hey, how much should I spend on travel last summer? Can I afford this vacation without touching my savings? You can spot things you wouldn't think about before, like, oh, hey, has my spending gone up or just inflation? I was using pen and paper. Now you can use tools like a full financial advisor in your pocket and that's called Monarch. So what you want to do is you want to go to monarch.com, use code trading. The first year of Monarch Core is half off at just 50 bucks. That's 50% off your first year.

• 3:50Speaker 02

  Just go to monarch.com with code trading.

• 3:54Haley Sacks?

  What's up, rich people? It's me Haley, AKA Mrs. Dow Jones, and this is Financial Tea, the podcast where I teach you how to build wealth with a side of market drama, money scandals, and of course, financial pop culture. Now I have a question for you. Have you ever heard of Meadow Lane? It's this luxury food market in Tribeca that has been truly the talk of the town, like all over my TikTok since it opened in November last year. Year, which is crazy for a grocery store, like a grocery store to take over the culture. I feel like that's very rare. There is a truly a line out the door every day. And the opening was even featured in the cut Vogue, New York Times, Forbes and more. And people are obsessed with Meadow Lane because they sell luxury grocery items,

• 4:36Haley Sacks?

  many of which are at a high price point. So like $12 grapes, $15 gluten free chicken nuggets, $625 caviar, but they're also obsessed with the founder, Sammy Nostorf, because he built the whole business in public on Tik Tok. And at first, when I heard out of a lean, I thought this is the textbook definition of a micro luxury, which are basically smaller purchases that scratch the itch of indulgence without requiring a massive financial commitment. I don't know if you've ever heard of the lipstick index, but it's this theory that during recessions or economic downturns, consumers typically pivot to smaller luxuries like a fancy lipstick because they can't afford the big stuff. And in this case, instead of a lipstick index, it's basically a chicken finger index.

• 5:18Haley Sacks?

  Like those $15 chicken fingers are the new like buying the road lip treatment. It makes you feel rich, even if you don't have any money in the bank. In an economy where people are struggling to find jobs and everything feels more expensive than ever. And in a city where we elected a mayor based on affordability crisis, why are we waiting in line for $12 grapes? And honestly, the interview was so interesting. There was so much more to the story. It was so juicy. We covered his generational wealth, the state of micro luxuries, his public scandals, there was raw chicken fingers all over Tik Tok from his store. And of course, the business of curation, because this man knows how to sell a vibe. I really hope you enjoy this interview with Meadow Lane founder Sammy. I loved talking to him. Sammy, welcome to the show.

• 6:05Haley Sacks?

  Okay, guys, for this week's market report, I want us to just

• 6:10Haley Sacks?

  take a collective deep breath because I know that all of our feeds are filled with global conflict updates and the vibe is really heavy. The news right now is so scary and it really does feel like since the strikes on Iran happened, the world has shifted, like there has been a complete vibe shift. Certainly there's been a Portfolio shift. Like if you have money in the market, I'm sure that you are seeing it a bit in the red, which is scary. I'm recording this on Monday morning, March 9th. The Dow is currently down over 800 points and oil has spiked past a hundred dollars a barrel. And so I've been getting a lot of DMs of people panicking, but also people like asking me, Haley, should I be buying the dip?

• 6:52Haley Sacks?

  What is the right financial move to make right now? So I just wanted to sort of walk through what's happening and, um, and how I'm reacting to all of this instability in the market. Um, because I feel like we don't really need to go through the other stories. Like this is the main story. Um, this is the most important thing that's happening right now. So this is a special edition of Market Report where we're really just going to dive in to how to invest and how to financially react in a state of uncertainty. So first of all, I want to say that my boyfriend Warren Buffett always says that volatility is the tax that we pay for getting to grow wealth in the market, which I love. Um, because basically

• 7:36Haley Sacks?

  like, yeah, like getting to grow money, like having your money compound, having it, you know, grow exponentially over years and years is amazing, but it doesn't come without heartache and moments of insecurity and moments where you're like, what the fuck? Should I just have kept my money in cash? And so this might be one of those moments for you, but just know like that's normal and that the market going up and down is actually healthy. That is a normal part of a market cycle. Like people hate weight fluctuations and they hate market fluctuations, but market fluctuations are actually totally to be expected and they shouldn't affect your long-term financial plans. They really are going to happen every year for the rest of your life, a few times a year.

• 8:21Haley Sacks?

  So just like plan for them, acknowledge them, know they're coming. And when they do come, be like, hey, old friend. Good to see you. I knew you were going to show up eventually. Okay. So now I'm going to tell you the three things that you need to know to navigate all this instability like a pro. So number one, you've got to understand the oil situation because that is why inflation might rise and why your gas and your grocery bills might start acting up. Maybe they already did start acting up. So basically we are looking at right now a massive war risk premium. And that is because Iran is threatening to shut off the Strait of Hormuz, which is where 20% of the world's oil flows.

• 9:06Haley Sacks?

  That's crazy. So the market is obviously panicking that oil prices are going to stay north of $100 a barrel. And because everything that we buy gets moved by fuel, has petroleum in it, like oil is just such a big part of the economy. This is a huge deal. So like when you see the market dipping, it doesn't mean that these companies suddenly got bad at their jobs. It just means that investors are worried that high energy costs are going to eat into corporate profits. So hopefully, once you understand the why, it stops being so scary. I will also say like, America is hedged in terms of our oil supplies. Like, we are not getting all of our oil from Iran. So hopefully, this works itself out.

• 9:50Haley Sacks?

  But in the short term, yes, there might be inflation because oil has become so expensive. And that's just is what it is. It's and hopefully, like now that you understand why it stops being so scary. And it's not like a mystery. It's just math. The second thing I want to talk about are portfolios. Should you buy the dip? Should you panic sell? And here's the thing, when things get scary, the market tends to do what's called a flight to safety. So like people, people are very emotional with their investing. They really like to let their emotions be their financial advisor. And in moments like this, they like to dump speculative tech stocks and run towards gold and the dollar and keeping their money in cash.

• 10:35Haley Sacks?

  So if you're seeing a lot of red right now in your portfolio, it means that you're probably heavy on growth. And that's okay. That doesn't mean that like you're screwed. Geopolitical shocks historically have always just had short-term market impact. So like, I have no doubt that your portfolio is going to bounce back. But just make sure that you don't sell while you're down, because then you're just turning a paper loss into a real one. So I'd say for most of us, the smartest move right now is to do nothing. And I've also been getting a A lot of DMs about buying the dip. It's all about time in the market versus timing of the market. So I always get weary of giving advice about like, this is the moment, let's get in. But also, if you have been sitting on cash and waiting for a moment to get in,

• 11:19Haley Sacks?

  this is historically what those moments do look like. I did buy the dip today just because I funded my SEP IRA, which is a retirement account for people who are self-employed. And I was waiting to invest it. And so we're putting it, I'm putting it into the market today. And I'm buying broad index funds. And if you're wondering exactly what I bought, which index funds I'm personally in right now. But I never gatekeep this. I have a free guide that I'll put in the show notes that has like every index fund listed that I invest in. But again, this is not financial advice, so take it with a grain of salt. And then number three, the third thing I wanted to talk about are flight prices because obviously we are all planning our hot girl summers.

• 12:03Haley Sacks?

  And flight prices are about to get insane slash already insane. Jet fuel prices have nearly doubled in the last month, which is crazy. And it's all because of this conflict. So of course airlines are adding like fuel surcharges into their tickets. So my advice is like, this is a moment to really lock in on your points. Like if you see a flight price you can live with, of course, book it today. Don't wait for a deal that's coming while oil is as high. You can always cancel a flight. So it's better to just book the flight that you think that you might want. If you see a good price for it and then deal with it down the road. You can always move things around.

• 12:43Haley Sacks?

  But also most major airline points programs, so like think like Aeroplan or United Mileage Plus, like any of the other ones. They don't pass fuel surcharges onto you when you book with points. So you're essentially spending a shadow currency that isn't tethered to the price of oil. So if you have a trip planned and you have points just sitting there, I would use them now. I'm going to go to Greece this summer. I go to Greece every summer. And I'm going to book those flights like today or tomorrow. And like I said, you can always move them around, but I just want to lock in the prices. But yeah, points are really the best way to do it because you're effectively erasing the wartime inflation on your vacation.

• 13:24Haley Sacks?

  Okay, so those are my three tips. Don't panic, sell, book your flights now and understand why gas prices are so high. And I know that the world feels heavy, but remember your finances don't have to be a source of trauma. Just stay calm, stay invested and use your points like the future rich person I know you are. So that is the market report. Now let's get into the rest of the show.

• 13:50Haley Sacks?

  Welcome Sammy Nostorff, the founder of viral grocery store Meadow Lane to the financial tea. Before we really jump in, I just have a few questions for you. Okay. What gives you the financial ick?

• 14:02Speaker 00

  Things like Hermes blankets.

• 14:05Haley Sacks?

  They're so bad.

• 14:06Speaker 00

  So bad. Like, why do you still do it?

• 14:08Haley Sacks?

  I know.

• 14:10Speaker 00

  Or like the pillows.

• 14:11Haley Sacks?

  The pillow, like all of the, the bait products that people buy to like, try and get a burger.

• 14:15Speaker 00

  Try and get a burger.

• 14:16Haley Sacks?

  Yeah. But also they don't know that the sales associates know if you're buying the bait product and then they won't give you a burger if you buy them.

• 14:22Speaker 00

  Yeah. Yeah. There's a whole algorithm.

• 14:24Haley Sacks?

  There really is. There really is.

• 14:26Speaker 00

  Anything that like screams, this is the brand, you know, I guess I am a subscriber to Quiet Luxury.

• 14:32Haley Sacks?

  And then do you feel rich today?

• 14:34Speaker 00

  Emotionally, spiritually?

• 14:36Haley Sacks?

  Just like, however that works for you, bank account. Like, you know, some days you're like, damn, like I've got some money in my pocket.

• 14:44Speaker 00

  You know, I've never thought about that.

• 14:46Haley Sacks?

  Okay. Well, this is why you're here to like, do deep thinking about your finances.

• 14:50Speaker 00

  I guess I feel emotionally rich today.

• 14:53Haley Sacks?

  Because you're more together.

• 14:54Speaker 00

  Cause I'm just in a good mood.

• 14:55Haley Sacks?

  Okay, fine. Don't make it about me.

• 14:57Speaker 00

  It's a rare occurrence.

• 14:58Haley Sacks?

  Oh yeah, fair enough. Yeah. Okay. So obviously your grocery store, I'm obsessed. When I was in Tribeca the other weekend, like I was trying to get in. Can you talk to me about like, just start with Meadow Lane? Like, why did you call it Meadow Lane? First of all?

• 15:13Speaker 00

  I was thinking of what to name the business and I wanted to encapsulate a destination. And I thought lane or pond or road or something like. Made it a place that you could envision in your head. And because of my floral background, I wanted to add Meadow. Because it's very lush and it reminded me of like lush quaint place. But also, you know, I did technically get the name from the street in Southampton. It dissuaded me because of the street in Southampton.

• 15:42Haley Sacks?

  Wait, really?

• 15:43Speaker 00

  Yeah, because I didn't want it to seem too pretentious.

• 15:45Haley Sacks?

  Wow. Oh, so I thought that you were like actively trying to connect it to like this very expensive zip code. Like it's like this aspirational place.

• 15:52Speaker 00

  No, and my fear of that was actually like people saying the counter argument was like, no, like it's aspirational. Like people know what that is. And like, I was like, I don't know if I'm on board with it. It kind of gave me the ick, honestly, but I loved the name for a grocery store.

• 16:10Haley Sacks?

  I love the name too, but I feel like so much of the buzz or like desire to shop at Meadow Lane is because it does feel aspirational. Like it feels like this destination and like you can go there and you even, no matter what's happening in your bank account or whatever, when you walk in those doors, you are able to buy like the same thing as like a super rich person and like sort of cosplay that experience, which I think especially for like Gen Z and millennials is exciting. Because obviously like, you know, lots of inflation, student debt, the job market is messed up. And so we look for these like micro luxuries to make us feel like, you know, we're economically successful.

• 16:54Speaker 00

  Yeah, I was just reading about that and before I wasn't, I didn't agree with it. Now I'm thinking, okay, people aren't able to buy like, let's say a Miu Miu fleece or a Kelly or whatever it is. So it's these like micro purchases of subscribing to a trend or a luxury, but it's more accessible. I don't know if my target recurring customer base is doing that. I think that they just like prepackaged healthy food, to be honest. I mean, maybe some people are sporting like a gourmet grosser tote bag. And thinking like that's a status symbol, but I think most of our customers who are locals

• 17:37Speaker 00

  who come every day or almost every day, just enjoy the food and they want grab and go, easy, convenient food.

• 17:44Haley Sacks?

  So the mark, the, obviously the grocery store has been, I don't even want to call it grocery store because it sounds like it's a prepared food market.

• 17:50Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 17:51Haley Sacks?

  Okay, prepared food market, Metallian, has been super successful. So how much do you gross in a week?

• 17:57Speaker 00

  I don't look at it per week. I look at it usually day or month. So day on average is around $30,000.

• 18:05Haley Sacks?

  Wow.

• 18:06Speaker 00

  And a month around a million, but it's super dependent on the weather.

• 18:12Haley Sacks?

  Wow.

• 18:13Speaker 00

  Yeah. So weekends will do around 50,000 a day.

• 18:16Haley Sacks?

  Damn.

• 18:18Speaker 00

  And then really slow days, you know, freezing outside, inclement weather, it's around like 16, 18,000.

• 18:26Haley Sacks?

  What is the profit from that?

• 18:29Speaker 00

  I don't know if I want to share that.

• 18:31Haley Sacks?

  Okay, interesting.

• 18:32Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 18:33Haley Sacks?

  Because, well, I mean, it brings me to my next question because it's like, how do you price things? Like, obviously you're making, it's super successful because people love the food, but also because the actual like items in the store are priced so highly. So like, how did, how do you decide how to price things? Have you tried lower pricing? What happened?

• 18:54Speaker 00

  They're not that pricey.

• 18:56Haley Sacks?

  Oh, okay.

• 18:57Speaker 00

  I think objectively they are in relation to the neighborhood. You know, Tribeca is the highest price per square foot in Manhattan, which means it's the highest price, one of the highest price per square foot in the Northeast. So given the affluence of that neighborhood and the locals keep the local businesses afloat, it's priced reasonably, especially given that most of the, the ingredients are organic and it's very high quality meat and produce and all of the ingredients. So, you know, it's pretty on par with every other gourmet grocer, actually below. And

• 19:36Speaker 00

  Kind of comparable to a Sweetgreen.

• 19:39Haley Sacks?

  And just to be clear, we're not sharing. We know that it makes a million dollars a month.

• 19:44Speaker 00

  Well, it's still only-

• 19:46Haley Sacks?

  It's grossing a million dollars a month.

• 19:47Speaker 00

  We've, we're still in the first 90 days.

• 19:50Haley Sacks?

  Okay.

• 19:50Speaker 00

  So we don't know. I mean, given that the first 90 days were very cold winter months.

• 19:56Haley Sacks?

  Yes.

• 19:56Speaker 00

  It could well exceed that. But the run rate should be currently around 12 million a year.

• 20:04Haley Sacks?

  Damn.

• 20:05Speaker 00

  Um, and that's without catering. That's without partnerships.

• 20:09Haley Sacks?

  And you're a full, you're a full owner.

• 20:12Speaker 00

  Full owner. Um, but you know, it's still tight. Like, that doesn't account for cost of goods. The more volume that you do, the higher cost of goods. Labor is extremely high. It's not like that lucrative of a business until you scale it.

• 20:29Haley Sacks?

  So you, and you won't tell us the margins?

• 20:31Speaker 00

  It's, it's very low. The profit margins are low. The gross margins are standard. I mean, there's other stats I can give you.

• 20:41Haley Sacks?

  Give us a stat. I know you've brought some numbers for us. Like, share a number, brother.

• 20:47Speaker 00

  In the first 90 days of operations, we've had 70,000 transactions. That doesn't necessarily mean 70,000 individual customers because some, a lot of them are repeat customers.

• 20:56Haley Sacks?

  That's crazy.

• 20:57Speaker 00

  Yeah, 70,000 for a 2,000 square foot space is tremendous.

• 21:00Haley Sacks?

  That's insane.

• 21:01Speaker 00

  Yeah. Let's see, we've sold a quarter of a million units of items. So it's a lot, it's a lot of volume.

• 21:10Haley Sacks?

  Keep going.

• 21:10Speaker 00

  The only reason-

• 21:11Haley Sacks?

  It's a volume business.

• 21:12Speaker 00

  The only reason we're operating at a profit is because of volume.

• 21:15Haley Sacks?

  Volume.

• 21:15Speaker 00

  Like, someone needs to take some of our food, like our average meals, and compare them against other prices.

• 21:23Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 21:23Speaker 00

  Other restaurant or other places and their prices. It's not that crazy.

• 21:26Haley Sacks?

  You need to do a video on that.

• 21:28Speaker 00

  I know. Um, and we've also been able to give back. Like, within the first week of opening, we donated $30,000 to City Meals on Wheels.

• 21:35Haley Sacks?

  Love.

• 21:36Speaker 00

  So we're gonna try and do way more of that once we level off and tighten up as much as we can. Let's see. So we've done 3 million in revenue so far.

• 21:46Haley Sacks?

  Damn.

• 21:47Speaker 00

  Within 90 days. So yeah, it's like a million a month, basically.

• 21:50Haley Sacks?

  This is a great business.

• 21:51Speaker 00

  I think for spring, summer, it's gonna well exceed that. Oh, these are interesting stats. So we've sold over $750,000 in chicken.

• 22:00Haley Sacks?

  And I'm about to try the chicken.

• 22:02Speaker 00

  Yeah, spread between only a handful of SKUs.

• 22:05Haley Sacks?

  Poor chickens. You've really done bad things for them.

• 22:08Speaker 00

  A chicken hates to see a Meadow Lane purchase order come through.

• 22:11Haley Sacks?

  Me too.

• 22:17Speaker 03

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• 23:16Haley Sacks?

  I feel like for, okay, I feel like there is this phenomenon though, where people do value things that are more expensive, more highly. Like a lot of people say that, like with, I do financial planning or advice for people. And like it actually, when things cost money, they end up completing it more because they value it and it like took some sting or something from them to get it. Versus if I gave it to them for free and then it leads to them like actually, you know, like completing the program or something like that. Like there's like this whole idea that like with price brings value. Do you, like, do you think that people like when things are more expensive?

• 23:57Speaker 00

  Yeah. I mean, when I was marketing the business and talking about price point, they're like, oh, I'm kind of disappointed that chicken salad's only $12. Like I want. Wanted it to be more like I want to treat myself. I'm like, well, you could still treat yourself and it can cost you less like, you know, I think a round swamp chicken salad is like $22.

• 24:16Haley Sacks?

  It's crazy.

• 24:17Speaker 00

  Ours is 12.

• 24:18Haley Sacks?

  Wow. Okay. A deal in this economy.

• 24:20Speaker 00

  I mean, the chickens we get are like incredible. Like it's, it kind of is, especially in the neighborhood. That's why I think it's priced very reasonably. The, the profitability of Meadow Lane is not based on margin. It's based on volume. So our margins for prepared foods are extremely standard. Margins on coffee and beverage are lower than average. You could probably spend more money on a coffee at Starbucks or a blue bottle than a Meadow Lane coffee. Where I think people think it's more expensive than it is, is the press creating this narrative by only focusing on a $65 bottle of olive oil

• 25:02Speaker 00

  and a $750 jar of caviar, which is like Oceetra and like the big one.

• 25:08Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 25:08Speaker 00

  You know, like they didn't really want to cover the $12 chicken salad.

• 25:11Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 25:12Speaker 00

  You know, or the $15 tenders, which, you know, that's a lot of protein in there and they're very nice chickens. So it's not a crazy margin. It's just about the volume that we do. I mean, having a thousand customers a day.

• 25:26Haley Sacks?

  That's crazy.

• 25:26Speaker 00

  You're able to keep your business afloat while not inflating your margin.

• 25:31Haley Sacks?

  Like obviously people know about Erawan and it's so LA, so such a destination there. Was there like inspiration to sort of create like the New York version of Erawan with Meadow Lane?

• 25:43Speaker 00

  Not necessarily. I lived in LA for about a year and a half and I frequented Erawan. I frequented Erawan a lot.

• 25:52Speaker 00

  And I loved it there. I just loved how aesthetically pleasing it was. I liked the prepared foods. The produce was amazing.

• 26:00Speaker 00

  I think I was more inspired by Dean and DeLuca and Round Swamp. I thought the culture of Erawan was interesting in terms of like people making that an activity. Because I always viewed going to the grocery store as a kid as an activity and like something fun.

• 26:14Haley Sacks?

  Yes.

• 26:15Speaker 00

  It was like my favorite place as a kid and the idea of people getting dressed up to go to the grocery store and hang out and sit outside and eat their food was really cool to me.

• 26:25Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 26:26Speaker 00

  I don't know if I necessarily implemented that into like the ethos of Meadow Lane, but. I was definitely inspired by, I guess, Erawan to an extent, but mainly Dean and DeLuca and Round Swamp. It was just like this feeling you got when you went there. And I wanted to create my own feeling that I thought my customers would experience when they came to Meadow Lane. Yes, I marketed in a very niche, kind of like creative way, but I think like I created the customer before we, well before we opened.

• 26:56Haley Sacks?

  And who would you say is the Meadow Lane customer?

• 26:58Speaker 00

  I think there's many different kinds of customers. There's Tribeca locals, people doing halls for their families, you know, twice a week, three times a week. They don't want to cook. It's the investment bankers at Citi Goldman. It's the girls at Vogue and Conde Nast that walk over. It's nurses and doctors and dermatology offices nearby. Yeah, there's even students that come from NYU or whatever the other one is.

• 27:29Haley Sacks?

  With the store, like, what is the rent on the space? Because obviously Tribeca is so expensive.

• 27:34Speaker 00

  The rent is around $31,000 a month.

• 27:36Haley Sacks?

  Oh, so you guys are doing great.

• 27:38Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 27:38Haley Sacks?

  And then how much did it cost to like build it out? Because it's so stunning.

• 27:42Speaker 00

  The build out cost was considerable. I'll just say that.

• 27:46Haley Sacks?

  Can we name names?

• 27:47Speaker 00

  No.

• 27:48Haley Sacks?

  No, okay. But you obviously went above budget.

• 27:52Speaker 00

  We went above budget, but we will, we will make up our capital expenditure in a very short amount of time.

• 27:58Haley Sacks?

  There you go. People do assume online, like they, I feel like they do think you're just like swiping a family black card to open a shop because like, you know, your parents have money, but like, let's just settle the books. Like, how much of your own skin is in this game? Do you have investors? Is it the bank of mom and dad? Like, how did we create this?

• 28:17Speaker 00

  100% of my skin is in the game.

• 28:19Haley Sacks?

  I know it is. I can feel it.

• 28:20Speaker 00

  So before I worked in the grocery industry, I was working in venture capital at my, my family's office.

• 28:29Haley Sacks?

  Yes.

• 28:30Speaker 00

  So my dad opened a family office a couple of blocks away from my apartment.

• 28:34Haley Sacks?

  Convenient.

• 28:35Speaker 00

  And I didn't, I didn't necessarily want to, you know, work from, he works in the distribution business.

• 28:41Haley Sacks?

  Yeah. So what is the family biz?

• 28:42Speaker 00

  It's a healthcare pharmaceutical beauty distribution business. So he buys things like toilet paper, Q-tip shampoo, fragrance, pharmaceuticals and distributes it to retailers. So I did not want to go into that business. That was not very enticing for me. But he opened a family office to like do some investing, manage some assets, things like that.

• 29:07Haley Sacks?

  Tell us like what if I have family offices? Cause I feel like it comes up on the podcast a lot. So like I always am like, let's just like make sure it's clear.

• 29:13Speaker 00

  Yeah. I mean, family offices are typically for high net worth individuals or families or several families. Where there can be a number of things happening. You could be using it as like a house to invest in different companies, private equity, VC.

• 29:31Speaker 00

  Management of assets. I feel like that's, you know, there's accounting, there's bookkeeping, there's things like that.

• 29:39Haley Sacks?

  It's like tax optimization, but it's also like you have like your own little hedge fund, but like investment.

• 29:44Speaker 00

  Yeah, there's different arms.

• 29:45Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 29:46Speaker 00

  And at the time it was a collection of all of it. And I started working there during undergrad in the summer mostly. And I got really interested in the VC aspect, which was probably 10% of the family office. Very small. And I just wanted to explore VC more. And over time I made more and more investments and I allocated around $27 million.

• 30:13Haley Sacks?

  Wow.

• 30:15Speaker 00

  Not angel checks, like considerable checks.

• 30:18Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 30:19Speaker 00

  In these startups and other VC funds as well. And today it has a fair market value of a hundred million.

• 30:27Haley Sacks?

  Whoa. Okay. What were the companies that you invested in?

• 30:30Speaker 00

  Many. I can tell you the ones that have exited.

• 30:32Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 30:33Speaker 00

  Which is Coterie diapers.

• 30:35Haley Sacks?

  That's a huge one.

• 30:36Speaker 00

  Humongous exit. Yeah.

• 30:38Haley Sacks?

  Coterie has gone to the moon.

• 30:40Speaker 00

  Yeah. Touchland hand sanitizer.

• 30:42Haley Sacks?

  Oh my gosh. People are obsessed.

• 30:44Speaker 00

  Yeah. Invested in that pre pandemic.

• 30:46Haley Sacks?

  Oh my gosh.

• 30:47Speaker 00

  So these were all like series A. I invested in Built, the credit card company has like a 10 or plus billion dollar valuation now. So I know it's unfathomable.

• 30:59Haley Sacks?

  How'd you get that deal flow? And also how did you analyze those deals? Like, was it gut feeling?

• 31:04Speaker 00

  So obviously, we had an analyst.

• 31:06Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 31:07Speaker 00

  But all of it was gut.

• 31:10Speaker 00

  You know, we made sure the numbers looked good, but like I had this visceral somatic experience when I met with a founder, tried a product. And I just like would know for the most part if this brand was going to take off.

• 31:23Haley Sacks?

  You're really good at knowing like what the next gen wants. You know what I mean? Like even Meadow Lane, I feel like fits into that category, but like Built is like a credit card for next gen where it's like, okay, we're optimizing paying rent or like, you know, the hand sanitizer, it's not like a squirty Purell, it's like a chic, you know, touch land.

• 31:43Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 31:44Haley Sacks?

  Smelly fun experience or, you know, coterie like, yeah, let's make it fancy to put a fucking diaper on. You know, let's make it aspirational to like wipe the baby's butt.

• 31:54Speaker 00

  And better for the environment.

• 31:55Haley Sacks?

  Better for the environment, of course, always important to be good for the environment. They love to have that as like a little byline. But you know, you sort of have like a magic touch in that moment.

• 32:03Speaker 00

  Yeah, I was good at it.

• 32:05Haley Sacks?

  You are. So you're not doing it anymore?

• 32:07Speaker 00

  Not really. I mean, if I see a deal come through, maybe like if it really sparks my interest, but my focus is Meadow Lane.

• 32:15Haley Sacks?

  So, okay, I want to obviously talk about like what the future Meadow Lane means, but so then you're saying that you of that, so you put in 27 million of the family offices money, that portfolio is now up to a hundred million dollars. How much of that did you pocket and like put into the business?

• 32:32Speaker 00

  I get profit share, I get carry basically on the deals I invested because that money, that money wasn't mine. That money is my dad's.

• 32:41Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, you borrowed from Papa.

• 32:43Speaker 00

  But it wouldn't have, you know,

• 32:45Haley Sacks?

  Grown.

• 32:46Speaker 00

  It wouldn't have grown without the decision making around those deals that we were doing and the sourcing of those deals. So I wanted to use some of the money that I made to finance Meadow Lane. Cause that's what I wanted to do. I could have kept doing VC.

• 33:01Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 33:02Speaker 00

  But I was like, this is kind of getting stale for me. Like, I don't know, this sounds like really pretentious, but like. I can just sit here and keep making a lot of money.

• 33:11Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 33:12Speaker 00

  But I'm really, it's not like filling my bucket.

• 33:14Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 33:15Speaker 00

  I wanted to feel like more inspired. I became a floral designer during the pandemic. And I loved working with my hands and I was always passionate about food. So I wanted to bring together a bunch of my passions under one roof. And finance the business through that money.

• 33:31Haley Sacks?

  Like, how much did you put into Meadow Lane? I think you can say that. I don't think that's like so.

• 33:35Speaker 00

  Several million dollars went into the.

• 33:37Haley Sacks?

  To Meadow. And it was all from your good investments in the family office.

• 33:42Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 33:43Haley Sacks?

  So you had the leg up of being able to invest Papa's money.

• 33:46Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 33:46Haley Sacks?

  But no one can tell you that you didn't grow that money and then, you know.

• 33:52Speaker 00

  No, I did. And like, my nepotism awarded me the opportunity to work for my dad, essentially.

• 33:58Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 33:59Speaker 00

  You know, but there's plenty of people that invest their family's money or work for their families and tank it.

• 34:05Haley Sacks?

  Well, that's what I was gonna say is like, A, are you the favorite child? And B, it's like, yeah, like, literally, how many people do you know who are like, oh, I'm investing? And it's like, they are not doing it successfully.

• 34:18Speaker 00

  I mean, the last five years, everyone became an investor.

• 34:20Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 34:21Speaker 00

  They're like, yeah, I have a fund.

• 34:22Haley Sacks?

  I have a fund.

• 34:23Speaker 00

  I'm like, do you have any LPs?

• 34:25Haley Sacks?

  No, absolutely not. And I'm like, wow, I would never invest with you.

• 34:30Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 34:31Haley Sacks?

  I'm like, ooh, I would absolutely never trust you with my money.

• 34:34Speaker 00

  Right. It was a great experience. And like, I won't apologize for having been dealt a hefty set of cards.

• 34:42Haley Sacks?

  You played it well.

• 34:43Speaker 00

  Yeah, I thought I played it well and I'm glad I did. And, you know, it's an ultimate luxury and privilege to be able to start your own business.

• 34:51Haley Sacks?

  Oh, 100%.

• 34:52Speaker 00

  And like, why not take advantage of that? I'm not gonna like, sit around and mope and be like, oh, poor me, like,

• 34:59Speaker 00

  you know, I want, I get to do what makes me happy. And that's like such an amazing thing. And if I can inspire a young entrepreneurial audience in saving costs when starting their business by not spending money on ads, advertisement agencies and PR agencies, marketing agencies, and they can do it themselves by marketing on TikTok, like, why not?

• 35:24Haley Sacks?

  Well, let's talk about the TikTok thing because I do feel like you've actually created a problem for many founders because now it's like because of you, Sammy, every person who starts a company is like encouraged to build in public. They all think that they can do it like Sammy, like because you really like built the company on TikTok every day, showing your followers, what was going on, and it created this like connection to the brand and hype and just like interest. And so like, how was that so conscious? Was it something? Like, walk us through that. And you're genius.

• 36:01Speaker 00

  When I was putting together Meadow Lane, I met with a marketing agency or two and they were telling me things of their strategy that just I didn't agree with.

• 36:11Haley Sacks?

  Like what?

• 36:12Speaker 00

  Just boring, traditional institutional marketing strategy and like 15 grand a month quoting me. I was like, absolutely not.

• 36:20Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, you're like, in what world?

• 36:22Speaker 00

  Yeah, I was like, I don't like selling things too hard, you know, like, I want to showcase something, but I don't want to force you to buy it. Like, I hate marketing where it's like, you need this, you know, I hate that energy. So I was like, I'm gonna do it myself, but I don't know how. And I didn't have TikTok on my phone yet, but I downloaded it and I just saw people post their makeup tutorial, their hair tutorial, making a flower arrangement, the guy in Australia doing the dance videos with flowers.

• 36:52Haley Sacks?

  I love those.

• 36:53Speaker 00

  Love. People love to see how things are made start to finish.

• 36:56Haley Sacks?

  Got rich.

• 36:57Speaker 00

  This is the new reality TV. And no wonder viewership and movies and TV shows and reality are down. People are looking to short form content.

• 37:07Haley Sacks?

  It's so good.

• 37:08Speaker 00

  To learn things, to watch the news, to see how the financial markets are doing. It's quicker and we're like, maybe that's a bad thing.

• 37:16Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 37:16Speaker 00

  But that's the reality we're in. So I was like, how cool would it be to build the business in public?

• 37:21Haley Sacks?

  Oh, so it was really, it was like thought out in that way before you even made your first post?

• 37:25Speaker 00

  That was the only thought, like, what if I just get people excited for something and, and see what my customer wants? Before we open.

• 37:33Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 37:34Speaker 00

  And I didn't know how it was gonna go. I never anticipated it becoming what it did. So I just started with a taste test video of like overnight oats and parfait cups. And it took off and people were so like locked in. I'm like, oh, I should do more of this. I should go through the menu. With them. And then I was like crashing out over some delay or something. And I did a video about that. And then they were like, wait, talk more about the construction and the permits. Like, how does that work? So you're like teaching something as you go, but you're also collecting consumer data. Because you're like, oh, this is what they want to see.

• 38:06Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 38:07Speaker 00

  Oh, they don't think the brand color aligns with the brand. Like you just, and because the delay is, I was able to learn so much and co-found the business together.

• 38:16Haley Sacks?

  I love that.

• 38:17Speaker 00

  With an audience. And it was like, it felt like support.

• 38:20Haley Sacks?

  Such a loser.

• 38:23Haley Sacks?

  I'm gonna cry. It's a beautiful story.

• 38:29Haley Sacks?

  Wow, that's so cool. I like that you're sort of like snarky too. Like you're like, you're always in control of your own narrative. Like it's like.

• 38:36Speaker 00

  Hardly.

• 38:37Haley Sacks?

  What do you mean? I feel like you definitely clap back.

• 38:39Speaker 00

  I clap back, but I'm not in control.

• 38:42Haley Sacks?

  Not control of your narrative, but on your page of your narrative. Like you're not like gonna acquiesce to someone like bullying you online. You'd just be like, no, I'm not doing that.

• 38:50Speaker 00

  The bullying and the trolling doesn't upset me very much. It's when people twist the narrative and make up lies.

• 38:57Haley Sacks?

  What's, what are the lies that you've heard? Biggest lies online?

• 39:00Speaker 00

  Oh, there's no way he financed his own business. You know, back to what you were saying, like, yeah, it's kind of unfathomable to think a 28 year old could finance his own business. And I'm like, it is. And I don't think I would have been able to if not for the nepotism that I was born into.

• 39:16Haley Sacks?

  But also that gave you, by having it self-financed, you also had the freedom to make so many decisions from your gut.

• 39:25Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 39:25Haley Sacks?

  Versus having these like annoying, no offense, because you are one VCs, being like, well, the data shows and this and that. And it's like, no, at the end of the day, like you, your gut is your most powerful co-founder.

• 39:37Speaker 00

  Yeah. And I don't, if I had listened to my best friends and my closest family members, this business wouldn't have gotten off the ground.

• 39:43Haley Sacks?

  There you go. But you have like a lot of issues. Like there was like, you know, you also dealt with a lot of conflict online. Like, you know, first week, raw chicken nuggets, this, that, like, talk us through all that controversy.

• 39:53Speaker 00

  Building in public is a double edged sword, to say the least. You know. It is why the business was as viral or is as viral as it is, but it's also, you know, it's also feeds into this like changing your narrative thing.

• 40:12Speaker 00

  And every win is widely broadcasted, but every mistake is widely broadcasted. So, you know, things that happen in F and B hospitality every single day, but aren't talked about because it's not a viral topic. We were exposed to that.

• 40:30Haley Sacks?

  Well, say more, like we saw the viral raw chicken TikTok. Yeah. Like, let's dig in.

• 40:39Speaker 00

  So, you know, there's no excuse.

• 40:41Haley Sacks?

  Tell us about the raw chicken.

• 40:42Speaker 00

  I know. There's no excuse for that, you know, that's a.

• 40:46Haley Sacks?

  But like, like, explain what happened.

• 40:47Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 40:48Haley Sacks?

  First week.

• 40:48Speaker 00

  We were not anticipating that kind of demand, not anticipating a thousand customers a day, lines for three, four weeks.

• 40:55Haley Sacks?

  This is so crazy.

• 40:56Speaker 00

  And people were very upset that when they got into the store, most of the food was sold out. So there was a lot of pressure on the kitchen to keep making food. We had to hire a third shift in the kitchen. The kitchen was operating 24 hours a day.

• 41:09Haley Sacks?

  Wow.

• 41:10Speaker 00

  You know, it's a new team. It's a new kitchen. People are still learning.

• 41:14Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 41:14Speaker 00

  And mistakes get made and things fall through the cracks. And we were, we were just trying to keep up with demand as best as we could. And a tray of chicken nuggets, which we make in-house and then freeze so that we're ahead of schedule. You know, we take them out, we thaw them and then we fry them. So one tray wasn't thawed enough and they went into the fryer appearing to be cooked.

• 41:41Haley Sacks?

  But that inside was pink ass.

• 41:43Speaker 00

  The inside was pink ass.

• 41:44Haley Sacks?

  Yes, it could happen to anyone.

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• 42:49Haley Sacks?

  So back to Arowan, like obviously Arowan has like those viral celebrity smoothies, the Hailey Bieber, which by the way, it's a milkshake. Like that is not healthy at all. Would you ever do something like that? Like, cause I know that you used a lot of influencers within your launch. Like, would you ever do like Butterfield does the influencer smoothies? Even I was ordering something from a restaurant yesterday and they had like an influencer cookie collab, like, were you down for that?

• 43:14Speaker 00

  I'm not really down for it.

• 43:16Haley Sacks?

  Okay.

• 43:17Speaker 00

  I also haven't really collabed with influencers. A lot of influencers were reaching out like, oh, let's do a video together. And this was pre-opening. So I was like, sure. But no one was paid. Like we've spent $0 on marketing, advertising and press. So I have a very strict line with that. I will not pay anyone to come to the store and I won't discount anyone to do a video. I think that that cheapens the brand. With LA culture around food and beverage, it's very LA. And I think that's fine. I think for New York, it's like more subtle. You know, the celebrities that come into Metallane all the time, it's very chill. It's very subtle.

• 44:00Speaker 00

  I think making a celebrity endorsed product at this point, it's like Metallane needs to become its own tiger before it rides off the back of another tiger.

• 44:09Haley Sacks?

  I love that.

• 44:10Speaker 00

  Like I need to earn it myself and not piggyback off of some big, well-known celebrity to amass more customers. It's just not my vibe. I've turned down tons of people and brands for collaborations on bowls or smoothies or salads. Won't do it.

• 44:31Haley Sacks?

  I mean, until Mrs. Dow Jones comes out with her own, like, her own bowl. That's the only one that you would do. Obvious. And that's really why you're here. So sort of propose that to me.

• 44:41Speaker 00

  I turned down, I recently turned down.

• 44:44Haley Sacks?

  Name names.

• 44:45Speaker 00

  A very big one that used to have a smoothie at Air One.

• 44:51Haley Sacks?

  You can't say who?

• 44:51Speaker 00

  I don't think I should.

• 44:52Haley Sacks?

  Well, say it and then we'll cut it out.

• 44:56Haley Sacks?

  Wanted to do a Meadow Lane? That's sort of hard to say no to.

• 44:59Speaker 00

  Not really. No matter who it was, I wasn't gonna, A, pay for.

• 45:04Haley Sacks?

  Oh, you to pay them?

• 45:05Speaker 00

  Probably.

• 45:06Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 45:07Speaker 00

  I think. I don't know, actually. But I wasn't gonna take something that had been done, especially with all these Air One comparisons I already get. You know, I wasn't gonna be gimmicky and like a copycat, kind of.

• 45:19Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, I hear you.

• 45:23Haley Sacks?

  Where are you in, like, where are we going with this? Like, are we gonna do other locations? Are we gonna see Meadow Lane and the groceries and like not nationwide and grocery stores, like a Meadow Lane Chicken Finger that you can buy at Whole Foods? Like, what's the, there's so many different ways that you could do this.

• 45:39Speaker 00

  Yeah. Back when I was launching this, I was like, if this business breaks even, I will be happy.

• 45:42Haley Sacks?

  Damn.

• 45:43Speaker 00

  Cause it's a tough business.

• 45:44Haley Sacks?

  It's a really, no, it's such a hard, but you, it's like, you've really cracked it.

• 45:48Speaker 00

  Yeah, but we became, we were operating at a profit on week two.

• 45:51Haley Sacks?

  So crazy.

• 45:52Speaker 00

  Most restaurants need at least a year, minimum. So I was like, oh, this might actually be something. And the, you know, we can go in multiple different directions. So expanding with different locations.

• 46:06Haley Sacks?

  Okay. Which neighborhoods do you think are most, like, Meadow Lane-y?

• 46:09Speaker 00

  I have an eye on a small one in the West Village.

• 46:13Haley Sacks?

  That would do so well.

• 46:14Speaker 00

  Yeah. Decent sized one in Flatiron.

• 46:18Speaker 00

  Small one in NoHo, large one on the Upper East Side.

• 46:21Haley Sacks?

  Ooh, like a little Butterfield competitor. You gotta get that fro yo going, brother.

• 46:25Speaker 00

  I don't want to deal with fro yo.

• 46:26Haley Sacks?

  People love fro yo.

• 46:27Speaker 00

  It's such a nightmare.

• 46:29Haley Sacks?

  They love it. It actually is. I actually looked into starting a frozen yogurt business and the margins were so bad and it is a nightmare because you have to like clean the machines.

• 46:37Speaker 00

  Yes, they always break down.

• 46:38Haley Sacks?

  It's such an, it is a nightmare.

• 46:39Speaker 00

  Yeah. And I also don't want to try and do something that someone else has done really well.

• 46:44Haley Sacks?

  I know, but even when I go to Air One though, like I like their fro yo too. Like it's a fun thing to add on at the end. Like, okay, I'm getting my chicken fingers, but also like maybe I'm gonna have a little sweet treat. Nothing wrong with that.

• 46:55Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 46:55Haley Sacks?

  Okay, but I don't hear Brooklyn, so I actually have to leave now.

• 46:58Speaker 00

  It could, it could be Dumbo or.

• 47:00Haley Sacks?

  Please, can that be first?

• 47:02Speaker 00

  Maybe.

• 47:02Haley Sacks?

  We need it.

• 47:03Speaker 00

  We'll see.

• 47:04Haley Sacks?

  Okay, what are, so if you don't expand, what are the other ways that we could do this?

• 47:08Speaker 00

  You could run simultaneous streams. So you could do CPG. So there's certain items that are shelf stable that we make in-house, like granolas and roasted nuts or kale chips, even certain pastry items that we could sell to other retailers.

• 47:29Haley Sacks?

  Okay.

• 47:29Speaker 00

  So I haven't worked on that yet because like we've only been open 90 days.

• 47:34Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, it's so crazy.

• 47:36Speaker 00

  But it is in the back of my mind.

• 47:38Haley Sacks?

  Okay, so you opened in a political moment where the new New York City mayor ran on taxing the rich and the affordability crisis. And do you feel like any tension between what Meadow Lane represents and that mood? Like, do you think about that?

• 47:54Speaker 00

  I mean, we were delayed a year. So the, the planning on opening was not strategic. We were delayed and it was out of our control, which was thoroughly documented on TikTok. It's not like I intentionally opened amidst this affordability crisis, which by the way, like was happening long before it was advertised in the press. Like, there's always been incoming insecurity and massive wealth disparity in this city. So I don't know why that was suddenly new. I guess maybe they were polling statistics. But there's always been scale to goods and services. There's always been a range from automobiles, from. Toyota to Rolls Royce, from economy to first class, from, you know.

• 48:38Haley Sacks?

  Generic to name brand.

• 48:39Speaker 00

  McDonald's to Michelin fine dining restaurant. You know, from an affordable grocery store to a not so affordable grocery store. Why is this news?

• 48:49Haley Sacks?

  Zara to Chanel.

• 48:50Speaker 00

  Correct. Like, what's, and these are all necessities. Foods are necessity, automobiles are necessity, healthcare is a necessity. There's always been a range. So I didn't understand why my 20, my 2,000 square foot store was getting blasted so much because there's other stores that sell very similar things for higher price tags, but they didn't get the press coverage we did. And that is because of my marketing on TikTok.

• 49:16Haley Sacks?

  Yes.

• 49:17Speaker 00

  It, it generated enough buzz where like other, that others didn't.

• 49:21Haley Sacks?

  And I think it was also you too, because people hate generational wealth.

• 49:24Speaker 00

  Yes. And the only publication to write about this topic was the Wall Street Journal, which was like last week. They were the only ones to cover it, doing the history of gourmet grocers. You know, like from when.

• 49:37Haley Sacks?

  Oh, yeah, I saw that. They did such an amazing piece on that.

• 49:40Speaker 00

  Yeah, I was like, thank you.

• 49:42Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 49:42Speaker 00

  Like, is that, like, are journalists are finally doing journalism? You know, versus like these other publications that are just like saying, imposing it as like this new idea. I'm like, you guys like, don't do research. You know, I mean, why, wouldn't you be more outraged by like the $1,000 a head Omakase restaurant? Versus my $23 bowl? I mean, objectively, I am out of touch.

• 50:08Haley Sacks?

  Yes.

• 50:08Speaker 00

  Of course.

• 50:09Haley Sacks?

  But don't you feel like that's like, like that, that was, they, they villainized you because you were an individual and because like you stood for sort of the antithesis of this new M'Ghannani age.

• 50:19Speaker 00

  I mean, it definitely contradicted his, how he ran his campaign. Because when the New York Post has a headline that says, what affordability crisis? There are lines around the block to get into this grocery store selling $65 olive oil. You know, it was so politically charged.

• 50:36Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 50:36Speaker 00

  Right wing media was like, there's no affordability crisis. Look at Meadow Lane. Left wing media was like, does New York really need a luxury grocery store?

• 50:45Haley Sacks?

  Yes.

• 50:45Speaker 00

  I'm like, babe, there's like 20 in a five mile radius.

• 50:48Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 50:49Speaker 00

  Like, what are you talking about? So no one captured the fact that two things can be true at the same time. That amidst an affordability crisis, there are still a large cohort of individuals that can afford a premium on food. And this is not at the end of that lux spectrum in terms of premium.

• 51:07Haley Sacks?

  Okay, really excited about this app. Feel like there's something here for us as well, you know?

• 51:13Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 51:13Haley Sacks?

  Maybe we're leaving with a kernel of friendship.

• 51:16Speaker 00

  Of course.

• 51:16Haley Sacks?

  Yes, maybe even more than a kernel. I don't know. We'll see if the chicken finger is raw. But thank you for being here, Sammy.

• 51:23Speaker 00

  Thank you for having me.

• 51:24Haley Sacks?

  Stay rich. I know you are.

• 51:35Speaker 06

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