Connected, by mParticle Episode 6: Empowering local restaurants with Jordan Plecque of ChowNow

It's an understatement to say the restaurant business is tough. Local mom and pops not only have to concentrate on creating dishes that consumers love, but they now also need to offer digital ordering experiences to meet their customers' needs. In this episode I speak with Jordan Plecque, Analytics and Data Science Manager at ChowNow, about the digital ordering ecosystem and how ChowNow's commission-free products help level the playing field for our favorite neighborhood eateries.

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Abhi: Jordan, happy Friday. Thanks for jumping on on the pod today. You know, I'd love to, I'd love to start by getting a little introduction to yourself and what you do for the.

Jordan: Absolutely absolutely happy Friday, ABI.

So my name is Jordan. I'm a manager at ChowNow on the D and A team, data and analytics. Our team is comprised of about 13 individuals distributed across analytics and data science as well as data engineering. We're, we're a centralized team within the company. however we align in various functional areas.

And as a result are, are able to partner to varying degrees with effectively every department within the within the organization, just, which is awesome. So the majority of my focus, has largely been on the product engineering and operations side. It's not only myself, but I have an awesome team of, of three data scientists.

 It wasn't always, it wasn't always that, that way, it wasn't always that big when I first joined back. The fall of 2018. I was, I was one of two. And again, now we're now we're 13, right? So needless to say things look quite a bit quite a bit different now than they did back then.

Abhi: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, well, look, I, I know I have all the history, but, but this is, you know, three years, right?

Like just sinking in. I think we've both sort of been in startups now for three years and it's yeah, it's been unbelievable to kind of see like where the, the, the conversations we were having three years ago and, and you know, some of the things I know you and the team are working on now, but okay.

Jordan, that's a lot, right? Like there's, we, we it's data engineering, there's data sciences, analytics, and I want to get into sort of how all of those pieces work together. Dive into a little bit more about. That function that you play in does specifically at ChowNow, but I guess we got to set the table.

What the heck is chap now? What do you guys do? I, yeah, give me the, you know, the, the skinny on sort of ChowNow of business and how you how you sort of differ from other, meal delivery services.

Jordan: Definitely. Yeah. So China has been around actually since, since 2011. And you know, what we do today is the same thing that, you know, we had been doing or we have been doing since since then.

And it's really just helping restaurants all throughout north America. Sustainably grow, both their takeout and their delivery business. And we do this by we, we offer a range of digital tools and services marketing support, and perhaps most importantly, full access to valuable customer data for those restaurants.

And that's probably the biggest differentiator between us and some of the other companies that some of the listeners might be might be familiar with. We, we do this through kind of three core products. We have our, our direct product, which is effectively a white labeled online ordering solution.

That also includes branded mobile apps. So we will build a iOS or an Android app that puts the restaurant's brand first and, and allows diners to order directly through that restaurant. We also have a marketplace and we're continuing to grow that team. And that is basically the.

The one-stop shop for diners to access the majority of restaurants, if not all restaurants that, that we do partner with. So that's about 20,000 plus and every day that number continues to grow. And then the last of the products is something called the ordering better network or the order better network rather.

And it's basically a product that, that connects restaurants and diners through over a dozen different channels. So that could be ordering through Google, ordering through TripAdvisor, Instagram, Yelp, et cetera. There are a multitude of different channels and really it's just meant to help restaurants better reach diners that are interested in ordering from them.

Abhi: I didn't realize this. Like, you know, when, when I go on Uber eats or great, you know, I felt like, okay, this is sort of a, a commoditized space.

Right. I open an app, you know, I find my favorite restaurant, I order. And until I started working with you guys, I never realized like the business behind it. And how, you know sure. If, if maybe you're a McDonald's or, you know, a large multinational chain, you can negotiate certain deals and, and how that profit split up that that works.

But you know, you think about all like my favorite restaurants, which are typically mom and shop local places in the Jersey city area. I didn't realize, in terms of the model. Right. And I, and, and I want you to chime in and give your perspective on this. But my understanding is like sometimes, with all the fees, right, the delivery fees, the 30% that gets, you know, kind of cut off the top of orders It's, it's pretty tough for mom and pop, shops that aren't digitally native, like they don't have a marketing team or a web developer that can build them a site to basically go and, you know, access a large part of their customer base.

So Jordan, could you speak a little bit to how how specifically ciao helps those, smaller mom and pops? Like how are you guys differentiated from saying

Jordan: uberEATS? Yeah, definitely. You know, the company's focus has always been on, on the local restaurants. Right. You know, w you know, there's been plenty of articles out there over the course of the last couple of years in terms of some of these, these commissions and these fees that are being charged to restaurants at our, at our core we're, we're a commission-free online ordering platform.

So, you know, speaking to our direct product, which I mentioned earlier is, you know, this is something that we offer to restaurant partners for a very reasonable monthly fee. And that really just kind of goes back to this, this goal of ours to sustainably, or to help these restaurants sustainably grow their takeout business.

So, you know, that's, that's definitely a, a big differentiation. I think that it's, something that diners have become increasingly aware of, I think, over the last year and a half or so that is, you know, how, how difficult the restaurant business is.

Right. And how large of a take sometimes can be, can be taken away from these restaurants through various other ordering channels. Again, there's, there's plenty of kinds of articles out there. I don't need any of that, but at the end of the day, we believe that the restaurants have more than enough on their plate to do what they do best.

And that is, make great food to, provide an amazing experience for their diners. Right? So if we can take something, off of their plate, as it relates to helping them to navigate this online experience, their, their marketing arm, et cetera you know, that's, that's really the least that we can do.

And, and we, attempt to do that in, in a way that is most sustainable as possible for them so that we can continue to see them grow as they have since, you know, 2011 and, and working with our, our platform.

Abhi: Well, you know, pun, pun intended, oh, I'll preface with that. That I, I really wanted to set the table with that context because you know, that, to me, that mission right.

Of, of keeping the. The restaurant at the heart of what you guys do and thinking about, you know, how you guys really help them from a, and I know we're going to get into the customer experience part of this, but, you know, keeping that your core mission you know, in sort of building an organization around it.

Yeah, it's just been awesome to be a small part of that journey along the years. So yeah. Shout out to Chown, right? I mean, I'm biased, I'm a fan, but I, I just wanted to put that out there. All right, Jordan, getting back into the X's and O's, cause I, I said, you know, analytics, data, science, data engineering, there's a lot there and I I'd love to get some takeaways on like what your team specifically does in this ecosystem for channel now. But you hit on, you hit on a few things. So you mentioned, and this is also something I found fascinating about China's business. You guys sort of have two separate sort of customers in a sense, right?

Like you have the discover product, which in a lot of ways is like a chow branded app. You can discover multiple restaurants. Me, an individual consumer, you know, is going into that app and, and finding a new restaurant or finding my favorite one and ordering. And then you also have a completely separate business model, which is, you know, how do we help that small mom and pop restaurant really maximize our opportunities, get visibility into who their customers are, build a great experience on the restaurant side. So could you talk me through, and this is, this is a big topic, so feel free to take it wherever you want, but talk me through some of the major opportunities and challenges maybe from a data and analytics perspective of working with both kind of like the end user consumer and the restaurant.

Jordan: Yeah, definitely. And before jumping in there, I think this is just, just Testament to how long we've been, been working together. But you know, we, back back in 2018, you know, our, our marketplace product was referred to as, as discover. And today actually we've, we've. Done away with the discover name and it's, it's just the the marketplace.

And then the, the mobile app is, is our channel app. So but to your, to your point, I mean, look our bread and butter has always been to help these restaurants by equipping them with various tools and services to, to grow their online ordering business.

Right. And that started out by building white label, ordering solutions both, both web products and brand and mobile apps that really do just put that restaurant brand front and center. So, you know, while there's always been this focus on diner, It's largely been through the lens of the restaurant partner.

Right. And you know, perhaps not surprisingly the, the ways in which you, you market to, to diners and communicate to diners on behalf of the restaurant, or rather equip the restaurant to do that themselves is a much different problem than a traditional kind of B to C communication strategy. Right.

And I'm not going to act like I am, anything close to a marketing or, or, or, or a messaging expert. Fortunately we have a great team that are experts in that area, but you know, our company having largely focused on that B to B to C informally is kind of how we, how we refer to it. Sometimes even kind of the marketing team has referred to it as art to the restaurant to diner.

Right. That's presented both. Chap, both kind of some, some challenges, but also kind of some, some benefits or rather let's say you know, some, some advantages and some disadvantages as we've moved more into what was very much so a natural progression into saying, Hey, we work with all these restaurant partners.

We're allowing diners to order directly through them. What if we made it easier for the diners to just order through all of them through a single place. Right. And that's what ended up birthing that, that marketplace product. But you know, what what's come about here is that we have this history of having really understood and been able to learn the different ways in which diners interact directly with the restaurant.

So we can apply that to how diners, you know, might interact with a marketplace. Something that is a little bit different than, you know, that direct interaction with a given restaurant. Right. The challenge that, that, that, you know, that same thing is presented is the fact that it's not uncommon for the channel brand to be unfamiliar to consumers.

Right. Because we've largely been we've, we've largely taken a back seat to the restaurant's brand. We've always put the restaurants brand front and center. I have so many friends that when I, when I started, well, that sounds a little bit weird. So

I have a bunch of friends that, you know, when I started at Chown out had never even heard of the company. And, and, you know, when they started to place an order, they had funny enough realized they already had an account. And that was because they had ordered directly from a restaurant. Right. So those are just, you know, some of the challenges that I think that, that you know, have.

Presented themselves as we've started to expand from largely serving, serving restaurants and indirectly indirectly their diners to, to building a product that we now have, that, that, you know, aggregates all of these restaurants for diners to, not only discover new restaurants but also, you know, seamlessly reordered from, from some of their favorites.

Abhi: Yeah. That's, that's fascinating because both are just different channels, you know, whether it is a white labeled website or app, or kind of downloading the channel now marketplace app directly, there they're both channels to ultimately get, the consumer, the end consumer.

Through a platform that through a sustainable business model will allow, you know, that, that exchange of an amazing service and amazing meal. But I wonder, like, in terms of, do you guys, is that a concern or something that comes up you know, as you guys sort of build out and market and advertise like the direct to consumer app, right?

The, the channel branded app compared to maybe some of your longer term existing customers that maybe are like using your white label websites and mobile apps is there any, like, is there any consideration on like. Folks to order through the discover app versus, or sorry, the, the marketplace app versus sort of a white labeled app.

Jordan: No, I mean, it's, it's there, you know, the two are very much complimentary. I mean, there's at our core, right? The thing that China will never, never change is the fact that we want to provide ways in which diners can sustainably order at the restaurant. So by furthering kind of the, the channels, right.

That this can be done. It doesn't really have any impact on or sorry. It doesn't somebody that doesn't have an impact on, on the restaurant. It, it, a, a restaurant is not at a disadvantage if they are receiving orders through these various channels, right? Like at the end of the day, this is just extending the reach, the act.

To diners to tap into our large and our growing restaurant base. Right? So you know, these, these two products and our order better network as well. The, you know, the three products themselves really, really are complimentary. And, a combination of, of all three really is something that we feel strongly can really help restaurants succeed in this, in this environment where diners are becoming increasingly used to ordering online, no longer calling the restaurant, getting food possibly delivered, but also in many cases going to that restaurant and picking up their food directly.

Right. We're, we're really just trying to make it as easy for the restaurant to, make themselves available to, their, their various diners.

Abhi: No. And thank you for clarifying. I think that makes all the sense in the world. It's basically like anywhere the way I almost think of it as like anywhere, a big, you know, multinational fortune 500, you know, restaurant group or, or a restaurant can, can make themselves available.

It's like, how do we bring that same power in technology in a sustainable way to, you know, small mom and pop restaurants, right? It's like, if, if you're on Google and you can order from Google chow makes that super easy for you to do as

Jordan: well. Exactly. No, because it's, it's, you know, you're, you're completely right.

A lot of these mom and pop shops don't have the luxury of having a shop that can build them a, you know, a totally customized mobile app, like a big, you know, one of these big brands, right? So. That's that's where our that's where our direct product thrives. Right. It's really equipping these restaurants with all of the tools, not only the ordering solutions, but the marketing solutions in order to, you know, sustainably grow that, that online ordering the online ordering channel.

Abhi: Awesome. Awesome. All right I'm thinking about, you know, the listeners here that are you know a data engineer somebody thinking about, building a really great, product, a mobile app with, with great customer experience.

I think everyone can agree that. Data wrangling that data together, understanding what that data means is like a critical part to anything, right? That's everything from customizing an email to decisions around like how you build a product or what product within, you know, your app that you build next. So I guess one of the things I wanted to ask you for chat now, in terms of like how you guys leverage data and technology to drive better customer experience whether that's for the direct consumer or the restaurant, what are some of the opportunities and challenges again, of like collecting data across all these different services and any insights into kind of how you guys are using using that data to drive you know, experience.

Jordan: So in general, this is very applicable, right?

To, to some of the current challenges that we're we're facing. But keep in mind, shout out has been around since 2011, we've had diners ordering through our various channels since then. For a large portion of that time, it was largely through our direct product. So it was very much a diner direct to restaurant interaction.

But you know, what, what that has presented to us as we explore these other channels is we now have a extremely large pool of diners that already have some familiarity with online ordering and an often or in some cases chow as well. Right. So really the challenge here. How can we take our learnings from how diners interact directly with restaurants?

And how can we use that to bring improvements to all of our products, not just that direct product, but also our marketplace product. How can we help them continue to reorder from those restaurants? How can we help them? How can we use data and technology to, to drive them towards discovering new restaurants that are maybe similar to some of the ones that they have previously ordered from right.

Data is absolutely at the, at the core of that, right? Like we need to understand, their, their ordering behavior, what their interests are, what their likes and what their dislikes are in order to, to build a product that allows them to get exactly what they're seeking when they come to our product.

And that is either discovering a new restaurant to order from or reordering from one of their favorites that they already know is, is one of our one of our various restaurants.

Abhi: Yeah. Yeah. That makes a lot of, a lot of sense. It's not too different than, you know, I imagine any big major beloved brand, right?

It's like, Hey, you know, whether that's a QSR restaurant or retail, it's like, Hey, you know, you bought this shirt, right. It's a blue shirt these are the seven things that are, you know, our ML you know, things would, would go as a nice match to this or the classic. Right. Hey, do you want fries with that?

Right. And I think what's really interesting in what you're saying to Jordan is like, you know, that is normally like that scale of data, again, like going back to helping the mom and pop her. So there's no way that an individual single family restaurant, you know, in the middle of Jersey city is going to have the demographic data, the likes, the behavioral data of.

You know, the millions and millions of potential customers they have. So to be able to sort of empower them you know, genuinely because of what they stand for. Right. I mean, it's like it's matching your direct relationships with your consumers, with the restaurant partners that you think are going to have the biggest impact.

So it's almost like China in a lot of ways through data is getting better and better at playing matchmaker in a way.

Jordan: Definitely, definitely. And I think, even, even beyond that, to help, you know, diners, explore or discover new favorites, I mean, we're equipping these restaurants with that information so that they can continue to do what they're doing a great job of already, and that is making great food and, and, and creating an awesome experience for their diners.

Right. They, they have the benefit to understand, you know, when a given diner comes in. How many times that diners ordered from that restaurant. And obviously these are things that, you know traditionally, like, you know, you have, you have your regular it's right. But as, as things get more and more digital, I mean, I think that it's extremely important for the restaurant to understand kind of the, the you know who their customers are.

And again, that's, that's really one of the differentiators that, that channel now has relative to some of these other companies that, that are out there. And we really want the restaurant to feel like they own their, their customers because they absolutely do. Right. We do not own the restaurants.

Customers is it is the restaurants, customers.

Abhi: If you don't mind, I'd love for you to expand on that, that point from it. Okay, hold on. So not only are you guys, and again, I think broadly your team, right. And analytics and data science, you know, looking at kind of some of these direct consumers, what they're ordering and playing matchmaker.

You're saying there's also sort of a, a service of value prop here where I, the individual restaurant can sort of log in or, or channel will expose to me. Here's like the top selling item right. In the menu. Like here's sort of the channels in which your customers are ordering from like the variants and like, you know, total order size based on, you know, maybe from the in-store POS to online it, am I hearing that right?

Or am I kind of going off on a

Jordan: no, no, absolutely. Absolutely. And you know, we have, we have an awesome product team that builds our restaurant facing products, right? So there are various ways in which restaurants can, can access their data. And in the case that what they're asking is you know, maybe a little bit more nuanced or, or more specific, we have an awesome restaurant success team that partners very closely with these restaurant partners.

And, and, you know, in, in most, if not all cases is able to, to to get the restaurant, what it is they're looking for to, improve their , service experience for their diners. So, absolutely.

Abhi: That's yeah. Want to triple underline that because I think that is just absolutely amazing.

Okay. All right. I mean, Jordan, I feel like we've talked a lot and you've been so gracious with your time talking about sort of, you know, the business and, and you know, what you guys are building and doing a shout out and that's truly amazing, but I always want to take some time in these, in these episodes to kind of share like the person behind all of this, right?

Like who the heck is Jordan. And, and I guess this is another, a little bit of a convoluted two-part question, but and you can take this anywhere you want to, but it's like, how the heck did you, did you get into this crazy world of like data and analytics? Like what, what excites you about, about this as an individual and you know, sort of what's next for, for yourself?

Jordan: Yeah, absolutely. So I, prior to, prior to joining chow, now I was working as part of a, a more traditional like biz ops analytics team at a different company. Really enjoying the, the, the space there. But what I was seeking out of, out of the move three years ago now was really to go to a company where I am extremely passionate about its mission, its purpose, you know, the, the value that is bringing to its customers.

I don't think I could have chosen a better place to be honest. You know, what, what channel stands for in, in helping these local restaurants? I think we can all recognize that over the last couple of years, it's become extremely apparent. How difficult it is to, to run a restaurant and, and you know, it's extremely fulfilling just to, reflect on the different ways in which we're able to support.

These local restaurants. Right? So I had been in the field of analytics for for a little while prior to prior to joining channel, but really this move was, largely just because of the company. I, I fell in love with, you know, everyone that I had met through the interview process.

I was also very excited about the opportunity to join a very small team, both, both the analytics team, but the company as a whole. But again, that was, that was great for the first year. I wouldn't trade it for where we are today. We now have, you know, a team of , more data engineers and more data scientists than I could have imagined back in early 2019.

And, and. You know, in terms of what's what's ahead. I mean, just continuing to grow the DNA team and I think that I'm now at that point where, where I'm part of a, a team that's seven X, what w what it was when I started. And I'm just extremely excited to continue to see the ways in which our team is able to continue partnering with, with various departments within the organization to, you know, leverage data in a way that is able to meaningfully impact restaurants and, and their diners.

Right. So in a nutshell, more of the same, just continue growing, growing this awesome team, this awesome company, and yeah, really excited for what's to come in in 2022.

Abhi: Wow. That's, that's awesome to hear, yes. Like I think data and technology and stuff, like sort of, you know, brought us together, brought us into this world. But the fact that think it's something I really admire personally about you is like, you're looking at this from a what's a mission I can stand for and, and yeah, like I may have a part to play in that because I manage an analytics team, a data science team, but, that's just sort of a means to an end, right. It's, it's one tool, it's one method in which you can sort of, incrementally drive value for something you're passionate about.

Jordan: No, I absolutely. And I mean, real, real quick, just on the, on the team aspect there and the people aspect. I mean, I think, you know, that that is one of my favorite things about DNA team at channel is that we, we are the centralized nature of our team allows us to partner so deeply with different areas of the business and as a result, every different project.

Presents a unique opportunity, right? For us to partner very closely with the domain experts, right? Whether that be product, whether that be engineering, whether that be marketing, operations, sales, et cetera. Right. The structure of our team within this company, I think is absolutely one of the things that has attracted the majority of the DNA team, if not all of the DNA team to this opportunity. Right.

Abhi: But yeah, I mean, the, the cliche of, of the podcast being called connected is sort of, you know, hitting on not only the data and technology and how there's connectivity there to, you know, make these magic moments happen, but you just hit on this a little bit, Jordan, I guess.

From your perspective, could you speak a little bit more on what you just said there, which is like, in order to drive the business forward in order to ultimately deliver this value, who are you typically working with outside of your core team?

You know, the, the people, the partners, the teams outside to drive sort of these outcomes. And if you have one, like any particular memorable anecdote of like cross like working cross collaboratively to deliver on something.

Jordan: Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, and, and, you know, let me preface this by saying. To the listeners, I'll be, did not ask for this plug, but I, I definitely think it's fitting to, to, discuss the recently improved implementation of, of our instrumentation and the CDP solutions. This was a project that a cross-functional team within the company has spent the last handful of months working on.

And quite simply would not have been possible without involvement from all of those teams. So again, it's, it's product, it's engineering, it's marketing, it's DNA, both data science and data engineering, right? So, you know, from the product and engineering side their role was largely in helping to define these key user flows, scoping various technical requirements, right?

And then DNA came in to help guide the data strategy and ensure that data is consumable and fit for purpose. So that the marketing and the product teams can then use that data to continually improve. The user life cycle, right through, through products, through our marketing, et cetera. So, as I said, at the beginning of our discussion, while there are undoubtedly some, some bumps and bruises that are still healing from, from the project you know, we are, we are undeniably in, in a much better place than we were six months ago, and it's a hundred percent due to just this, this awesome partnership by all people involved on this, on this project.

So,

Abhi: It's funny when you're talking, I almost think about like, data's like a rugby ball or something, and it's like, you know, just different teams, like passing it off, like onto each other to move, you know, move forward ultimately down the field. Like I'm an mParticle customer success manager and this is something we preach all the time. But I think the most successful customers I've ever had, it's never been. I'm a marketer. I figured out all of this on my own, and I delivered this great campaign. Like the backstories on like how many conversations I've had to have. You know, and that makes so much sense. There's data engineering, you actually get the data and then, you know, there's your team actually cleanse and make sense of it.

And then it's delivering that data through a technology partner who you're partnering with to your marketing team, who may also be working with an agency to kind of come up with that really amazing campaign. That's going to drive more users to, to the app. Like I think a lot of people see the tip of the iceberg there, but it really does take a village.

You know, in every time I interview a guest here, it's it's, it's the same answer. So, all right, Jordan, I know we're coming up on time. So if you got a few more minutes to spare two kind of two more questions, the last one, sort of a series of rapid fires. But I guess I'll start with you know, as a consumer, right?

So taking off our, our business has, this is Jordan, the, you know, the guy, the, the California guy that's now in you know, Minneapolis what is your favorite brand or experience and why?

Jordan: It's a good question. So I think, okay, so I think this, this favoritism definitely includes quite a bit of recency bias, but. I've spent a significant portion of time over the last three months in the house app houses app, or kind of inspiration, designing, designing homes and, and, and just general home improvement.

My wife and I are actually in the, in the process of becoming a first time home buyers. So it's been like drinking through a fire hose to say the least. And this is just one of the many apps that have helped to keep us somewhat sane. And it's a little fun. It's a little fun too. I think probably my favorite features perhaps this, this goes hand in hand with my my background in, in, in data is, is really just that tagging functionality of the ability to, customize and tag various inspiration, photos, discussions, et cetera.

And, and the ways in which house is able to use that data. To then improve my experience when I returned to that product. Right. And, and really make for a place for me to, you know, get the answers I'm looking for as, as quickly as possible. And then obviously endlessly scrolling the discussion forums, right.

For any and all relevant topics. Because again, this is our first time doing this and every day we're, we're learning 10 new things, so

Abhi: wow, man will congrats. Like that's used to me, that's a, that's a big deal becoming a first time home buyer I haven't been in their app in years, but that's really interesting that they have like, so it is it that you can tag like different things you're interested in or different threads.

Jordan: Yeah. I mean, so I've, I've largely used it just to, I think the feature they, I think it's, they basically allow you to like, create these projects, which are effectively just collections. As, as you know, perhaps not surprisingly my, you know, my collection is probably a bit messy just because I'm constantly adding different things.

My wife and I are constantly adding different things to, to our collection and our project. But but yeah, no, it's been, it's been an awesome, awesome app. And again, probably a little bit of favoritism or sorry, a little bit of recency bias there because of the, because of kind of everything that's going on.

But but no it's been, it's been a great app and something that we probably spend 30 or so minutes on every evening.

Abhi: Very cool. Very cool. Well, all right. We got wrap up with these rapid fire questions. They're yes or no except for the last one. You know, if you, if you want to elaborate, you know, you can, but I'll, I'll just get right into it.

So pineapple on.

Jordan: Oh, gosh, my, yeah, I'm, I'm a guess. And I'm going to get a whole bunch of heat for that, but I am a yes.

Abhi: Okay. All right. I mean, you're not the only guest that said yes, by the way. It is. I agree with you. It is an unpopular opinion, but, okay. So when you say yes to find it like yes, generally, or is it only on specific sort of settings, like a Hawaiian

Jordan: pizza or something?

Oh, okay. No, it's, it's only on a Hawaiian pizza. Yeah. But, and, you know, I, I wouldn't say Hawaiians the first, the first type of pizza that all that I'll order. But when it is there, I will absolutely have a slice and I, I am not one to pick off the pineapple.

Abhi: Awesome. Awesome. All right. Winter or summer sports?

Jordan: Winter, winter. I. You know, and I think that I also didn't really know what winter sports for living in California for the majority of my life. Right. Because there's, you know winter there is, is what, 70 degrees. But on that note, I actually recently experienced a pretty, pretty awesome, awesome event.

I, I went out to to green bay at Lambeau field and watched a football game in the snow there, which definitely definitely was a bucket list item. And I think that's probably the, the epitome of, of winter sports. Right. So I would definitely say I'm a winter sports fan.

Abhi: Oh, wow. Okay. Okay. All right.

All unexpected answer by the way. Yes. Because you know, Jordan is, is through and through a, so Cal guy, but you know, winter sports LeBron or MJ,

Jordan: probably MJ, he's got a great last.

Abhi: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That's easy enough that, that one did it. And then, so that's a great reason. Fro-yo or ice cream

Jordan: actually, funny enough, my first job ever was at yogurt land.

So I think, I think I probably have to go, oh yeah,

Abhi: yeah, yeah. Fair enough. I, you know, listen for me, it's tough. It's tough. But the toppings in the frozen yogurt places are always on another level, so they'll always have Lilly. All right. Final question for you Jordan, just because I'm a huge foodie and I, and I have to know this from every guest.

And you could take this, you know, either way, so you could do favorite restaurant in, so Cal or a favorite restaurant in Minneapolis.

Jordan: All right. I'm going to do both. I'm going to do both favorite restaurant in. So Cal in, in Los Angeles is night market. It's, it's a, it's a Thai restaurant. They have a couple of locations. I've, I've only been to one of them, but funny enough, the my last week in LA, before driving out to Minneapolis, I ate lunch three days in a row at night market.

Abhi: wow. Okay. So there's a, you know, this isn't just

Jordan: lip service this. Exactly, exactly. And then in Minneapolis, it's a restaurant called Colita and it's a, it's a Mexican restaurant down in south Minneapolis. And we, we, we try to, we try to go there at least once every, every couple of months and it's great food, great drinks.

And yeah, we're probably due for a visit here.

Abhi: All right. All right. Well, shout out tonight, market shout out to Colita and and listen your Jordan whenever we're, we're out past this crazy COVID stuff I'm coming out. We'll, we'll fly out to LA. We got to do that, but then, you know, I'm coming up to Minneapolis and then maybe you, me and Stevens could all you know, get a, get a couple of rounds of drinks at Kalita.

Jordan: That would be awesome. Let's do it. Let's do it. I'm going to be about a mile and a half from Steven, so. Awesome. Perfect. Awesome, man. Well, always a pleasure. Thanks again for for taking the time and have a great rest

Abhi: of your weekend. Thank you so much, Jordan. Really appreciate you jumping on.