Transcript for Hustle & Heat Episode 24

00:00:04

What’s up, guys, and welcome back to another episode of the Hustle & Heat Podcast. My name is George, your host, and this is episode number 24.

For episode 24, I’d like to welcome a special guest. This guy is pretty well known in the area. He owns the Twisted Fork and Parsley’s Real Estate Group.

Without further ado, I’d like to welcome the one and only Bert Parsley.

Bert, welcome to the podcast, man.

Howdy, howdy. Thanks for having me.

Thank you for coming on. So Bert, tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.

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00:00:31

Well, I do various things. You mentioned a couple of them. The Twisted Fork is definitely my baby. I call it my monster.

For those who don’t know, it’s a full-service, sit-down casual restaurant with a concert venue attached to a Harley-Davidson facility right here in Port Charlotte.

Are you big on bikes?

I have a Harley. I enjoy it. I can’t say I’m on it every day, but I really enjoy riding when the weather is right.

What was your inspiration for the venue itself?

I’m a partner in four other restaurants currently in Fort Myers. Three are downtown Fort Myers, and one is out on State Road 31 called The Boathouse.

The three downtown are The Lodge, Izzy’s, and Capone’s.

I had an opportunity with the other Bert, Bert King, to potentially put a restaurant in Port Charlotte in a dealership he was purchasing. It worked out. The group I was in didn’t want to come up to Port Charlotte, so I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity. I broke away, came up, and did it.

I’m sure glad I did. It’s worked out well.

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00:01:54

Tell us a little bit about the other restaurants.

They’re all completely different concepts.

Capone’s is a coal-fired pizza concept on First Street downtown. Fresh pizza.

The Lodge literally looks like a lodge on the side of a mountain in Colorado somewhere. A lot of wood, a fireplace, even a little mini ski lift inside. It’s more of a barbecue-centric fusion restaurant. Big bar, neat atmosphere.

Izzy’s is a seafood restaurant with a great chef and a wide variety. They always come out with different offerings. They recently added sushi, so that’s a fun one.

The fourth is called Boathouse 31 because it’s on State Road 31, right in Sweetwater Marina, where the Caloosahatchee and State Road 31 meet. It’s a tiki bar concept. You can come by boat or car. It’s right on the river. We’re not just a restaurant either. We sell gas, boating supplies, and sundries to boaters too.

What got you into the restaurant industry?

I was in the restaurant business as a teenager. I was born and raised in Jacksonville and worked for various companies. My longest tenure there was probably Bennigan’s. I worked for Bennigan’s for six years.

I went to culinary school right out of high school and ended up diving into management pretty quickly. They pulled me out of school with the money they offered.

I was in the business for about 10 years and got burnt out. I left the business and tried other industries, real estate being one of them, which stuck.

Then after the crash, the largest crash in American history, I had all my eggs in one basket, and it was the wrong one. When I had to reinvent myself, I got back into the business and diversified. Now I have different businesses I’m partners in, and it’s not all in one basket.

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00:04:26

So how do you manage so many?

Aces in their places, man. You have to have the right people.

It’s about setting the standards, setting the culture, and managing them both. If you’ve got the right staff, the right core, and the right management team, you can pretty much do anything.

Elaborate on the system a little bit.

I learned a lot in other industries. I was in sales and went through some pretty rigorous sales training, which I’m grateful for. It made me a lot of what I am today.

It taught me negotiations, tactics, and how to manage businesses. You have to set a culture. You have to set a standard. You have to have rules.

I always say I’m far from corporate. I like being independent, and corporate America was never for me. But you have to be corporate in the way you run your businesses because some of that structure has to be there.

The Fork has become a pretty cool place, and people have really embraced it here in Port Charlotte. I’m grateful for that.

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00:05:48

What are your plans for the future?

That’s a great question. I kind of duck and weave. We’ll see what opportunities come up and where life takes us.

I still have big plans for The Fork. I’m far from done with that place. We have some cool improvements coming that I’m excited about.

As I’ve made money, I’ve put a lot of money right back into it. Those who haven’t been in a while and come back can see the changes.

A lot of the problems are good problems. I need another ice machine. My grill’s not big enough. I need another flat top. I need more hood system. Those are realities, but we’re blessed to have the business that creates those problems.

I’d rather have a good problem than any other problem.

We’ve got a video board coming for behind the stage. We’re really trying to make this a true concert venue, and we’re getting close.

We recently replaced a lot of our sound equipment, speakers, board, subs, and arrays. We keep adding more lights as needed.

We’ll have a camera system soon too. We’re going to stream shows to a YouTube channel so fans of The Fork who can’t make it, especially snowbirds, will still be able to watch.

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00:07:32

What kind of bands do you aim to have at The Fork?

We do a little bit of everything. If it’s going to draw and we have a good crowd, we’re going to pull them in.

We’ve had country artists, rock artists, tribute bands, reggae, Christian music, and Christian services. We don’t really alienate anything. We’re a music venue, so we’ll give it a go.

Is there someone you want there who hasn’t been there yet?

Yes. It’s funny you say that because we’re six years in and I still haven’t been able to get my brother’s band there.

Marcus plays in a band called JJ Grey & Mofro. They’re from my hometown of Jacksonville, and they’ve been touring like crazy. I’ve yet to get them in the joint.

With bands of that size, you have what’s called a radius clause. When they play somewhere else, within a certain amount of months and miles, they can’t play within that radius. He keeps popping dates in Fort Myers and other places, and it encroaches on that radius. I have to time it right.

That’s definitely a personal little goal.

So they’re a big band?

Yeah. If we have them, we’ll probably have them back-to-back nights because they’ll draw that big twice.

They’ve become massive. They’re touring the world right now. They’ve been in Europe three times recently and all over the country. They released an album last year, and it hit. I’ve never seen this band tour as much as they are right now.

I bet you’re proud of your brother.

Yeah, man. He’s turning it up. He’s a trumpet player and does some singing with them too.

He’s also my promoter. He does all the bookings for The Twisted Fork.

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00:10:30

I know Twisted is your monster, and I know you’ve done many things in your life. What’s the proudest moment of your career so far?

That’s a big question.

Probably when my girls were born. Becoming a father and facing that responsibility was probably the coolest.

You said before we started shooting they’re 28 and 20?

Yeah, 28 and 20.

I always wanted a boy, but I got my two girls, and I’m happy.

Zoe is 28, and she works for the Jacksonville Jaguars. She manages all the suites. She’s in hospitality, which is pretty cool. She even helps wait on the owner, the GM, and the staff.

Now that they’re out of season, she got the same job at the baseball stadium with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, our minor league team.

Hannah is 20 and going to college. She’s in an architectural design program. She was at FSU and now she’s at UF, which are rival schools.

Her and I actually got matching FSU tattoos, and now she’s going to UF.

So now you have to get a Gator on your other foot.

That’s never going to happen. I’ve been a Gator hater all my life.

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00:13:34

What are your biggest struggles with The Fork right now?

As you know, being in the business, we’re so seasonal. You can go from here to zero really quick this time of year.

Getting through the summer months without taking it in the shorts is a chore. You have to be specific and strategic.

Last summer was brutal. I know it was for you too.

I lost all my savings, man.

We lost money in September. A lot. It was just a weird year. It was down everywhere.

This year I’m going to throw a lot of things at it to try to keep our business.

Do you think we’re going to deal with the same thing this year?

I do, but hopefully it won’t be as bad as last year.

Last year there were compounding things: the economy, people’s income, and the decline in property values. There was a string of negatives happening all at once.

I think we are in better shape economically this year. Snowbirds came down, saw prices were down, saw rates had come down, and it spurred some sales.

Is the market healed up? No. But did it take a step in the right direction? Absolutely.

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00:18:54

What advice would you have for someone starting their career?

Don’t be your own worst enemy.

I see so many people who have great opportunities. They’re smart, savvy, and have all these positive traits, but then they get in their own head.

They say, “I couldn’t do that,” or “They won’t like me.” They talk themselves out of things.

I tell my daughters the same thing. Stop thinking about the negatives. Push forward.

Focus on the goal. Keep the goal in mind. Don’t talk yourself out of it.

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00:19:52

I know recently we both had an ex-employee pass away, Mr. Miles.

I’m averaging one a year. It’s not fun.

I wish I could tell you why, and I wish I could fix it. We’ve lost people for varying reasons, but it doesn’t make it easier.

The last one we lost was 23. We had another gentleman who worked for us who also died when he was 23. The most recent one died on Tyler’s birthday, so it was a double doozy.

It’s part of life, and it’s going to happen when you have 120-plus employees. The odds are there, but it’s brutal.

That was my first one.

Yeah, it’s not a fun part of the business.

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00:20:55

Is there anything else you’d like to broadcast about your career or yourself?

No, I’m good. I’m just glad to be here.

Going with the flow.

Going with the flow, baby.

Well, we’re going to wrap this up. Any last words for the camera, for the people?

Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

If you guys haven’t been to The Twisted Fork, please check it out. And if you guys like this video, please like, comment, and subscribe.

Thank you.