This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Tim Stenebeck on Bloomberg Radio.
Jess Metton and Tim Stenovik here in the Bloomberg Interactive Brokers studio in New York, and Tim, I have to say, I'm very excited about our next segment, especially because our guests are here in studio on this rainy day here, and I have to say, our next guests have ventured and also are entrepreneurs in so many different areas when you're talking about what's happening in real estate, restaurants as well as obviously when it comes to dating and coaching
in that particular area. So I'm excited to have Scheri and Tracy Sifax, who are the founders of Just the Facts, here and in studio with us. And I first want to start off because when you were here about three months ago, both of you had your Fax Entertainment Group company had announced that they were taking over ownership for
Booker's Restaurant in Bar in West Philadelphia. So before we get into the other things with real estate and dating and all of that, Jazz I wanted to hear how things are going as far as when it comes to the restaurant space.
The restaurant space. Then this is going great. We are sells up twenty six percent over the first quarter, and we are excited to be in this position. As you know, we kept the majority of the staff, maybe seventy five percent of the staff we kept there, so we didn't change much, but we elevated the menu, added some special drinks, and it's been a real great ride.
It's an interesting dynamic because especially coming out of the pandemic right tim when you think about how challenging it's been for specific restaurants from.
Exactly where my head was going to go, Yeah, like if you're going to buy a restaurant, you know, twenty twenty three, when you're coming out of a pandemic, tracy is not really the time to do it. Can't find labor, Yes, costs are going through the roof, food costs are going up, and then you have this whole pandemic thing that you got to worry about. What what's the uh, you know, what's why take a risk like that?
Well, we felt we looked at the model the previous Onasava had built a great model over six years, so she had built the SESS. It was already pretty much there when we inherited the rest oft, and we just really felt with our profile and our social media presence that we can elevate it and market it in a
whole different light. Bookers is located not too far from the colleges the hospitals, so it's in a prime area for that type of growth, So we really felt that we could really enhance Bookers by just our presence.
I'm curious what y'all are seeing when it comes to because Tim brought up labor and obviously when you think about inflation issues with what you're seeing, what do you think this tells us about the direction of the economy.
Well, a couple of things. I think the economy is doing better than initially when we started talking about recession and everyone was concerned and worried, and even we were because we were in the middle of negotiations during that time. We felt good about our business evaluation and the ability
to retain employees. The really great thing about being in was Philadelphia, and Philadelphia period is very neighborhood centric, so a lot of our employees come right from the neighborhood that they can walk to work, so it's rare that you're able to walk to work and not have to work in center city and still be able to make a really good wage. So those things helped us retain and have helped us grow.
How challenging is that from a business perspective, because I feel like at Bloomberg, Great Tim, we're always talking about, oh, the employment costs index, and it's really challenging for businesses as far as to keep up with that type of wage growth. From your perspective and what you hear anecdotally from your employees, what is that challenge?
Like? Yeah, So what we think about is every dollar that we spend, we have to figure out what that return on investment is. So we have to look at every single line item. We've done well with having a fractional CFO that really helps us look at not just the food and things like that we adjust.
Wait, explain what a fractional CFO is. I Mean, it sounds like it's pretty self explanatory, but it's differently saying a part time CEO basically a.
Part time CFO. Our accountant has that service and they offer that. And I think sometimes when we go wrong in business, especially at entrepreneurs, is that we try to do it ourselves. We try to wing at ourselves, and having that outside help really helps us look at every single line item, so we know how what percentage we want our labor to be. We know what percentage we want our expenses to be as far as food, so
we have to look at those things. Obviously, we have to look at everything and make adjustments for inflation and look at wind, eggs are up, wind, butters up, you know, those types of things to adjust pricing accordingly.
It's funny because McDonald's has this sort of fry indicator as far as how many people are adding those on to where they can tell this is what an indicator means for the economy. I'm curious if you have any sort of way to gauge as far as when it comes to spending in the consumer.
Well, at this point, we're what five four months, and so everything is still a first for us. But we're definitely looking at the market. We definitely look at our sales versus last year. We look at how many seats, not just what the revenue number is of, but actually
how many people are coming into the restaurant. So we're assessing all that data and that that helps us with our forecasting, and it helps us build out knowing how much we need to make sure staff is proper we're properly staffed, and that we have enough inventory so that we have we're able to serve our customers with our menus.
Hey, Tracy, give us an idea of of how you think the economy is based not just on the restaurant, but the work that you've done in real estate development, what you're seeing in your other business right now.
Yeah.
Well, I've always believed in real estate as someone who started my first investments in early two thousand. Even when the market crashed in two thousand and eight and I lost millions of dollars in the real estate crash, it was still my saving grace as I came out of that that allowed me to continue to do business and actually eventually buys Bookers. So I'm always big on economy.
I really believe in us. I believe that what we can do as a husband and wife team that gives me a bright look on what the economy can bring. So I really believe that our combination has really been the proven recipe.
It's less about what's happening externally for you, yes, and more about what the two of you were sort of like, what I'm hearing from you is it doesn't matter how the economy is, because you guys can weather it.
Oh.
Absolutely, I'm thirty years as being a serial entrepreneur, So I've seen the highs and the lows. I really have felt them. So really believe that even when we have a bad economy. I think good business, good customer sells in any economy.
But do we have a bad economy right now?
I don't believe so. I don't believe so.
And real estate has always been my anchor as well, so when we put it all together, that really gave us leverage to do a lot of other things. So real estate does always tend to be that foundation that if you have that and you're able to get in on some really good opportunities, that that propels you and can't propel you to other things, and you always can leverage it.
Do you see any sort of red flags brewing at all when it comes to the real estate space? We always talk so much about when it comes to commercial real estate, But are there things beyond that type of area that you think you're a little weary about right now?
Yeah, commercial real estate, Me and my wife. We was just talking about we visit a lot of malls, and we were just visiting the mall and some of the malls that we've been visited as we've been shopping, that's been pretty much non existent when it comes to customers inside stores like they used to be. So it's something that we definitely noticed. In the commercial space.
Is that something that would give you pause and you wouldn't want to go into that.
I wouldn't want to open up a restaurant in the mall, Right.
That's where I'm headed with that, And I don't know. We wouldn't have probably purchased the restaurant without being able to purchase the real estate. So we purchased the commercial space, six apartments and things like that because it gives us so many more opportunities in the event that anything happens with the restaurant.
What are you seeing the on the landlord tenants side? What are you seeing with the tenants right now?
Yeah, so far, attendants have been great. We've been really, really fortunate. We believe that we offer a good product and that they acquiesce and they do their part of it too. So we're pretty accessible, we're pretty available, and we just haven't had any tenant landlord issues.
No late but we like to talk to landlords too because they start seeing, okay, well, late rents are a normal, normal part of being a landlord, especially if you have a lot of tenants. Absolutely, are we seeing more late rents now? Are we seeing people?
You know?
Pretty fortunate through the pandemic. We had two people that kind of took advantage of not paying and that's of what twenty some odd tenants that was less than ten percent. Like, we were pretty fortunate. I think, you know the beauty of Tracy being a We keep our properties really well and things like that, so you have a good thing. Kind of why, you know, mess it up when you think of certain urban communities and landlorns that are not
as invested in your quality of life. So to Tracey's point about service and customer service, we just live the model up, provide a good product, and we'll get a good result.
Do you guys do the day to day with that too, meaning the day to day work on that or do you have a management company.
We have someone that helps us manage the other raw. Yeah, but Tracy's able to assess whatever needs to be done and is able to, you know, get a team out there and take care of things.
We only have about a minute left, but I have to ask about also your dating coaching business. You both met during the height of the pandemic virtually, so tell us a little bit quickly about your dating business. Yeah.
So, I don't have as much time for it as I used to because of the restaurant, however, and it's shifted a little bit because it used to be like how I attracted my husband and all the positive things about that, and now it's like, how are me and my husband really doing business and day to day? But ultimately the messages, you know, fall in love with yourself, make sure you understand and know what you want to love that out of the relationship. Yeah, and then the
thing that you want will will come and find you. Basically, you know, if you have some gutten to be the results you're looking for, you may want to adjust that.
Yes, because that's okay too.
I love that.
What a great little lotto there, well, Cheri and Tracy Sifax. Great to have you both joining Tim Stenovic and myself here in the Bloomberg Interactive Broker's studio. Who are the founders of Just the facts, but then also they have all of these different small business entrepreneur type areas like we were just talking about with Booker's restaurant and bars.
Oh don't forget Seri's book too.
Oh yes, and of course we have to talk about what's happening with her book as well with that, so people should check it out as far as second act, living boldly and a bunty at every age,