[Part 2] Obama Presidential Center Opening Weekend

The Obama Presidential Center is open! We were there all weekend to experience the historic opening on Chicago's South Side. 

In part 2 we interviewed Michael Strautmanis and Chef Cliff Rome

Special thanks to the Obama Foundation for lending the studio and for some of the video footage used in this episode!

Show notes here

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Thank you for listening to part one. Part two starts right now.

Michael Strautmanis

SPEAKER_04 0:18

That's what it is.

SPEAKER_03 0:20

Well, we we gonna jump right in, y'all. We got uh Michael Straut Man, it's right in front of us. Uh man, you are the public affairs person here. Uh public all affairs.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Your name tag has half of your last name on it. Is that your preferred? Is that how you like to be?

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Yeah, you know what? Everybody ends up calling me Straut. So it's a it's a sign of the power of the presidency. Because the president calls me straight. Yeah, President Obama calls me straight. But we're gonna call you Stratt. Okay. Okay, okay. And then it just, you know, that's just what it that just ends up being what your name is.

SPEAKER_03 0:56

I mean, if the a president nickname you exactly.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

It's over. It's over. It's over. Right. Four weeks. So look, I I I stopped, I left uh the White House after uh re-election in the second term. I actually went to go work uh at the Walt Disney Company. Oh, wow. And at Disney, you know, you have the same thing. You have name badges, but the name badge uh said Mike because that's actually my name. That's the name. That's your name. And uh and so I came back, and of one of my colleagues was in a meeting with President Obama, and they were, I think they were worried, they were nervous, and maybe I got fired because they were like, you know, he keeps talking about this guy named Straud that he's gonna do all this stuff, but I think it's the stuff that you do. Oh, I'm like, it's okay. No, no, we're secure here. It's me. I'm Straud.

SPEAKER_03 1:50

That's that's so funny. That's awesome. I mean, you are the public affairs guy for the Obama presidential center. Yeah. Like for the whole foundation. For the whole foundation. Like, just hearing those words, what does that mean to you to kind of be, you know, the face of what people see, hear, and think about this place?

SPEAKER_01 2:12

Well, you know, really, it it just gives me an opportunity to find a way to bring people in to the work and into the joy and into the experience. And there's so many ways to do it, right? Some people are gonna watch some social media thing. Yep. Some people are going to decide that they want to give $15. Right. Some people are gonna walk across the street and come in here. Some people are gonna read, you know, a newspaper to get here. Some people are gonna listen to a podcast, some people are gonna look at a billboard, some people are gonna listen to a speech. But I think what we have to do is we have to have just this radical invitation. And that means that we have to find people where they are, yeah. Um, and then say, you know, essentially, like you belong here, which is why you also have to see yourself here. Right. Yes, yes. Right. And because if you see yourself here in some form or fashion, then you're like, okay, let me check that out. Yeah, this might be for me.

SPEAKER_03 3:20

Wow. And and I mean, we've talked to uh many of your colleagues earlier, you know, and and they all said the same thing.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

They said the same thing about me. How how uh yeah, that was very, very nice of them.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

Watch out for that. Exactly. Exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 3:34

That brother owes me money. You know where he's at? Is he gonna be here? Yeah, yeah, they got your number. I'm like, we went to all have dinner, and all of a sudden his Venmo wasn't working. You went to the bathroom weekend.

SPEAKER_03 3:50

I'm sorry. No, no, no, no. Have fun on here, man. Man, it's been a long week, man. I know I mean, well, I mean, but that's to y'all's credit, man. You got us a big thing happening, historic thing happened here. And and you know, you all have made people feel welcome here. You know what I mean? Like, we've got people from all over the country coming here, man, from far and Honolulu coming for just a couple days to be here in this presence. So, you know, your your message is getting out there.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

I like to hear that. I like to hear that. And and and you know, I think what I want people to feel is that they're going to experience a feeling that they really can't get anywhere else.

SPEAKER_04 4:32

Right.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

You know, and and and like some people, that's that's not usually intellectually how we make decisions. We don't say, oh, I want to go to you know, Wrigley Field because I want to feel. Yeah, yeah. No, you know, great. Or I'm gonna go see, you know, uh um Bruno Mars because I want to feel a particular way, right? That's not how we make decisions intellectually, but I really believe that um uh as humans, we make decisions about where and what we want to feel.

SPEAKER_04 5:05

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 5:06

Um, and uh and you could want to feel inspired. You could also want to feel, you know, some people love horror movies, yeah, right, because they want to feel that the the rush.

SPEAKER_03 5:16

I don't know me either.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

Right. But and so it it really is this feeling that I that I hope people are coming here to experience. And then our job is, and this is where the work comes, is we've got to pay that off. Right, right, right, right. Because that then, then if you're that's where you're inauthentic.

SPEAKER_03 5:34

Right. Somebody from Honolulu come here, they gotta feel what you talk about. They gotta feel what brought them here.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

And that and once they have that authenticity, then they then that payoff happens. Then that self-belief happens. Yeah, and that's everything Barack and Michelle Obama talk about. Right. Right? They want people to feel like ordinary people can do extraordinary things. That's our job.

SPEAKER_03 5:57

Yes. And and what does that payoff for you feel like when you know, all right, man, I see that person from Honolulu. They came here and I see the joy in their eyes, and I see the reception that people give me. How does that make you feel?

SPEAKER_01 6:10

Well, first I cry. Yeah. I do, I I cry all day. You know, um, you saw Valerie Jarrett. Yeah. She and I have worked together for a very long time. I was her chief of staff in the White House, and she started to get used to this. Yeah. So something would happen, and she would, I just would hear her say there, she, there you go. He's gone. He lost it with the game. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Get him a tissue, he's gone. But I I've actually come to rely on that feeling as my sense of whether or not we've done things the right way. So, you know, right, I'm approving our um our advertising, right? Or I'm going through the run of show for the grand opening, approving the artists and looking at that. And I actually now wait until I feel that thing.

SPEAKER_05 7:00

Yeah, that is.

SPEAKER_01 7:01

Um yes. And that that has become something that I rely on. So I now have a very intellectual way of doing things. I have a very just work ethic. Yeah. I'm gonna work as hard as I can way of doing things, but I also am always looking for the magic.

SPEAKER_03 7:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

And so that's what I that that is truly the experience I have when I see someone, you know, my my my biggest um crying moment yesterday. Can't believe I'm telling this story. I'll now tell a week. Is uh so I was there when the first hundred guests met with the Obamas. Yeah. And at the first part of it, you know, my job was to basically hype people up as they were coming in to just greet them and greet them with joy and love and make them feel welcome.

SPEAKER_04 7:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

And as the line kind of, you know, got to the end, I decided I would just like watch a little bit of that experience. And then there's a woman that works here, her name is Odalise. Okay, and she is the person who built that um experience. And so she chose every family that was one of those first 100 guests. Wow. And so it was very important to us that those hundred guests represented kind of the spectrum of this country.

SPEAKER_04 8:23

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Um, and so she knew all of their stories. So she was uh just in tears. Yeah. Because she said people, as they got through and were in the museum, were texting her. Yeah like, oh my God, I can't believe that happened. Thank you so much. I'm here, I did this, that, and the other. And he knows and she knows because she knows their story, she knows their struggles. Yeah, yeah. Right, right. And so uh I brought her over to Valerie and said, you know, Odolise was the one who put all this together, and Valerie brought her over to see President and Mrs. Obama and said, This is the so as they were finished, she got her flowers. She and they had a chance and they gave her a huge hug and thanked her so much and told her just how much what she did meant to them. So I'm can't handle anymore. Man, so I go and walk off to, of course, you know, this is the problem of working at the Obama Presidential Center. I go walk and see some some other beautiful thing, right? So I'm now in front of Martin Bradford in the hope and change lobby. Now, you know, I'm I mean you know I you get messed up on that anyway. So I turn down. Now I'm a mess, then I can't do that anymore. And so I decide to look to my left and out to my left, I'm looking at the plaza and I'm right behind the statues.

SPEAKER_05 9:46

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

So they can't see me.

SPEAKER_03 9:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

But I'm looking at them, people taking pictures with the statues. Yeah. High-fiving and all that. And I just, I just sat there, I just stood there and wept. Man. So that that's that's that's what that's what this is.

SPEAKER_03 10:01

Man, you know, these I'm I'm talking a lot. I got a partner here, but I'm not, I'm just, you know, I love this energy.

SPEAKER_05 10:08

Hey, is everybody still here?

SPEAKER_03 10:10

Yeah. Uh no, but I just love the energy and the passion that's coming from, you know, the public affairs person. You know what I mean? Like in the in in the public affairs person, you don't really see that emotion. You we see the product of what you do, right? Right. But to hear this, you know, coming, it just shows everybody here, man, is just super passive. It's it's really invested and tied into this thing, locked in, bought in. That's it.

SPEAKER_01 10:30

And and and by the way, that makes it hard to work here.

SPEAKER_03 10:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

There's a lot of conflict here because of it. Yeah. Right? Because everybody here is like, why are you, why are you not helping me do my life's work? Right, right. Why, why are you talking about this? And they're like, this is my life's work. Why are you talking about this other thing that I don't do?

unknown 10:48

Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

And, you know, because of that, uh uh, they attract, um, you know, and and and Valerie as our CEO really brings in excellence and passion and commitment. And so we almost have like almost avatars or caricatures.

SPEAKER_04 11:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

Right. I mean, you know, who else would you want to do public and community fairs and some dude who from Chicago who met the Obamas when he was young and cries all the time?

SPEAKER_03 11:17

You worked at Disney though, too.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

So exactly, exactly. Right. Come on. You know, uh, who else would you want to do? I mean, you met John Roberson. Like he's like the quintessential operations guy, you know? Yeah, he's all muscular and serious and you know, headshaved. What'd you hit in the podcast? Exactly. He was cool. We gotta make this happen.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

So um yeah, yeah, sorry. I was gonna say this doesn't feel like a traditional presidential library, right? I feel like there's many things that obviously make it different. This is uh the presidential center of the first black president of the United States. So that alone, I feel like there is so much pressure in that by itself.

SPEAKER_05 11:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:57

And then all of the accomplishments of the president and Mrs. Obama alone, that too is like they did so much during their their eight years that it's like you you obviously want to capture that history, you want to capture that legacy. But uh what other than that, what other what experience do you want Chicagoans and visitors from all over the country to to go through while they're while they're here?

SPEAKER_01 12:20

You know, I'll t I'll tell you two stories that um just exemplify that. Um that that really made me know that we had we had nailed it. So well the first thing is not a story, but I think one of the things that uh I want people to feel and experience when they're here is that this really always was here. Because so much of who the Obamas are and what they brought to the world was always here. We always had brilliance, right? We always had grace, we always had class, we always had wonderful, sparkling black girls like Michelle Robinson running around here doing spectacular things, raising their families, being perfect because they had to be perfect, sweating every detail because that's what they had to do. Um that was always here, you know. We always had ambitious young brothers who trying to make it, you know, entrepreneurs, community organizers, bringing people together, you know, be but but they were doing it in all kinds of other venues and ways. Some some of them in the legitimate economy, some of it in the in the illegitimate economy, right? But but and and and we always had this beautiful park. And we always had, you know, these these these these beautiful families, right? This was this was this was always here. Very diverse area, you know. This area, you know, everybody thinks about the south side of Chicago as being, you know, this black community, but Hyde Park and Woodlawn isn't it's incredibly diverse. And so part of what I want people to experience is that this was always here and that we're we'll we are revealing that to people. Um the uh but I'll I'll just say for the museum itself, um so my niece came. Uh she's a college student and she went through and we sat down and we asked, you know, like how did what was your takeaway? And she said, you know, I I've gotta do more. You know, I I I gotta do more. There are things that I care about, and you know, I didn't really maybe respond to that email, you know, I sign up for this this this this program, you know, this club, I didn't really go, I didn't respond, you know, I gotta I gotta do more. Because she saw that it was really just you know, everyday people that not just created, you know, the presidency of Barack and Michelle Obama, but created everything that inspired them to actually want to be in public office. The other thing I saw was I was talking to these two little boys um and these two little black boys, and I was trying to talk to their parents, but they were just running around. So I had to like stop and pay attention to them because they were not gonna not be paid attention to them. And uh I was like, Oh, you sat in the Oval Office and you were in the chair, and yeah. I was like, How did you feel? You know, do you feel like you could be president? He said, Well, you know, one of us is gonna be president and the other one's gonna be vice president, but we all know which one is which. But you know, right? Yeah, like they got these visions. Yeah, they got these visions, and and uh and that is um so yeah, no, that that that well, what I was gonna say is I I think that probably in the home of the Kennedy family or the Bush family, people said, you know, well, you know, you could be president, you could be vice president, you know, right? Yeah I want every family to to have that feeling, to have that conversation, no matter what they end up doing.

SPEAKER_00 15:53

I think you also mentioned seeing people that look like them in these spaces. Yeah. And I I love that you the museum includes the photo of the young black kid touching the president's hair and seeing, like, oh, your hair looks like mine. And I feel like I remember that moment when it happened, and I was like, this is such like it's such a small, it feels like a small interaction that just probably meant so much to so many people. A whole community. And it's like such a phenomenal metaphor for truly, and I think that's why like when we do what we do, I feel so proud of everything, you know, being able to go into all these communities because it's it's not often that you see an Arab and a black guy just going into different spaces that you don't think are made for you. And when you know they see us there, they're like many times people have come up to Dario and they're like, Oh, I saw you at the Hancock and I feel like now I can go because you look like me and you're there, you know, maybe not verbatim that, but like, yeah, you know, I I you know, I I saw you there, so now I feel like I should go there, kind of thing. And I feel like this has just done that on such a grand scale because you see the entire history of the country and you see the role that different groups of people have played throughout the history of the country. And if you are if you relate to any of these groups, you see yourself right there.

SPEAKER_01 17:10

Well, you you know, it's really hard to be what you can't see. Now, now now many people, you know, they dream a vision, but that's why books and storytelling is so important because those are the places that put those visions into your heart. You know, that's why cultural institutions are important, because they put those visions um, you know, that that in into your heart. And so, you know, I think the the reason why the story, and I think of this from a public affairs standpoint, the reason why the story you just described is so important is because that's actually the true story. But there is another story that is being told that that excludes us, right? That excludes those people. The reason why those folks say that they now feel like they can go into the Hancock building because they see you there. Or the reason why they say, Well, maybe I don't have to be afraid or nervous of my Arab brothers and sisters because I see you there. The reason why that's necessary is because they've been told a different story relentlessly, and people believe the stories that they are told. Right. Um, and so that that that that story is is is really critical, but uh, you know, we don't have to tell it in a way that's exclusionary. Right. Right. We can tell it in a way that creates an invitation, yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

For sure. And I and we never, you know, we never shy away from the hard conversations. And I think we always say to to criticize the uh to criticize our city, for example, when we talk is because out of love, because we we want it to be better. And we uh we do our best to never really focus on anything that's too negative, but but the history is it is what it is, yes, and you have to tell it uh truthfully with facts, I mean you know, and but it's also it creates hope because you see where we were and where we've you know where we are now, maybe not in this exact moment, but you know, where we're how how far we're gonna be able to do that.

SPEAKER_01 19:09

No, but we are here in this exact moment. Right.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

And we are here, and I and I think that that this space also does that.

SPEAKER_01 19:16

Uh well that that I think is also in the DNA. Because when I got here 10 years ago, this was not even an idea. We hadn't selected we I think I just barely selected our architects. So what this was going to be um wasn't known yet. And the very first thing that I did is I had conversations with people in the community in this neighborhood. And people in this community in this angle in this neighborhood, they were angry.

SPEAKER_04 19:43

Really?

SPEAKER_01 19:44

Right? Now, some folks were excited, some folks were thrilled. But you know, if you're excited and you're thrilled, it's just like, all right, well, it's just that's cool. Yeah, right. That's gonna be great. Yeah, I am gonna do all do something else. Yeah. The people I saw were the people who had criticisms, who had critiques, who had fears, who had dreams. But the but but I believe that if you're going to come out of get out of your way, come out of your everyday to come to a meeting with me.

SPEAKER_04 20:10

Right.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

You love this place. Yeah. You are committed enough that you now there are some people who just wanted attention for their own agenda, right? And there are some people who just like to tear things down. Right. Now I'm I I listened to them, but they didn't end up becoming a part of this because we were always going to build and create and do something. The status quo was not happening right here any longer. Right. And so if you wanted to just tear things down, you have to be constructive. You have to be constructive. Um, but constructive does not mean you have to be polite, right? Right. Right. Constructive does not mean you gotta lie about what what your legitimate concerns are or about the history of displacement and gentrification and structural and institutional racism, um, and and the disinvestment that you know people have lived. And so those are the conversations that we had, and my my my hope is that that that truth, that dialogue is reflected in what this this place now is. You know, we don't have to have that discussion now anywhere, right? Or try to find some. You can have that discussion right here. There's a place for it, a beautiful, free place for you to have a conversation about with the direction of this neighborhood, this community, and this country.

SPEAKER_03 21:40

And you know, i I want to stick on the the this space, right? Uh you uh we were here for the creator uh day that that you all had. You moderated, led that discussion. We had the designers there, they were there, the architects there.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

Yeah. And I had my Jordans on the code.

SPEAKER_03 21:54

And you had to get that. We can talk about that later because I was like, I was like, my brother, clean up there. But uh but there was a moment there, right, that is going to live with me forever as a historian and somebody that looks at Chicago's architectural history, right? You were talking to the designer, the guy. He is a architect. Yeah, what I keep on messing up. But he goes, uh, you know, the pastor Mike talked to him how he came to the design, why he liked it, right? He started talking, he got through a sentence or two and started getting choked up, and then had to pass the mic and was like, you finish it. In that moment, I was like, you can't tell me nothing bad about this building. If the man who built this thing is crying over his passion behind it, I don't want to hear nobody else's critique. I'm like, that man put his heart into that. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_04 22:42

Like, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:44

So I because I know the it's been some little Discord people like the building, people don't like it, and then people, then people come up to me be like, oh, it's better in real life. You know, how how do y'all land that message with people? Come here and see it. Just come here and see it first.

SPEAKER_01 22:55

You know, first of all, I I think architecture, and I I learned this from my wife. So I met my wife down at the University of Illinois in Champaign. I was a theater major.

SPEAKER_04 23:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 23:04

And she was an architecture major, which primarily meant she had homework all night, and I had none. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You could change it. So I was hanging out with her. That's how we fell in love, that's where we fell in love, in the architecture studio. And I think that what I've what I've learned is uh art culture is most meaningful when it has a very specific intentional idea. And part of the idea of this was to stand out, right? Was to was to say something to people so that that could not be ignored. Right. And there are people who are not gonna like that. Right. You know, there are people who did not like Barack Obama. Yeah, right. There are people who do not like Barack Obama, right? We're we're we're not here if if to to smooth out every edge so that we stand for nothing.

SPEAKER_00 23:58

That's impossible, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:59

Right? So so the building really represents that. It it is here to to ennoble and to say that this this was important. But I but I think the you said something which is so interesting to me because um it it is I think part of the design uh of this, which is okay, you come here and I'm I'm gonna check this out. Maybe you want to check it out because you don't like it and you want to be here to to criticize it and really see it up close and see what's up. But once you get here, you get enveloped by the place.

SPEAKER_03 24:34

100%.

SPEAKER_01 24:35

Right? And then, you know, all of these little surprising things are right around the corner. I I don't really, I can't really see what's over there, where that grass is and that hill. But it looks kind of I see the trees, it looks kind of beautiful, so let's walk over there. And so all of a sudden you're in this another beautiful, wooded, quiet, contemplative space. Wait a minute. What's that? Is that a playground? Those like that looks like a dragonfly. Let me let me see what's over there. And then as you walk, what? Oh, that's the gym. Let me see what's over there. But you can't see the wood wetland walk from the playground. And you can't see the library or the forum from the other side of the park.

SPEAKER_03 25:18

You focus right on what you have.

SPEAKER_01 25:20

You're you're where you are, so you can have a unique experience there. And so I kind of like this whole thing sign kind of wraps its arms around you. Even if you come because you know, you you find this thing arresting, it but it yeah, it's gonna get your attention. Yeah, it's gonna get you. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:36

My my favorite part is how we were it was the first time, first time that we walked on the eastern end of uh the campus, and it just flows right into Jackson Park, which I did not realize mostly because every time we visited, we just didn't make it that far east, or you know, it was still the fencing was still up. But it just you could walk straight onto MSI's you know the grounds, or you know, you could cross over to uh the island, or it's just it like it fits right in to the existing, and you you you saying that it's always been there like was so true because I I just stood there and I was like, this is it feels like the most beautiful I can't live anywhere else.

SPEAKER_01 26:18

That's what that's it, right? I can't live anywhere else.

SPEAKER_00 26:21

This is it has to be here.

SPEAKER_01 26:23

Well that that's that's that's why and how this at the end of the day is not about or for the Obama.

SPEAKER_00 26:30

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 26:32

You come here and you you know, maybe you think because of the conversation that we have um in this world and and how we're having it, that this you know has to be um about an individual or this has to be a monument to something. Right. But that that just isn't who they are, and that's not what they created. You can spend uh a you could come to this place, and many people will. I saw people walking and jogging here who are gonna be here every day. You can come to this place every day and not set foot in the museum, not ever see anything about the Obamas as individuals or as presidents, but what you will experience is their love for this city. Yeah, you know, you will experience how much they believe that beautiful spaces um, you know, my my wife says something that um that I now really believe, which is, you know, see beautiful, feel beautiful. And uh and I I just love the fact that um children from this community in this neighborhood are going to have access to these beautiful spaces because before this was here, you had to play Frogger across Cornell. Yeah, yeah. Even if you knew that there was a lagoon and an island back there. You know, people would go into the Museum of Science and Industry, they would drive into their basement and they would drive out. But you know, the Griffin Museum has created this campus with us, they've opened up the back into they're opening up the back into the lagoon, right? This is something that we now have opened up for people to experience what was already there.

SPEAKER_00 28:07

Okay, I'm curious. Is there gonna be snow like sledding in the winter on the hills? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 28:13

All right, I gotta tell you something very specific, okay, which is which is one of my favorite stories. So you know, we're in all these meetings about what you know they really want, and um the whole idea of creating some topography in a very flat city in a very flat land was great. And Mrs. Obama said that when she was a girl, she was always just jealous because there was never any place in her neighborhood to go sledding.

SPEAKER_00 28:39

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01 28:40

And she wanted a sledding hill.

SPEAKER_00 28:41

Wow, no way.

SPEAKER_01 28:42

So the literally the amphitheater, the lawn, yeah, is built to be a sledding hill in the winter.

SPEAKER_00 28:48

That's wow.

SPEAKER_01 28:49

Yeah, I'm so glad you picked up on that.

SPEAKER_00 28:51

Yeah. I saw it and I was like, oh, that would be a fun hill. Oh, it is.

SPEAKER_01 28:56

Yes, that is definitely a sledding hill. And uh, we'll see if it goes as fast as the slide.

SPEAKER_03 29:01

Because the slide, bro, let's have a conversation about the slide. Cooking sliding, I'm scared to go on it. Have you been on it? Nah. Oh my bit. He flew like three feet at least three feet in front of it. I was like, I came out, there was kids looking at me, like, what's wrong with that? I was like, man, man. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:19

Literally, the ground is so that we put all that cushioning there. Bro, I was like, man, it was skip rock. Yeah, now see if you were eight, you would have been straight. Couldn't have been up on that.

SPEAKER_03 29:30

I'm at 42, my tailbone is going out. I don't know. Like, man, it it is it's just a beautiful thing to see how much you know effort was put into the intentionality, not effort, intentionality that was put into these different aspects. I didn't even think about when you are in these different areas, you can't see something else. Because it's true. We've been there, and I'm like, man, you can't see it from over in. I'm just saying that. But now it's like it's intentional, right? They wanted you to be in the moment, right? Where you are. Yes. That's amazing. And and that, I'm so glad that we're here to get this messaging out, just for us selfishly, you know what I mean? Like, because like I I love the space, right? And there's these little details that just make it stand out. Like you said, this is not a typical presidential center, right? Obama is he is forever, and the Obamas are forever who they are, right? But they have given us something that is is literally gonna live on forever and and and is gonna be here forever.

SPEAKER_00 30:21

And and I almost see them as two separate uh people, you know, the the president and the first lady, and then them as civilians now, and like the things that they're doing in their community. I feel I you relate to them as like people that are doing things for their community that want to create spaces for people to come in, and they just feel uh accessible.

SPEAKER_01 30:41

That you know that is who they are. You know, I I met them in 1992 when I was 23 years old. Um they were engaged, so yeah, 90 91. And um 90. Anyway, I'm getting old. I was old. I was young. They were not as young as me. Uh I met them when they were engaged. And the thing that I admired about them then is that they wanted to use uh to quote um the king, LeBron James, their talents to make the world a better place in some way. And it wasn't about being we were no one was talking about being president of the United States then. They they were, you know, working as lawyers um and they first of all wanted to have a great marriage. Um and and my wife and I, we got married the same year they did. And so that that's that's what I admired. And and so what I always would tell people when I was um campaigning for them, him when he was running for president is you know, this is not about the presidency. His career, his life is not about the presidency. This is a unique opportunity for him to involve other people, to to give his best to his country to be able to play a specific role. But I think the role that they have now as as as citizens who have had the opportunity because they're reached where they were to give back, right? You know, you're president of the United States, somebody comes and is like, Well, what are you gonna do with your library? Like, oh that's an opportunity. Yeah, that's an opportunity. That's an opportunity to give back. And and to give in a way that connects to who they always have been, yeah. Um, is is exactly the uh truth in my view, in my long view, of of really who they are. I love that.

SPEAKER_03 32:47

Look, I that's amazing. Yeah, you know, I want to tell you, uh just wrap up here, man. But I want to tell you, man, flowers to you and the whole team, man. Because you you all have done such a great job of of making this an inviting place. The messaging is consistent, the the place is is exactly what you all wanted it to be, what the Obamas wanted it to be. And it just feels good to be on the South Side. Not gonna lie, man. It just this couldn't have been this could first of all, no, it couldn't. It couldn't have been anywhere other than Chicago, but it couldn't have been otherwise anywhere other than the South Side of Chicago. That's right. Exactly right. And it just feels good that we can say that and and and know what everybody knows we're talking about. You know what I mean? We we know we're talking about. Right. We don't have to say it. And and um, y'all have done a great job of of acknowledging what people like, what they don't like, and and and what is to come for the future, right? And where y'all are going, where you stand. So flowers to y'all, man. Thank you, man. Flowers to you.

SPEAKER_01 33:43

Yeah, well, we I voted, I I put one small vote in for Hawaii because nobody listened to me.

SPEAKER_00 33:50

You were trying to move the home. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 33:52

Because I was like, you know, make or go visit there for work. Yeah, right. Yeah. So no, it had to, it had to it had to be here.

SPEAKER_04 34:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:01

And I think the other thing that I love about what I've experienced thus far is what I've what I experienced, you know, in my um, in my grandparents' house over around 79th in King Drive. Both my both sets of grandparents live two blocks away from each other. And I would just say, when you go into their house, and I I see this out here thus far, you gotta act right. Yeah, man. You gotta act a certain way.

SPEAKER_03 34:24

Yeah, Auntie Jared already, uh she already talked about it. Yeah, she was talking about it. She got people. She put a whole thing out there for the yeah. Now I don't have to say anything.

SPEAKER_01 34:33

She's got them information. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. She let them know. So yeah, that that that's what we're experiencing too. And that that that part of um the South Side, which is this is yours. Yeah. And because it's yours, you you you need to be and act uh a particular way, right? Not just so that you're elevated in here, but so that this place stays elevated for your little cousins. Right. Right, right. You know, for the for the elderly that are here.

SPEAKER_03 34:59

Beyond you.

SPEAKER_01 35:00

Right. For those who are yet, those who are yet to come. That's that's a part of this too. So the fact that you are able to come here um and capture the heart of it and give it to people who may be thinking, you know, hey, I'm in Albany Park. Like, right, why am I coming to you know, Jackson Park for this?

SPEAKER_03 35:16

You need to be here.

SPEAKER_01 35:17

Doing that is just a gift to us. So thank you. I love that.

SPEAKER_03 35:21

Honestly, five years in the game. This is this is our mission to kind of show the introduce the world to Chicago.

SPEAKER_01 35:27

Yes, and Chicago to the world.

SPEAKER_03 35:29

On that note, y'all. Sprop, thank you, my man. Thank you. We really do appreciate that. Yes, much love.

SPEAKER_04 35:35

Grand Rapids Minnesota.

Chef Cliff Rome

SPEAKER_05 35:45

I'm from the north side of Pictonio, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:49

Yeah, look at that. I'm all in the house.

SPEAKER_03 35:52

I feel good in the saddle, man. Let's go. Let's go. Uh, well, chef uh Cliff Rome, y'all. If y'all don't know who it is, uh the uh head. Uh-oh. Head person here when it comes to the food, man. Man, how do you get it? It's man, it's it's incredible.

SPEAKER_00 36:07

Yeah, you know, it's a feeling before we start talking. I just want to tell you know, I'd let you know that peaches is one of our favorite breakfast spots. Say it. That peach coffee blows my mind every time. I'm like, how do they do it? I know they roast it especially for you, but it is like every time we go in there, I'm like, it feels like a neighborhood spot.

SPEAKER_03 36:28

We also ambassadors too, because we tell everybody you gotta get the peach and coffee. And I love it.

SPEAKER_02 36:34

We need one and gotta have it.

SPEAKER_03 36:35

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you know, peaches is one thing. Yeah, uh, this is another, you know.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

So I mean, you have a your your your statue resume is Oh man.

SPEAKER_02 36:45

I like that, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like to hear that. Yeah you know, because what happened was a long time ago, I I I started saying that, you know, I wanted to create multiple opportunities for us not to just employ people, but to be able to have careers. Right. So because having a job is one thing, right? Because it gets you from A to B. Yeah. But the idea was like get them from A to Z. Right. And that's a process. Yeah, yeah. And so a job can't do that. A career can help you with it tremendously. Right. And so that's been pretty much the mission that we've been on, figuring it out, right? And if I didn't have all the answers, which I didn't, I realized there's a there's a message in there when you said that uh there's an opportunity to partner with people who are smarter than you, bigger than you, right, you know, see more than you. Right. And it's okay. So I put my pride in my back pocket and you know, and said, You have to. Hey, let me go out and look at cats that I admire, yeah, see what they're doing, and see how partnerships can form.

SPEAKER_03 37:39

And that's man, that's how we got here. Yeah, that well, I mean, what happened? Obama said, Hey, man, I need a cook, I need a chef, I need some of the best. Chef, what you doing? Yeah, he hollered at me, right?

SPEAKER_02 37:49

Hey, hey, hit me, hit me up. What really happened was like, so we were over at the University of Chicago, and we uh we were already in partnership with uh Bone Appetite Management Company. Right. And at that point, they had the food management contract over at the University of Chicago. And so they brought us on campus because part of the goal was to make sure that they incorporated not just uh potential candidates for employment via this you know surrounding zip codes, but they wanted to have more in-depth relationships with uh smaller institutions in the community, right? Yeah people who had already been there. So we were afforded the opportunity, and once it came up, you know, we had been, I look back, man, it was five years, right? Right? It went by fast. Yeah. And then we kept in contact, obviously, after they um didn't uh renew their contract, and because we had such a great relationship, and this opportunity came up, because at first it wasn't even on my radar, right? Right? This is almost five years ago. Yeah, right. And so once um we got to a point where you know we started to have the conversation, Fidel, who is the owner of uh Bon Appetit, he was like, Hey Chef, I think this is a perfect opportunity for us to get our you know our moral compasses aligned, right? And I think the messaging that we have is exactly what OPC was looking for. Right. Right. So it was uh it was one of those perfect uh storms where you didn't have to make it up, right? Right. It was like, man, that's perfect. But just a lot, you didn't force it either, right? Because that was the thing, because I I said, you know, at the end of it, they're not from Chicago, right? Though they had a footprint in Chicago, they're California based. Right. I'm like, man, it's shot time. Yeah, right, right. So there's a different way legitimately on how you have to uh nurture those relationships. And so we're not coming in saying, hey, listen, if there's a portion on this contract, this should be divvied up and given to this person, and we just want them to have like, no, I can see through that. It needs to be a real relationship, right? So um I was courted, I felt like the prime bait, right? But BA and I started to talk more and more, and I was like, well, this is this is the most natural fit.

SPEAKER_04 39:58

Right.

SPEAKER_02 39:58

We didn't have to force it. We already know uh our you know um how to work together well. Yeah. And I think that this would be a great footprint for us to follow and then build on. And it happened.

SPEAKER_03 40:09

Man, that's just it's it's beautiful because you set it up. You set it up already. Uh you know, you gotta work with people bigger than you that don't know more than you, that's that's you know, doing things you're not doing. Right. And it just worked out for you that you you you took that advice and just y'all made something happen. Now, you being from Chicago, right? And know the land layer the land when Obama said they bring in a center here and they need some food, man. How do you even prepare to prepare item menus? I know they couldn't.

SPEAKER_00 40:39

We were here for one of the previews, and I remember you saying that like there was multiple trials of different dishes. Yeah. So I'm I'm so curious what that process was like. Like, how long did that take? How much input did they have?

SPEAKER_02 40:51

Oh man, imagine this over a course of three years, right? We just because first you had to develop it so you could show it, yeah, right. And that was part of the RFP process. Right. And it's really you're throwing a whole bunch of things against the wall, seeing what it'll stick. Yeah. And once you get to that phase, then it's the next phase of saying, okay, now we have it. Once we um when when we went in for the the actual bid process, you know, we really turned the parkway ballroom, which parkway social. I was in the midst of converting the space from the ballroom to parkway social. So it was a bunch of stuff everywhere. We just pipe and draped the middle of the actual ballroom and said, all right, we're gonna flip it so it'll look like OPC.

SPEAKER_05 41:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:30

So we created a cafe. Wow. Wow. We created a restaurant, and the original name that we had pitched for the restaurant was Meach. Right. So we found out that's what President Obama um finally calls Mrs. Obama. Yeah, Mech. And then um we had the stage set for like catering. So we had the cafe, we had the restaurant, we had uh other vendors set alongside. Wow. So when they came in, it felt like, wait, wait, where am I at? Right. Wow So you didn't even feel like you were in the ballroom.

SPEAKER_00 41:59

That just gave me goosebumps.

SPEAKER_02 42:00

Dress for the jobs that you want, not the job you have. That's right. Yeah, right. So once we flipped the script there and they saw everything that we were capable of doing, then it I I think, and I I don't know, but I think it made the process a little bit easier. Yeah, or at least started to narrow it down. Yeah. And so then we had to come back with some uh sharpen our pen a little bit, right? Um, and then uh or sharpen our pencil a little bit, but then we came back with uh some other concepts, and I think it was uh it aligned. Yeah. And once we got the green light, it was like go. It was like hurry up and wait. Right?

SPEAKER_03 42:35

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Man, that's crazy. That's amazing. I mean, because like really you to have that effort, it feels like that's what got you there, right? Like that's what that's what won you the job, right? Is the them seeing the effort that you put in. It's kind of like the the architects that that designed this whole place, you know, the concept of a campus. You know what I mean? Like that that helped them win. It's something that just stood out. That's you have a lot of businesses already, man. You you you you doing a lot of things. Is that something that's just that's just you, right? That's that's just you. You you take that not leap of faith, but you put in that extra, extra effort just to kind of get ahead first.

SPEAKER_02 43:13

100%, but it's a learned behavior. Yeah, right. Watching other people, um, watching mentor. Listen, I I I talked about this um last week. The power of uh partnership is crazy, right? And then just understanding mentorship, right? We need it, we also have to do it, right? And so it's been a part of the fabric that we've been weaving together, man. This I can't wait to see this blanket we're gonna be finished with, right? Because it it is it's really about understanding your limitations, but being uh adult enough, right, and professional enough to go out and seek the gap fillers that you need. And sometimes it's not a lot, right? Right? Sometimes you're right there and you don't know it. See, here's the thing about blessings, man you don't know when they're coming. Yeah, they're always coming, but you just don't know. Know when. There was a lot of luck in there, but it was a lot of preparation. It was a lot of preparation. Yeah. You know, so I I agree when folks say you you have to stay ready. Yeah. Because you never know when those opportunities are gonna come. Yeah. Because I'd imagine people apply from all over.

SPEAKER_05 44:19

Right.

SPEAKER_02 44:20

This is a major. And here's the other thing, man. We on the south side of Chicago. Yes, yes. Right? This is not downtown. This is not North Shore. Yeah. This is not the suburbs, the surrounding area. This is like middle of the city. Yeah, yeah. Right. South side. It's a big deal. Yes. It is a and it's an international stage. So we don't get the. I said this to some people. I said, listen, I don't know what you know, but I you're not gonna see this for another 50 years. At least. Yeah. Minimum. At least.

SPEAKER_03 44:51

Yeah, yeah. I mean, you you you're exactly right when you talk about like this is there's a new light cast on the South Side now, right? You know, it's not the South Side that you know in the media. Y'all can keep pushing that as long as you want to, but this oh that that's done. You know what I mean? Like that's done. Like we we got, and it's not just the Obama Center, right? Is that that's doing this, right? We already know the community out here is is is heavy and it's deep, man, right? But like now we got that spotlight where you can't just run up and start talking about talking crazy about us. Absolutely. You know, absolutely. Yeah, and summertime, shy, it's a different city.

SPEAKER_02 45:20

Come on now, it's a different city. Yes, right? Yes. And so I think that what happens, and a lot of times, um, we get a bad rap. South side, west side. We you know, the good news doesn't necessarily come from here. So I I am excited that and overjoyed that we're getting the type of recognition because the people who have been doing the work actually get a chance to participate. Right?

SPEAKER_00 45:43

And people have been doing the work for decades. Yes. It's not like this just started.

SPEAKER_02 45:47

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:48

Like this has been going on, like the the community has been showing up for its people for literal decades. I mean, we spent the last five years visiting every single neighborhood, and the story is the same in every single neighborhood where, yes, if there was like disinvestment from the city, it was the neighborhood showing up for its people. Right. And like that is true all over, but very much true. Like there's so much community strength and bond within the South and West Sides, like nowhere else.

SPEAKER_02 46:14

I mean, you could see it, you could feel it. You know, there's there's local stores and shops, you can taste it. Yeah, you can smell it. I mean, it's it's everything, it's all the senses. But to your point, it's been going on. Yeah, it's it's not just because the center is here that it's happening. No, it was already happening. It's been happening, right? And so now it's uh with this stage, with this uh opportunity, now we're we're able to showcase it. Right. And that's what's been missing. Yes, right. Legitimately it's been missing. I talk about it from a food perspective, and that's a small, you know, drop in a bucket compared to all the other things that we have. But specifically, we've never had a food thing this big in terms of platform. Right, right. Yeah, we James Beard Awards have been hosted here. Yeah, Chicago Gourmet, Illinois Restaurant Association does dope stuff. Yeah. The city with bringing back the uh taste of Chicago. There's plenty of festivals and things like that. So it, I mean, we we had great things happening. Yeah, but when we start to look at internationally and how Chicago is looked at from an international stage anyway, stop playing. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Stop playing.

SPEAKER_00 47:18

And and I want to talk specifically about the restaurant because the story behind the name is really special, and I want you to to kind of share that a little bit, and then we'll talk we'll talk a little bit more about the space because it is absolutely beautiful up there.

SPEAKER_02 47:30

Yeah, so Tefari's Kitchen um is is named after uh the chef who passed away, uh President Obama, the Obama family chef, he was at the uh White House, and then he was their personal chef. Um I think President Obama made several attempts to pay uh homage to um people who were very close to him. You know, so it it's definitely heartfelt. There's a there's a uh portrait of him in the restaurant, which is fabulous. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 48:00

So good.

SPEAKER_02 48:00

But I think that not just the name, but what it meant, right? The kitchen becomes this uh this loving space that we call a loving kitchen, right? And I think those opportunities to be able to talk about it and bring it to light and then showcase it, right? Is this reflective of you know how you feel about people and and what you want the significance of you know the homage to be? Yeah. Like because it's one thing to honor someone, but it's another thing to honor someone and tell a story and have that legacy be built and continue on. Yeah, right. Are are any of those dishes that he uh kind of like inspired by him or anything that he would prepare or so the the ribs on the menu, there's um there's some that we went through a bunch of things trying to figure out what part, and then he P44 said we don't have to do everything all at the same time. Right, right, right. Which be because I think that in part of the process in preparation, what you're thinking is like you have to throw everything out. Right. But it was really like, no, let's pace ourselves. Right? We're gonna be here for a minute. Yes, yeah, a long minute for a grip. Yeah, yeah. So the idea is like, okay, we don't have to overwhelm people because the idea isn't to impress them.

SPEAKER_04 49:13

Right. Right.

SPEAKER_02 49:14

The idea is to be consistent, right? Right. So I said perfect costs too much. Yeah right. So what people really want is consistency, yeah. And so um, and the and the president was very, very, very clear around having um food that was very approachable. Yeah, super.

SPEAKER_00 49:32

Everything on the menu is something I've had a version of before. Right, and it all sounds very familiar, very approachable. It's like the perfect like lunch spot, perfect dinner, you know what I mean? Like it's it's just a per like a meal that you can go and and it's a beautiful space, but you also feel like like you're having a nice meal, but it doesn't feel unapproachable. Right.

SPEAKER_02 49:52

Right. And that was important and and strategic because you know, this is a cultural institution, right? Part of walking away from here is feeling like you had a seat at the table. Yeah, yeah, right. Like legitimately, and it's not just this thing, because it could be like five-star dining, right? But it's not, right? Like it is, it is a very beautiful, incredibly beautiful space. Yeah. And the idea of the architectural design, what it means, you know, um, why it was built that way, um, you know, inviting people who sometimes might not even have an opportunity to go to spaces and places like that, right? Right. Right. But when you look at it, it's here and you can feel it and touch it.

SPEAKER_03 50:34

Yeah. I mean, what could what else could you ask for? Right, right. I mean, you you as I'm sure as a chef, you know what I mean? Like this is how do you Tefari had his legacy? Now, how do you say, all right, now this is this, or is it you saying this is my legacy now, uh, you know, in comparison with the in culmination of all your other works, right? Do you see that as I'm I'm taking a mantle now, right, from from him and he had the torch is passed?

SPEAKER_02 51:01

No, not necessarily, because that is a special moment, right? And and so it deserves a special place. Yeah. What I'm doing is is different, right? Our lane is really about um mentorship, right? And is really cultivating the crop of uh the next generation of leaders, yeah, right? And and every word of that. I'm not in the kitchen every day, right? Right. And that's the reality. Yeah, right. Our executive chef, our culinary director, Doran Payne, is man, he's ridiculous. Really? Like his knife skills, his culinary um just chops, he understands it. Yeah, right. And so, like, he is the the next, right? And in who he's bringing up, right? My job is to go out and help uh identify the talent, right, right, and then help mold and cultivate and mentor those folks.

SPEAKER_05 51:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:51

I know the homework assignment. Yeah, yeah. Right. You've been doing it. Right. Yeah, yeah. So I was writing a curriculum, right? So I get what it really should be. And listen, food service, culinary hospitality is a career path, right? It that landing spot does not have to be temporary. Right. There's so many different lanes. Yes. But here's what happens a lot of times, you know, someone comes to the door and they have a bag. No, no, everyone comes to the door with baggage. Yeah. The problem is you don't know what's in it.

SPEAKER_04 52:21

Right.

SPEAKER_02 52:22

So what happens more times than not, especially in communities that have been underserved, no matter where you are in the globe, if you don't have um the creative skills or the connectivity, then you miss it. Because what you really realize when you're working with people is that they need a long enough runway to fail. Yeah. You have to have that. Yes. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Right. And if you're dealing with people, then you know that there's a checklist of things that you have to hit. Yep. Right? That's automation. Can't, you know, you can't, no, it is a boom, boom, boom. You sometimes you gotta look a person in the eye. Did you over the glass?

unknown 52:59

Right?

SPEAKER_02 52:59

Did you do that? Right. Because we all know that look. Right, yeah, yeah. Like there's a well, how how you gonna substitute that?

SPEAKER_05 53:06

Yeah. You can't.

SPEAKER_02 53:08

And so part of it is me identifying that. And so um, in the role that I sit in now, it's the responsibility isn't just me in there cooking, like uh collecting accolades for, you know, hey, I made this dip. Right. I could proudly step aside knowing that I've already done the work. Yeah. Now I'm on another chapter of work, right? Which is is it's probably more important than the work that I've done. Probably a lot more. Yeah. Yeah, a lot more. So, you know, I I rest good at night knowing that, you know, I don't have to, you know, have my name next to all of these things because I know what is right next to my name. Right, right, right, right.

SPEAKER_00 53:45

And I I think there's so much more, obviously, like a feeling of accomplishment when you kind of have either mentored, passed down that knowledge, cultivated skills in 20 other people, than for you to infinitely like forever be in that kitchen at those dishes.

SPEAKER_02 54:02

Yeah, yeah. Listen, there's a time limit, man. Yeah, there's always an expiration day. We deal with items that are perishable, right? Yeah, in our industry, that is what you do. And so I think that a lot of times you have to recognize it's okay to step aside. Yeah, you know, and and more importantly, it's probably time that you do. Yes, right. Because maybe the calling isn't the kitchen, right? Maybe the calling is the overall thumbprint. Yes, yeah, right. And and so because I recognize that it is very easy for me to move around. Yeah. But then, you know, sometimes you gotta roll up the sleeve. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You gotta get 30 in cash, right? Like, man, I'm slick with it. That's the other part. They try you out here, huh? That's the eagle wood coming out. 57 bit, baby. Hey, that's fine.

SPEAKER_00 54:47

Um, and so I I did notice some things on the menu were kind of seasonal. There's like a seasonal salad. There's also obviously the fruit and vegetable garden. Uh, and I know it's very important to uh Michelle Obama and President Obama that uh, you know, food is served local, maybe locally, or uh what's in season, and uh you can see it in the cafe, even with like the snacks that are picked out, and like there's an abundance of like fruit options if it's not in season, it's like dried fruits and stuff like that. Um, I'm I'm so curious about like what's the relationship between the fruit and vegetable garden and the restaurant and maybe like the local farms. What is that gonna look like?

SPEAKER_02 55:25

Like the old two step, right? It's one, two. We are we're locked in step together. I am so excited. Uh, I was talking to Matt about programming, right? Man, we have we couldn't even we were finishing each other's sentences, man, because we are so excited for opportunities to be able to program around food and it it's um these activations that are gonna be um exciting to be a part of, but you know, we will get a chance to bring that international flair and flavor from a local perspective, yeah, right? Imagine being able to authentically bring uh the people who are creating these dishes from Pilson, yeah, right? Or Chinatown, or Little Italy, right? So clearly the South Side. Yes. But then include those farmers, those bakeries. I mean, we're doing um we have collaborations that we're gonna do, and we're bringing that product on on site from uh Chef Meyer, um Justice. Yeah, just the buys Stephanie over at you know Brown. Man, like those two alone, not only do I love them to life, yeah, right, but just the the the way that they have done and built. Monica over at Carver 47, my big sister. I mean, like, there's so many different things that we're looking to do. And so from a I mean, we would we could talk for hours and hours and still only fill up a little bit of space, right? Yeah when it comes to cuisine and and who it touches and how it makes people feel. Yeah. So just get excited about the programming that we're working on.

SPEAKER_03 56:57

Oh, I can't wait. I'm already excited, man, because like I've the reason why I'm excited is because you know the food's gonna be healthy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Michelle, she ain't gonna let you, yeah, she ain't gonna let you slide on that one. But also, is our foods that we're familiar with done in a way that's that's sustainable and is healthy for us? Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, you know, what was it? The is the chili, uh, her chili uh was is one that I saw where when I think of chili, man, that stuff gonna be salty, seasoned to the max, but this is like good.

SPEAKER_02 57:30

Yeah. Well, you know, here's the thing, man. In in certain communities, most communities, where where you there's a lot of substituting, and there's not a lot of uh exposure, right? Right, what we tend to do is what people were doing before that. Yeah. My mama made it like that, so that's how I'm gonna do it. My mama made it like that. Yeah, her daddy was in there doing it. Like, and so listen, I man, I talk about this all the time. When I was a kid, I would leave for school. My grandmother was picking greens and putting them on. Dude, when I came home from school, them greens were still on. I'm like, wait a minute. And so you used to think that you had to wait all day. I'm like, mama, yeah, it didn't take that long to cook greens. But I realized she was doing so many different things. It was on a low simmer. Yes, you can't burn them, yeah, right? Because that's eight. You burn them? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right. And it wasn't that you you were going to chip-fil-a for dinner, right? Like, nah, you eating this, right? And it's enough for two, three days, right? Yeah. So understanding that, I'm like, well, a lot of times you cooked all the nutrients out of the food. You didn't know it. It still tastes good to us, right? And then it was what they were adding in there, right? It wasn't, it wasn't smoked turkey. No, was definitely not smoked turkey. Stop. No, it was not, right? No. But it made the food taste good. And more importantly, I think that when you realize how uh engaged the the loved one was who was preparing the food, it made the food better. Right. Right. It made you always want to go. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 59:06

Right. Like, man. Who cooking? That's why we ask questions. Yeah. Who made the come on, man? Stop it. Who made the what? Who made the that?

SPEAKER_02 59:13

Who made the the always because you know what? It's your favorite auntie, your favorite uncle. Yeah, yeah. You're like, well, who pound cake is that? Yeah, yeah. Right? Because you know, you can have people. And the beautiful thing about food is it's the closest thing tied to music, um, memory outside of music. Right. Right? It'll take you back to a place. You have something good, your feet get to tap it. You'll be like, oh man, I remember. And that is the thing. Yeah. And that's the thing that you want to hold on to. Yeah. Because this, I don't care how horrible you feel. Yeah. That's why people say that I brought you this to feel so that you feel better. They know I'm about to win you back. Yeah. I'm about to win you back.

SPEAKER_03 59:51

That's what you do to me.

SPEAKER_00 59:53

Yeah. Correct. Anytime he's eating over a trash bin, I know I did my job correctly.

SPEAKER_03 59:58

Yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:00

He's not even sitting down.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:02

No. What on this on this menu, uh, what is something that you just personally you have an attachment to on the menu? Is this something that you just like, man, I love this because of XYZ? Or it's just good. No, it's you know what?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:17

I it like there's not one thing, right? Because what we did was we create, it's clearly it wasn't just me, it was a team of us, right? And I want to always give like respect to the whole team. Yeah. Um, but we did a lot of stuff, yeah, right? Yeah. But it was really, it really came down to what the president wanted. Right. What he saw. Yeah. Right. He was like, no, this, no, that. He curated the whole thing. He got a list, too. No, I tell people, like, I have the notes. Yeah. I kept the notes. Yeah, you gotta keep them not. Frame them. Yeah. But but like he was going, like, uh, yeah, it should be a little more cheesier. It should be like he was really so it wasn't someone else just saying, oh, he doesn't like that.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:58

He was like, Yeah, it was and he was taking, he was taking notes. Like, what about you? Did you like that? Was it was it too salty? Was it crispy enough? Like, wow, you don't have that. And I and I try to, so if a person looks at it and says, Oh, it doesn't give you a culinary child, it's not about me. Right. Right, right. Like, are you kidding me? It's about the person who's gonna come here, who's come here from I don't know where, right? Whether it was down the street or across the pond. Yeah, right. They're coming here, man. And it's not, again, I'm not here for four stars, four or five stars. It's not about me. Right. It's literally about the institution and all the messaging in there.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:35

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:36

So when you come, it's supposed to make you feel a particular way. And here's the other thing, too. It's a place where there's a lot of people. Yeah, right. Right? So if you come, I'll tell you, hey, don't come here and don't come with an attitude. Especially this weekend.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:52

Hey, look. Yeah. Hey, look, uh, Auntie uh Valerie Jarrett, she done already uh put the PSA out there. Don't come here with that mess. No, no time. No time.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:02

Because listen, everyone wants, look, if you feel it somewhere and you're saying, hey, listen, I'm here and I'm doing this and I'm and you're excited, somewhere in another state at a different time, someone else is saying the same thing. Yes. So it just happens to be that you meet here at the same time. Yeah. Right. And it's gonna, it's gonna be a wait. So you might as well get to know your neighbor. Right. Yeah, yeah. And understand that this is part of the appreciation of it. Because if you know what, and here's the other side. If you could come right in and you didn't have to wait in line, and and there was nobody else in here, you say, Oh, wow. Yeah, what happened? Right, right. Right? Right. You wouldn't a thousand percent people would say, Oh my God, I guess it ain't what it's scrapped up to game, right? Yes, yes. But if it's a little bit of a wait, yeah, come on, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:50

Okay, I mean, I think I hang out here. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:52

I mean, because you have to you have to just put it in in perspective. That's a good point. You don't, you, you're coming here for something. Yes, and anything, anything worth having is worth the wait, right? Come on, man. I know it used it. Come on, man. I know it. You know it. So it's like quit playing. Quit playing, quit plan. Right. And that that's it, because we're loving on people when they come through. Yes, man. I'm smiling and saying good morning, good afternoon to people. And they're they're oh my gosh, right? Yeah. Because that is the spirit of the space. Right, right. We didn't we're not pretending.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:25

No. Like, I've said this to every every person that sat down at this table. The one standout thing for me has been how welcoming and nice every single person we've talked to that's on staff. Everybody, yeah. That's whether they're the person greeting you walking in, whether they're walking around with the like, how can I help you sign, if it's a historian, who and literally anyone has just been, uh do you need anything? How are you? How are you doing? Is everything okay? Like just walking, walking by. And I feel like it's just such a testament to the space, to the foundation, to everyone that works here, to like the I mean, everything. Everybody, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:02

Everybody here. No, it's it's the culture.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:04

Yeah. I mean you can't fake that.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:07

No, you're you can't fake that. You can't fake it you could we could all see through fake, right? That fake smile, you're like, why are you fake smile at me? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You don't really rock with me. No. The fact that he sat and he talked to all the staff, yeah, right, and he was very intentional and always is when he could he said, hey, you guys are gonna be the ones here. Yeah. So you have to make sure that you hold um everybody, each other first, accountable, right? And then set the tone. Yeah. Because it doesn't matter where you came from. Right, right. The fact is you're here. You're here now, right? And so make us proud. And he said it, it's not about him. Right, right, right. This space is not about it's built by him, yeah. Right, right. But the idea is that it's for people to enjoy. Yeah, right. So whether yesterday on the campus, just seeing all these kids running around families, man, like rolling down the hill on the like man, just it was it was so cool.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:00

It's crazy to see uh you're 100% spot on with the uh camaraderie from people all over the country. We we put a post out yesterday, and this I have to make a post. I told Sarah was like, man, look, we met people from Honolulu, San Francisco, Atlanta, Savannah, Twin Cities, yeah, Grand Rapids. All these people are here together, right? You know what I mean? Like, and I almost feel like the end game of when you are here, like when it's all said and done, like anything you eat, right? And you know, and and so the process doesn't stop. You know what I mean? Like that happiness and that that uh energy that you get from this don't stop at the when you get to the dinner table, when you get to the lunch table, right? You you still going, right? Like, and that's it's just very good to hear you say, you know, these things and like the passion that you have around it. Yeah, it's just it's just beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:45

No, it's I mean, it's important, man, because this is part of the messaging. I said this in an interview um with the CBS. Uh like I get a chance to be the narrator. Yes, and I love that part. Yes. Because I don't want someone else telling my story. This is my story. It belongs to me. But you're gonna get it in such a visceral way that it is very um you can feel the connectivity. Yes. Because it's very natural. And that's the part of a progression, or that's the part of success that that most people don't get a chance to talk about. Because those are removed from spaces where you're you know where there's potential for success. And and it looks different for everyone. So I wanted to be very clear, like, no man, this we're intentional about this. This is not, hey, you know, for a clip. No, this is how we move. Right. And so if we're doing that in spaces, I want, you know, I want it to be felt, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:06:41

What is you know, you got somebody coming here first time, like most of us gonna be. What do you want it to say to that person that's coming to sit down at Tavar Eye's kitchen?

SPEAKER_02 1:06:53

That that seat it was saved for them. Right? That's intentional.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:58

It is. It's really about, you know what? Sometimes in settings, man, we could be real, like, you know, not real shady, right? Because we don't want to talk. We like just but this is like, man, you don't know who first of all, you don't know who you're gonna be sitting next to. Well, we say that all the time. You don't know who you're talking to. You have zero idea. Part of the goal of being in the center and feeling all the emotions that you feel, because you cannot tell me that you don't walk in these halls on this campus and don't feel a certain way. You can't say that. You because if you do, you front. You lie, you lie, you lie, you lie, you lie. Period. Period. So I think that the the idea of it being around food is the fellowship part.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:41

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:41

Tables, man, tables are like pillars, they're cornerstones in community. If you remove that table, literally, yeah, from communities, you get what you got. Yeah, yeah. So just imagine this communal, even if it's not communal, but this setting where it is kind of tight knit and you are kind of shoulder to shoulder, you're rubbing elbows with folks maybe that you've never met. Probably. There's a higher perception. Very good chance that you've never met.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:09

And so why not why not enjoy that experience over breaking bread? Because listen, breaking bread has been since the beginning of time. I mean, they that that's innate. It's like you, you just that's in you. Come on, man. What are we doing? So if you if you if you're gonna be able to do that, you wanna you wanna break bread with people that are interesting, yes, right? And why I don't know you where you from? Yes, right? Oh, you from the city, what side of town are you? Because you know in Chicago, we have just where you from, where you stay.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:39

Yeah, where you stay.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:39

What high school you go to?

SPEAKER_03 1:08:41

Man, look, we know all the questions.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:43

What's the best arrow? What's the best? Yeah, it's like, but it's that's part of the conversation. Yeah, and for from a you know, from a person that's here versus a person that came from someplace else, it's interesting. Yes, right. And and what I want to also say is that the local community benefits from that tremendously, right? Because if a person's here for the weekend, you're not just gonna stay here, right? Though you need more than one day on the campus. You need more than two. Yeah, more than two. Yes, absolutely. You need a weekend for sure. You really do. But while you're here, explore. Yes, right? Explore the south side. Part of the idea of having Peaches be where it is, right, on the corner of 47 and King Drive, it's steeped in historical data. Oh, right. Super. Right. And so when you think about Checkerboard Lounge, you know, all the celebrities that were there, you know, entertainers, educators from Langston Hughes to Ida B. Wells, you know, a lot of those folks, um, they they tip their hat and man, they partied all night long at the Parkway Ballroom, at our space, right? And so having that as a as a salute or an homage to those giants in our community is important. So you need to be in Bronzeville to see Joe Lewis's house, to come to the Parkway ballroom, to eat at Peaches, it becomes a through line to the culture that we're experiencing today. Stop by President Obama's house, have breakfast at Peach's, stop by President Obama's house, go through High Park, right, explore South Shore, Woodline Kim, with all the areas, right? And then come here on campus and enjoy all that. And by that time, you'd have worked up another appetite, and you're hungry. So you're hungry. We got you. Right? We got you. Hey, buy you some merch. Yeah, you man, look. Come on, man. Come on, everything in them pockets.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:26

Boy, let me I won't hit nothing else. Obama, you good for with me. I you got my money. I want it all, right? Look, man, we started our uh tour. We had a tour a couple weeks ago, uh, and we started at Peaches.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:37

Uh just so we went to uh Plunk uh gallery. Oh, see, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:41

So we so we we were all up and down there, man. Look, I just want to say, man, I we've been telling everybody here, honestly, just thank y'all for representing you not just representing you know Obama Foundation, you represent the South Side.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:53

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:54

You know, you maybe more than others, you know what I mean? Like, uh, you know, in a sense of you more outward out there, right? You know what I mean? People know you, man. So I all y'all equally thank you for just you know creating this environment that is the Obama Presidential Center and the energy that is is top to bottom. You know what I mean? Like it's it's literally the same message. I don't know how y'all did this. Y'all, y'all SOP. Y'all Yeah, I don't know who rocked up. Obama got y'all under the look. Man, y'all, y'all all rock the same message, and it and it's it's true. It ain't even like a fake message, it's it's the real thing. Like you said, it's authentic.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:29

It's authentic fake. Authentic, you can't like it's hard to pull it off. Yeah, right, because it's it feels forced, man. And this isn't forced.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:37

Ain't no such thing as uh halfway crooks. Man, we tend toes down. We tend toes down. Hey, that's our slogan right here. All we gotta do is mondize, and uh, it's it's gonna be all good. It's all good. My brother Chef, uh, many more to you blessings, man. Uh, on this, we're gonna be. This is I think our fifth time here already. So

Closing

SPEAKER_03 1:11:58

we so far this has been in the house uh two. So and it feels like that. So it should, man. Man, the door's always open. Yeah, well, we're gonna be here. No spectrum. Knock on your office door. Wait, wait, what should I feel? He said what he said was I'm gonna clip this and keep it in my phone. We're posting this on social media. There you go. There you go. Keep on doing what you're doing, man, and and cultivating that next wave, man.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:22

Yeah, man. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. Absolutely. All right.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:34

Oh my god, that was so so good. Yeah. I could have talked to each one of them for like two hours. Fantastic. Incredible. Yeah. Such a such a cool insight into kind of the behind the scenes of everything that's happening. Um, I I feel like just getting to talk to them one-on-one and and seeing how you know they the messaging is like so consistent across all of them. It's like hard to fake that.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:01

Yeah, it's it's it's super hard to fake. Yeah. It's hard to fake. And honestly, the it's it's more than a training, it's a lifestyle. Right. You know what I'm saying? It's not just it's a culture. It's a culture. Just like uh what Valerie said, 17,000 applications, and you you pick a hundred and seventy something like that, right? You you're not just uh that's not that's a cult, that's a culture. That's that's what's in people, you know what I'm saying? Like you looking for what's in people, right? Yeah, uh, but uh man, it's it just so so good to hear, you know, how they feel about the space and how they feel about the Obamas, how they feel about uh the South side, the journey.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:36

Yeah, yeah. And and you know, so many have been with the Obamas for so long, you know, that it's like you they really know them.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:44

They really know.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:45

And yeah, I mean, what an honor to like bring that vision to life. I feel like I'm so grateful we got to experience it on such a historic weekend.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:53

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:54

Obviously, I will say, like, even if you weren't able to make it here this weekend, you gotta get out here. You this is definitely a place that you should plan to visit. If you're from Chicago and you know you want to avoid the qu crowds, maybe wait another week. But I mean it's a week? No, but I mean, like, it's not gonna be thousands of people every day from the week. We don't know.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:14

I I don't know. I'm betting that it might be.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:17

I'm betting that it's I think the programming in like the plaza is not as as packed and stuff like that. So like you can come and walk the campus. Like, obviously, we know the museum is sold out, but you can come and like walk the campus and experience that anytime soon, all over the summer. There's pro tons of programming happening. So there's a lot of opportunities for people to come and experience it. And I think it is like one of those quintessential Chicago experiences now. Right. Yeah. Uh it's like you you can't come to Chicago and you can't be in Chicago without having been here.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:46

Man, that's that's a that's the truest words ever said. Honestly. Navy Pier, Bean, Sears Tower, uh OPC. OPC. You know, and and uh uh the Hancock. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:56

I feel like if you've seen art, if you want to see art, if you want to see pro uh, you know, sp special programming, if you want to experience beautiful architecture, if you want to be in nature, if you have kids, if you want to play sports, like shoot, if you just want to feel good, yeah, like it is a place that hits so many different marks. If you want to eat good food, like there's so many different things for you to experience here. And we've been here a few times now and we still haven't experienced it all.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:23

So I feel like there's just you know, I I I I'm just so proud of it being in our city, and I'm so proud of it being you know, so like right in the in the south side and right and on such a historic part of the uh of uh of Stony Island. I I just feel like it's it's um yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:42

It's amazing. Yeah, honestly, uh I've been talking for hours.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:44

So the words are escaping.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:46

Yeah, yeah, the words words are just leaving. Uh I will say, um, first time recording in the studio in five years.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:52

I mean, you tell me, does it sound different on your end? Uh you know, if you've if you've been here for a while, you know that we record all over the city. Yeah. Our thing is the city is our studio, so wherever we go, wherever there's a story, we put up our stuff and we record. And so I'm curious if you hear a difference because here's the thing the studio is open to the public. All you have to do is reserve it and you can use it. And so if you think we sound better in the studio, I will reserve this every week and we will be in here recording. Right, right. The padding on the wall is sick. Yeah, the pet, yeah, yeah, it's like it's like I'm sitting, like there's not a single echo.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:26

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah, this is this is beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:29

Arguably, they bought the best of the best.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:31

Yeah, right, right. You know, we were uh as we were sitting here, um, guitars over guns, uh, you know, add to uh family friend of ours, of mine. Uh I've known them since kindergarten, his brother since kindergarten. So I used to feed him chocolate milk. Yeah, I'm sure he didn't want to hear that, but uh it's it's it's it's really cool. He's right across the way with his students. Uh he helped design. This is what he was saying. He helped design it. So, you know, for me personally, you know, when we asked the question uh a couple days ago, we said, what does this mean to me? Look, the ties to the South Side are super deep, man. That's that's a buddy of mine that I known since childhood. We lived literally a block over from each other. He helped design this. Here we are sitting in here recording a podcast. That's what this Obama presidential center is about. And uh, you know, you see yourself in this. You see yourself in here. And I mean, to be honest with you, you've been in this. Like, if if you know, metaphorically, you've been here already, right? You know what I mean? Like, and that's the beautiful thing about this.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:28

Uh and especially I think like the every time every time we go into a room or a space, and I'm like, I'm not even thinking about like how can I relate to this because you know it that happens organically. But like yesterday we were at the uh fruit and vegetable garden and we saw Malcolm from Urban Growers Collective, and we hadn't seen him in so long, but he was one of our first interviews that we did. Four years, five five years ago, four years ago. Five years ago, and we sat down with him and then see you know, co-CEO of Urban Growers, and we had a huge conversation, and he was in an entirely different role, and now he's in a like he's had multiple different promotions, and he was just like so excited to see us. I was so excited to see him, and to think that like every single aspect of the center feels like a hand of of our life has touched when we walked through the museum. We went with one of our friends who worked on the campaign, and that was so cool to see to experience it with someone that was there in 2007, 2000, you know, just on the trail and that was door knocking, and and he was like, I have some of this memorabilia in my house still. Like I I I was there, I experienced it. And so it is like just so mind-blowing, and it feels so approachable and relatable. I feel like I've said that a million times. You don't need to hear me say it anymore. That's the truth, though. That's the truth. That's the truth of it.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:44

Yeah, uh, we before we get out of here, uh, special thank you to the Obama Presidential Center for having us out here uh to record on the first opening weekend. Uh just an absolute honor and uh and for everyone giving us their time.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:58

Yes, yes, obviously for Megan all in and Megan for helping organize the whole thing. Yes. I mean, the studio is beautiful. I will be back here anytime they want me to be here.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:08

Right, we'll be back. This is now your podcast. Hey, man, look um, but uh on that note, we gotta we gotta get out of here, don't we? Yeah, yeah, we got it.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:18

So uh I hope you enjoyed this episode. It was different for us. We're excited to be part of history this time. Uh, if you did enjoy it, please share it with someone you love. And if you did not, that's all right. Come back next week. We'll have something different.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:29

Okay, okay, customer. The bar is high.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:31

The by his heart high. I don't know what else you want me to do. Uh juggle. Juggle some apples next time. Figure it out. Peace.