Episode 114 · Bill Chino · April 20, 2026
Bill Chino sits down with Scott Hammond to talk through a long Arcata run in restaurants, bars, and old-town buildings, from The Far Side Cafe and Abruzzi to the newly reopened Plaza Grill. Along the way he tells the story of coming west from Long Island by way of the Appalachian Trail, why he stayed in Humboldt after arriving sight unseen in 1979, and how he thinks about hospitality as service, community, and simply giving people a good place to gather.
Watch the conversation
What this episode covers
- Bill’s path from Brooklyn and Long Island to Humboldt State after hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine.
- How The Far Side Cafe led into Abruzzi, and how those early restaurant years took shape in Arcata.
- Why Plaza Grill reopened with a smaller menu, counter service, lower overhead, and a focus on keeping prices more manageable.
- The role the Jacoby Storehouse has played as a gathering place in Arcata, from Rotary meetings to dinners across three generations.
- How The Basement is being run as a broad, all-ages music room with jazz, bluegrass, DJs, burlesque, and a strong emphasis on safety.
- Bill’s reflections on COVID meal boxes, community support, old setbacks like costly ADA litigation, and what it means to be remembered as someone who served people well.
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Transcript
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Scott Hammond: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends and neighbors, and all those out at sea, Scott Hammond with the 100% Humboldt Podcast. I had to think about which one this was. With my new best friend, Bill Chino.
Scott Hammond: Hi, Bill.
Bill Chino: Hi. Hi, Scott. How are you?
Scott Hammond: How's that for an intro?
Bill Chino: I don't think I'm your new best friend. I think we've been friends for over four decades.
Scott Hammond: That's right. We were just talking about that.
Bill Chino: Yes.
Scott Hammond: We figure '85, '86.
Bill Chino: '85, '86.
Scott Hammond: Wow. You guys had a… Was Abruzzi open then, or was it still-
Bill Chino: Abruzzi opened in '88. May of '88.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: But I think you and I crossed paths when I had The Far Side Cafe.
Scott Hammond: Yes, you did, yeah.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Was that after, uh, uh, Bret Harte's and downstairs?
Bill Chino: Um, Abruzzi was after Bret Harte's.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Bill Chino: The, The Far Side was in between those years. Bret Harte's was in around-
Scott Hammond: That's right
Bill Chino: … '77, '78.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Bill Chino: And we opened The Far Side in 1985.
Scott Hammond: We meaning you and Chris?
Bill Chino: Me and Chris Smith, yes.
Scott Hammond: So did you guys have that prior to running Abruzzi or, uh, Youngberg's?
Bill Chino: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Or being involved in-
Bill Chino: Um, I actually was the first owner of that location. I had an Antonio's Take N' Bake.
Scott Hammond: Yes.
Bill Chino: I bought their franchise, if you will.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Um, months later, that was going okay at best. Uh, Chris was looking to do something. Chris and I were buddies at the time.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: And he bought into my, um, subchapter S corporation. He bought half.
Scott Hammond: Uh-huh.
Bill Chino: And then over the course of the next few months, uh, due to a weird incident, we opened up The Far Side Cafe.
Scott Hammond: I remember that. That's in North Town where the, uh, whatever it is, Roberto?
Bill Chino: Yeah, exactly.
Scott Hammond: Where 7,000 things have been.
Bill Chino: And it… I think it used to be… I think its most famous location, I think, was Jill's Drive-In.
Scott Hammond: Boy, that's-
Bill Chino: Which I think was in the '50s or '60s.
Scott Hammond: That's going way back.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I remember it as, uh, Philly Cheesesteak.
Bill Chino: Right.
Scott Hammond: Uh, something else.
Bill Chino: Philly Cheesesteak was at, well, way after me.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: It's been a couple different things.
Bill Chino: Yeah, and then we, um, while we were operating The Far Side in Arcata, we opened two in Eureka.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: And then, um, Brazard Company was looking for a tenant in the old Bergie's location, which-
Scott Hammond: This is Cam, Cam Appleton.
Bill Chino: That was Cam Appleton and-
Scott Hammond: Hey, Cam.
Bill Chino: Yeah. Hi, Cam. How are you? Uh, and that's when it became Abruzzi in 1988.
Scott Hammond: How about that?
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So you guys, you guys kicked it off.
Bill Chino: Uh, we kicked it off. Um, Cam gave us a sweetheart
Bill Chino: deal.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, basically, they were looking for a tenant.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Chris had managed Bergie's previously. They were familiar with him.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Bill Chino: They were not familiar with me. I was new to the business.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Um, we got an invitation we could not refuse.
Scott Hammond: So sold Far Side or just divested and-
Bill Chino: Uh, I actually sold Far Side to my sister-in-law.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Bill Chino: Yes.
Scott Hammond: How, how long did, did that last?
Bill Chino: Uh, she opened a place called Rita Murphy's. It was a secondary job for her.
Scott Hammond: I remember that.
Bill Chino: But that lasted several years as well.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Boy, the restaurant business, what a trippy-
Scott Hammond: … deal. You used to doing it.
Bill Chino: I don't, I don't recommend it.
Scott Hammond: Not for the faint of heart, folks.
Bill Chino: No, it's not. It's a, um, it's a lot of hours. It's, uh, obviously, it's up and down.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, you're working on a very, very tight margin.
Scott Hammond: All the time.
Bill Chino: All the time. So you, uh, you need to work on volume, obviously, which is not easy in a small town or, uh, any area with a small population.
Scott Hammond: Or in a big one. So being in the restaurant business, let's go, let's go way back. We'll come forward into that again. Tell us the, uh, Bill Chino story. Uh, where are you from? Where were you raised? What's your, what's your deal?
Bill Chino: What's my deal?
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Uh, born in Brooklyn.
Scott Hammond: That's right. You're a back east type.
Bill Chino: I'm a back east guy.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, raised out on Long Island, on the South Shore of Long Island by the famous Jones Beach.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, left, uh, Long Island when I was 18 to go to college in Fredonia, New York.
Scott Hammond: I don't know where.
Bill Chino: Which is-
Scott Hammond: Is that upstate?
Bill Chino: … west of Buffalo.
Scott Hammond: Is it upstate?
Bill Chino: It's upstate.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Um-
Scott Hammond: Fredonia.
Bill Chino: Fredonia.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
Bill Chino: Uh, famous from the Marx Brothers movie, Hail Fredonia.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
Bill Chino: And, um-
Scott Hammond: Okay
Bill Chino: … spent a couple years there. I found myself, uh, in 1979 in Georgia and walked all the way to Maine on the Appalachian Trail.
Scott Hammond: Oh, that's cool.
Bill Chino: Which was-
Scott Hammond: My wife Joanie's gonna love this podcast.
Bill Chino: Yeah. Okay.
Scott Hammond: She's a hiker.
Bill Chino: Well, she's gonna love this.
Scott Hammond: She'll probably love talking to you about that when we come and eat at your new
Scott Hammond: restaurant-
Bill Chino: Yes
Scott Hammond: … you're gonna talk about.
Bill Chino: So, um, I fin- I finished the trail, and at the time I had applied to many different universities out west.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Um, Humboldt State started the latest out of all of those universities-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … or colleges. So I chose Humboldt-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Bill Chino: … because I needed time to finish the trail.
Scott Hammond: Wow. How many miles, uh, was that trail?
Bill Chino: Uh, about 2,100.
Scott Hammond: Crazy.
Bill Chino: But I would imagine with all the time, if you count the times I got lost, I probably walked over 3,000 miles.
Scott Hammond: Cool.
Scott Hammond: Figure.
Bill Chino: And all… And, and walking in and out of towns to resupply-
Scott Hammond: Right
Bill Chino: … and do things as such.
Bill Chino: Um, so I found myself in Arcata-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … sight unseen. Uh, prior to that, I'd only been, uh, west of the Mississippi
Bill Chino: once.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Bill Chino: I'd been to Colorado.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Bill Chino: So I literally showed up in Arcata late at night, sight unseen.
Scott Hammond: Ready and enrolled at Humboldt.
Bill Chino: I was enrolled, had no place to live. Um, I did find a place
Bill Chino: eventually.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Um, and I've never left.
Scott Hammond: How many years-
Bill Chino: Been here since 1979
Scott Hammond: … did you… I've talked to several people that just arrived here at midnight
Scott Hammond: with-
Bill Chino: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … nothing. Just-
Bill Chino: I-
Scott Hammond: I got off the Greyhound or I'm in my van.
Bill Chino: Exactly.
Scott Hammond: My Volkswagen van.
Bill Chino: Exactly.
Scott Hammond: And I had nothing. I knew no one, and here I am.
Bill Chino: Yeah. Uh, well, I knew one person.
Bill Chino: Uh-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Bill Chino: … she was not here yet. She actually had hiked the trail with me. Um, she got to Arcata about two weeks after me.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
Bill Chino: Um, so I knew one person when I, when I came here.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: And like I said, I fell in love with it, and, um, I think this is the final spot for me.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Bill Chino: I don't plan on going anywhere.
Scott Hammond: How many years ago is this? '79?
Bill Chino: I moved in '79, yeah.
Scott Hammond: '79. Yeah, I came in '78.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, stayed. Never left.
Bill Chino: Yeah. And raised the k- raised the family here.
Scott Hammond: You could do a lot worse than Humboldt.
Bill Chino: You could do a lot worse.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: And I, I've been fortunate enough to travel-I don't wanna say all over the world, but extensively-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … and I can't wait to get back here.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. And the air quality-
Bill Chino: I've always felt that way
Scott Hammond: … and the air quality is number one in the world.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Um, I can't wait till you use my new prop, so here it-
Bill Chino: You're gonna shine that on my head?
Scott Hammond: No. It's, it's… The guy that… Toby, my guest for last week, gave this to me today for lunch. He goes-
Bill Chino: Which Toby?
Scott Hammond: Toby, um, To- Toby Tullis.
Bill Chino: To- Oh, yeah.
Scott Hammond: From Cam.
Bill Chino: Yes.
Scott Hammond: He goes-
Bill Chino: Toby, Toby, um-
Scott Hammond: In the morning
Bill Chino: … opened up The Basement for me.
Scott Hammond: Yes, he did.
Bill Chino: Oh, that's right.
Scott Hammond: He goes, "You guys have a connection," that's right.
Bill Chino: Yeah, we definitely have a connection.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, I said, "Bill's my guest."
Bill Chino: He's a good man.
Scott Hammond: He goes, he goes, "Don't burn his eye out with it."
Bill Chino: No, he's a good man.
Scott Hammond: Don't burn his eye… So this is where Arcata is, right here. The, this is Eureka.
Bill Chino: Uh-
Scott Hammond: Then Arcata's right here in the North Bay.
Bill Chino: Right.
Scott Hammond: And then you go north here to Oregon, as you guys back east say.
Bill Chino: Ri- right. That's right.
Scott Hammond: And then we- east to, uh, Redding, and eventually Black Rock Desert, Nevada.
Bill Chino: I'm, I'm glad you have that light. I can see the map.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: I mean, just the map.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, and then this is-
Bill Chino: The detail's fuzzy
Scott Hammond: … this is McKinleyville, where I live.
Bill Chino: I-
Scott Hammond: And there's Bill's house out there by Ben Hurd.
Bill Chino: That is it. Right. How'd you know that?
Scott Hammond: What a great guy.
Scott Hammond: Ben, yeah.
Bill Chino: How'd you know I live up there?
Scott Hammond: Kind of… Well, like, I di- I don't know. Just kinda knew. I don't know. I think I saw you once up there, we waved or-
Bill Chino: Or maybe we talked about it
Scott Hammond: … could have, yeah.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: What a great man he-
Bill Chino: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … was. We did trees for 42 years.
Bill Chino: Oh, it's a great spot up there.
Scott Hammond: Christmas tree man.
Bill Chino: We used to do, or they used to do I should say, when my ki- when children were younger, on Halloween they did, they came with a big trailer with hay on it, and would pick up all the neighborhood children-
Scott Hammond: That's cool
Bill Chino: … and bring them from house to house. So it was just that group, 'cause we're sort of, sort of isolated up there.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Bill Chino: So each house got all 40 kids at one time.
Scott Hammond: At one time.
Bill Chino: And then we would go to there to the Hurds-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … and we'd have a bonfire all night.
Scott Hammond: That's pretty cool.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, gonna miss that guy. He's legend.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. So you were, uh, raised in New York, New York guy.
Bill Chino: Correct.
Scott Hammond: And you went to JC up in F- Ferdonia?
Bill Chino: Ferdonia. University of New York.
Scott Hammond: Is it V or F?
Scott Hammond: Fer?
Bill Chino: Uh, V.
Scott Hammond: V is-
Bill Chino: No, F, excuse me. F.
Scott Hammond: F as in Ferdonia.
Bill Chino: Ferdonia.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Bill Chino: F-R-E.
Scott Hammond: Okay, so is that a JC, or is that two years of just-
Bill Chino: That's a, that's a four-year college.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So you came back west. So you walked the trail.
Bill Chino: Correct.
Scott Hammond: That's cool.
Bill Chino: Went to Humboldt.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Did you do another four-year program or…?
Bill Chino: Uh, I was in and out. I- … I don't know how many, uh-
Scott Hammond: I bet you were
Bill Chino: … I don't know how many units I have.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: I never graduated.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: If I remember correctly, I was think, I think I was one class short of graduation.
Scott Hammond: Like most successful entrepreneurs are.
Bill Chino: I never got around to it.
Scott Hammond: I haven't done it yet.
Bill Chino: Never got to it.
Scott Hammond: A couple units.
Bill Chino: And I don't plan on going back, but…
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: That's cool.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So what'd you study?
Bill Chino: I was heavy into the sciences.
Scott Hammond: Oh, wow.
Bill Chino: Lots of science, lots of biology.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: I, I think, if memory serves me correctly, uh, it was probably gonna be wildlife biology at one point.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Then I studied a little bit about small business administration, and then literally just fell into the restaurant business.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Bill Chino: Never being a busboy, never a waiter, uh, never a bartender. I became the owner.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: You know?
Scott Hammond: You just-
Bill Chino: Which is kinda sh- which was kinda strange. And I was young at the time. So, uh, Curly, for instance, Curly Tate-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … one of my employees was-
Scott Hammond: Hey Cur- hey, Curly
Bill Chino: … was… Hi, Curly, hope you're well.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: I think Curly was probably 20 years older than I-
Scott Hammond: Right
Bill Chino: … at the time, and there I was, his boss, with zero
Bill Chino: experience.
Scott Hammond: Telling Curly what to do.
Bill Chino: Telling Curly what to do.
Scott Hammond: He was probably mellow. He's probably-
Bill Chino: He was mellow, but, you know, obviously what he forgot I'll never know.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: And he could run circles around me, but we got along fine and became, um, fast friends for life.
Scott Hammond: Now, he's a partner too, at, with, at Tux?
Bill Chino: Uh, Curly was never a partner.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: The only partner in Tux was Chris. Chris was my only partner.
Scott Hammond: You and Chris.
Bill Chino: Yeah. We were it.
Scott Hammond: And, and you bought it from Tony Tuck.
Bill Chino: I bought it from Tony Tuck, and, uh, Richard Dreiling I think his family was.
Scott Hammond: Dreiling. I don't know if those guys are still alive. They're all Gospel Outreach guys from Eureka.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Yeah. I, I, I mean, I lost touch with them many, many years ago.
Scott Hammond: Ron Peledgy knew those guys real well.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Hey, Ron.
Bill Chino: Oh, exactly.
Scott Hammond: Hey, Ron. What's up?
Bill Chino: How's Ron doing, by the way?
Scott Hammond: Ron is doing good. He had a little, uh, uh, ding on his leg, but I think he's gonna
Scott Hammond: be okay.
Bill Chino: Oh. I haven't… So hello, Ron. I haven't seen you in years. I hope to see you again.
Scott Hammond: I wanna bring Ron up for dinner.
Bill Chino: Yeah, please do.
Scott Hammond: Hear that, Ron?
Bill Chino: I'd love to see him.
Scott Hammond: He'll watch this too. He'll be like-
Bill Chino: Yeah, it's been years
Scott Hammond: … he'll take you up on it.
Bill Chino: It's been years.
Scott Hammond: Oh, he would love to see you.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Oh, he's, he's, um, uh, his other partner used to call him the travel agent-
Bill Chino: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … 'cause he loves to eat-
Bill Chino: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … uh, to travel and-
Bill Chino: I know
Scott Hammond: … the fine things that he's-
Bill Chino: We did, we did many caterings together
Scott Hammond: … he's an Italian from Philly.
Bill Chino: Yep.
Scott Hammond: So what are you gonna say?
Bill Chino: He's a good man, I-
Scott Hammond: Yeah, what are you gonna do about that? Anyway, pardon me one second while I, uh-
Bill Chino: I'll just admire your shirt while you're busy.
Scott Hammond: Are you, are you noticing my shirt here?
Bill Chino: I love it.
Scott Hammond: My phone never goes off until I get into the podcast booth.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Well, it's not me calling you. I'll tell you that.
Scott Hammond: Wait, you noticed my shirt?
Bill Chino: I didn't notice.
Scott Hammond: That's weird.
Bill Chino: How could I not?
Scott Hammond: I, I don't know. I just… This little thing?
Bill Chino: My eyes aren't that good, but they're- … they're good enough to see that shirt.
Scott Hammond: But they're burning right now a lot.
Bill Chino: Well, I… If you open that vest a little more, they'll really start burning.
Scott Hammond: Oh, there. Like a little bit like that.
Bill Chino: There you go. It's a, it's a fabulous shirt.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, I was, uh… I don't know. I just reached into the closet today, Bill. I, you know. But-
Bill Chino: Eyes open or eyes closed?
Scott Hammond: Yes.
Bill Chino: Yes.
Scott Hammond: So I, uh, I'd probably wear this to the Plaza Grill.
Bill Chino: I, uh-
Scott Hammond: Is the, the, probably the ticket.
Scott Hammond: So-
Bill Chino: I think you should
Scott Hammond: … so you-
Bill Chino: I can guarantee you I will not have on the same shirt.
Scott Hammond: So you, you and Chris, and I'll never forget going upstairs to the-
Bill Chino: To the office?
Scott Hammond: … the world headquarters.
Bill Chino: Yep.
Scott Hammond: And, and Curly, and it was like fricking Marx
Scott Hammond: Brothers-
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: … Three Stooges, um, Dumb and Dumber.
Bill Chino: Right.
Scott Hammond: All of it. And it was like, I, I just standing there as a vendor, and you guys are very welcoming, very kind. And it was just like, I was just peeing my pants it was so funny, just-
Bill Chino: Oh
Scott Hammond: … you guys were j- and for no real business reason, just going nuts.
Bill Chino: No. Well, and I think you were a victim of good cop, bad cop quite often.
Scott Hammond: Probably.
Bill Chino: Chris would be on one side, I'd be on the other.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: I can't remember exactly.
Scott Hammond: What are you doing here? Why are you here?
Bill Chino: Well, yeah, exactly. He, he would-
Scott Hammond: Selling advertising
Bill Chino: … he would give you a hard time. You're going constantly-
Scott Hammond: That's okay. Maybe we'll look at something.
Bill Chino: You… I mean, I think… I don't remember exactly. I think in the beginning-I think before we signed any contracts with you, it might have been a
Bill Chino: year, you came back, you always came back, and then once we started do- doing business-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … we never really stopped.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I think that's true.
Bill Chino: But it did take a while to-
Scott Hammond: It's pretty tenacious
Bill Chino: … get your foot in the door. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: You were extremely tenacious.
Scott Hammond: Well, that's … Y- when you feed nine kids, you gotta- There's no choice, bro.
Bill Chino: But, but you did … I, I, I remember-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Bill Chino: … you did have a good time in the office, and you always were laughing.
Scott Hammond: Oh, I l- I would leave-
Bill Chino: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … just chuckling.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: It was so funny. The, um-
Bill Chino: It was a zany office.
Scott Hammond: It was zany, and you had that one gal. It was, uh, Dave, uh, what's-his-name's daughter, uh, the Mormon guy from McKinleyville.
Bill Chino: Oh, Danika.
Scott Hammond: Danika. She was cool.
Bill Chino: Danika. Yeah, she was great.
Scott Hammond: Is she still around?
Bill Chino: Danika is still around. She is a nurse.
Scott Hammond: How about that? Hi, Danika.
Bill Chino: Yeah. And she's doing, uh, she's doing great. Uh, she's had a fabulous life.
Scott Hammond: Oh, she was w- she was… She's your main audience that was usually there in
Scott Hammond: attendance.
Bill Chino: Uh, she was definitely the main audience.
Scott Hammond: She was.
Bill Chino: And our most regular audience.
Scott Hammond: The paid help. That was part of her pay.
Bill Chino: Exactly. Well, no, she, um, she kept Chris in check and kept our office running smoothly-
Scott Hammond: Nice
Bill Chino: … uh, while we were up to the rest of the-
Scott Hammond: Nice
Bill Chino: … shenanigans.
Scott Hammond: And then Curly, just a side note on him, he was a Jazzercise instructor for years.
Bill Chino: Yes. For years.
Scott Hammond: You know, m- man in tights.
Bill Chino: Yes.
Scott Hammond: And wore them, wore them well.
Bill Chino: Oh, he wore them very well.
Scott Hammond: And the guy, the guy was yoked, and he was an Adonis.
Bill Chino: Yes.
Scott Hammond: And he's 80. It's like-
Bill Chino: He was also, if I remember correctly, and I don't know the
Bill Chino: year, Curly was also, as a young, I wanna say, boy, possibly adolescent, um, an underwear model for Sears.
Scott Hammond: Is that right?
Bill Chino: Yes.
Scott Hammond: For who?
Bill Chino: For Sears Roebuck.
Scott Hammond: Sears? O- okay. Like Kramer on Seinfeld.
Bill Chino: Like Kramer, exactly.
Scott Hammond: That's so funny.
Bill Chino: So I, I heard that directly from Curly, so I'm assuming it's the truth.
Scott Hammond: Was he an athlete, too? Did he swim? Was he… I thought I heard he had s-
Bill Chino: I don't know. You would think so.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: He was… He had that athletic build.
Bill Chino: Uh-
Scott Hammond: But he was very kind to all-
Bill Chino: He was in great shape
Scott Hammond: … all the gals in, in Jazzercise.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: He just, he was iconic.
Bill Chino: Yeah. And Curly, no one still knows how old Curly would be currently. No one really knew his
Bill Chino: age.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: But I think when Curly was doing Jazzercise, he was well into his 70s.
Scott Hammond: Easy, yeah.
Bill Chino: Easy into his 70s.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: And I think it continued into his early 80s.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Jody and the gal, they adored him, and-
Bill Chino: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … the kids would… Yeah, they would go all the time and-
Bill Chino: Yeah, great guy. Uh, great stories.
Scott Hammond: Sweet, sweet man.
Bill Chino: Great laugh. Um, we had, um, we had Friday night dinners together all the time, uh, he, myself, and
Bill Chino: Chris.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: And they were just hysterical episodes.
Scott Hammond: I bet.
Bill Chino: Curly's laughter was he'd always be holding his heart as if it was too much for him.
Scott Hammond: He's gonna, he's gonna have a heart attack.
Bill Chino: That, that's what it looked like, and just cackling and laughing.
Bill Chino: It w- it-
Scott Hammond: That's funny
Bill Chino: … they were fabulous.
Scott Hammond: I love that. S- so do you go back to the Vance Log Cabin and all their-
Bill Chino: I-
Scott Hammond: … their shenanigans in Old Town?
Bill Chino: I never… No, that was, uh, Chris and Curly's venture. Um, that was their first venture in California.
Scott Hammond: So did they own a r- a restaurant or did they…
Scott Hammond: A bar?
Bill Chino: Uh, they owned the, the Vance Log Cabin, uh, both he and Chris.
Scott Hammond: Which, which was really legendary.
Bill Chino: Yeah, it was a, it was a, a bar with, you know, darts. They had pool tables.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, there was music all the time. It was a music venue.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: And, um, they wanted to keep operating that, but I, if I remember the story correctly, I think their rent got tripled or quadrupled.
Scott Hammond: Just gone.
Bill Chino: And that was the end of them.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: And then Chris, of course, um, Chris knew Curly from Chicago.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Bill Chino: Uh, they worked for a guy named Richie Millman.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Bill Chino: And they, uh, Chris brought Curly into Abruzzi.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Bill Chino: Curly was sort of the first guy in.
Scott Hammond: Gotcha.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, and I remember, um, yeah, Paul Demark was here. He was talking back in the day, Old Town had music six, five, six nights
Scott Hammond: a week.
Bill Chino: Old Town was vibrant.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. You could go in Bar & Grill and see-
Bill Chino: Yep
Scott Hammond: … uh, you know, what's-his-name and the other guy.
Bill Chino: Uh, Curtis Salgado and Robert Cray.
Scott Hammond: Cray. I was gonna go-
Bill Chino: Robert Cray
Scott Hammond: … Robert Cray.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: He played there a lot.
Bill Chino: And I, once again, if my memory serves me correctly, I believe Chris gave Robert Cray his first job in Humboldt
Bill Chino: County.
Scott Hammond: How about that?
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Lined him up for a concert.
Bill Chino: Lined him up.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: And then, you know, Taj Mahal used to play down in-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Bill Chino: … uh, Bret Harte's.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Bill Chino: So there was quite a few, uh, quite a bit of talent passing through the area, and, uh, Eureka and Arcata together were quite vibrant.
Bill Chino: I-
Scott Hammond: So Steve, Steve Young was Bret Harte's, right?
Scott Hammond: In-
Bill Chino: Uh-
Scott Hammond: And, uh, and-
Bill Chino: John Young and Steve Berg-
Scott Hammond: Steve Berg, okay, gotcha
Bill Chino: … were Bret Harte's, and-
Scott Hammond: And he-
Bill Chino: Actually, I'm not sure about that. I think Steve was Bret Harte's, and then he and John collaborated to make Youngberg's.
Scott Hammond: Which is more upsc- was an up-
Bill Chino: That was-
Scott Hammond: It was upscale
Bill Chino: … it was, it was upscale, and it was the third floor of the Jacoby Storehouse.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, newly refurbished, just a gorgeous-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Bill Chino: … gorgeous floor plan, and they were sort of the fern bar restaurant, the first one north of San Francisco.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Something that looked like that.
Scott Hammond: Delicious food.
Bill Chino: Especially looking that good, yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: I mean, they were the, they were top shelf at the time.
Scott Hammond: Wait, perfect segue.
Bill Chino: Perfect segue.
Scott Hammond: Plaza, Plaza Grill reopening. If you're just joining me, it's, uh, Scott Hammond with 100% Humboldt with my super old best friend.
Bill Chino: Former. Former.
Scott Hammond: We'll see.
Bill Chino: Not former, currently.
Scott Hammond: Cur- current best friend, uh, Butch Gino. Um, so I understand Plaza Grill, uh, in Arcata on the third floor of the Jacoby Storehouse opened again last night for the first time.
Bill Chino: Which, uh, last night was our-
Scott Hammond: Re- reopened.
Bill Chino: Reopened. Um, last night was-
Scott Hammond: Tell us all about it
Bill Chino: … opening night. Uh, uh, we're operating under a different
Bill Chino: format now.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Um, it's not sit-down service. We have two owners operating under the same roof.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, I own the bar.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: And former employees of mine are running the kitchen as a separate entity.
Scott Hammond: Very nice.
Bill Chino: So it's counter service. We'll call it counter service.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: You have to get up from your table. You're seated by a host.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: You get up, you buy your food at one location through a cashier.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: And then you go to your b- go to the bar if you wanna buy a beverage of any type.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, it went very well last night.
Bill Chino: Um, I didn't seat as heavily as, as I might normally.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: But, uh, it was vibrant. People seemed extremely happy to be back.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Um, uh, it was very lively. Uh, it was well-received. Uh, people seemed, um, to be willing to entertain this-
Scott Hammond: Nice
Bill Chino: … this new way we're doing business.
Scott Hammond: Old faces, new faces?
Bill Chino: Uh, definitely old faces.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Good.
Bill Chino: Um, a few new, but I would say more old. Um, what we're trying to do, the concept is we're keeping our overhead low.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Smaller menu, less food waste.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Bill Chino: Uh, fewer employees.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: And we're trying to pass the savings along to the customer.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Uh, my firm belief is that, excuse me, it's too expensive to go out to dinner. It's crazy expensive-
Scott Hammond: Oh my gosh
Bill Chino: … right now.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: And we are trying to offer people a break.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: I-
Scott Hammond: I saw that in the menu. I, I-
Bill Chino: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … I go, "How are these guys gonna make money?"
Bill Chino: Yeah, well, we hope to work on volume. Um, essentially if the community supports us and we can do our job properly-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … um, we will support them.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: We're in it all together, and I-
Scott Hammond: Nice
Bill Chino: … I think from what I saw last night, uh, I think we've got a, a very good shot of, um, succeeding.
Scott Hammond: Nice. And perfect timing too.
Bill Chino: Yeah, I hope so. People e- It's naturally… The building itself and that floor is very inviting. It's very warm. It's got a beautiful bar. It's got Humphrey Bogart's fireplace.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Um, people are comfortable there. I've served three generations-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Bill Chino: … of folks there, and I… It's the, to me, in my mind, it's the logical meeting place for our community. I, I'm talking about Arcata in
Bill Chino: general.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Bill Chino: We've got the Rotary groups there.
Bill Chino: We do-
Scott Hammond: Right. You got two clubs, right?
Bill Chino: Yeah, catered events, two clubs.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: So to me, it's the perfect spot, and we are-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Bill Chino: … getting that response.
Scott Hammond: Beautiful.
Bill Chino: And I hope it stays this way.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Shout out to Rotary.
Bill Chino: Yeah. Shout out to Rotary. Both Rotaries, actually.
Scott Hammond: So you… Do you feed the Rotary guys, or is that your…
Scott Hammond: Do you-
Bill Chino: Uh, right now, we, we had for years. We're just providing them the space-
Scott Hammond: Gotcha
Bill Chino: … to meet, and then they are, they are using an outside caterer.
Scott Hammond: Gotcha. Gotcha. Yeah, great, great.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Couple of really active clubs.
Bill Chino: But it's nice to have them there. We've– I've watched different people come in and out of the Rotary, and, uh, they are all, um, very fine folks.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Rotary's cool.
Bill Chino: Yeah. They do a lot of good work.
Scott Hammond: Not, not all Rotarians.
Bill Chino: You're not gonna name anybody, are you?
Scott Hammond: There are exceptions to the, to every rule.
Bill Chino: Well, I don't, I don't know any of them.
Scott Hammond: And your bar, your bar is all Wallace & Hines, right?
Bill Chino: Uh, the-
Scott Hammond: Or is that Abruzzi?
Bill Chino: Uh, no, the– Both bars are Wallace & Hines. The one in Plaza Grill was Wallace & Hines' first bar ever built.
Bill Chino: The one in-
Scott Hammond: Sure, number one
Bill Chino: … number one.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Bill Chino: Number two resides down in what is now The Basement, formerly Abruzzi was number two.
Scott Hammond: Let's talk about The Basement. I, I know it's, uh… Well, you talk about it.
Bill Chino: Um.
Scott Hammond: It's, it's, it's mu- a music venue primarily and a bar, right?
Bill Chino: It's, it's a music venue. Um, it's going very well.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: We are serving a wide demographic.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, I say 21 to 71 on any given night.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Bill Chino: Um, we… The music is varied. Uh, we've got jazz. We've got bluegrass, um, rock and roll, um-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … uh, DJs, burlesque. We've got a little bit of everything.
Scott Hammond: What's the capacity?
Bill Chino: Um, the capacity, uh, it depends on the night. I would say comfortably we can get up to 200 people.
Scott Hammond: Ooh.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Bill Chino: That's more of a standing crowd-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Bill Chino: … and a dancing crowd.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: If we have the swing dancers in, um, a few less people. They require a little more space.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Bill Chino: But, um, everybody is getting along in that venue. We've got the young kids getting along with the middle-aged kids-
Scott Hammond: Nice
Bill Chino: … getting along with the older kids.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Um, my firm belief is that the younger kids behave better when the older kids are in the room.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Uh, we don't have any, uh, we don't have any issues. Uh, we run a, um, what I like to call a, a tight,
Bill Chino: classy ship.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Bill Chino: I, I want people to feel safe.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Bill Chino: Um, and so far-
Scott Hammond: Beautiful
Bill Chino: … it has been happening.
Scott Hammond: That's great. I know Claire Bent plays a lot.
Bill Chino: Claire plays quite a bit, and she-
Scott Hammond: Different bands
Bill Chino: … um, she continually packs the house.
Scott Hammond: Speaking of classy.
Bill Chino: Speaking of classy.
Scott Hammond: Hi, Claire. And hi, hi, Chris Smith.
Bill Chino: Hi, hi, Chris Smith, and Claire, we'll be seeing you at the end of the month again,
Bill Chino: of course.
Scott Hammond: She's playing again. Okay, good.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I, um, it, it's funny 'cause it, the show started, you know, really late, like 8:00.
Bill Chino: Right.
Scott Hammond: It's like-
Bill Chino: Well…
Scott Hammond: It's like, "Okay, we're gonna stay out late tonight, Joanie."
Bill Chino: Right. Well, hence the demographic I mentioned. We do have a wide demographic.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: But the folks my age, 9:00, 9:30 is a little too late for them. However, that middle demographic, that 25 to 45-
Scott Hammond: They're just getting started
Bill Chino: … they're just getting started at 10:00, 10:30, quarter of 11:00.
Scott Hammond: Oh, they want to go to 3:00.
Bill Chino: Yeah, and then the younger kids are 11:00, 11:15, and we do close early. We don't do the 3:00 game. We're pretty much done by midnight, 12:30 the latest.
Scott Hammond: Uh-huh.
Bill Chino: And we send that crowd off to other places.
Scott Hammond: Have, has any bands like stayed and just jammed for, like overtime?
Bill Chino: Um, they haven't yet. Um, mainly we're paying them. It's, there's, they're under contract. It's usually a certain time they're playing till.
Scott Hammond: And then they come and then they go, yeah.
Bill Chino: Yeah, and then our employees, you know, they wanna work to whatever their required time is. So if it's 12:30-
Scott Hammond: There's a lot. Yeah
Bill Chino: … uh, you know, to, to, to basically respect them, we try to keep it close to that.
Scott Hammond: Makes sense, yeah.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: They wanna go home.
Bill Chino: Exactly. It's been a-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Bill Chino: … it's a long shift.
Scott Hammond: Fair. Yeah.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I feel bad that I haven't, uh, been to the venue, but now, uh, I'm coming to
Scott Hammond: two venues.
Bill Chino: Well, uh, well, you should come-
Scott Hammond: Hear that, Joanie?
Bill Chino: Yeah, you should come to the venue, um, Saturday. The Undercovers are playing.
Scott Hammond: That's your… Is that-
Bill Chino: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … your kickoff thing?
Bill Chino: No, that's for, uh, The Basement.
Scott Hammond: That's for The Basement.
Bill Chino: This coming Saturday.
Scott Hammond: This Saturday.
Bill Chino: Uh, there is no kickoff for Plaza Grill-
Scott Hammond: Okay
Bill Chino: … other than just a, a quasi soft opening.
Scott Hammond: Gotcha. Undercovers are great.
Bill Chino: Yeah. So this Saturday, should you get a chance.
Scott Hammond: What time are they kicking it?
Bill Chino: And I'll, uh, I'll waive your cover charge.
Scott Hammond: You will? Okay, cool.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Wow.Hey
Bill Chino: You just saved 10 bucks.
Scott Hammond: You, you, you might just win a prize today.
Bill Chino: Right.
Scott Hammond: We'll see how you do on your quiz. So, so, uh, so, so hard stop, uh, I wanna ask you some questions about Humboldt.
Bill Chino: Okay.
Scott Hammond: What your… I don't know, your perspective. So, uh, I'll, I'll start with the hard questions, and we haven't even gotten to the quiz yet, so.
Bill Chino: Sure. I-
Scott Hammond: Uh, who, who is-
Bill Chino: Bring it on
Scott Hammond: … Bill Chino and, and what does he want?
Bill Chino: Um, I want exactly what I'm doing.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Bill Chino: I've achieved it.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Yeah, I, I… There was no, um, uh, there was no goal in mind, but I'm very happy where I've ended up.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Bill Chino: Yeah, I'm-
Scott Hammond: Not a lot of people could say that, Bill.
Bill Chino: I'm-
Scott Hammond: It's wonderful.
Bill Chino: Yeah, I'm 100% pleased.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. That's cool.
Bill Chino: Yeah. Love, love my job, love my family.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Um, uh, easy, I was just, uh, talking before, uh, I can't wait to get to work in the morning-
Scott Hammond: That's cool
Bill Chino: … 41 years later.
Scott Hammond: Wow. Up at 5:30 at work?
Bill Chino: Well, not at work yet. At, uh- I hit work around 8:00.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Um, but I, I wake up, I'm energized.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: I, I've got plenty to do.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: It's varied. Uh, it's a social job. Um, I'm very fortunate. I can't wait-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Bill Chino: … to get to work.
Scott Hammond: That's cool.
Bill Chino: I- it's odd. But, yeah.
Scott Hammond: Find a job you love, you'll never have to work another day.
Bill Chino: Yeah, I, I think so, and I, I've been fortunate.
Bill Chino: I,
Bill Chino: uh, it, it was a job I never thought I would have.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Bill Chino: But I fell into it, and it, it has worked out perfectly.
Scott Hammond: Counterintuitive.
Bill Chino: Yeah, you know, enough to raise the family on. I'm comfortable financially.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Uh, all good.
Scott Hammond: I love it.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Well, let's see what AI has to say about you-
Bill Chino: Oh, boy.
Scott Hammond: … Mr. Chino. This just in from AI.
Bill Chino: I… Now, I, I don't do AI, so this is gonna be interesting.
Scott Hammond: Let's see, let's see if this tracks or not.
Bill Chino: All right.
Scott Hammond: Um, Bill Chino, Arcata's culinary entrepreneur shaping Humboldt's dining scene. Woo. I like that.
Bill Chino: Aw. It's grandiose.
Scott Hammond: You know, uh, bring… It is. It's a little big. But, hey, it's okay. These are fun because they… Sometimes, you know, AI takes LSD.
Bill Chino: Right.
Scott Hammond: And it gets interesting.
Bill Chino: Right. Well, let's see what happens here.
Scott Hammond: You grew up on a-
Bill Chino: You're only, you're-
Scott Hammond: You grew up on a farm in Tennessee
Bill Chino: … you're only on the first sentence.
Scott Hammond: That's true.
Scott Hammond: Um, let's see. So left a distinctive mark, um, entrepreneur, restaurateur, uh, driving force behind some of Arcata's most beloved establishments, Plaza Grill, Abruzzi, um, deep passion for food service and community. I think… We haven't said community a lot, but I think I've heard you imply this is a commun- community deal-
Bill Chino: No question about it
Scott Hammond: … all through and through. Yeah.
Bill Chino: That's what it's all about.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: That's, it's… That's it. That's, that, that's, that hits the head of the nail right there.
Scott Hammond: Cultivated a welcoming atmosphere where casual meets refined. Does that mean I can wear my shirt in the restaurant or the bar?
Bill Chino: Uh, if it's late at night and I'm… the lights are low, yes. Even if it's early at night and the lights are low, yes.
Scott Hammond: Okay, good.
Scott Hammond: Okay. Um, let's see. Jaco- You, you still own Jacoby Storehouse?
Bill Chino: Yes.
Scott Hammond: That's cool. You bought it from Ca- the Appletons.
Bill Chino: We bought it from the Appletons.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Um-
Scott Hammond: Nice family.
Bill Chino: Yeah. And Chris was an owner as well.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Um, Doralee, his wife, is still an owner.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, one of our owners had passed away, and then, uh, we have a third owner as well.
Scott Hammond: Just a quick second, I think his, um, memorial was outstanding.
Bill Chino: Oh, thank you.
Scott Hammond: I think, yeah.
Bill Chino: Yeah, it was… Uh, I thought it was great.
Bill Chino: It was a-
Scott Hammond: So many faces there
Bill Chino: … it was a… Yeah, it was a great send-off for Chris.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, 270 people attended.
Scott Hammond: Beautiful.
Bill Chino: Um, I, I, I hope and I think everybody had a good time.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: It… I thought it was a really nice farewell.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: And I think Chris would've loved it himself.
Scott Hammond: Oh, it was, it was well done.
Bill Chino: It was sort of choreographed with that in mind.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Yeah, it was… It, and it had, um, it had joy.
Bill Chino: Well, thank you. That was the intent.
Scott Hammond: What sets Bill Chino apart is just… not just his ability to successfully run a business, but his dedication to the community that supports him.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Scott Hammond: I-
Bill Chino: Well, that's very kind.
Scott Hammond: I, I hear, I hear that. Yeah. Um, let's see. Maintaining multiple enterprises simultaneously. I guess that's true as a landlord, right?
Bill Chino: That's true.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: And we had the, the three restaurants running, running at one time for quite a
Bill Chino: few years.
Scott Hammond: Accolades from local food critics. Is, has that been true over the years?
Bill Chino: Uh, I don't know.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: I, I don't, I, I don't spend any time on social media. That would be currently.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Bill Chino: Um, uh, I really don't know. I mean, we have gotten, both Chris and myself, have gotten many wonderful cards over the years-
Scott Hammond: I bet
Bill Chino: … and thankful, you know, thank, um, thank you notes and all that. But, uh, direct accolades, sometimes maybe.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I'm sure best of Humboldt somewhere is up there.
Bill Chino: Yeah, yeah. We had won the best of this and the best of that a few times.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, I like it.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I remember the pasta primavera being really good at Abruzzi.
Bill Chino: Yeah. The chicken friscasse.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Bill Chino: The carbonara. I can name them all.
Scott Hammond: Oh, do- oh, they're so good.
Bill Chino: And some of those could possibly reappear on the new or in the new Plaza Grill-
Scott Hammond: Whoa
Bill Chino: … uh, in our rotating seasonal menu.
Scott Hammond: Beautiful.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So tonight's special-
Bill Chino: We are bringing back all the favorites.
Scott Hammond: Cool.
Bill Chino: A few things at a time, keeping the menu small and concise.
Scott Hammond: Love it. You heard it here fol- first, folks.
Bill Chino: You did hear it here.
Scott Hammond: Scoop Hammond.
Bill Chino: Scoop.
Scott Hammond: Spirit of resilience and creativity that defines Humboldt County's small business community. I like it. A- and the hustle that I saw during COVID when you were… You still served-
Bill Chino: Oh, the COVID boxes?
Scott Hammond: The COVID boxes. You were serving… And it's like, okay, cool.
Bill Chino: The, the $10 boxes, um-
Scott Hammond: Bottle of wine
Bill Chino: … I think bottle of wine was also 10.
Bill Chino: Um, I, I, I really enjoyed that. I, I think it's a great business model. The fact that people did not have to get out of their car.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Um, so whether you have two young children in the backseat that you don't have to take out of the car-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … walk into the restaurant, walk back, strap back in the car.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Um, p- raining, cats and dogs outside, all you had to do was open your window and we handed you your hot food.
Scott Hammond: It's great, man.
Bill Chino: The bus- the business model is fabulous.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: And it is going to be revisited uh, with the new Plaza Grill staff
Scott Hammond: Get out of town.
Bill Chino: They're going to do… Now, it's not gonna be in the parking lot.
Scott Hammond: No.
Bill Chino: You'll have to come into the building-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … to pick it up, but you will pre-order-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … on your phone or computer.
Scott Hammond: Perfect.
Bill Chino: You can pre-pay, and there'll be absolutely no wait. You will arrive between 4:00 and 5:00 and handed your meal.
Scott Hammond: Perfect.
Bill Chino: And the, the only wait will be if there's a person in front of you.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: It will be instantaneous.
Scott Hammond: Do I understand you're gonna use the, uh, app for the, um, Get Seated? What's it called? The dining app?
Bill Chino: Uh, we're using OpenTable.
Scott Hammond: OpenTable. Great.
Bill Chino: And I'm learning about it. It's, um, it's the algorithms offer all the things that-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … are c- in my head-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Bill Chino: … that I've been doing for years.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: What it, uh, w- I'm learning about it, and actually some of my staff will deal with it because I'm not computer savvy.
Bill Chino: Um-
Scott Hammond: Those young people.
Bill Chino: They're young people.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: And I understand it. It's a little informal for me. What the algorithms don't do is they don't necessarily allow you to make last-minute split decisions.
Scott Hammond: Ah.
Bill Chino: In other words, when I was hosting in the restaurant, if I noticed you had a hearing aid and the room was loud, I was putting you to a different table. I was putting you to the best table I could possibly give you.
Scott Hammond: This won't allow for that as much.
Bill Chino: Yeah. I think people can change their profiles, but it's not instantaneous
Bill Chino: enough.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: So there's no better way than the way I used to do it.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Bill Chino: But I'm trying to-
Scott Hammond: Good
Bill Chino: … embrace this new technology. I'm, I'm the Rip Van Winkle of the restaurant business.
Scott Hammond: I see that, yeah.
Bill Chino: I, I woke up-
Scott Hammond: But you look great
Bill Chino: … to a new world. Well, thank you.
Scott Hammond: You look great, Rip.
Bill Chino: Not bad for 153.
Scott Hammond: You look great. I feel great, too.
Bill Chino: I do feel great.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, no, good. I- And I think, um, that ability to pivot-
Bill Chino: Right
Scott Hammond: … probably defines a good, well-run establishment and a, and a mater d' and an entrepreneur and an
Scott Hammond: owner to go-
Bill Chino: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … "Hey, why don't you guys sit over here?"
Bill Chino: Yeah, exactly.
Scott Hammond: You know, uh, you know, I don't have any– I have the bar. You know, whatever that decision is.
Bill Chino: Right.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Yeah. I mean, I think the boxes during COVID, uh, uh, Chris and I have always thought long term.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: You know, we, we weren't in the business for five years. We were thinking 50 years.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: You know, obviously he didn't make it. I might make it. We'll see. But we always thought long term, and-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Bill Chino: … when COVID hit, I thought, "You know, how can I help?"
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Bill Chino: Things are tight. People don't have money.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Uh, everybody's freaking out, you know?
Scott Hammond: They'd like to go out and eat.
Bill Chino: Yeah, so a little bit of comfort food.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, we took care j- that the fact that they didn't have to see anybody. We could mask up, whatever it was.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: And we made it as affordable as we could, and it, it turned out to be a great success.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: And people overall were extremely generous. The amount we got in tips was mind-boggling.
Scott Hammond: Wow. Cool.
Bill Chino: And these were in tight economic times.
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah.
Bill Chino: I had people come in for two boxes and give me $100.
Scott Hammond: Sweet.
Bill Chino: $80 tip on 20.
Scott Hammond: Not bad.
Bill Chino: So it was great. So I could tell that everybody was appreciative-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … and I think it worked for all.
Scott Hammond: Community.
Bill Chino: Yeah, yeah, no question about it.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: You know?
Scott Hammond: It's interesting how that's true for a, a band playing to a community-
Bill Chino: Sure
Scott Hammond: … or a, a tour.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And f- a, a businessperson-
Bill Chino: Right
Scott Hammond: … doing community.
Bill Chino: Well, I, uh, to-
Scott Hammond: Giving back
Bill Chino: … to sum it up, I think it comes back to why we're here. You're talking about Arcata and small community in Humboldt County.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: I think that's why we're all still here.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: It's a great community.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Everybody chips in. You go to the fundraisers. Everybody's supporting everybody.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: You know, night after night after night.
Scott Hammond: Right. And it's-
Bill Chino: So…
Scott Hammond: It's hard to sustain sometimes.
Bill Chino: It is hard to sustain.
Scott Hammond: You just can't do it all, but yeah.
Bill Chino: And I, I don't think you… It, it's not as prevalent in larger
Bill Chino: communities.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And the cannabis boom and bust.
Bill Chino: Yeah, I-
Scott Hammond: Like-
Bill Chino: … lived through that.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. You've see- We've seen it all here, folks.
Bill Chino: Oh, we've seen it.
Scott Hammond: The gold rush, the green rush.
Bill Chino: Yeah, and I saw it coming, and I, I didn't pivot quickly enough.
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah. No, it's, uh-
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, we talk about that from time to time. Hey, time for the– Speaking of time to time, it, it's time for the quiz.
Bill Chino: Okay.
Scott Hammond: Lucky you.
Bill Chino: Lucky you. How many questions?
Scott Hammond: Oh, as many as I wanna make up.
Bill Chino: Okay. Are you, are you reading the questions or making them up?
Scott Hammond: Yeah, the answer is yes.
Bill Chino: Yes.
Scott Hammond: So what are you proud of, and what do you have regrets about?
Bill Chino: Uh, I'm proud of, um… Well, I'm proud of many things. Um, I'm proud of my kids.
Scott Hammond: Hmm. That's cool.
Bill Chino: Yeah. They've– They're all doing very well.
Scott Hammond: Yes.
Bill Chino: They're all gainfully employed.
Bill Chino: They're-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … uh, they were great kids. They are perfect adults.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Bill Chino: Um,
Bill Chino: regrets?
Scott Hammond: Hear that, kids?
Bill Chino: Hear– I, I, I think they might be listening. Probably not right now, but maybe after the fact.
Scott Hammond: Oh, they'll see, they'll see this.
Bill Chino: Um,
Bill Chino: I don't, um, I don't think I have any regrets.
Scott Hammond: Wow. That's strong.
Bill Chino: If I do-
Scott Hammond: I love it
Bill Chino: … they're minor, and I'd have to think about it.
Scott Hammond: Wow. Okay.
Bill Chino: Yeah. I-
Scott Hammond: Good, good answer
Bill Chino: … I, like I said, I've been very lucky.
Bill Chino: I've-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … fallen into the right path.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Wow, man. I, you're blessed. I love it. Question number two.
Bill Chino: All right.
Scott Hammond: Question number two, um, the most heavy-duty setback you've ever had, and what did you learn from it? Or a setback. It doesn't have to be the…
Bill Chino: I think, uh, uh, some of the big setbacks for me have, uh, revolved around
Bill Chino: lawsuits.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Um, a, a lot of them that never should have happened.
Bill Chino: Um-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Bill Chino: … uh, we got sued, uh, years ago for, um, non-ADA compliance.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Bill Chino: And being in a historic structure, there was no way to get around it other than paying the money or going to federal court in San Francisco, which-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Bill Chino: … every attorney at the time told me we would lose.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: So we ended up losing $125,000 that we didn't have.
Scott Hammond: Crazy.
Bill Chino: And that put us behind the eight ball and made, uh, business over the next few years extremely difficult. We were strapped.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Bill Chino: So things like that.
Scott Hammond: That's a hit.
Bill Chino: We have had some frivolous lawsuits.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, we tend to be in the public eye. We've got a big building there.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Um, you know, it's just about money. I can't-Argue about it
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: I wish it wasn't that way
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Bill Chino: Uh, when it's justified, I understand it. When it's not, um, it doesn't sit too well with me.
Scott Hammond: Bitter pill, yeah.
Bill Chino: Oh, it is a bitter pill.
Scott Hammond: Was this Singleton, the, the attorney that went around?
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So you guys were-
Bill Chino: I was the, I was the second one that got sued.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I-
Bill Chino: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … I know who-
Bill Chino: And there was, uh, there was no way we could win it.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Uh, it was just, it was extortion.
Scott Hammond: And he was doing that on the regular, right?
Bill Chino: He was doing it on the regular, and he was actually operating out of building that wasn't ADA Compliant, but-
Scott Hammond: I've heard this
Bill Chino: … he wasn't the owner. He was renting.
Scott Hammond: You fricking hypocrite.
Bill Chino: Yeah, so, you know, it was unfortunate. Uh, he was doing it all over the place. There were others doing the same thing. Um, thank God things have changed.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Um, a- the, the most unfortunate thing about that entire
Bill Chino: process was with all the money we gave him, we actually could have made a few
Bill Chino: corrections-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Bill Chino: … that would have actually helped the people in need.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: And that never got done.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, and therefore his-
Bill Chino: That's what's devastating
Scott Hammond: … his mission was flawed.
Bill Chino: His mission is flawed.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: You know, and-
Scott Hammond: Yeah. That's so bad
Bill Chino: … so that, that is too bad, and that was a bitter pill to swallow.
Scott Hammond: What'd you learn from it?
Bill Chino: Um, you know, I d- I, I guess what I learned from it is you just keep, you keep your head down and
Bill Chino: keep going.
Scott Hammond: Hmm. Yeah.
Bill Chino: You know, I, I couldn't let it destroy me.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Bill Chino: Um, uh, that's about all you can learn from that, and I, uh, it's just, it came down to money.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: And I, I don't wanna argue about money. It doesn't mean that much to me.
Scott Hammond: Amen. Good work.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Question number three.
Bill Chino: Okay.
Scott Hammond: You get the day off tomorrow. You can do whatever you want.
Bill Chino: No such thing.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. It's hard, it's hard to conceive.
Bill Chino: There's no… If I'm in town, there's no day off.
Scott Hammond: What's a day off? So you're out of town. What do you, what do you do with a day off?
Scott Hammond: It's a-
Bill Chino: Uh, usu-
Scott Hammond: … all expense paid day off.
Bill Chino: Uh, usually if I'm in town, there is no day off. I'm in the building.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Bill Chino: I can almost guarantee it.
Scott Hammond: Let's say you're barred from your building and you gotta do something else fun.
Bill Chino: I'll, I'll, I'll leave town and go on vacation.
Scott Hammond: Where do you… So what's that look like?
Bill Chino: Uh, vacation for me is great. Uh, Sally, my wife, uh, we escape every time we can-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … 'cause she knows that's the only time I will not work.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Or if I do it, it's very minimal. It's a phone call.
Scott Hammond: Good.
Bill Chino: Uh, most of the time we visit the kids.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, my oldest son lives in Australia.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Bill Chino: So we go there quite a bit.
Scott Hammond: Rad.
Bill Chino: Um, my, I've got a daughter in Manhattan.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: We visit there quite a bit.
Scott Hammond: Wow, opposite sides.
Bill Chino: Um, yeah, a son in Cardiff-By-the-Sea down south.
Scott Hammond: Know it well.
Bill Chino: And a daughter up, uh, in Lake Oswego.
Bill Chino: So-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Bill Chino: … most of our traveling, uh, gets us to see the family-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … and gets me, um, out of work.
Scott Hammond: And Oswego's upstate New York too?
Bill Chino: Uh, this is Lake Oswego up in, uh, south of Portland up in Oregon.
Scott Hammond: Oregon. That is true.
Bill Chino: There is an Oswego in New York as well.
Scott Hammond: There's two, okay.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I, I know my geometry.
Bill Chino: You do, you do know your geometry.
Scott Hammond: Did you hear the one about the mapmaker that couldn't get a job 'cause he had no sense of Yuma?
Bill Chino: No. That's very good.
Scott Hammond: The only person, the only person that's ever got my joke. It's like a dad thing.
Bill Chino: Wow.
Scott Hammond: Those kids go, "That's a dad joke.
Scott Hammond: Just stop."
Bill Chino: Oh, I'll be telling at least five people tonight, so you'll, it'll come full circle around to you.
Scott Hammond: Thank you. And I'll laugh.
Bill Chino: Of course you will.
Scott Hammond: I promise to laugh. Um, last question.
Bill Chino: Yes.
Scott Hammond: If you were to eat out in Humboldt County, and it could be, it could be anywhere, where would you go? Where would, where would you take Su- Susan, your wife?
Bill Chino: Oh, Sally.
Scott Hammond: Sally, sorry.
Bill Chino: Sally.
Scott Hammond: Hi, Sally.
Bill Chino: Um, I'll be honest. I, I don't go, I don't dine much in Humboldt County-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … uh, because, um, much of the time I'm too busy. The other caveat there is that someone that might be waiting on me or cooking in the kitchen probably worked for me at some point.
Scott Hammond: At some point.
Bill Chino: So there's always that-
Scott Hammond: That could go either way
Bill Chino: … boys factor. But I've been eating at, uh, Brick & Fire a lot.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Bill Chino: And, um, I think they do a fabulous job.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: I have yet to have, um, a, a bad meal there-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Bill Chino: … or a bad service. I, I, it's a, it's a wonderful spot.
Scott Hammond: And the folks that used to own Heartbeat started that, right?
Bill Chino: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Or they were partners?
Bill Chino: Yeah, I think they were partners years ago.
Scott Hammond: What were their names? Um-
Bill Chino: Uh, you know, I don't remember, but-
Scott Hammond: I don't remember either
Bill Chino: … I should.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. No, they were, uh, yeah, it's, it's delicious.
Bill Chino: Yeah. But we really enjoy that, and, uh, Larrapin's always a great place too.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Paul's done a great job.
Bill Chino: Yeah. Paul does a wonderful job.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Good, good man.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Yeah, so those are the two. It's not to say there aren't other good restaurants. Um, there's many of them.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: It's just for some reason we tend to migrate toward, towards those.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. No, those are great choices.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Well, guess what? Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
Bill Chino: What'd I get?
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Bill Chino: I see Dick Taylor on the box.
Scott Hammond: I know. The… You get an official Scott Hammond State Farm IOU.
Bill Chino: Wow.
Scott Hammond: And I'll let you know off-camera what, what-
Bill Chino: Okay.
Scott Hammond: … you won.
Bill Chino: It's not that shirt, is it?
Scott Hammond: You asked for the shirt.
Bill Chino: I know.
Scott Hammond: You win the shirt, you lucky dog.
Bill Chino: Well, this is fabulous.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. That's, uh… No, I'll, uh, I- I'm good for all my debts, and I, I have yet to figure out what your prize is.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So.
Bill Chino: Uh, oh, good.
Scott Hammond: But it'll be worth something.
Bill Chino: And I, you know, I might-
Scott Hammond: Wait, I have a good-
Bill Chino: I might, I might actually-
Scott Hammond: I have a point there
Bill Chino: … Iver, I might ivis, I might owe you some money.
Scott Hammond: You might, it might go the other way.
Bill Chino: From our advertising days.
Scott Hammond: That's right. There might be a bill somewhere.
Bill Chino: There definitely could be.
Scott Hammond: Maybe Ron still has some of the bills.
Bill Chino: I could definitely be delinquent for a while.
Scott Hammond: No, you guys, you guys did great 'cause we did a c- it was back in the coupon book
Scott Hammond: days.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And, and people would do coupons. They'd get a-
Bill Chino: Yeah, exactly. Well, uh, we always loved the coupons 'cause you could see the
Bill Chino: result.
Scott Hammond: You could count the money.
Bill Chino: Yeah. Now it's hard to tell what you're getting. You don't know-
Scott Hammond: Who knows
Bill Chino: … where it's coming from.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, it's, it's-
Bill Chino: It's a different world
Scott Hammond: … advertising's a little tougher.
Bill Chino: A, a lot tougher.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Although they would tell you online that you could measure it all and-
Bill Chino: Yeah. Well, talk about pivoting. You did a, you made a wonderful pivot with this.
Scott Hammond: Did I? Oh, thank you.
Bill Chino: I think so.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, no, State Farm's been fun.
Bill Chino: Yeah, I hope you think so.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, no, I'm making a difference.
Bill Chino: Oh, good. You are making a difference.
Scott Hammond: No, I'm resonating with-
Bill Chino: And-
Scott Hammond: … a lot of the stuff you're saying
Bill Chino: … and you have, um, some of the best commercials on TV.
Scott Hammond: Like Jake from State Farm?
Bill Chino: Better.
Scott Hammond: Got… Which, oh, yes.
Bill Chino: They're better than Jake.
Scott Hammond: Oh, you mean my TV commercials or-
Bill Chino: Yes
Scott Hammond: … or his?
Bill Chino: Your TV commercials.
Scott Hammond: Oh, okay. Well, thank you.
Bill Chino: I love them.
Scott Hammond: Thank you.
Bill Chino: They're very creative.
Scott Hammond: I try. You know, do what I can.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Met Jake from State Farm. His name's Kevin.
Bill Chino: Oh, yeah?
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Great guy. So we do a convention every four years, and he comes 'cause that's contract, and just a realPersonable dude.
Bill Chino: Oh, great.
Scott Hammond: It… Kevin, you, you get 30 seconds in the photo booth, and everybody shoots photos for you.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And he's just a personable dude.
Bill Chino: Well, I'm sure he's telling his friends that he met you.
Scott Hammond: You know, he probably did.
Bill Chino: There's no question about it.
Scott Hammond: I wore, I wore the shirt.
Bill Chino: No question about it.
Scott Hammond: I'm gonna wear the shirt this year.
Bill Chino: I think you should.
Scott Hammond: What's up, Kev? Jake from State Farm. Okay. I like that.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So, uh, where do we go from here? So give us the shout-out then. Plaza Grill, w- uh, hours. How do we find you online?
Bill Chino: Uh, right now, uh, right now we're Wednesday through
Bill Chino: Saturday.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, happy hour from 4:00 to 5:00.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Bill Chino: Dinner service from 5:00 to 8:00.
Scott Hammond: Wednesday through Saturday.
Bill Chino: Wednesday through Saturday.
Scott Hammond: So you're closed-
Bill Chino: So four nights a week right now.
Scott Hammond: Great.
Bill Chino: And then, um, I would think the best way to find us right now is, um, Plaza Grill Facebook.
Scott Hammond: Okay. Is there a website?
Bill Chino: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: Plazagrill.com or?
Bill Chino: There's a website. We had a little problem with it. We're redeveloping.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Bill Chino: I will know the website. It'll prob- be solidified in a day
Bill Chino: or two.
Scott Hammond: And then there's always the app, which is called Dining…
Bill Chino: Uh, OpenTable.
Scott Hammond: OpenTable.
Bill Chino: OpenTable.
Scott Hammond: I was… I guess I don't use it much. I've used it, but-
Bill Chino: Yeah, it's… There's that one and Resy. Uh, we chose OpenTable, which seems to be a little more user-friendly.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Uh, we're still learning about it.
Bill Chino: Um,
Bill Chino: most people,
Bill Chino: two days in, are f- finding it, um, relatively easy to use.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: And it's working.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: It definitely has its blips, but we're, we're gonna stick with it.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I think, you know, new guy in town, old… in this case, old guy in town.
Bill Chino: Yeah. You know, the days-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Bill Chino: … of the old answering machine, and- … you know, you come in at 4:00, and there's 82 messages for 5:00 reservations.
Scott Hammond: Good luck with res… Yeah. You don't have to do that anymore.
Bill Chino: Yeah, calling everybody's home phone. This is way advanced past that.
Scott Hammond: I like it.
Bill Chino: And much easier in the long run.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I like that a lot. The, um… So g- give us the features of the menu. Uh, the food menu and then the b- the bar menu.
Bill Chino: Uh, the bar menu, everything is rather, uh, concise. Um, we've got five drink specials.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: I think there's s- five or six entrees on the menu. It's very streamlined.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: It's built for speed.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: We're trying to get the food out to the table in nine to 11 minutes.
Scott Hammond: Sweet.
Bill Chino: So that, uh, people can get on with their lives-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … and you're not waiting forever for it.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Bill Chino: Um, like I said, the menu is small. We c- we know what we're making. It takes less people in the kitchen.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Much less food waste. We're utilizing everything we're buying.
Scott Hammond: Cool.
Bill Chino: Uh, one day in, it's hard to say.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: We utilized everything we bought last night.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. We're doing great. We're 100%.
Bill Chino: But that's the concept.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Um, so that we can pass along the savings.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: And then as we hear request, you know, "Where's my favorite this? Where's my favorite that?" that will appear on the next menu.
Scott Hammond: Then you can do-
Bill Chino: The more we hear it, it will appear.
Scott Hammond: I like it.
Bill Chino: We have all the recipes.
Scott Hammond: Like it. So-
Bill Chino: So it's a diff- it's a different formula. So far so good. Um, if I come back on your show in a month or two, I can definitely give you a lot more
Bill Chino: information.
Scott Hammond: A lot more data. A lot more data.
Bill Chino: A lot more data. I'll have a lot more tonight.
Scott Hammond: So what's the pri- what's the prime entree that's, uh, two or three that are, that are big, right? Burger?
Bill Chino: Uh, the burger's on there. We've got the meatloaf, which was a big favorite over the
Bill Chino: years.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Bill Chino: We've got the coconut risotto.
Scott Hammond: Sweet.
Bill Chino: We've got the, um, we've got the fettuccine Alfredo.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: The Cajun fettuccine Alfredo.
Scott Hammond: Sweet.
Bill Chino: And-
Scott Hammond: Little spicy?
Bill Chino: Little spicy. We'll be bringing the fish tacos back and all the other favorites from over the years.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, right now we started off with probably the simplest of all the menus.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Just to get our feet under us.
Scott Hammond: Perfect.
Bill Chino: Um, I… Well, we… I haven't been upstairs in the Grill for a year and a half now. Uh, these employees that have taken over, about the same amount of time for them.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Bill Chino: So, you know, we, we redesigned the kitchen a little bit. We updated the grill slightly. My intent is to, uh, any profit that I make, I'm putting back into the, um, into the building.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Bill Chino: Um, we've got some deferred maintenance that I need to take care of.
Scott Hammond: Sure. Old building.
Bill Chino: The old building, and, uh, we've got lots of things to fix. Floors, bathrooms-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … et cetera, et cetera.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Bill Chino: We're, we're, we're going for the constant upgrade.
Scott Hammond: And the happy hour includes what?
Bill Chino: Happy hour's just a couple of items that are on the menu.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, lower prices, smaller portions.
Scott Hammond: So I-
Bill Chino: It's three or four items
Scott Hammond: … I mean, the bar, the bar side. Let's talk about the bar side for a sec.
Bill Chino: Uh, the bar side is just a reduction on drinks and cocktails.
Scott Hammond: Wine and beer, and then a well-
Bill Chino: Wine, beer, and a-
Scott Hammond: … well, well cocktail
Bill Chino: … and, uh, some of the specialty drinks. Couple dollars off.
Scott Hammond: Great.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Wow, that's-
Bill Chino: Real simple.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I like it. I like simple.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: It'll keep it simple.
Bill Chino: Yeah, and it, uh, we wanted to make it simple because there's so much going on, and it's so different than it was in the past. We didn't wanna spend 20 minutes at every table explaining what-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … the new process was.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: So we streamlined it as much as we could.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, last night, um, uh, the woman that was hosting, uh, you know, spent an extra minute at every table telling them what to do, how to order, where to go.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Bill Chino: And, um, like I said, people were extremely
Bill Chino: receptive.
Scott Hammond: Right. And they'll get tra-
Bill Chino: It surprised me, actually.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Oh, good.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: That's cool. And you'll have some music at some point, maybe?
Bill Chino: I don't think we'll do the music up there. We'll encourage people to go down to the basement after dining.
Scott Hammond: Hey there.
Bill Chino: Because the times dovetail.
Scott Hammond: What time does the basement open?
Bill Chino: Basement opens 7:30 on Thursdays and usually 8:30 on Fridays, Saturdays.
Scott Hammond: And shows are usually 8:00 to 9:00-ish?
Bill Chino: Uh, they start anywhere from 8:00 to 8:30 to 9:00.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Bill Chino: And we usually end around midnight, 12:30.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Bill Chino: And hopefully we'll do some cross-promotion to maybe those folks that finish dinner upstairs may like to come downstairs and enjoy some music. We might waive-
Scott Hammond: Perfect
Bill Chino: … the cover charge or, uh, maybe a discount on a beverage downstairs.
Scott Hammond: Creative.
Bill Chino: Something to entice them-
Scott Hammond: Stick around
Bill Chino: … to stay in the building.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Boy, that's creative.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So you said downstairs has, uh, also a Wallace & Hines original bar?
Bill Chino: Number two. Um-
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah. 001 and 002.
Bill Chino: Second label. Correct.
Scott Hammond: Woo. That's cool.
Bill Chino: Yeah. The one downstairs-
Scott Hammond: Geez
Bill Chino: … much smaller than the one upstairs, but still the same great quality.
Scott Hammond: I just had, just had lunch with Tom Hines.
Scott Hammond: Hi, Tom.
Bill Chino: Oh. Hello, Tom. How are you?
Scott Hammond: And then there's Tom Tellez, right? Is that how you say it, Tellez?
Bill Chino: Tom Tellez was the owner after them.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: And then Tom has sold Wallace & Hines to someone else.
Scott Hammond: I think I heard that.
Bill Chino: Yeah, so Tom's, uh, semi-retired now.
Scott Hammond: Crazy.
Bill Chino: And I did see Tom last night.
Bill Chino: Hello, Tom.
Scott Hammond: Hey, Tom.
Bill Chino: Thank, thanks for stopping by the Grill.
Scott Hammond: You can say hi to him up here.
Bill Chino: Hi, Tom.
Scott Hammond: What's up, Tom?
Scott Hammond: Great guy.
Bill Chino: Great guy.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, so, uh, speaking of retirement, so that's probably not in your lexicon or your vocabulary much, huh?
Bill Chino: Not a full retirement.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: I would like to slow down just a bit-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Bill Chino: … uh, do a little more traveling, but I do like keeping my
Bill Chino: fingers-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Bill Chino: … in the pie, so to speak.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Keeps me active, keeps the brain sharp.
Scott Hammond: Yes, yes, it does.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: We have a, a son in Seoul, South Korea, so not-
Bill Chino: Oh
Scott Hammond: … that far from Australia.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: We, we were all talking about going to Seoul, so I hope, I hope I make it there as
Bill Chino: well.
Scott Hammond: I heard the food's great.
Bill Chino: I hear everything's great about Seoul, Korea.
Scott Hammond: No, not much inglés.
Bill Chino: No, not much at all.
Scott Hammond: No, they… You better y- So get, get ready for a l- He's got a language barrier.
Bill Chino: Right.
Scott Hammond: This guy's traveled the world. He goes, "Dude, Dad, my full-time job is learning
Scott Hammond: Korean."
Bill Chino: Right.
Scott Hammond: "I can't even navigate the subway."
Bill Chino: Wh- which I, uh, uh, which I, I'm sure is not that easy.
Scott Hammond: No, apparently not. He's, uh, he's really, uh, struggling, but I think-
Bill Chino: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … he'll probably be okay. Hey, so-
Bill Chino: Are you, are you gonna visit there?
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah.
Bill Chino: Okay.
Scott Hammond: We're waiting for him to get-
Bill Chino: It hadn't yet?
Scott Hammond: Yeah, not yet.
Bill Chino: Okay.
Scott Hammond: We're… They just moved about three months ago from Amsterdam.
Bill Chino: Oh, okay.
Scott Hammond: So they went across two ponds to get there.
Bill Chino: Sure.
Scott Hammond: So she worked at Nike, which was a terrible experience.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And now she's at Samsung on the AI side, so there's, um… We'll see. Uh, you know, we've been in… We haven't quite been invited, but I think we will be.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: That'd be cool. Um, so let's talk about, uh, we're… As we wrap, uh, let's talk about you being remembered. How would you like to be remembered? You just, you just got to remember a guy that was a memorable guy. How, what is-
Bill Chino: I, I think-
Scott Hammond: What is your, what is your-
Bill Chino: Oh, it's a good question. Um-
Scott Hammond: … legacy and…
Bill Chino: I think my legacy would be similar to what was spoken of at Chris's ceremony of life.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Uh, you know, kind of born to serve.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I like that.
Bill Chino: And that's what we do.
Scott Hammond: I like that.
Bill Chino: And I enjoy it.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: You know?
Scott Hammond: He's so proud of his Marine Corps background.
Bill Chino: Oh.
Scott Hammond: The military service. I love it.
Bill Chino: I'm very proud of it.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, I know.
Bill Chino: Yeah, I mean, h- you know, you're always a Marine.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: And, um, that was a highlight for Chris.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: And, you know, he… I, uh, as his brother spoke of, I'm not sure what actually transpired over there.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: Chris didn't talk about it much.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Bill Chino: I mean, he talked about being a Marine, but that was about it.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: You know, the cadre of the dudes.
Bill Chino: Yes, I'm not sure what he saw and what was good, what was bad.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Bill Chino: But, uh, it wasn't spoken of too often.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: So I think-
Scott Hammond: Lot of vet- lot of vets that-
Bill Chino: Yeah, I mean, I'd like to r- I think I'd like to be remembered, you know, providing people with a good, fun time.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Bill Chino: You know?
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Bill Chino: That's about it. It's simple.
Scott Hammond: I like it.
Bill Chino: It's easy.
Scott Hammond: You got a phrase on your, uh, tombstone that you'd like?
Bill Chino: Uh, I'm not sure there's gonna be a tombstone. I will, um, be scattered somewhere.
Scott Hammond: I like it.
Bill Chino: I'm not sure quite where yet.
Scott Hammond: We-
Bill Chino: Um, it's not that important to me at the moment.
Scott Hammond: It's, it's not-
Bill Chino: There might be-
Scott Hammond: It's not my priority right now
Bill Chino: … there might be a kernel or two scattered around Plaza Grill somewhere-
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: … but we'll see. I'm not sure how legal that is.
Scott Hammond: We had a guy come in, he goes, "You know, I'm not gonna be cremated, but I am gonna be scattered over the ocean." I'm going, "Wait."
Bill Chino: I don't think so.
Scott Hammond: What do you mean by that?
Bill Chino: A l- leg over here, arm over here.
Scott Hammond: A row?
Bill Chino: That's not happening.
Scott Hammond: I can't even unsee that.
Bill Chino: That's not happening.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, so well, thanks for being here.
Bill Chino: Well, thank you. I, uh, appreciate the invite, and I had a, I had a wonderful time.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, so we wanna-
Bill Chino: It's always nice to see you
Scott Hammond: … reci- And you, my friend. I… We'll see you soon. I'm gonna bring-
Bill Chino: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … Joni and, um, our friends David and Cheryl.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And then I gotta bring Ron Pelegi.
Bill Chino: Oh, yeah, and remember, you have to make an online reservation.
Scott Hammond: What's the name of that resy?
Bill Chino: Uh, no.
Scott Hammond: OpenTable.
Bill Chino: OpenTable.
Scott Hammond: OpenTable.
Bill Chino: Or you have my cell phone, which is some people circumvent the OpenTable, but try not to.
Scott Hammond: The old school. No, I would do… That would be-
Bill Chino: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … my last resort.
Bill Chino: But I can assist you-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Bill Chino: … with understanding the app.
Scott Hammond: If I get lost, I can't find the Storehouse.
Bill Chino: Just let… C- Just send me a text.
Scott Hammond: So one more time. You're at the-
Bill Chino: Yes
Scott Hammond: … Jacoby Storehouse, third floor.
Bill Chino: Third floor.
Scott Hammond: Plaza Grill, Wednesday through Saturday.
Bill Chino: Wednesday through Saturday, 4:00 to 8:00.
Scott Hammond: And, and dinners only.
Bill Chino: Dinners only.
Scott Hammond: And we can find you on Facebook.
Bill Chino: Correct.
Scott Hammond: And OpenTable.
Bill Chino: Plaza Grill Facebook.
Scott Hammond: Sweet.
Bill Chino: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Good luck to you, man. I think you're gonna kill it.
Bill Chino: Well, thanks, Scott, and I-
Scott Hammond: It's gonna go great. God bless you
Bill Chino: … I, I appreciate you, uh, helping us promote.
Scott Hammond: Hey, man, uh, yeah, this'll pr- this'll self-promote, you know?
Bill Chino: I know. I better-
Scott Hammond: This'll be viral
Bill Chino: … I better get back there.
Scott Hammond: My man… Oh, you gotta go. That's right. My man Nick's gonna make sure of it.
Bill Chino: All right.
Scott Hammond: Hey, thanks for being here, though.
Bill Chino: Hey, thanks, Nick.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Bill Chino: Thank you, Scott.
Scott Hammond: Hey, Scott Hammond, 100% Humboldt podcast. Thank you. And, uh, we are, uh, wanting you to like us, love us, send us money, uh, make comments.
Bill Chino: Heavy on the money.
Scott Hammond: Heavy… Yeah. Yes. And, um, yeah, we're on all the podcast platforms and YouTube, and, uh, like us, love us, and, uh, we'll see you next time.
Scott Hammond: Signing off.
Bill Chino: All right. Thanks, Scott.
Scott Hammond: Thank you.