From Gambling Addict to Restaurant Empire w/ Chef Gene | The JD Denham Podcast 97
The JD Denham PodcastShow Notes
In this episode of The JD Denham Podcast, JD Denham sits down with Chef Gene, entrepreneur, restaurateur, and owner of Ai Pono Cafe and Exit Eight Bodega in Costa Mesa and Las Vegas, for a conversation that goes everywhere it needs to go and never slows down.
Chef Gene opens up about growing up in Hawaii when the Aloha spirit was everything, how the sense of family and community he was raised in became the foundation for every restaurant and every crew he has ever built, and why the people who were with him when he had nothing are the same people he is taking with him now that things are working. He talks about a serious gambling addiction that nearly took everything, and how he eventually learned to redirect that same risk taking energy into opening locations that most people would be too scared to touch.
JD and Chef Gene dig into what it means to build a real culture in a business versus faking one, why authenticity on social media is the only long term play, and why the only what-if that matters is the one where you never tried. They also talk about checking your circle before you take a leap, why the wolves in sheep's clothing always reveal themselves through small things, and why being comfortably uncomfortable is not just advice it is a way of operating.
Two men who paid their dues, built something real, and are just getting started. A Warrior Makers plate is already in the works.
Chapters: 00:00 – Intro 00:08 – Welcome Back & Meeting Chef Gene 01:47 – Hawaii Culture & Speaking Your Mind 04:27 – Men in the Arena: Thick Skin Online 09:22 – Where the World Went Wrong: Men Losing Their Manhood 13:27 – Leadership in Marriage & Why Wives Feel Secure 22:45 – Moving From Hawaii to Vegas 27:41 – From Dishwasher to Line Cook 34:08 – Kitchen Life: House of Blues & Tao 42:04 – Fatherhood, Divorce & Getting It Together 55:53 – Leaving Vegas & the Meal Prep Years 58:07 – Opening I Pono & Surviving COVID 1:06:35 – Hawaii Street Food & the Viral Yelp Video 1:17:50 – Advice: Check Your Circle & Take the Leap 1:20:50 – What’s Next, the Warrior Plate & Outro
Follow Chef Gene: Ai Pono Cafe: https://www.instagram.com/aiponocafe/ Exit 8 Bodega: https://www.instagram.com/exit8bodega/ Personal: https://www.instagram.com/thechefaipono/
JD's Socials: https://hoo.be/jddenhamofficial
Join My Community: https://www.skool.com/peptideoftheweekcommunity/about
Intro Music: Pennywise – Let Us Hear Your Voice
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