Speaker 2 0:00

Um, he's a summer college professor there. And he said, Oh, you're the one causing all the trouble. I said, What? I said, What's going on? He said, My class left early to come get food. And they've done that uh last couple weeks. And I was like, Oh, well, I guess.

INTRO SONG 0:22

If you wanna hear about St. Louis, tune in to the bucket list show weekly. Hear what Marissa and Luke say. It drops every Wednesday, got a dope new guest every single week. Buckle up for the ride. Who's it gonna be? Who's on the show today? They rap St. Louis. What's a do in the loo on a late night? I maybe what to do on a date night. Yeah. Bucket list as you covered, they know what's going on. What's going on? They'll give you. Hey, 18 different things to do on 19. If you need one more to choose, yeah. This city, city, city is a place we call home. A place we call home. Yeah.

Speaker 1 0:59

The STL Bucket List show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor and the official banking partner of STL Bucket List, Royal Banks of Missouri. Royal Banks is a full-service, independent community bank, locally owned, locally run, and proudly investing in St. Louis since 1964. That's more than 60 years of taking care of the people and businesses who make this city special. From checking and savings to mortgages, business banking, and wealth management, you get real personalized service from neighbors who actually know your name. With 16 locations across St. Louis, St. Charles, Illinois, and Northeast Missouri, there's a branch right around the corner. Royal Banks of Missouri, proudly investing in our communities. St. Louis, welcome back to another episode of the STL Bucket List Show. We have someone super special in the studio creating amazing food in the heart of downtown on Wash Ave. My guy Ono from uh Levels Nigeria, man. Thanks for coming in today. Thank you so much. Long time coming. I've always wanted to be on here. And you brought me food. Um so we met last week or two weeks ago, and uh your your buddy Tasted Jacks was in here. And you were you were on film duty, and now you got your own content creator in the studio today.

Speaker 2 2:02

Well, my other friend is here with me, so you know whatever.

Speaker 1 2:06

Um but I can't wait to try the food. If you guys could just smell, he came in with the hotbox, you know. It's it's 10 in the morning, but it's never too early.

Speaker 2 2:12

Right. I mean, I had to make sure that I had something fresh and tasty for you guys to try. So um, and also looks good on camera.

Speaker 1 2:19

So a lot of people that I talk about or talk to on the podcast are from St. Louis. As you know, St. Louis is such a local city where everybody grew up here. They went to the same grade school, they went to the same high school. You you didn't. You moved here when you were, you know, a teenager. Teenager, yes. So talk me through that moment. And uh I I read, you know, that you were about 14, so heading into high school.

Speaker 2 2:41

Yeah.

Speaker 1 2:42

Um, and you moved from Nigeria as a teenager to St. Louis, and like how what was a culture shock? How how much of a culture shock was that?

Speaker 2 2:48

Yeah, so that's the that's the key word, a culture shock. Um, it was definitely um an eye-opener. Um America is actually um like in in Nigeria, America is like revered, of course. If you go to America, you're rich and you have all this money. And you know, coming to America, I I realized a bunch of things. Um, for one, everybody here isn't rich. Um, for two, um, I don't know what I expected. Like what what I saw was like music videos and all of the great American cinema and all of those things. So you expect the big cities. Yeah, you expect to walk into a Hollywood scene when you come to America. And I remember vividly, I looked up at the sky and I looked up at the and looked down at the grass and I was like, it looks the same. So like there's not much difference here. Um, so that was that was just uh upon arriving. But get into high school, I went to Hazewood East. Um, great place, um, in the sense of um just a different dynamic, different people um in that in that aspect. But then, you know, it was it was an up-and-coming high school. So it had all the fixings of, you know, some fights, some this, some that. So it was, it was, it was tough to transition from a private school in Nigeria to public high school here. Um, I still enjoyed my experience. I still have friends from then till now. But what that sparked in me was sharing my culture with all of my friends. So back then, as a Nigerian kid, straight up straight from Africa to St. Louis, I wasn't, there wasn't, there weren't a lot of people like me at my school. Yeah. So it was always curiosity met with a little bit of, you know, trash talk. Yeah. Um, and what I stood up to in that in that aspect was, you know what? If you talk about me, I'm gonna share exactly who I am. So, and just let you know who I am. So I shared my music, I shared my food, I would bring Nigerian food to lunch sometimes. Crazy. Yeah. Um, but um I did what I needed to do in the sense of sharing my culture. I was very, very passionate about it. And I think that just kind of catapulted me through high school and college. I know you have more questions, so I won't.

Speaker 1 5:00

For over 150 years, SSM Health has been providing hope, healing, and opportunities to the St. Louis community. With over 40,000 employees across four states, they're not only delivering exceptional care, they're one of the region's largest employers, shaping the future of healthcare. We're proud to present SSM Health as the official healthcare partner of the STL bucket list show. If you've dreamed of a career where you're truly making a difference every day, SSM Health can help you take that to the next step. Learn more at their website in the link in the show notes. Well, I wanted to touch more on like, you know, part of the culture and your family tradition of sending the eldest kids to the U.S. So tell me, walk me through that for the people that might not might not know. So that's part of a tradition and your family is like, hey, you were the eldest? Yeah.

Speaker 2 5:40

No, no, no, no. I'm the youngest. Oh, you're the youngest. Yeah. So I'm the youngest. So that's um with my family and and and bless bless them because I think that this was this is something that that everybody doesn't have the opportunity to do. So um very thankful that my mom and dad worked very hard to make this happen for us. Um, so um my my mom and dad went to school at in SIUE. So back in the day, um, they went to school in SIUE, and St. Louis was their old stomping ground. So back in the heyday of St. Louis, so they they say this all the time, yeah. Um St. Louis was bustling streets, all of the things. This is about the 70s. Yeah. And um they would come to St. Louis from Illinois to come hang out, party, all the things. And then after they graduated, they went back to Nigeria. Okay. And they worked in Nigeria, you know, made made good of themselves. And I they had most of their kids in Nigeria. Two of their kids they had here in college, and two of my siblings, I'm sorry, call them. Uh two of my siblings were um here. Um, and then everybody went back, right? So when my oldest brother got to um college age, they put money together, scraped money together, and sent him back here. He went to, he graduated from St. Louis College of Farm Pharmacy. And then my sister, she came at this around the same time. So my brother was helping my sister get along with the American transition. And then my two brothers came after after them. And then um really my mom was like, he's 14, I don't want him to be at home alone. So they sent me here a little earlier. So I was supposed to come at college age, but it would have just been me here, right? I mean, in Nigeria with her.

Speaker 1 7:21

And then you would have that adjustment period from 18. Just like, hey, let's get those four years to get you right before college.

Speaker 2 7:26

Yeah, so they just they just said, you know what, just go ahead with the rest of them. So I came a little earlier.

Speaker 1 7:30

Oh wow. Um what was that like being away from your parents though at that young? I mean, that must have been hard.

Speaker 2 7:34

It was definitely a transition. Yeah.

Speaker 1 7:35

Um because you were still like developing as a man. You were a boy.

Speaker 2 7:38

Yeah, literally. Um, well, uh, my dad was here. So my dad helped us a little bit with the transition, but at the same time, hardworking, you know, doing all the things. He didn't have a lot of time to, you know, be with me every day. So, like high school, my high school times were like really me figuring it out on my own. Um, and then my siblings were of college age, early career. So, again, they didn't have any kids, so it was kind of like them just figuring it out. But they all imparted in me in that transition from 14 to 18. Yeah. But it was definitely hard to just understand the American experience. I tell this story all the time. Back in the day, um, I would you you don't know what you don't know, right? So I would get a traffic ticket and I would just throw it away. Because nobody really said anything about like, like, like what are these? What, you know, and yes, I know it's intuitive. You're supposed to. Yeah. But what's intuitive to someone that was born here is not really intuitive to someone, you know, that that didn't live here. So that that accumulated quite a bit, and I got into that that's that was that didn't end up well, but I figured it out.

Speaker 1 8:46

Um, but lessons like that are things that I had to learn on my own and just kind of figure out how to like get go in and get your plates on your vehicle and like just the little stuff that we're used to doing.

Speaker 2 8:55

Seems intuitive to folks that are born here, but there's there's so much I had to learn and unlearn.

Speaker 1 9:01

Pay your property taxes, like all the little the little things that are just a normal American way. It's just like, oh, okay, like I'm here now, like now I'm a grown adult and now I'm starting my business here. So, how quickly did you when when does food come in the picture? Because were you cooking as a kid? Were you cooking as a child? Because being the youngest, you know, were you treat was everybody cooking around you? Walk me through like what the house was like.

Speaker 2 9:21

Um yeah, uh my sister did most of the cooking in my house. Um, and as the youngest, I would like go and hold her leg and get every taste whenever she's uh yeah, whenever she's cooking. Um, but cooking really came into the picture when I transitioned here to the US. Um, so it was that's an excellent segue. Um it was just me and my dad living in the house. And my dad bought all the groceries, but that was it. Yeah. Like, didn't cook anything, just bought groceries. So it's like literally, he was like, if you want to eat, you have to figure it out. So I would call my mom in Nigeria and she would walk me through. And I and I love Nigerian food, so and I didn't have enough money to go to the restaurants at the time. So I'll call my mom in Nigeria and she would walk me through how to make some of the dishes. And that's kind of how I started cooking. Um, so at 1415, I would cook at home. Of course, I would mess it up quite a bit, but if you messed it up, you gotta eat it because that's that's all the supplies you have. Yeah, and then in the next go, you get better and you get better. So that was how cooking was introduced personally. Yeah. Um out of necessity. Yeah, out of necessity.

Speaker 1 10:27

I miss home, I miss my food. I can't afford to buy it at these other places. I gotta figure it out.

Speaker 2 10:31

Yeah, and and you know, I I got better. And um when I got to college, I started cooking for my friends. So I knew what I was doing, so to speak. Um, but I started cooking for my friends, and then I got an audience where people were able to say, Oh, I like this, I don't like this. And that's kind of how that developed when it came comes to hospitality and how I shared my culture. And again, it all goes down to that basis of me trying to share my culture, me trying to educate people on who I am and what Nigeria means to me.

Speaker 1 11:02

So, yeah. So walk me through the the building because you mentioned your parents, you know, lived here in the 70s and the 80s. They knew Washav as this bustling street. Exactly. What was that phone call like when you're like, mom, I'm buying this building in the heart of downtown St. Louis? Because that has to be a special moment as somebody that you know isn't from this country to look at a city and Washav is most beautiful street in St. Louis. Yeah, and obviously we're all working to revitalize that street. I'm working with group, there's a lot of developers down there too. And but you're part of that, you know, and you're part of that redevelopment of St. Louis. And I think having a Nigerian, an authentic Nigerian restaurant in the heart of downtown, it's the front door to people that travel there. It really is. So walk me through that moment when you purchased a real estate building, you know, what was that like? It had to be scary, but it also had to be, you know, somewhat rewarding. And I'm I'm sure your family was was pretty proud of you in that moment.

Speaker 2 11:52

Yeah. Um, so my brother and I were um, so my brother came to my events quite a bit in St. Louis. So we'll get to the events part as well. But um he came to my events a lot. So I when I shared, so he was the first person I shared with about the plan. Um, that building actually was a space where I used to have events back in the day. So when I saw it was for sale, I immediately understood the structure of the building, what what it looked like on the inside. What the possibility could be. Yeah, and exactly what the possibilities can be. Um, so my mom and dad were always very skeptical about um not doing the medical route, right? So I don't know if you've heard this um from international folks that have been on here, but in an African home, like the only successful careers are being a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer. Yep. And then yeah, that's it. And the engineer is iffy. But um so uh throughout college, I did all of those things, right? Well, yeah, so engineering was my my base degree, um, and I did pre-med. So like I literally was straddling those two career choices. And um having events and doing parties and cooking was kind of like you know, was strange to them because they felt like that wasn't the power.

Speaker 1 13:11

Like, oh, you're just having fun, like you'll grow up. Exactly, exactly.

Speaker 2 13:15

So um that moment when we purchased the building was I think finally when they said, Oh, this is real. Uh not only is he really doing this, but he's making something of it. And um it was pride. Um, so they were definitely like very proud of me, and they were like, Oh, well, you actually made something of it to where you're able to buy a building. So I think the building made it uh very concrete um and it made it real to them. And you know, I I just appreciated just being seen in that way. And I I remember when my mom and dad came to the restaurant um right when we opened, and they were like looking around. My mom picked some of the paint paint colors, and she had all these ideas for how she wanted it to look, and I did some of it. Um, but you could you could see the pride on their faces. Um, and then how big the brand has grown. Um, you know, Nigerian parents, any parents, um, really like to brag about their kids, especially when they're doing well. So my mom adds levels to every conversation once you know, once her friends are asking about too much. Yeah, once her friends are asking about, oh, um, what do your kids do and all of that, and then she, you know, goes through the list and she was like, and they know no is an engineer and owns levels. Have you heard of levels? And then um they they start that conversation. But it's it's really amazing how how far the brand has gone to where when she mentions it to people that are in town, out of town, um, most of the time they know what levels is. Um, the Nigerian restaurant in the world. It's bigger than just St. Louis. Yeah, it really is. Yeah, yeah. It really is. And I'm I'm very proud of that. I think that that's a testament to how far your name um your brand can go before you make it into the room.

Speaker 1 14:55

So the STL bucket list show is proudly sponsored by Suede Dispensary with 11 Missouri area locations. Suede does so much for the St. Louis community. We've been working with this team for a couple of years, back since Medical was here, and we're excited to support their new product launches, events, and community initiatives. We couldn't be happier to work with this premier cannabis brand, and we're excited for them to sponsor the show. Enjoy the rest of the podcast. And when you put your head down, and it's just like anything. I mean, we started this brand back in 2019, and my parents were the same way. You know, my family is known to be union contractors, they work with their hands, and when they saw me working on digital computers, they're like, Oh, what is this? Like, and then they see the impact once they get online and they're like, Oh my gosh, like 200,000 people are following this and like all these things, and they come here to the studio that we built and all these different things, and they're like, wait, this is actually like a new way of doing things. And I think to your point, it's like you have to find your passion. And I know you have kids too, and I have I have little kids too, and it's just like whatever they end up doing is if you can invest in that passion, but then also make sure that they're doing 100% at that. You know, you can't half-ass anything in life. And if you're like, Oh, well, I'm just gonna have a restaurant, but I'm only gonna be open a couple days, and then I'm gonna close it down, and then like you're committed to building this restaurant, and this is just the beginning. I mean, this is from from what I can see, you know, and I'm sure that you're gonna continue to grow the brand, but I see multiple locations in your future. I see your catering program, your events, your brunch that you've been doing, and all that stuff. So let's walk me back real quick to the event. So, like, what was the was there an aha moment where you did an event and a bunch of people showed up and you're like, wait, how did this even happen? Because like you were cooking for your boys in college, you were cooking for some friends, maybe selling some plates on the side. Yeah, but there was probably a moment when you hosted a bunch of people together and you're like, wait, this is actually real.

Speaker 2 16:34

Yeah. Um, my birthdays really did it for me. Um, so after we hosted friends at our apartment, we used to live in U City. Um, me and my good friend Drista Ross, my frat brother. Um, so we lived in U City, so that's where we hosted a lot of like just people just came over and eat and people stay. And it was just like kind of like uh so U City is like very central in St. Louis, I guess. To my friends, it was. Um, but really, you know, if you were going downtown, you could stop at U City and hang out and yeah, things like that. So that's where we lived. The pregating spot. Yeah, yeah, pretty much, yeah. So um that's what we did, and then my birthdays were kind of like that was the aha moment um when I would throw birthday parties and a lot of people would show up. Um I think it's one of the things that that showed me was just all the different like demographics and groups that I had grown up to be a part of. So um I went to Hazewood East, so that's in North County of St. Louis, and you know how St. Louis is. St. Louis is like a pocket of people and everybody kind of sticks to their own cliques and stuff like that. But then I felt like my birthdays were like bringing all these different parts of St. Louis together. So I told you I lived in U City Um at the time. I went to school in Hazewood East, which is um in North County. Um I went to Slough and Umsel. So those are two different parts of town. But I'd had people from SLU, I had people from Umsel. I'm part of the fraternity, um, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated. So that's another pocket of people. I'm Nigerian, another pocket of people. Yeah, um, so all little niche groups.

Speaker 1 18:05

Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2 18:06

So when I threw an event, it was a combination of all of those people. And I think that that was also a moment where I was like, wait, you might be on to something.

Speaker 1 18:16

Um a lot of diversity in the room. Exactly. You know, like your Nigerian group of friends were able to feel culture there, but then you were also able to, you know, show kids they went to slough. Exactly. Like, hey, like this is actually a real thing, and they might have never had food like that and stuff like that. So the the birth you go hard for your birthday though. Oh, yeah, absolutely. When's your birthday?

Speaker 2 18:35

March 29th. Oh, mark your calendar. Yeah, we got it. Yeah, that's it. For the next one.

Speaker 1 18:39

March is a good month for St. Louis because we had 314 Day. Yes. And then a couple weeks later we got your birthday. And you're gonna have it at levels again this year.

Speaker 2 18:44

Yes, I usually have it at levels. It's always a great time. Um, but also that's that's also a moment for me because I always had my birthday parties at all these different places. Um, I would book a venue, do the event.

Speaker 1 18:58

Yeah, and so higher DJ, higher sound, exactly cater music, cater food, all that.

Speaker 2 19:02

So when I was able to do it at levels, it was like, man, like this is how far you've come, and this is this is amazing. This is a milestone. And it was also a great, great event.

Speaker 1 19:12

So you opened levels in July of 2023. So we're coming up on almost four years next summer. Yes. You know, so what's the evolution been like? Because I read a a lot about you know the food. So, like your authentic food, the pepper soup with the goat meat, that's a celebration dish. And then also the spice levels, because you have to, you know, I read something in St. Louis magazine where you're like, man, I had to taper back on some stuff because you know, it's just like, I mean, we we go to a lot of Indian restaurants and they they eat food at a different spice level and they have they they put it on the menu and stuff like that. But as far as the evolution of your menu, it seems like you do try to keep things really authentic, but also add in flair to your menu as well. Yeah, add in some of that stuff that you've learned from travel and different things like that, too.

Speaker 2 19:56

Yeah, so um our menu, you know, we started off with some dishes that are no longer there. We've added other dishes, um, but the spice level was the biggest thing. So when we started, the spice level was through the roof. Um, I think that that had a draw in itself. So people that are the spice lovers are like, oh yeah, we're good, we're coming. But at the same time, everybody can't take that level of heat. So we we included like, so now we like taper back on on how hot things were, but we have like a sauce that you can order and it can spice it up with whatever you want. Um, and then our next transition is like to have like just different spice levels on the menu. So you can like see how spicy everything is, um, and you you're able to pick, you know, yeah, based on just seeing that. Um, so that's one thing. And then we had our we added in brunch that we do once a month. We're picking it up to be every week, um, which is also something like brunch is not super popular in Nigeria. So it was hard to like cater to our Nigerian audience. I was like, what is like what is brunch like per se? But I think the young younger audience and the folks that I mean that have lived here for a while, they know what brunch is. So brunch has been a new staple that we're adding in. Um, and then our uh catering. When we first started, we didn't we had so much going on, like we just didn't have the capacity for catering. Right. So things that we've built out is our catering menu. We've also built out like festivals. Um so that's how we saw you guys at Festival of Nations. Yeah, Festival of Nations, Foodie's Eat First. Um, we have we also do like pop-up. So we love doing sampling events. So that's one thing that just kind of became part of our culture of the restaurant. So uh farmers formal is actually coming up soon. Um so we donate food and serve there. Um they raise money for farmers, uh, farming students um in St. Louis. So we're really, really proud of doing that. And then we just recently did um another pop-up sampling event at the Danford Center for Party with the plants. So that's another uh fundraising event that we just Really enjoy being a part of and the Festival of Nations Food Easy First. I think that that's a really, really good um avenue to do exactly what our mission is, is to share our culture and bring people together through food. And so we do that with sharing our food in spaces that otherwise we probably wouldn't have been there, or they probably wouldn't have ever tried Nigerian food. And that brings them to the restaurant, that introduces them to a new cuisine. Um it's just right in line with our mission. So I'm very proud of it.

Speaker 1 22:27

And they start looking into it because like when you when you tell people Missouri, so like keep in mind Missouri is in the middle of America. Yeah. And then you say, hey, point on a map to where Nigeria is, and then they think of Nigeria from a movie or from they think of Africa as a whole, and they think of small towns, but you've been able to bring your culture and show how rich your culture is, that it's very sophisticated. And that's like that's what I love about St. Louis, and I think Festival of Nations does a good job with that. But all these different things that we get to try in St. Louis, whether, I mean, we have a rich Asian cuisine here, we have a rich uh Mediterranean cuisine here, we have Jamaican restaurants, we have Nigerian restaurants. But at the end of the day, it's like people don't realize being in Missouri. It's like you wouldn't expect that when you're when you came to Missouri. And I'm sure when you even when you came here when you were 14, it wasn't as robust, especially living in North County. It's like you have your fast food chains, maybe you have a couple Chinaman spots, but like other than like having these authentic, like go down South Grand today and you can find 17 different cultures. I love it. Um, go over to Olive and find some of the best Asian restaurants in St. Louis and some of these people that are that are and also some of these younger chefs, like one of my favorites, Nick, over at Sato and Endo, like taking what his parents taught him and then just going crazy with it in like places like that. And same with you, is like you're creating an experience. It's not just a hole-in-the-wall restaurant. It's like you walk in and it's like this feels like we're in Chicago, this feels like we're in New York City, you got the mezzanines, you got the dark light, the I mean, you didn't skip any details.

Speaker 2 23:53

And and the idea too, just you know, piggybacking on what you just said, um, is that we want the narrative to change from we're in Chicago to we're in St. Louis. You know, like we have that kind of sophistication here. We have, you know, that's that's where we're going, you know. Um, I think that St. Louis used to be that hub, and St. Louis used to be a space where people could say, Oh, I'm going to St. Louis. And unfortunately, like now, um, or in the last decade, you know, traveling around the country, like, and internationally too, you say you're from St. Louis, and a lot of people were like, Where is that? Yeah. Um, it wasn't honestly internationally for me, it wasn't till like Nellies and Chingis of the world came about where people would be like, oh yeah, that's the place. Yeah. And even then they think we're in Louisiana somewhere.

Speaker 1 24:45

You know, they don't even see a hat. They're like, oh, it's the little red hat with the like the hats iconic, the Cardinals hat, and and guys like Chingy and Nelly and Merkeeley and them put it on the map. Exactly.

Speaker 2 24:54

And so it's like, I I would like to create something that not only highlights Nigeria, but also highlights St. Louis as the hub for levels, and then we can go to all different places. And when we land in Chicago, we land in Dallas, wherever we may end up, um, people will say, Oh, that's the Nigerian restaurant that's in St. Louis. Right. And now it's here. And, you know, just have that kind of notoriety as a brand, but also have a brand for the city as well. Yeah. It's also very important for us.

Speaker 1 25:23

The STL Bucket list show is fueled by Upshot Coffee. My friends at Upshot Coffee have some of the best beans in town. I got some of their new packaging here. Look at this bag. Look how big this is. Um, they have four St. Louis locations, their flagship in Cottleville, the break shop over by Lindenwood in St. Charles, their Clayton location called Hi-Fi, um, and then Flyby over in Tower Grove, their newest location. Um, and they also sell their coffee online everywhere. If you guys haven't added Upshot Coffee to your STL bucket list, it's time to try it. Some of the my favorite people in the industry and some of the best coffee in the game. And I think hospitality is so un you know, misunderstood because it's such a hard industry to be in. And you, I mean, you see your numbers, you see your PLs, you could do everything right, and one thing could go wrong, especially when you own your real estate. Oh man. You know? So just, I mean, we own this building. It's a small building, but you know, one month the roof goes out and that that destroys our whole month, or our HVAC goes out, that destroys our whole month. And luckily, you own the building, you have a little bit more power over your rent control because a lot of these other places, they these neighborhoods become popular and then they push you out of the neighborhood. So being able to create that, but when you talk about scaling, where do you see? Do you see yourself having like a food truck doing pop-ups in other cities? Do you know other markets with a lot of, you know, is your target audience Nigerian people or is it just every food? I think it's foodies.

Speaker 2 26:45

I think it's foodies.

Speaker 1 26:45

Yeah, that's what I was saying. I mean, obviously you cater to Nigerians, but also it's like you cater to Sunday brunch, which is like not, you know.

Speaker 2 26:51

So it's like it's it's foodies. Um, we we if you're I when I'm able to get around and talk to customers in the restaurant, um, I thank them for being adventurous. And I think that that's really the person that I I want in my restaurant is the adventurous person that does not know what the food is, but wants to be a good thing. That's what makes you excited.

Speaker 1 27:12

You can see a couple that might be in their 50s, yeah. First time ever trying it, and you're like, that's that's big for me.

Speaker 2 27:17

And even with Nigerians, I feel like they're being adventurous because Nigerians have a very specific way of how they want their Nigerian food cooked. So if they come to a restaurant, if they come to your restaurant, they're being adventurous because they don't know what they're gonna get. Yeah. And then for them, it's I I get a sense of pride for two things. When they try the food and they really, really enjoy it. And the second thing is when they bring other people that have never tried Nigerian cuisine before and they walk in and they say, This is our place, yeah. I want you to see it.

Speaker 1 27:47

That's that just And you'll see a couple come in and you're like, they bring another couple and yeah, wait, you just you're doing my marketing for me.

Speaker 2 27:53

It takes me, takes me to another place when it comes to like how happy I get. You have the the young couple that his girlfriend has never tried Nigerian food before, but he's Nigerian, so he brings her in. Yes. You have the coworker that, you know, has another coworker that's Nigerian, but the rest of the team is not Nigerian. And they say, hey, we need to go to this place. It's called Levels. Let's go. And then he brings them, they have a great experience, and then he tell me, Hey, all my coworkers are not Nigerian, they're from St. Louis, they've never tried this food before, but they came and they really enjoyed it. Thank you. Yeah, you made us proud. Yes, you know, you put on for us.

Speaker 1 28:29

And we we made them all take a chance to go here instead of getting bread co or something for lunch.

Speaker 2 28:33

Exactly, which they usually get, they've been getting all these years. And um, so St. Louis is has, I mean, Levels has been that for St. Louis so far. So and and I just love hearing those experiences. I love seeing that happen. And you name it, all different dynamics of relationships or friendships, you name it. And they come in and they share, they're like doing exactly what I wanted to do as a kid, yeah, and they're doing it now. And levels is now a conduit, a space where they can they can do that freely. Yeah. So um, I just want to keep that going, make sure that people are proud. But back to your question, because I kind of think we kind of strayed away from that. Um, what I see is, of course, I want the adventurous um foodie to come to the restaurant. But what I really, really want to do is um eventually franchise and get other locations and other places. But right now, I really want to focus on like the college students. Um, and I remember what it felt like, you know, being in college, and I imagine what would it feel like being in college and seeing a Nigerian restaurant there as a Nigerian. I think that would be like groundbreaking. Um, and so I'm looking to see how we can get into some of these major institutions here in St. Louis, share our culture because we've done some pop-ups at Washiu, we've done some pop-ups at SLU, um, and the the reception is is is amazing. Um at Washi U when we did uh we did we were part of the summer food truck series. Oh yeah. We don't have a food truck, but we just had a tent. And um and we got there at five and we had students that were waiting since 4 30, like in a line.

Speaker 1 30:10

And just kept serving all day, like until you sold out.

Speaker 2 30:13

Yeah, and so when we got there, they were already waiting for us.

Speaker 1 30:16

Because they knew you were there.

Speaker 2 30:17

And funny, yeah, because they knew we were here. So they publicized it pretty well through campus, so they knew that we were coming. Um, so we did that for six weeks once every week. And by like the fourth week, um, this older gentleman, Nigerian, um, he's a summer college professor there. And he said, Oh, you're the one causing all the trouble. I said, What? I said, What's going on? He said, My my class left early to come get food, and they've done that uh last couple weeks. And I was like, Oh, well, I guess, but he was there to get food as well. So it was all right. Yeah, so it was it was a good joke. But it wasn't everybody, but he was like, he knew that they some of them would leave to come get food because we're only there from five and it was a summer course. But um, experiences like that, stories like that is what keeps me going, um, gets me very excited. So we want to just figure out a way exactly with that mindset of like spreading our culture, get on these college campuses, get a couple more locations going.

Speaker 1 31:19

Um and identify college campuses with um, like you said, not just Nigerian, but it it would help if you had a bunch of people there and a megaphone there, you know. But but at the end of the day, people, especially younger people, uh, are more adventurous than our parents were. You know, so my parents would have never like we didn't grow up eating yet. I grew up in St. Charles, which is like a whole different world of you went to the same places. Yeah. And then when I moved to South City and I was living in South City close to South Grand, I would walk down South Grand and I'm like, I'm like, wait, Brazil, uh, India, Vietnamese, Turkey, you know, all the Vietnamese. I mean, some of the best Vietnamese. I mean, my guys over at Miley and Qui and all those guys, some of the best food in the world. Yes. Um, but yeah, just getting to experience that. And then what I love about it is when you go into these restaurants and you see the passion that these people have, because that's what you mentioned when your parents is like, man, I would love to have you wear a white coat, but now you wear, you know, a different type of coat and you serve your customers and stuff like that. And I I think that at the end of the day, entrepreneurship is one of the biggest things that America can give. And when you have children in America and you can build businesses and build legacy, yeah, you know, there's a lot of doctors and there's a lot of you know different things, but it's like something about food and something about restaurants and something about hospitality makes you a better leader, makes you a better parent because you're leading a lot of people that might be their first job. Or they might be, you know, getting back on their feet and they might be in the kitchen. It's like you're able to lead those people.

Speaker 2 32:38

Absolutely.

Speaker 1 32:39

Um, what's your favorite part about working? If let me ask you this, if you could only work one position at the restaurant. So if let's just say that you had to stop everything you're doing and you could only do one thing at your restaurant, what would that be and why? So one position, whether it's line, whether it's front of house, whether it's, you know, wait.

Speaker 2 32:58

I'd actually I want to be like, I want to be like a celebrity kind of chef. Okay. So I want to cook, yeah, but not all the time.

Speaker 1 33:06

Yes. You know, you want to go crazy, but only like a couple times.

Speaker 2 33:09

Right. So I I envision myself being that kind of chef. And I want to have like a standing chef that cooks all the time, gets all everything done. But sometimes I get in there and I cook. And specifically, what I want to do is that I want to be like that person that cooks special dishes and then comes out and shares it with the customer. Yes, right.

Speaker 1 33:29

You like being out there. Yeah.

Speaker 2 33:30

So I want to do like a little bit of both. I still want to cook, but at the same time, I still want to interface with customers when I'm presenting something special. When I'm presenting, you know, like a special dish or something like that. So um I'm thinking near in in the near future, I'd like to have like a dinner series where it's like we do something curated just for that day and and be able to present it. So I think that to answer your question, it's kind of gonna be a mix of being like a chef um for the day and also like have some hospitality flair to it to where I present that to people.

Speaker 1 34:05

And have that elevated experience where you can come out and talk about the dish, what farm you got the ingredients from. Like, hey, this was a dish that I that my mom used to make, or this was a dish my sister did when we were growing up. Share the story. Share the story. Because that's what people want. They want a story, and it's like it costs so much money to go out nowadays. So it's like if people come and they spend money at your business, they really want to enjoy it. Yeah, they want to enjoy it.

Speaker 2 34:26

And they want a full experience.

Speaker 1 34:27

We're taking a chance, you know, we're coming out, we're spending two hours of our time, a couple hundred bucks. It's like we want something that that we can leave feeling that we got fulfilled, but also feeling that we supported, you know, a business. And I think that local feel in St. Louis specifically. You've been a megaphone for St. Louis. I've I've seen groups like Explore St. Louis and other groups really use your story and actually help highlight what's going on on the wash ass. I'm proud of that, yeah. Um, I want to talk a little bit just to wrap about St. Louis because I want to hear what's on your bucket list too. What's some spots that you love in St. Louis? Um it's hard for you to get out. I mean, your hours are prime time. Yeah. You know, and I'm sure you're there every day, all day when when in but when you get to go out, is there any other restaurants that make you proud to be from St. Louis? Or are there any other places that you like to maybe celebrate at besides your restaurant?

Speaker 2 35:11

Yeah, I love Nigerian food. Everybody that's close to me is like, if he's not eating Nigerian food, he's probably not eating. But but I do love Asian cuisine. Yeah. Um, so um pho on grand. Yeah. Um, I I don't know, their name is kind of like is it Grand Bistro?

Speaker 1 35:28

It was. I don't know, they changed. Yeah. They reopened, yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 2 35:30

So that one, so it's right there on Grand. Um, I love getting lunch there. I love a good pho. Um, and then I actually like Meet Hungry, which is a Jamaican restaurant. It's more, it's more like carryout, but I really, really enjoy that space. Um, I actually went to college with um the owner's son back in the day. So it was very interesting seeing seeing them uh together working. And um I like Mamas on the Hill. Um I think just for nostalgic effect, I've been eating there since I had enough money to eat there. So I love Mamas on the Hill. Um, what else? What else? What else? What else? I think those are like some spaces. I I occasionally go to Miley. Um, I just love the story of it. They have excellent food as well. So I I enjoy um a good lunch there again with the with the Asian cuisine. Um and I'm open to trying new things. Um I think um Barcelona's. I've I've been there, I've tried uh you know the tapas and and and the concept there. I think that's just a cool concept.

Speaker 1 36:32

Beautiful patio, too. It's just a special patio.

Speaker 2 36:35

I think conceptually, I would like to have a Nigerian tapa style space where you can have like small dishes and it's all I don't know if I'll be able to call them tapas, but because that's a Spanish thing. But uh just like small plates, yeah. There's just small plates in the.

Speaker 1 36:57

Exactly.

Speaker 2 36:57

So I think conceptually I really, really like that place. But um good food all around in St. Louis. I really love um the influx of international cuisine in St. Louis. I think we've seen a lot of openings. The economy is tough right now, so everybody's kind of waiting the waters trying to get through. Yeah, but in general, I think I'm very, very proud of St. Louis's food scene. Um and I love the festival scene too, and how it highlights um restaurants, it gives them a big pop of marketing right there and then, and some revenue too. So I really, really enjoy being a part of those scenes. And again, like at this point, I'm from St. Louis as well as Nigeria. Yeah. So I I'm I'm very proud of like making sure that St. Louis has that space on the map and has that notoriety of you know, having better, I guess, a better narrative than what is put out there sometimes.

Speaker 1 37:54

And it takes people like you and it takes this podcast and people to listen and and it takes all of that. But do you ever get to go home and in and travel and in that when you can?

Speaker 2 38:04

Yes, that's my favorite time of year.

Speaker 1 38:06

And you do a little RD and go. Yes, yeah.

Speaker 2 38:09

So I go to Nigeria in December. Okay. And um I missed two years after the pandemic. I had my son, so you know, just focused on different things. But when I go to Nigeria, it's my ultimate time to reset. Um, and then also, so this past year, I'm well, I've been to Nigeria twice in the last year. Um, but this past December, when I went to Nigeria, I made it a point to eat at every local place that I could. Um, so I didn't want to eat at the big restaurants, I wanted to eat at the corner side restaurants. Just see what was called. Walk around with my flip-flops and just eat wherever I was. I'm sure you got inspired, too. Yeah, street food, exactly. Street food. I actually did quite a bit of like recording of it, so that would be a great STL bucket list documentary/slash food uh adventure for us to do because it's so many spaces to eat and it's such a great time. Um, but yeah, I walked around, ate a bunch of food, um, and hospitality in Nigeria is just on another level. Like when it comes to the club scene, that's on another level. But also when it comes to elevated restaurants, you'd be surprised how far they go. Because they get a lot of like their inspiration from high-end restaurants in Dubai, yeah, in uh Europe, and and in the US too. So you can think about a conglomerate of all of those ideas and they bring them back to Nigeria. And there's some pretty top-notch stuff back there. Yeah. So I did the local scene and the smaller spaces, but then I did some upscale places and I was I was blown up. So the club scene there is crazy too. Oh, yes.

Speaker 1 39:38

Like late, late, but also just entertainment-wise, hospitality-wise.

Speaker 2 39:42

Yeah, it's just and it's again, I think that that's something I think as a culture, Nigerians are very hospitable people. Yeah. And so we kind of infuse that into almost everything that we do. So of course, with hospitality, we're gonna go over and beyond. Um, I I went to this space in Nigeria Club in Nigeria where they had a big aquarium with actual people swimming in it. Yeah. And I was like, what? And this was like at like two o'clock in the morning. Yeah. I was like, okay, this is crazy.

Speaker 1 40:12

Yeah, you're like, this is sick.

Speaker 2 40:13

Um, so it's really how how we do things almost as Nigerians. Um, but coming back to levels though, um, just just wanted to make a point that when we were creating levels, we didn't want it to be just like a hole in the wall space. Because a lot of the times, like Nigerians are like, not Nigerian restaurants, African restaurants, international restaurants in general, is just like, we just want to cook, we just want to get the food to you.

INTRO SONG 40:37

Yeah.

Speaker 2 40:38

Um, but I wanted it to be a little bit more than that. You have an experience, you see the space, you enjoy the space, and then you can say to yourself, I feel like I've seen a piece of Nigeria that I wouldn't have seen otherwise. Yeah. And so that's why we kind of took those ideas from going to other places and seeing how well things can be done and bringing that to St. Louis and saying that we want to do it on that level. And that's kind of why, no pun intended, we created levels.

Speaker 1 41:05

Yeah, and you got levels to this, and there's levels to this game. And I appreciate you for coming on the podcast today and and uh can't wait to try some of the food that you brought. And yeah, and and I love the idea of doing the video series, so maybe highlighting some of that trip, and that would be good for Sauce Magazine too. Because we want to bring more, because a lot of chefs that we talk to do travel. You know, I was talking to another chef that went over to Italy to go make pizza, and I know Katie just went over there to like to develop an olive oil recipe, and like all these people that are getting inspiration from other countries and actually bringing that to St. Louis is great. But no, I appreciate you for your time. Oh, yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 2 41:35

And um, before we get off camera, I want to highlight St. Louis bucket list too. Um, we had a video shot at Levels, and Talia came by. She was there for 10 minutes. I I I I promise it was like 10 minutes. And she just did a couple things. I brought some food out, she recorded it, tasted a couple things, and she left. And the video went super viral. And I was like, who are these people? Like, you know, like um and Talia is so like humble, and she just kind of came in, did her thing. Um, but I really want to, you know, highlight you guys too, because you guys are bigging up all these businesses. Like, you guys are putting on for St. Louis, so to speak. You guys are a megaphone for St. Louis, and you guys are highlighting some of the best that St. Louis has to offer. So I want to say thank you. Um, because it's it's not easy. Um, I know you're making some money, you got the big bucks, but at the same time, I could tell that you're passionate about this.

Speaker 1 42:22

Yeah.

Speaker 2 42:22

So I want to, you know, give you your flowers as well. Because you I you spend all day giving other people their flowers. So I appreciate it. I've always wanted to be on here too.

Speaker 1 42:30

So hey, it made it happen. Yeah, it's cool. Appreciate that, bro. That was nice. Thank you. Absolutely, absolutely. See you guys next week.