VIP Café Show – Youngstown, Ohio – Local Guests with Amazing Impact to Our Community
Friendships begin based on numerous circumstances. Many are created because of similar interests and hobbies. For example, being part of the same sports team or maybe being a member of the same academic club. Other friendships are formed based on proximity or what neighborhood you grew up in. Whatever the reason, having a good solid friendship is a wonderful thing.We believe Podcasts are very similar to friendships. They are many times created by a few people who have common interests and share a similar vision. They are generally formed to help “inform” others about a variety of topics and subject matter. The question many Podcasters ask themselves is….why me/us? With so many options to choose from as a listener, what makes one Podcast better than another? We believe it all begins with….a good host or pair of hosts! That is exactly how The VIP Café Show came to fruition. Two friends, Greg Smith and Brian Blasko had a conversation while enjoying a cigar on a cool crisp January evening and the rest as they say…is history.The VIP Café Show was created to inform, educate and entertain listeners from the great city of Youngstown, OH. Although The VIP Café Show listeners reach far beyond the Youngstown area, the primary focus of the show is to highlight local “Youngstowners” and to hear their story. The Podcast also dives into a variety of fascinating topics besides Youngstown. Greg and Brian love discussing leadership, public speaking, customer care, team building, and life in general. They are always fascinated by what makes people tick and how people became (or are becoming) the person they are today! The VIP Café Show is a fun and informative program that engages the audience with every interview, conversation, and dialog that transpires.
VIP Café Show – Youngstown, Ohio – Local Guests with Amazing Impact to Our Community
E52: The VIP Café Show with Hannah Ferguson - From Academia to Artisan: The Journey to Becoming Ohio's First Black Female Cider Owner
How does one go from higher education to becoming the first black female cider owner in Ohio? Meet Hannah Ferguson, the dynamic force behind Dope Cider House and Winery in Youngstown. After facing a tough job market and battling depression, Hannah discovered her passion for wine-making right in her mom's apartment, starting with just 10 gallons of Riesling and Shiraz. Join us as she shares her remarkable story of resilience, creativity, and the journey from academia to cider crafting.
In this episode, we explore the entrepreneurial spirit that propelled Hannah to success. Hear about the unique challenges she faced while establishing her cider house, and how she pivoted from a winery to a cider house after recognizing local market preferences. Discover the creative freedom she enjoys in crafting diverse flavors, the adventures with lesser-known grape varieties, and the continuous learning process in the beverage industry. Hannah also reveals the trials of experimenting with fruit wines, particularly the colorful challenges posed by strawberry wine.
But it's not all business—Hannah reflects on the importance of mentorship, the impact of community support, and a memorable People's Choice award. In a fun rapid-fire segment, we get to know her personal favorites, from music to vacation spots. Finally, Hannah talks about her favorite creation at Dope Cider House, the cherished "diamond wine," and invites listeners to visit her establishment in downtown Youngstown. Don't miss this engaging episode brimming with inspiration, personal insights, and a taste of Hannah's favorite products.
hey, hey, hey, it's a vip cafe show. I'm here with my excellent co-host hello, debbie larson, hello, hello.
Speaker 2:It's been a while I feel like, yes, I, when we don't, when we miss a week, I, I miss it. Did we miss a week? We did?
Speaker 1:you were traveling I was traveling and had to go to cleveland clinic for a little bit you know other than that I was watching this program, a 60 minute program, and this young girl I wish I knew her name. I don't okay, but what happened is she's 12 years old, she's a virtuoso on the violin, she's a virtuoso on the piano. She's written her own opera or her own concertos already.
Speaker 1:She's and and the news media said she's a prodigy. And I went and she's so talented. I said what age she starts. She started when she was three. Wow, and it's just. I hate what the media does when they say somebody's a lucky or they're a prodigy because that little girl fell in love with music and every waking moment of her life, from the age of three till 12, was spent on music, busting her their end totally and yes, talent had something to do with it.
Speaker 1:Right, you could probably make. If you really worked hard you could probably create cider right oh, oh.
Speaker 2:I don't know about me, but I'm sure I could come up with some variations of what's supposed to be cider. But today you guys get to meet a real cider maker. It is Youngstown's only cider house and winery and she is the only female black cider owner in the state of Ohio. And we have her sitting with us right here, hannah ferguson from dope cider house and winery in downtown youngstown. She started it. It was her dream, cool story. I can't wait for you guys to meet her awesome hey so tell us about this whole full lengthy process?
Speaker 1:Did you just wake up and you were a cider?
Speaker 3:maker I wish. So I am a life, basically I say a lifetime. Resident of Youngstown but, I did move away for a little bit, went to college at Kent State. After Kent State, moved back home briefly and then I moved to Orlando, lived in Orlando six years, really Moved to Orlando six years. That's where I went down there, went to school, got my master's it was just working and then all of a sudden got laid off.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, what were you doing?
Speaker 3:I was working for I was doing academic advising and admissions for DeVry University at the time.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Got laid off Higher education how higher education is, and the ride ain't making any easier. And then it was just like what am I doing? And at that time too, this is in the teens, part of 2000, so it was like, okay, 2010 through 13, okay. And it was like it was like no one was hiring. And it was crazy because the interviews that I would get, they would always look at my resume and tell me I was overqualified.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's got to be fortunate.
Speaker 1:I just took my at one point I literally that's code, for we don't want to pay you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I literally took my master's degree off of my resume, and I took it off because it was. I wasn't getting anywhere. I knew I was qualified for the jobs, I met the requirements but, like you said, it's code, for we don't want to pay you wow and I just made a decision with my family.
Speaker 3:They were just like come back home, just come back home. And you know any? This majority of the people who grow up in youngstown go to school here. Like our first thought is to leave, to get out, and so I moved back and I was just in this state of depression I was depressed and I was like all right, I'm back here living with my mom. I was doing so well. And then life, just life, they just, and it was not in.
Speaker 2:Orlando is a city where there is so much to do, yeah, so much going on, and then yeah, yeah and then, and then they obviously didn't want to pay you for whatever job I looked for.
Speaker 3:It was like I get an interview but then I'm overqualified or I just never got interviews based off of my resume and it wasn't like anything was bad. It was just like but as soon as I took that master's degree off, I received more calls but then I'm back home and I was just figuring out, still looking for work, things like that was blessed to get the opportunity to start working at still a higher education, but at Eastern Gateway Community College and before I left home we didn't have a community college, so community college was new for me here in Youngstown. Yeah, so that's an opportunity to work there as an academic advisor to continue what I was doing. And but before that I was just like like a couple of my friends and my mom were like we need to find like a hobby, because a lot of the things that I love to do prior to moving I just couldn't grasp. I couldn't get into it anymore.
Speaker 3:I used to read books, I used to do different things like that like I would read like a book a month or something like, and I just couldn't get through a chapter like my brain had like just done a mental block.
Speaker 3:So then I like actually just was like all right, what can I do? And I reached out to my stepmoms, cousins. They had been making wine for probably my age, like over 30 years, at the time, and I was like, hey, could you guys just show me how to do it? I think this is cool, I think this is something. So they showed me the basics, they showed me how to get things started, and I started off with 10 gallons.
Speaker 3:I started off with five gallons of white, which was a Riesling, and five gallons of a red, which was Shiraz, and this I started making this in the office space in my mom's apartment, so stinky it was everything it was just like very little space, and so that kind of that grew from 10 gallons to 20 gallons to 50 gallons To one point when I had moved out.
Speaker 3:I was renting a house and it had a basement. At one point I had 70 gallons of cider not cider but wine going in the basement. Wow, all in five-gallon carboys too. So that was a lot of things out there at one time Wow gallon carboys too. So that was a lot of things out there at one time, and so that hobby grew and it was just like just me just taking bottles to a function a friend's house or something like that.
Speaker 2:At this point you're just giving bottles away, just, or just bringing it to the party and it grew so much because I was either get a lot of parties, yeah, and then, at my like in our, my late 30s, we're not even like really like partying like.
Speaker 3:You're past that closely you're past that, marsy. You've done it all we're doing something like this, just chilling and talking or going to sit on somebody's front porch or yeah it's something like that. And then I it was like I joke around say I was like, oh yeah, I became the cool kid to the party because I'm drinking the wine and people are like they try it, it's good, and then they're like you made this.
Speaker 3:So now I'm getting the looks like we've never heard of anybody Like. None of my friends have any stories of like anybody making wine or anything, especially some people our age or growing up in Youngstown and everything.
Speaker 3:And this is where the encouragement from family and friends came along, and they were like you should pursue this. And that's when more and more breweries started popping up here in our close area, the Valley, and when I started to do my research, I realized that I didn't have to be a millionaire. I didn't have to own a vineyard. I didn't have to be a millionaire. I didn't have to own a vineyard, I didn't have to own an orchard, I didn't have to own these things that I knew wouldn't be possible for me, especially at that time, and the fact that I can't keep a house plant alive. So like growing, something like that definitely wouldn't happen. And so I just started doing the research and then I just took the steps for that. I actually made a huge decision. I got an opportunity to work for Modern Methods Brewing Company. I took a major pay cut from my job market to pursue just learning craft in general and learning the upscale, and they gave me that opportunity, like the fact that I have fermentation knowledge, yeah, but they love the fact that it wasn't beer and you know, and I was able to be able to express myself through that type of craft and they know, and it just like I said, still pursuing my dreams as to what I wanted to do, I started to take classes, business classes, entrepreneurship classes at the YBI through their women's entrepreneurship program, the week we program okay, and that just pretty much started. So I started with a we launch or recreate, then the we launch, so I took like a total of 16 weeks I think that each session was eight weeks each just to get that knowledge, and I got the opportunity to work with Stephanie Gilchrist, who is now currently our director of economic development here for City of Youngstown.
Speaker 3:But I got to learn those steps there, learning as I'm doing through the beer industry and then just doing like my own, like private research, like reading books, like networking, starting following people, like via social media. And then, as I was brewing, what kind of got out there via the world is the fact that people found out that I was brewing and then found out that, yo, I was technically the first, and only at the time, black owned professional female brewer in the state of Ohio. And then again, when I got the opportunity, a few years later, I got the opportunity to sign a lease on my current space that I'm in now, and that was through word of mouth and I. When Penguin City Brewing bought their building in downtown Youngstown, derek McDowell, who's the owner of the youngstown flea, he reached out. He was like hey, y'all need to talk to hannah. And they're like what?
Speaker 2:do we need to talk to hannah?
Speaker 3:about because they knew me through the beer industry but they didn't know. I was seeking to open up my own space to do cider, to do wine, and they, he told them my story and they invited me out to one of their open houses and then they were like, hey, do you see yourself in this space? And I looked at him at first, what do you mean? And then they explained that, what Derek had told them, and then we went from there and it worked out.
Speaker 3:All this happened after, after the pandemic, so, like they believe, they bought their space sometime during 2020, early 2021. I signed my official lease February 2021, but again, it took a whole nother year before real movement happened and different things like that. So I opened up my doors officially August 20th of 2022, so we'll be celebrating two years in a couple of weeks. But yeah, the passion just grew from out of a hobby and you wouldn't think like alcohol wouldn't be your first choice if you're battling depression.
Speaker 1:But it was like I know how to make the good stuff, yeah, so I looked at it.
Speaker 3:It wasn't like I was like making it and just putting my straw in a five gallon jug, but I like just use it for the you know, the friendship, the gathering the sharing that part and I feel like certain things can bring people together, no matter what state they're in Like I feel like music is a huge thing and as well as a good cocktail spirit or wine.
Speaker 3:And then the fact that you know you're making it and it, you know it changed and again, like my friends and my family were huge encouragers and especially I was like surprised, not I guess, like maybe surprised from like my family in because, like my mom, my auntie, they're like my life, like my heart and like we grew up very apostolic pentecostal, so that is the furthest spectrum from what I was supposed to do.
Speaker 3:And then everything I have, everything else. I did everything right. I went to college like I was supposed to and I was told to. I got my degree, got my bachelor's degree, then I got my master's degree. I did everything right and then you completely change everything to wow, take a drastic pay cut to pursue a dream and then dream in entrepreneurship and but they loved it. It's like still every day, like my aunt she's turning, I believe, 77.
Speaker 3:This- year or something and she would be there sweeping getting us ready. So my family, we went into overdrive to do this and again it's like it's been ups and downs. It's like the community support has been love. It's been great. It's been a learning component for everybody because cider is still, even though it's been around for years, hundreds of years, it's still new. It's only 20, 25 full-blown cideries in the state of Ohio.
Speaker 2:So it's not even that many.
Speaker 3:Even though we're like a pretty decent size apple state that grows apples, we aren't known for a hard cider Like. We're not like a Michigan, we're not like a Virginia, we're definitely not like the West Coast.
Speaker 2:You're going to change that, yeah, and how many flavors do you have right now?
Speaker 3:Currently on tap. We do eight different ciders on tap. We have three different wines right now in the bottle let's talk about them. Let's talk, let's get people interested yeah, so I'm actually, I am truly. If you know anything about ciders or cider houses, I'm probably one of the most non-traditional ciders that you could get, and I'm cool with that. I like to make stuff that people are going to want to drink and also it was like an introduction to certain things.
Speaker 3:A lot of my, all of my ciders are blended with uh 100 fruit concentrates just to bring it back to sweetness and to give it another flavor than just apple. So we're able. We have a plain apple on tap, but then I also have I've done flavors, like I do pineapple, which is one of the favorites.
Speaker 1:Blackberry.
Speaker 3:Cherry lime right now is one of the flavors right now.
Speaker 2:I bet for summer.
Speaker 3:Mango peach, different things like that. But then I love like the creativity that I can do with cider that cider offers.
Speaker 3:And then it's also like I did a pivot in my business plan Original business plan was a winery but then again I, when I was telling people that it was a lot of people who were like, like, very negative about it. They were like I don't like Ohio wines, I don't. If you're not a wine from California or Italy, we're not going to drink you Ohio, ohio wines suck. It was so many quote unquote wine snobs that I didn't let them discourage me on that. I just took a pivot to it. And then also the cider made sense.
Speaker 3:The cider still growing industry is not really hard to fight for space in a sense on somebody's tap, because the local businesses who carry me have been very encouraged. They want to support local. So they're like okay, I'll take angry orchard off, I'll put you on. Yeah, it's like. Things like that has not been hard, thankfully for me being local and but is I knew cider could start making the money for me as the wine sat doing what I needed to do, because if I only focus on wine and I wasn't able to do anything to say I'm paying for a lease and I can't even make any money if I just did wine right and so, and then now I choose grapes, um, that people haven't really heard of or they don't know.
Speaker 3:One of my best sellers in the wine is a grape called Diamond. It's grown in the Erie part of Ohio and New York, okay, and it's similar to a Riesling, and so a lot of those wineries around there they make it because it's common for them, but I'm like the only one around here who makes a Diamond wine.
Speaker 3:And it's my favorite Riesling used to be my favorite, and now diamond. And then now I've been able to introduce that wine to people and then again it's something I'm able to teach, like my staff, to talk to people about, because they'll be like oh, what wines do you have? And and we'll say Moscato. Right now we have Moscato, strawberry and Diamond. But then they're thinking Diamond is a name and we're like no, they're like so, what kind of wine is it? And they're like the wine is Diamond.
Speaker 3:And so now we're able to talk about the grape. And compare it to if you like a Riesling, you'll like this. It has tartness it. Compare it to if you like a Riesling, you'll like this. It has tartness, it has some sweetness and everybody knows Moscato. So Moscato is Moscato. And then I learned just took a risk on a fruit wine with strawberry and I learned that that's something I probably won't do again.
Speaker 2:Oh really.
Speaker 3:The strawberry wine. It's funny because the strawberry wine it turned out good but the strawberry doesn't really keep its color. The color starts to fade, Like I opened up a case of strawberry and it was like brown. Okay, but it still had the taste and the smell, but it looked disgusting. Oh, it looked bad, yeah it looked bad, so strawberry wine doesn't keep it.
Speaker 2:It doesn't show there's no preservatives. It wasn't filled with like all kinds of hate. No red dye yeah.
Speaker 1:So it doesn't keep this color and I was like, oh yeah.
Speaker 3:I'm not going to serve some. You can't serve somebody a murky looking wine even though the taste was still there, the smell was still there.
Speaker 2:Don't tell me you threw them out.
Speaker 3:No, I put.
Speaker 2:I added them to our frozen machine and it didn't blend it right Because it was nothing wrong with it.
Speaker 3:But the look wasn't there, and so, again, it's been a good year. Like I said, being able to reach this milestone in two years is huge. Some people don't make it that far. But I have a bad problem. I have a problem where I have completely outgrown my space.
Speaker 1:I can't fit another thing.
Speaker 3:So right now we're in the process of looking for a larger space, especially for production and and that's what I can't grow and do more distribution and different things like that, because of the capacity that I have currently yeah so I do everything that I do in under 1400 square feet and I'm thankful for that. But now but they knew the owners of Spacia and Richard of Penguin City. They told me they're like you're gonna outgrow this space and outgrow it fast and I have wow if they knew it, others knew it, but again not.
Speaker 3:These are some of the obstacles that we face in, especially in this area in Youngstown of capital, and as well as finance space, because I am, I'm in the alcohol industry and I can't couldn't start it in my house.
Speaker 3:It had to be in a commercial space. So then in my five-year process of getting to be able to get the sign and lease on a space, and then another year before I was able to open, so this was like a six-year buildup. It's like I had to raise capital and I had to renovate a space and get that up and going. And I had to renovate a space and get that up and going and thankfully it was like some of the renovations that I had were included, because Penguin was renovating the whole space. It was their building.
Speaker 3:Some people want you to lease a building and they got asbestos. The walls are caving down and they're not trying to do anything to fix it. Walls are caving down and they're not trying to do anything to fix it. Other people in the spot that I'm in right now I'm looking. I've people are asking me you want to stay in yorktown? You do.
Speaker 3:It would be easy to go to a cleveland, go to a columbus, but again you go to those bigger cities. The rent's higher, yeah, and but I'm looking to buy, to purchase, and right now it's spots. We know spots in yorktown. We know it's spots in youngstown. We know it's vacant spots, but these are owned by people who don't want to give up their property. And then this is an issue that has been going on for years. You don't want to give up your property, you don't want to sell it, you don't want to fix it up, so now you're an eyesore in a city and of a city that's slowly trying to progress, like again. I've been home 10 years now and I really can't say what has changed much. It's only then, obviously, why is you growing?
Speaker 3:yeah, other than some of the things downtown. But when you think about downtown, we pretty much have some of the same things that we're used to. And then you look at the beautiful amphitheater that we have. How do we have a beautiful amphitheater and it's only been four shows scheduled this whole summer?
Speaker 2:I know that's so yeah.
Speaker 3:Entertainment district that is supposed to bring entertainment to downtown and you have our businesses that have been going through hell for the past two years three with construction and different the pandemic, the different things like that. Now you know the unfortunate explosion down in one of the buildings to the tearing, the demolition of that building.
Speaker 3:But yet again, when I said earlier, music and things bring people together. We can't even get things in the Camelli Center or the amphitheater to utilize those to bring people together here, and you're right, that does bring people into the downtown area that haven't been to downtown in quite a while.
Speaker 2:Now they're trying to say, okay, we're offering free parking to, because for what?
Speaker 2:where are you going? Because where are you going? Because in some of the places I've had to shut down, which is tragic, because that is why people were going to downtown. New York South is for the food, not for shopping, necessarily, not for anything other than, hey, there's this cool restaurant or event and it's, yeah, interesting, and then, but I don't want to, I don't want to not mention that you are now canning one of your flavors, right? Yeah, because I want people to be able to look for this and there's a couple different people I have promised to bring them some of your cider because I know that they would love it.
Speaker 1:So I was like, let me bring some. Where do people get your cider?
Speaker 2:from yeah, so currently.
Speaker 1:I Not to give you more of a bigger problem, more of a need Well obviously our space downtown.
Speaker 3:460 East Federal Street. Youngstown, ohio, and it is so cute and she does events and stuff there too we're open Thursday, friday and Saturdays right now, and then we'll be bringing brunch back on Sundays for the fall season, but we can get them there. We're also on tap at the Federal. We're on tap and in cans at Cork and Cap and Warren. We're on tap at the Underground and Warren Casual Pint in.
Speaker 3:Boardman, westside Bowl. They have been a huge supporter of Dope Sided House. He's a huge supporter. Nate, the owner, is a huge supporter of local anyway. All his draft taps are all local breweries, as well as myself now, and so those are some of the places that you can find me in Youngstown. I'm surprised I'm not in a lot more restaurants in Youngstown, but it's okay.
Speaker 2:We'll get there. Yeah, we'll have to show you, right? So?
Speaker 3:it's things like that and then another is always sad and discouraging Again. I know the Covelli Center has been around a little more longer than before. You had breweries here. There's no local in the Covelli Center or Amphitheater.
Speaker 1:And do you have a website?
Speaker 3:Yes, so we are at dopethebrandcom, so you can find us on there.
Speaker 2:And tell them what DOPE is for, so they remember. Yes.
Speaker 3:So when you see DOPE, don't think like why was she picking?
Speaker 2:a name.
Speaker 3:DOPE stands for dwelling on positive energy, because again, I wanted to do like a cool spin on something that also always has like a negative. Look like dope. You're like, okay, you name a whole business dope, but that's what it means. And when you come into our space you see nothing but positive sayings and words of affirmation that you can leave with, especially if you're having a bad day or something like that. Our decor is is the big highlight that I'm. I didn't think this was going to be a big talking point, but all of our walls have street names on them. Each wall represents a certain side of town. It becomes talking points. It brings strangers together, because I have people come in there and be like, oh, I grew up on this street many years ago, or my grandmother grew up with the street, and so we have conversations around the bar with just random strangers and then we don't leave out as strangers anymore because we're talking or you're bringing up rivalries.
Speaker 3:You're doing things like that. I mainly get yelled at because, everybody's street name is not on the wall, that is not possible. Again, I'm under 1400 square feet. But, like I said, it brings community together and give us that, you know that talking point, and you know we love that.
Speaker 2:I just had a really cool capital investing. I just had a cool fundraising idea.
Speaker 3:When you said that, yeah, yeah so it's been fun and again, like I said, we're at, we're thankful. We're at that point where we can actually say we want to look for larger space and we can say that we would prefer to own instead of the rent and so that's where I again. It had to be Youngstown. I don't think it would have felt right opening up anywhere else first.
Speaker 2:Now I do have a question not to interrupt that thought. So you won the People's Choice Award at the Youngstown Visiting Incubator Shark Tank right. And as a part of that, I remember how invested even though the judges had chose another winner they were invested in you and they said we want to mentor you, we want to add our expertise to you. How has that been? Have they followed through with that?
Speaker 3:I'm guessing. No, the opportunity is still there, but I have to do my initiative part on there. I've talked to a couple of the shark judges but I just got to get on their books and that's my goal for in the next couple months is to officially get on their books, especially with this growth part that I want to do and that kind of was my business pitch at the Shark Tank was growing and buying a large space yeah and investing in that and again I remember how excited they were how passionate they were to join with your passion, yeah, and say, hey, we would like to lend our, our guidance and stuff like that they are some definitely some powerhouses that were up there, but I like.
Speaker 3:The prize for people's choice was ten thousand dollars, but, like you said, they believed in me so much that they invested ten thousand additional dollars of their own, so it took my winnings from 10 to 20.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's awesome. So yeah, so there's something like that.
Speaker 3:Again, like I said, I you don't realize how fast a year goes by, but yeah, it's something that I'm not going to say they didn't hold up to their offer. It's just me. I need to reach out and I know that that's something that I'm definitely going to do, because it's having people who have started here as well and have been and become successful. It's definitely something that I want to. If they're offering the free mentorship, that's huge, absolutely. And then the fact that they believed enough man, they've never done that for a shark tank that they've invested in their own money in the people's choice.
Speaker 3:So it's something that I don't take lightly, and again it makes me proud. Like on the on garage door it says just a kid from Youngstown, I'm still that Southside kid.
Speaker 1:I would get rid of the J-U-S-T and just say kid from Youngstown.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I can't yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and that's cool and that's something definitely I am focusing on and putting on my books for the next couple months. Like meeting with them to fit into their schedule again before this growth process.
Speaker 1:It's time for rapid fire.
Speaker 2:It is Okay, coke or Pepsi.
Speaker 3:That's hard. Okay, it all depends on my mood. I would say Coke regularly, but I would choose a cherry Pepsi over a Coke.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, but not regular.
Speaker 2:That's a new, but not regular. Not regular, okay. Okay, I would choose Coke North or south For vacation, you going north or you going south? South, yeah, south, I don't think we've gotten in north yet that's so funny. I don't think we've gotten in north yet. That's so funny. I don't think it's anywhere up there yet.
Speaker 3:Beach or mountains or desert. I don't think that many black people are in the mountains, so I'm going to say beach. I'm going to say beach, put me out there on the beach.
Speaker 1:Put me out there on the beach.
Speaker 3:I don't know what to do with a bear or a moose or whatever's out there in the mountain lion. Oh man, I could get out the water with a shark. That's great.
Speaker 1:That's funny. Favorite type of music.
Speaker 3:I love people. My friends yell at me but I'm not accused of music perjury. But I love 90s hip-hop, r&b mainly R&B.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, so name an artist from that. Name somebody TLC type stuff.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I would like TLC. They're like right in between, okay, but my favorite singer used to be Mariah Carey. Uh-oh, I love Mariah Carey, and so I would go there yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, a little whistle voice Rich.
Speaker 2:Now this one's tricky, being from Youngstown. Okay, favorite pizza.
Speaker 3:I have a top five, oh okay, all of my choices are somewhat mood dependent, okay.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:But my top five in no specific order, when I say it it's just out of my memory. I have. Westside Bowl, uptown Belmont.
Speaker 2:Oh it's got to be in Belmont, okay.
Speaker 3:Wedgwood, Austintown.
Speaker 1:That's so funny.
Speaker 3:Oh, Nicky's Pizza on the east side, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:And Camel, whatever. Yeah, I get confused about that. Have you been there, Greg? Okay?
Speaker 3:Nicky's Pizza and then the fifth one. They used to just be a food truck, but now that I just noticed they're out here in Canfield Reese's yeah the R-I-S-I.
Speaker 2:Yeah, have you had them? I have not tried them either. Yeah, I like them Okay. But I've only had them from the food truck, so I've never been to their actual location, location, but those are like like my top, but then it also depends on my mood.
Speaker 3:I'd be like okay, I want nicky's this week, but then next week I might want uptown yeah, and then that's the beauty of being from youngstown, so I would go to those places but one more time give us.
Speaker 1:I gotta ask you, out of all the stuff you make, what's your favorite?
Speaker 3:my favorite would have to be the diamond wine, I think that's my baby.
Speaker 1:I think that's my baby. I'm gonna have to go get myself, yeah, yeah I think that's my baby. So yeah, all right, so give us the rundown where do they visit, when can they visit, and the website and all that okay, dope cider house and winery.
Speaker 3:We're located on the east end of Federal Street in downtown Youngstown, so 460 East Federal Street, right next to Penguin City Brewing Company, you can't miss either one of us. You can check out the website. We have all the things on the website the current tap list, wwwdopethebrandcom. Or follow us on Instagram. Dopethebrand on Instagram and we are Dope Cider house and winery on Facebook.
Speaker 1:Awesome, thank you.
Speaker 3:Thank you guys.