The Best One Yet - 🍲 “Bougie Bowls” — Chipotle’s new restaurant. Airbnb’s digital antidote. America’s Badass Rocks Club.

Episode Date: February 16, 2023

Chipotle just launched a new restaurant brand called Farmesa — Chipotle is disrupting itself. Airbnb just had its best year ever because when Zoom is your office, Amazon is your mall, and Netflix is your theater — travel is your salvation. And 2 factories just surprisingly left Europe for the USA to chase EV incentives — so now America is creating “The Badass Rocks Club.”Follow The Best One Yet on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: @tboypodAnd now watch us on YoutubeWant a Shoutout on the pod? Fill out this formGot the Best Fact Yet? We got a form for that tooLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday. February 16th, and today's pod is absolutely the best one yet. Before we start the show, we have an announcement. We do. Yetis, we just announced on Instagram that Jack and I have signed with an agent. Jerry McGuire wasn't available, but the team at UTA smiles like Tom Cruise.

Our agent, it is a big step to grow the T-Boy podcast in our second year as an independent show. We're pumped. For more about our signing. with UTA, check out our Instagram at T-BoyPod. It's a great picture, too. I really like the photo show. That is some high-quality photography that I'm proud of. You look fantastic in that sweater.

What is our first story for today's pod, my man? Airbnb just announced its best year ever. Because besties, when your office is Zoom, your salvation is travel. For our second story, Chipotle is launching an entirely new restaurant brand called Farmesa. It actually sounds better than Chipotle, and that's the point. And our third and final story. The United States just seduced two car companies to leave Europe and come to America. Because America is building the BRC.

And what is the BRC, Jack? We call it the badass rock club. The badass rock club. But Yeties, before we hit that fantastic mix. We weren't sure if we could say badass on the podcast, but we decided, yes, we can say it on the podcast. Apparently we're going to say it three times. I love this mix. It is Thursday, the new Friday.

Thursday, the new Friday. Friday. So know what you're doing, Yetis. You may be going out tonight. We just got the data on what you'll be craving. Or specifically, we just got the numbers on your late night cravings. Grubhub just released their nationwide delivery data on who is eating what? Where? What Jack's trying to say here is we got all the info on your midnight nom-noms. Now, what is the number one most devoured late night dessert, Nick? Well, Jack, it's not Twix bars. It's actually Tiramisu. All right, Tiramisu. The lady, fingers. How about the number one most popular late-night food? Well, Jack, it's not nachos. It's

actually chicken casadillas. Yo-Cirro casidia. Okay. And Nick, what was the city with the most late-night food orders, like generally? The city with the most late-night food orders? It wasn't Chicago and it wasn't Los Angeles. It's Boston. It's Boston. But that's because Boston bars close at like 11. So if you're living in Boston, you're slamming salmon sushi at 11.1 p.m. But yet it's it's not late-night snacks. unless you're planning breakfast. It is not late night snacks unless you're carboloading

before you begin carboloding. Well, New York City orders more breakfast bagels for delivery than any other city. We're talking bagels, the breakfast that champion. I'll do anything for everything bagels. It's like a healthy donut,

no carbs, no piece. So you got to enjoy that chicken cassidia tonight. Then toss on some tiramac soup. But save some room for that bagel in locks tomorrow morning. Jack, let's smear our three stories. song two boys from the northeast met in the dorm they had an idea to cause a cultural storm it's the best one yet but the best is a noretis 50% that's a fat tip tea boy city on your at list if you know you know cause we're ready to go we can't wait no more so just start the show

start the show for our first story unlike every other tech company jack and i have covered over the last two months Airbnb just announced its best year ever. Because travel has become the antidote to your screens. But first of all, Yetis, Jack and I have got to tell you about just this shocker, just a total surprise in the Airbnb earning. This is cool. We jumped in Tebowistel, too. You can Airbnb, the CEO of Airbnb's house.

We repeat, Brian Chesky, the CEO and founder of Airbnb, you can Airbnb his house. Like, go on Airbnb right now. What do you search for again, Jack? beyond the airbed. Search for that. Because that's the name of his San Francisco apartment in the Castro. All right I said, we jumped in T-Boy style. Jack, I'm on it right now. This is a one-bedroom, one bathroom, washer-dry, city view, free parking included apartment of the Airbnb founder. I looked closely at all the pictures of his apartment to see if he has like the same coffee table book as me. What did you notice? What did you? But he has ASAP soap, hand soap, which you have at your house, right?

I was going to say, I was curious what the shampoo situation is because he includes. lose it. I've seen his head of hair. He seems like an herbal essence kind of a guy, but I love a good ASOP too. He has very similar hair to you. You're making me blush. But here's the funny thing, Yetis. The Airbnb CEO, he doesn't need to Airbnb's place for some side hustle cash these days. No, because Airbnb's business has never been better. Jack, can you whip up the numbers for us in Airbnb's last quarter? In 2022, revenues jumped by 40% for Airbnb. Oh, and that's not all. What was that other number? They recorded their first full year profit since they came into existence. And the stock this year, this young year of

2023, it's up 61% already. Yetis, this wasn't just an earnings report. This was an oceanfront villa of an earnings report. But yeties, funny thing about Airbnb's earnings, Airbnb is a barometer for how we are traveling. So the way Jack and I see it, when Airbnb reports earnings, it's kind of a mirror to look at you. So in the last quarter, here's what average Airbnb Andy was up. to on his weekends and his vacation days. The average Airbnb Andy using Airbnb visited a city, took a long trip, and was working hard and playing hard the entire time. Yet he's right now for the first time since the pandemic, a majority of Airbnb bookings

were in dense urban areas, which we all avoided during the pandemic. Right, you weren't going to New York City maybe during the pandemic, but apparently everyone's going to New York City right now after the pandemic. Here's what else average Airbnb Andy is doing. Half of their stays are for a week or more. Okay, half of stays on Airbnb are like bookending a week with two weekends. That's the pro move. Half of Airbnb stays.

And a typical Airbnb booking right now is a classic bleasure situation. Classic bleasier. You're blending your business trip with your leisure trip. What does that look like, Jack? You're taking the weekly call from the bedroom. Hey, it's Jack. You're wiggling the mouse pad a little bit to make sure everyone knows you're there. I'm still here.

And then you go out and hit the beach Thursday at 4 o'clock. I'm gone. Don't call me. Yeah, he's in a real estate market where home. are unaffordable for many, Airbnb has become people's second home. But here's the shocking thing, besties. It's not just Airbnb where we're seeing these freaky travel numbers. Marriott hotels also announced earnings, which were also very good. Marriott, or is it Mariette? We still have to figure that one out, Jack. Just announced that

revenues searched 28% in the past three months. In this economy? In this economy? So, Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies? We're probably going on a record spring break this year. Travel has become the biggest outlier in this economy. Okay, Yeti's, interesting note from the CFO of Airbnb. They said that despite the economic uncertainty, confidence in travel remains high. Not high, record high. Yeah, record high. Airbnb's business has nearly doubled from before the pandemic.

Which is why we were more excited about this quote from the CEO of Airbnb. Brian Chesky said that nowadays, the office is Zoom. The mall is Amazon and theater is now Netflix. We repeat, the office is. now Zoom. The mall is now Amazon. The theater is now Netflix. Yet he's travel isn't facing a recession because travel is the antidote to your digital life. The more we're at home surrounded by screens, the greater the desire we have to travel. So whether it's a home share or a hotel, travel is the biggest economic outlier right now. In this economy. In this economy.

For our second story, out of nowhere, Chipotle just announced they're launching an entirely new restaurant called Farmeza. Because Chipotle's greatest competition is itself. Which leads Jack, to the greatest existential question of our time. If you're going to order barbacoa, are you doing a burrito or a bowl? Burrito or a bowl. To wrap or two fork? To get a mess all over yourself or not to get a mess all over yourself. Jack, I know nothing stresses you out more than Barney the dinosaur or being at the front of the Chipotle line having to whip up. a custom bowl. That's true. I do wish I could just point to something on a menu and they'd make it, but they make me order every single ingredient. The meat sweats jackets are not the meat sweats you'd

think he gets. I order it a bowl though every time, Nick. Yet he's 2020 was a big year for Chipotle, because that's when they started selling more bowls than burritos. Now, Chipotle just launched a second restaurant that's 100% focused on balls. It is only doing bowls. Like this restaurant is the Super Bowl. This restaurant is called farmesa, which is a combination of the words farm and mesa. Spanish is a little rusty, but mesa does mean table in Spanish. So it's like a farm to table in two languages. Farm table, it's California-ish. Now, side note, Jack and I should mention while we were researching this story,

this isn't Chipotle's first new different restaurant concept. They've actually sneakily launched three different non-Chipotle restaurant chains before. Get this yeties. Seven years ago, Chipotle tried to launch. launch the Chipotle of pizza and the Chipotle of Asian food and the Chipotle of burgers. Sounds like a great idea. It does. But Jack, how'd they do? They all failed. They each shut down less than two years later. Now, yet is we noticed something funky going on with this new restaurant because it kind of sounds like a better version of

Chipotle. Farmesa does bougie bowls better than Chipotle does bougie bowls. If so a fact that Chipotle's new Chipotle seems better than Chipotle. First of all, it's entirely focused on Chipotle's number one selling product, bowls. It's just bowls. They're like no right angles in the whole joint. If you want tinfoil, that's not going to happen here. They're not wrapping stuff for you. Second, the menu is more premium than Chipotle's menu.

Don't bring a spork to this one. You're going to be enjoying Ory King Salmon, which is like the Wagyu beef of salmon and sprouted cauliflower, not too shabby. A lot of high-end ingredients, like fingerling potatoes, okra. The kind of veggies that sound like 19th century literary

characters. And third, there's more variety. on the menu. Chipotle is just Mexican food. This is a wider range of food and flavors. Which then leads to the fourth big difference. This isn't just a restaurant. It's actually a ghost kitchen. You can't go there and sit down. It's delivery and takeout only from the delivery apps. So Chipotle can test food quickly, nimbly, without spending on a whole new location. Now, fun fact, Jack and I should also mention the first locations in Santa Monica, California, and there's a reason why. Because they ordered delivery nine times the national average. Santa Monica hates traffic.

Chicago does logistics. Santa Monica avoids traffic, yeah. So yeties, Jack and I are looking at this whole new Chipotle restaurant concept and that led to the strangest observation. Farmeza doesn't complement Chipotle's business. It competes directly with it, doesn't it? Jack, exactly. We're talking fresh power bowls with organic ingredients. I'm assuming the guac isn't just extra.

It's extra extra extra. It sounds like Farmeza is coming after the Chipotle lunch crowd. Right. even though it's owned by Chipotle. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Chipotle? Chipotle just wrapped up a case study in self-disruption. Perfect timing. Yet he's last month, Jack and I told you about the Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings,

who pioneered the innovator's dilemma. We call the innovator's dilemma self-disruption because Reed upended his Netflix DVD business before someone else could. Well, the way Jack and I see it, this whole Chipotle new restaurant, it's a real-life case study in self-disruption. Think about a ghost kitchen that serves premium, not just Mexican bowls. That is probably the biggest threat to Chipotle's business all over the country. What we're saying is that instead of waiting for someone else to build a threat to Chipotle,

Chipotle built the threat itself. If anybody's going to take Chipotle's business, Nick, it's going to be Chipotle. Yeah, absolutely. Yet his Chipotle's stock is near a record high. They could have just kept doing what they're doing. Instead, Chipotle just whipped up a threat to. its very own business, a competing, bougie bowl brand. Chipotle is self-disrupting.

Now a word about our sponsor, Robin Hood. A lot of Yetis don't realize how much prep work goes into this pod. We spend hours every morning jumping in T-boy style to earnings reports, CEO tweets, breaking news headlines. Yeah, Jack and I are toggling tabs like you've toggled IM Convo's in 2004. Having eight tabs open can be stressful. You don't need that, especially when invest. Robin Hood offers it all in one app.

Whether you want to trade options, ETFs, or stocks through Robin Hood Financial, or you want to buy some Bitcoin on Robin Hood Crypto. You can do it all on the Robin Hood app. If you're not investing in Robin Hood yet, to get started, go to Robin Hood.com slash T-Boy and choose your free stock. That's Robin Hood.com slash TBOY. Limitations apply. Robin Hood Financial LLC, member SIPC, all investments involve risk.

By the way, this podcast is not owned or part of Robin Hood. We are not employees of Robin Hood. For our third and final story, the United States just seduced two car companies to leave Europe and come to America. But it's not cool to steal business from buddies. Yet he's funny surprise, Jack and I noticed one day earlier this week. On one day, two different factories announced plans to ditch Europe and move to the United States instead. Ford, out of nowhere, just said it's shutting down its factory in Germany, which is going to affect 3,800 jobs.

And is this a coincidence, Nick? on the same day, they announced new jobs at a new factory in Michigan. Okay, interesting coincidence, but wait, Jack, I got one more coincidence for you. North Volt, a company that makes batteries for Volvos, just said they may not open their new factory in Germany either. Why? They suddenly want to build a factory in the United States instead. So, Jack, we're talking two new factories about to be made in the USA. That sounds like a good thing for America. It does sound really good.

It does sound really good. It does sound good. But it's not exactly. It's not because Yetis, this is what fascinated us with the story. Ford and North Volt just moved two big factories to the United States because it's the only way they can sell electric vehicles to the United States. Yeties, when the United States passed the Inflation Reduction Act, a key detail was financial incentives to get Americans to buy electric cars.

Exactly. Remember that detail. we get $7,500 off an electric car if that electric car and its battery are made in the United States, Mexico or Canada. So if an electric car is made in Germany, it's going to cost $7,500 more than the electric car made in Georgia. If so facto, the only way car companies can competitively sell their electric vehicles in the United States is if they're made in the United States. So factories are coming to the United States, but here's the problem. There is one problem we should point out with this situation. Now, our European allies aren't happy that America's taking their jobs.

We're literally taking their factories. The French are feeling salty. The Germans are getting broady. The Portuguese are pissed. And the Portuguese don't even make cars. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the electric car industry? To avoid a trade war with our allies, we're creating a badass rocks club. Yet he's all this tension between the United States and Europe for stealing their electric car business.

it could result in a trade war. But diplomats don't want a trade war, so they're proposing a solution that they call the Critical Minerals Club. It doesn't really roll off the tongue. It's a group of allied countries, mainly the US, EU, and Japan that would have free trade for electric batteries.

Instead of the Critical Minerals Club, we're calling it the Badass Rocks Club. We're going to call it the Badass Rock Club instead. Because with the Badass Rock Club, we would be treating equally any batteries and materials from other club members. Yeties, to avoid a trade war with our friends, we are working on a badass rocks club.

And we hope the badass rocks club happens because stealing business from buddies just isn't cool. Jack, and you'll whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday. Airbnb is stronger than ever because travel is the antidote to digital life. Travel, it's become the biggest outlier in this economy.

For our second story, Chipotle is testing out a separate brand called Farmesa that doesn't, just bougie bowls. It's the art of self-disruption. And if anyone's going to take Chipotle's business, it's Chipotle. And our third and final story, Europe is not happy that two factories are chasing EV incentives by moving to America. So to avoid a trade war with our allies, we really need a badass rocks club. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Yetty Amanda. We'll let her take it from here. Push and play. Here we go. Besties, Yetis, Nick and Jack.

This is Amanda coming from right outside of Boston with the best fact yet. When you were packing away leftovers from the Super Bowl, did you pause to think how Teppeware came to be? That's right. Earl Tupper in the 1950s came out and took households by frenzy when the product launch, making party plans all the rave in neighborhoods. A decade later, he sold his estate to Bryant University, moving their campus from Providence to Smithfield, where it is home to today. So facto, it's the reason why our mascot, the Bulldogs, is named Tupper. So the next time you're packing away leftovers, be sure to thank Earl and think of the dogs. Speaking of mascots, I feel like Amanda deserves to be our mascot.

Best voice in the entire podcast game goes to Amanda. You know, they could have called it supperware because you put your leftover supper. You know, Barney was a mascot, Jack, Tim. We're editing that out of the pie. Amanda, thanks for whipping it up. T-boy style. Yetis, you look fantastic for the new Friday. And if you haven't yet, drop down and give us a review.

We love reading these things, five stars and whatever you want to say, we want to see it. We love the five-star reviews the most. We do. We'll take them every day. If you're a dink or a dink wad, let us know. Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, happy birthday to Yeti Felipe Fernandez in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,

who's been listening to T-Boy since 2020. birthday to Sam Houseworth, turning 28 in Ithaca, New York. And get some Coldstone Creamery. And Vicki Ramirez, happy birthday in Collieville, Texas. Happy birthday to Mr. Joshua Adams, turning 42, teaching math like a champ down in Houston. And a happy birthday to Shunui, who's from Japan, but now in Billingsworth, Montana, turn in 42. Happy birthday to Alex Crow in Eureka, California. And a happy birthday to the Gabagoo God from New York's Velor Medical, Steve Leone. to Damon DeVille from Hawaii,

whose suit from college still fits like a glove. And a big shout out to Brea Lee Palin and the whole Bumble team. BFF. It really stands for Bumble for Friends. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon, Netflix, and Bumble, and Nick and I both own stock of Airbnb, Chipotle, and Robin Hood. Now a word about our sponsor, Robin Hood. A lot of you listen to our show while you're driving. Two hands on the wheel. Keep it ten and two.

You might be cruising, Chris. No rush. in the right lane. Or you might be doll lane from Duncan, dotting from lane to lane. And there are different drivers on the road. They're different investors too. Maybe you're cruising down the long-term lane with stock investing or maybe you're a more advanced full speed trader. Well, the Robin Hood app helps put you in the driver's seat wherever you're at in your investing journey. If you're not investing on Robin Hood yet, to get started, go to robinood.com slash T-boy and choose your free stock. That's Robinhood.com slash T-B-O-Y. Limitations apply. Robin to Financial LLC, member SIPC, all investments involve risk.

By the way, this podcast is not owned by or part of Robin Hood, and we are not employees of Robin Hood. Chipotle's eating its own lunch. No. Chipoles. I don't have much. I think we're good, too. We got it. Okay, great, great.

We got it. We got it. You're like, and that's a wrap.