 I'm Rusty Kamori, and this is Beyond the Lines on Think Tech, Hawaii. I was the head coach of the Punahou School Boys Varsity Tennis Team for 22 years, and we were fortunate to win 22 consecutive state championships. This show is based on my books Beyond the Lines and Beyond the Game, and it's about leadership, overcoming adversities, and creating a superior culture of excellence. My special guest today is the owner of the very popular pint and jigger in Honolulu. He is Dave Newman, and today we are going Beyond Cocktails. Hey, Dave, welcome to Beyond the Lines. Thank you so much for having me, Rusty. I really appreciate being on the show. Dave, you are an incredible person, a terrific leader, and you've been helping our community in so many ways. But can you first share with our viewers a bit about your background? Absolutely, and thank you for the kind words. You're much to go in. I've been in the restaurant industry for 30 years. I was born and raised in Southern California, worked for a small sushi company called Nobu in Malibu, and had always been drawn to Hawaii, actually was a sponsored body boarder in California, got to come to Hawaii and enjoy the waves a little bit and take some pictures and stuff. I always knew I wanted to come back, and unfortunately my father had passed while I was working at Nobu, and I told them I wanted to transfer to whatever open person, their San Diego location or their Waikiki location. And the Waikiki location opened up six weeks before San Diego, so I moved here in 2007 and helped open the Nobu when it was in Waikiki. Dave, what would you say was the most important thing that you learned while you were working at Nobu? Well, Nobu is just such a master of his craft and so well respected. I don't think anybody at the time would have thought that you would go to Nobu to drink craft cocktails. So I just learned to try to really up my game and do everything I possibly could to elevate my cocktails to at least match the level of his food. And over time, I worked at that location for five years, we developed a huge following, not just for his amazing food, but also for what we had created in the lounge over there. Well, I think Dave, because I remember you at Nobu, and because of what you were doing at Nobu, I mean, you were really building your identity as well, right? A hundred percent, you know, we started an industry night over there that we ran for the five years on Sundays, which came immensely popular. I ran the chapter of the United States bartender's guild, the Hawaii chapter for five years and just really immersed myself in the culture in our bar community, our restaurant community. And it really just kick started, you know, the impetus to open pint and jigger. Yeah, so Dave, let's talk about that right now. What caused you to really want to be your own owner, to own your own place? I think that's a natural inclination before you know better, that you want to be your own boss and own your own space. And, you know, where you get to make all of the decisions and take that responsibility for each of those decisions is a huge undertaking. But it was something that I was always, always driven to do. And I saw a huge gap in in the marketplace and thought that we could fill it. Now, I got to I got to say, Dave, your location at the Alamoana Hotel is absolutely terrific. I mean, how did that come about and how happy are you being there? Oh, we love it. The previous GM of the Alamoana Hotel was a huge fan of pint and jigger and Harry's. You know, I thought in the beginning he was just teasing. He's like, oh, you should come open a slot inside the hotel. And finally he was like, no, really, you need to come look at these spaces. I know the relationship's been great. The new GM of the hotel is also now a huge fan. It's a great location. Parking is good. And high ceilings allow us to really expand what we're doing in the whiskey segment, especially. Dave, you I mean, there's so many locals that love coming to pint and jigger and there's so many visitors that love to come there as well. And when you walk in, I mean, it's such a nice, cool place. I mean, the concept is great. And then you see that big, huge, impressive wall. I mean, how did that wall come about? So when we actually came in this space, it used to be a restaurant called Yuzu. It was a little Japanese restaurant. The ceilings were barely eight feet tall through the whole space. We poked up some of the ceiling tiles and it went up maybe five or six feet. So we were like, well, that's probably good enough. It's about match the old pint and jigger. When we came in to do demo, that was a second drop ceiling. We knocked that out and then, oh, it's like, OK, now we have 35 foot tall ceilings. And then, you know, the lights went off in my brain of like, oh, I can finally create this incredibly in depth whiskey program that I've always wanted to have. Well, it is absolutely impressive. I mean, it's huge, that whole wall. And plus, Dave, I mean, it allows you and your coworkers to get some exercise. Right? We get to climb the ladder and it's funny how many people will just be like, well, what's on the top shelf that we can make you climb up there to get? Because it's enjoyable for them to pick something off the top shelf. And Dave, tell us about your secret entry to your Speak Easy. Well, we ran Harry's Hardware Emporium, which is our Speak Easy for about three years at our old location. So we really wanted to make sure that we had a space for that. We wanted to hide the entrance a little bit and have some fun with it. So we built what looks like almost like a little bit of a display, liquor shelf, like there might be in somebody's home or a liquor store. But it's actually a secret door that that speaks you up into our little playground Speak Easy called Harry's Hardware Emporium. Well, that that is super cool. I mean, if if you don't know, then you won't know. Only people that know that that's the door really knows about it, right? Yeah, I mean, unless you see us opening it to go through to the office or to come up to Harry's, it's pretty well hidden. So we're super happy with the way it came out. Now, share with us the concept that you came up with with Harry's Hardware. Well, when we first opened Pine Jigger 2012, there weren't really a craft beer craft cocktail scene in Hawaii. So that was just wanted to see if we could do it. We wanted it to be really approachable. We, you know, T-shirts and blue jeans. Harry's I basically created my little playground to make the most elevated, super cool cocktails. And we wanted you to feel like you walked into 1930s New Orleans, Chicago. So, you know, the bartenders are wearing vests or suspenders and ties and slacks and the ambiance. Everything up here screams that you've been transported to another time and place. Well, it is absolutely such a cool vibe. I mean, I love coming in there. And and Dave, you're a master mixologist. What are some of the most popular drinks that people love to order with you? I mean, the old fashioned is really, really taken over the scene. All the variations of that, but the most most popular. And I think that people that get the most enjoyment out of their experience at Pine Jigger, we call bartenders choice. Other places will call it bartenders. Lindsay, but it's actually just a dialogue back and forth between you and I. And we try to figure out what's the perfect cocktail, not only for you, but for the mood that you're in for the night that you're having. Are you going to eat? Did you just eat? We've tried to factor in as many possible things that we create a specific cocktail for you at that moment. Nine times out of ten, it's cocktail we've never made before. Well, Dave, I mean, I've done that with you, where I'm like, you know, Dave, just do something that you think I would like and you're like, hmm, OK, let's let's do this. And it's always a wow, I have to say. And Dave, when I come in, I need two food dishes. I need the Brussels sprouts and the double bacon. I mean, it's not a one. It's a need. I mean, I need those two dishes. Now, tell me about those two dishes and what makes it so good and popular? Well, we've been blessed over the years to have some really amazing executive chefs. Currently, Spencer is helming our kitchen. He has a long history from Alan Wong, just a superior chef, which is weird because we're more of a bar environment. And we just have this amazing human back there. But the double cut bacon is definitely just one that that people go crazy for. I love it. Three giant strips of thick bacon with a corn sauce that has a little bit of hot paint. It's a little bit of spice, onions, and it just melds so well. Those flavors go together. It's almost like a Southern succotash style dish, but with bacon. And then the Brussels sprouts, it's just the key is just cooking them just right, getting them a little bit crunchy. And then, you know, we have a little secret vinaigrette that we put on there and it's people go nuts for it. And Dave, what are some other food items that you offer? We've won Hawaii's Best Burger a few times. We put a lot of effort into that. The Scotch egg, one of the few spots on Island that does that. And we do a little Hawaii twist to it. So instead of doing like a breakfast sausage wrapped around the poached egg, we do actually a pork riette, which we think about a pulled pork. But if you scrape it really small with a fork and then wrap in panko and deep fried, it's it's phenomenal. And then black and marlin sliders have been kind of my go to lately. So we're getting a local fish and doing a Southern style black. And then filming it just awesome. Oh, see, I'm getting hungry already. Now, Dave, this past my birthday this past year, one of my best friends, Daniel Day Kim, took me out for my birthday. And one of the stops we went to was Pine and Jigger, your place. And we got to spend time with you. And then you did something special by bringing bringing us up into Harry's hardware for a celebratory birthday drink. And I know you know Daniel for many years. What's what do you appreciate and love about Daniel? Oh, Daniel's been amazing. I mean, I first met Amanda Noble, I think probably with you, you know, maybe that was like 2008, 2009. And I just appreciate somebody that's so talented and so successful, just remains so humble. And I mean, you're his good friend, you know, he's he's he's a really cool. Just like I doesn't bring any pretense with him. And yeah, and he just actually really, really cares about you know, when I see him, I get a giant hug and he's a genuinely great human. Yeah, I have to say, I mean, as an actor, as a famous actor, he's he's like the nicest actor anybody can meet. I mean, people come up to him wanting pictures, autographs. He always says yes. I mean, I mean, that's how it should be. I would I would I would have to say. And Dave, I want to ask you about my books. You have both of my books. And what what are some of the concepts that stood out to you in the books? One of the ones that I that I've always done, which I really appreciate is that if somebody makes the mistake, you know, you're really discreet about that. You know, let them know individually or whatnot. I will never break one of my bartenders or servers down on the floor. If they make a mistake, we'll have a small conversation about it. But if they do something right, I'll sing their praises to the world. It's just it's just part of the culture here. And I love that you included that. The 99 things that you do right, you do one thing wrong and help your one star Yelp review, because that's the thing they're going to remember. And that one that I actually took from you that I didn't incorporate in I do now. So thank you is that, you know, if people are late, I would always do the traditional you're getting punished for that. And now we've changed that into a kind of a mix of something that's really more positive for the team. If somebody is late, they get a cleaning chore that not everybody wants to do. But that helps our team by the fact that we were going to have to do it anyway. And they're going to take that on themselves. So I really appreciate that. And thank you. Well, Dave, I'm glad to help. Well, the books were amazing. I highly recommend if you have a bar or restaurant, you know, and I know they're about tennis, but they're not there. They're about leadership and team building and you crush them. So thank you. Dave, how did you like the Mikey Lim and Skyler Tateishi story in there? That story was awesome just because, you know, it's one of those things where you want everybody to mentor everybody else and show great, you know, sportsmanship and camaraderie. But at some point, sometimes, you know, the person that you're training or whatever can step up to a point where they can actually beat you or surpass you or, you know, just in a small instance in that story. And the way you handled it and it could have been really negative where Skyler actually, you know, won that match. Mikey could have gone to a dark place, but the way you handled it and just turned it into a team building experience where they then were rooting for each other during future matches and both going on to be incredibly successful is really cool. Now, Dave, how does that story of Mikey and Skyler relate to you and your co-workers there? Well, I'm an open book. There's nothing that I won't train my guys when I try to instill that to each other. So we do a lot of bartending competitions. And before the team would never want to compete against each other because we'd always just pick one person and try to support them. But now, like, after having read that, I was like, you guys should enter and compete against each other and sing each other's praises. And if one person wins that time, that's awesome. It doesn't mean they're going to win the next one. And but that's a better way for us to grow as a cohesive unit. So it's been great. Yeah, and they all have to realize that that they're all on the pint and jigger team. You know, they're a reflection of you. You're a reflection of them. And so it's just a major positive thing where it brings in more recognition. People hold you guys to a higher standard. And they speaking about holding you to a higher standard. My third book, Superior, is going to be coming out very soon. And in it, I talk about the difference between high achievers versus superior achievers. You are not a high achiever. You are a superior achiever. And that's that's a word that I invented. Because for me, I want to train people to become high achievers. But once they become a high achiever, I want to coach them to become superior achievers. What are your thoughts about that? I think it's amazing. I've seen other restaurants or restaurant famous restaurant tours not do that. Mine is once my staff reaches a certain level of bartending, I want to push them out the nest and see where they go. So, you know, Quinn Mears was one of our best bartenders here. And I encouraged him to go run Encore Saloon when they first opened. And very sadly, at the end of this month, that restaurant's coming to the end of its run. But Quinn set up an amazing program there. Ari Hayfin is over at Brickfire running that program. Kootla is going to be leaving us in a month to go open Dusty Grable's three new spots inside the Manoa Marketplace. And for me, it's just, yes, I want to see all of these humans go out and do what I've done and surpass me and do amazing things. So I want to see all those people become the superiors. Dave, see, that that's why you're a successful great leader, because you're in the restaurant industry, but you're you want to support what would be your competitors, you know, because you're all in it together. You all understand the highs and the lows that you deal with. But what would you want to share to some other business owners out there in regards to that that kind of mindset? I mean, it's definitely, you know, the cliche of the rising tides is going to raise all ships, you know, every article I've ever done, every editorial, you'll hear me mentioning Justin Park Barla, the Rafferin Christian self, you know, from a Woody did it, that'd be Dusty Grable and, you know, what we're actually the area that we're playing in is not many people do it, you know, craft cocktails, craft beer, this very intimate experience of what we just talked about bartender's choices and creating those connections. Yes, I think the more people that do it, the better off everybody's going to be. Dave, can you share with us, you know, what are what would you say are the toughest parts of being in the restaurant industry? I've learned the lesson that it is so easy to overwork for yourself. You know, when you're working for a boss, you're on a salary or an hourly, you know, you're going to put in hours, you're going to put in. But when you're working for yourself, there's no end to that and it never ends. And then right now staffing is just really, really difficult in, I think, all industries, but the restaurant industry has been hit really, really hard with that post COVID. Yeah, now, so during COVID, how I mean, obviously, there's so many businesses, restaurants that closed. Now, you survive. It doesn't mean that you're thriving right now. I mean, you're surviving. So many restaurants are still struggling. How how were you able to adapt and adjust to try to navigate your way through COVID and come out and still try to find a way to succeed? I think everybody had to, you know, really think on your feet. You know, I don't even like using the word because it was your use so much. But the pivot, you know, how are you going to pivot to get through the situation? And, you know, we were incredibly fortunate that we ran our old location for 10 years on King Street and McCully. And we had a huge following and it really allowed us to kind of weather the storm and to reopen. And honestly, it's been fabulous. The support from our community is amazing. I couldn't pick a better place to call home. Now, Dave, I want to ask you about this because you and I both know in the past so many chefs or general managers that really watch what the owner does. And they think, you know, I should be an owner. I can do what they do. And then all of a sudden, they try to, you know, become an owner on their own and then they fail because they don't see all of the things that is done behind the scenes. What are your thoughts about that? And can you share with our viewers a lot of the things that you do as an owner behind the scene? If you're not willing to do whatever you consider the hardest, worst part, the lowest things that need to be done at the very least, you shouldn't be an owner. Like if you're not willing to jump in and wash dishes and pick up trash and unclog toilets, don't do it. But the behind the scenes thing is a lot about what you talk about in your book. It's this team building and making these incredible relationships with people. I don't hire based off of Gilstead anymore. I hire off of character. I mean, you talk a lot about that, you know, like sportsmanship and character is the biggest thing. I can teach you how to make amazing cocktails. I can teach you almost everything. But if you don't have good character, you're not a good human. You're not going to go that far in this industry. Now, Dave, and you know, I love that you brought that up. And you also know that I talk a lot about the importance of building relationships about really making your team members feel important as a person first and then as a employee second, or like I would say as a tennis player second. What are your thoughts about the importance of really building relationships? It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing, especially in Hawaii for business. But as far as team building goes, every person is different. Everybody has different needs. They need to be spoken to a different way. I see a lot of managers, owners that have just one style that they're going to give to their team. And it does offer consistency, but I feel like making that intimate relationship with the staff is just huge. And then giving them a role where they can like express their self-importance. So each of my bartenders gets a spirit category. One of them will have Tequila, one of them will have gin, one of them will have rum. And they're responsible for that category in totality. They decide which brands we carry. They help create the cocktails for those that category for the menu. We work together on that and then they really get to take ownership of it. And it's really incredible to see how much that makes them blossom. And Dave, I mean, you I mean, both of us, we've been on so many teams before, whether it be in sports or business and we watch what the coach does or what the owner or CEO does. What do you feel the greatest? Well, I know that the greatest leaders really have incredible communication. And for me, I like to be proactive when I'm coaching teams and businesses about the importance of communication. What are your thoughts about that? I mean, communication is everything, whether that with the gas, but mostly internally with our staff, you know, we talk about it all the time. And, you know, I think in this day and age, a lot of things are getting lost in translation as far as emails and text messages. But as far as when you're communicating with people, the most important thing is to be a better listener. And you talk a lot about that and it just it's a hundred percent sure. Yeah, listen first, speak last. I mean, when your people feel like they're being heard, they feel more of a part of being on that team, you know, and sometimes what I say is when everyone can share their feelings, their thoughts, then you understand what they're thinking and feeling. So you have a good, you know, vibe on what the pulse of the team is like. Dave, I want to ask you, I mean, you probably can share a bunch of, you know, ideas about this. But what's some of the best advice you've ever received? Um, there's been so much. I think one of the best things I've ever heard is is once once you start believing the hype that's been said and written about you, you're you're in trouble. I mean, I strive every day to continue learning and be passionate about what I do. And I'll be the first person to be a Google searching things. And the thirst for knowledge just keep going and driving towards what you love and consume knowledge and read amazing books about tennis that aren't really about tennis. And, um, yeah, I think I think just being passionate, like I'm 30 years into it. And I'd be hard pressed to find somebody that's more passionate about what they do behind the bar than myself. Yeah. Well, Dave, that's why I always say the greatest leaders are always learning, which, which makes them even greater. I mean, you never really stop learning. Um, and like you said before, I mean, if you stop learning, I mean, you've got to throw in the towel right there. Right. What's your thoughts behind that? I just think that, you know, if you are really interested in what you're doing and you're passionate about it and you're constantly learning, it shows and and you really start to separate yourself from from a lot of the people that are just putting in the time, you know, I don't remember where I saw this, but you know, they said, if you're doing like 15 minutes a day on any different thing in the course of two years, you'll, you'll be one of the masters in that area. And I mean, that's such a small amount of time to invest in something, especially if you're going to call it your career. So, so Dave, I want to ask you now who or what inspires you? Oh, I get inspiration from so many places, but we are surrounded by some of the most amazing humans. I don't know if people really realize in Hawaii how blessed we are with that. I mean, you look at a, a Michelle Carr and a Wade over at an MW and how hard they work and what they're doing. You look at a Dusty Grable and all the success he had with livestock, Lucky Billion, Chinchin, Justin Park, Chandra, Luca Ruello. So these are, you know, my colleagues that are just absolutely crushing it. They're, that list goes on and on and on. Traveling and tasting amazing food and bringing, you know, different experiences back to share or share with our guests. Inspiration from everywhere, read, read books and, you know, listen to podcasts. I try to find it from everywhere. I'm a sponge and, like I said, we live in an amazing place. There's a bounty of local fruits that we get to harvest and vegetables. We are incredibly spoiled with the melting pot that we have in Hawaii of all the different cultures there. I completely agree with you, David. Dave, what, what would you say is a future goal or future goals that you have? You know, we're going to open up our retail space. We've, we've joined forces with some of those amazing humans. And we've created a whiskey buying collective where we buy barrels of whiskey and then we sell them under the, the name, the Hawaii Whiskey Mafia. I'd love to put some effort in actually growing that it's, it's grown really well on its own. But I think getting behind it and giving it a little push would be amazing. So we're going to open a retail space across from Pine and Jigger, hopefully in the next few months and, and you'll be able to purchase some of those whiskies there. Dave, I want to ask you one more thing before we wrap up. Can you share with our viewers how, how is some variety of ways that you have helped our community? Thanks, Senator. I ran our chapter of the United States bartenders guild for five years. It's a non-paid position that was just trying to grow our community and, and grow, grow what we love. I mean, we try to support UH sports and we just did a bunch of charity work for the Maui fires. We opened up Harry's for that. And, you know, we have a lot of friends and a lot of dear humans lost homes and businesses and, you know, whatever we can do to help, we really try to do that. So being part of a community means really being part of the community. Well, Dave, I have to say you are a man of great character. I mean, you're so likable. I want everybody to go and support Pine and Jigger. And I really want to thank you for taking time to be on the show today. Super honored to be on your show. And I can't wait to pick up the new book. When's it going to drop? Well, officially May 7th, but my book signing at Barnes & Noble at Alamoana will be on Saturday, April 6th at 2 p.m. So people that come to the book signing can get an advanced printing of it unless they got to wait a month later. Oh, that's amazing. Thanks. Thanks for letting us know. Thank you, Dave. Appreciate it. Thank you. And thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. For more information, please visit RustyKamori.com, and my books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I hope that Dave and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha. If you liked this show, why don't you give us a like or subscribe to our channel? Thanks so much.