What It Costs to Build a $12M-a-Year Grocery Store ft. Sammy Nussdorf of Meadow Lane

Summary

Financial Tea with Mrs. Dow Jones

Episode: What It Costs to Build a $12M-a-Year Grocery Store ft. Sammy Nussdorf of Meadow Lane

Release Date: March 12, 2026
Host: Haley Sacks (Mrs. Dow Jones)
Guest: Sammy Nussdorf, Founder—Meadow Lane

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Episode Overview

This episode pulls back the curtain on the economics, culture, and personal backstory behind Meadow Lane, Tribeca’s viral “luxury” grocery store with a projected $12M a year in revenue. Host Haley Sacks (aka Mrs. Dow Jones) sits down with Meadow Lane’s founder, Sammy Nussdorf, to talk about pricing controversies, micro-luxuries, the true cost of going viral, and the realities of building a buzzworthy business on generational wealth and social media. Along the way, they unpack the store’s finances, cultural backlash, TikTok-powered marketing, and the evolving meaning of luxury consumption in a time of economic anxiety.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Market Report: How to Navigate Uncertain Markets

[04:41–13:30]

• Economic Uncertainty & Oil Prices

  • In light of geopolitical conflict and oil price spikes, Haley urges listeners to stay calm—the market fluctuation is part of the investing lifecycle.
  • “Volatility is the tax that we pay for getting to grow wealth in the market.” – Haley, channeling Warren Buffett [06:08]
  • Practical tips: Understand oil’s influence on inflation, avoid panic selling, optimize points for expensive flights.

• Portfolio Strategy

  • Haley personally bought into the dip via her SEP IRA, emphasizes long-term, broad index investing (“time in the market vs. timing the market”).
  • “For most of us, the smartest move right now is to do nothing.” [07:55]

• Flight Prices & Using Points

  • With jet fuel prices surging, now’s a good time to use travel points; points programs shield you from fuel surcharges.

2. Meadow Lane & The New Age of Micro-Luxury

[13:45–53:15]

Meadow Lane’s Value Proposition & Origins [14:41–18:37]

• Named to evoke a sense of aspiration (“Meadow” for lushness, “Lane” for a destination vibe).

• Despite the name’s Southampton connotation, Sammy insists the goal wasn’t overt pretentiousness:

  • “I wanted to encapsulate a destination... Meadow because it's very lush and it reminded me of, like, lush, quaint, blue place.” [14:54]

• The phenomenon of “micro-luxuries”—buying small indulgences like $15 chicken nuggets as a form of cultural aspiration.

• Sammy’s take: “I think most of our customers who are locals, who come every day or almost every day, just enjoy the food. And they want grab and go easy, convenient food.” [16:37]

Meadow Lane’s Finances: The Real Numbers [17:27–21:32]

• Revenue Stats:

  • Average daily sales: ~$30,000
  • Monthly: ~$1M (“run rate” of $12M/year), though highly weather-dependent.
  • Weekends: Up to $50,000/day; slowest days: $16,000–$18,000.
  • First 90 days: 70,000 transactions, $3M revenue, 250,000 items sold, $750k in chicken (!) [21:28]
  • “The only reason we’re operating at a profit is because of volume.” [20:54]

• Profitability:

  • Reluctant to share specific profit margins, but clarifies:
    • “It's not like that lucrative of a business until you scale it. The profit margins are low. The gross margins are standard.” [20:14]
  • Rent: $31,000/month [28:48]
  • Build-out: “Considerable... we went above budge, but we will make up our capital expenditure in a very short amount of time.” [28:57–29:07]

• Price Perception & Narrative:

  • Sammy pushes back on “overpriced” narrative, noting it’s less expensive than competitors for many items and relies on neighborhood volume, not high margins.
  • “Our chicken salad's $12. Around Swamp it’s like $22. Ours is 12.” [25:31]
  • Media focuses only on ultra-pricey items, skewing perception (“They didn’t really want to cover the $12 chicken salad or the $15 tenders...”). [26:23]

Owner Backstory: Generational Wealth, VC Wins, & Self-Financing [29:31–36:39]

• Sammy’s family background: Father runs a distribution business and opened a family office.
• Sammy invested $27M from the family office, growing it to $100M (notable winning VC bets: Coterie Diapers, Touchland, Built credit card).
• “I get profit share. I get carry basically on the deals I invested. Because that money wasn’t mine. That money is my dad’s.” [33:47]
• Nepotism & Ownership:
  • “A hundred percent of my skin is in the game.” [29:31]
  • Used his personal profits to fund Meadow Lane, acknowledging the “leg up” (nepotism) but insists he grew the proceeds himself.
  • “My nepotism awarded me the opportunity to grow for my dad, essentially... there’s plenty of people that invest their family’s money for their families and tank it.” [35:00–35:14]
  • “It's an ultimate luxury and privilege to be able to start your own business.” [36:06]

Building in Public: TikTok as Growth Engine [36:39–42:59]

• Sammy rejected pricey marketing agencies, instead building buzz entirely via TikTok—sharing every step, hiccup and all.
  • “I was like, how cool would it be to build the business in public?” [38:36]
  • “You’re teaching something as you go, but you're also collecting consumer data because you're like, ‘Oh, this is what they want to see.’” [39:18]
• Impact:
  • TikTok gave Meadow Lane outsized attention—both good (brand loyalty, hype) and bad (“every mistake is widely broadcast”).
• Scandals:
  • Viral “raw chicken” incident detailed—result of overwhelming first-week demand straining kitchen processes. [41:53–42:55]

Ownership, Influencer Culture & Expansion Strategy [45:05–49:29]

• Meadow Lane’s marketing: zero paid influencers, no paid social; word-of-mouth and TikTok only.
• “I will not pay anyone to come to the store and I won’t discount anyone to do a video. I think that that cheapens the brand.” [45:08]
• Declined celebrity collabs for now, wants brand to “become its own tiger before it rides off the back of another tiger.” [46:00]
• Expansion:
  • Multiple new locations in the works (West Village, Flatiron, NoHo, Upper East Side possibly). Brooklyn discussed.
  • Considering CPG (consumer packaged goods) lines—granola, nuts, etc.—for wider retail, but focus remains on the flagship store’s early days.

Cultural Backlash & The Luxury/Wealth Conversation [49:29–52:57]

• Opening amidst NYC’s affordability crisis brought outsized press and criticism.
  • “There’s always been scale to goods and services... from an affordable grocery store to a not-so-affordable grocery store. Why is this news?” [50:15]
  • “I didn’t understand why my 2,000 square foot store was getting blasted so much... that is because of my marketing on TikTok.” [50:45]
• Media Portrayal:
  • Sammy believes both right and left-wing media weaponized the store for political narratives:
    • “No one captured the fact that two things can be true at the same time. That amidst an affordability crisis, there are still a large cohort of individuals that can afford a premium on food.” [52:27]
  • “Objectively, I am out of touch. Yes, of course.” [51:33]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On building a luxury brand in the age of TikTok:

  • “Every win is widely broadcasted, but every mistake is widely broadcast. So you know, things that happen in F&B hospitality every single day but aren't talked about because it's not a viral topic. We were exposed to that.” – Sammy [41:07]

• On generational wealth in entrepreneurship:

  • “My nepotism awarded me the opportunity to grow for my dad, essentially... but there’s plenty of people that invest their family’s money for their families and tank it.” – Sammy [35:00]
  • “I'm not gonna, like, sit around and mope and be like, oh, poor me. Like, you know, I want... I get to do what makes me happy. And that's, like, such an amazing thing.” – Sammy [36:07]

• On pricing and public perception:

  • “The profitability of Meadow Lane is not based on margin. It’s based on volume.” – Sammy [25:34]

• On viral backlash and the luxury grocery concept:

  • “There’s always been scale to goods and services... I didn’t understand why my 2,000 square foot store was getting blasted so much. Because there's other stores that sell very similar things for higher price tags. But they didn't get the press coverage we did. And that is because of my marketing on TikTok.” – Sammy [50:15–51:07]

• On influencer collaborations:

  • “Meadow Lane needs to become its own tiger before it rides off the back of another tiger.” – Sammy [46:00]

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Important Timestamps

• Market Report: Navigating Uncertainty: [04:41–13:30]
• Sammy’s financial “ick” and Meadow Lane name origins: [13:45–15:52]
• Building Meadow Lane, week-to-week business finances: [17:27–21:32]
• Volume & margin debate, chicken-centric stats: [21:32–26:45]
• Sammy’s family office & VC years: [29:31–34:46]
• TikTok as launch engine: [36:39–39:34]
• Raw chicken, viral mistake explained: [41:53–42:59]
• Expansion plans, why not paid influencer collabs: [45:05–49:25]
• Response to affordability crisis narrative: [49:29–52:57]

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Summary & Takeaways

If you’re curious about how a grocery store goes viral, builds culture—and controversy—with $0 spent on traditional marketing, this episode lays it bare. Meadow Lane’s numbers are outsized, but so is the founder’s transparency: from leveraging family wealth responsibly, to weathering public backlash, to doubling down on TikTok storytelling and lifestyle branding. The major insight is that luxury, even micro-luxuries, are as much about feeling and story as about price—and success in today’s market means controlling that narrative and harnessing both critique and buzz.

“Two things can be true at the same time. That amidst an affordability crisis, there are still a large cohort of individuals that can afford a premium on food.” – Sammy Nussdorf [52:27]

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Ideal audience: Entrepreneurs, investors, pop-culture aficionados, and anyone curious about the business of “luxury” in a time of disruption and social media spectacle.

Transcript

[Sammy Nussdorf]

There's always been incoming insecurity and massive wealth disparity in this city. So I don't know why that was suddenly new. I guess maybe they were polling statistics. Yeah, but there's always been scale to goods and services. There's always been a range from automobiles from Toyota to Rolls Royce, from economy to first class, from you know, generic to name brand McDonald's to Michelin fine dining restaurant. You know, from an affordable grocery store to a not so affordable grocery store. Why is this news?

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Zara to Chanel.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Correct. Like what's and these are all necessities. Foods a necessity. Automobiles are necessity. Health care is a necessity. There's always been a range. So I didn't understand why my 20, my 2,000 square foot store was getting blasted so much. Because there's other stores that sell very similar things for higher price tags. But they didn't get the press coverage we did. And that is because of my marketing on TikTok. Yes, it generated enough buzz where like other that others didn't.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

What's up rich people? It's me, Haley aka Mrs. Dow Jones and this is Financial Tea. This episode of Financial Tea is brought to you by Ancient and Brave. They have been an iconic and trusted wellness brand in the UK for years and now that they've launched in the US across the pond I have been integrating of their hero products into my daily routine. I like their true creatine plus and their true collagen. And let's start with the true creatine plus baby. Because suddenly everyone is taking creatine. But what's interesting is that women naturally store 70 to 80% less creatine than men which means we can actually experience more noticeable benefits from supplementation. An Ancient and Braves true Creatine plus not only helps enhance physical performance, but it has added taurine, vitamin D and magnesium. So it also helps support energy, improve cognitive function and just overall well being. It's neutral tasting and I take it daily even on my non workout days. 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I looked a little snatched because it adds that little bit of contour and it just enhances my skin instead of covering it up. For a limited time, our listeners are getting a free shimmer face oil with their first purchase when you use code Financial Tea at checkout. So all you have to do is go to Jones road beauty.com and use code Financial Tea. And then after your purchase they're going to ask you where you heard about. Please support the damn show and tell them Financial Tea sent you. Stay rich. What's up, rich people? It's me, Haley, aka Mrs. Dow Jones, and this is Financial Tea, the podcast where I teach you how to build wealth with a side of market drama, money scandals, and of course, financial pop culture. Now I have a question for you. Have you ever heard of Meadow Lane? It's this luxury food market in Tribeca that has been truly the talk of the town, like all over my TikTok since it opened in November last year, which is crazy for a grocery store, like a grocery store to take over the culture. I feel like that's very rare. There is a truly a line out the door every day and the opening was even featured in the Cut, Vogue, New York Times, Forbes, and more. And people are obsessed with Meadow Lane because they sell luxury grocery items, many of which are at a high price point. So like $12 grapes, $15 gluten free chicken nuggets, $625 caviar. But they're also obsessed with the founder Sammy Nussdorf, because he built the whole business in public on TikTok. And at first when I heard about Lean, I thought this is the textbook definition of a micro luxury, which are basically smaller purchases that scratch the itch of indulgence without requiring a massive financial commitment. I don't know if you've ever heard of the lipstick index, but it's this theory that during recessions or economic downturns, consumers typically pivot to smaller luxuries like a fancy lipstick because they can't afford the big stuff. Then in this case, instead of a lipstick index, it's basically a chicken finger index like those $15 chicken fingers are the new. Like buying the road. Lip treatment makes you feel rich even if you don't have any money in the bank. In an economy where people are struggling to find jobs and everything feels more expensive than ever, and in a city where we elected a mayor based on an affordability crisis, why are we waiting in line for $12? Grapes. And honestly, the interview was so interesting. There was so much more to the story. It was so juicy. We covered his generational wealth, the state of micro luxuries, his public scandals. There was raw chicken fingers all over TikTok from his store. And, of course, the business of curation, because this man knows how to sell a vibe. I really hope you enjoy this interview with Meadow Lane founder Sammy. I loved talking to him. Sammy, welcome to the show. Okay, guys, for this week's market report, I want us to just take a collective deep breath, because I know that all of our feeds are filled with global conflict updates, and the vibe is really heavy. The news right now is so scary, and it really does feel like since the strikes on Iran happened, the world has shifted. Like, there has been a complete vibe shift. Certainly there's been a portfolio shift. Like, if you have money in the market, I'm sure that you are seeing it a bit in the red, which is scary. I'm recording this on Monday morning, March 9th. The Dow is currently down over 800 points, and oil has spiked past $100 a barrel. And so I've been getting a lot of DMs of people panicking, but also people asking me, haley, should I be buying the dip? What is the right financial move to make right now? So I just wanted to sort of walk through what's happening and how I'm reacting to all of this instability in the market, because I feel like we don't really need to go through the other stories. Like, this is the main story. This is the most important thing that's happening right now. So this is a special edition of Market Report where we're really just gonna dive in to how to invest and how to financially react in a state of uncertainty. So, first of all, I want to say that my boyfriend Warren Buffett, always says that volatility is the tax that we pay for getting to grow wealth in the market, which I love, because basically, like, yeah, like, getting to grow money, like, having your money compound having it, you know, grow exponentially over years and years is amazing, but it doesn't come without heartache and moments of insecurity and moments where you're like, what the fuck? Should I just have kept my money in cash? And so this might be one of those moments for you, but just know like, that's normal and that the market going up and down is actually healthy. That is a normal part of a market cycle. Like people hate weight fluctuations and they hate market fluctuations, but market fluctuations are actually totally to be expected and they shouldn't affect your long term financial plans. They really are gonna happen every year for the rest of your life, a few times a year. So just like plan for them, acknowledge them, know they're coming, and when they do come, be like, hey old friend, good to see ya. I knew you were gonna show up eventually. Okay, so now I'm gonna tell you the three things that you need to know to navigate all this instability like a pro. So number one, you gotta understand the oil situation because that is why inflation might rise and why your gas and your grocery bills might start acting up. Maybe they already did start acting up. So basically we are looking at right now a massive war risk premium. And that is because Iran is threatening to shut off the Strait of Hormuz, which is where 20% of the world's oil flows. That's crazy. So the market is obviously panicking. That oil prices are going to see stay north of $100 a barrel. And because everything that we buy gets moved by fuel has petroleum in it. Like oil is just such a big part of the economy. This is a huge deal. So like when you see the market dipping, it doesn't mean that these companies suddenly got bad at their jobs. It just means that investors are worried that high energy costs are going to eat into corporate profits. So hopefully once you understand the why it stops being so scary, I will also say like America is hedged in terms of our oil supplies. Like we are not getting all of our oil from Iran. So hopefully this works itself out. But in the short term, yes, there might be inflation because oil has become so expensive. And that just is what it is. It's. And hopefully like now that you understand why it stops being so scary. And it's not like a mystery, it's just math. The second thing I want to talk about are portfolios. Should you buy the dip, should you panic, sell. And here's the thing, when things get scary, the market tends to do what's called a flight to safety. So like people dump. People are very emotional with their investing. They really like to let their emotions be their financial advisor. And in moments like this, they like to dump speculative tech stocks and run towards gold. And the dollar and keeping their money in cash. So if you're seeing a lot of red right now in your portfolio, it means that you're probably heavy on growth and that's okay. That doesn't mean that like you're screwed. Geopolitical shocks historically have always just had short term market impact. So like I have no doubt that your portfolio is going to bounce back but just make sure that you don't sell while you're down because then you're just turning a paper loss into a real one. So I'd say for most of us the smartest move right now is to do nothing. And I've also been getting a lot of DMs about buying the dip. It's all about time in the market versus timing of the market. So I always get weary of giving advice about like this is the moment, let's get in. But also if you have been sitting on cash and waiting for a moment to get in, this is historically what those moments do look like. I did buy the dip today just because I funded my SEP ira which is a retirement account for people who are self employed and I was waiting to invest it. And so we're putting it, I'm putting it into the market today and I'm buying broad index funds. And if you're wondering exactly what I bought, which index funds I'm personally in right now, but I never gatekeep this. I have a free guide that I'll put in the show notes that has like every index fund listed that I invested. But again this is not financial advice so take it with a grain of salt. And then number three, the third thing that I want to talk about are flight prices because obviously we are all planning our hot girl summers and flight prices are about to get insane. Slash already insane. Jet fuel prices have nearly doubled in the last month, which is crazy. And it's all because of this conflict. So of course airlines are adding like fuel surcharges into their tickets. So my advice is like this is a moment to really lock in on your points. Like if you see a flight price you can live with, of course book it today. Don't wait for a deal that's coming. While oil is this high, you can always cancel a flight. So it's better to just book the flight that you think that you might want if you see a good price for it and then deal with it down the road. You can always move things around. But also most major airline points programs so like think like Aeroplan or United Mileage plus like Any of the other ones. They don't pass fuel surcharges onto you when you book with points. So you're essentially spending a shadow currency that isn't tethered to the price of oil. So if you have a trip planned and you have points just sitting there, I would use them. Now. I'm gonna go to Greece this summer. I go to Greece every summer. And I'm gonna book those flights, like, today or tomorrow. And like I said, you can always move them around. But I just want to lock in the prices. But yeah, points are really the best way to do it because you're effectively erasing the wartime inflation on your vacation. Okay, so those are my three tips. Don't panic. Sell book your flights now and understand why gas prices are so high. And I know that the world feels heavy, but remember, your finances don't have to be a source of trauma. Just stay calm, stay invested, and use your points like the future rich person I know you are. So that is the market report. Now let's get into the rest of the show. Welcome Sammy nestorf, the founder of viral grocery store Meadow Lane to the Financial T. Before we really jump in, I just have a few questions for you. Okay. What gives you the financial ick?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Things like Hermes blankets, they're so bad. So bad. Like, why do you still do it?

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

I know.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Or like the pillows, the pillow, like, all of the.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

The bait products that people buy to, like, try and get a.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Try and get a Birkin.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah, but also, they don't know that the sales associates know if you're buying the bait product, and then they won't give you a Birkin if you buy them.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah, yeah. There's a whole algorithm there. Really? Is there really anything that, like, screams, this is the brand? You know, I guess I am a subscriber to quiet luxury.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

And then do you feel rich today?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Emotionally, spiritually?

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Just like, however that works for you? Bank account? Like, you know, some days you're like, damn, like, I've got some money in my pocket.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

You know, I've never thought about that.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Okay, well, this is why you're here. To, like, do deep thinking about your finances.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I guess I feel emotionally rich today

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

because you were together.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Because I'm just in a good mood.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Okay, fine. Don't make it about me.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

It's a rare occurrence.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Oh, yeah. Fair enough. Yeah. Okay, so obviously your grocery store. I'm obsessed. When I was in Tribeca the other weekend, like, I was trying to get in. Can you tell me. Talk to me about, like, just start With Meadow Lane. Like, why did you call it Meadow Lane?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

First of all, I was thinking of what to name the business, and I wanted to encapsulate a destination. And I thought lane or pond or road or something, like, made it a place that you could envision in your head. And because of my floral background, I wanted to add Meadow because it's very lush and it reminded me of, like, lush, quaint, blue place. But also, you know, I did technically get the name from the street in Southampton. It dissuaded me because of the street in Southampton.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Wait, really?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah, because I didn't want it to seem too pretentious.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Wow. Oh. So I thought that you were, like, actively trying to connect it to, like, this very expensive zip code. Like, it's like, this aspirational place.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

No. And my fear of that was actually, like, people saying the counter argument was like, no, like, it's aspirational. Like, people know what that is. And, like, I was like, I don't know if I'm on board with it. It kind of gave me the ick, honestly. But I loved the name for a grocery store.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

I love the name too. But I feel like so much of the buzz or, like, desire to shop at Meadow Lane is because it does feel aspirational. Like, it feels like this destination and, like, you can go there and you even. No matter what's happening in your bank account or whatever, when you walk in those doors, you are able to buy, like, the same as, like, a super rich person and, like, sort of cosplay that experience, which I think especially for, like, Gen Z and Millennials is exciting because obviously, like, you know, lots of inflation, student debt, the job market is messed up. And so we look for these, like, micro luxuries to make us feel like, you know, we're economically successful.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah, I was just reading about that. And before I wasn't. I didn't agree with it. Now I'm thinking, okay, people aren't able to buy, like, let's say, mu fleece or Kelly or whatever it is. So it's these, like, micro purchases of subscribing to a trend or a luxury, but it's more accessible. I don't know if my target recurring customer base is doing that. I think that they just like prepackaged healthy food, to be honest. I mean, maybe some people are sporting, like, a gourmet grocer tote bag and thinking, like, that's a status symbol. But I think most of our customers who are locals, who come every day or almost every day, just enjoy the Food. And they want grab and go easy, convenient food.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

So the mar. The. Obviously, the grocery store has been. I don't even want to call it grocery store because it sounds like it's a prepared food market.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Okay. Prepared food market. Medaline has been super successful. So how much do you gross in a week?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I don't look at it per week. I look at it usually day or month. So day on average is around $30,000.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Wow.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

And a month, around a million. But it's super dependent on the weather.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Wow.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah. So weekends will do around 50,000 a day.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Damn.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

And then really slow days, you know, freezing outside, inclement weather. It's around like 16, 18,000.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

What is the profit from that?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I don't know if I want to share that.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Okay. Interesting.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Because. Well, I mean, it brings me to my next question because it's like, how do you price things? Like, obviously you're making. It's super successful because people love the food, but also because the actual, like, items in the store are priced so highly. So, like, how did. How do you decide how to price things? Have you tried lower pricing? What happened?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

They're not that pricey.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Oh, okay.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I think objectively they are in relation to the neighborhood. You know, Tribeca is the highest price per square foot in Manhattan, which means it's the highest price. One of the highest price per square foot in the Northeast. So given the affluence of that neighborhood and the locals keep the local businesses afloat, it's priced reasonably, especially given that most of the ingredients are organic and it's very high quality meat and produce and all of the ingredients. So, you know, it's pretty on par with every other gourmet grocer actually below and kind of comparable to a sweetgreen.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

And just to be clear, we're not sharing. We know that it makes a million dollars a month.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Well, it's still.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Only. It's grossing a million dollars a month.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

We've. We're still in the first 90 days.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Okay.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

So we don't know. I mean, given that the first 90 days were very cold winter months, yes, it could well exceed that. But the run rate should be currently around 12 million a year.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Damn.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

And that's without catering. That's without partnerships.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

And you're a full. Full owner.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Full owner. But, you know, it's still tight. Like, that doesn't account for cost of goods. The more volume that you do, the higher cost of goods. Labor is extremely high. It's not like that lucrative of a business until you scale it so you.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

And you won't tell us the margins?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

It's. It's very low. The profit margins are low. The gross margins are standard. I mean there's other stats I can give you.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Give us a stat. I know you've brought some numbers for us. Like share a number, brother.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

In the first 90 days of operations, we've had 70,000 transactions. That doesn't necessarily mean 70,000 individuals customers because some, a lot of them are repeat customers.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

That's crazy.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah. 70,000 for a 2,000 square foot space is tremendous.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

That's insane.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah. Let's see. We've sold a quarter of a million units of items. So it's a lot, it's a lot of volume.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

The only reason volume business.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

The only reason we're operating at a profit is because of volume.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Volume.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Like someone needs to take some of our food, like our average meals and compare them against other prices.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Other restaurant or other places in their prices because it's not that crazy.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

You need to do a video on that.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I know. And we've also been able to give back like within the first week of opening, we donated $30,000 to City Meals on Wheels.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Love.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

So we're going to try and do way more of that once we level off and tighten up as much as we can. Yeah, let's see. So we've done 3 million in revenue so far.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Damn.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Within 90 days. So yeah, it's like a million a month. Basically.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

This is a great business.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I think for spring, summer it's going to well exceed that. Oh, these are interesting stats. So we sold over $750,000 in chicken

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

and I'm about to try the chicken.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah. Spread between only a handful of skus poor chickens.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

You've really done bad things for them.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

A chicken hates to see a Meadow Lane purchase order come through. Yeah.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Okay. If there is one thing that I am like low key obsessed with financially, it is preventative health care. Healthcare is so expensive. We all know this. If you live in America like Taylor's oldest time, it is pricey to get sick. But as you get older it gets even more and more expensive. Every time that you ignore a dental cleaning or you postpone an annual checkup or you just like convince yourself a weird system is just vibes, you are actually like putting yourself in a bit of financial peril because something could actually be wrong that you don't know about. And that's why I love ZocDoc, because I know that health admin often feels like you need like a PhD in patients. But when you use ZocDoc, it's a free app and website and you can literally just go on there and search by specialty or even by symptom, read real patient reviews to understand the vibe, see real time availability and then just book an appointment. So there's no calling, no waiting on hold, no front desk Olympics. Like they basically removed everything annoying about making your doctor appointments so that you can just find and book high quality in network doctors. Find someone that you love without needing a PhD in patients and if you want to do in person, awesome. They can accommodate it. If you would rather do video. Also great, stop putting off those doctor's appointments. Go to Zocdoc.com financialtea to find and instantly book a doctor you love today. That z o c-o c.com financialtea thanks sockdoc for sponsoring this message. Okay, we need to talk about quints because this is exactly the kind of brand that makes getting dressed easier, smarter and cost less. Quints is all about elevated essentials that feel effortless. So like the kind of pieces that you can actually build a wardrobe around and everything is designed for layering and mixing. So you're not just buying trendy one offs that you have no idea how to actually style. Like you're buying those staples that you can reach for over and over again and actually, actually make getting dressed easy. What they're really good at is nailing the basics but with quality that's made to last. So like 100% European linen and organic cotton. And it shows the stitching, the feel, the way the pieces hold up season after season. Like these are clothes that really can earn a piece in your rotation. So refresh your wardrobe with quince. Go to quince.comfinancialtea for free shipping on your order and 365 day return returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N c e.com financialtea I feel like for okay, I feel like there is this phenomenon though where people do value things that are more expensive more highly. Like a lot of people say that like with I do financial planning or advice for people and like it actually when things cost money they end up completing it more because they value it and it like took some sting or something from them to to get it versus if I gave it to them for free and then it leads to them like actually you know, like completing the program or something like that. Like there's like this whole idea that like with price brings value. Do you subs like do you think that people like when things Are more expensive?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah. I mean, when I was marketing the business and talking about price point, they were like, oh, I'm kind of disappointed the chicken salad's only $12. Like, I wanted it to be more like, I want to treat myself. I'm like, well, you could still treat yourself, and it can cost you less. Like, you know, I think a round swamp chicken salad's, like, $22.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

It's crazy.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Ours is 12.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Wow. Okay. A deal in this economy.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I mean, the chickens we get are, like, incredible. Like, it's. It kind of is, especially in the neighborhood. That's why I think it's priced very reasonably. The. The. The profitability of Meadow Lane is not based on margin. It's based on volume. So our margins for prepared foods are extremely standard. Margins on coffee and beverage are lower than average. You could probably spend more money on a coffee at Starbucks or Blue Bottle than a Meadow Lane coffee. Where I think people think it's more expensive than it is. Is the press creating this narrative by only focusing on a $65 bottle of olive oil and a $750 jar of caviar, which is like, o sietra. And, like, the big one.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

You know, like, they didn't really want to cover the $12 chicken salad.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

You know, or the $15 tenders, which, you know, that's a lot of protein in there, and they're very nice chickens. So it's not a crazy margin. It's just about the volume that we do. I mean, having a thousand customers a day, that's crazy. You're able to keep your business afloat while not inflating your margin.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Like, obviously, people know about Erewhon, and it's so la, so such a destination there. Was there, like, inspiration to sort of create, like, the New York version of Erewhon with Medellin.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Not necessarily. I lived in LA for about a year and a half, and I frequented Era on. I frequented Erewhon a lot, and I loved it there. I just loved how esthetically pleasing it was. I liked the prepared foods. The produce was amazing. I think I was more inspired by Dean and DeLuca and Round Swamp. I thought the culture of Erewhon was interesting in terms of, like, people making that an activity, because I always viewed going to the grocery store as a kid as an activity. Something fun.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yes.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

It was, like, my favorite place as a kid. And the idea of people getting dressed up to go to the grocery store and hang out and sit outside and eat their food was really cool to me.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I Don't know if I necessarily implemented that into, like, the ethos of Meadowlane, but I was definitely inspired by, I guess, Erewhon to an extent, but mainly Dean and DeLuca and Round Swamp. It was just like this feeling you got when you went there. And I wanted to create my own feeling that I thought my customers would experience when they came to Meadowlane. Yes. I market it in a very niche, kind of like, creative way, but I think, like, I created the customer before we. Well, before we opened.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

And who would you say is the Meadow Lane customer?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I think there's many different kinds of customers. There's Tribeca locals, people doing hauls for their families, you know, twice a week, three times a week. They don't want to cook. It's the investment bankers at Citi Goldman. It's the girls at Vogue and Conde Nast that walk over. It's nurses and doctors and dermatology offices nearby. Yeah. There's even students that come from NYU or whatever the other one is

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

with the store. Like, what is the rent on the space? Because obviously Tribeca is so expensive.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

The rent is around 31,000amonth.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Oh, so you guys are doing great.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

And then how much did it cost to, like, build it out because it's so stunning?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

The build out cost was considerable. I'll just say that.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Can we name names?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

No.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

No. Okay. But you obviously went above budge.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

We went above budge, but we will. We will make up our capital expenditure in a very short amount of time.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

There you go. People do assume online, like, they. I feel like they do think you're just like, swiping a family black car to open a shop because, like, you know, your parents have money. But, like, let's just settle the books. Like, how much of your own skin is in this game? Do you have investors? Is it the bank of mom and dad? Like, how did we create this?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

A hundred percent of my skin is in the game.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

I know it is. I can feel it.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

So before I worked in the grocery industry, I was working in venture capital at my. My family's office.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yes.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

So my dad opened a family office a couple blocks away from my apartment.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Convenient.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

And I didn't. I didn't necessarily want to, you know, work from. He works in the distribution business. Yeah.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

So what is the family business?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

It's a healthcare, pharmaceutical, beauty distribution business. So he buys things like toilet paper, Q Tip, shampoo, fragrance, pharmaceuticals, and distributes it to retailers. So I did not want to go into that business. That was not very enticing for me. But he Opened a family office to like do some investing, manage some assets, things like that.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Tell us like, what if family offices? Because I feel like it comes up on the podcast a lot. So like I always am like, let's just like make sure it's clear.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah. I mean, family offices are typically for high net worth individuals or families or several families where there can be a number of things happening. You could be using it as like a house to invest in different companies, private equity, vc, management of assets. I feel like that's, you know, there's accounting, there's bookkeeping, there's things like that.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

It's like tax optimization, but it's also like you have like your own little hedge fund, like investment.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah. There's different arms.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

And at the time it was a collection of all of it. And I started working there during undergrad in the summer mostly, and I got really interested in the VC aspect, which was probably 10% of the family office, very small. And I just wanted to explore VC more. And over time I made more and more investments and I allocated around $27 million.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Wow.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Not angel checks, like considerable checks.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

In these startups and other VC funds as well. And today it has a fair market value of 100 million. Whoa.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Okay. What were the companies that you invested in?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Many, I can tell you the ones that have exited.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Which is Coterie Diapers.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

That's a huge, huge one.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Humongous. Yeah, yeah.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Coterie has gone to the moon.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah. Touchland Hand Sanitizer.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Oh my gosh. People are obsessed.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah. Invested in that pre pandemic.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Oh my gosh.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

So these were all like Series A. I invested in Built. The credit card company has like a 10 or plus billion dollar valuation now. So I know it's unfathomable.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

How do you get that deal flow? And also how did you analyze those deals? Like, was it gut feeling?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

So obviously we had an analyst, but all of it was gut. You know, we made sure the numbers looked good. But like, I had this visceral, somatic experience when I met with a founder, tried a product, and I just like would know for the most part if this brand was going to take off.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

You're really good at knowing like what the next gen wants. You know what I mean? Like, even Meadow Lane, I feel like fits into that category. But like Built is like a credit card for next gen, where it's like, okay, we're optimizing paying rent or like, you know, the hand sanitizer, it's not like a squirty Purell. It's like a chic, you know, touchland, smelly, fun experience, or, you know, coterie. Like, yeah, let's make it fancy to put a diaper on. You know, let's make it aspirational to, like, wipe the babies.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Better for the environment.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Better for the environment. Of course. Always important to be good for the environment. They love to have that as, like, a little byline. But, you know, you sort of have like, a magic touch in that moment. Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I was good at it.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

You are. You're not doing it anymore.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Not really. I mean, if I see a deal come through, maybe like, if it really sparks my interest. But my focus is Meadow Lane, so.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Okay. I want to obviously talk about, like, what the future Meadow Lane means, but. So then you're saying that you. Of that. So you put in 27 million of the family office's money. That portfolio is now up to $100 million. How much of that did you pocket and, like, put into the business?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I get profit share. I get carry basically on the deals I invested. Because that money. That money wasn't mine. That money is my dad's.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah, you borrowed from.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

But it wouldn't have, you know, grown. It wouldn't have grown without the decision making around those deals that we were doing and the sourcing of those deals. So I wanted to use some of the money that I made to finance Meadow Lane, because that's what I wanted to do. I could have kept doing vc.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

But I was like, this is kind of getting stale for me. Like, I don't know, this sounds, like, really pretentious, but, like, I can just sit here and keep making a lot of money.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

But I'm really. It's not, like, filling my bucket.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I wanted to feel, like, more inspired. I became a floral designer during the pandemic, and I loved working with my hands, and I was always passionate about food. So I wanted to bring together a bunch of my passions under one roof and finance the business through that money.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Like, how much did you put into Meadow Lane? I think you can say that. I don't think that's like.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

So several million dollars went into the.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

To Meadow, and it was all from your good investments in the family office.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yes.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

So you had the leg up of being able to invest papa's money.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yes.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

But no one can tell you that you didn't grow that money and then, you know.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

No, I did. My nepotism awarded me the opportunity to grow for my dad, essentially.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

You know, but there's plenty of people that invest their family's money for their families and tank it.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Well, that's what I was going to say is like, a, are you the favorite child? And B, it's like, yeah. Like, literally, how many people do you know who are like, oh, I'm investing. And it's like, they are not doing it successfully.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I mean, the last five years, everyone became an investor.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

They're like, yeah, I have a fund.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

I have a fund.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I'm like, do you have any LPs?

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

No, absolutely not. And I'm like, wow, I would never invest with you. I'm like, oh, I would absolutely never trust you with my money.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Right. It was a great experience. And, like, I won't apologize for having been dealt a hefty set of cards.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

You played it well.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah, I mean, I thought I played it well, and I'm glad I did. And, you know, it's an ultimate luxury and privilege to be able to start your own business.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Oh, 100%.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

And, like, why not take advantage of that? I'm not gonna, like, sit around and mope and be like, oh, poor me. Like, you know, I want. I get to do what makes me happy. And that's, like, such an amazing thing. And if I can inspire a young entrepreneurial audience in saving costs when starting their business by not spending money on ads, advertisement agencies and PR agencies, marketing agencies, and they can do it themselves by marketing on TikTok, like, why not?

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Well, let's talk about the TikTok thing, because I do feel like you've actually created a problem for many founders, because now it's like, because of you, Sammy, every person who starts a company is, like, encouraged to build in public. They all think that they can do it. Like, Sammy, like, because you really, like, built the company on TikTok every day, showing your followers what was going on, and it created this, like, connection to the brand and hype and just, like, interest. And so, like, how was that so conscious? Was it something like, walk us through that, and you're a genius.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

When I was putting together Meadowlane, I met with a marketing agency or two, and they were telling me things of their strategy that just. I didn't agree with.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Like, what?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Just boring, traditional institutional marketing strategy and, like, 15 grand a month. Quoting me, I was like, absolutely not.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah. You're like, in what world?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah, I was like, I'm. I don't like selling things too hard, you know, Like, I want to showcase something, but I don't want to force you to buy it. Like, I hate marketing, where it's like, you need this you know, I hate that energy. So I was like, I'm gonna do it myself, but I don't know how. And I didn't have tick tock on my phone yet, but I downloaded it and I just saw people post their makeup tutorial, their hair tutorial, making a flower arrangement, the guy in Australia doing the dance videos, I love those. Love. People love to see how things are made. Start to finish. Get rich, the new reality tv. And no wonder viewership in movies and TV shows and reality are down. People are looking to short form content. It's so good to learn things, to watch the news, to see how the financial markets are doing. It's quicker. And we're like, maybe that's a bad thing. Yeah, but that's the reality we're in. So I was like, how cool would it be to build the business in public?

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Oh. So it was really, it was like thought out in that way before you even made your first post.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

That was the only thought. Like, what if I just get people excited for something and, and see what my customer wants before we open?

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

And I didn't know how it was gonna go. I never anticipated it becoming what it did. So I just started with a taste test video of like overnight oats and parfait cups. And it took off and people were so like locked in. I'm like, oh, I should do more of this. I should go through the menu with them. And then I was like crashing out over some delay or something and I did a video about that and then they were like, wait, talk more about the construction and the permits. Like, how does that work? So you're like teaching something as you go, but you're also collecting consumer data because you're like, oh, this is what they want to see.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Oh, they don't think the brand, color aligns with the brand. Like you just. And because the delay is. I was able to learn so much and co found the business together. I love that with an audience. And it was like, it felt like support.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Such a loser. Literally, like gonna cry. It's a beautiful story. Wow, that's so cool. I like that you're sort of like snarky too. Like, you're like, you're always in control of your own narrative.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Like, it's like hardly.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

What do you mean? I feel like you definitely clap back.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I clap back, but I'm not in control.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Not control of your narrative, but on your page of your nar. Like you're not like gonna acquiesce to someone like bullying you online. You just Be like, no, I'm not doing that.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

The bullying and the trolling doesn't upset me very much. It's when people twist the narrative and what does.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Where does the narrative get? What's, what are the lies that you've heard biggest lies online?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Oh, there's no way he financed his own business. You know, back to what you were saying, like, yeah, it's kind of unfathomable to think a 28 year old could finance his own business. And I'm like, it is. And I don't think I would have been able to if not for the nepotism that I was born into.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

But also that gave you. By having it self financed, you also had the freedom to make so many decisions from your gut.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Versus having these like annoying, no offense because you are one VCs being like, well the data shows and this and that. And it's like, no, at the end of the day, like you, your gut is your most powerful co founder.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah. And I don't. If I had listened to my best friends and my, my closest family members, this business wouldn't have gotten off the road.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

There you go. But you have like a lot of issues. Like there was like, you know, you also dealt with a lot of conflict online. Like you know, first week, raw chicken nuggets, this, that like talked us through

[Sammy Nussdorf]

all that controversy building in public is a double edged sword to say the least. You know, it is why the business was as viral or is as viral as it is. But it's also, you know, it's also feeds into this like changing your narrative thing. And every win is widely broadcasted, but every mistake is widely broadcast. So you know, things that happen in FNB hospitality every single day but aren't talked about because it's not a viral topic. We were exposed to that.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Well, say more like we saw the viral raw chicken TikTok Sammy. Like, let's dig in.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

So, you know, there's no excuse.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Tell us about the raw chicken.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I know there's no excuse for that. You know, that's a.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

But like, like explain what happened.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Like, okay, first week we were not anticipating that kind of demand. Not anticipating a thousand customers a day lines for three, four weeks.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

It was so crazy.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

And people were very upset that when they got into the store, most of the food was sold out. So there was a lot of pressure on the kitchen to keep making food. We had to hire a third shift in the kitchen. The kitchen was operating 24 hours a day.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Wow.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

You know, it's a new team. It's a new kitchen, people are still learning and mistakes get made and things fall through the cracks. And we were just trying to keep up with demand as best as we could. And a tray of chicken nuggets which we make in house and then freeze so that we're ahead of schedule. You know, we take them out, we thaw them and then we fry them. So one tray wasn't thawed enough and they went into the fryer appearing to be cooked.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

But that inside was pink A.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

The inside was pink A.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yes, could happen to anyone. Okay, I think that we can all agree that housing is expensive. Like rent, mortgage, it doesn't matter which one you're paying. It is your biggest monthly expense expense. So the question becomes, is it even doing anything for you? Like, are you getting rewarded for that money? Well, that's where built comes in. Built is a membership that rewards you with points on your housing payments, whether you rent or you own. And as of 2026, that includes mortgage payments too. So every payment earns you points that you can redeem towards things that you're already spending on. Like Built points are honestly so valuable you can exchange them for flights with partners like United, hotel rooms with Hyatt Lyft rides, or even purchases on Amazon.com personally I always use my points towards travel. I just book travel to Los Angeles for my book tour on it. And what I feel like is also really underrated is their neighborhood concierge. Like Built members can get help booking restaurant reservations, fitness classes, discovering new spots. It's this very seamless, lifestyle driven experience all connected to where you live, just like from being a built member. So I really feel like your biggest expense should feel a little more considered and give you rewards. And with Built it is. So join the membership where you live at joinbilt.comt that's J-O-I-N-B-I-L-T.comt I've been a member since 2022 and I've never regretted it. How many discounts does USAA Auto Insurance offer? Too many to say here. Multi vehicle discount, Safe driver discount, new

[Sammy Nussdorf]

vehicle discount, storage discount.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

How many discounts will you stack up?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Tap the banner or visit usaa.com autotype discounts restrictions apply.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

So back to Erewhon. Like obviously Erewhon has like those viral celebrity smoothies, the Haley Bieber, which by the way, it's a milkshake. Like that is not healthy at all. Would you ever do something like that? Like, because I know that you used a lot of influencers within your launch. Like would you ever do like Butterfield does? The influencer smoothies even? I was ordering something from a restaurant yesterday and they had like an influencer cookie collab. Like were you down for that?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I'm not really down for it.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Okay.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I also haven't really collab with influencers. A lot of influencers were reaching out like, oh, let's do a video together. And this was pre opening. So I was like, sure. But no one was paid. Like we've spent zero dollars on marketing, advertising and press. So I have a very strict line with that. I will not pay anyone to come to the store and I won't discount anyone to do a video. I think that that cheapens the brand. With LA culture around food and beverage, it's very la and I think that's fine. I think for New York it's like more subtle. You know, the celebrities that come into Meadowlane all the time, it's very chill, it's very subtle. I think making a celebrity endorsed product at this point, it's like Meadow Lane needs to become its own tiger before it rides off the back of another tiger.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

I love that.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Like I need to earn it myself and not piggyback off of some big, well known celebrity to amass more customers. It's just not my vibe. I've turned down tons of people and brands for collaborations on bowls or smoothies or salads. Won't do it.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

I mean, until Mrs. Dow Jones comes out with her own. Her own fall. I've had other. That's the only one that you would do. Obvious. That's really why you're here. So sort of propose that to me.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Okay.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Don't be shy.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I recently turned down name names. A very big one that used to have a smoothie at Erewhon.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

You can't say who.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I don't think I should.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Well, say it and then we'll cut it out. Want to do a Meadow Lane that's sort of hard to say no to.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Not really. No matter who it was. I wasn't gonna a pay for.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Oh, you're to pay that?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Probably, Yeah. I think. I don't know actually. But I wasn't gonna take something that had been done. Especially with all these Erewhon comparisons I already get. You know, I wasn't gonna be gimmicky and like a copycat kind of.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah, I hear you. Where are you in? Like, where are we going with this? Like, are we gonna do other locations? Are we gonna see Meadow Lane in the groceries and like not nationwide in grocery Stores like a me chicken finger that you can buy at Whole Foods. Like, what's the. There's so many different ways that you could do this.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah. Back when I was launching this, I was like, if this business breaks even, I will be happy.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Damn.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Cuz a tough business.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

It's a really. No. It's such a hard. But you. It's like you've really cracked it.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah. But we became. We were operating at a profit on week two.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

So crazy.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Most restaurants need at least a year minimum. So I was like, oh, this might actually be something. And the. You know, we can go in multiple different directions. So expanding with different locations.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Okay, which neighborhoods do you think are most like, metal? Amy?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I have an eye on a small one in the West Village.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Oof. That would do so well.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah. Decent sized one. Flat iron.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Genius.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Small one in NoHo, large one on the Upper east side.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Oh, like a little Butterfield competitor. You gotta get that froyo going, brother.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I don't want to deal with froyo.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

People love froyo.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

It's such a nightmare.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

They love it. It actually is. I actually looked into starting a frozen yogurt business, and the margins were so bad, and it is a nightmare because you have to, like, clean the machines. Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

They always break down.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

It's such an. It is a nightmare.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah. And I also, like, don't want to try and do something that someone else has done really well.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

I know, but even when I go to Erewhon, though, like, I like their froyo too. Like, it's a fun thing to add on at the end. Like, okay, I'm getting my chicken fingers. But also, like, maybe I'm gonna have a. A little sweet treat. Nothing wrong with that.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Okay. But I don't hear Brooklyn, so I actually have to leave now.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

It could. It could be Dumbo or please can that be first. Maybe we need it. We'll see.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Okay, what are. So if you don't expand, what are the other ways that we could do this?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

You could run simultaneous streams. So you could do cpg. So there's certain items that are shelf stable that we make in house, like granolas and roasted nuts or kale chips. Even certain pastry items that we could sell to other retailers. Okay, so I haven't worked on that yet because, like, we've only been open 90 days.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

It's so crazy, but it is in the back of my mind.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Okay, so you open in a political moment where the new New York City mayor ran on taxing the rich and the affordability crisis. And do you feel like any tension between what Meadow Lane represents and that mood? Like, do you think about that?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I mean, we were delayed a year, so the, the planning on opening was not strategic. We were delayed and it was out of our control. Which was thoroughly documented on TikTok. It's not like I intentionally opened amidst this affordability crisis, which by the way, like was happening long before it was advertised in the press. Like there's always been incoming insecurity and massive wealth disparity in this city. So I don't know why that was suddenly new. I guess maybe they were polling statistics.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

But there's always been scale to goods and services. There's always been a range from automobiles from Toyota to Rolls Royce, from economy to first class, from you know, generic to name McDonald's to Michelin fine dining restaurant. You know, from an affordable grocery store to a not so affordable grocery store. Why is this news?

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Zara to Chanel.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Correct. Like what's. And these are all necessities. Food's a necessity.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Automobiles are necessity. Health care is a necessity. There's always been a range. So I didn't understand why my 20, my 2,000 square foot store was getting blasted so much. Because there's other stores that sell very similar things for higher price tags. But they didn't get the press coverage we did. And that is because of my marketing on TikTok.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yes.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

It generated enough buzz where like other that others didn't.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

And I think it was also you too, because people hate generational wealth.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yes. And the only publication to write about this topic was the Wall Street Journal, which was like last week.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Week.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

They were the only ones to cover it. Doing the history of gourmet grocers. You know, like from when I saw

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

that they did such an amazing piece on that.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah. I was like, thank you.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Like is that like our journalists are finally doing journalism, you know, versus like these other publications that are just like saying imposing it as like this new idea. I'm like, you guys like don't do research, you know, I mean, why wouldn't you be more outraged by like the thousand dollar ahead omakase restaurant versus my $23 bowl. I mean, objectively, I am out of touch. Yes, of course.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

But don't feel like that's like that that was. They. They villainized you because you were an individual and cause like you stood for sort of the antithesis of this new Mamdani age.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

I mean it definitely contradicted his how he ran his campaign. Because when the New York Post has a headline that says, what? Affordability crisis. There are lines around the block to get into selling $65 olive oil. You know, it was so politically charged.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yeah.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Right wing media was like, there's no affordability crisis. Look at Meadow Lane. Left wing media was like, does New York really need a luxury grocery store? I'm like, babe, there's like 20 in a five mile radius. Yeah, like, what are you talking about? So no one captured the fact that two things can be true at the same time. That amidst an affordability crisis, there are still a large cohort of individuals that can afford a premium on food. And this is not at the end of that lux spectrum in terms of premium.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Okay. Really excited about this app. Feel like there's something here for us as well, you know?

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Yeah.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Maybe we're leaving with a kernel of a friendship.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Of course.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Yes. Maybe even more than a kernel. I don't know. We'll see if the chicken finger is raw, but. Thank you for being here, Sammy.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Thank you for having me.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

Stay rich. I know you are. And, Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show. Hey, everyone.

[Sammy Nussdorf]

Check out this guy and his bird.

[Haley (Mrs. Dow Jones)]

What is this, your first date? Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird. Yeah, the bird looks out of your league anyway. Only pay for what you [e-mail]. liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.