🎙️Episode 11. “There’s No Rule You Have to Do It Like Everyone Else” with Michael Abadi,

Michael Baddy is probably one of the most fascinating people that you could talk to. The man single-handedly brings happiness to over 10,000 people a week through the amazing food establishments and world legendary Mike's Chicken. Mike was honest with us. Mike was vulnerable with us. And Mike shared so many brilliant insights into professional and personal success. Listen this week on Jewish Grit. We're here today with Micah Baddy. Mike holds one of the most unique roles in the Jewish people. He brings happiness to close to 10,000 people every single week through the amazing food that he serves up through Mike's Chicken, which is a legendary chicken joint in in in Lakewood, as well as Kitchen One, a really revolutionary uh food industry. Um, so it's a pleasure to welcome Mike to this podcast. Pleasure to be here. So, Mike, let's let's start right away. um you're serving I don't know 4,000 people chicken every single week and I remember in 2016 when you opened up shop in like a hole in the wall and today Barak Hasham with God's help you're a staple on most people's table at some point in the week or the month. H how did that happen? How do you start? Like first of all how did you start? Like what gave you the the the drive to start? >> First of all it's great to be here. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you for having me. I was studying in Colola and when I was studying in Israel, this is pre-marriage. I actually used to help a family who used to make food and like a sort of like a catering business. I used to help them as just a you know volunteer work type of thing. So that's where I got involved in cooking food a little bit. It was for no pay. It was you know totally volunteer work. And then when I got um married, you know, I knew how to make this, you know, type of chicken nugget. Not the same one they made, but I made it for my in-laws, you know, and I was broke, completely broke at the time. So my mother-in-law, in her, you know, amazing mother-in-law kindness said, "You should sell this. You should sell this." So I started selling it to a few friends here and there. And then, you know, from there it just grew. It had a many, many ups and downs that would span a very long conversation, but th those those were the beginnings. >> And then at some point, you're just like, I need to take this into a real commercial space. >> Yes. So, I was actually asked to come into an existing retail shop. It was in Deal, New Jersey, and make my product there and sort of sell it back to them. So I didn't have overhead. I was just selling product. But I was very limited in what I could do there. So a a friend of mine um came to me and he said someone I had someone over and they tried this and it was amazing. He's like why isn't this everywhere? So he asked me he's like what do you need? Uh I got back to him. I need $30,000. So, with $30,000, I thought I was gonna get equipment, build out a kitchen, and just start a business, >> open up shop, >> and open up shop. I have no idea why I picked that number. Again, I really have no clue. It was a complete and utter disaster. I took out an old mechanic shop. I was just underfunded. I was It was It was just It was awful. It was a very sad site, but we got it up and running and we're talking bare bones. Like I can't I can't afford a hood system, whatever. I got a $90 like Weston deep fryer from like Amazon. I started frying chicken and then I sent people platters and somehow I started getting walk-ins. Like people would come in and like, am I in the right place? And I'm like, uh, yeah, sure. you know, let me just turn on the fryer and uh you know, it was like an it's like a 45minute ordeal to get one person. Um, >> but I remember early on people were saying that the best chicken you can get anywhere is in that little hole in the wall. So, you had a product obviously that >> Right. but I didn't know you were gifted. You didn't even understand that. >> Yeah. Yeah. I'm like, why are people >> So, when did you what when in your career did you all of a sudden turn the corner and all of a sudden things kind of start coming together? So then things were picking up and you know little did I know it became like a cool thing that people know to go to this garage to get chicken. I'll tell you the hardest thing I remember was the time the downtime you know uh especially in the wholesale days when I wasn't um >> would you have if someone would have tapped you on the shoulder and said let me just fast forward you 10 years nine years that you are the most popular probably eery one of the most popular eeries the kosher world in the United States probably would you what would you have told them wake up you're dreaming or I would have the guy admit it I I I never ever ever would have believed you know that it would come after this. >> So to what do you attribute your incredible you know turnaround from literally >> okay so so with in my case it was you know it was it was painfully obvious that I I I could not attribute any success to my my uh you know my business acumen. So, it wasn't that hard. It wasn't that hard to attribute the my success to Hashem to to God. And you know what? We we we we played that card all the way and we've only seen um success with it. >> I just I don't know that much about business, but that's okay cuz neither do you. >> Right. Exactly. >> So, I think if I'm not mistaken, Mike's Chicken should be a full-time job. I mean, you're you're you're you're serving a lot of people and you're open all the time and constantly coming out with new sandwiches and my understanding, you told me this is that you do a little bit of the marketing yourself and you're writing >> most of the marketing >> which is very talented. You have great stuff. >> Thank you. >> But that wasn't enough. You needed to start another thing and that's called Kitchen One. First, tell us what Kitchen One is cuz it's so interesting. >> Kitchen One was born actually of of just the the a strategy of how can we sell more chicken. I said, even if we broaden our menu to be like those, you know, kosher places that are very confused and they're selling shawarma and they're selling >> sushi sushi, right? And there if it's kosher, we're selling it. Say even if we did that, which would be, you know, uh uh basically marketing suicide, but even if we did that, no one's coming to a place called Mike's Chicken more than once or twice a week, right? Period. So we said how could we bolster our own business? Um so we had this idea to make a digital food court. We leveraged existing software. Um I initially designed all the brands. Um I did all the marketing and we approached people out of our um immediate space. No burger places, no other schnitle places. We approached the dairy and uh you know the bagel places the vegan places and that you know and we said hey we have this platform we take 10 you give it to us at a 10% discount like any other you would give to any other wholesale customer and then we mark it up on the platform for 10%. And we approached all the office buildings in the area and we said this is free of charge. You can order from any of these restaurants and it'll come to you at the same time every single day. And the way that works is that the end user will order uh from websites customerf facing and they can order from today there's I think over 16 restaurants four or five are our own meaning individual brands and they can order across those 16 restaurants. All the restaurants delivered to us and then it goes into a staging area and it's just complete chaos. It's hundreds of bags. This one, this driver is going here. We utilize cut off time. So, the orders are batched. It's really it's like a it's like a UPS on steroids, you know, for three, four hours of the day. And then we send out our drivers. We have we have 10 full-time drivers. And >> I'm gonna cut you off here because just to explain the magic of this. >> Yeah. So, a friend of mine works in an office and every Tuesday that office gives lunch to the So, they order from kitchen one. And what they were telling me they love the best is that they happen to like the iced coffee from establishment A, right? >> They like the bagel pointing out from establishment B and the dessert from establishment C. And they literally that's how the entire place orders, you know. And at some point, everyone knows, oh, the the avocado sourdough, that's that guy over there. Well, don't forget their coffee from that place. And that's what they that's the genius of this that you literally can get a handpicked menu. Just what you're sharing with me is so amazing. You have a guy who's in literally the dumps >> who's feeling so worthless when he has downtime that he doesn't has a purpose besides when he's make frying chicken or making chicken. And then today with God's grace, like you were saying before, you have two incredibly successful, you know, food initiatives. That's like, you know, they say hindsight is 2020, but that must be a pretty substantial rearview mirror. >> Hindsight is a lot more sunny than than when you're in the thick of things. >> So, I want to ask you a personal question here. In 2016, I'm sure you had a definition of success. >> Yes. >> And in 2025, I'm sure you have a definition of success. How far apart are those two definitions? >> So, from a business perspective, that's a very evasive question because I'll let you in on a secret. There's no such thing. >> What does that mean? >> What that means to me and this is an opinion which >> I asked Michael >> um once you get to where you wanted to be at, you know, last year and you're at the you hit your goals. Now what? Now I'm successful. Okay. So I could just sit and revel in in in my success and accomplishments. No. Personally, when that happens to me, when I complete one project, I'm like, "Okay, that's done. Uh, what are we doing now?" You know, it's it's it's it's a unicorn. You're constantly chasing it and and and running after it. Um, you could have a roof over your head. You could have you could be feeding your family very in a very respectable manner, but success to most people in my opinion is a really elusive >> it's a moving target. >> It's a moving target. It's a moving target that you really it's very difficult to catch. Um I if you're looking at it from a business perspective. >> Now can we can we look at it from just a more holistic perspective uh personal whatever? What what what is your definition of success? >> Taking the time that God gives you um and doing the things that are important to you and in line with your values um but aren't weighing down on you and in your face. And someone told me something very smart. He said, he asked me, he said, if if you could be if you had the time to do something, whatever you wanted, I'm going to add three hours to your day. What would you be doing? And I answered the question for me would be, you know, learning Torah, studying, and and and and the like. He's like, so that's what you should be doing right now. us would like, you know, when I have the time. It always goes back to the same thing. You got to take control and call the shots. >> What's your favorite thing on in any food establishment in the entire Lakewood? >> It's not my style to do this, but it is something on our own menu. >> Okay. What's that? >> It's a a kale chicken Caesar salad. >> Are you guys thinking of opening another Mike's? thinking, but >> my keys. >> Um, management, management, management. That's uh it's it's easier said than done. It's easier said than done. Can I >> ask a technical question? So, >> you're a guy in col, right? Studying Torah full-time. And by the way, I've seen you study Torah. You're still the mind's still there, you know? And when you share something, a nice thought like you're all in. It's great. It's very inspiring, actually. So, you don't have any no business training, correct? You you learned how to cook when you were volunteering in somebody's house in in Israel on some level. >> Um, I guess anything that's tech is probably selftaught. Am I right about that? >> Yeah. >> So, how does a guy with almost no formal education at least in business or in technology or processes all of a sudden become a guru? Like this kitchen one is processes and tech. That's what it really is in essence. Okay, there's logistics. and logistics. Who taugh who taught you all this stuff? YouTube? >> No. No. So, a lot of it was was conceptual. >> Mhm. >> Meaning in my mind, I said this is how things could and should work. And then it's just a matter of finding the resources and the right people or God directing you to those people uh to to to make that to make that happen. Um, and yeah, it was something that just sort of with kitchen one specifically, it was something that I was just sitting and like >> something clicked. It's >> like a gift. Boom. >> Yeah. Yeah. Something clicked and then I just, you know, took it from there and and and and ran. But um a lot of the technical things and the like were um were self-taught and it was it was more of there is no rule that says you have to do everything like the other guys doing. If it makes sense in in in in your mind then trust yourself. Trust yourself. That was uh that you know that was a big that was a big tool that I I picked up in um >> How often do you do you does your family eat Mike's chicken? >> Once a month >> really? Maybe twice a month. >> Are they like so over it? >> Half and half. We don't bring it a lot, but they like it still. >> Well, they some people eat to live and some people live to eat, right? That what they say. >> Mike, um you're a proud Syrian Jew. What are you most proud about being a Jew? >> It's heritage. It's it's a connection to something greater and bigger than the self. And there's no, you know, there there's no replacing that. There's no replacing that. We when we look at ourselves as as an individual, um it's easy to get lost in that that I'm just one person. How much could I do? How much could I accomplish? >> How much do I rate? >> How much do I rate? How much do I rate? And uh no one likes to self-promote. And you know, if you're a real straight square guy, why do I matter? Um but but if if you look back and who your father was and your father's father and your father's father um all the way back in the Torah to to Arainu then you're you're part of a a great nation that that's traceable all the way back that >> I don't know to me that's uh >> larger than life. >> Yeah. Yeah. It's it's it's larger than life. And and we could accomplish things as a as a as a nation. You're you're part of a whole, right? You're part of a whole. Um you could accomplish things as a nation that aren't really possible as as as an individual. And and that's the the power bank that we're we're drawing from. So that's to me that's >> that's very meaningful. >> Thank you for listening to Jewish Grit and OM mentorship podcast. At OM mentorship, we believe that everyone needs a mentor. What better way is there to tap into your personal and professional potential than with a Jewish mentor at your side? Learn more at olam.org/mentorship. Don't forget to keep listening on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.