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Record of Proceedings

Business Beat Podcast Interview with Antonio of Imperial Palace Express - May 6, 2024

City Council — Monday, May 6, 2024
BodyGrand Island, Nebraska
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, May 6, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 9:48

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:18

Maybe a couple of weeks.

0:20

Couple of weeks.

0:21

I'll take your money.

0:22

That's okay.

0:22

What do you think about the police department here?

0:25

Is it okay?

0:26

What can we do better?

0:35

Welcome to episode two of business beat.

0:38

We're here with Antonio, co-owner of Imperial Palace Express.

0:43

And we're gonna cook something.

0:44

What are we gonna cook today?

0:45

Sesame chicken.

0:46

Sesame chicken.

0:47

We're gonna cook and we're gonna question and interview as we go uh to find out how Antonio got here and what his story is.

0:55

So Antonio get me started here.

0:57

Okay.

0:57

Let's do first oil.

1:00

Okay.

1:02

So you came from Omaha, right?

1:04

Yeah, I come from Omaha.

1:05

Yep, a little bit less.

1:08

Okay.

1:09

How long ago did you come from Omaha?

1:11

Uh like 24 years.

1:16

24 years ago.

1:17

And then when you came to Grand Island, you started working at Imperial Palace.

1:20

Yep.

1:22

What else do I need in there?

1:23

Uh Cesni Sauce.

1:25

This is Kunda.

1:32

And you started working in Imperial Palace, but where was Imperial Palace at the time?

1:37

It wasn't here.

1:38

Uh it's in the mall.

1:39

In the mall.

1:41

Yep.

1:41

And what did you start doing when you when you came to work?

1:44

Uh cooking.

1:46

You were just cooking and cleaning dishes and all that.

1:49

Nothing that.

1:49

No.

1:50

No.

1:51

It's cooking.

1:52

So you've been cooking for almost 30 years.

1:54

Uh cooking not.

1:56

For it's uh 14 years.

1:59

14 years.

2:00

Yep.

2:00

Okay.

2:00

Put a little bit cushion now.

2:03

Mark Starts, all right?

2:04

Yeah.

2:06

Yep.

2:07

I'm getting pretty good at this folks.

2:09

Antonio did say that he would hire me on if I had another couple weeks of experience.

2:14

And you moved to this location on South Locust.

2:16

How long ago?

2:17

Uh year ago.

2:19

About a year ago?

2:20

Yep.

2:20

And how's business been since you've been down here?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement█████████████████████████████████████████████50%
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████50%
Summary of Proceedings

Business Beat Podcast Interview with Antonio of Imperial Palace Express

On May 6, 2024, the Grand Island Police Department's "Business Beat" podcast featured an interview with Antonio, co-owner of Imperial Palace Express restaurant. The conversation covered Antonio's background, restaurant operations, customer relations, and his perspective on the Grand Island Police Department. The host, a police representative, used the opportunity to discuss police-community engagement and recruitment challenges.

Interview & Discussion Items

  • Antonio's Background: Antonio moved from Omaha to Grand Island 24 years ago. He started working at Imperial Palace when it was located in the mall and has been cooking for 14 years. He and his brother Alfonso now co-own the restaurant, which moved to a South Locust location about a year ago.
  • Business Operations: Antonio works 12-hour days, typically starting at 8 a.m. and leaving around 8:30 p.m. He described the difficulty of finding good employees and his preference to keep only one restaurant because operating multiple is too hard financially and logistically. His daughter works in customer service.
  • Customer Connection: Antonio noted that some customers visit every day and often order the same food. He believes the personal connection with customers encourages them to bring more people. He also mentioned that customers can request specific dishes from either Antonio or Alfonso; Antonio's specialty is Mongolian beef.
  • Police Department Feedback: When asked about the Grand Island Police, Antonio stated he has no complaints and believes the police do everything perfectly for everyone. He expressed that the police are good people. The host asked for any suggestions but received none. The host explained that the police department is rebuilding and wants to be closer to businesses and the community, and that it is difficult to recruit new officers.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes or decisions were made. The podcast served as a community outreach effort by the police department to build relationships with local business owners. The host thanked Antonio for the interview and cooking demonstration, and invited Antonio to send any future suggestions via email.

Meeting Transcript

Maybe a couple of weeks. Couple of weeks. I'll take your money. That's okay. What do you think about the police department here? Is it okay? What can we do better? Welcome to episode two of business beat. We're here with Antonio, co-owner of Imperial Palace Express. And we're gonna cook something. What are we gonna cook today? Sesame chicken. Sesame chicken. We're gonna cook and we're gonna question and interview as we go uh to find out how Antonio got here and what his story is. So Antonio get me started here. Okay. Let's do first oil. Okay. So you came from Omaha, right? Yeah, I come from Omaha. Yep, a little bit less. Okay. How long ago did you come from Omaha? Uh like 24 years. 24 years ago. And then when you came to Grand Island, you started working at Imperial Palace. Yep. What else do I need in there? Uh Cesni Sauce. This is Kunda. And you started working in Imperial Palace, but where was Imperial Palace at the time? It wasn't here. Uh it's in the mall. In the mall. Yep. And what did you start doing when you when you came to work? Uh cooking. You were just cooking and cleaning dishes and all that. Nothing that. No. No. It's cooking. So you've been cooking for almost 30 years. Uh cooking not. For it's uh 14 years. 14 years. Yep. Okay. Put a little bit cushion now. Mark Starts, all right?

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