Up + Adam with Adam Montiel

Sponsored by The Mountain Air | SLOFreeParkingPart 2 of Adam’s conversation with Ben Arona moves beyond the pizza and into something deeper: how a restaurant becomes a gathering place.This chapter of the conversation gets into the identity behind Benny’s Pizza Palace & Social Club and the intentionality behind building a space people actually want to stay in. Ben talks about preserving pieces of the old Pepe Delgado’s building, creating a patio that feels lived in instead of overdesigned, and why he wanted Benny’s to feel welcoming to everybody. Construction workers, elected officials, families, first dates, grad parties, random Tuesday night hangs. The goal was never just food. It was connection.Adam and Ben also get into the entrepreneurial side most people do not think about once a place becomes successful. Systems versus personality. Building a business that can operate without being fully dependent on one person. The pressure of growth. Hiring. Scaling. And the quiet mental routines that keep everything moving when nobody’s watching.There is also a great stretch about what Ben actually eats at his own restaurant, the menu items people overlook, and the morning walks through the Mission that help him process business, relationships, stress, and life. It is thoughtful, grounded, and surprisingly reflective for a conversation that starts with Detroit-style pizza.This is the human side of entrepreneurship. The side after the opening hype wears off. The part where a business starts becoming part of the fabric of a town.• Website: https://bennysppsc.com/ • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bennyspizzaslo/ • Happy Hour: Monday through Friday • 4:30PM–6:30PM • Detroit-style pizza • Patio space • Grad parties • Corporate events*********PORTABIDET: UP+ADAM IS AN OFFICIAL SPOKESPERSON FOR PORTABIDET - USE THIS LINK FOR UP+ADAM LISTENERS TO LEARN MORE AND GET YOURS!*Timbre Event with Cal Poly EIM Students Info HEREListen to Up+Adam with Adam Montiel:Official Website: adammontiel.comApple Podcasts: Up+Adam on Apple PodcastsSpotify: Up+Adam on SpotifyiHeartRadio: Up+Adam on iHeartRadioYouTube Music: Up+Adam on YouTube Music********CHECK OUT OUR WOODS HUMANE PET OF THE WEEK!********ADAM’S TEDX VIDEO IS HERE!********FOLLOW ADAM ON INSTAGRAM*********Sincere Thanks to the current supporters of Up + Adam. Please take a moment and visit them and thank them for supporting local broadcasting, and valuing what we do here. Thank you for supporting them!Life ElementsCity of SLOWoodsHumaneSocietyTin City DistilleryOriginal Music by Dan Curcio and Moonshiner CollectiveMoonshiner on Spotify HEREPlease Rate, Review, and Subscribe to the podcast, and learn more at AdamMontiel.com©2026 Up+Adam with Adam Montiel / LoBro Studios, All Rights Reserved.

Sponsored by The Mountain AirThis one’s about heart, community, and what happens when people decide to show up for each other.Adam sits down with Bridget Ready, co-founder of Jack’s Helping Hand, Leslie Orradre, Executive Director and CEO, and Alex Raissipour, organizer of the inaugural Soup n’ Syrah event. What starts as a conversation about a local fundraiser quickly turns into something much deeper. A story of loss that turned into purpose. A nonprofit that began with helping one child and now supports over 600 families across the Central Coast. And a reminder that even in the hardest moments, there’s a path forward and sometimes it starts by helping someone else.Bridget shares how returning to the classroom helped heal her after losing her son, and how that same spirit of service became the foundation for Jack’s Helping Hand. Leslie reflects on growing the organization from a grassroots effort into one of the most respected nonprofits in the county, built on trust, transparency, and showing up for families when they need it most. And Alex brings it all together with Soup n’ Syrah, a brand-new event blending Paso wine culture with community impact, all benefiting local children and families.• 20 years of Jack’s Helping Hand and how it all began• The moment the mission became bigger than anyone imagined• What families actually need when facing medical hardship• Why community support matters more than ever right now• Soup n’ Syrah: wine, food, and giving back this Sunday• How you can get involved, donate, or simply show upIf you’re local, this is an easy yes. Great wine, incredible food, and a chance to support one of the most impactful organizations on the Central Coast. Use promo code VTR to save 35% on tickets.• Soup n’ Syrah Event Info & Tickets: https://castorocellars.com/events/club/soup-n-syrah• Event Site: https://soupnsyrah.wixsite.com/soup• Jack’s Helping Hand: http://jackshelpinghand.org/As always, thanks for being here.*********PORTABIDET: UP+ADAM IS AN OFFICIAL SPOKESPERSON FOR PORTABIDET - USE THIS LINK FOR UP+ADAM LISTENERS TO LEARN MORE AND GET YOURS!*Timbre Event with Cal Poly EIM Students Info HEREListen to Up+Adam with Adam Montiel:Official Website: adammontiel.comApple Podcasts: Up+Adam on Apple PodcastsSpotify: Up+Adam on SpotifyiHeartRadio: Up+Adam on iHeartRadioYouTube Music: Up+Adam on YouTube Music********CHECK OUT OUR WOODS HUMANE PET OF THE WEEK!********ADAM’S TEDX VIDEO IS HERE!********FOLLOW ADAM ON INSTAGRAM*********Sincere Thanks to the current supporters of Up + Adam. Please take a moment and visit them and thank them for supporting local broadcasting, and valuing what we do here. Thank you for supporting them!Life ElementsCity of SLOWoodsHumaneSocietyTin City DistilleryOriginal Music by Dan Curcio and Moonshiner CollectiveMoonshiner on Spotify HEREPlease Rate, Review, and Subscribe to the podcast, and learn more at AdamMontiel.com©2026 Up+Adam with Adam Montiel / LoBro Studios, All Rights Reserved.

Sponsored by The Mountain AirSome love stories start over candlelit dinners. Josh and Lindsey Haring's started over a rack of Patagonia sports bras and a sales pitch that Lindsey never saw coming. And somehow, that moment on Marsh Street in September 2005 led to the two of them becoming the owners of one of San Luis Obispo's most beloved institutions: The Mountain Air.Founded in 1975 by Wayne Patterson, The Mountain Air has been outfitting Central Coast adventurers for more than 50 years. Josh came up through the store, working alongside Wayne for nearly two decades before taking the keys in January 2020. Lindsey brought seven years at the Chamber of Commerce and a run at Cal Poly to the table, and together they've built something that goes way beyond retail. They're raising three sons here. They're running PEAK, a 501c3 that has raised nearly $94,000 in six years to fund extracurricular activities for local kids. They do custom embroidery for wineries and businesses across the county. They install car racks better than anyone from LA to San Francisco, by their own humble estimation. And Brandon Ammerman, their lead ski tech with 28 years in the shop, will make your beat-up skis look like they just came off the factory floor.Then there's The Switchback, their sister shop just two doors down, where used outdoor gear finds its next chapter. Skis, snowboards, backpacks, boots, apparel, kids gear that still has three seasons left in it. You can sell your stuff for cash or store credit and use it at either shop. Josh put it best: they give gear the life it deserves.This is what local advertising is supposed to feel like. Real people. Real community. Real dollars staying right here at home.The Mountain Air: themountainair.comThe Switchback: theswitchback.comThe Mountain Air on Instagram: @themountainairUp+Adam with Adam Montiel on Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-adam-with-adam-montiel/id1508232984Up+Adam on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4Gnkhv5b8EQFIQ9X3guf7n*********PORTABIDET: UP+ADAM IS AN OFFICIAL SPOKESPERSON FOR PORTABIDET - USE THIS LINK FOR UP+ADAM LISTENERS TO LEARN MORE AND GET YOURS!*Timbre Event with Cal Poly EIM Students Info HEREListen to Up+Adam with Adam Montiel:Official Website: adammontiel.comApple Podcasts: Up+Adam on Apple PodcastsSpotify: Up+Adam on SpotifyiHeartRadio: Up+Adam on iHeartRadioYouTube Music: Up+Adam on YouTube Music********CHECK OUT OUR WOODS HUMANE PET OF THE WEEK!********ADAM’S TEDX VIDEO IS HERE!********FOLLOW ADAM ON INSTAGRAM*********Sincere Thanks to the current supporters of Up + Adam. Please take a moment and visit them and thank them for supporting local broadcasting, and valuing what we do here. Thank you for supporting them!Life ElementsCity of SLOWoodsHumaneSocietyTin City DistilleryOriginal Music by Dan Curcio and Moonshiner CollectiveMoonshiner on Spotify HEREPlease Rate, Review, and Subscribe to the podcast, and learn more at AdamMontiel.com©2026 Up+Adam with Adam Montiel / LoBro Studios, All Rights Reserved.

Sponsored by The Mountain AirDr. Allison Alford is a communication researcher, keynote speaker, and the founder of Daughtering 101 and her debut book Good Daughtering gives a name to something millions of women have been doing their entire lives without ever getting credit for it. Daughtering is the invisible labor, the emotional heavy lifting, the crisis management, the deep breath before you answer the phone and the even deeper one after you hang up. It's the planning, the worrying, the checking in, the smoothing over. It's just Tuesday. But Tuesday has a cost.In this episode, Adam and Dr. Alford get into the messy middle, the space where you love your family deeply and it's still complicated. They talk about the internal "enoughness" meter that never quite shuts off, why daughters protect their parents' feelings at the expense of their own needs, how siblings can hold completely different memories of the same parent and both be right, and what it actually looks like to reclaim your role without blowing up your relationships. If you have ever felt stretched thin, unseen, or quietly exhausted by the weight of being the one who holds it all together, this episode was made for you.Buy Good Daughtering: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/good-daughtering-allison-m-alfordDr. Allison Alford's website: https://www.daughtering101.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/daughtering101Substack: https://www.substack.com/@daughtering101********Sponsored by Portabidet*********PORTABIDET: UP+ADAM IS AN OFFICIAL SPOKESPERSON FOR PORTABIDET - USE THIS LINK FOR UP+ADAM LISTENERS TO LEARN MORE AND GET YOURS!*Timbre Event with Cal Poly EIM Students Info HEREListen to Up+Adam with Adam Montiel:Official Website: adammontiel.comApple Podcasts: Up+Adam on Apple PodcastsSpotify: Up+Adam on SpotifyiHeartRadio: Up+Adam on iHeartRadioYouTube Music: Up+Adam on YouTube Music********CHECK OUT OUR WOODS HUMANE PET OF THE WEEK!********ADAM’S TEDX VIDEO IS HERE!********FOLLOW ADAM ON INSTAGRAM*********Sincere Thanks to the current supporters of Up + Adam. Please take a moment and visit them and thank them for supporting local broadcasting, and valuing what we do here. Thank you for supporting them!Life ElementsCity of SLOWoodsHumaneSocietyTin City DistilleryOriginal Music by Dan Curcio and Moonshiner CollectiveMoonshiner on Spotify HEREPlease Rate, Review, and Subscribe to the podcast, and learn more at AdamMontiel.com©2026 Up+Adam with Adam Montiel / LoBro Studios, All Rights Reserved.