0:02

Every business wants good customer reviews.

0:05

Every customer wants a good experience.

0:08

So what happens when both sides clip? Or

0:11

in some cases, when they don't? From

0:13

Yelp and entrepreneur media, this is Behind

0:16

the Review. I'm

0:42

Emily Washkovic, Yelp small business

0:44

expert. Behind the Review

0:47

features conversations with business owners and

0:50

customers who wrote one of their

0:52

Yelp reviews. In our

0:54

discussions, we talk about lessons they've learned that

0:56

can be used by other businesses to

0:59

improve their own reviews and

1:01

their bottom line. This

1:03

week, I'm talking with Rocco

1:05

Carulli and Owen Bale, the

1:08

owners of Our House Wynwood,

1:11

an award-winning eatery in Miami

1:13

known for their amazing drag

1:16

programs. You'll also

1:18

hear from reviewers and Miami-based

1:20

Yelp employees Deandra L. and

1:22

Farrah A. Deandra

1:25

and Farrah are big fans of

1:27

Our House. Our

1:30

House is lit AF. Get yourself a

1:32

resi for their drag brunch, their escandado

1:34

show, or whatever you want, but

1:36

just do yourself a favor and visit Our House.

1:39

I love the drag brunch at Our House.

1:41

It is without a doubt the best drag

1:44

brunch in Miami. The queens are so talented

1:46

and the food is awesome, and most importantly,

1:48

the drinks do not stop. Athena

1:50

Dion, the host, is absolutely fabulous, and

1:52

the performances from all the queens make

1:54

for an amazing time. Pro

1:56

tip, bring cash so you can tip

1:59

the queens. Your servers will have change for

2:01

you should you need to break those 20s into

2:03

ones. If you don't have cash, you can cash

2:05

app as each Queen's account info is put up

2:07

on the screen. Chef Rocco doesn't

2:09

just serve up good eats during brunch, they

2:11

also have an awesome happy hour with international

2:14

inspired tapas and eats. There's plenty

2:16

of outdoor seating in their patio and indoors

2:18

feels super open since it has high ceilings

2:20

and lots of natural light. While

2:22

I would definitely not suggest driving to the bottomless

2:24

brunch, there is ample parking on the street since

2:26

our house is towards the end of Wynwood's busy

2:29

stretch. In addition to all of

2:31

the above, it feels so good to support

2:33

a business like our house that is celebrating

2:35

local talent, is locally owned and operated, and

2:37

just a guaranteed good time. Thank you for

2:40

your hospitality always. That's

2:42

Deandra reading her 2022 review for our house.

2:47

Farrah's review was written this year in

2:49

August of 2024. But

2:52

you'll notice a lot of the

2:54

customer experience and the overall vibe

2:56

seems to have been maintained and

2:59

with a review like that, as

3:01

it should be. Our

3:03

house Wynwood's drag brunch is where it's at.

3:05

Let me tell you, this place is everything.

3:08

From the moment you step in, it's clear the

3:10

spot isn't just for fun and rumba. Although

3:13

they have plenty of that. There's food is a

3:15

solid five stars too. I

3:17

went with a group of friends for a celebration of

3:20

friendship because sometimes that's all we really need to celebrate.

3:22

And the vibes were one of a kind. We

3:25

started with the fried chicken, which was

3:27

to die for, and their sliders were

3:29

cooked to perfection. Juicy, flavorful, and just

3:31

the right amount of chimichurri. Everything

3:34

is family style, which is perfect for the

3:36

vibe. The space is huge, perfect for big

3:38

groups, parties, or anyone looking to celebrate. Whether

3:41

you're planning a bachelorette or just here for a

3:43

good time, our house has you covered. Now

3:46

let's talk about the drag brunch itself. Oh

3:49

my God. Queens were fierce, funny, and kept

3:51

us on our toes. You

3:53

really need to be ready to step out of your comfort

3:55

zone because this is the spot to show up and show

3:57

up. They somehow managed to

3:59

balance and an amazing show with top-notch

4:02

food, which is a tough combo

4:04

to master, but they nail it. For

4:06

Miami brunch with a show, their prices

4:09

are extremely reasonable, which is definitely always

4:11

a plus. If you're looking

4:13

for a place that combines incredible vibes with

4:15

delicious eats, Our House Wynwood is where

4:17

it's at. Our House

4:20

didn't start off hosting drag events. Owners

4:23

Rocco and Owen opened the spot in

4:25

2014, as

4:27

a casual fine dining restaurant. Let's

4:30

hear a little bit about the co-owner's

4:32

original vision, starting with the story

4:34

behind the meat. You know, what

4:37

is Our House? It's just basically

4:39

my first initial. I

4:41

was gonna originally call it Rocco's House. In

4:44

Provincetown in Cape Cod, where his previous

4:46

restaurant was, Rocco was just, the restaurant

4:48

was called Edweige at night, but

4:51

a lot of people refer to it as just Rocco's.

4:54

Yeah. Because he was the face of the restaurant. He

4:56

was like the heart and soul of the whole place,

4:58

and everyone in the town knew him in that way.

5:00

So it was very kind of personal in that way.

5:03

So he loved the idea of the new Miami

5:06

venue having the same kind of concept,

5:08

like Rocco's Place, Rocco's House, then

5:11

the name evolved from there. And I mean,

5:13

now everyone knows it as Our House,

5:15

and we want people to see

5:17

it that way, you know, their place. It's

5:19

not just the restaurant's name that's

5:21

evolved over the years, but

5:24

the concept of Our House itself.

5:28

Owen and Rocco originally envisioned

5:30

the spot as a dining

5:32

destination that showcased local art.

5:35

Well, 10 years ago, I thought it

5:37

was gonna be a casual fine dining

5:40

restaurant. And the thing was,

5:42

at the time, we had an integrated art

5:44

gallery in the restaurant. So there were panels

5:46

with art on them. There was art everywhere

5:48

for sale. We would do all right with

5:51

that. So on a busy Friday, Saturday night,

5:53

we would often sell two or three paintings.

5:56

And it really was a key part

5:58

of the business. Because the thing is... In

6:00

the early days, a lot of art collectors were

6:02

coming to Winwood. As their popularity

6:05

grew, the idea of opening for Brunch

6:07

came up. And with

6:09

it, the type of art Rocco

6:11

and Owen showcased would evolve to

6:14

include the live performances they're so

6:16

well known for today. Rocco

6:19

had heard of businesses doing drag

6:21

brunches before in Provincetown, but

6:24

didn't know of any spots yet in Miami.

6:27

So they toyed with the idea of giving it

6:29

a shot. The

6:31

thing was, they didn't have much

6:33

experience in drag shows, or

6:35

even how to add a live performance to their

6:38

business model. What is a drag

6:40

brunch? Never heard of it. I mean, in

6:42

Provincetown, it's a little different. They have shows

6:44

and stuff, but everybody that goes to it

6:46

dresses in drag. So that's

6:48

really why they call it drag brunch. And

6:50

I was like, well, we can try it, but I had

6:53

no idea how to do it, what to do. Luckily,

6:56

somebody came by and was like, oh, yeah, I

6:58

can do this for you. And I was like,

7:00

really? Do it without

7:02

any confidence. And

7:05

the day of, I still didn't know if it

7:07

was going to happen. And it did. And it

7:09

was fantastic. And people loved it. And

7:11

we were like, well, we should make this

7:14

part of our regular brunches. So

7:16

we decided to do it once a month. And

7:19

then that took off, and we decided to do

7:21

it twice a month and every Sunday. Then

7:24

we added Saturdays and the night shows.

7:26

And not in the business

7:28

plan whatsoever when we opened.

7:30

No. Not at all. Because it

7:34

was so popular. The feedback was so

7:36

amazing. I know it

7:39

was so fun as well. You know, so fun

7:41

compared to our regular brunch services,

7:43

which were also lively. But then you add in

7:45

all the drag queens. It's so exciting. So

7:48

it was so fun for us. So we responded.

7:50

We followed the demand, you know? Something

7:54

really crucial here was the

7:56

external experts or partners

7:59

that got the the drag element of the business

8:01

off the ground and

8:04

continued to evolve it alongside the

8:06

food business. In

8:08

the beginning, it was just someone confident

8:10

in the idea and tapped

8:13

into the community who helped pull it

8:15

together. This was years ago. Today,

8:19

our house is home of

8:22

the famous Athena Dion. Athena

8:25

Dion, who's our primary

8:27

hostess of the shows and

8:29

our producer, she really

8:31

is a leader for

8:34

our drag performers because she's

8:36

a mentor. She's not

8:38

just their boss, she's their mentor. So

8:41

she coaches them in the performance, in

8:44

the outfits, in all aspects

8:46

of the performance, and she's always

8:48

looking to enhance the show. The

8:51

drag programming at our house today is

8:54

extensive. And

8:56

that's thanks to an expert who

8:59

can focus on the performance, the

9:01

performers, and the customer

9:03

experience that doesn't involve the food.

9:06

Can you imagine being the chef during

9:08

a 250 cover meal and also

9:12

worrying about the entertainment? Maybe

9:15

that would be possible back in the days

9:17

of one drag brunch a month. But

9:20

today, their programming is much more

9:22

extensive than that. And

9:24

it's what the customers want. They're

9:27

really famous for their drag brunch, which is

9:29

both days of the weekend. But

9:31

they also have like drag bingo, they have

9:33

Yas queen. So I think towards the weekend,

9:35

it's mostly the programming of the show. But

9:37

then when they're open during the week, it's

9:39

like you're just going to a regular restaurant.

9:41

And that's the thing. A lot of times

9:43

when you go to these night life type

9:45

places, you're really just going for the show

9:47

and the food is meh. But it

9:50

hits every time whether you're just

9:52

going for a drink or a dinner or

9:54

a happy hour or you're going to go

9:56

to have this experience. Yeah,

9:58

and to add on what Deandra was saying. was

10:01

saying I actually hosted a Yelp Elite experience with

10:03

them a few years ago. And it wasn't for

10:05

their drag brunch. It was actually for their happy

10:07

hour and their menu is just

10:09

as awesome, right? I had Yelpers coming up

10:12

to me or writing reviews telling me that

10:14

the burger, the food, everything was fresh. The

10:16

servers are amazing. But it's not only about

10:18

the drag brunch, which is awesome and so

10:20

much fun. For me, I think

10:22

our house and I think they're amazing drag brunch, but

10:24

there's so much more and they also have so many

10:26

other happenings. An Elite

10:29

experience is one of the local

10:31

collaborations businesses can do with our

10:33

community team. I'll let

10:35

Farrah tell you more about it. So

10:39

as a community manager, our main job is to

10:41

connect locals with these local businesses and kind of

10:43

to put them in front of their face. And

10:46

there's so much going on in Miami, right? We

10:48

have so many new business openings. So to see

10:50

a business like our house, that's already a huge

10:52

staple. Be a part of Yelp and Yelp community

10:55

is huge. We've co-opted them over

10:57

the years with our Yelp Elite

10:59

experiences primarily, which our

11:01

Yelp Elite experiences, if you don't know, are our

11:03

events where we're giving

11:05

Yelpers the specific amount of time to

11:07

go in, check out the business during

11:10

its natural habitat, its natural hours

11:13

and how it usually flows and for them to

11:16

get that experience of their own. And

11:18

our house does an amazing job at

11:20

one, providing like an excellent service. We usually

11:22

work with them. We create like a Yelp

11:25

Elite specific menu where we highlight some of

11:27

their newer dishes and part of

11:29

it is for new people to test these bites

11:31

and to test these menu items, which is a

11:33

great opportunity for them to have these locals that

11:36

are quote unquote foodies that want

11:38

to check out these spots. But at the same

11:40

time, it's fun. It's great word of mouth because

11:42

these people are usually going to come in with

11:44

friends, they're going to come in with family or

11:46

whatever the case is, and they're going to experience

11:48

it as well. And at that point you're creating

11:51

a loyal customer. You're creating someone that wants to

11:53

come back or you're creating just general marketing, right?

11:55

People are going to be posting about it, posting

11:57

photos of themselves in the business, which works really

11:59

well. really well for our community

12:01

in general. Working with

12:04

Yelp community managers is a great

12:06

example of how business owners can

12:08

leverage grassroots marketing to

12:11

grow awareness. Creating

12:13

that genuine connection with your community

12:16

and taking advantage of free tools like

12:18

social media is crucial

12:21

to local businesses that want

12:23

to establish themselves as a local celebrity,

12:26

which definitely leads to success. Places

12:30

that become staples,

12:32

like when you think of people in a

12:34

city and you think of people that contribute

12:37

to their city, that pave

12:39

the way for certain things, those

12:43

are the businesses that, in my

12:45

opinion, locals ride hard for because

12:48

they also give back to us, right?

12:51

So I think the owners like Rocco

12:53

and Owen, they really get

12:55

it because obviously they are

12:57

providing a great experience when somebody goes in

12:59

there, whether anybody knew the story of Our

13:02

House or not, right? If you're just walking

13:04

in Wynwood and you hear fun music and

13:06

you go inside, you're going to like

13:08

it, right? But the fact that

13:10

they create so much programming,

13:13

that they invest in this local talent,

13:15

the Queen's, Athena Dion is a pioneer

13:17

in the drag queen community, and

13:21

that they've created this culture

13:23

of contribution to the businesses and

13:25

people around them. Well,

13:29

just from the get-go, I will say that COVID

13:31

taught us a lot when it comes to loyalty

13:34

to customers and realizing that

13:37

tourists come and go, but locals are forever. And

13:40

I feel like with Our House, they really

13:42

nailed that, reaching out to locals all the

13:45

time, making sure that locals are their bread

13:47

and butter, you know? And that's what really

13:49

makes them shine bright. Their

13:51

service is always top-notch, and they really care.

13:54

Even when I read through reviews and I

13:56

see that they respond to each review, they

13:58

really care about it. about what the locals

14:00

are saying, not only the terrorists, not only the

14:03

people that are coming in for a weekend, right?

14:05

And that's what makes them stand

14:07

out. And that's what makes them such a staple in

14:09

Miami because post COVID, there's so

14:11

many new businesses in Miami, so many things coming

14:13

up, but they

14:15

showed us that there's like, you're

14:18

kind of like riding the lifestyle now. And

14:20

you go to our house to support them

14:22

because they support us. Be right

14:25

back after a quick break. We

14:28

all want the best of both.

14:30

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14:33

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14:35

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14:38

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14:40

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14:42

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14:44

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14:47

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14:49

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the world's identity company. Farah

14:58

and Deandra have both mentioned their

15:00

amazing events at our house and

15:03

talked about the incredible shows they've seen.

15:06

But they also doubled down on

15:08

the great food quality. And

15:11

that's an important factor in people coming back.

15:14

We don't want to rely on the show

15:16

for everything because with anything, you know, you

15:18

have service, you have food, you have beverages,

15:20

and now we have entertainment. If

15:23

any one of those is really bad, you

15:25

may not come back, you know? Maybe you are coming for the

15:27

show, but you're going to put up with the food. How many

15:29

times are you going to put up with it if it's not

15:32

good? So it's really

15:34

important to us to have good quality

15:36

food, drinks, service, everything.

15:38

And as far as the kitchen

15:40

goes, we designed a

15:42

menu that we could do for the

15:44

brunch itself. We designed a menu

15:46

that you could do family style to take

15:49

the decision-making out of you. And since we

15:51

do such a large amount of

15:53

people at one time, it's kind of hard to take orders.

15:56

But we want that food to be good

15:58

quality food that, you know, that you... host

18:00

and show director, that

18:02

really changed the way the drag went

18:04

and the energy. It

18:07

just brought it to a

18:09

whole other level. She's always looking to enhance the

18:11

show. It's

18:14

really amazing to see how the

18:16

drag queen cast fits into our

18:18

wider staff. I think that's just

18:20

part of the magic of our

18:22

house, the

18:24

diversity in our community and

18:26

our team. We're

18:28

really proud of that as well. Not

18:32

only do Rocco and Owen prioritize leading

18:34

a great team, but

18:36

also emphasize maintaining a

18:38

healthy relationship as business

18:40

partners. Rocco

18:43

is creative. I'm an ex-lawyer, so it's

18:45

a little bit like- He's a little

18:47

stricter than I am. But the thing

18:49

is, there are moments when it can

18:51

be challenging because we approach things in

18:53

very different ways. But the beauty of

18:55

it is that we have a business

18:57

partner who's in the trenches together sometimes,

18:59

and we know we have each other's

19:01

backs. There's complete loyalty and

19:04

trust there, which not

19:06

all business partners necessarily

19:08

would have for each other. It's

19:12

a great feeling to always know that we have each

19:14

other's backs and we're just in this together. We

19:17

really built this thing from scratch, the two

19:20

of us. I

19:22

had no restaurant experience at all before.

19:26

Rocco's previous place was 50 seats. This

19:28

was 200 officially. Even

19:30

for us, it's been a massive learning curve, but we couldn't

19:33

have done it without each other.

19:37

We have each other to vent

19:39

off of. It's a constant like what's

19:42

going on with the restaurant talking about it and

19:45

we're each other sounding bored. We

19:48

understand what each other is going

19:50

through. Something Farah mentioned

19:52

that she takes notice of is

19:55

how our house responds to their Yelp

19:57

reviews. At our

19:59

house, the- the

23:10

owners of Our House Wynwood, as

23:13

well as Deandra L. and Farrah B., members

23:16

of our Yelp community team, living

23:18

in Miami. To learn

23:21

more about the story, head

23:23

to yelp.com/behind the review.