Turn out, the real Happy Eddie from The Real Housewives of The Potomac is from Baltimore. Wendy Bronfein of Curio Wellness and Nestor discuss the Pikesville native, his new cannabis and wellness line and a better night of sleep for everyone through better medicine.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
product, cannabis, baltimore, eddie, curio, years, people, sleep, baseball, baseball cards, celebrity, sarasota, wife, happy, wendy, edie, strains, tablet, opening, good
SPEAKERS
Nestor J. Aparicio, Wendy Bronfein
Nestor J. Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home we are wn S T am 1570 TAs in Baltimore and Baltimore positive we are positively getting that Maryland crab cake tour revenant up, I was wearing my costly shirt. I’m going down to Florida for a couple of days to eat stuff that’s not Maryland crab just want to come back home and appreciate it more want to get back up here. April 9, though we rev the engines up will be a constant. And it’s kind of a fun day because the Orioles are playing the Red Sox at two o’clock and we’re going to do the show from like 11 to two softly because it’s opening day in Boston. And we want to beat them. I’m wearing my, my orange. I’m doing all this good stuff. We are headed down to Sarasota for the next couple of days Luke and I will be there owners meetings to baseball games to come back. It’s opening day. And I hope to see this next person on opening day I had a chance to visit with her last week for a beautiful dinner. And some folks from the industry. And we talked about our 25th anniversary all the time and the documentary is coming out taking pictures and putting all that stuff together. If you’re not familiar with our history, big appreciation, my friends at curio, wellness and father and daughter dispatch are right in the Hasmonean area. We talk about education. And they have been nice enough to sponsor our 25th anniversary, where I’m still sharing pictures and finding pictures of my parents on the street in St. Louis in front of Busch Stadium in 1983. Going to a baseball game. So I know your your baseball family. We went through that. So you’re ready for opening day right when
8
Wendy Bronfein 01:25
I am ready. I’m very excited. I have not told my four year old because I think that that’ll create some problems for me and I have to explain why he can’t go. But I’m excited.
Nestor J. Aparicio 01:38
She has a four year old get baseball or just get the color orange. Where are you at four?
Wendy Bronfein 01:42
No. Last year at three he went to a few games you know and let me say this. We did not go to the plague ground. We were only in our seats the whole time.
Nestor J. Aparicio 01:54
8So he’s engaged by the green grant. Okay, yes. Listen, I talked to go ahead. No,
Wendy Bronfein 02:01
I was gonna say he after going to the to the game. And then he got some bass that we went a night where they gave out baseball cards, right? So he gets the baseball cards of the players. But then he has like a really good ear. So he will say the players names at home but he says them the way the announcer doesn’t tell. It’d be like Anthony’s on top. He never says her name is normal.
Nestor J. Aparicio 02:23
She ain’t you know, I’ve been writing I released my book last week that I wrote in 2006 and it was really a lot of people don’t you probably don’t know this history is one of the reasons I’m doing this documentary. I’ve got people like you that I’ve collected later in life and they’re like you did a newsletter yet a national show with Buddy Ryan and Lauren Stan. Like I did all this crazy stuff. But you know I guess the the love of baseball and the childhood love of baseball for anyone and how I want that for kids. I mean, there may was baseball cards and stuff like that. And I bill Cole on his daughters don’t know the rules. They didn’t play softball, lacrosse, soccer, right? So there’s other things that get in the way of like little Brian fine kids and little Aparicio kids getting together years ago with Brady Anderson or Cal Ripken or even Brooks or, you know, whoever was for your data might have been Bucha might have been might have been my my cousin, for people in the 60s always that baseball is something that we all get together and talk about. And it’s such a it’s such a civic gift to our community to to see it ravaged over the last 30 years to have this hope again and have the jersey and hope for your kids that there’s going to be a parade and they’re going to love baseball, because I think everybody loves baseball once their kids will love baseball.
Wendy Bronfein 03:35
Absolutely. I mean, I don’t even think it’s just the snacks that he likes. When he goes I think he legit is enjoying is enjoying the game and excitement he and I and you know he he has these batting gloves that he wears. Sometimes he wears them just as like the winter gloves too. But he also knows that they’re batting gloves. So like, anything he can take and pretend it’s a bat like he’s into it. So
8Nestor J. Aparicio 03:57
the kids got a wiffle ball is what you’re telling me. It’s a proper family. You’re running there. Yeah, he’s
Wendy Bronfein 04:00
got like a T ball situation a foamy T ball situation.
Nestor J. Aparicio 04:04
Well purchase together. So we got together last week. And I’ll just give you a chance to talk a little bit about happy Eddie. Because I’d be bad at it. I mean, I was the world’s worst. Like I go to dinner, there’s Eddie and wife and we meet and have real housewives and I don’t know much about it. And my wife’s like, gotta take a picture from Michelle and Michelle’s love loves the show and like all that. So but for me, I was fascinated that there was a connection between your family and Edie and high school and Pikesville and his law practice. Like it’s a Baltimore story, right? I didn’t know it was Baltimore story. When do you get why you brought me to dinner to find this thing out, right?
Wendy Bronfein 04:42
8Yes. So okay, so So Eddie Yossef fo is the husband of Wendy osafo, who was one of the Real Housewives of Potomac. They’re from here in Baltimore. They so Edie wanted to get into the cannabis space. We ended up getting connected probably a little over a year ago. Mmm. And so in working together, we’ve helped him bring a line of flour to start and some other products to come to the market under the name happy Edie, and that was a name that was coined for him in the show because the husband’s appear on the show, as well. But when we first met, my sister said to Eddie, are usually related to so and so Oh, CFO. And he said, Yeah, that’s my brother. And she was like, why went to middle school with him? And then it and then he’s, he’s one of four children. Well,
Nestor J. Aparicio 05:28
he’s Nigerian. I found that out, because we talked about this later, because he looks similar to OB my Haley. And he smiles the same way. Fred and friend of mine play for the Ravens for years that Atlanta, and my wife and I both had, like, he reminds me of, oh, he’s got like this, this personality that, that I love. You know, I love OB all these years later. And he said, He’s Nigerian, that word, such word like and I’m like, Yeah, that’s what it is. So yeah. Pikesville, man. Yeah.
Wendy Bronfein 05:56
So then I turns out his sister’s younger than me, but we were sort of tracking at similar times in high school. And so I think Eddie was younger. So we didn’t cross with Rebecca or I, but yeah, I mean, it was such a small, small thing. We’re like, oh, we want to say middle school. I was in high school.
Nestor J. Aparicio 06:11
Told me so someone comes Snoop Dogg comes, you know, by the way, when I introduced myself to him, like I’m dressed up, I look, you know, I shaved I looked and I tried to smell nice. And as I promised you, I would as your guest, but I introduced myself and I start talking to us. You know, they used to call me nasty Nestor. And he liked like, really? Like, where did you get the happy Eddie, how’d you get the net? Like so if nasty Nestor wants to come and have or any anyone, like if there’s a celebrity line that people see out and Snoop Dogg and the guy that wrote the black and black and gold song or the Rapper Wiz Khalifa. Right, so I try not to sing those. So I mean, I’ve been friends with sticks, and then the renegade song thing happened, and it screwed me all up with them with the Pittsburgh thing. But but in the cannabis space, there have been athletes, literally, I think I’ve told you is the first time anyone ever came on my radio show, and talked about openly using cannabis as a medicinal product in any way? was a football player Kyle Turley was I mean, I’m talking 15 years ago, he came on radio row, he was talking about how it was helping him. And he was in the space. So all of these sort of first movers. I mean, Ricky Williams would have been a guy, obviously, Snoop Dogg, they someone comes to you Happy Eddie comes a radio show. Want to make a brand? Ad? How did? How does this even work? I mean, Eddie Murray, and every other face will appear. I’m just saying that and everybody in town knows that. Yeah.
8Wendy Bronfein 07:47
No, I mean, so you know, obvious. Lee, we kind of develop how the business model can work together. But in in this instance, and with a lot of those celebrity lines, it’s really more about somebody developing a brand, and the product that they want to license to somebody who has the cultivation or manufacturing space, to produce the product, right? There’s it’s less of the instance where that quote celebrity is like getting a license, Building a facility building a whole operation doing everything,
Nestor J. Aparicio 08:21
you and your family, and everybody right had to do to all these years. I mean, I always say this, I admire what you’re doing. But the side door into this would be label and saying we want to work with a great grower and everything Eddie talked about with you. And, you know, this is your first foray into this sort of thing. As well, was just like he could never go into science, the technology, everything your sister and I had a conversation about what the Yankees can do what the Orioles can do, financially, American League, but when you come in and say I want to people, I want to have a dispensary, I mean, all the licensing and legal part of that. But the line part of it is, your family has been at this a long time. And you have the best best in class, I would say best in the world, you believe best in the world, certainly the best in this state from a standpoint of trying to come up with products like these that help people sleep better and not just get high. Yeah,
Wendy Bronfein 09:21
I mean, look, this is a huge cost of capital to build these facilities, these compliant highly regulated facilities. So it’s an easier point of entry, particularly when you see a market that’s already started, right and you have more visibility to it. And you just want to quickly get into it and have a way to maybe do something entrepreneurial, developing a brand and or line of products that you license to somebody who has the facilities to do it. It’s just a much more expedient way to get to get to the finish line in terms of that product being in the store for people to purchase.
Nestor J. Aparicio 09:55
8I think when he brought on to so you’re obviously our chief cannabis officer and the Chief Brand Officer of all things Korea wellness on foreign daughter, I’m going to talk about these good night price. I don’t have problems sleeping. So this is, this is from my wife, literally. But But I did want to talk to you about like the science of this and the importance of that. And when somebody is married to a celebrity, Real Housewife comes, I mean, the number one thing anybody wants to put their name on is they want, they want a quality product. I mean, and I not sure that when you went to Colorado years ago, we’ve talked about all the research and all that, that you saw this as, as a vertical as we would say, in the industry. But the part of it is it’s sort of new for you to write like happy Edie sort of a first look for the, for the curio family to say we’re going to work in the state of Maryland with somebody from Pikesville with somebody from Baltimore. It’s a great local story. But everybody’s new to it, you know, and I think that that was that’s kind of the interesting part of this as I’m watching this to see how it works for me, you I now know and like, Yeah,
Wendy Bronfein 11:03
well, so, you know, since we started, we’ve had different licensing partners. So like the bottles behind me, are Dixie Elixirs, right there their licensed partner over here is Smokies choose? Mary’s medicinals. I’m looking we have no Vanna White. I don’t know how. Okay,
Nestor J. Aparicio 11:23
I messed it up, too. I always go to the sunset over here. Yeah. So
Wendy Bronfein 11:27
we knew so we knew the world of licensing because we had all these brands that were from out of state where we license their IP and their products and produce them and distribute them here in Maryland. This so we were familiar with it. This was the first time that we it was somebody who was starting from the ground up right so knowing kind of, you know, the name is happy Yeti, right? He was not trying if he was looking to grow some flower and develop some strains. Clearly they were going to be through a certain sort of positive lens, right, it was he’s not going to deliver you like the I’m I’m couch locked and and just totally sedated strain.
8Nestor J. Aparicio 12:09
It speaks for itself. Right. Happy. Right. Okay. Gotcha.
Wendy Bronfein 12:13
So he’s got, you know, and and for those who, you know, watch Real Housewives, his strains are in line with that franchise. And the antics have that he’s got Zen when right when he is his wife, he’s got mischief. And so, you know, there’s some fun in that line in terms of a connection to him and a connection to to kind of their role on the show. Oh,
Nestor J. Aparicio 12:38
when I met when I was trying to get her on a yoga mat. I figured that’s perfect Zen when Yeah, no. And it wasn’t hard remember an anchorage gets the name as you
Wendy Bronfein 12:46
8I know. Yeah, there’s not a lot of us out there. But yeah, but I didn’t know or
Nestor J. Aparicio 12:51
when I came in she’s and I’m like, Hi, I’m Miss Hi I’m Wendy whatever. I’m like oh, when do you like that? I’ll remember that and then like and she wants us to be the celebrity in the whole group but I you know, I didn’t I didn’t really know that but but but she might do yoga with us. We at least discussed it so in their sacks I don’t know about the show. What happened? No,
Wendy Bronfein 13:10
no, no. I said in their sacks. Remember you were you were Oh,
Nestor J. Aparicio 13:14
oh the sacks yet. I haven’t plugged that on the show. But Google s a XXSAX x if you’re a boy and at 69% of my audience 72% bonus depending on what platform if you’re a boy, you’ll like Saks underwear we man that was a desert conversation. I can’t believe you brought you broke kayfabe and you brought that on the air on fine is here. She is our Chief Brand Officer. So anyway, you were talking about licensing, we’re talking about what Eddie Murray or right Ed Reed goes through and I think from a cannabis space like I it’s not something I considered that that would be the next frontier would be especially in the state of Maryland. But and you’re a part of this from the TV show perspective. But happy Eddie I would hope that the products do make me happy that I would feel Zen after them when
8Wendy Bronfein 14:06
Yeah, I mean, so that was you know, we looked at the cultivars for the line had to serve that needs to write you’re looking for terpene profiles that line up with what that brand is trying to achieve. So yeah, it was it’s very specific his the strains that we grow for him, mine
Nestor J. Aparicio 14:24
would say creative energetic is what you know is what the nasty Nesta line would be. I don’t know maybe maybe people think you get angry and I want to talk good night products with you because you know, my wife’s you know, too by the way, it was 10 years ago tonight that she was literally my last piece before I go off the floor but 10 years ago today she was diagnosed with cancer since then, thanks get weird, you know, menopausal sleep. Her works very important. The cat’s been meow and in the middle of the night driving us crazy. Getting a good night ate sleep. You talked so much about GI and gut and that’s not my thing. So much. I don’t understand that as much, but I do understand insomnia, I understand. I’m gonna make you laugh now. Because you and I talk music we talk show tunes last week, because my wife wants to go see, Book of Mormon faith, she might be going without me. But when I was a little boy and Dawn dog, my mom every Saturday night, we came home from church, we watched all in a family. And we watched Lawrence Welk and Lawrence Welk pimped the product, it was old school, like from the 50s He held the product, he says, sominex for a good night’s sleep sominex. And I’m thinking, I don’t know what sominex had in it. I just know, in 1974 my mom thought like, you know, I, it’s gonna help me sleep. And I’ve had a lot of friends, though, you know, all kidding aside, and I know, your family was in the pharmaceutical business, historically, but like narcotic stuff and stuff that like make sure Wavy Gravy the whole next day, like all of that, anybody that use cannabis knows, you know, the hangover effect is not the same as an alcohol product, but being able to make something that actually helps people. And you’re gonna explain it to me on a time release side it because she explained it to my wife the other night, and I loved hearing that.
Wendy Bronfein 16:14
Yes, so So the products you’re holding up is the skinny one is the tablets, and the bigger package or the Chews. So the original product was the tablets, that’s where the time releases. So it’s designed is a pulse tablet, it actually we earn two US patents on that product. So it’s the only patented cannabis product in the country. So it uses a pulse system where you take it 30 minutes before bed, there’s an immediate pulse that releases to help you fall asleep. And three hours later, there’s a second pulse that helps you stay asleep. The pill itself is a total of 15 milligrams of cannabinoids between CBN which is a cannabinoid that is non psychoactive shown to be more sedating, and THC. If you cut the pill in half, you just split the dose, but you still have the same pulse system going into different doses. The Chill is almost want
Nestor J. Aparicio 17:11
8to take it to see what happens. But I don’t have a sleep problem. You know what I mean? But like, I can’t wait, I haven’t, we haven’t open a package. Like literally my wife just picked this up yesterday. So after that on your advice, and I’ve kept telling her, they haven’t done it. This is blue, the chooser blueberry, they both look like they’re blueberry. But these are just, this is a guy with water. It’s like an aspirin is what we would say or like a sominex. That’s like saying sambad Excellent.
Wendy Bronfein 17:40
The two has the inverse potency of the tablet, there is not a pull system in there. So that one is designed to help you kind of quiet your mind and get to sleep. Any thing that you ingest, in general is always going to have a longer duration, right? Since they like smoking, it comes on fast, but it falls off faster. So if you’re a person who’s a little bit more in the I can’t fall asleep space and you don’t have trouble staying asleep. Definitely you could start with the chew. If you’re looking for both, you can’t beat the tablet. So but you know it’s all about your preferred form but that that tablet is something that we trialed with a group of Maryland patients independently and validated its efficacy before we we sold it.
Nestor J. Aparicio 18:29
Well you know good sleep is so important. And you know I don’t sleep much so all these computer things know that I’m online and weird hours I always get served all these things like you need to sleep better. I’m like, I’m sleeping fine. I’m good. I’m doing okay. Energetic, creative and all that stuff. Wendy brown fine is here. She’s a curio wellness and foreign daughter. You can find them right over demonium stop and say hello to holistic place. You check it out. Besides spa all sorts of things going on there. As well as in the front. You could buy one of the cool orange Baltimore with the Curie Oh, l Gina shock just one of our guests over at your place. She just did the narration for a thing. And I tried to put every Oh word and for her to read. So she could say home and Joe Flacco. So curio is is the way to do that. And we’re going to be at the arrows game next Thursday. It’s gonna be a opening day. And so I’m gonna get Eddie on and I’m gonna hear him because I listen, he gave a nice little speech and he’s clearly you know, like, Baltimore guy, they’re home. We’re all taking these pictures of a beautiful son, but I didn’t really like talk to him about law practice. We talked a little bit about Nigeria and a little bit of football but I’m really looking forward to getting him on here and more but because nobody wants to bother him right because the wife’s the celebrity like in the whole thing right?
Wendy Bronfein 19:50
Yeah, I made the you know the women love her. Yes.
8Nestor J. Aparicio 19:53
Well, I want to take a picture send it to Michelle from there goes my hero she was she was she’s Bravo a woman is what she So she she loves her so Bravo. Any anything else happened um I said this last week because I did hear our piece on the air literally earlier today I was driving around for 20 We’re like inside the countdown that were like the 30 day countdown on the high Billie Holiday of all things. cannabis related long before it was legal or adult use right? We could talk about it as a as a business you ramp up though, right? Like it’s this is the elves make more gingerbread this time of year kind of sort of? Yeah.
Wendy Bronfein 20:31
So I mean, so for anyone who’s listening who doesn’t know, in the legal cannabis market for 20 is essentially you can think of it like a Cyber Monday or Black Friday, right. It’s a hybrid between kind of days to shop and get great specials and promos going on and then also kind of a lot of kind of special activity at the stores like you might
Nestor J. Aparicio 20:56
also the only time on the clock and every Cheech and Chong movie just so you know, you see the clock it’s 420 and every Yeah, just so you know. So
Wendy Bronfein 21:06
8So I mean, I am not going to give it away this or like because we’re a month out but I can say that you know, our store will have its own kind of event like programming going on and lots of great deals because that’s what people look for on 420 and then the curio brand is going to have a slate of specials available like across the state and in any dispensary you go to Okay.
Nestor J. Aparicio 21:34
And Saturday Saturday Oh my goodness. Yeah. No special store hours not like opening midnight like Black Friday. Nobody take crazy over there. Right. So
Wendy Bronfein 21:47
well. So back in medical that used to happen there were a couple dispensaries that would stay open for like 24 hours like moonlight man. Under adult use, you can’t be open more than 12 hours my sister and I went to one of the dispensary partners had like that crazy hour thing going on. And so like as a show of good faith we debt we went over there like really late like maybe like
Nestor J. Aparicio 22:10
a band or something really playing like Grateful Dead music or something.
8Wendy Bronfein 22:14
Now, I mean, they had nothing special going on at that time. Um, but it was just like, there’s people here working and I don’t even know how you’re gonna show up like, at this time, like it’s gonna get quieter. Let’s just go show him some love. So they don’t like
Nestor J. Aparicio 22:28
when Apple launches a product people start lining. Listen, Wendy, I can’t begin to tell you my first foray into knowing any I didn’t know anybody from Pikesville Reiser center, Owings Mills. But when I was about 1213 years old, we camped out at that hex parking lot about concert tickets. So I know what it’s like to like sleep on a cot out in the middle of Reisterstown row because I did it for nights and nights on end for David Bowie and who tickets back in the day. So I’ll tell you, but I don’t think you need I think 10am is just fine. You know, for 20 Everybody will be there. There’ll be like why do you probably find us here she’s from curio putting the the Oh in my a Baltimore jerseys here. You can find great products like good night you can find gi products, all sorts of things. In addition to tittering and laughing about flour or Cheech and Chong jokes, or for 20. Any of that stuff. Obviously, adult use is here. We’re highly advocating for people to use this product responsibly. But more than that, learn, learn. That’s why I’m learning. I’m learning on the fly. I’m like everybody else was 55. My parents told me no, don’t do it. Like all that. So I think we sort of try to break through the stigma but more than that, just educate people about what’s going on. And I’m going to bring happy Eddie on who didn’t grow up an Orioles fan, by the way because he’s local. He local like us, so well. I happy to be around the corner. I’m gonna catch up with you next week. I’m looking forward to opening day and this is the year your kid’s gonna catch Oriole fever for sure. Wendy This is it.
Wendy Bronfein 23:56
Oh, oh, he’s got it. Don’t you worry. hat t shirts. Every baseball cards. He’s all in it.
Nestor J. Aparicio 24:03
Something magic happens. That’s why we’re going to Sarasota me and Luke Jones be in Sarasota all week. You know, I’d like to tell you, we’re going down there and setting up in the dugout and brought we’re not Luke’s gonna get down there. Have a couple of interviews. We’re gonna watch some baseball. I’m looking. I’m gonna be looking for David Rubenstein, like like the new owner and all that stuff. And actually, I’m probably just gonna be eaten some like, Amish fried chicken at the Yoders farm stand at Sarasota and hanging out. We’re gonna be in Orlando for the NFL owners meetings, Lucas credentials. So he’ll be there sitting next to John Harbaugh. All of that will be available out on our social media and at wn S T am 1570 where we never stop talking. Baltimore positive
