Anna Schmid Transcript
Kerry Diamond:
Hi, everyone. You are listening to Radio Cherry Bombe, and I'm your host, Kerry Diamond, coming to you from Las Vegas.
Today's guest is Anna Schmid, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas. Sustainability might not be the first thing you think of when it comes to the Las Vegas Strip, but Anna is here to tell us how the two are connected. We're going to talk about the Food Rescue Alliance, a collaboration between The Venetian and The Just One Project. The alliance is providing more than 20,000 meals each month to those in need across Southern Nevada. We're going to learn how this program came to life, the logistics and teamwork that keeps it running, and how Anna's unconventional career path positioned her to drive meaningful change. Plus, Anna shares insights on finding corporate support for philanthropic programs and offers advice for anyone looking to make a difference in their own organization. Anna has had a fascinating career journey and is a great human. So stay tuned for our chat.
This is the last of our Vegas episodes, for now. I've loved getting to know so many of the incredible women who make the city shine, and I cannot wait for my next visit. Definitely go back and check out our past episodes. A lot of you have asked for a list of my favorite places in Vegas, so take a look at the highlights on my Instagram.
This episode is presented by Las Vegas. The city is a culinary playground where innovation, global flavors, and unforgettable experiences collide. From its vibrant food halls featuring renowned coast-to-coast eats to elevated fine dining concepts with world-renowned chefs, Las Vegas redefines gastronomic excellence. In 2025, Las Vegas continues to prove itself as a must-visit destination for food lovers, offering something extraordinary for every palate. There's Casa Playa at the Wynn, where Chef Sarah Thompson and her team create dishes inspired by coastal Mexico. Sarah was just named a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: Southwest. Congratulations, Sarah. Pinky's by Vanderpump is a new concept from the former star of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and restaurateur Lisa Vanderpump that opened at Flamingo Las Vegas this past December. They offer distinctive dishes and statement cocktails that translate into Instagrammable moments for guests. You know I love a little IG moment. And last but definitely not least, COTE, that's C-O-T-E, known for its dynamic fusion of Korean barbecue and American steakhouse, is set to open its first West Coast location at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas this summer. You've heard from COTE beverage director Victoria James on past episodes of our show, and you know she is the Bombe. She and the team at COTE are crushing it, and I am sure this location is going to be very special. The Las Vegas culinary scene is clearly on a roll. Plan your visit at visitlasvegas.com.
Now, let's check in with today's guest. Anna Schmid, welcome to Radio Cherry Bombe.
Anna Schmid:
Thank you. So excited to be here and to see you again.
Kerry Diamond:
Your LinkedIn is easily one of the most interesting LinkedIns ever, and we need to say you have done so many jobs over the years. You've been a room reservationist. You've owned a couture bridal and flower design business. You've got your amazing current position, and I read that you've had 24 different job titles since you started in hospitality. Did I count that right?
Anna Schmid:
Yes. There's probably more by now, but at least 24.
Kerry Diamond:
I feel like you're a girl after my own heart, but I want to know, what does that say about you? Are you someone who's endlessly curious?
Anna Schmid:
If you were looking at my resume today, you'd probably say, "What is going on here?" Kind of like you. I mean, I'm excited that you looked at it and were interested and not like, "Oh my gosh, what is going on with this girl?" I kind of just followed whatever road laid out in front of me. And whatever opportunity came, I wasn't one to say no. You put me on as a bell captain at the graveyard shift at Caesars Palace, and I said, "Yes, I'll do it." You asked me to open up the spa and salon when José Eber was there. Do you remember him?
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, yes. I do. I do. As a kid of the '70s who watched “he Cher Show,” I do remember José Eber.
Anna Schmid:
Right.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah.
Anna Schmid:
But I have no idea who that is, but yes, I'll do it. I had a great mentor that just put me anywhere that I would go, because he said, "If you're leading well here, you can lead well here too, and we'll teach you the skill set." And I totally appreciated that, and I ran with it.
Kerry Diamond:
Put me in, coach. Were you ambitious? Was that what it was that you wanted to do a little bit of everything in the hopes that one day you were the boss, or was it more passion and curiosity?
Anna Schmid:
I mean, I definitely had the drive to move up the ladder, but I was also super curious in the way that you mentioned, because I wanted to see and do it all, and I wanted to travel, and I wanted to live in different places. I also realized even partway through my career when I was climbing the wrong ladder, when I was about to achieve a great role in hospitality that I was like, "This is not what I want to do the rest of my life."
And then I pivoted, and that's where it led me to bridal couture and floral. It was a different road that unraveled in front of me and I took it, because I realized the one that I was going on, I just didn't see myself in that 10 years from now.
Kerry Diamond:
Wait, that is so interesting. I want to stay on that for a minute, because I had that happen when I was an intern. I thought I wanted to be a music journalist. I interned at a music publication, and I was like, "You know what? I kind of like this as a consumer of music, not someone who gets to see how the sausage is made." Do you mind me asking, how old were you when this happened?
Anna Schmid:
Well, right around 30, early 30s.
Kerry Diamond:
Were you scared to take yourself off that trajectory?
Anna Schmid:
I was a little, but I was so sure that it wasn't the right path for me, because my early hospitality career was 100% operations-driven, and I realized that that was the 24/7. No holidays were yours. I mean, all of that that I looked forward 20, 25 years from now, and I was like, "Okay. If this leads me to being the senior vice president of hotel operations, or if it leads me to be the president of a property, what does my life look like then?" And, I mean, there are so many people that are in those roles that I respect and look up to every day, but it just wasn't where I saw myself.
Kerry Diamond:
Is this something you were able to figure out on your own, or were these conversations with family, a partner, a mentor?
Anna Schmid:
Definitely a mentor and also just some exciting opportunities that presented themselves at the time that I thought, "Okay. I'm having this gut check, and this opportunity is presenting itself. I'm going to take this as a sign and go for it."
Kerry Diamond:
Because you have pivoted a lot. That was just one of your first pivots. You even pivoted later on in your career and moved to The Bahamas and brought your family with you. Right?
Anna Schmid:
Yup. That was also a life change, because I like to say... I don't like to say because it was a hard time, but I woke up one morning and was suddenly divorced, and it just was never something that I saw coming. My parents have been married for now 68 years.
Kerry Diamond:
Wow.
Anna Schmid:
And so, I was happily married, I thought. I had a little girl, who's now 19, about to turn 20, and I had the bridal store and the floral shop. And all of a sudden, my life changed overnight. So I kept going. I kept with the entrepreneur side of things, and I was running the store and the floral shop, and had the little girl, who was about 18 months at that time, and then the mentor, who I've mentioned before, popped back up and said, "I have this amazing opportunity, but I know you have these businesses and you have the life in Las Vegas and everything that's going on."
But I also realized that, "Okay. I needed to be in a position to be able to now be our own little family." So I was, in the beginning of these businesses, wasn't even taking home a paycheck at this point. I was offered this position, and that was working for the Atlantis in the Bahamas and thought, "Okay. Wow, that's a great salary. That's a great position, and that's also benefits for my little girl."
And so, I picked up. I moved across the country, did not know a soul, away from everything and everyone that I knew. My parents were over here in Vegas, and decided, "I got to go for it." And so, I kept those businesses going here, hired someone to do that, which I do not recommend, for several years, and went back and forth. So myself and Ava would get on a plane, because we were located in Fort Lauderdale, but worked in the Bahamas.
So she had on her passport the first year 32 stamps to the Bahamas, because one of my conditions is like, "I will come, but I have to be able to take Ava everywhere I go," because I don't have the resources that I had. I have to figure that out. So she went with me every single time. And then on my vacation, the limited vacation that I had, I would fly back to Vegas to deal with the business. That was my life for a few years, and then I wound up meeting my amazing husband, having another little girl, moving over to The Bahamas with the family when things got a little too crazy travel-wise, and then the rest is history.
But it was definitely a time where I was like... That was more when I felt like I was in survival mode, like, "Okay. I have to take this. I have to go." But then you look at the journey, and it's like, "If I wouldn't have done that, wouldn't have met my husband, wouldn't have had Stella, wouldn't have had that great experience in the Bahamas." So I think when the opportunities presented themselves, I said, "Let's go. I got to do this."
Kerry Diamond:
Anna, you are our new hero. Can we just take a moment to let that all sink in? I think we're going to erect a statue to you. You just basically gave so much hope to anybody out there who's divorced, about to get divorced, going through a divorce, owns a business, has to run it remotely from somewhere else as a single mom, trying to figure it out. You just checked a lot of boxes there for a lot of people.
Anna Schmid:
There's a light. I tell everybody that's going through it, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Just get through the hard stuff, and it'll show itself.
Kerry Diamond:
We'll be right back with today's guest. The Cherry Bombe Jubilee conference is almost here. It's taking place Saturday, April 12th, in New York City. We have so many amazing and inspiring speakers for you, including the icon herself, Gloria Steinem. Chef Asma Khan is joining us. She is a fierce advocate for women. Caroline Chambers, who has the number one food and drink Substack, and the folks behind this spring's most amazing cookbooks, including Eden Grinshpan, Zaynab Issa, and Woldy Kusina. Visit cherrybombe.com for tickets and more details. We'd love to see you at Jubilee.
If you're new to Jubilee, I'm hosting a special Jubilee pregame on Zoom along with our community director, Donna Yen. I know you all love Donna. We'll share everything you need to know about Jubilee, tips on networking, and more. We might even have a special guest or two. It's taking place Wednesday, April 2nd, at 3:00 p.m. If you bought a ticket, check your inbox for the sign-up link. It's free to join, but for ticket holders only.
I want to stay on the job thing one more time and then we're going to talk about all the cool stuff you're doing in Vegas. But it's so hard to find a job now, because everything's run by AI and algorithms. So even if you apply to something on LinkedIn, it's hard to break through. You have to have the right keywords. All these things have to be working for you to even get to the first round to be considered for a job.
Now, when it's someone who has a résumé like you where there were lots of different things, and it maybe wasn't until later that you could look back and see, "Okay. All this made sense," what do you say both to the job seekers and the people doing the hiring in terms of taking a chance on someone who maybe doesn't have a traditional career path?
Anna Schmid:
A lot of my career has been in these large, integrated resorts with 8 to 10,000 people in it. A lot of the lift is on the human resources department. I mean, that's in mid- and small-sized companies as well. But I think what I find is that even when applications come through, I know that they've gone through the algorithm. They've gone through the keyword search. They've gone through all the technology that's available to us today, but I realize that sometimes things are missed, or you're looking at a résumé, like I would, and thinking, "This is interesting. This is different." But it might have not hit all the right keywords.
So I will ask HR not only to send me what has made it through the filter, but also the ones that didn't. Sometimes that can be more time-consuming, but I think that it's paid off, just to see what else is out there. We were doing interviews for interns recently, and I know that those will go through a filter as well, because we get so many applications for internships. But it's important that if I don't see what I'm looking for after I've spoken to several people, is being able to say, "Who else was out there that we missed?" And also just meeting people in person whenever it's possible.
I know that everybody is doing everything online now, everything digital, Zoom. But whenever I get a chance to actually meet someone for coffee, sit down, it changes my whole perspective, because I just feel like you learn so much more from them in person, to me at least. On the other side, for the applicant, I get very excited when someone is almost relentless in trying to reach out to you. I think back in the day, that might have been something that was like, "Oh my gosh, I can't handle this person stalking me." Right?
But now, it's very encouraging to me when someone takes that extra time to try to connect with you in a nontraditional way. I always use the example, and this was more of an internal promotion, but someone that is still very close to me, but she was working in an entry-level position in a different part of the resort. I was over an event capacity at that time. She reached out and said, "Can I come in on my days off or after work and just shadow what you guys do every day, because I would like to see if that's an interest to me?"
And so, she would come and help out. She would pop in the office. And then as soon as the position became available, I didn't even need to go through the interview process. I did, to make sure, do the due diligence, but she was immediately the first person in my mind. So I think that in today's time, where everybody is doing everything through their phone, always on their phone, and not necessarily connecting in a human way, when someone does go out of their way to do that, or to say, "Could I just sit down and pick your brain for a few minutes?" because it doesn't always have to be something that is awkward, or you're trying to find someone when they're speaking at an event or whatever.
I mean, if I get an email from a student or someone that's interested in this field that says, "Can I buy you a coffee and sit down and just pick your brain for a few minutes, because I'd love to learn more about how to get kicked off in this industry?" I think that it does so much. It opens up the conversation, and that person is constantly in your mind when you're hiring the next time around. Go the extra distance. Go out and find them, meet them.
Don't stalk them. Don't make it illegal or anything, but definitely find a way to connect with them that's nontraditional, because I have lots of friends that are going through a second round of trying to find a job now, and they're hitting the same challenge. They're not even making it through the first round, because they're not putting the right keywords in. But I do know individuals that have used the services or the consultants, if that's something that you have access to, that will help you put those keywords in, but I also don't even know if that gets you to your final destination. So I'm more about the one-on-one human touch, I think.
Kerry Diamond:
Did you say the resorts have like 8,000 to 10,000 employees?
Anna Schmid:
We have just around 9,000 here at The Venetian.
Kerry Diamond:
Wow, that is so many people.
Anna Schmid:
Yeah, in one building.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh my gosh, that is unbelievable. How did you wind up in your current role at The Venetian?
Anna Schmid:
The role that I'm in now is really interesting, because I've been here about nine-and-a-half years. And I would say of those 24, six or seven of the positions at least were here at The Venetian Resort. So it wasn't skipping around to all these different properties and all these different businesses. It was really moving around within the building.
What kind of followed me along was, I guess two or three years in, I was asked to take on the community and sustainability side of the business. It was reporting up to someone who had an enormous role and thought it deserved a little bit more attention. And so, I was excited to take it on, because it's always been something, at least on the side, I'd been passionate about, but not necessarily anything that I studied or was in my work history or experience.
But I had individuals that were running those areas, and I stepped in, leaned in, figured out what they needed support in, how I could best be there to help them operate, and then just learned along the way. But as I changed roles, those areas always stayed with me. So community and sustainability, in some way, shape, or form, have been a part of my role for probably the last six or seven years.
And then most recently, I really, really, really wanted to make it my key focus, and I knew that we have a lot of individuals wearing a lot of hats here, and it's super high-volume property with a lot going on. So I wanted to make sure that it was right for the property and right for me. But I knew at this time in my career, I feel like I have a lot of career still ahead of me, but I don't know exactly what that looks like. But I knew that I loved these areas so much that I wanted to try to make it more my focus.
I was able to actually present that to my boss, who's amazing. She's a huge mentor of mine, and be able to work with her to say, "Hey, what does the timing look like? How could I shift to be able to make this my main focus?" because there were other areas, the diversity and inclusivity, sustainability and community, that all kind of needed one umbrella of leadership.
We worked through that process for almost six months to get to the point where I could shift and move areas that I was working with into other people's hands, and then be able to take this on full-time. So now, that's where I am just for the last two months, and I'm so excited about it, because now it's just my key focus. Being able to make an impact through this major resort and getting other people involved, whether it's through volunteerism, sponsorship, community, sustainability, is what I love to do. So it's exciting that I've been able to kind of shift the road to where I got to where I feel like I'm supposed to be now.
Kerry Diamond:
Anna, you are so interesting. I know we're supposed to be talking about Vegas today, but I feel like you could have a side hustle as a career counselor, or if you decide to make yet another pivot, you could start a Substack or something that's all about careers. All right. So I want to talk about this really special project that you're doing. You and your team at The Venetian helped create the Food Rescue Alliance in late 2023 with The Just One Project, a local nonprofit. We met some of those folks, and they're terrific. You started it as a way to combat the food insecurity faced, sadly, by one in eight residents of South Nevada. How did this program come about?
Anna Schmid:
Well, we have been taking part in food rescue for over a decade at The Venetian. And when I say food rescue, to us, that is typically out of our convention and expo area. Anybody listening has been to a conference in Las Vegas. You might have wound up at The Venetian, at the Expo, because we're the largest here in town. We were already taking part in food rescue, but it was very ad hoc. It was like, "Okay. There's food left over. Everybody, hands on deck. Let's get down there."
And we'd repackage it in a safe manner. We'd get it out. We'd have all these nonprofits roll into the Expo, and they'd get it out into the community ASAP. When you look at our convention business, our team, our culinary team there is creating about 4 million meals a year. So in any convention or expo, there is going to be a little surplus, a little bit extra, and we wanted to make sure that we were saving every single thing that we could.
So we really dug into the operation and looked at it and said, "Okay. We know we're leaving food behind. How do we make sure that we can rescue all of it, or do our best to rescue all of it?" At the volume that we were running, when you're looking at, "Okay. We have one group coming in, one group leading, a load in, a load out, hundreds of thousands of people coming through the building, not only for business but also for leisure. How do we make this work?"
So that's when we started really dissecting it and deconstructing the food rescue chain. So we knew we needed to take it out of our building, because that was the issue, is that food rescue is in our core business, hospitality and conventions and leisure and travel. That's our core business, but we needed a partner that it was their core business. So we thought, "Okay. If we take this apart, what is the best way to save the most food?"
Really, we took the entire operation out of our facility. We said, "One, we need to buy all of the equipment that is necessary for a different organization to do this off property. Two, we need to get the food as quickly as possible from our show floor to the off-site facility in a safe manner, and then out into the community." So we needed an organization that already had that distribution, already had that network, and was already serving thousands of people a month.
We work with a lot of these organizations already. And when we landed on The Just One Project, it was really out of just pure enthusiasm, excitement, their willingness to start from the ground floor and say, "We will build this with you." We knew we weren't doing it the traditional way, and we wanted to make sure that they could take this on, and that we would support them financially and through volunteers and skill sets to be able to make it happen.
So we figured out the budget. We decided what type of equipment was needed. We helped them at their property, which is just about four or five miles from the Strip, at their main headquarters, build out a food rescue kitchen. Basically, the process is, when a show ends or when a meal time of a show ends, and just imagine a huge hall, and we could be serving 50,000 people in a meal. Right? When that ends, our team on the show floor knows that any food that is prepared but unserved is staged in a certain area.
The food rescue component of The Just One Project rolls in in a truck, really big truck that says, "Good food, good mood. Just One Project, Venetian Resort." It's a fun truck to see on the road. I love it when I see it going down the road in Las Vegas. But we basically can just roll the hot boxes or the temperature-controlled boxes up onto the truck immediately. We don't have to put together this big system that we're repackaging right there on the floor.
We can just roll these right up onto the truck. They go right over to The Just One Project. They roll off. They have volunteers there. They repackage everything into family-size trays, and then all of that goes out into the community immediately, because they have no-cost food markets all over Las Vegas, and then they have pop-ups, and then they have mobile food units. So they're getting the food out there quickly.
And even though we created it so that any food that was not served that day could be frozen and used up to 30 days later, we rarely need that, because I would say 95% goes out into the community the same day, because it's not only going to the Just One clients, which is 25, 30,000 clients a month. It's also going to all the other nonprofits that we were working with before to go out into the community to serve their clients. That leads to about 200,000 meals that we can put into the community every single year.
Now, it's just trying to grow it, because it's working. We have two years behind us almost of watching it evolve and seeing how we can get better. And now, when you're seeing the family that's actually picking up that meal, I mean, it is the most fulfilling, rewarding moment, because you've watched it go from our convention floor safely and get to The Just One Project and be on someone else's table by dinner that night. It's just exciting for us to have built it and then to see it working so well, and to be impacting so many people in our state.
Kerry Diamond:
It's so interesting to think about it, because work like this is so important, and I know the people who want to get involved in work like this have big hearts. But to hear you, so much of it comes down to logistics and getting-
Anna Schmid:
Totally.
Kerry Diamond:
... the food to the right place at the right time safely. So it's amazing that you've put the resources of your team and The Venetian behind that. I want to talk about The Just One Project a little bit. Like I said, we got to meet them. They came to some of the events that we did, and they're so wonderful. Last year, they helped over 300,000 clients.
And they don't just do food-based programs. They realize that the problems are much bigger than that. So they develop community-driven solutions that go beyond immediate needs. So it's grocery assistance to housing support, job readiness, and youth programs. You mentioned that you have this blueprint now, and it's about sort of expanding this. Other hotels and resorts have sort of joined in and are doing the same thing, or is this specific to The Venetian?
Anna Schmid:
It's specific to The Venetian right now, but the other resorts on the Las Vegas Strip are doing so much as well, and it's really nice, because where we compete in so many ways on the Las Vegas Strip... Of course, all these big resorts, we're all competitors. When it comes to something like food rescue, sustainability, community involvement, anything that's a critical need in our community, it's something that we do our best to work together on.
And we have a Nevada Resort Association critical needs coalition, and continually, we're working together to try to benchmark and just share best practices. We do put about a quarter of a million into the food rescue program every year. The hopes are that we do have more people involved, more resorts involved, more even businesses involved that can help us increase the impact and get the food where it needs to go.
So being that we're only a year and a half or so in, I think that our hopes are to grow it, and there's meetings happening all the time and people reaching out to The Just One Project that are seeing the truck or seeing a story or hearing a podcast like this. We hope that it just gets bigger and better, and that at some point, it's zero in eight Nevadans that are struggling from food insecurity.
Kerry Diamond:
Well, thank you for sharing that. That's amazing. The program was recognized by the White House last year as part of its Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities initiative. I was really struck by that build healthy communities part, and I'm curious from your perspective, why is that community aspect so important, whether you're a big place like The Venetian Resort or a smaller company?
Anna Schmid:
Community, it's everything. Right? I think that a lot of people look at Las Vegas and wouldn't think that, one, sustainability or community is really a priority for us. But the community here is incredible. The first time that I lived here was mid-'90s to 2000, different stage of life. But also, I found it after living here a few years, I was like, "Wow, this is a great place to live. People are nice. The community is great."
And then when I left and came back, I was just blown away by how community-driven Las Vegas is and how much the resorts do to give back to the community. But community in general, I mean, you're only as strong as the community that you live in. And if you can, you should. And I know I mentioned this before, but a mentor of mine once said when we were talking through different things that we could do for the community and getting to a point where it's like, "Okay. We have this budget, but maybe..." And he's like, "No. If we can, we should." So that's always stuck with me, and that was many years ago.
But I think that we are in a position here on the Strip to be able to, and the fact that all of these resorts really lean into giving back to our community and to not just writing a check and walking away, but actually going into the nonprofits and connecting with the leadership in the nonprofits and all the volunteers to say, "What does meaningful impact mean to your organization?" And then doing our best to provide that, because us being a small city, in every single one of these resorts, you have everything from security to carpentry, upholstery shop, floral department. You have everything within these, not four walls, many walls.
And if there's a need for that, then there's probably someone here that's an expert in it. Often, we can make that connection. If they're building a website, we have that team here. If they need assistance with someone from their team being able to speak to the media, we have someone that can train them on that. I mean, we have someone that literally can do anything, and being able to walk into these organizations to say, "How can we help you in the best way?"
We're not just going to drop off our clothes that we're donating. We're not just going to give you a check, although we do all of those things, but we are going to find out what you need and how we can make the biggest impact. And I think leading back to the community question, it's just the most important... I mean, to me, it's the most important thing we do. Obviously, it's my role for us to be out there letting the community know that we are here to build you up and make you stronger and a better place to live and work, is 100% our responsibility. It's not what we need to do. It's what we have to do.
Kerry Diamond:
Anna, you've shown you're good at getting buy-in internally for different things, whether it's this project, whether it's evolving and changing what your professional role is, what you're doing within the organization. What's your advice for other folks who need to find that internal buy-in?
Anna Schmid:
I think repetition is key. Continuing to talk about it over and over again is always important. I think that you need buy-in in all departments and all levels, so whether it's making sure that our executives are involved and able to volunteer in several capacities, because, obviously, their schedules are very demanding. So being able to find an opportunity that works for them, because they're all very generous and giving, but sometimes time, obviously, is our most cherished commodity.
Getting the buy-in, obviously from the executive team, but then also... I mean, today, at 1:15, I'll go and speak to our newest team members that are at their first day at The Venetian Resort. And every Monday, we have a new team member orientation. There's about 40 to 80 people in there any given Monday, and I go in every single Monday to say, "Hey, here's what we stand for. Here's what we do for the community, and here is the easiest way that you can get involved on any level."
I think that it's important, whatever type of communication you have going out, that there's always something that speaks to community and sustainability also, whether it's our daily newsletter that goes out to our team members, our Heart of the House TVs that are up or that are recognizing a volunteer of the month or a volunteer of the quarter. It's just 360, always having a little bit there so that they're continually remembering.
We call our community program Love for All. Our team members know that anytime they see something that says, "Love for All," that it means a community event, and then we try to give them as many ways as possible that they can get involved. And I think that you have to do that, because here, we're 24/7. So if we have someone that's on a graveyard shift, we want to be able to give them an opportunity that works with their schedule or their days off to go and volunteer. So we do our best to be able to make it available to everybody.
Kerry Diamond:
Repetition is such great advice. I think two things sometimes happen. You're like, "Oh, everybody knows that. Why do I have to keep saying that?" or you're like, "I don't want to bother," fill in the blank, employees, investors, your customers. But you just have to remember that not everybody knows everything that is going on.
Anna Schmid:
Right.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah.
Anna Schmid:
And not everybody is able to read everything. So I think that the third or fourth time that you hit them, they're like, "Okay. I need to get involved here."
Kerry Diamond:
Repetition, repetition, repetition. Yup.
Anna Schmid:
Right.
Kerry Diamond:
I want to talk about some fun things that are happening at The Venetian. I love The Venetian. I've spent a lot of time there over the past few weeks. I saw Dita Von Teese's performance at the theater there and had such a good time. I love Dita, and she was on the podcast earlier this season. Gjelina, which just opened up, which surprised a lot of people who don't know that Gjelina has expanded beyond Los Angeles. That was so much fun.
And you are so close to the Sphere. So when we were eating at Gjelina, we were watching all the people going to the Eagles concert, and it was so much fun just to see... You could kind of tell who was doing what that night, like who was dressed to go see Dita, who was dressed to go see the Eagles, and then you've got this big food hall that's opening this summer. Right?
Anna Schmid:
Right. We have a really great food hall that I'm super excited about, because it's going to have different brands, different concepts from all over the country, some of the favorites, some I'm sure that you'll recognize, Scarr's Pizza, Howlin' Ray's, B.S. Taqueria, Close Company, Ivan Ramen, Turkey and the Wolf, and Molly's Rise and Shine from New Orleans.
I mean, it's going to be such a great addition to our culinary portfolio, and it's right on the main epicenter, really, of The Venetian casino floor. It's one of the first things that you'll see when you walk in, but I also think it'll be just a great destination for people to come get those favorites from all of those concepts that they might know from their region. A couple more months away, but we're really excited about it. So it's going to be a great addition.
Kerry Diamond:
That's great. I can't wait to come back for that. And then there's just the fun of going to The Venetian, period, because you really feel like you're in Italy. The front of the resort, oh my gosh, you really do think you're there. And then when you see the gondolas and all that, I mean, that's so much fun. Do you have a favorite place to eat at The Venetian?
Anna Schmid:
Oh, jeez. Gosh, it changes every week, obviously. We have so many new things opening. We have Bazaar Meats coming. We have COTE. One of my staples that I really love to take people to for lunch is Milos, which I know is a New York staple as well. That would probably be my go-to, although Gjelina is now edging up as one of my new favorites, because it's just so fresh and so different. WAKUDA and Mott 32 are also up there. I mean, there's a cocktail at Mott 32 called Five O'Clock in Hong Kong, which I recommend to anyone that's coming to Las Vegas. You have to hit the bar at Mott 32 and get a Five O'Clock in Hong Kong.
Kerry Diamond:
And the COTE opening is going to be great. It's so funny. Literally, as you said COTE, Victoria James just popped in my inbox. She's the beverage director there, and you will love her.
Anna Schmid:
Oh, no, that's great. Oh, good. I can't wait to meet her.
Kerry Diamond:
She's so talented and a fierce mama. She just had a baby. So congratulations, Victoria, if you're listening.
Anna Schmid:
Oh, that's great.
Kerry Diamond:
And she wrote a fantastic book called “Wine Girl,” that if you haven't read, you could go to my favorite bookstore, The Writer's Block, in Las Vegas. Have you been there yet?
Anna Schmid:
Oh, yeah. Yes, I have.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah.
Anna Schmid:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
I think that's one of the-
Anna Schmid:
Right next to The Beverly Theater.
Kerry Diamond:
I'm like a broken record, but I think that's one of the best bookstores in the country.
Anna Schmid:
That whole area is just a super exciting hub that's coming up out of nowhere. It's fun to watch that.
Kerry Diamond:
If you had to plan a fun night in Las Vegas, show, meal, something after-hours, I'll come babysit the kids, where would you go and what would you do?
Anna Schmid:
Well, we definitely love live music. Speaking of kids, I took my teenage daughters to Maroon 5 the other night. So much fun. But I would probably come to Mott 32. I'd probably hit a show at the Sphere, because it is like nothing you've ever seen before. I also love the downtown and the midtown area, that I think if you're coming to Las Vegas, obviously you're going to do the Strip, but get out to see the different areas as well, and then close it out with Dita Von Teese or a late night at Voltaire, and then go up to your suite and order a big, fat room service in the morning.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh my gosh, that sounds perfect. I'm going to come back and do exactly that. Well, Anna, it has been so nice getting to know you. Thank you for all the important work that you've done and for sharing your story. There are a lot of folks out there listening who are probably very heartened to hear what you made it through and all the good work you're able to do today.
Anna Schmid:
Well, thank you for letting me showcase it.
Kerry Diamond:
That's it for today's show. Thank you to everyone who listened to our Destination Cherry Bombe miniseries on Las Vegas, and thank you to all the amazing folks in the city who made these episodes possible. Vegas has become one of my favorite places to visit. If you are thinking about visiting, definitely go back and check out my Vegas episodes. They have lots of insider advice on what to do, see, eat, and drink while you're there. Our theme song is by the band Tralala. Joseph Hazan is a studio engineer at Newsstand Studios. Our producers are Catherine Baker and Jenna Sadhu, and our editorial coordinator is Sophie Kies. Thanks for listening, everybody. You are the Bombe.