Beyond the Establishment

Thanks for having me, Benjamin. I'm Coyal CJ Harrison III, host and owner of the Visit Vegas Places podcast. You can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Goodpods, or our Buzzsprout page, and online at visitvegasplaces.com. Our focus is the small business owners here in the valley, making sure they get the reach and awareness they deserve.

I started during the pandemic. Our first episode aired in 2021, so we're five years in. We do 21 episodes a season, we're ending season 9 next month, and heading into season 10.

Before the podcast, my family and I spent a lot of time creating local content for Google Maps. Our reviews and photos have passed 85 million views.

Thanks! But back then, when we were posting photos and writing 200-character reviews, I'd talk to the owners directly. My family and I got to know them and saw what they go through to keep their doors open. I started thinking, how can I capture their real story instead of just posting pictures of the food?

So I came home and put the podcast together. I wanted to get past the surface and show what really goes on. The trials, the sweat, the tears. It shows people that business owners are just like us. They just had the heart and the courage to start something.

Back in season 5 or 6 I had a barbecue place called House of Smoke. When I first saw them, they were towing a smoker pit behind their car, fresh out of California. My wife and I saw them at a store and I said, pull over, let's get some barbecue.

The whole family was out there in their company t-shirts. I told him I wanted to make some content for them, and he said, "Man, I don't really do content. I don't get on camera." His wife looked at him and said, "Just do it!" They had no idea who I was and I had no idea who they were, but we shot a little skit and hit it off.

We kept in touch, and I've watched them go from a pit behind a car, to a small corner spot, to a big food truck, and next is a brick-and-mortar. They called me once and said, "You didn't have to do that. You stopped when you didn't know us and made a video that got things moving. That will always stay with us." Being part of someone's growth like that is the real reward for me.

No, I'm from Los Angeles. I've been here 21 years.

My wife. Her family came out first and she talked me into it, for a change of scenery and to get away from the fast, expensive California life. I came here and raised my kids. We've been married 21 years. We each had a son when we got married, then had three more together, so five kids total. Only one left in the house now. This is home.

We've watched it grow out of the desert. When we first came, public transit was rough and the city looked completely different. I tell my kids it used to be a big community event to watch a casino get imploded on the Strip. If you weren't out there in person, you were glued to the local news.

We always knew tearing down something old here meant something bigger was coming. That's what I love about Vegas. Change is part of who we are.

Exactly! My first casino experience was back in '94 or '95. I'd visited my whole life because of family, but that was my first time down here as a teenager without my parents. My high school buddies and I went to Lady Luck downtown. I'll never forget getting out of the car and thinking, this place is so clean compared to LA. I thought the whole city looked like the casino lights. I knew right then that when I grew up, this is where I was moving.

More focus on our kids and their education. Raising kids here, I was always balancing what they learned in school with what I had to cover at home.

I've lived in different parts of the country and seen how the schools compare. We have the money here. If we invest in our kids starting in elementary school, we'll see the results 10, 15, 20 years down the line. Especially now, with the city booming with sports, entertainment, and small businesses.

Exactly. This city has so much to offer if we build that foundation early.

Since I interview businesses for a living, I try not to give a top five list. But right now the spot my family loves, probably three or four times a month, is Natalia's Pretty Little Kitchen in Centennial Hills. Great Thai food. My orders are the Thai fried rice and the 5-spice ribs. Big portions.

(Laughs) I haven't tried it yet! I'm ordering it next time because of you.

Everything is at visitvegasplaces.com. We're on every podcast app, including Buzzsprout, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Just look up Visit Vegas Places with Coyal. You can follow us on Instagram too, and we're on Facebook, X, Threads, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

If you own a local business and want more reach, reach out to me. I'm easy to connect with. I also recommend local entrepreneurs check out Alignable. It's a good app for meeting other business owners at networking events around the valley, whether you're in Summerlin, Henderson, or Centennial Hills.

I'm also running a segment called Vegas Ventures Off, where I interview business owners outside of Nevada. We've featured people from 11 countries and 19 states so far, and the goal is all 50. Since the whole world comes to Vegas, Vegas is going out to tell your story.

Thank you, Benjamin, for giving local voices a place to be heard.