QUICK INTRO & UPDATE

Hey Everyone!

I moved to Jupiter on March 9. All is well here. Renting a modest place 15 min from the beach and 1 min from I-95 so going North and South is quick and easy. Getting familiar with West Palm Beach & Palm Beach now. Making some progress in business but its slow going coming out of high season and into summer. Im settled in and liking it a lot though it’s been trying going from being busy with RAW LAB to…crickets. But, taking some time for me has been great. Making new friends and overall, the decision is affirming itself. Getting back into good physical shape with lots of Stand Up Paddling and Cycling. I’ve moved my location on the map and begun a physical, spiritual and intellectual transformation that I’ll elaborate on below because you too are in a moment where you can benefit from what’s happening in the universe.

SUMMER PLANS

While I patiently wait for the location of the next RAW LAB to reveal itself to me (or not) I am looking to head North for July - September. Some specifics on where I want to go and what I want to do below in the ISO section but suffice it to say, for now, that I’m working on several options to live and work in The Hamptons, Newport, Nantucket and surrounds. I’ve done it before. We shall see what it looks like this time. I’ve been offered a late July residency in Montauk, which is nice. I’m also in talks with a winery in The North Fork of Long Island about a caviar residency. So we’ll see if what manifests. Lots in the pipe. Some in the books.

MY ASK: Refer me to those who could benefit from my expertise, experience, knowledge and skills.

GOT A THOUGHT? EMAIL ME HERE IF YOU LIKE

SEA SALT COMPLEX

Having sold about 100 of these now, I’m starting to focus more on it. Reorders are starting to happen. Testimonials are coming in. Its tipping. Feedback has been great for this product.

MY ASK: PLEASE BUY ONE FOR YOU. BUY 3 AS GIFTS. MY GOAL IS TO SELL & SHIP 20 - 30 PER WEEK.

Tangible Benefits of Our Sea Salt Complex:

• 100% natural - Not Industrial / Factory Produced

• Contains the minerals that add flavor and nutrition

• Makes food taste so much better its hard to believe

• Contain 14 sea salts including ancient salts from extinct oceans (some as old as 400,000,000 years) and modern salts from living oceans….from all around the earth.

• Colorful, Cool, Conversation Piece

Gain more isight on the benefits, science and utility of it at the links below. Also, learn why you should eliminate Table Salt, Kosher Salt and Pink Himalayan Salt from your diet, cooking and home. Makes so much sense it’s crazy.

PURCHASE A SMALL SEA SALT COMPLEX HERE - $50

PURCHASE A LARGE SEA SALT COMPLEX HERE - $100

BUY BULK FOR GIFTS AT A DISCOUNT

RETAILERS: BUY SEA SALT COMPLEX WHOLESALE

Also, much larger forces have come into play which could take this to the next level. Investment. Talent. Strategy. Its lining up and manifesting in the medium term. This might actually soon be what I focus on exclusively for a while, but that moment is probably 8-12 months out. Enjoying the journey for now.

Im not trying to sell thousands of these for now, but I am keen to develop this first chapter as a hand made, grassroots, start up, bootstrapped garage project started in Charleston and coming into its own in Jupiter.

QUESTIONS? EMAIL ME HERE IF YOU LIKE

EPICureanism™

This is one of the things I was working on and articulating in writing in Jan and Feb. It started as an exercise to polish the documentation RAW LAB’s systems, operations, elements & magic while it was still fresh in my mind. It turned into an understanding of RAW LAB as an expression of EPICureanism, one of many, actually.

EPICureanism is a hospitality & culinary philosophy. It is as an opportunity for both CONSUMERS to experience a new kind of fine dining and for OPERATORS to begin to experiment with and offer it. Its the basis for both and event series and a consulting platform we have launched.

LEARN ALL ABOUT IT www.EPICureanism.life

We’ve put EPICureanism into practice in two ways now. First, in Jupiter with two modules: Caviar & Sea Salt, in a private home, for 12 patrons. And again, in Atlanta, with all 4 modules in a Private Dining Room @ Nowak’s Steakhouse for 20 guests. Both were success in every way. Stoked for more and they are coming soon in NYC, NOLA, Pensacola and elsewhere, Im sure.

There are a couple of photos from the Jupiter event included in this email. Here’s a link to version 1.0 of the video we shot in Atlanta on 4.28.26 (below) as a tool to promote the concept. Its a strong draft.

So, who cares? There are two types of people who already care about this and will care more as prices and costs rise:

1. Consumers - People who appreciate great food and great dining experiences, aka Epicureans or are The Epicurious.

2. Hospitality Professionals. Those who benefit from providing these experiences.

We argue that there is a gap (and it is widening) between the price of fine dining and its perceived value. This an be fixed but not without radical retooling, new thinking and much more.

So, the PRINCIPLE is this: Delivery an experience to match the cost of fine food, atmosphere and service of fine dining restaurants.

The PRACTICE is this: Use space differently and change the nature of the service. This allows us to ADD VALUE with music, choreography, storytelling, entertainment, education, product, presentation and more. This creates value through participation, discovery, engagement, enchantment. That all creates PRESENCE and it’s not coincidence that the words GIFT and PRESENT can be synonymous.

For me, for now, Im presenting EPICureanism as a way to SEEfood, Differently. I’m focused on seafood because this is one of the most expensive and least understood protein categories. There is a lot of value that can be added if you present it well. So, I’ve designed the first version of EPICureanism as a collection of Master Classes, Sessions or Modules focused on “things from the sea”. They can be delivered as 40 - 90 minute one-offs or together as a roughly four hours experience. The modules are: 1. Oyster Flight. 2. Salon de Caviar 3. Marine Cuisine 4. Sea Salt Social)

FINE DINING IS DYING!

The restaurant industry faced massive restructuring in 2025, driven by soaring labor costs, inflation, and shifting consumer habits.Jean George’s $200,000,000 Tin Building in NYC closed this year. Lord Stanley in SF. Gone. Shibumi in LA. Done. So you see, extremely well funded, historically profitable, legendary & iconic spots like this are failing.

LONG LIVE FINE DINING!

Costs go up, prices go up. With that, expectations go WAY up. But the delivery of MORE VALUE is not matching expectations because concepts, models and spaces are designed for a bygone era…a different value proposition. Financing is structured on extinct paradigms. With a few exceptions, you are FUCKED with your 200 seat restaurant which you need to turn lunch and dinner 2 - 3 times a day to be profitable. There are exceptions of course but they are extremely rare. I am studying what I can find.

EPICureanism is my answer to HOW to deliver more value to consumers so they seek you out and are HAPPY to spend more…because it’s worth it. And to meet new consumer interests, values and habits which are becoming more and more experiential.

That’s what RAW LAB was. It didnt close because it stopped working, it closed because I felt like I had taken as far as it could go in that location and next I wanted to take it to a metropolis / megalopolis like S. Florida (where the raw bar game is weak) and prove it there before we open one in NYC or LA. From cities like this it is most likely to make a leap across an ocean to another continent. While we look for a space, we’ll keep inventing and improving value in fine dining with EPICureanism.

MY ASK: PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS WHO MIGHT WANT TO HOST EPICureanism at their HOTEL, RESORT, YACHT CLUB, COUNTRY CLUB, MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT, RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY, FARM OR HOME

EMAIL ME HERE IF YOU LIKE

EVENTS

We’ve got some events on the books and others in the works. They ALL apply the PRINCIPLES of EPICureanism. Each will be a different PRACTICE and feature some or all off the 4 modules or master classes. On the radar and getting close to being a reality are…NYC, Nantucket, Newport, Connecticut, New Orleans and more.

FOLLOW US ON InstaGram @Raw.Lab.Chs FOR DETAILS. Also follow @Empire_Oyster & @KevinJoseph as Ill post more to those accounts in the future.

IN SEARCH OF…

EVENT & CATERING OPPORTUNITIES + RESIDENCIES + CONSULTING + PRIVATE CHEFFING + CONNECTIONS TO HOSPITALITY PROFESSIONALS + A NEW HOME FOR THE SHUCK TRUCK + THE NEXT RAW LAB SPACE IN WEST PALM BEACH

PLAN A

Spend July, Aug & Sept working in the NorthEast. In a perfect world I’d travel around and work in the NE this summer. A week or two here, a week or two there. Or longer. Who knows? Some catering, consulting, private / yacht cheffing, a residency here or there…done it all before. Im open to anything that creates a win, win, win. If I can fill in the gaps with a dozen or so gigs in Newport, The Hamptons, The Cape, Nantucket…well, that might work. Would definitely be an adventure and I’m always DTS (Down To Shuck) !

PLAN B

Sweat it out in FL all summer, like I did in CHS 5 summers. I lived. It sucked. One upside is that getting to the locals will be easier for business development going into season. Downside is that many of those decision makers are not around as much. The truth likes somewhere in the middle. Maybe Ill find out. It is low season so there are some limitations on doing events in summer. BUT, this is a good time for consulting as this is the best time of year for hospitality pros to work ON the business and be prepared for the next season.

PLAN C

Get a job as a Private / Yacht Chef for a bit. Done it before and enjoyed it. In fact, it gave me the courage (in part) to create RAW LAB. Might be what the universe wants for me…a break from being an Entrepreneur for a bit. I donno. Im open to it especially if it means this Summer spent up North. I’ve applied for one that just presented itself to me like a bolt of lightning. So it opened my mind and heart to the idea. Summers in Aspen, Winters in Miami / Bahamas - House / Yacht. We shall see.

HERE IS MY RESUME FOR THAT

A BUYER FOR THE SHUCK TRUCK

She’s still in Charleston but now on Ebay. Asking $10k. Have $30k into her. Got some inquiries. Had a couple of calls about it. But no bids yet. Im not in a rush. I think its best positioned to sell to a Fraternity at UNC Chapel Hill that wants to “Win The Tailgate” this coming football season so I’ll try that angle, come then, if she’s not sold this summer.

HERE IS THE LINK TO PLACE A BID

HERE IS THE LINK WITH ALL THE INFO ABOUT HER

THE NEXT RAW LAB SPACE

Still, until I come up with something better or get too old for that hustle! It would be for future operations, world-wide, we could just tweak our footprint but vastly improve all parts of the operations. Our needs are unique (in a good and bad way). We DON’T need (or want) a 3000sf space like a restaurant does. But they’ve never really built restaurant spaces like this. We currently operate with a 250sf dining room. Ideally, a 300 sf dining room would give us the opportunity to have a chef and a sous chef behind the bar for service but keep it intimate. If we had a small prep area (that wasn’t also the dining room, like we’ve had) we could do lunch service. Add our own a dish room, mop sink walk in and restroom and we’d only need another 300 - 400sf. That’s 800sf, max, total. If we had all of our amenities adjacent to our dining room and a 800sf footprint it would be glorious. Finally, what if we could do what Starbucks did with Grocery and Book Stores…occupy a small portion or a distressed space and become an amenity to the host? That has worked and looks like it will keep working.

LICENSEES

Im still (and always) looking for talented Bartenders (that we can teach how to shuck oysters) and Convivial Chefs (comfortable with being Front of House). Either profile would need to be passionate about being an entertainer, conversationalist, educator & performer. They’ll own their own business and our new company if we can license RAW LAB operations world-wide one day. The parent company would provide a host of services, processes, recipes and Intellectual Property. Licensees will pay a monthly fee for these. Perhaps we can even find someone to re-open a Charleston operation but RAW LAB could work in 100 cities.

GOT A LEAD FOR ME? EMAIL ME HERE IF YA LIKE

PARTING WORDS

WE ARE ALL IN A TRANSFORMATIVE MOMENT RIGHT NOW. ALL OF US. Starting over again in Jupiter is similar to what it was like for me in Charleston; minus the end of the Covid era and the brutal slander, treachery and violence I had to endure and overcome there. BUT I DID! And then some. With the success we had in Charleston, I knew I had grown and would have much to offer my new community. It’s taking hold. The move was transformative enough. And there was a lot of fear and pain I was feeling. Now, however, I’m experiencing an new spiritual, professional, personal and emotional transformation. It’s wild. It just “came to me”. What came to me, specifically, was a Tarot reading. I did not ask for it but when it presented itself, I was just open to it. And WOW! I was told that 7 of the 9 planets in our solar system recently aligned in Sagittarius (my sign) and that this hasn’t happened in 20,000 years, well before organized civilization (as we know it) existed. I was also told that this was the greatest opportunity I’ll ever have to make transformational changes mentally, spiritually and emotionally. It is a special moment and opportunity for all…just beyond special for a Sag…as the culmination of this energy will be under a Blue Moon in Sag which is the second full moon in May…also very rare.

So I listened up and got to work on a few things. And it is working. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a better space in so many realms. It’s another miracle and I hope to share it and a drink with some of you soon to chat about it. THE POINT: These planets were aligned in the beginning of March for ALL of us and that is very special. Now is a time for all of us to listen up and find the best ways to transform ourselves.

Cheers,

Kevin

PS: Come seen me down in Florida!