Welcome to Small Talk, an email I serve out every Monday morning exclusively to our Breakfast Club members in NYC and Charleston. The premise is simple: my top of mind topics for the week’s worth of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners ahead anytime some chatter is required. From now on, I’ll be sharing it with subscribers of The Supersonic as well. Enjoy, and crib topics as necessary.
I have another busy Monday, as I’m sure do all of you, so let’s get right to it with the news that’ll have you sounding like an informed conversationalist any time a meal calls for a little small talk this week.
For consideration …
TikTok's bad vibes
The big news in the ever expanding world of AI comes out of China. DeepSeek released their open “reasoning model R1” last week, which is a competitor (and, in some cases, vanquisher) of OpenAI’s o1 model, all for a fraction of the cost to train and, due to U.S. sanctions, without access to the advanced chips typically necessary in the building of such tech. Futurists are swooning, calling DeepSeek a game-changer, while others are skeptical, wondering if it’s all a deep state psyop designed to get the West to adopt inferior AI. In slightly less controversial AI headlines, search engine startup Perplexity AI has submitted yet another bid to acquire TikTok U.S., a merger that would see the U.S. Government owning up to 50 percent of the new company. The potential valuation of said company? “At least $300 billion.” Something clearly needs to be done to salvage TikTok. That said, creators and users alike are complaining that since the app relaunched following its 24-hour ban in the U.S., the “vibes have been off,” from suspected censorship to the algorithm just not hitting like it used to.Starbucks is cracking down
President Trump may have saved TikTok (for now), but his tariffs could further compound the coffee price crises. When Colombia refused to accept deportation flights coming from the U.S., Trump threatened to levy a 25 percent tariff on all their imports. Colombia—which produces 20 percent of all U.S. coffee imports (putting it just behind Brazil)—finally agreed to Trump’s terms, causing the President to pause those tariffs. Will they be back before TikTok (potentially) goes dark again? Starbucks continues to face headwinds. In 2024, the world’s largest coffee brand saw 5 percent fewer transactions across North America, and now it’s taking matters into its own hands. Effective today in its 11,000 North American locations: no more free water, no more access to bathrooms for non-paying customers, and no more loitering – we’re looking at you, teens. There is one positive note in that any customer using a ceramic mug or glass is entitled to a free coffee refill. And, as it turns out, there is an ideal time to eat breakfast. That would be 9 a.m., though as a general rule of thumb it’s the earlier the better as it gives you “a 60 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.”Go east, young skiers (and snowboarders)
Astronomical prices and gargantuan lift lines are finally catching up with American ski resorts (most of which are owned by one of two companies). In Washington State, locals are fighting back, with a group of investors trying to purchase Mt. Bachelor. It would be a big win for ski bums. Other Americans are catching on to what insiders have known for years – it’s cheaper, and (perhaps) more charming, to ski in Europe. One of those places is France’s Les Trois Vallées, the biggest interconnected ski resort in the world. Home to 162 lifts and 600 kilometers of in-bounds runs, it’s also very, very bougie. Only now, there’s a hack. Thanks to a new gondola and hotel, budget conscious skiers immune to ostentatious luxury can stay in Orelle, a farming commune one valley over where the only restaurant is a food truck (thankfully, it serves pizza). While France (and Switzerland) get most of the attention, I’m told that the real gem of the Alps—as far as skiing is concerned—is actually Austria. The Times, it seems, would agree. Some of the best skiing is found in the posh Tyrolean town of Kitzbühel, where this past Saturday the Hahnenkamm downhill went down, literally. Considered the Super Bowl of ski racing (pitches as steep as 75 percent, 90,000 spectators, Arnold Schwarzenegger always in attendance), this year’s addition was won by a Canadian – the first since 1983. Lastly, 19-year-old snowboarder Hiroto Ogiwara of Japan threw the first ever 2340 at the X Games in Aspen over the weekend.
Quicker hits …
Have we been reading The Great Gatsby wrong all these years?
Everyone's a "foodie" now. If we must, then, here's a guide to doing it properly.
Young people really did go all in on Dry January.
Enjoy your week.
BL
Ben Leventhal
Founder + CEO
Blackbird