Episode 453

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Published on:

22nd Nov 2025

Lightning Round: Holiday Hacks, Hot Cocoa & Dick Van Dyke at 100 | Fast Five Shorts

The lightning round brings holiday cheer and nostalgia to close this episode! Sponsored A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso.

Chris reveals he'll use "Santa GPT" (ChatGPT for holiday shopping) to find gifts for his mom, though she already told him she wants a Brita water pitcher. Anne shares her family's Black Friday strategy: setting alarms for discounted ski passes rather than shopping for traditional items.

Celebrating Dick Van Dyke's upcoming 100th birthday, Anne reminisces about his role as the chimney sweep in Mary Poppins. The conversation turns to hot chocolate preferences... Chris keeps it basic with mini marshmallows and a "Swiss Miss" approach, while Anne declares that quality marshmallows make or break the experience.

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#SantaGPT #ChatGPT #holidayshopping #DickVanDyke #hotchocolate #Sizzler #restaurantrevival #nostalgia #retailfun #holidaytraditions




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Transcript
Speaker A:

Let's go to the lightning round.

Speaker A:

Question number one.

Speaker A:

Santa GPT is a new name for using ChatGPT as a search tool for holiday shopping.

Speaker A:

Chris, who are you most likely to use Santa GPT for this holiday?

Speaker B:

Oh, and you'll be, you'll be excited about this?

Speaker B:

You know, probably my mom.

Speaker B:

Although my mom already told me what she wants.

Speaker B:

She wants a Brita water pitcher.

Speaker B:

Yeah, she's got, she's got big aspirations, my mom.

Speaker A:

So.

Speaker B:

Yeah, I went on Walmart plus yesterday, got one delivered in three hours, was great.

Speaker B:

You know, she's heading home soon, so I want to get it before she leaves, but.

Speaker B:

Yeah, but I'm probably going to look for something else for her too.

Speaker B:

And probably, you know, see, maybe Chat GPT will help me out or maybe, you know, I'll just be the, the good son and pay attention to what she wants throughout the year and, and, you know, go back down the memory bank and find something that'll be memorable for her.

Speaker B:

That's my hope, anyway.

Speaker B:

All right, and on December 13th, Dick Van Dyke is set to turn 100 years old.

Speaker B:

What do you remember?

Speaker B:

Old DVD for the most?

Speaker A:

Mary Poppins, probably.

Speaker A:

I loved his character, Mary Poppins the Chimney Sweep.

Speaker A:

Yeah, he was just that, he was so endearing.

Speaker A:

I really liked him.

Speaker A:

Not, he's not gone, he's just turning 100.

Speaker A:

But I, I really liked him in that role in Mary Poppins.

Speaker A:

So that, that would be my, my most prized Dick Van Dyke memory.

Speaker A:

All right, let's go to question number three.

Speaker A:

Starbucks and Target, as we just mentioned, announced that they are releasing an exclusive frozen peppermint chocolate beverage.

Speaker A:

And being that we are coming up on hot cocoa season, we've already talked about it a lot.

Speaker A:

This podcast.

Speaker A:

Explain the ingredients, Chris, in your perfect hot or frozen chocolate.

Speaker B:

Oh, yeah.

Speaker B:

I'm a basic kind of guy and you know, I really am.

Speaker B:

You know, when you get right down to it, I like my, my hot chocolate pretty basic.

Speaker B:

No whipped cream, Some mini marshmallows.

Speaker B:

Mini marshmallows for sure.

Speaker B:

You know, like kind of the Swiss Miss.

Speaker B:

I'm kind of the Swiss Miss of hot chocolate.

Speaker A:

Okay, okay.

Speaker A:

Real mini marshmallows or the freeze dried ones that come in the packet?

Speaker B:

Ooh, I think real mini marshmallows.

Speaker B:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker B:

There's a big difference between quality of marshmallow, you know, that can, that can make or break my hot chocolate for sure.

Speaker B:

But the base has got to be what's right, I think, you know, ultimately, fundamentally at the end of the day.

Speaker B:

All right, last One, this one's fun restaurant brand, Sizzler is plotting a comeback.

Speaker B:

How would you rate the prospect of it being successful and more importantly, of you and your family dining at a Sizzler, Would you give the chances of rare rating, a medium rating, or a very likely well done rating?

Speaker A:

Well, there's only one rating when it comes to steak, and that is rare or medium rare.

Speaker A:

And I think that's the same answer I would give to the prospect of my family dining at a Sizzler.

Speaker A:

We didn't have them growing up.

Speaker A:

They weren't a thing in the Midwest.

Speaker B:

But in the Midwest.

Speaker A:

Yeah, but I. I would say that if the chi Chi's comeback has.

Speaker A:

Is any indication, we just got a chichis that is revamped here in the Twin Cities, and that place has been busting down the doors, busy ever since it opened several months ago.

Speaker A:

So I think there is this draw for nostalgia.

Speaker A:

So, yes, I think they'll probably see a great influx of people coming back to the Sizzler for that experience.

Speaker A:

My question though is like, will this last once the nostalgia wears off and you went back there for, you know, your first time, are you going to go again?

Speaker A:

But time.

Speaker B:

Yeah, I agree.

Speaker B:

I don't think the nostalgia for scissors is.

Speaker B:

But I got to ask you, you got into chi cheese like I've been trying to get.

Speaker B:

We get in and it's good.

Speaker A:

I did get into chi cheese.

Speaker A:

You know, I will say the chips and salsa still slap, but the rest of it is just expensive Mexican food, which I think is like, I wanted grit to my chi cheese.

Speaker A:

Like, I don't know about the chi cheese that the rest of everybody listening went to.

Speaker A:

But, like, my chi cheese growing up was like, dirty, real, like real good Mexican food.

Speaker A:

It wasn't like, fancy, like, there was no chopped, like, southwest salad on the recipe.

Speaker A:

It was like you got the taco salad bowl and that was it.

Speaker A:

And like, now it's more elevated, so it's yupified.

Speaker A:

Yeah, except for the chips and salsa.

Speaker A:

Those are still the same.

Speaker A:

And yeah, when I went there with a girlfriend, we had multiple baskets of chips and didn't need to eat anything else.

Speaker A:

So that's my.

Speaker B:

The burritos.

Speaker B:

Are the burritos wet and enchilada style?

Speaker B:

And do they have wet burritos?

Speaker B:

I'm curious.

Speaker A:

We didn't get burritos.

Speaker A:

We didn't even get the.

Speaker B:

Look at the menu we got.

Speaker B:

No, I could ask you.

Speaker A:

Yeah, we ate that.

Speaker A:

We ate there, but we did.

Speaker A:

We had enchiladas and a salad and tacos.

Speaker A:

So it was.

Speaker A:

That was it.

Speaker A:

It was okay.

Speaker B:

It was just the operational research was not up to par as what you're telling me here.

Speaker B:

You did not fully scope out the menu to understand.

Speaker A:

Yeah, but a burrito was never my thing there.

Speaker A:

I always like the enchiladas so that the enchiladas were fine.

Speaker A:

They're fancy, though.

Speaker A:

Like, this is not gritty, raw, true chi chis of the 80s and 90s.

Speaker A:

This is like fancified chichis.

Speaker A:

So don't expect the same chi Chi's experience, except for the chips and salsa.

Speaker B:

And I'm not sure if that's good or bad, because chi chi's had to come back.

Speaker B:

When you get right down to it.

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About the Podcast

Omni Talk Retail
Omni Talk Retail provides news, analysis, and commentary on the latest trends and issues in the retail industry
Omni Talk Retail provides news, analysis, and commentary on the latest trends and issues in the retail industry. It covers a wide range of topics related to retail, including e-commerce, technology, marketing, and consumer behavior. The podcast regularly features industry experts, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga, as well as retail thought leaders who all share their insights and perspectives on the latest developments in retail.

About your hosts

Anne Mezzenga

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Anne Mezzenga is an entrepreneurial Marketing Executive with nearly 20 years in the retail, experience design, and technology industries.

Currently, she is one of the founders and Co-CEOs of Omni Talk.

Prior to her latest ventures, Anne was most recently the Head of Marketing and Partnerships for Target’s Store of the Future project. Early in her career, Anne worked as a producer for advertising agencies, Martin Williams and Fallon, and as a producer and reporter for news affiliates NBC New York and KMSP Minneapolis.

Anne holds a BA in Journalism from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.

When Anne is not busy blogging, podcasting, or sharing her expertise with clients, she loves spending time with her husband and two boys and partaking in all the Minneapolis food scene has to offer.

Chris Walton

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