Setting the Table The Transforming Power o

Here is a summary of the key points from the excerpt:

The author has learned a lot about life and people from observing the foods they eat, especially while traveling. He makes a point to visit food markets, restaurants, etc. in a new place to understand the local culture and food traditions.
He provides examples of favorite regional specialties he’s tried, like brutti ma buoni cookies in Italy, panforte in Siena, fry bread in Wisconsin, Cuban restaurants in Miami, and barbecue variations across Texas.
He has vivid food memories from a young age, like stone crab in Miami, a lobster roll in Maine, and new tastes discovered while traveling with his family in France as a child.
Even as a kid, he was very curious about what other people ate. He would trade sandwiches at school not because he wanted something better, but because it let him learn about other families and try new foods like Miracle Whip.
The main point is that food has been a window into understanding local cultures and connecting with people throughout the author’s life. His lifelong curiosity and passion for experiencing regional foods and traditions has shaped who he is.

Here are the key points from the passage:

The author’s passion for food comes from the different influences of his three main male role models - his father, Morty, his grandfather Morton, and his other grandfather, Irving.
His father, Morty, was an entrepreneur with many business ideas who loved travel and French culture. He started a successful travel agency planning customized driving trips in France.
His grandfather Morton was a stoic, civic-minded businessman who rarely talked about work but bonded with the author over baseball and racing.
His other grandfather, Irving, was a hugely successful businessman who invested in companies with strong leadership. The author adored him and was inspired by his success.
The adversarial relationship between Morty and Irving was detrimental to the author’s parents’ marriage.
As a child, the author went on family trips to Europe where he experienced the gracious hospitality of small inns and bistros, leaving a lasting impression. This evolved into his business philosophy of hospitality.

Here is a summary of the key points about trade organization:

The author’s father, Bill Meyer, was president of Open Road Tours, a travel company that organized tours to Europe. It had offices in several U.S. cities as well as Paris.
Open Road Tours went bankrupt in the late 1960s after expanding too quickly. This caused family turmoil as the author’s uncle was also involved in the business.
In the 1970s, the author’s father started new ventures including hotels in Italy and a travel company called Caesar Associates that sold discounted group tours for airline employees.
Caesar Associates was successful for many years but the author’s father gambled its fortunes on risky real estate and hotel deals in St. Louis. By 1990 he was bankrupt again.
The author sees his father as an inventive but undisciplined entrepreneur who failed to surround himself with skilled, trustworthy people to compensate for his weaknesses.
The author is much more risk-averse and likes to bet on himself by leading skilled teams rather than going it alone. He sees the failures of his father’s businesses as lessons in avoiding overly rapid expansion.
Danny grew up in a family that loved music, theater, and travel. His parents took the family on regular vacations within the U.S. and abroad.
Food was a central part of Danny’s childhood. He struggled with his weight as a preteen and teen, which caused some tension with his mother. But he loved to cook from an early age, learning basics at summer camp and taking home ec in high school.
Danny’s family valued strong morals and ethics, which he learned from his parents and at summer camp. The camp experiences taught him to appreciate nature and leaving places better than you found them.
Danny was very close with his grandfather Irving, who initially warned him against the restaurant business but later was very proud of Danny’s success.
As a teen, Danny’s main interests were sports and girls, though cooking remained an enjoyable constant. He impressed friends with his recipes and grilling skills.
Overall, Danny’s upbringing fostered a lifelong passion for food, travel, ethics, and strong family bonds, providing a foundation for his future career.
Food, especially Imo’s pizza, Ted Drewes frozen custard, and Steak ‘n Shake, was a big part of Danny Meyer’s childhood in St. Louis. Eating out with his father at places like Giovanni’s made him feel special.
In high school, Meyer was an underachiever and only got into Trinity College after being waitlisted. This lit a fire in him and he excelled academically at Trinity.
Meyer spent time working for his father’s business, Caesar Associates, as a tour guide in Rome in the summers during college. This gave him hospitality experience and introduced him to the Roman trattoria culture, which would later inspire him.
As his parents separated, Meyer increasingly turned to food for comfort during college. He spent a semester in Rome immersed in the food culture.
After college, Meyer moved to Chicago and got involved in politics before realizing his passion was hospitality and food. His experiences in Italy inspired him to eventually open his own restaurant embracing Roman trattoria principles in New York.
The nominee of the Independent Party was running against Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election. Managing the campaign as a young volunteer was an intense experience that fueled the author’s passion for politics.
The campaign taught lessons about managing employees as volunteers who are motivated by ideals rather than just a paycheck. This influenced the author’s later approach to running a restaurant business.
After the campaign, the author moved to New York and got a sales job with Checkpoint Systems, selling anti-shoplifting tags and labels. He became their top salesman.
Traveling for work and in free time, the author explored restaurants and cuisine, especially on trips to Europe. He took cooking classes and loved discovering New York’s dining scene.
After 3 years at Checkpoint, the author was offered a London post but declined, realizing catching shoplifters was not his dream career. He enrolled in LSAT prep to pursue law/politics but realized on the eve of the test this wasn’t right either.
His uncle challenged him to finally pursue his lifelong passion - food and restaurants - and open his own restaurant. After the test, that became the author’s focus, drawing on his family’s entrepreneurial and philanthropic legacies.
In January 1984, Danny Meyer began his first job in the restaurant business as an assistant manager at Pesca, an Italian seafood restaurant in New York City.
On his first day, he met Audrey Heffernan, who would later become his wife. She was an actress and waitress at Pesca.
He also met bar manager Gordon Dudash, who taught him about the importance of hospitality. Gordon later worked with Danny at Union Square Cafe.
Danny met chef Michael Romano at Pesca and was eager to learn from his culinary skills. Danny convinced the managers to let him work in the kitchen.
Through restaurant reviewing and food writing, Danny got to know prominent food journalists like Bryan Miller, Craig Claiborne, and Pierre Franey. This gave him an invaluable education.
In the 1980s, owning a restaurant was not considered a respectable career path, unlike being a chef. But Danny was determined to become a restaurateur despite the stigma.
After working at Pesca restaurant in New York for 8 months, Danny decided to travel to Italy and France to study cooking for 3.5 months.
In Italy, he worked with a family at La Taverna da Giovanni in Rome and learned cherished recipes. He spent his free time eating his way through various cities and taking detailed notes on restaurants - their menus, design, lighting, architecture etc. This helped shape his vision for his future restaurant.
He then did a disappointing apprenticeship with a cooking teacher named Savina Roggero in Milan.
In France, he worked at two restaurants - La Réserve and Dubern - in Bordeaux. On Sundays he would visit vineyards and taste wines, deepening his knowledge.
The time in France taught him a lot about technique. He tasted oysters and local foods, further enhancing his culinary education.
Throughout the trip he wrote letters to Audrey, whom he was growing closer to, and looked forward to meeting her in Europe.
Overall, the months abroad allowed Danny to immerse himself in food and wine culture, learn techniques, visualize his dream restaurant, and strengthen his relationship with Audrey. It was a formative experience.
Danny worked as a stagiaire (apprentice) at the Michelin-starred restaurant La Réserve in Bordeaux, where he learned culinary skills like butchering and foraging. He cooked meals for the staff and helped cater a luncheon, gaining acceptance into the kitchen brigade.
He took a week off to meet his girlfriend Audrey in Paris, where they went on an eating tour, including foie gras in their hotel room and meals at various Michelin-starred restaurants.
They traveled around Italy, dining at trattorias and introducing Audrey to Danny’s Italian family at their restaurant in Rome.
Danny realized during this time that although he loved cooking, he was better suited to be a restaurant generalist and manager rather than a chef.
Back in New York, Danny searched for the ideal restaurant location, seeking an emerging neighborhood and assignable lease. He was drawn to a vacant vegetarian restaurant called Brownies near Union Square, which had a fledgling greenmarket.
Though the neighborhood seemed rundown, Danny saw potential there, with its garment district and proximity to the publishing industry. He left his card with the cashier at Brownies in case the owner was interested in selling.
After being disillusioned with restaurant spaces in New York, Danny Meyer contemplated returning to Chicago but it was too cold and far from Audrey’s family.
He rejected the idea that a restaurant needed an upscale location to be great. He believed with the right neighborhood, low rent, and loyal customers, he could offer excellence and value.
On a Saturday night trek through lower Manhattan, he had an epiphany at El Internaçional that the layout was similar to Brownies if the wall was removed.
He contacted the owner Sam Brown who agreed to sell the remaining 14 years on the lease. To celebrate, they went to Sparks Steak House where owner Pat Cetta mentored Danny.
In starting the restaurant, Danny fortuitously found a construction team through a cold call and an architect through connections.
He asked them to create a timeless, comfortable space that looked like it had been there forever, despite the awkward layout. The focus was on enduring design over trendiness.
Danny Meyer opened his first restaurant, Union Square Cafe, in New York City in 1985. The total cost was just over $700,000, which he raised from family and selling stock.
He took his father’s advice to name the restaurant after its location in Union Square, believing he could make it a premier New York address.
Construction was completed in just 5 months, leaving little time for training staff. Meyer conducted unconventional interviews and held training sessions in Union Square park.
He hired Ali Barker, a young saucier from La Côte Basque, as executive chef though neither had experience in their new roles.
In the chaotic lead-up to opening, an expert advisor told Meyer his eclectic menu concept would never work.
On opening night in October 1985, Meyer broke into tears, feeling it marked his professional culmination and no longer needing his father’s approval.

Here are the key points I gathered from the summary:

The author spent nearly two years working extremely hard as a student, and the restaurant’s opening night represented a major breakthrough in his career and life. Despite the challenges ahead, this was a deeply meaningful and emotional moment.
In the early days of the restaurant, the author was focused on maximizing the number of guests served. This led to major problems with long wait times and angry customers.
The author learned to better manage reservations and kitchen capacity. He also used complimentary dessert wines to smooth over mistakes and placate angry guests.
There were some comical moments and mishaps as the young staff learned how to operate the restaurant, such as finding the chef and sous chef embracing in the walk-in fridge.
Overall, this period represented a steep learning curve for the author as he figured out how to balance hospitality and volume in running a successful restaurant. The opening weeks and months planted the seeds that allowed the restaurant to take root and grow.
The author was working as a waiter at Union Square Cafe in the 1980s. One busy night, he was sweating, disheveled, and lightheaded from not eating. A drunk customer caused a scene about not being able to order baked potato.
The author confronted the customer, telling him he had to leave. This escalated into a physical fight where they punched each other and the author kicked the man.
The restaurant critic Arthur Schwartz happened to witness the fight but did not mention it in his review, which helped put Union Square Cafe on the map.
The author wanted Union Square Cafe to blend influences from California, Paris, and Rome - seasonal food, refined service, and a familial atmosphere. He focused on value, treating all customers well including solo diners, and unpretentious hospitality, in contrast to the exclusive “velvet rope” mentality of the time.
Key experiences shaped his views on hospitality - dining alone in London and being treated poorly, and having a fun fine dining experience at Taillevent in Paris.
Danny Meyer opened Union Square Cafe in New York City in 1985. He conceived it as an excellent neighborhood restaurant that would welcome food lovers and charge fair prices. This filled a gap in the dining culture at the time.
The 1980s saw a focus on “service” in many industries, including restaurants. Sometimes this came at the expense of hospitality. Meyer believes hospitality - how service makes the recipient feel - is most important.
Meyer aims to provide hospitality, not just service. This means listening to guests and responding thoughtfully, not just executing tasks efficiently.
He hires friendly, optimistic people and allows their personalities to shine through when serving guests. This was criticized early on but became a core business value.
Meyer strives to treat all guests well, not just regulars or VIPs. This democratic approach to hospitality defines his restaurants.
In the first months after opening, Meyer was very stressed about getting reviewed by Bryan Miller of the New York Times. The stress contributed to him developing Bell’s palsy temporarily.
Meyer made sure to be present each time Miller visited to review the restaurant. He went to great lengths to anticipate Miller’s preferences and make sure he had an excellent experience.
N ordered an unfamiliar wine that Danny had to warm up between his thighs before serving. When N requested another bottle because the first was too warm, Danny was frustrated.
For Bryan’s fifth visit, he brought Mariel Hemingway and her husband as guests. Danny accidentally spilled champagne on Mariel’s dress while ogling her cleavage.
Danny and Ali anxiously awaited Bryan’s New York Times review, which awarded Union Square Cafe two stars. The review brought a huge spike in business.
Pat Cetta, co-owner of Sparks Steakhouse, mentored Danny, giving blunt feedback and advice.
Wine importer Robert Chadderdon took Danny under his wing, helping educate him deeply about wine despite their age difference.
Danny Meyer looks for small details and gestures from guests to identify opportunities to provide better hospitality. He compares this to a fly-fishing guide turning over a rock to see what insects are hatching underneath - this provides clues on what fly to use to catch trout.
Taking a genuine interest in guests and allowing them to share their stories builds a sense of community and “shared ownership”. Guests feel important, loved, and connected, leading to repeat business.
Meyer reminds staff to initiate relationships with guests by asking questions like where they are from to make connections. Finding commonalities helps choose one restaurant over another.
When making rounds, Meyer relies on his ability to see, hear and sense what’s happening to connect with staff and guests. He might just say “Thanks for being here” to spur a conversation and further the relationship.
The key is to look for opportunities to turn over rocks and uncover details that allow you to better understand guests and provide exceptional hospitality. Doing so builds loyalty and community.
The author believes in the importance of building relationships with customers by engaging them in dialogue. He tries to turn over “rocks” to uncover information that can lead to meaningful connections.
In his restaurants, he walks around observing guests to get a sense of their mood and look for opportunities to interact. He looks for cues like whether their gaze is focused inward on their table or wandering outward.
He urges staff to “ABCD” - always be collecting dots. “Dots” refers to gathering information about guests that can later be connected to form relationships.
Guests are presented with comment cards to provide feedback. This allows the restaurant to improve and build trust by showing they take feedback seriously.
Early on, the author personally responded to every card, but now managers handle this to read and act on the feedback.
The card provides a mailing list to keep guests engaged and informed about upcoming events at the restaurants.
Dialogue with guests provides insights into improving dishes or the experience. Their emotional connection to the experience leads to candid feedback.
The author’s approach turns interactions into opportunities to build community and relationships with guests. This leads to loyalty and better business results.
The author started using comment cards early on to get customer feedback and build loyalty. He has collected over 150,000 names for mailing lists to stay connected with customers.
He believes actively encouraging customer feedback, even when they are not right, is important to make them feel heard. He thanks them for their feedback.
He views excellence as a continual journey, not a destination, requiring persistence and a competitive spirit like an athlete.
He believes in giving special attention to first-time customers from out of town to have a chance at making them regulars. He also gives special care to regulars.
His goal is to earn regular, repeat customers who dine at their restaurants 6-12 times per year. Satisfied customers become apostles who spread the word.
Detailed reservation information helps them customize and shape each dining experience. He sees it like mapping out a trip to create the best experience.
The key is creating an experience that makes customers proud to be regulars and gives them a story worth telling about the restaurant. This builds a loyal community.
The reservation sheets contain a lot of useful information about guests’ needs and preferences, which allows the staff to customize and personalize the service. They note any previous mistakes, special requests, preferences for tables/servers, allergies, etc.
This information allows the staff to be proactive in offering hospitality, such as calling guests to thank them for their loyalty or wish them a happy anniversary. The goal is to exceed expectations.
Danny initially resisted online reservations but came to embrace them as it reduced phone calls and provided more guest information. Codes are used to alert staff to potentially difficult guests.
The essence of hospitality is making people feel important. Technology enhances but can’t replace genuine human connection.
Danny uses the guest information to connect people and build community, as well as let guests know he’s aware of their visits, even if he can’t be present at every restaurant every day. The goal is to provide consistent, personalized hospitality across the company’s restaurants.
The author enjoys launching new business ventures when certain criteria are met, including being passionate about the subject matter, deriving satisfaction/challenge/pleasure from it, enabling growth opportunities for colleagues, adding something new to the dialogue, and having sufficient profit potential.
Creating a new restaurant is exhilarating at first like having a new baby, but then involves hard work before it starts paying dividends, similar to raising a child.
The author’s mission is to take something accessible and make it better, or present something excellent in a more user-friendly context. He creates fresh “hybrid” dining experiences, like a curator framing and lighting art.
He feels entrepreneurial spark when he senses a dining “context” is missing but should exist. He challenges the status quo by asking “Who ever wrote the rule…?” that says certain dining experiences can’t be combined or created.
Each restaurant concept has taken shape differently, driven by passion for a chef, location, or cuisine. But the constant is challenging assumptions and creating something new that remains grounded in hospitality, quality ingredients, and community.
The author believes passion and opportunity, rather than market analysis, drive successful entrepreneurship. He follows his intuition to find opportunities to reframe things he’s passionate about.
At his restaurants, he challenges chefs to put unique spins on familiar dishes, so they stand out from competitors. For example, Union Square Cafe’s smoked steak.
Union Square Cafe was originally the sole outlet for his culinary ideas. It was like a lab where he could experiment with new things learned from travels.
He was reluctant to expand for a long time, fearing repeating his father’s business failures. But after his father died, he felt more free to expand.
He opened a second restaurant, Gramercy Tavern, with chef Tom Colicchio in the 1990s. Their goal was to combine luxury dining elements they loved, but present them in a new, less formal way, inspired by countryside restaurants in Europe and historic American taverns.
Graves was fascinated by the idea of taking the concept of an old-fashioned tavern and reinventing it as a setting for outstanding modern food. This led to the creation of Gramercy Tavern.
Graves wanted Gramercy Tavern to feel like an authentic, updated version of a neighborhood tavern, not an artificial thematic restaurant. They used real antiques and craftspeople to create this atmosphere.
Opening Gramercy Tavern was hugely expensive, over $3 million, compared to under $1 million for Union Square Cafe. Graves felt he had a lot to prove with this second restaurant.
Despite huge hype and high expectations, especially after a New York magazine cover story, Gramercy Tavern struggled at first to meet those expectations. Graves felt like a failure in 1994-1995 as both restaurants underperformed.
Personally, Graves’ marriage was tested by the premature birth and death of their twin babies. This devastating loss challenged their marriage and family.
Graves realized his hands-off management style was not working well across two restaurants. He needed to become a better leader through teaching and accountability.

In summary, Graves opened his passion project, Gramercy Tavern, but despite high hopes and expenses, it struggled at first. This, along with troubles at his original restaurant and personal tragedy, led Graves to re-examine his leadership and priorities.

In 1995, Danny Meyer was looking to open a third restaurant in New York City near Madison Square Park. He envisioned a French-style bistro or brasserie.
He considered a space at 225 Fifth Avenue overlooking the park, but after 6 months of negotiations, discovered there was a large Con Ed transformer underneath the sidewalk that would prevent building an enclosed outdoor cafe there.
A real estate consultant contacted Danny about a space at 11 Madison Avenue in the MetLife building. Though originally focused on 225 Fifth, Danny realized he should consider 11 Madison as a hedge in case 225 Fifth fell through.
Danny became passionate about revitalizing Madison Square Park, which was run-down at the time. He saw an opportunity to invest in the community and pioneer a restaurant in an emerging neighborhood.
Before negotiating lease details with MetLife for 11 Madison, Danny insisted the landlord commit to partnering with him to restore Madison Square Park back to its former glory. The MetLife executive agreed.
Danny remained determined to open a restaurant across from the park and invest in the neighborhood’s future, whether at 225 Fifth or 11 Madison. His core philosophy was to invest in your community and the rising tide will lift all boats.
Danny Meyer had long been interested in revitalizing Madison Square Park and the surrounding area, which had declined since its heyday in the early 1900s. After reading Caleb Carr’s novel The Alienist, he became inspired to open a restaurant there.
The location was the MetLife building at 11 Madison Avenue, which presented challenges as a landmarked historic building. Restoring it would be very costly and require special approvals. The space was also bifurcated by a large wall, meaning they would have to open two restaurants side-by-side.
Meyer brought on two new managing partners, David Swinghamer and Richard Coraine, to help finance and operate the ambitious project.
The larger space became Eleven Madison Park, conceived as an upscale brasserie combining French cuisine with a New York sensibility. The original chef left due to concerns about costs, so Kerry Heffernan was brought on.
For the smaller space, Meyer and chef Michael Romano decided to do an “American restaurant with an Indian accent” focused on Romano’s expertise with Indian spices. They named it Tabla after an Indian percussion instrument.
The book highlights the creative process, challenges, and team involved in conceiving and executing these ambitious new restaurant projects in a historic New York space.

Here are the key points I gathered from the summary:

Danny Meyer was not looking to open any new restaurants after recently opening Tabla and Eleven Madison Park, but his cousin James Polsky asked if he would be interested in collaborating on his restaurant 27 Standard and jazz club Jazz Standard. Danny had to decline due to already being too busy.
Danny considered launching a barbecue website called cue.com that would allow people to order regional barbecue specialties for overnight delivery. He is glad he did not invest in this idea.
Danny’s friend Rocco Landesman invited him to try the barbecue of a pitmaster named Mike Mills and meet some people interested in bringing his barbecue to New York. Despite not wanting another restaurant, Danny accepted the invitation out of curiosity and love of barbecue.
Mike Mills’ ribs and pulled pork were remarkable. This encounter, despite Danny not seeking a new restaurant, would lead to him opening Blue Smoke.
Key lessons were that Danny remains open to hearing new ideas from people he trusts, even if he thinks he is not interested, and that he follows his intuition to investigate further. Also, he is competitive and did not want to pass the barbecue idea on to another restaurateur.
After enjoying great barbecue in Kansas City, Danny Meyer became inspired to open an authentic barbecue restaurant in New York City, despite the challenges of producing real pit barbecue there.
He brought on renowned pitmaster Mike Mills as a consultant to teach his team about barbecue technique and help develop recipes. Mike’s passion was infectious.
Danny selected Kenny Callaghan, a dedicated chef from Union Square Cafe, to be the pitmaster at Blue Smoke. His perseverance and focus on execution made him a good fit.
There was a steep learning curve to get the meat, wood, recipes, and equipment right. The powerful smokestack system initially dried out the meat instead of infusing it with smoke flavor.
Designing an authentic feeling barbecue restaurant in Manhattan was challenging. They aimed to blend traditional elements like booths with a New York sensibility, without clichéd decor.
Danny felt that with thoughtful design and cooking, the restaurant could have soul and authenticity while existing in harmony with its surroundings. Once open, guests would complete the context.
The passage describes how the author’s housekeeper Mary Francis Smith was a major influence and taught him that food is love. Mary made the best Southern comfort foods and always gave the author extra fried chicken growing up.
Mary was like family to the author and attended major events in his life. The food at his restaurant Blue Smoke pays homage to her cooking.
The author’s youth in St. Louis hanging out at burger and custard stands inspired Shake Shack. He wanted to recreate the classic drive-in experience but with excellent ingredients and hospitality.
The first Shake Shack started as a hot dog cart art installation in Madison Square Park next to Eleven Madison Park. Though not profitable at first, it became very popular and was known for high quality and hospitality. This cart spawned the Shake Shack restaurant chain.

In summary, the key influences and inspirations for the author’s restaurants were his housekeeper Mary who showed him food is love, his nostalgia for drive-ins from his St. Louis childhood, and applying excellence and hospitality even to a simple hot dog cart.

Shake Shack started as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park in 2001 as a partnership between Danny Meyer’s restaurant group and the Madison Square Park Conservancy. It was very successful.
In 2004, the city solicited proposals for a permanent kiosk in the park. Meyer’s group won the bid with a proposal to expand on the hot dog cart and create a drive-in style burger stand called Shake Shack. It would pay rent to the conservancy and city based on sales.
They designed the Shack to blend into the park, with inspiration from nearby landmarks. They researched other popular burger stands around the country to develop their menu and recipes.
Shake Shack opened in 2004 and was an instant hit, with long lines. They underestimated demand and had to redo the kitchen layout.
Early publicity from the mayor and magazines helped fuel its popularity. As a for-profit business paying rent to the park, it became a model for doing well financially while benefiting the community.
While not striving for “best ever” status, Shake Shack hoped to provide a fun, comforting food experience that would draw diverse crowds and support the park.
The author believes that the most important asset for a successful company is its people. Hiring and retaining great staff is critical but also very challenging.
There has been a surge of interest in hospitality careers in recent years due to increased media spotlight on chefs and restaurants. Working at a famous restaurant brings legitimacy.
When hiring, the author looks for a balance of technical skills (49%) and emotional/hospitality skills (51%). You can train people on technical skills but emotional skills are innate.
The author seeks staff who are natural “51 percenters” - warm, intelligent, hard-working people with empathy and integrity. These emotional skills are most important.
Technical skills can be trained but emotional skills for hospitality cannot. The “excellence reflex” to fix problems and improve things is also key.
The goal is a staff of 100% employees comprised of 51% emotional skills and 49% technical skills. This balance enables excellent hospitality and execution.
The author values employees who are eager to learn more about all aspects of the restaurant business, not just their own role. He loves when waiters want to learn about wine, cooks want to learn about front-of-house operations, etc.
Strong work ethic and motivation are critical. The author believes you can teach people the technical skills but you can’t teach them to truly care about doing an excellent job.
Empathy and self-awareness are crucial. Employees need to be able to read guests’ needs and moods. They also need to manage their own moods and not let a bad day affect customer service.
The author uses a “trailing” system to give prospects hands-on experience before hiring them. This allows assessment of both their technical skills and emotional/interpersonal skills.
When hiring, the author imagines bringing the prospect home to dine with a spouse or friend who is an excellent judge of character. Their reaction often confirms or contradicts his own instincts about whether the person is a good fit.

In summary, the author values and selects for employees who are eager to learn, care deeply about doing high quality work, are empathetic, self-aware, and are a good fit with the existing team. The trailing system allows thorough assessment before making hiring decisions.

The author looks for 3 key qualities when hiring: hospitality/caring, emotional skills (self-awareness, optimism, work ethic, empathy, teamwork), and technical skills. He feels the emotional skills are most important.
He uses 3 hypothetical situations to assess candidates - serving a picky regular, handling a rude customer, and serving in front of an important critic. If the candidate responds positively, they may be a good fit.
Overwhelmingly strong and weak candidates are easy to spot. But he tries to avoid “whelming” mediocre candidates who won’t leave but won’t improve.
Early on, he hired based on instinct about who would be fun and dedicated. Later he refined his approach as competition increased.
He has used various tactics to recruit talent - ads in other cities’ papers, asking customers for referrals, leveraging Zagat rankings.
The goal is to hire people with the capacity to become a top performer and continually improve. Building a team of strong talent leads to a virtuous cycle.
Building excellent teams is critical for success, so managers should recruit talented new staff even when not needed to avoid complacency.
Retaining top staff requires treating them with respect, teaching new skills, and offering challenges.
Managers should aim for teams to have 49% technical prowess and 51% emotional mastery, derived from enjoying pursuing excellence.
A good sense of humor and humanness fosters good feelings alongside excellence. The goal is balancing upbeat people and high achievers.
Team spirit and collaboration is key, not promoting “star” individuals, which can backfire.
An early experience showed how individual ambition can threaten teams. A writing contest to promote pride in service staff turned one “Waitress of the Year” entitled and resentful.
Managers must manage expectations and plan for success. Individual victories should benefit the whole team.
Allowing staff opportunities from a restaurant’s fame is fine if they remain committed to the team and recognizing their role as servers is to create pleasure for others.
The media, especially restaurant critics and journalists, can greatly impact a restaurant’s business, both positively and negatively. Danny Meyer uses media interviews to articulate his restaurants’ principles and values.
In 2004, a New York Post reporter erroneously stated that business at Union Square Cafe was down 75% during the Republican National Convention, when it was only down 25%. This false information was picked up by other media outlets, hurting business.
The vast majority of restaurant reviews have been positive, but some negative reviews, especially early on after opening a new restaurant, can bruise egos and hurt staff morale. It takes time for a new restaurant to work out kinks and build excellence.
Meyer tries to encourage managers and chefs to speak openly with the media to connect with the public beyond the restaurant walls. This openness can be risky, as evidenced by the incorrect Post story.
Overall, the media is like a shark that Meyer must carefully ride to his destination. Skillful media relations can provide huge benefits, but mistakes can inflict damage. Meyer has managed to skillfully leverage the media over the years, despite some bumps.
It takes about a year for a new restaurant to really hit its stride. Early reviews often don’t capture what the restaurant will eventually become.
It’s useful for diners and critics to visit a new restaurant early on to get a sense of it, but they should understand it will evolve.
The restaurant team listens carefully to feedback from guests, especially loyal customers who appreciate their vision. This helps them identify issues to address.
At Tabla, guest feedback led them to lower noise levels and modify the menu to appeal to different Indian food preferences.
At Eleven Madison Park, the grand dining room didn’t match the intended casual brasserie concept. Guest feedback helped them realize they needed more large parties and a less formal wine list.
Making adjustments based on guest feedback helped improve business at both restaurants. The team recognizes that criticism can provide valuable insights if they listen thoughtfully.
When Blue Smoke first opened, it was overwhelmed by huge crowds that the staff was not prepared to handle. This led to many problems like overbooked tables, poor service, and dissatisfied guests.
Danny Meyer realized he had made a mistake hiring less experienced staff for Blue Smoke, thinking it could be a “farm system” for training managers. But guests expected the same high standards of food and service at Blue Smoke that they were used to at his other restaurants.
To fix the problems, Meyer reduced the number of seats, increased managers, and began reserving 50% of tables for walk-ins without reservations. This gave them more control over the flow of guests and attracted a new casual crowd happy to wait at the bar for a table.
Meyer is careful about choosing media opportunities to promote his restaurants, wanting them to fit his company’s brand and values. He said no to some big opportunities like The Apprentice but yes to others like an American Express ad campaign that supported Share Our Strength’s hunger programs.
In 1994, Danny Meyer opened his restaurant Gramercy Tavern in New York City. A cover story in New York magazine hyped it as “The Next Great Restaurant” before it even opened, setting huge expectations. This backfired, as it prompted a wave of intensely critical reviews from food critics who felt manipulated.
In 2002, his restaurant Blue Smoke opened to very harsh reviews, with critics attacking the barbecue and saying it was not authentic. The reviews felt personal and mean-spirited.
These experiences taught Danny the downsides of too much media hype and scrutiny. It can distract from improving a restaurant and make it hard for staff to keep morale up.
As his fame grew, Danny also found activists began targeting his restaurants to protest various political issues unrelated to the restaurants themselves. They saw him as a convenient media target.
Now Danny tries to keep a low profile when opening new places, to avoid excessive hype and expectations. But intense media exposure is an ironic consequence of success.

Here are the key points I gathered from your summary:

The press was very critical when Danny Meyer opened Blue Smoke barbecue restaurant in New York, questioning his credentials and ability to authentically run a barbecue place.
Early reviews were very negative, with the New York Post giving 0 stars and calling the opening night the “worst” the critic had experienced.
There was a mixed response from customers as well, with some wanting more authentic barbecue and others wanting something less traditional.
After months of bad press, some competitors came to Blue Smoke’s defense, arguing it was and would be a great restaurant.
Eric Asimov of the New York Times ended up writing a glowing 1-star review that marked a turning point, praising the restaurant’s improvement since opening and encouraging readers to support its mission.
Over time, other critics revisited Blue Smoke and wrote much more positively about it, acknowledging how much it had improved.
The experience showed how scrutiny comes with success, but great organizations welcome feedback, persevere and keep improving.
Effective leadership involves providing a clear vision, holding people accountable to high standards, communicating cultural priorities, and leading by example. Meyer struggled with these leadership skills when he first opened Union Square Cafe at age 27.
As the restaurant grew, Meyer realized he needed to develop new skills to keep pace. Pat Cetta mentored him on managing staff.
Meyer complained he couldn’t get consistent messages across to staff about excellence. Cetta said to apply “constant, gentle pressure” - frequent small reminders rather than occasional big speeches.
This advice transformed Meyer’s leadership approach. He learned to provide daily gentle pressure through leading by example, praising excellent work, constructively critiquing poor work, and constantly communicating priorities.
Meyer applied this approach at Gramercy Tavern. He strove to embody the values he wanted staff to internalize, like hospitality and teamwork.
At Blue Smoke, Meyer faced a crisis when early reviews were very negative. He rallied staff by emphasizing core values and doubling down on training.
Meyer believes effective leadership requires patience, clarity, accountability and applying constant gentle pressure to uphold standards. This empowers staff to achieve excellence.
The author learned an important lesson from a restaurant colleague named Pat Cetta about not getting upset when things go wrong. Pat used the example of a saltshaker being moved off center on a table to represent problems caused by staff or guests. It’s not your job to get upset, just to calmly move the saltshaker back to center each time.
This saltshaker theory exemplifies the author’s management style of “constant, gentle pressure” - being clear on standards and continuously but gently reinforcing them.
Running a restaurant is like a choreographed dance that can easily get thrown off if something goes wrong. It’s the manager’s job to smoothly adapt while reinforcing standards.
Coaching employees with dignity and good communication are keys to building consensus for solving problems. Communication involves setting the right context, not just content.
The most successful businesses become experts at creatively solving problems, not eliminating them. Lasting solutions require giving team members a voice and responsibility.
Clear, timely communication is essential for applying constant, gentle pressure and leading effectively. The “lily pad” theory illustrates how poor communication knocks people off balance.
Leaders must anticipate how decisions will affect others, gauge the impact, and provide advance warning. This gives people a sense of control rather than having change happen to them.
New managers are like megaphones - their words reach more people. They’re watched closely through binoculars. And they’re given the gift of “fire” - power to use responsibly to set standards and hold others accountable.
Servant leadership encourages collaboration, trust, listening and empowerment. But leaders still need “fire” to set high standards. People want to be challenged to achieve more.
Fire adds heat, clarifies and distills ideas to results. It must be used wisely - as a torch, for warmth and empathy, to inspire, and to rally people. Irresponsible fire causes problems.
The key is communicating clearly and using power responsibly to apply constant, gentle pressure towards excellence. This helps leaders bring out the best in their teams.
As the CEO of a growing restaurant group, Meyer realized he needed to focus more on developing managers and strengthening operations, systems, HR, and technology.
In the past, Meyer believed having a “corporate” structure would lead to cookie-cutter, soulless restaurants. But as the group expanded, he saw the need for a smart organization to support distinctive, craft restaurants.
Meyer resisted expanding for a long time, trying to pretend his group wasn’t growing. But eventually he listened to partners and transitioned to becoming a CEO overseeing a management company, Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG).
USHG would provide direction and support in areas like HR, operations, accounting, PR, and technology that Meyer used to handle alone when he had just one restaurant.
Meyer aimed to remain a high-touch leader involved with staff and guests, while relying on a talented USHG team to apply his vision across multiple restaurants.
The goal was to create an “intelligent organization” that could sustain smart, soulful restaurants with Meyer’s craft sensibility, instead of a corporate structure imposing homogeneity.

Here are a few key points summarizing the main ideas from the passage:

The author realized he needed to transition from being an entrepreneur to a CEO to manage the growth and complexities of his expanding restaurant business. This required putting systems and processes in place and delegating responsibilities to others.
One of the first things he did was promote someone to be Director of HR to improve hiring, employee policies, and communications across the company. This gave employees more outlets to provide feedback and air grievances.
The author believes hiring excellent managers is critical, as they set the tone and represent the hospitality of the company. His HR team defined 9 key traits to look for when hiring managers, including having an infectious attitude, self-awareness, a charitable assumption about others, and a long-term view of success.
The philosophy of the company is to put employees first, then guests, community, suppliers, and investors - implicitly taking a long-term perspective.
The author aims to apply “constant, gentle pressure” to leaders to stay tuned into employee aspirations and frustrations by actively soliciting feedback. This openness improves morale and productivity.

Here are the key points I gathered from the summary:

Make decisions and investments based on potential long-term returns, not just immediate gains (“today dollars, tomorrow dollars, never dollars”). View investments in guest loyalty and goodwill as valuable.
In tough times, resist the urge to cut back and play defensively. Instead, apply a sense of abundance - be more generous with charity donations, gifts, and extras for guests. Generosity creates more business.
Use promotions like Restaurant Week generously - offer abundant menu choices and give guests gifts and incentives to return. This creates goodwill, reaches new guests, and provides a second chance to turn them into regulars.
Cultivate a sense of trust between managers and staff. Trust is essential for motivation and leadership. Managers should empower staff and resist micromanaging.
Apply constant, gentle pressure to improve - raise standards gradually so excellence becomes the norm. Pressure creates diamonds.

The main themes are taking the long view, abundance mentality, generosity, trust, and constant improvement through gentle pressure. The author gives examples from his restaurants to illustrate these principles.

Some bosses and managers rule by constantly threatening disapproval or giving no feedback, keeping employees on edge and vulnerable. This breeds mistrust and dishonesty.
Fear-based management creates an “us vs them” mentality, whereas trust-based management fosters collaboration and team unity. Trust is enduring, while fear-based control is fleeting.
Managers should aim to empower and listen to employees, not just tell and rule over them.
Tough love involves being honest even when the truth is difficult to hear. Patience coupled with tough love shows employees the manager is on their side.
Managers should actively praise employees and catch them doing things right. Feeling seen and appreciated is a powerful motivator.
Great leaders are secure and don’t feel threatened by others. They own mistakes, learn from them, and move on.
Important leadership traits include honor, discipline, consistency, courage, humility, passion, and empathy. Integrity and self-awareness are most critical.
The best leaders attract followers by embodying compelling reasons for people to want to be led by them. Leadership is measured by how followers feel in the process.

Here are the key points I gathered from the summary:

Mistakes are inevitable in business, and the key is to handle them constructively to end up in a better position. Stanley Marcus told the author “The road to success is paved with mistakes well handled.”
The author’s grandfather said “The definition of business is problems.” Success lies in effective, creative problem solving, not eliminating problems entirely.
Employees should be encouraged to take intelligent risks, not play it safe trying to be perfect. Perfectionism can stunt willingness to take risks.
The author sees employees as “surfers” who anticipate and ride the waves of mistakes with skill and style. This defines a company’s heart, soul and talent.
When mistakes happen, the key is to “write a great last chapter” - respond imaginatively, graciously and sincerely to earn back the guest’s favor. A well-handled mistake can turn into something positive.
Acknowledging mistakes sincerely usually earns back guests’ favor and a chance to recover. Focus on ending the story the way you want.
Examples of mistakes: floral arrangement catching fire, electrical/flooding issues, food mishaps. Key is constructive problem-solving.

Here are a few key points on effectively handling mistakes in the hospitality industry:

Be aware and acknowledge when mistakes happen. Don’t ignore or downplay them. Apologize sincerely to the guest.
Take action to resolve the situation. Fix the problem or make up for it in some way, such as comping a dish or offering a free dessert. Do more than the minimum if possible.
Learn from each mistake. Analyze what went wrong and put steps in place to prevent it from happening again. Share lessons with the staff.
Respond quickly, within 24 hours if possible. Don’t let negative sentiment or reviews linger.
Aim to create a positive last impression despite the mistake. Go above and beyond to turn the situation around for the guest.
When appropriate, inject a bit of humor. This can help diffuse tension and create goodwill.
Document mistakes and corrections so you can identify problem areas and improve systems.

The key is to acknowledge the mistake, sincerely apologize, take action to resolve the issue, learn from it, and aim to exceed the guest’s expectations in the end. Effective mistake handling turns negatives into positives.

A couple had a bad experience at Tabla restaurant when they were denied entry due to their attire. Richard, the manager, felt terrible and went above and beyond to make it right, including buying them dinner at another restaurant. This led to the couple becoming loyal customers.
When the air conditioning broke down at Eleven Madison Park on a hot summer day, the manager bought fans for the staff and guests to make the best of the situation.
During a brownout at Blue Smoke’s opening, they contacted all 500 guests with reservations to cancel but provided gift certificates, sent many to dinner at Eleven Madison Park, and still served some guests despite the difficulties.
An early incident at Gramercy Tavern where a dissatisfied guest was still charged for her uneaten salmon and given it in a doggie bag led Danny to realize he needed to clearly articulate his values of generosity and hospitality.
At Tabla, chef Floyd Cardoz refused to seat a party of 9 due to his rule against tables larger than 8. This led Danny to tell him that policies are flexible, and hospitality comes first.

The key themes are: learning from mistakes, going above and beyond to show care for guests, generosity and hospitality as core values, and flexibility rather than rigid policies. The anecdotes demonstrate Danny’s commitment to service recovery and creating lifelong loyal guests.

Here are a few key takeaways from the passage:

The author advocates prioritizing stakeholders in the following order: employees, guests, community, suppliers, investors. This “enlightened hospitality” model places employees and guests first.
This order is meant to create a “virtuous cycle” where caring for employees leads to better service for guests, which builds community and supplier relationships, ultimately benefiting investors sustainably over time.
The logic is that enthused, motivated employees lead to happy guests and repeat business. Satisfied guests and community relationships attract good suppliers. This in turn creates an excellent business and return for investors.
Placing investors first may bring quick financial returns, but is less likely to be sustainable long-term without strong employee, guest, community and supplier relationships.
The “enlightened hospitality” prioritization is intended to benefit all stakeholders, creating quality businesses, enduring financial returns, and value beyond just investors.
This stakeholder model could be applied beyond the restaurant industry to other businesses or organizations.
The author asks for trust that he will not affiliate any of the restaurants with other brands that would diminish their brand. He provides the example of partnering with Timberland as an organization with qualities that align with their values.
The restaurants have limited outside investors, mostly family, friends and colleagues who bring experience and aligned mindsets. They take interest in sharing financial risk and offering wisdom.
Profit distributions to investors make the author proud as it shows the business is profitable. He ensures investors know the business model focuses on long-term profitability, not overnight success.
Employees are the most important stakeholder. Mutual respect and trust create an energetic, motivated team. The grueling restaurant business requires employees help each other succeed through respectful collaboration.
Competitive wages and good benefits help retain staff. Employees are asked for feedback to help improve. A monthly dining voucher program for longer-tenured staff elicits feedback on their experience.
Guests are the second most important stakeholder. Hospitality starts with genuinely wanting to bring others pleasure. Excellence comes from employees who love their work and find meaning in it.
We strive to treat guests the way we would want to be treated ourselves. Applying the golden rule is a potent business strategy.
Our telephone reservationists are the first point of contact and can come across as agents (who make things happen for guests) or gatekeepers (who set up barriers). We want agents who make people feel cared for.
Controlling noise and thoughtful seating arrangements create a comfortable atmosphere. We design restaurants to feel intimate, with multiple smaller communities within the larger space.
Greeting guests sincerely and warmly makes a powerful first impression. Rushing ahead to their table rather than walking with them is inhospitable.
The details of service add up to how cared for guests feel. We aim to anticipate needs and provide gracious hospitality.
By treating guests, staff, purveyors as true partners, we create a virtuous cycle of hospitality. This enriches every relationship.

The key ideas are applying the golden rule, designing for intimacy, warmly welcoming guests, anticipating needs graciously, and creating a virtuous cycle of enlightened hospitality. The summary emphasizes how we make guests feel cared for in all interactions.

The “virtuous cycle of enlightened hospitality” consists of three key components: caring for employees, welcoming guests, and community involvement.
Caring for employees includes providing training, opportunities for advancement, work-life balance, and a sense of purpose. This leads to lower turnover and better service.
Welcoming guests involves establishing rapport through eye contact, smiles, using reservation details for personalization, and actively soliciting feedback. This makes guests feel valued.
Community involvement allows the business and employees to apply their strengths, such as feeding people or fundraising. This builds goodwill, pride, and often ancillary benefits for the business.
The author provides examples from his restaurants of employee programs, guest interactions, and community projects that illustrate this virtuous cycle in action. He argues that “doing good” brings business benefits over time.
In the late 1980s, Danny Meyer’s community involvement was limited to serving on boards like the Union Square Local Development Corporation and the New York chapter of the American Institute of Wine and Food (AIWF).
In 1989, Union Square Cafe participated in Taste of the Nation, a benefit organized by Share Our Strength to fight hunger. During the event, Meyer complained aloud about not knowing the cause and met Share Our Strength’s founders, Billy and Debbie Shore.
Billy Shore had connections to Meyer’s family, who supported early childhood causes. The Shores asked Meyer to take a leadership role in Taste of the Nation.
Over the next two years as chair, Meyer dramatically grew the event’s fundraising by getting top chefs, sponsors, donated goods, and raising ticket prices. The event went from raising $40k to over $350k.
A friend at Food and Wine got liquor company Schieffelin and Somerset to donate $100k and Dom Perignon, increasing fundraising. All money went to hunger relief agencies.
With American Express, Meyer helped bring them on as a $250k national sponsor for years he chaired, repairing Amex’s relations with restaurants after losing market share.
Creating community and taking on a leadership role with Taste of the Nation brought good luck and business benefits for Meyer and Union Square Cafe.
American Express’s arrogance was angering restaurants and merchants, inciting a revolt where some threatened to boycott Amex cards.
Danny Meyer was also frustrated with Amex’s attitude, but his father advised embracing them as an ally rather than fighting them.
Danny suggested Amex sponsor Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation events to rebuild relationships with restaurants. Amex became a major sponsor.
Danny later made a TV ad for Amex highlighting their support for Share Our Strength and hunger relief, rather than endorsing Amex cards directly. This further improved Amex’s reputation.
Danny learned about using business to support philanthropy through Share Our Strength and founders like Billy Shore. Their model links corporate profits to consumer desires to support social causes.
Examples like Calphalon cookware and Stonyfield yogurt lids promoting Share Our Strength showed how companies can create a “virtuous cycle” benefiting themselves and the community.
Danny embraced win-win partnerships like these to build his enlightened hospitality business model.

Here are the key points I gathered from the summary:

They build relationships with suppliers based on shared values and integrity, seeking “win-win” transactions. Loyalty and doing what they say they will do is important.
They made the difficult decision to switch from Evian water to Fiji based on feedback about taste and quality, despite Danny’s long loyalty to Evian. They handled the transition thoughtfully, asking Fiji to match Evian’s sponsorship of charity events.
Pricing is important but not the only factor when choosing suppliers. Shared excellence, hospitality and values are also key.
They take pride in representing their suppliers well.
Sharing with investors, even though it means less ownership, can ultimately lead to growth and benefits for all. Negotiation and compromise are required.

In summary, they build strong supplier relationships based on trust and shared values, make careful decisions when change is needed, and take a mindset of abundance vs scarcity when sharing ownership with investors. Does this capture the key points accurately? Let me know if you would like me to modify or expand the summary.

The author takes a balanced approach as CEO, seeking safety, thrills, and the road less traveled when considering business opportunities. He is not focused solely on rapid expansion.
He carefully chooses which deals to pursue and which to decline. Saying “no” has allowed the company to avoid potential mistakes and retain its soul.
Many factors go into a “no” decision, including whether the context feels right for the brand and if the author feels a personal sense of balance about taking it on.
The company has turned down offers for restaurants in various settings that did not feel like the right fit, wanting to be thoughtful about the context.
Before agreeing to a deal, the author and team make many exploratory visits to understand it fully and see if it feels right. They meet with partners, visit sites, learn about the community, etc.
Saying no has likely saved the company as much money as saying yes has made, by avoiding mistakes and retaining quality and soul. Carefulness about what deals to pursue has contributed to the company’s success.

Here is a summary assessment of our prospects and capacity for fielding a winning staff:

The personal anecdotes suggest we have a strong foundation of experience, passions, and community connections to draw from when considering new business ventures. This provides a rich source of entrepreneurial inspiration.
There is openness to creative, “groundbreaking” ideas that align with strategic goals, like the church café concept, showing willingness to think outside the box.
There is a clear preference for growth that enhances existing businesses rather than rapid expansion, reflecting caution and desire to maintain quality. Past family business failures reinforce this cautious approach.
The criteria checklist provides a thoughtful framework to evaluate opportunities, considering strategic fit, timing, capacity, leadership, financials, excitement/passion, community context, and work-life balance.
The “kitchen cabinet” advisory process brings diverse viewpoints into decision-making, considering future growth, human capacities, operations, culinary, legal, community, and family impacts. This consensus-building approach results in well-vetted decisions.
There appears to be strong strategic leadership, operations experience, culinary talents, legal advice, financial analysis capabilities, and consensus-driven decision-making to field a winning staff for sustainable, quality-focused growth. The culture values teamwork, excellence, and work-life balance.
Climbing a mountain is an adventure that involves collaborating with new people at each stage, which the author enjoys. He gets input from trusted friends and mentors before making big decisions.
When considering a new restaurant space, the author asks himself if he would take it even if it was free, to check his true interest. He gave the example of declining the former Coach House space, which later became the successful Babbo restaurant.
Selecting a space is like trying on shoes - the style and fit have to feel right or it’s not worth pursuing, even if it’s free. Free spaces come with expectations from landlords/developers.
The author analyzes past decisions not to pursue projects, to understand if it was the wrong timing or wrong fit. He gave examples of declining the W Hotel and Gramercy Park Hotel restaurants, which were the right fit but wrong timing.
No regrets on “no” decisions, but some misgivings about passing up the Metropolis Cafe space near Union Square Cafe, which could have been successful but was bad timing before Gramercy Tavern.
Hotelier Ian Schrager approached the author about opening a restaurant in his new Gramercy Park Hotel in New York. The timing, location, and financial terms were very appealing.
However, the author was concerned about the context - whether the hotel’s intended upscale but trendy vibe was the right fit for the author’s traditional style of restaurant.
The author agonized over the decision, arguing with himself about whether Schrager was sincere about wanting to create an enduring legacy versus just another hot spot.
In the end, the timing was not right, as the author was preoccupied with launching restaurants at the Museum of Modern Art. This overriding concern allowed him to pass on the opportunity.
The author discusses another example of an enticing opportunity (with JetBlue) that had to be declined due to bad timing. However, he maintains relationships for the possibility of a future partnership when the timing might be right.
The author concludes that there is an art to knowing not only when to decline an opportunity but also when an opportunity could be revisited down the road when timing and other factors align. Patience is important.
November 20, 2004 was the reopening of the Museum of Modern Art in New York after renovations. Union Square Hospitality Group was opening 4 restaurants there - a huge undertaking.
Danny Meyer felt immense pressure to succeed under the scrutiny of the art world and critics. There were major construction delays, but they had to open on time anyway.
With only 4 days to train staff, they managed to open 3 of the restaurants on opening day and served over 2,000 people. It was chaotic and stressful.
Expanding a business is very challenging, especially letting go of control. You have to surround yourself with ambassadors who can accomplish goals while maintaining the culture.
Opening new restaurants can upset existing customers who don’t want to try the new place. You have to accept that not everything you do will be loved by all.
The MoMA opening was a major test of USHG’s competence and values. If successful, it would open many new opportunities.
Paul Gottlieb, a friend and publisher, was initially skeptical when Danny Meyer planned to open additional restaurants, worrying it would detract from the original Union Square Cafe.
However, Gottlieb later urged Meyer to submit a proposal to open a restaurant in the renovated Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), seeing it as an exciting opportunity.
Meyer was hesitant about expanding again but encouragement from Gottlieb, his mother, and grandfather convinced him to pursue it.
Winning the MoMA contract would be transformative for Meyer’s business, requiring new capabilities in institutional dining, cafes, and catering.
The proposal was evaluated on the creative vision, financial offer, and capacity to execute. Meyer was excited by the privilege of creating something for MoMA though knew executing would be challenging.
Key figures in Meyer’s life who previously warned against expanding too quickly were now encouraging him to take this on, giving him confidence in his team’s abilities.
Meyer decided to go for it, viewing it not just as a business opportunity but a tremendous privilege.
Danny Meyer’s restaurant group was selected by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City to open and operate restaurants and cafés within the museum, after an extensive selection process.
It took 8 months of negotiations before officially signing the deal in November 2003. Details included financial terms, design layouts, staffing, and other operational logistics.
Meyer aimed to enhance the museum dining experience by making the fine dining restaurant (called The Modern) a true destination, and improving the cafeteria experience by eliminating trays and pre-plated food in favor of fresh food assembled to order.
The location of the new restaurants and cafés within MoMA was designed to allow patrons to “replenish, refresh, and restore” during their museum visit.
Careful thought was put into choosing architects and chefs suited to the modernist vision. The goal was for the restaurants to complement the surrounding art and architecture.
Danny Meyer was opening a new restaurant, The Modern, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 2004. He needed to hire a chef to lead the kitchen.
At a New Year’s party, Meyer asked culinary school dean Alain Sailhac who he should hire as chef. Sailhac suggested Gabriel Kreuther, a talented young French chef who grew up in the Alsace region.
Meyer and Kreuther got to know each other over several months. Meyer then took Kreuther on a trip back to his hometown in Alsace to connect with his roots and gain inspiration.
They visited Kreuther’s childhood home and hometown, as well as top restaurants in the region. Kreuther showed Meyer his early winemaking efforts and family recipes.
Meyer believes it is important for chefs to reconnect with their culinary roots before cooking from their heart. He had done similar trips with previous chefs Michael Romano and Tom Colicchio.
The Alsace trip allowed Kreuther to gain inspiration from traditional dishes and ingredients. Meyer encouraged him to create a hybrid cuisine blending Alsatian and American elements for The Modern.
Meyer aimed to build a close relationship with Kreuther, align on a vision, and push him to go further than ever before. He hired Kreuther as chef for The Modern.
Danny Meyer opened The Modern restaurant at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City in 2004. It was a challenging project with a tight timeline to open on a specific date set by the museum.
He hired Gabriel Kreuther as executive chef, who was talented but had not yet done his greatest work. Meyer saw an opportunity to motivate and develop Kreuther’s skills.
Meyer hired Ana Marie Mormando to run operations. She had relevant experience and led a team of over 300 to open under intense pressure when the general manager quit right before opening.
The New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni visited 11 times before reviewing The Modern just 2 days after it opened to the public. His 2-star review initially demoralized the uptight staff.
After the review, the staff loosened up and improved as they were no longer stressed about anticipating it. The food also improved as the chef had been playing it safe.
The Modern aimed to be a destination restaurant, not just an amenity for museumgoers. It needed to balance serving two audiences - museum members and the general public. This was tricky at first for the exclusive club-like restaurant.

The key point is that opening The Modern was an immense challenge with a lot of pressure, but Meyer’s team persevered through the obstacles to create a world-class restaurant. The review freed them up to excel.

Danny Meyer opened his first restaurant, Union Square Cafe, in 1985 in New York City. Despite early struggles, it eventually became a huge success due to Meyer’s focus on hospitality and enriching the community.
Meyer went on to open several more acclaimed restaurants in NYC, including Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, and The Modern in the Museum of Modern Art. Each restaurant had its own unique concept and cuisine but was united by Meyer’s enlightened hospitality approach.
A key part of his philosophy is investing in the community, whether through hiring and developing staff, sourcing local ingredients, or contributing to neighborhood projects. Meyer believes this creates an authentic experience that keeps guests coming back.
In 2004, Meyer opened Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, which became an international phenomenon. He also launched catering and other businesses, showing his model could scale and be replicated successfully.
Throughout his career, Meyer has focused on fostering genuine relationships, with staff, guests, purveyors, investors and the community. He credits these loyal relationships as the foundation for his success.
Meyer won the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Restaurateur award in 2005, recognizing his innovative hospitality-driven business model and its positive influence on American dining culture.

Here is a summary of the key points from the acknowledgments section:

Danny Meyer expresses gratitude to Susan Lescher and Bob Lescher for advocating for and supporting the book from the start.
He thanks Jim Jerome for challenging him with questions and helping shape what he wanted to say.
He thanks his editor Daniel Halpern for urging him to write the book and guiding it objectively despite their friendship.
He thanks other editors Lisa Chase and Susan Gamer for their feedback and revisions.
He thanks colleague Jenny Dirksen for feedback ensuring the book reflected his voice.
He thanks Haley Carroll for her work on the many drafts and revisions.
He thanks his restaurant partners and staff for allowing him the time to write the book.
He gives special thanks to partner Paul Bolles-Beaven for reviewing the accuracy of the manuscript.
He thanks friend David Black for pushing and challenging him to write a better book.
He thanks his family, especially his wife Audrey, for their patience and pride in the book.

#book-summary