How did you get into the restaurant business?
I was close with the two guys developing [New York’s] Mercer hotel (this was back in 1991–1992) and ended up leasing their garage space next door and created MercBar. I never imagined MercBar would last two decades (the building was demolished after 22 years) or that it would evolve into what Mercer Street Hospitality is today.
From Lure Fishbar to El Toro Blanco, Bowery Meat Company, and Sessanta, you have a diverse portfolio in New York—how do you constantly reinvent yourself?
I don’t look at these various projects as reinvention so much as I think they are very specific experiences that strike a chord with customers and how they want to be entertained.
What are guests looking for today in a restaurant experience? How has that changed since you started out?
I don’t think the idea has changed in terms of desire to have the basics—good food, service, ambiance—but customers’ knowledge and expectations have grown. We have to deliver, otherwise they broadcast their disappointment. If anything, people have become much less forgiving.
How do you develop a menu and concept that will work in its location? How important is design?
I like to tackle menus with the chefs from the perspective of how people actually discuss going out: ‘Let’s grab steak’ or ‘I’m craving sushi,’ for example. These mini exchanges occur every minute of the day and you need your restaurant to naturally fit into that convo. If your menu or concept is not easily identified and requires explanation, you are making it much harder to succeed. Design is a major part of the formula for obvious reasons. I have had the pleasure of working with some world-class designers and firms like Marc Newson, Meyer Davis, Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, and Serge Becker—and I enjoy being extremely involved. The most important thing is handing them a clear mission statement so the foundation is strong to begin.
What haven’t you done that you’d like to try?
Possibly a Bowery Meat Company or Lure Fishbar in another city, but I would also like to expand more on the media end of things with my website Tasting Table, and down the road produce a food-centric TV program.
