Mar 10, 2008 6:46 am US/Eastern
Notable New Yorker: Danny Meyer
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
In a city where most restaurants fail in their first year, notable New Yorker Danny Meyer's fresh concepts and tried-and-true establishments are still going strong.
At ease in both the kitchen and the dining room, Meyer is a consummate businessman with a passion for hospitality.
"It's a lucky thing when what you do is what you love," he said.
At 27, he took a risk, struggled to get funding, and opened Union Square Cafe. Years later, 22 to be exact, it's still a local favorite, and consistently rated one of Zagat's best restaurants.
"A restaurant like USC, we are now serving wine to people whose diapers were being changed in the basement," he said.
Meyer waited a decade to add another restaurant. Since then, he's created Blue Smoke, Tabla, 11 Madison Park, Gramercy Tavern, and Shake Shack. All are hugely successful.
"In thie city where the first name is new, everyone is always looking for the next thing," he said.
Which is why owning and managing so many hit restaurants is such an achievement. Meyer says the secret ingredient is tough: it's more than just roast chicken, it's how you make people feel.
"If i had one job it would be picking the best people and make sure they are held accountable for how they treat each other," he said.
"Twenty-two thousand plus restaurants in NYC, you are going to go back to the one that made you feel the best," he said.
Great hospitality, and unique concepts, drive his restaurants. Each of which is inspired by his own palette or even a great dining experience.
Shakes and cheeseburgers came to Madison Square Park in the form of Shake Shack, after Meyer's childhood memories of fave restaurants in his hometown of St. Louis.
"What I tried to do was explore new ideas and reexpress them in a way I haven't seen them expressed," he said.
That, along with never feeling like you've truly made it is what propels great restaurants forward.
"First thing, we don't believe in our own success. We just try to make it better, whatever it is, greeting at the door or risotto," he said.
Consistency and continually striving for a better product has turned a childhood dream into a restaurant empire.
"I feel so fortunate and I still can't believe to this day it's worked out the way it has," he said.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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