Rapid Response: Danny Meyer, 10 weeks later: How to revive restaurants

Masters of Scale

WaitWhat

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management, Reid Hoffman, Mindset, Diversity & Inclusion, Jeff Berman, Bob Safian, Startups

4.6 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 30 May 2020

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"Being the first to close is one thing. But I don't want to be the last to open,” says iconic restaurateur Danny Meyer in his second Rapid Response interview. After shutting his iconic New York City restaurants, laying off 2,000 staffers (with hopes to re-hire) and returning a $10m PPP, Danny finds himself reconsidering nearly everything about his business model. Even before the coronavirus lockdown, the restaurant industry had a slew of “preexisting conditions,” Danny says. Now those weaknesses have become exposed, putting at risk the future of hospitality — one of America’s core industries. Danny’s Union Square Hospitality Group is reimagining what and HOW their restaurants serve; rethinking how they generate revenue; and exploring new cost structures, like a bold new relationship with landlords. It’s all in the hopes, says Danny, of getting back to business, with customers safely at their tables, and the teams back together. Interviewed by editor Bob Safian.

Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com/10-weeks-later-how-to-revive-restaurants-danny-meyer/

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi listeners, it's Chris Goethea, producer on Masters of Scale.
0:03.2	Quickly dropping in with an invitation for you to join us at an upcoming strategy session with Reed,
0:07.9	along with a few very special guests. During this live virtual event, you'll hear some game-changing
0:14.0	wisdom and insights that will help you make smart and financial decisions for your business.
0:18.4	So take a second to save the data in your calendar for Monday, May 8th at 3.30pm Pacific,
0:23.2	and register at mastersofscale.com forward slash strategy session to receive your link to join.
0:29.6	We'll be tackling some of the most top of mind questions for entrepreneurs,
0:32.8	with a special focus on how your business can thrive even amidst an economic downturn.
0:38.0	It's a really important topic, and you'll hear timely strategic insights that will help set you
0:42.8	and your business up for success. So go to mastersofscale.com forward slash strategy session to
0:49.2	register for free. Now on to the show. This virus has done a superb job of exposing
0:58.9	a lot of the pre-existing conditions that our industry had. We're down to 75 people right now,
1:06.7	which by the way is fewer people than I employed when I was 27 when I first got into this business.
1:13.5	America is learning that restaurants play a massively important role in the whole economy of our
1:20.1	country. We're throwing a lot of pasta up against the wall and we're going to see what sticks.
1:26.2	Being the first to close is one thing, but I don't want to be the last to open.
1:33.4	Every day we lose money, could be to even more layoffs, which is exactly the opposite of what
1:39.5	we want to do morale wise, emotionally or economically. That's Danny Meyer, New York City's
1:48.7	preeminent restaurateur and the founder of Shake Shack.
1:53.6	Foursed by the pandemic to close iconic restaurants like Grammarcy Tavern and Union Square Cafe,
2:01.2	Danny is now radically rethinking his business model, trying to reimagine the future of restaurants
2:08.4	without killing off the warm hospitality that made his establishments so endearing.
	...

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