Danny Meyer | |
|---|---|
 Meyer in 2010 | |
| Born | (1958-03-14)March 14, 1958 (age 67) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Education | Trinity College, Hartford |
| Occupation | Restaurateur |
| Spouse | Audrey Rayelyn Heffernan |
| Website | ushg |
Daniel Meyer (born March 14, 1958) is a New York Cityrestaurateur and the founder and executive chairman of the Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG).
Meyer was born and raised in areform Jewish family inSt. Louis, Missouri[1] the son of Roxanne (née Harris) and Morton L. Meyer.[2] His father was the president of a travel, hospitality and real estate company in St. Louis.[2] His grandfather was Chicago businessman and philanthropist,Irving B. Harris.[2]
He attendedJohn Burroughs School[2] and as a child, Meyer attended Camp Nebagamon for boys inLake Nebagamon, Wisconsin. During college, Meyer worked for his father as a tour guide in Rome and then returned there to study international politics. Meyer was a Brother of theAlpha Delta Phi fraternity while atTrinity College inHartford,Connecticut. After graduating from Trinity in 1980 with a degree in political science,[3] Meyer worked in Chicago asCook County field director forJohn Anderson's 1980 independent presidential campaign.
Meyer gained his first restaurant experience in 1984 as an assistant manager at Pesca, an Italian seafood restaurant in theFlatiron District of New York City. He then returned to Europe to study cooking as a culinarystagiaire in Italy andBordeaux, France.[4]
In 1985, at age 27, Meyer opened his first restaurant,Union Square Cafe.[5] Meyer's other restaurants and businesses includeGramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke and Jazz Standard,Shake Shack, Daily Provisions, Ci Siamo,The Modern, Cafe 2 and Terrace 5 atMoMA, Maialino (formerly at theGramercy Park Hotel), Untitled at the North End Grill, Marta, Porchlight, GreenRiver, Union Square Events, and Hospitality Quotient.[6] Union Square Events, USHG's catering division, operates several concessions at major sports facilities includingCiti Field,Saratoga Race Course, andNationals Park.[7]
In 2010, Meyer suffered his first restaurant closure, Tabla. In a statement, Meyer blamed the closure on the specificity of the Indian cuisine offered by the restaurant.[8] That same year, Meyer participated in a documentary called "The Restaurateur".[9][10]
In late 2011, Union Square Hospitality group soldEleven Madison Park to its chefDaniel Humm and front-of-house directorWill Guidara.[11] In 2018, North End Grill closed.[12]
In 2015, Meyer announced that he would eliminate tipping at all of his restaurants.[13] The move increased prices by approximately 21 percent and led to large portions of his staff leaving the company.[14]
AsCOVID-19 swept through the United States, Meyer shuttered all his restaurants, criticized other businesses for opening, and stated that he did not expect to offer full service until a vaccine was available.[15][16] In a May 1Vanity Fair podcast, Meyer explained that taking aPaycheck Protection Program loan, intended to help small businesses, "could be the most irresponsible thing in the world for a restaurant to do."[17] In July, it emerged that twelve separate Meyer restaurants received loans. Meyer's company, Union Square Hospitality Group, received between $11.4 and $27 million in PPP loans.[17] Shake Shack earlier claimed to return its PPP assistance following media attention."[18]
Meyer co-wroteThe Union Square Cafe Cookbook (HarperCollins, 1994) with his business partner, Chef Michael Romano. The book earned theIACP Julia Child Award for the best new cookbook by a first-time author, and was followed up with the highly acclaimedSecond Helpings from Union Square Cafe (HarperCollins, 2001). Meyer also wroteThe New York Times bestsellerSetting the Table (HarperCollins, 2006), which examines the power of hospitality in restaurants, business, and life. In May 2009, Meyer's restaurants released a cocktail cookbook,Mix Shake Stir (Little, Brown) featuring 140 recipes, along with tips, anecdotes and photography.[19]
Meyer has served on the boards ofShare Our Strength andCity Harvest.[20] In addition, he served as Co-Chair of the Union Square Partnership for five years,[21] and as an executive committee member for NYC & Co and theMadison Square Park Conservancy.[22]
Four of USHG's restaurants have earned three stars fromThe New York Times;Eleven Madison Park was upgraded to four stars in 2009. USHG's restaurants routinely appear among the Most Popular in New York City according to theZagat guide, including Union Square Cafe, which has held the #1 spot nine times.[23] Eleven Madison Park held threeMichelin Stars, The Modern earned its second Michelin Star in 2015, Gramercy Tavern holds one Michelin Star,[24] and GreenRiver was awarded one Michelin Star in 2016. In 2016, The Modern was awarded aWine Spectator Grand Award in 2016.
Meyer and USHG have won 28James Beard Foundation Awards.[25][failed verification]
Meyer was interviewed byReid Hoffman on theMasters of Scale podcast, where he talked about how he ignored conventional wisdom to revolutionize the restaurant industry.[30] He appeared on The Ringer's House of Carbs Podcast, where he presented his Washington D.C. establishment "Maialino Mare" and talked about his career in hospitality.[31] Danny Meyer most recently appeared on The Knowledge Project Podcast to discuss the intersection between hospitality and humanity, and why we’re all invested in the hospitality business.[32] He talked food, love and business on the Gary Vee Audio Experience Podcast.[33]
In 1988, Meyer married Audrey Rayelyn Heffernan in an interfaithRoman Catholic and Jewish service atUnitarian Church of All Souls in Manhattan.[35] He has a daughter, Hallie Meyer, who founded Caffè Panna, an ice cream shop in New York City.[36]
I grew up in a reform Jewish family in St. Louis. Our idea of Judaism was no Bar mitzvahs and a Christmas tree that had a skirt at the bottom embroidered with the names of my grandparents
Mr. Meyer, a son of Roxanne Harris Frank of Ladue, Mo., and Morton L. Meyer of Clayton, Mo., graduated from the John Burroughs School and Trinity College in Hartford. . His grandfather Irving B. Harris, of Chicago, is chairman of the Pittway Corporation, a diversified concern.
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