Setting the Table

Restaurateur Danny Meyer shares what he's learned in many years of starting successful eateries in New York City. He says you can apply these lessons to any enterprise. With a warm voice and an engaging manner he discusses his priorities (employees and guests first, stockholders last), his interviewing techniques, his desire to give any unpleasant situation a "good last act," his management philosophy, and much more. Jazz snippets are appropriate to the themes of some of his New York cafes and complement the upbeat presentation. Without overdoing it, Meyer is the best salesman for his own words, and, one suspects, for his restaurants as well. J.B.G. 2007 Audies Award Finalist (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

August 7, 2006
With the same grace and generosity displayed in his dining rooms, Meyer's instructive how-we-did-it account shares lessons learned on his way to becoming CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group. Meyer opened Union Square Cafe in 1985 when he was 27 years old. It hit its stride three years later when he hired chef Michael Romano, and Meyer charts its evolution from a neighborhood to international institution. Initially cautious about expansion, he opened Gramercy Tavern with chef Tom Colicchio three years later, eventually broadening his New York City restaurant empire to 11 establishments including Eleven Madison Park, Tabla, Blue Smoke, Shake Shack and the Modern. Meyer makes a distinction between service ("the technical delivery of a product") and the "Enlightened Hospitality" at the core of his business strategy—both necessary for restaurant success. He notes that hospitality "is how the delivery of that product makes its recipient feel
" and shares tips like hiring "51 percenters," or staff with "skills divided 51-49 between emotional hospitality and technical excellence," and the "Five As" for addressing mistakes: awareness, acknowledge, apologize, act, additional generosity. This honest, modest book will appeal most to foodies and aspiring restaurateurs but also offers insight for entrepreneurs in any industry.

September 1, 2006
Meyer is known to foodies as the man behind 11 acclaimed restaurants in New York City, including Union Square Café and Gramercy Tavern. While that would be more than enough professional accomplishment for most people, apparently Meyer has had time enough on his hands to branch out into writing as well. Anyone who has started or maintained a business will have strong ideas about the best way to run things, and Meyer is no exception. While such chapter headings as -The 51 Percent Solution - and -Constant, Gentle Pressure - evoke the all-too-common themes of most leadership books, this book is something more. It is actually the story of Meyer's restaurant empire and how he got to where he is today, overlaid with his own views on management and what has worked for him. A fun and enjoyable read, it provides a good behind-the-scenes view of the restaurant business, though it's more autobiography than business how-to. Recommended for libraries with strong cookery or business collections." - Susan Hurst, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.