Danny Meyer

Radio Cherry Bombe

In this episode of Radio Cherry Bombe, host Kerry Diamond interviews legendary restaurateur Danny Meyer about his new book, 'What Could Poss

Key takeaways

Meyer transitioned his leadership focus from hiring for emotional skills (51%) to seeking a balance of both emotional and technical excellence (100%).
Closing a restaurant should not be viewed as a failure if meaningful lessons are learned from the experience.

Main topics

New book release: What Could Possibly Go Right?
Evolution of hospitality leadership

Notable quotes

The culture is the sum of all of the expected behaviors that we celebrate minus all of the unwanted behaviors that we tolerate.

Conclusion

The episode provides a profound look at how long-term entrepreneurial

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:04) Hi, everybody. You're listening to Radio Cherry Bomb, and I'm your host, Carrie Diamond, coming to you from Brooklyn. Today's guest is a big one. It's Danny Meyer, the legendary restaurateur, entrepreneur, investor, and founder of Union Square Hospitality Group, which includes iconic spots like Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Cafe, and some personal faves of mine, like Chisiamo and Daily Provisions. He is also the founder of Shake Shack. Danny is one of the most influential voices in hospitality, and he's been a big inspiration to me over the years. So I was thrilled to learn he had written a new book. His first, Setting the Table, which came out 20 years ago, was a book I turn to often when navigating my own restaurant journey. The new one drops tomorrow, and it is called What Could Possibly Go Right. I love that title. Danny shares ups and downs, both personal and professional, and you can help but take away lessons you can apply to life and business. Also, if you love restaurants, it's a fascinating look at New York City restaurant history from the 80s to today, with special appearances by lots of names you'll recognize, like Tom Colicchio and Ruth Reichel. Danny and I talk about the book, that time the Obamas ate at Maialino. why Ina Garten is one of his mentors, why New York City will always have a vibrant restaurant culture, and he answers some of your questions about the restaurant business. Stay tuned for my talk with Danny Meyer. A big thank you to those of you who joined us on the West Coast this past weekend at Cherry Bomb Farmers and Makers. I loved seeing you. It was a beautiful weekend in Paso Robles, California, celebrating the farmers and entrepreneurs in the region, and I can't wait to come back. Special thanks to all the partners who made Farmers and Makers possible. Today's episode of Radio Cherry Bomb is brought to you by El Bronzo by Barilla. If there's one thing we all love here at Cherry Bomb, it's pasta. 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Albranzo by Barilla delivers a restaurant-quality experience right in your home, transforming your everyday meals into moments worth savoring. Elevate your every day. Look for the El Bronzo by Barilla Red Bag in stores nationwide and indulge in more flavor in every bite. Today's show is also presented by Kettle One Vodka. Let's take a little trip back in time. Picture Holland in 1691, when the Nolet family began distilling spirits. More than 330 years and 11 generations later, that family tradition continues with Kettle One Vodka. Kettle One wasn't created to be just another vodka. When it was introduced in 1983, the family had a simple goal. Create a vodka that would make cocktails even better. Inspired by the classic martini, they crafted a crisp, smooth vodka designed to complement a cocktail. Never compete with it. Whether your go-to is a perfectly chilled martini, Speaker 1 (3:54) the always Speaker 2 (3:54) iconic Cosmo, or a signature drink you created, Kettle One is made with cocktails in mind. And if you're looking to branch out, There's Kettle One Citron with bright citrus notes and Kettle One Botanical and fresh flavors like grapefruit and rose and peach and orange blossom. Need a little cocktail inspo? Visit KettleOne.com for classic recipes, modern twists, and more. And as always, you must be 21 to drink. Please enjoy responsibly. Speaker 1 (4:23) Now, Speaker 2 (4:24) let's check in with today's guest. I am so thrilled to say these words. Danny Meyer, welcome to Radio Cherry Bomb. Speaker 1 (4:30) Well, it's about time I got to join you. Thank you so much, Carrie. This is going to be fun. Speaker 2 (4:35) This will be. I want to go back in time a little bit. I know we're talking about your brand new book, but we can't talk about the new book without talking about the first book, because I really look at them as sort of a pair. It's the 20th anniversary of Setting the Table, which was a real Bible for folks in hospitality, myself included. And I was just curious, why do you think that book resonated with so many people? Speaker 1 (4:59) Yeah, thank you for saying that. And interestingly, I can't believe the confluence that it is the actual 20th anniversary of setting the table. And there's literally not a day that goes by that I don't hear from somebody or meet somebody, many of whom are completely different professions than what we consider the hospitality industry. And they say this book really spoke to them. I think I didn't teach anybody anything they didn't already feel. But I do think that what setting the table did was provide a language for people to say, you know what, I'm not alone in feeling this stuff. Now that I know I'm not alone, and now that I have a story that I can pin that feeling on, I can actually take things that had always been intuitive to me and make them intentional. I think it did that for people. It does that for people. I hope it will continue to do that for people, even though it now has a new baby sister. Speaker 2 (6:00) How do you feel about the book today? Does the advice hold up? Speaker 1 (6:03) Well, I don't think I gave any advice in it. I think I told stories. As a matter of fact, in the very introduction, I made it clear that you will never hear me say you should, you ought to. I told stories and... talked about how I handled them, and then people can take it from there and do whatever they will with them. And I do think that the stories and some of the lessons I learned have held up. I've made it very, very clear. In fact, I think I opened what could possibly go right by acknowledging that there is one thing I wish I had not written, and that is right in the first paragraph of setting the table. And that was when I... proudly proclaimed that in whatever it had been, almost 25 years, we had opened a huge number of restaurants and never had the experience of closing one, as if that were something to be incredibly proud of. I wish I had not written that. But outside of that, I think that everything has stood the test of time because we use setting the table as kind of a compass for how we do business at USHG and also at Shake Shack. And it has stood the test of time. There are a few things that I wish I had perhaps made more clear. And I'll tell you what they are. I think that I spent a lot of time in setting the table talking about how we focus on hiring 51 percenters. And for us, we want a 100 percent employee, just like any employee would want a 100 percent employer. And we're pretty clear that. 51 % of what makes up that 100 are someone's emotional hospitality skills. And 49 % of what we're looking for are someone's technical skills. And we don't want to hire someone who's a great cook, but isn't great for the morale of the team. And we don't really want to hire someone who's great for the morale of the team, but can't cook their way out of a paper bag. I think that in the years, in the 20 years since writing Setting the Table, I realized that I don't back off any of that, which you just heard me say, but I do think that we're much more clear that we're not looking for 51 percenters. We're looking for 100 percenters. Because in the years after I wrote Setting the Table, my own team, I think, was way too focused on the emotional skills at the expense sometimes of the technical skills. And that doesn't work. I don't want to bring home a 51 on my test any more than I want to bring back a 49. I want to bring back something as close to 100 as I can get. Speaker 2 (8:46) And I have to ask about your Grub Street diet before we plunge into all the questions. You pointed out how you ate two peanuts. I was like, why is Danny only eating two peanuts at a time? Do you remember that? Speaker 1 (8:57) Yes, I have no idea why on that day I ate exactly two peanuts. That's not typically what I do. I may have to have some peanuts during the course of this conversation we're having. I always keep a jar or a can of peanuts in my top shelf. When I get hungry, I pour a handful. I have no idea why only two came out that day. Speaker 2 (9:19) It made me think of Obama. Remember when Obama talked about eating like five almonds or something? And I was like, is this a power move that these guys do? They talk about like, you Speaker 1 (9:28) know, a limited... I'm no Obama. Speaker 2 (9:32) But you must know him. Speaker 1 (9:34) We've met. He's eaten in a couple of our restaurants. Yeah, he Speaker 2 (9:37) has. Very exciting. As a matter of Speaker 1 (9:39) fact, I'll tell you quickly, there is a story that I wrote for What Could Possibly Go Right. And unfortunately, my remarkable editor cut it. So I'm going to have to use it some other time, but I'm going to share with you and your listeners. This was at Maialino and I was in my office on a Friday afternoon. kind of tying up the week and thinking about the week ahead. My assistant was in the office. She said, get away from your computer because I need your attention. I need to get home. I've got, you know, my baby is at home and I promised I was going to get there. So I moved away. We started talking about the week ahead. And all of a sudden, my phone starts beeping. And it was a text message from Sam Cass, who was the White House chef. And he said, Go to your email right now. So I excused myself and I said, I actually have to look at my computer. His email simply said, I have good news and bad news. Call me. So I called him on his phone and he said, the good news is I'm off tonight. The bad news is you're not. And that was the first time, this was Friday afternoon at four o'clock, and it was the first time I learned that President Obama would be at Maialino for dinner with a party of eight and that they were coming in at 545 for a pre-theater table. They were going to see Raisin in the Sun. The first thing I said, Sam, how come this is the first time hearing it? Because when the Secret Service is prepping the space, Nobody gets to know. The only person in your whole restaurant that knows is the general manager. And so I said, all right, so what does success look like, Sam? And he goes, it's real simple. Every Friday night, the president treats himself to two things, a really good steak and a really cold vodka martini. And so make sure to have a really good steak on hand. And I would take your two best bottles of vodka unopened. put them in the freezer because he doesn't like it shaken. He just likes it poured. So the vodka part was easy, but our chef at the time, Nick Anderer, had recently taken steak off the menu. He had seen a film about the horrors of beef, and we had a Roman trattoria with no beef on the menu. And I go, hmm. So by luck, the general manager of Union Square Cafe was right down the hall paying a visit to our office. And I said, you guys still have that Snake River Farm steak, don't you? And he said, yep. And I said, I need you to get two of them up to Maialino immediately. He didn't ask me. I didn't tell him. Wanted two in case we messed one up. We're all set now. Oh, Sam Cass also said, by the way, the president's going to want to meet you. I want to say hi to you. I work my way up to the restaurant. The police will not let me get through Gramercy Park, not on any of the side streets, not nothing. I take out all my ID. It took a neighbor saying he actually is the guy that owns the restaurant to allow me to get in. So now I go get into the restaurant, go through the magnetometer. It's probably about 645 or 7 at this point. And I told the staff, I said, whatever you do. make sure that the check is down by 7.20 because we cannot make the president late for the theater. So I'm kind of hanging out at the bar and secret service guy comes up to me and he says, things are going well. The president's going to want to see you.