Danny Meyer, the founder, and CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group stands by his quote in everything he does. His company operates the highly acclaimed New York City restaurants Union Square Café, Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke, Maialino, North End Grill, and others including the fast-casual restaurant, Shake Shack, which is now going global. Danny and I both grew up in St. Louis and then relocated to New York. Aside from being a successful restaurateur, Danny has co-authored three books, including “Setting the Table.” This book should be read by anyone who is either considering a career in the foodservice industry or selling goods and/or services to restaurants.
While I haven’t experienced the same level of success as he, my business philosophy is the same. Currently, I am not working in a restaurant, however, I believe the above quote is just as important to me and the other vendors who supply the restaurants. Earlier in my career, I cannot tell you one job I did not perform in a restaurant, including dishwasher, being trained as a sous chef, and distributing paychecks as a manager. I covered the entire gamut working in restaurants starting at the age of 15.
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On my first day of Culinary School, I remember well the first words our Dean of Staff ever said to us, “From this day forward you will be in the entertainment business.” I had to laugh because I thought I was there to learn how to make a soufflé! Danny Meyer’s quote goes well beyond that and is a reminder to all of us in this industry how important it is that we demonstrate an “I have your back” attitude when it comes to serving the public.
I have been witness to:
- A young hostess who picks up a fussy baby to soothe and carry it around so a young couple can enjoy a stress-free moment on their first night out in more than a year.
- The chef who recreates a recipe on the fly because a guest happens to be allergic to a certain ingredient in his famed dish.
- The closing manager walks each waitress out to her car in the dark at night, making sure she stays safe.
- A Jewish waitress who picked up two shifts on Christmas Day so her Catholic coworker could enjoy the holiday at home with her family.
With vendors I have seen:
- Bill Kellner of M.J. Kellner in Springfield, IL is determined to keep his distributorship independent. He has had many offers from other companies to buy the business over the years. He steadfastly said “no” each and every time because he wants to remain independent. Since he has no heirs coming into the business, Bill initiated an Employee Stock Ownership Plan that will be executed over a number of years. This will allow the employees to gain increased ownership in the company. Bill created this program to keep the company independent and to assure his employees that they will not lose their jobs.
- A Sales Rep who left his child’s recital on a Saturday to get a prime rib from his warehouse to rescue a restaurant that had run out because someone counted wrong.
- And yours truly, who came to a new restaurant’s opening night to conduct a training class for the new dishwashing staff. When the students failed to show up, I washed dishes for 3 hours until the chef cut his hand with a knife and then I filled in on the cook’s line until closing.
This is what we do so that restaurants can provide their customers with an outstanding dining experience! In this industry, we’re all part of a team. Here is another one of Danny’s famous quotes:
“Each diner needs to believe that they’re the only one in the world that matters.” – Danny Meyer
In conclusion, it may be a good time for all of us to reexamine our beliefs about the people we serve, as well as our goals as we approach the New Year.
Thanks for reading (Danny Meyer | Quote About Hospitality and Cleaning) and please share this blog if possible. Also, I would love to hear your stories back as well on people and companies who went above others to help both their customers as well as employees.
