MEYER RULES

When I was a little, little kid, I wanted to be my Dad.

Some years later, I wanted to be a pro football player.

As long as I have owned businesses, I have wanted to come back as a Brazilian.

But, now, I find myself more and more wanting to be Danny Meyer.  The beaucoup successful NYC restaurateur, who revitalized Union Square Park, with the Union Square Cafe and a once-humble and original urban farmer’s market.  That was the same year we opened COBBLESTONES, whilst trying to do our part in revitalizing Lowell!  Meyer went on to open a handful of other amazing restaurants–The iconic and unrepeatable Grammercy Tavern (where I brought five long term employees a year ago for lunch!), Madison 111, Blue Smoke, Maialino, and others, before revitalizing another NYC park in disrepair–Madison Square–with the groundbreaking, stock-went-through-the-roof, Shake Shack.

**If you ever want to know the mind and perspective of America’s greatest restaurateur, read Setting the Table.  It should be required for those who aspire to be hospitality leaders and experts.

Now, in another great-big-ballsy move, Meyer has seen the future: rising minimum wage, restaurants as the second biggest industry in the country, increasing legislation, shortage of restaurant workers due to an inability to keep economic pace–and he has embarked on transforming all of his restaurants to “no tipping”, (brilliantly dubbed “Hospitality Included”) while bearing the risk and potential reward, of revolutionizing the way American restaurant employees are paid.

Seeing what Meyer saw, this is something we thought and discussed over a year ago–profit sharing across all of staff.  It remains what we seek to do in the future.  But thanks to Danny Meyer, and of course the incredible team he has built around him–USHG as a think tank of hospitality super-stars–the general public will begin to get used to menu prices that are 25% higher–“Hospitality Included”–while he will attract a higher level restaurant employee, and execute on a higher level of hospitality and food and beverage–A win-win-win.  Cooks and servers, finally, actually, on the “same team”–without a metaphorical wall of wage disparity that naturally creates separation, beyond the actual wall that separates production and service.

We bow down to Union Square Hospitality Group, and we thank them way in advance for an industry that will be better off thanks to your courage and commitment!

Stay tuned.  We sure will.

Making the Rules!