Topic: Know Yourself, Take Notes, Be Smart
Chapter 2 of Setting the Table, “In Business” chronicles Danny Meyer’s first job in the restaurant business to the opening night of Union Square Café.
- First job: 1984, at age 26, Asst. Day Manager at Pesca on 22nd St, worked FOH for lunch, dinner worked in the kitchen
- Meets future wife Audrey on his first day of work
- After 8 months, arrangements are made for him to study cooking in France and Italy for 3 1/2 months as a chef’s apprentice.
Meyer kept a journal to record all of his dining & service experiences, ideas & sketches for the restaurant he wanted to open. After eating and cooking through several European cities, Meyers had stacks of notes of about all of his experiences. He returned home with strong ideas, a few great recipes and opinions about how guests should feel and be treated. He always noted how an establishment made him feel. This intangibility governs your experience and provides clues for how you want your guests to feel.
As students, it is important for us to learn everything that we can from everyone that we can. Keeping notes about potential careers ideas can keep us on track when it is time to seek out internships and later careers and entrepreneurial pursuits. In each class that we take there is something learned that will assist us in the future.
Dining room students, like Meyer must always consider the guest perspective and treat guests the way that they wish to be treated. Our class practice of Self Awareness could be a good exercise with other courses as we continue to pursue our degrees. As we record our successes and mistakes we can remind ourselves about what is most important and stay on track with our career plans.
Be smart to avoid the mistakes that you can control. When Meyer was looking for a location for his restaurant, he wanted the neighborhood to be up & coming. This meant that the rent would be more affordable. He would not have to charge customers more to cover high overhead expenses. An area with a good lunch crowd would help cover fixed costs. The main piece of advice that he still offers any prospective restaurant owner is to take a lease that is assignable to someone else if your business does not succeed. He avoided the risky errors that his Dad made in business. All these years later, Union Square Café is in no danger of giving up a lease.
