Union Square Cafe
Strategic Concepts & Mechanics
Primary Evidence
"First, any new restaurant would have to be as excellent within its niche as Union Square Cafe. (In my mind, the success of Union Square Cafe had been a fluke, and I was fairly certain I’d never have a hit like that again.) Second, the opening of the new restaurant could in no way compromise or diminish the excellence of Union Square Cafe. (Restaurant sequels can diminish the original, perhaps because the management’s focus and capacity may be spread too thin.) Third, I would open another restaurant only when I was sure that I would also achieve more time for myself and Audrey. (That seemed unlikely, as I was already working up to fourteen hours a day.) At this point in our lives, Audrey and I were"
"The restaurants and other businesses I have opened in New York City—Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, Tabla, Blue Smoke, Jazz Standard, Shake Shack, The Modern, Cafe 2, and Terrace 5 (our cafés for visitors within the Museum of Modern Art), plus Hudson Yards Catering—were all conceived and are all driven by a passion to add something new and compelling to what I call a dialogue between what already exists and what could be."
"Second, Bryan wrote that the sensitive design made Union Square Cafe feel like “part of the neighborhood, not something imposed on it.” Reading his words helped me understand that what I was doing intuitively was actually working. I have made that an intentional strategy for every single restaurant I’ve opened since."
"We began with a fantasy that what we were designing had always been the tavern for the Gramercy Park community, and that we had continued to update it over the past century. Now, as Gramercy Tavern, it would continue to play its earlier role as the community’s best place to meet, eat, and drink. As we pounded the pavement looking for a site, my one requirement was to be as close as possible to Union Square Cafe and the greenmarket."
"I DON’T REGRET ANY of the “no” decisions we have made, but to this day I have occasional misgivings about passing up an opportunity to create a new restaurant in the Metropolis Cafe space next door to Union Square Cafe in the early 1990s. Even though I am entirely convinced that this was the right decision for our company at the time, it’s about the only deal we…"