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Restaurateur Danny Meyer sat down with the Wall Street Journal to talk about the future of the restaurant industry. A number of Meyer’s competitors have gone out of business this year because of the recession, and while the USHG boss has been asked about cost-cutting maneuvers before, here Meyer specifically addresses the future of high-end dining in New York:
“I don’t think there’s going to be sustainable demand for restaurants that force you to spend hours there. Long tasting menus will continue to be elected by some but cannot be legislated by the restaurant. We’re going to have more bistros and trattorias. People will have luxury items—caviar, foie gras, truffles—less frequently, having done without them for a year and a half, but they will come to appreciate them more because it won’t be at every bar and grill in the city.”
Elsewhere, Meyer told the WSJ that “there is an enormous amount of discounting going on,” on restaurant menus all around town, partly because of a recent 10% drop in the cost of provisions. Meyer said the extreme price cutting amounts to survival tactic but is not really a “sustainable business model,” explaining that restaurants will ultimately have to drop their overall number of seats to correspond more realistically the number of dinner guests, instead of attempting to fill dining rooms with over-the-top promotional deals that aren't providing real value. “This has to happen,” Meyer said. “There will come a point when there are the right number of seats.”
So, does this also mean more Shake Shacks? Looks like the answer is 'yes' in Central Park this summer!
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If the recession means there will be fewer restaurants that believe a single meal is worth $500 for two, that will be tbe best effect of this crappy economy. Put an end to this gauche nonsense.
I'd agree with you. But I'd add that there are too many restaurants at lower price points that still are overpriced relative to what they're offering. Every idiot and his brother thinks they should be in the restaurant business.
I hope he's wrong. One of the things I enjoy about dining out is eating things that I could never prepare at home. Ten course tasting menus featuring extremely labor intensive dishes are a real treat. It's not something someone of common means can afford very often, but it would be a real shame if the possibility to experience this was lost altogether. I can make bistro food at home. I can't make a multicourse suckling pig dinner at home. It would be almost as expensive in terms of the ingredients, and much more expensive in terms of my time.
Well said. I cannot make even bad bistro food. When our options are down to a hot dog cart or a pizza slice after shopping at The Gap, it's time to move away.
People are going without caviar, foie gras, and truffles? Oh, the horror!