In the early 1980s, Danny Meyer had decided it was time to grow up. In his mid 20s, he had tried working in politics and in sales, and found little success. Time to go to law school, he decided. But on the night before the LSAT, he complained to an uncle that he didn’t want to be a lawyer. His uncle replied, “You’ve been talking about food and restaurants your whole life; why don’t you do that?”
Four decades later, it appears Meyer’s decision to skip the LSAT has paid off. He’s founder and executive chairman of Union Square Hospitality Group, the company behind New York restaurants like Grammercy Tavern, the Modern, Manhatta, Ci Siamo and the View. The company also is leading player in private dining, events and consulting. But the restaurant that started it all is Union Square Cafe, which Meyer founded in 1985, 40 years ago this fall.
Meyer was just 27 when he launched Union Square Cafe, the $740,000 startup money coming from his savings and from family members. It was in a then-run-down neighborhood, and Meyer was a novice, but he had a vision. He wanted the warmth of an Italian trattoria, the fresh ingredients of California cuisine and the refinement of French dining. At a time when upscale dining in New York meant classic French, Union Square Cafe offered pasta and New American cuisine.
He fully admits he had no idea what he was doing. But he quickly showed a talent for adjusting on the fly, tirelessly working to improve things and for a philosophy he came to call “enlightened hospitality.” The restaurant has lived through moving five blocks from its original location, 9/11, a pandemic and several recessions. Meyer recently chatted about 40 years at Union Square Cafe with senior editor Mitch Frank.
How have you all managed to stay relevant for 40 years in a city where people are always looking for the new thing?
Danny Meyer: It’s really two things. It’s waking up every single day for these 40 years and saying, “What should we feel really good about that we did yesterday? And what are three things we could do a little bit better today?”
That is the ethos of the restaurant. And when you do that every single day for 40 years, things happen. You get to feel good in the process of making something even better, and that, for me, is the journey of excellence.
And by the way, we have bad days. We’ve gone into slumps like any baseball player would over all those 40 years. It has not been a straight line, but I would argue that it’s a better restaurant today than it’s ever been. It’s a busier restaurant today than it’s ever been. And I’ve never, once, never found a day where we ran out of things we could do a little bit better. So when you do that over time, it kind of works.
[article-img-container][src=2025-12/wt_danny-meyer-union-square-sign-120425_1600.jpg] [credit= (Courtesy USHG)] [alt= The iconic Union Square Cafe sign in New York City.] [end: article-img-container]
Also, we’ve had four chefs in 40 years, and the staying power of the chefs, but also the changing of the chefs, has been a way to keep things fresh and relevant. There’s a double-edged sword when you’re in business for that long: you have a lot of regulars. There’s always a pressure that there are some people who don’t want you to change, right? When I go hear the live music of a band that I love, I want to hear all their old songs that I love. That’s why I want to go see them.
And guess what they want? They want to go sell their new album, right? So the key thing for that band and for the restaurant is to give fans enough things that they came back for so that they’re going to keep coming back but give them enough new things so that they’re going to keep coming back.
You’ve had some incredible chefs at Union Square, but it’s never been a restaurant identified by the chef. Has that allowed you to change over the years and bring in new ideas?
I think you’re absolutely right about that. And we learned a lot about this when we moved the restaurant nine years ago from 16th Street to 19th Street, which is not an easy thing to do with a classic, iconic restaurant. But if you asked any 10 people who love Union Square Cafe, what do they most love about it? It never would have been the space. It probably would have been some combination of the spirit, the hospitality and the food. We could move the spirit and the food. And I think the restaurant and its food and spirit, which people love, are associated with the restaurant more than a specific chef.
[article-img-container][src=2025-12/wt_danny-meyer-union-square-chef-romano-120425_1600.jpg] [credit= (Courtesy USHG)] [alt= Danny Meyer with chef Michael Romano at Union Square Cafe in New York City.] [end: article-img-container]
How has the wine service evolved? You personally ran the wine program when you started out.
It’s always been a big element. The first year at Union Square Cafe, we had a whole wine display right when you walked in. It must have looked like a wine store. And for the first two weeks in 1985 all you saw at the back bar was wine, and I kept it that way until I got scared because a bunch of guys who started eating at the restaurant said, “You know, you’re going to offend those of us who like cocktails unless you put spirits behind your bar.” And so the next day, I had spirits behind the bar, but I really wanted it always to be about wine.
For the first 10 or 15 years I was responsible, and felt responsible for every single wine and every single description and every single price. And I couldn’t do that once we had Gramercy Tavern and Eleven Madison Park and Tabla. I had to start to delegate that to other people. The good news was I was delegating it to people who knew my taste in wine. It’s not that I stopped caring deeply. Today, we have an incredible talent running the program, Dorian González Vega.
The wine has always been sort of a blend of California, France and Italy. We dabbled in other regions, new, interesting wines from Australia or Oregon or Spain, depending on who the wine director was at that time. Today, the salt shaker has been centered again, and it’s really back to being about a third California, a third France and a third Italy.
One thing I feel about all restaurants, it’s really sad to me how expensive wine has become. I look at some of our early wine lists, and we were selling Beaujolais for $12 a bottle—Cru Beaujolais. We were selling Quintarelli for $22 a bottle. Yeah, we’re selling premier cru Meursault for $35 a bottle. Obviously, times have changed. Inflation has happened, but I think inflation for wine has happened in excess of other things in the world. It should not be a surprise to anybody that people are drinking less wine.
[article-img-container][src=2025-12/wt_danny-meyer-union-square-today-120425_1600.jpg] [credit= (Courtesy USHG)] [alt= Union Square Cafe in New York City.] [end: article-img-container]
One of the reasons that your restaurants have longevity is you’ve always managed to adjust. Obviously, the early days were not always easy at Union Square. How do you know when to shift focus or tweak things?
I think micro adjustments almost every single day. It’s like brushing your teeth. If you wait until you go to the dentist to remember to brush your teeth, you’re going to probably have some major problems. Adjustments every single day is the way to go.
I start every single morning by reading all of the end-of-service reports from our managers from each restaurant from the previous night, and they’re not only talking about each of the guest experiences, but there are suggestions on what we can do better. It’s not just lip service, it’s actually staying in the game.
Not to make you feel old, but if you could say anything to the 27-year-old you opening the restaurant 40 years ago, what advice would you have?
I’d say, buckle up. It’s gonna be a long ride, buddy.
[article-img-container][src=2025-12/wt_danny-meyer-union-square-construction-120425_1600.jpg] [credit= (Courtesy USHG)] [alt= Danny Meyer in front of Union Square Cafe in 1985 in New York City.] [end: article-img-container]
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