Danny Meyer (Photo: Daniel Krieger)
Danny Meyer’s restaurants are synonymous with Manhattan: Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, Shake Shack, and other Meyer eateries are fixtures on the city’s dining scene. This winter, the founder and CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) brings a new enterprise to Washington’s Navy Yard neighborhood with the opening of Maialino Mare at the sleek Thompson Hotel, along with a rooftop bar, Anchovy Social.
The restaurant, a spinoff of Meyer’s Roman-style Maialino, pays homage to the Italian capital’s seafood trattorias and is USHG’s first seafood-focused restaurant and only full-service location beyond Manhattan.
Meyer is known for his unique style of leadership as much as his acclaimed restaurants, setting industry standards in areas such as hiring practices and corporate responsibility. In 2015, USHG launched a pioneering initiative to eliminate tipping throughout its New York restaurants. Meyer designed the new plan, called Hospitality Included, to compensate members of restaurant teams more equitably and to clear paths for professional advancement.
Join Meyer, who was recognized with the 2017 Julia Child Award from the American History Museum, in conversation with the Washington Post’s Tim Carman. He discusses his plans for Maialino Mare, what it’s like to open a new restaurant in Washington, his career in the culinary world, and the future of equitable pay in the restaurant industry.
