Danny Meyer Confirms Eleven Madison Park Sale

Right on the heels of Eleven Madison Park's Michelin three star comes more news from the EMP universe. Danny Meyer confirms earlier reports that he is selling the restaurant to its chef Daniel Humm and its General Manager Will Guidara. Strangely enough, according to the Times, the confirmation comes from the intro to the soon to be released "Eleven Madison Park Cookbook," where Meyer writes that he couldn't have Humm and Guidara working at a rival restaurant (the forthcoming NoMad) while also running Eleven Madison Park, so he decided to “take a page from so many great European restaurants — where the original patron hands the restaurant over to his protégé.”

He tells the Times that his only other option was to "start over again at Eleven Madison Park, and I didn’t want to do that." Meyer wouldn't reveal the terms of the deal, but mentioned it will pay back the original investors. Guidara doesn't ID future backers, but he does say that NoMad partner Andrew Zobler is not one of them, an interesting piece of intel, given many in the industry assumed him to be a main investor. Employees were told today, and the deal should be completed by the end of the year,

· Meyer Intends to Sell Eleven Madison Park to Its Chef and Manager [NYT]
· Is Danny Meyer Selling Eleven Madison Park? [~ENY~]