Even as Danny Meyer expands his business into a massive international restaurant empire, he's determined to remain the reigning champ of hospitality. Late last year he created two new executive positions for his Union Square Hospitality Group — Chief Restaurant Officer and Chief Culture Officer — and hired Sabato Sagaria and Erin Moran to fill those spots. But before they can do that, they have to work their way through every other imaginable job in the USHG restaurants. Sagaria, former food and beverage director at The Little Nell in Aspen, will spend two months doing everything from cooking to bussing tables. Moran, who has no previous restaurant experience, will do six months of the same.
Meyer tells Crain's that he's making his executives take in produce shipments at Blue Smoke so that they've "walked in the shoes of the very people who they'll be leading in order to become more empathetic and effective as mentors." His goal for the company, currently at 3,000 employees, 31 Shake Shacks and expanding, is to "use our growth to advance our culture," rather than just "grow for the sake of growing." As for what being Chief Restaurant Officer or Chief Culture Officer actually entails, Crain's reports that it's basically chief of operations and HR director, respectively.
· The Evolution of Danny Meyer [Crain's]
· All Coverage of Danny Meyer [~ENY~]