![[Daniel Holzman]](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/iywTsqwz4FlKHFK41o6IeZVtLEY=/184x0:783x449/1200x800/filters:focal(184x0:783x449)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48663959/holz.0.0.jpeg)
Chef Daniel Holzman and restaurateur Michael Chernow opened six locations of The Meatball Shop in four years. The business was successful at first, but at a certain point, the owners realized that they needed to take a step back.
In a new video for Inc., the chef admits that the initial success from opening the Lower East Side location in 2010 sparked the desire to continue expanding, and quickly. Upon opening the second and third TMS locations however, Holzman says that something wasn't quite perfect about them. This, he adds, is when things began to unravel: "Around the time we opened our fourth store we really recognized that the second and the third store, and then even the first store, were failing to maintain their success. But we were pushing through it and saying 'Well we'll figure it out' or 'It will solve itself.' It never solves itself."