WEBVTT - An Optimistic Outlook for NYC Restaurants

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. We're focusing

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<v Speaker 1>on fine dining and fine wines. First on the menu,

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<v Speaker 1>dining in New York City. It's coming back. I gotta say,

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<v Speaker 1>I've been out to eat a few times after not

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<v Speaker 1>for a very long time. In our next guest, well

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<v Speaker 1>known to our Bloomberg Business Week audience and community, So

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<v Speaker 1>great to have back with us, chef and restaurant tour

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<v Speaker 1>Danielle Blulu, owner of so many restaurants in New York

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<v Speaker 1>City alone. He's around the world, Singapore, Dubai, you name it,

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<v Speaker 1>also at Sea and he's joining us right now via

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<v Speaker 1>zoom in New York City. Danielle, So nice to have

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<v Speaker 1>you here. How are you? Thank you? Pleased to be

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<v Speaker 1>with you Carol and team. And I'm well, I'm well,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm opening a new restaurant to this so it's you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's looking to some better days and um, of course

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<v Speaker 1>I have the opportunity to have the fine dining restaurant

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<v Speaker 1>that is the epitome of excellence and service and food

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<v Speaker 1>and wine. And I enjoy also opening very casual, affordable

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<v Speaker 1>and soulful beastrow And the restaurant I'm opening today is

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<v Speaker 1>it's called Grata. Grata is named after a soulful dish

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<v Speaker 1>of my hometown in Leon that I grew up with, Grata,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's kind of everybody knows that Grata is. It's delicious.

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<v Speaker 1>It's that's wonderful smell and wonderful taste and often as

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<v Speaker 1>a crust of cheese or something, it sounds magical. Um, Daniel,

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<v Speaker 1>how did you think about the current restaurant environment and

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<v Speaker 1>who's coming back and and what they're looking for. I've

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<v Speaker 1>talked to a lot of retail CEOs and they're saying

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<v Speaker 1>it's a much more casual society, although people are also

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<v Speaker 1>starting to buy clothes to dress up. So tell us

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<v Speaker 1>about this. How you were thinking about with this new restaurant,

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<v Speaker 1>how you wanted to approach it. Well, the good thing

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<v Speaker 1>is I see all the spectrum of the market because

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<v Speaker 1>I even a retail store like a Pistory Bully restaurant

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<v Speaker 1>Daniel Pabion, which is a year old Dismounts and Danielle

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<v Speaker 1>is celebrating is twenty nine years and of course the

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<v Speaker 1>Grata being a dis new restaurant as well as Babe

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<v Speaker 1>Bully Suit that are also casual, more approachable. I think

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<v Speaker 1>we have been we have been having a very good

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<v Speaker 1>quarters and we are entering to a second quarter with

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<v Speaker 1>very strong a lot of demand, a lot of private

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<v Speaker 1>dining as well. People are going out. People a spending

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<v Speaker 1>but no more than before or if they do it

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<v Speaker 1>because they really wanted to splurge on the missing things

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<v Speaker 1>they really missed. But we see the lunch coming back.

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<v Speaker 1>The midtown business lunch are coming strong. But there's also

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<v Speaker 1>that blend of business people and social people. People want

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<v Speaker 1>to gather together and celebrate, like today at the paon

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<v Speaker 1>we had five ladies who took the train from Westford,

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<v Speaker 1>Connecticut to have lunch at PA and they take the

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<v Speaker 1>train back home. I told that was rat eyes sweet.

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<v Speaker 1>What about when it comes to feel it, you do

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<v Speaker 1>feel it. You certainly feel a difference with what we've

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<v Speaker 1>seen over the last couple of years buildings. I have

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<v Speaker 1>had one blunderbuild and the buildings are filling up more

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<v Speaker 1>and more and we see the activity inside. We see

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<v Speaker 1>also in the amenity floors. So many people come for

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<v Speaker 1>lunch as much as in the restaurant what about when

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<v Speaker 1>it comes to finding employees, because we know that's been

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<v Speaker 1>so difficult for for many industries. How are you when

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<v Speaker 1>it comes to staffing the restaurants. I know, well that

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<v Speaker 1>is um it is challenging. But we have a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of young people coming to New York. A lot of

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<v Speaker 1>people want to move back to New York, move back

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<v Speaker 1>or move to New York because they see no opportunity

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<v Speaker 1>to be part of this uh sort of new beginning

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<v Speaker 1>again in New York. And we see a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>young talents who maybe w aren't thinking of it and

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<v Speaker 1>now engaging coming to New York. And we have also

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of more people I think on the job

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<v Speaker 1>market coming. So it is perfect. No, we are trying

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<v Speaker 1>to be very carefully to balance between the shift we

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<v Speaker 1>operate and the amount of stuff we have in order

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<v Speaker 1>to guarantee the quality of service and food. Daniel, you

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<v Speaker 1>from what I I mean I think you first came

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<v Speaker 1>to New York City in the eighties, was it? Is

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<v Speaker 1>that correct? So so you've seen a lot of cycles.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think even after nine eleven, right, people were

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<v Speaker 1>really concerned about in downtown New York and parts of

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<v Speaker 1>New York and just it came back, and we've seen

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<v Speaker 1>so many different cycles and this wonderful grand city that

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<v Speaker 1>is Manhattan. Um, in New York City, how would you

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<v Speaker 1>put this cycle? Uh? And and then and kind of

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<v Speaker 1>do you expect that we get back to kind of

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<v Speaker 1>the grand levels that we saw pre pandemic. I think

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<v Speaker 1>it's the I think the worst part of the cycle

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<v Speaker 1>is almost there. The bad part of this cycle is

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<v Speaker 1>when the RF came out and only distributed a third

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<v Speaker 1>of restaurants a conversation to help them restart their business.

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<v Speaker 1>And more than tutor that would say at one point

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<v Speaker 1>four million restaurants never got anything. And so this uh,

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<v Speaker 1>this was this forced a lot of closure. This force

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<v Speaker 1>too so many business to not be able to reopen

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<v Speaker 1>the business they had. It was impossible. And also you

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<v Speaker 1>know the last three years to an a year, the

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<v Speaker 1>uncalculated amount of loss that restaurant business had. And I

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<v Speaker 1>hope the government will do something about this very unfair

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<v Speaker 1>sort of distribution that happened in all business. Um, five

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<v Speaker 1>of my best friends got a nice check. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't get any. So it's okay. I still gonna

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<v Speaker 1>be strong mentening my business. But still it's very difficult

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<v Speaker 1>and I think I talked about the industry, so many

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<v Speaker 1>people are still challenge and some area in the country

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<v Speaker 1>and maybe better than other because Florida I think for

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<v Speaker 1>the last year benefited better maybe and other park. But

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<v Speaker 1>I think New York is strong and coming back strong.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, NEO is relentlessly optimistic. Well, we talk a

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<v Speaker 1>lot about people moving out of New York, and we've

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<v Speaker 1>also talked a lot about the way that jobs have

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<v Speaker 1>changed here in terms of remote and people not having

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<v Speaker 1>to necessarily live in New York City to work here.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you think New York City ever comes back to

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<v Speaker 1>levels at least when it comes to employment, when it

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<v Speaker 1>comes to the service industry that we saw a pre pandemic. Ah,

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<v Speaker 1>of course it will, because I think the transition of

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<v Speaker 1>the home office situation will still last couple of years

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<v Speaker 1>until there's really a settlement of balance between people's life

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<v Speaker 1>and business necessity. But uh, and I think there's a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of I mean, in our business, the hospitality. If

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<v Speaker 1>someone say I want to work from home, it's not

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<v Speaker 1>gonna work. You're gonna have nobody serving your meal. So well,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, Tim talked to you asked earlier about labor

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<v Speaker 1>and whether or not you're you know, finding everybody you need.

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<v Speaker 1>There are so many strains and stresses still on this industry,

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<v Speaker 1>and I think about labor, certainly in labor costs or

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<v Speaker 1>just finding the workers you need, but also Danielle about

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<v Speaker 1>just higher food costs. Are you able to pass all

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<v Speaker 1>of that along to your customers. We try to be

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<v Speaker 1>very very cautious on raising price as much as we

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<v Speaker 1>get hit every day with the rays of some thing.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, if it's not the land, it's the asparagus.

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<v Speaker 1>If it's not the asparagos, it's the arly shows. Of

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<v Speaker 1>course they come out the show, come from California, have

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<v Speaker 1>to travel all the way to New York, and so

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<v Speaker 1>we get very creative and try to really work with

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<v Speaker 1>our local suppliers as much as possible. We try to

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<v Speaker 1>be I've always been very seasonal in what I do,

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<v Speaker 1>and I think seasonality helped in maddening cost control. But uh,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a question of being very careful and yet not

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<v Speaker 1>deprived the guests from excellence and quality. So creativity is

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<v Speaker 1>very important. Taste is very important. And you know, you

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<v Speaker 1>give me five dollar and make you a wonderful meal,

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<v Speaker 1>you give me fifty dollars I'll give you a wonderful

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<v Speaker 1>meal too. So it's just a question of the approach

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<v Speaker 1>of what we do with what ingredient we have, and

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<v Speaker 1>how we can interpret that. Can you ascribe some sort

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<v Speaker 1>of figure to how much you've seen prices of of

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<v Speaker 1>your inputs go up, how much you've seen would costs

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<v Speaker 1>go up in the last year, What percentage wise is

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<v Speaker 1>that I will set? And the food cost in general

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<v Speaker 1>went up by thirty percent in average between someone went

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<v Speaker 1>fire and some lower sometime fifteen percent. But I would say,

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<v Speaker 1>but menu when only up ten percent, maybe ten of fifteen,

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<v Speaker 1>no more and and the hardest single So we and

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<v Speaker 1>on the menu. We also have to think about service.

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<v Speaker 1>So when you pay meal, you still have to pay

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<v Speaker 1>of that for service, plus another eight percent if you're

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<v Speaker 1>in New York City for tax or more. It's so Daniel,

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<v Speaker 1>your new restaurant legratin. So tell me if I come

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<v Speaker 1>for dinner, what will I get? You will get some

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<v Speaker 1>wonderful seasonal appetizers, seafood, a selection of seafood, wonderful appetizers

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<v Speaker 1>with vegetable because I think even if it's a bistrow,

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<v Speaker 1>it can be sample the meaning of a bull and

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<v Speaker 1>a beast hole is that the food is of great quality, ingredient,

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<v Speaker 1>good technique and simple preparation. And so there's a salad

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<v Speaker 1>of var cover with some shaving of foi ground on it.

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<v Speaker 1>But there's also we have a water cress soup with

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<v Speaker 1>smoked rout and then I do also a pike canal,

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<v Speaker 1>which a canal is a dumpling of pike that is

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<v Speaker 1>in a beshamal like not creamy but milky beshamal with

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<v Speaker 1>mushroom and gray air cheese on top. And that's gratina,

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<v Speaker 1>which we need bake in the oven until it puff

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<v Speaker 1>and get crusty. That's delicious. People love it. Next time

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<v Speaker 1>at the restaurant totally everything from seafood to meat to

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<v Speaker 1>vegetable too. Uh. And I think it's a bistro. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a place you can go once a week because it's affordable,

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<v Speaker 1>because it's fun. The wines are affordable, the food is affordable,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's it's healthy and yet nourishing. We have to

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<v Speaker 1>leave it there. Um so great to check in with

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<v Speaker 1>you once again, and good luck on the new restaurant,

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<v Speaker 1>and really appreciate all the time you gave us today.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you so much, Danielle Balloud. Of course you know

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<v Speaker 1>him well um, and of course he's opening up this

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<v Speaker 1>new restaurant, All Groton in the Beak minutes in downtown Manhattan,