News

Danny Meyer, NYC restaurant VIP, steps down from longtime position

His events group operates headquarters at Industry City

August 1, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Danny Meyer. AP Photo/Kathy Willens

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Danny Meyer, founder and CEO of New York restaurant powerhouse Union Square Hospitality Group, has announced that he is stepping down from the position he has held since 1985.

Union Square Hospitality Group has owned and operated such well-known eateries as Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack (with four Brooklyn locations), Blue Smoke and the now-closed Union Square Café.

In Brooklyn, Meyer’s allied Union Square Events group opened a 70,000-square-foot headquarters at Industry City in November 2021, according to Real Estate Weekly.

The Sunset Park headquarters is a combined kitchen, tasting and office space, the real estate publication wrote at the time. It includes a commissary kitchen, a 120-seat dining room, and incubator programs for culinary entrepreneurs, among other features.

“The company curates unique and customized catering and dining experiences for major companies, venues, and events including Citi Field, the Whitney Museum, Delta Airlines, Facebook and more,” Real Estate Weekly reported.

Food preparation at Union Square Events’ headquarters at Industry City in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Photo courtesy of Industry City

Taking over for Meyer is Union Square Hospitality Group President and CEO Chip Wade, who previously held high-level positions at Red Lobster and Darden.

In a statement, Meyer said the two “partnered together and navigated the business through an incredibly challenging period. … This is the ideal time for me to hand Chip the baton.”

Meyer will still be with the company as executive chairperson, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.

“Working with Danny over the past three years has been a career highlight, and I am so proud of what we have accomplished together,” Wade said, also in a statement.