This weekend, essential New York City restaurant Gramercy Tavern celebrated its 20th anniversary. Restaurateur Danny Meyer calls Gramercy Tavern his "first second restaurant" because it was the hotly-anticipated follow up to his iconic Union Square Cafe. Over the course of the past 20 years, the restaurant has come to embody Meyer's school of "Enlightened Hospitality."
Remarkably, only two chefs have ever led the kitchen: opening chef Tom Colicchio and James Beard Award-winning current chef Michael Anthony who took the reins in 2006. There are similarly impressive numbers in the front of the house, where only one manager has been hired from outside the organization in the past 15 years.
Yesterday, Eater spoke with Meyer, Anthony, and managing partner Kevin Mahan to take a look back at 20 years of Gramercy Tavern. In addition to considering the restaurant's staying power, the team also discussed what will keep the restaurant going in the future, including a mission to always push the restaurant to be the best it can be.
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