PDF Summary:Setting the Table, by Danny Meyer

For restaurateur Danny Meyer, food does more than just satiate hunger; it fosters connections, creates a community, and elevates everyday experiences into memorable moments. In Setting the Table, Meyer recounts the growth of his restaurant business, which includes some of New York’s best-known dining destinations like Union Square Cafe and Shake Shack. He shares the ingredients to his success, fueled by what he calls enlightened hospitality: a philosophy that emphasizes the importance of prioritizing people—both customers and employees—no matter what business you’re in.

This guide covers Meyer’s roots, his journey to the top of the restaurant business, and the driving principles behind his establishments’ longevity in a notoriously challenging industry. Since the book was published in 2006, we’ll also include some updates on Meyer and his businesses and how the industry has changed over the years.

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Making a Difference

Perhaps no other USHG restaurant has had a more direct impact on the community than Shake Shack. The fast-casual restaurant chain started as a temporary kiosk in 2001. Meyer recounts that the Madison Square Park Conservancy asked USHG to operate a hotdog cart in Madison Square Park to support a restoration project. The cart was such a hit that it made a return for the next two summers, and in 2004, Meyer decided to turn it into a permanent fixture. He says Shake Shack is an example of how a business can thrive while making a positive contribution to the community: The rent goes directly to the city and the conservancy, which uses the funds to sustain the park and other neighborhood projects.

(Shortform note: People loved the Shake Shack kiosk but complained that they had to wait for over an hour, so the company installed the Shake Shack Cam, a webcam showing how long the line was at Madison Square Park in real time. The restaurant’s popularity has only grown since then: It has more than 400 locations in more than 20 countries and aims to expand to 1,500 restaurants. Though it started as a hotdog cart, its burgers are the real draw—high-quality beef smash burgers served on potato rolls. The brand tries to stay true to its ethos of contributing to the community even as it has gone global: CEO Randy Garutti says they work with local suppliers as much as possible.)

Receiving Recognition

In 2005, Meyer received the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur, validating his approach to the restaurant business: Regardless of concept—whether it was a fine-dining establishment like Eleven Madison Park or a hotdog-and-burger kiosk—every restaurant demonstrated the same level of culinary excellence, and offered knowledgeable service and gracious hospitality.

(Shortform note: Meyer has received several other awards recognizing his leadership, approach to business, and impact on the food and hospitality industry. These include the Julia Child Award in 2017, the NYU Lewis Rudin Award for Exemplary Service to New York City in 2011, the Preston Robert Tisch Award in Civic Leadership in 2012, the Boston University School of Hospitality Administration’s Icon Award in 2021, and the Cornell Hospitality Icon of the Industry Award in 2023.)

Part 2: Lessons From Meyer

In this section, we’ll break down the secret sauce behind the success of Meyer’s empire, which he formulated and refined through years of experience and learning.

Lesson 1: Practice Enlightened Hospitality

Meyer’s core business philosophy is enlightened hospitality, which means prioritizing people above all else and showing them that you’re on their side. He stresses the difference between service and hospitality: Service is transactional and refers to the way you deliver a product; hospitality is the way you make people feel as you deliver a product.

(Shortform note: Meyer now spreads his gospel of enlightened hospitality through Hospitality Quotient, the consulting arm of USHG, which teaches organizations—both in and outside the restaurant industry—the frameworks for implementing the philosophy. In 2024, he introduced HQ+, an e-learning platform for individuals and smaller businesses.)

Enlightened hospitality is unique in that it upends the usual business model, where investors are at the top of the priority list or where the customer is king. Instead, Meyer says you should prioritize your stakeholders in this order: employees, customers, community, suppliers, and investors. Let’s discuss Meyer’s advice for being hospitable to each group.

1) Employees

Being hospitable to employees means providing them with a living wage, benefits, and an environment wherein they feel free to express themselves. Meyer also prefers to promote from within, so that employees know they have something to strive for.

Enlightened Hospitality and Tipping Culture

Meyer tried to practice enlightened hospitality toward his employees through USHG’s “Hospitality Included” initiative in 2015, which removed the tip line from checks and raised menu prices so that all staff could be paid fairly and share in revenue. This move pushed back against US tipping culture—one that creates a wage gap by rewarding front-of-house workers like servers (who, in some states, are the only ones legally allowed to receive tips) while leaving back-of-house workers like kitchen staff at a disadvantage. Experts add that tipping culture also facilitates racism and sexism (for example, by creating a power dynamic that justifies customers’ sexual harassment of servers)

Despite Meyer’s best intentions, he had to backtrack in 2020 due to the extraordinary pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic: With people struggling to make ends meet, Meyer didn’t want to withhold tips that customers were willing to give and that would help his workers during a difficult time. USHG instead introduced revenue sharing for kitchen staff and continues to advocate for policy changes to allow tips to be shared more equitably by law.

Meyer adds that selecting leaders from internal candidates—rather than outsourcing new people—is also good for the business, as the existing staff already have a deep understanding of the company’s philosophy and systems.

(Shortform note: Selecting leaders from internal candidates may be one reason Meyer’s restaurants have staying power. In Built to Last, Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras describe this as the leadership continuity loop, and they say it’s one of the elements of enduringly successful organizations. The authors say that such companies develop leaders internally who are already steeped in the organization’s ideology, operating principles, and ways of working. The result: Rather than diluting the company culture by bringing in outsiders, they reinforce it by elevating people who embody it.)

2) Customers

Being hospitable to customers means providing them with an experience that gives them positive feelings. This means ensuring that their interactions with employees are pleasant and helpful and that their environments are comfortable and tailored to their needs. For example, the chairs at some of Meyer’s restaurants are upholstered to help absorb and minimize noise, so customers can have conversations without having to talk over the usual restaurant din.

(Shortform note: Will Guidara introduced his own brand of hospitality at Eleven Madison Park. In Unreasonable Hospitality, he details how the restaurant won World’s Best Restaurant in 2017 by being dedicated to providing customers with a fantastic experience that stretched the limits of what seemed sensible. He got creative, hiding everything that felt too businesslike and detracted from the experience of hospitality—for example, the restaurant gave a bottle of cognac with the check, which added a nice touch to a transactional process. He also created a position dedicated to providing unexpected gifts and had standard gifts for those celebrating special moments like engagements.)

Meyer and his staff also take customer feedback seriously, whether it’s direct (like through comment cards or dialogues) or indirect (observing whether customers are having a good time). (Shortform note: It can be hard to determine which feedback is valid in the age of review sites like Yelp, which has democratized reviews but has also become a platform for review bombing, influencers with hidden agendas, and sometimes unreasonable ratings. Chef, restaurateur, TV personality, and former Gramercy Tavern employee Marco Canora says reviews are often in the extremes (either “this place is the best” or “this place is the worst”), but for restaurant owners, it’s still worth looking at the information as valuable data.)

Meyer and his staff also treat each customer—whether a regular or a first-timer—with the same care and attention so they’re encouraged to keep coming back. Meyer aims for 25% to 40% of their patrons to be regulars who dine at his restaurants 6-12 times throughout the year. (Shortform note: It makes sense for Meyer to aim for a healthy number of return customers—research suggests that improving customer retention by as little as 5% can boost earnings by more than 25%. Plus, it’s more cost effective to retain customers than to attract new ones.)

3) Community

Being hospitable to the community means using your capabilities to establish community programs and encouraging employees to volunteer and work together to contribute to and improve the community. Meyer says this not only uplifts communities and brings about social change but is also good for business—customers and investors want to support companies that have their eyes on more than just the bottom line.

(Shortform note: Can successful establishments and the rehabilitation of an area really be good for a community if it displaces long-time residents? As earlier mentioned, Meyer acknowledges that his company has had a hand in gentrification, making Union Square desirable enough to attract wealthier residents and price out long-term inhabitants—including Union Square Cafe itself. In Age of the City, Ian Goldin and Tom Lee-Devlin argue that such progress can benefit everyone, not just a privileged few, if it comes with three pillars: integrated social housing, accessible and affordable public transportation, and an equitable education system funded at the national level.)

4) Suppliers

Being hospitable to suppliers means fostering mutually beneficial relationships. Instead of bargaining for the cheapest price, look at the big picture: Meyer says the suppliers with the best fit aren’t necessarily those who offer the lowest price but the ones who offer excellent quality, honor your relationship, and have values that are aligned with yours.

(Shortform note: Other experts give additional tips for fostering mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers. First, pay them promptly—this shows you value your relationship and what they provide you. Second, explore additional ways to work together or help each other—for example, by leveraging each other’s networks to boost each party’s reach. Third, designate a relationship manager to streamline communication and strengthen connections with suppliers.)

5) Investors

Being hospitable to investors means being honest with them about when they can see a return. Meyer argues that only after looking after the needs of the first four stakeholders can you generate a consistent profit for investors. (Shortform note: Investors are typically at the top of the list when it comes to whom a company serves, but enlightened hospitality follows a model similar to stakeholder capitalism—a system wherein companies serve all those who are affected by what they do rather than just their shareholders. But critics argue that stakeholder capitalism is often just a PR stunt, allowing companies to appear socially responsible while still putting profits first.)

Lesson 2: Understand That Context Is Everything

Meyer argues that restaurants can’t be successful as generic concepts that can be dropped anywhere; instead, each establishment must be woven into the fabric of its community, embodying its spirit and serving its people. This helps the restaurant feel authentic and relevant to the people it serves, which contributes to greater success. Understanding context also helps businesses make wise decisions about expansion and ensures that new ventures enhance rather than dilute the brand.

Context and Authenticity in Business—and in Life

Meyer’s insistence on opening establishments that fit their specific environment resonates with Vincenzo Latronico’s critique of homogenization in Perfection. In the novel, a millennial expatriate couple live in 2010s Berlin, inhabiting a world of interchangeable aesthetics and experiences. They—and their carefully curated lifestyle—could exist anywhere; what’s missing is rootedness: a sense of belonging or connection to the particularities of place and community.

Similarly, Meyer emphasizes that businesses can’t succeed as generic concepts dropped into any market; replicability without context risks creating ventures that are competent but soulless, which drives away customers. Whether in life or business, designs built for everywhere often end up resonating nowhere.

Before opening any new restaurant, Meyer applies strict criteria: The opportunity must fit his goals, represent something groundbreaking, align with his company’s capacity for excellence, allow them to be leaders in their niche, benefit existing businesses, generate genuine excitement, serve a community he wants to work in, fit harmoniously with the location, and represent a wise investment. Meyer has turned down lucrative opportunities (like opening restaurants in Las Vegas casinos) because they didn't align with his values or vision.

(Shortform note: Meyer’s criteria list isn’t the only recipe for success. British celebrity chef and TV presenter Gordon Ramsay leverages his strong personal brand and pursues aggressive growth, and he’s opened nearly a hundred restaurants around the world. Japanese chef and restaurateur Nobu Matsuhisa considers the physical space and the local culinary landscape, though his top priority is providing good quality food and good service in equal measure. He now has an eponymous global hotel and restaurant empire. Despite the differences in approach, what’s consistent across successful restaurateurs is their commitment to clear guiding principles.)

Lesson 3: Hire for Emotional Skills Over Technical Ability

Meyer safeguards the culture of enlightened hospitality by having a stringent hiring process. He says he gives greater weight to soft skills—like work ethic, empathy, and integrity—than to technical abilities. This is because technical skills can be taught relatively easily, but emotional intelligence and hospitality instincts are harder to develop. Meyer believes that people who have those natural abilities tend to create more authentic guest experiences as opposed to experiences that feel routine.

(Shortform note: In Emotional Intelligence 2.0, Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves support Meyer’s view that soft skills—or emotional intelligence—are more important than technical abilities in determining success. Meyer says soft skills are harder to develop, but Bradberry and Greaves offer guidance for improving these skills with practices like understanding how your body responds to emotions, keeping your self-talk positive, observing body language, and taking a genuine interest in others.)

As part of the hiring process, prospective employees work in real situations for a few shifts so current staff can observe how the applicants interact with guests and colleagues. Meyer then asks for the team’s input when making hiring decisions—the entire team must agree that a candidate has the makings of a top performer, not just an average one, which reinforces that only excellence is acceptable. Hiring by consensus also strengthens team dynamics and lets team members know their opinions matter.

(Shortform note: Enlightened hospitality at Meyer’s restaurants extends not just to existing staff but even to prospective employees. In an article, a former restaurant worker detailed her experience on a kitchen trail (a trial run) at Gramercy Tavern. She says that it stood out among her other trails: Rather than doing low-impact jobs in a tense, high-pressure environment where tempers were flaring, she got plenty of hands-on experience under the meticulous—yet gentle—instruction of the executive chef. She also got to sample nearly everything on the menu, and the executive chef took the time to talk to her about her career aspirations.)

Lesson 4: Turn Mistakes Into Opportunities

Meyer says that while mistakes are inevitable, how you respond to them makes all the difference. He believes handling a mistake well can transform a bad experience into a good one and can even strengthen customer loyalty—customers remember and appreciate businesses that try to make things right. For example, when there was a mix-up in a guest’s reservation, the staff was extra attentive, giving the guest complimentary drinks and appetizers, and speeding up service.

(Shortform note: In Delivering Happiness, Tony Hsieh says it’s important for every customer interaction to have a positive emotional impact on the customer. This is because it increases their “lifetime value,” or the total revenue that a customer brings to the company throughout their life. If you make an emotional impact on them—especially when handling mistakes, as Meyer suggests—they’re more likely to return to your business and increase their lifetime value.)

Meyer teaches his staff the “Five As” for addressing mistakes: awareness (noticing the issue promptly), acknowledgment (taking accountability), apology (saying sorry sincerely), action (correcting the situation right away), and additional generosity (doing more than what’s required to leave a positive impression). He also empowers employees to find creative solutions to make amends, even if it means they don’t strictly follow policies.

(Shortform note: With the pervasiveness of social media, mistakes are now spotlighted on public platforms. To address mistakes in the digital world, experts recommend the following steps: First, evaluate the situation to determine who was affected and how you should respond. Second, don’t wait too long to act. Third, issue a straightforward apology that clearly states what you did wrong. Fourth, explain your side while still taking accountability. Fifth, state how you’re going to make up for it. Sixth, be open to feedback; listen to it, and learn from it. Finally, apologize again if necessary.)

Lesson 5: Maintain Excellence But Lead With Compassion

Meyer expects excellence from his staff, but he understands that performance can slip from time to time, with workers inevitably falling short of the ideal. To manage this, he continuously redirects them toward excellence without drama or humiliation: He holds people accountable when they’re not performing at the expected level, but he does it in a respectful way that encourages them to learn and grow.

(Shortform note: Successful entrepreneurs agree you should be clear about your expectations from the beginning, and communicate them constantly so that your staff will know and remember what excellence looks like. In Unreasonable Hospitality, Guidara says he instituted daily 30-minute meetings at Eleven Madison Park before the restaurant opened for this purpose. He also encouraged his employees to learn and grow by ensuring that their positions made the best use of their particular skills and giving them ownership over specific aspects of the restaurant.)