Businessweek Extra- Daniel Boulud

in New York City. He was able this week to open up his terraces and provide a little bit of a different menu. It's a pivot for him, clearly, Carol, but a lot of people looking to him for leadership. Every day is a big day because I think every day we tried to really bring a little bit more improvement and also a little bit more hope to our businesses. And today we are putting a sidewalk cafe at restaurant Danielle.

Which restaurant Danielle is twenty eight years old. When he was on s Street, he used to have sideboll cafe.

When I moved to sixty five and never really put a sideboak cafe because we had enough room whinning inside and and tonight we are doing um because I've started the business of delivery and to go daniel Bury Kitchen, So we are serving the menu of daniel Bury Kitchen on the terrace of Danielle, So more casual and more approachable, but fun and and and and really it's an opportunity because I think we have a beautiful uh facade, We have a beautiful space, and that's the only place we

can really serve our guests. And we felt that it would be good to bring more staff and to bring new to bring guests back. I have to imagine, Danielle, that your clientele, many of whom are our listeners uh so well known across Manhattan and the world. They must have been clamoring for this, right, I mean, have you been getting a lot of calls people saying I want to come, I can some former fashion come cook for me? Yeah,

the absolutely, So we do that. We have the come cook for me by by sending them meal home, of course, and we also do package for destination the Emptons or other places. People drive miles from the strive state to come and pick up a box with all kind of meals prepared for them to take home, But I mean having them at the restaurant and being able to again welcome, serve them, pamper them and offer them something we feel. Uh, it makes us very happy and I think it will

make them very happy. Our guest. Yes, well, you know it's interesting, Danielle, like we have been talking to a lot of folks, especially within your industry, that you've got to figure out how to pivot here, right because it's not like you can flip a switch and go back to the way it was pre COVID, And so it sounds like that's what you guys are doing. Yeah, very much. And we also opened the West Side. I have a restaurant at sixty Broadway by Buller and Episode Buller open

yesterday or this morning. Actually this morning we opened a Pie three Bullie. So it's a retail store where it's opened all day from breakfast to early evening and people can have salads and sandwiches and things who are old, home baked and homemade. And then we babu as a huge theras on sixty four Broadway, so that's very very convenient as well. And we took Cafe Bullou up in the Berkshire and we did a pop up there in

a wonderful lleg schateau called the Bland Tyre. So it really we find I mean, it's all this opportunity to try to bring back staff. I mean we were more than seven hundred and fifty staff and we went down to seven people and now we're back up two hundred and twenty total around the different businesses we have reopened, and we are pushing up and bringing more people. So wow,

that that's big moves. Yea. And in terms of pacity, danielle Um, what is the I mean, what can you do at at what you're opening tonight versus what you

would be able to do inside? I think I think the terra us is only I will say for right now, it's and and because you know, if it's if it's beautiful weather, we might be able to extend more tables, but if it's a little bit greasily like tonight, we want to stander the canopy and we have a limitation of about thirty five to forty feets, but that's pretty good. And then if it's a nice weather, we might be

able to double that size. But that's nothing compared to the size on the inside, where normally we have private dining rooms, we have the barnd nouns, we have the dining room, which could almost bring hundred and eighty seats or more. So it's a very different business model, and it's definitely not um a profitable model, but it's very It motivates us so much to do something with the

whole concept of outdoor dining. I'm sure you've knew about it before, but you've probably learned more than you ever thought you would about outdoor dining, given that that's how we're all eating out these days. How do you view it? What have you learned about it in terms of what you can and can't do, and maybe what the future is given that we're going to be in this for some time, I know, and and and thanks God, I mean, we're in it in the summer right now, and the

fall should be mellow until at least November. But the the Mayor of New York has really opened up and I think many cities all over the country. I've opened up the opportunity for restaurate or to be able to put table outside in places we will have never been authorized before. And they are really helpful, um meaningful, I mean mindful of of course the security for the guests, but also um, really give the chance for the restaurator to have a meaningful business outdoor for the time being,

for the time being, let's say. And of course the fine dining restaurant is more complicated, but not too many restaurants as outdoors there. As for cafe the small bestrow, we have like four or five table outside. I've seen them taking half a block and going around the block with tables, so it seemed like they have more tables outside and inside now. But but it's good, thank god. Yeah, exactly, and that there is that opportunity to do it. You know, um,

we were talking without Kate Crater, who covers UM. I think, as you know, we love we love talking with Kate, and you know, we were wondering, you know, you were going I thought to talk to Lincoln Center about doing maybe big screens for events like the US Open so that maybe diners could watch from barbarous. Are you doing that? Are you moving ahead with that? Well? Uh, I am still convinced that we can do something, and I am

looking at sponsor. It's it's all about trying to find sponsoring to be able to create something for the moment. A little bit of a spontaneous things and for a short lived but at least we can do things to entertain guests. But I think, um, it is important that because the open is happening, that we are able to show it all over town. Um it's uh, it will be fantastic. I mean, I would love to be able

to show it. That daniel is needed. But at Lincoln Center there is the huge esplanade where I'm sure people don't have to crowd, and they have the entire War of the buildings where they could project the games and put some speakers. So I hope there will be you know, interested to do that of course. And no, no, no,

I didn't mean to cut you off. And I have the and you know now with the to go business or the three, people can grab their little snack or sandwich or meal or lunch or dinner and sit down and and watch the game during the day. And I'm sure than the city can plan uh enough social spacing. So there's really safety first, of course, very important. So Danielle, you know, the last time we talked to you, um, you know, the the pandemic was very much on in

in New York City. Unfortunately, a very different time, um, but obviously not much, not too much has changed, although you know, little baby steps for it that we're taking in terms of outdoor dining. I do wonder for you because at the time you were rightly concerned. I'm sure you remain concerned about the future of your business and maybe more importantly, the future of fine dining all across the country. Where do we stand now? What do you think about now when it comes to the future of

fine dining. Well, for a while, he would have to be slightly recaliber I mean slightly or strongly recaliber uh in in his um ambition of offering, I would say, in his size. Uh. You know, we find dining when we think of fine danning, that means we're going to reopen our restaurant inside and um in its price. Maybe maybe more option to be able to have choice of not having to go for tasting manu only, but maybe

some sampler option, maybe some hours of operation. We might be shrunk down a little bit because of the cost of doing business, and so you know, less less days of operation will mean more control in in the cost of doing business and uh and and slowly get back to where it belonged because I think fine dining will not go away. But I'm opening to restaurant, Danielle. I can do a pop up for the months to come where I create something very casual, very disrupting, and very

different than Uh. I'm basically covering the skin of fine dining and putting a skin of a casual place and and but something a little bit of a It's like a movie set where you are somewhere else for a minute for a time and and and I do that with sponsor, and we have some wonderful sponsor. We want to support my idea and and help the restart of fine dining. And I think everybody's gonna have to figure it out how to restop, not to become who they were,

but to restart something. And so that's an opportunity to do that. So I'm thinking of people who are listening and saying I want in um, is it going to be all reservations or reservations and walk ins? So right now for the Sidebook Cafe, Danielle, it's going to be a reservation some day starting at three o'clock in the afternoon until six o'clock. And oh, but it's at three o'clock.

We opened the reservation, so we know exactly the weather, we know a mini table to put and all that, because there's nothing worse than coming to a restaurant and there is no table. But we will always keep tables up and with no reservation as well, so a portion of it will be a reservation portion no reservation, so there's always an opportunity that a table could get available.

And that was Chef in Restaurant toward Danielle Bowlue. I love what he said, Jason about every day being a big day, bringing a little bit of hope, a little bit of improvement. You know what they're doing right now. It's not profitable, but again he's hopeful and he's really just trying to bring back his workers and bring back his customers. You've been listening to Bloomberg Business Week Extra. Be sure you tune into Bloomberg Business Week on Radio

Live Monday through Friday at GBM Moll Street Time. I'moowork Radio. I'm sure all answer, and I'm Jason Kelly. This is Bloomberg