In 1985, at age 27, Meyer opened his first restaurant, Union Square Cafe. Meyer's other restaurants and businesses include Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke and Jazz Standard, Shake Shack, The Modern, Cafe 2 and Terrace 5 at MoMA, Maialino at the Gramercy Park Hotel, Untitled at the North End Grill, Marta, Porchlight, GreenRiver, Union Square Events, and Hospitality Quotient. Union Square Events, USHG's catering division, operates several concessions at major sports facilities including Citi Field, Saratoga Race Course, and Nationals Park. In 2010, Meyer suffered his first restaurant closure, Tabla. In a statement, Meyer blamed the closure on the specificity of the Indian cuisine offered by the restaurant. That same year, Meyer participated in a documentary called "The Restaurateur". In late 2011, Union Square Hospitality group sold Eleven Madison Park to its chef Daniel Humm and front-of-house director Will Guidara. In 2018, North End Grill closed. In 2015, Meyer announced that he would eliminate tipping at all of his restaurants, a concept called Hospitality Included. The move increased prices by approximately 21 percent and lead to large portions of his staff leaving the company.
As the COVID-19 swept through the United States, Danny Meyer shuttered all his restaurants, criticized other businesses for opening, and stated that he did not expect to offer full service until a vaccine was available. In a May 1 Vanity Fair podcast, Meyer explained that taking a Paycheck Protection Program loan, intended to help small businesses, "could be the most irresponsible thing in the world for a restaurant to do." In July, it emerged that twelve separate Meyer restaurants received loans. Meyer's company, Union Square Hospitality Group, received between $11.4 and $27 million in PPP loans. Shake Shack earlier claimed to return its PPP assistance following media attention."
Writings
Meyer co-wrote The Union Square Cafe Cookbook with his business partner, Chef Michael Romano. The book earned the IACP Julia Child Award for the best new cookbook by a first-time author, and was followed up with the highly acclaimed Second Helpings from Union Square Cafe. Meyer also wrote The New York Times bestseller Setting the Table, which examines the power of hospitality in restaurants, business, and life. In May 2009, Meyer's restaurants released a cocktail cookbook, Mix Shake Stir featuring 140 recipes, along with tips, anecdotes and photography.
Four of USHG's restaurants have earned three stars from The New York Times; Eleven Madison Park was upgraded to four stars in 2009. USHG's restaurants routinely appear among the Most Popular in New York City according to the Zagat guide, including Union Square Cafe, which has held the #1 spot nine times. Eleven Madison Park held three Michelin Stars, The Modern earned its second Michelin Star in 2015, Gramercy Tavern holds one Michelin Star, and GreenRiver was awarded one Michelin Star in 2016. In 2016, The Modern was awarded a Wine SpectatorGrand Award in 2016.
Meyer was interviewed by Reid Hoffman on the Masters of Scale podcast, where he talked about how he ignored conventional wisdom to revolutionize the restaurant industry. He most recently appeared on The Ringer's House of Carbs Podcast, where he presented his Washington D.C. establishment "Maialino Mare" and talked about his career in hospitality.
Book reviews
The Union Square Cafe Cookbook was described in the New York Journal of Books as "...expertly adapted for home use and offers many dishes worth trying and adding to your repertoire."
