#33, Mark Maynard: 30-Year New York City Hospitality Veteran turned Consultant & Coach

The Philip Duff Show

Mark's the best!
He walked into Union Square Cafe more than 30 years ago and only left what became the Danny Meyer-founded Union Square Hospitality Group group recently, having scaled the dizzy heights of a restaurant group that was as iconic and successful as it was disruptive, creating a whole new perspective on how to serve guests and manage the staff that do so, all of which Mark played a large part in.
I got to know him better at his last big project at USHG, the ass-kicking Porchlight bar in NY, and we sat down to shoot the shit about just about everything, from being part of Jose Andres' World Kitchen serving people fleeing the war in Ukraine, to diversity 2023-style in restaurant hiring, to the tip controversy (spicy!), to his biggest mistake as a manager, and how he distills that 30 years of expertise to help his consulting clients turbo-charge their business with his new firm, Maynard Consulting.
Special thanks to the Institute of Culinary Education in NY for loaning us a location to record in, and to the one and only Tony Sachs for donating a 50-odd-years-old mini of fine bourbon whisky for us to crack open to get the ball rolling!
Maynard Consulting: https://www.maynardconsulting.net
Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-maynard-b8a2976

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Chapters

1. #33, Mark Maynard: 30-Year New York City Hospitality Veteran turned Consultant & Coach (00:00:00)

2. Consulting and Creating Memorable Service Experiences (00:00:16)

3. Insights on the Hospitality Industry (00:06:54)

4. Ukraine's Bar Scene and Sanctions (00:19:21)

5. From Cornell to Hospitality (00:28:39)

6. Practical Experience in Education Is Important (00:41:08)

7. Instant Feedback and Cocktails (00:46:24)

8. Restaurant Industry Changes and Their Impacts (00:56:07)

9. Service Charge vs Tips in Restaurants (01:05:03)

10. Promoting Diversity in Hiring Process (01:15:00)

11. Flexibility and Management in Hospitality Industry (01:20:36)

12. Union and Bartending Management Power (01:34:59)

13. Ownership and Managerial Mistakes Lessons (01:44:06)

14. Pandemic's Impact on Labor and Tipping (01:52:45)

15. Tipping in the US (02:05:05)

16. Restaurant Business Models and Tipping (02:13:25)

17. Hospitality and Workplace Dynamics (02:22:54)

18. The Role of Work and Authenticity (02:30:06)

19. Challenges and Excitement in Consulting (02:35:44)