About Daniel Meyer
Danny Meyer, founder of Union Square Hospitality Group and Shake Shack, has been active in media appearances discussing his business philosophy, industry trends, and the state of the restaurant business. In a January 2026 CNBC interview, Meyer described his "Enlightened Hospitality" approach, which prioritizes employees first, then guests, community, suppliers, and investors last, arguing that this creates a "virtuous cycle" that ultimately benefits investors. He has also addressed operational changes, such as moving to cashless systems at some restaurants, which he said improves security for staff and efficiency. Meyer has spoken about the origins of Shake Shack, noting it began as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park as part of an art installation with no intention of becoming a chain or public company.
Meyer has commented on the current restaurant environment, stating in December 2024 that demand is "better than ever," partly because there are fewer restaurants than before the pandemic and people seek in-person experiences. He noted that dinner time has expanded, with earlier reservations becoming more popular. Meyer has also discussed his investment firm, Enlightened Hospitality Investments, which he co-founded to provide strategic growth equity to businesses he admires. He has spoken about the role of technology and AI in restaurants, describing it as a tool to improve productivity and allow staff to focus on hospitality. Regarding tipping, Meyer has said he believes tips should not be mandatory and that the system can limit career growth for restaurant workers, as tipped employees often earn significantly more than cooks and managers.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Daniel Meyer's recent appearances.
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✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Nora0:01
Restaurant legend Danny Meyer this morning plans to take tipping off the menu. Gratuities are going away at 13 of his New York restaurants. I wrote online, starting at the Modern in late November, you will no longer find a tip line on your check, and there will be no need to leave additional cash at the table, the coat check, or the bar. We're pleased to welcome Danny Meyer back to Studio 57. Good morning.
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Daniel Meyer0:24
Good morning, Charlie. So you call this hospitality included? Why are you doing this?
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Charlie0:32
You know what? I love the hospitality business as much as anyone on earth. What I don't love is a situation in which, over the 30-year career that I've had, the disparity between what somebody can make in the dining room with a tipping system and what somebody can make in the kitchen has widened by about 200 percent.
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Daniel Meyer0:52
A lot more being made by the waiters than by the cooks. Yes, and I love the fact that waiters make good money. As a matter of fact, the waiters at our restaurant, when we eliminate tipping, will make as much or more in 75 percent of the cases than they're making right now. But when you have a tip, I don't think the general public fully understands where that tip can go and where it's not allowed to go. So for example, when you leave a tip at any restaurant, not only is the waiter generally sharing it with all other waiters, but they're not allowed to share it with anyone in the kitchen. So the very people that cooked your food could have loved. Why are they not allowed? Because that's how laws are written across the country. Having to do with taxes, or having nothing to do with taxes? It's that gratuities are only allowed to be shared amongst the people who actually faced you during the meal. So that means that on a really, really busy Saturday night, when everybody's high-fiving themselves because they did such a great job of taking care of you, the cooks are sweating a little bit more while the waiters are counting a lot more. The person I want to be happy is the cook.
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Charlie1:55
You were so right about that. But then Danny said, people say if it's too good to be true, does it mean we're going to pay in other ways? That now the prices of the food are going to go up?
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Daniel Meyer2:01
Well, the price of your meal is exactly what it is. So for example, when you agreed many, many years ago that it's worth paying a little bit more for organic vegetables or locally grown vegetables, or animals that were raised responsibly, that got put in the menu prices. And right now, it's going to be put into the menu prices. Not just what do we pay the cooks and the florist and the reservationists and the table bussers, but what do we pay our servers as well. And that's our responsibility to do it. At the end of the day, when you get your credit card bill a month later, that line when you come to one of our restaurants should look just about exactly as it would have if you had struggled to have to put on the tip. So it's true that the menu price itself will look higher to you by about 21 percent, but the total at the bottom will be the same. The benefit is that we will get a chance, because we don't have to worry about who cannot get tips, to make it an equitable plane. Please not worry about people that don't give good tips. That's one of the most demoralizing things in the world if somebody stiffs a waiter for slow service and it may not have been the waiter's fault.
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Nora3:11
Danny, I mean this is on the front page of every business section and every major paper in this country because it will revolutionize eating if other restaurants follow your lead. Can you guarantee that it will only be a 20 percent increase in the menu price, or could you go as high as 35 percent as some analysts are suggesting?
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Daniel Meyer3:23
Well, we are going to start it at 21 percent and try to make it work as best we can. I think it's really important, Nora, to understand that January 1st of next year, minimum wage is going to be going up everywhere. And as soon as minimum wage goes up, not just our restaurants but every restaurant is going to have to raise the prices. That doesn't require you to eliminate tipping, but we looked at that moment in time and we said, if we're going to have to raise our prices anyway, why don't we use this opportunity to make the restaurant business a much more sustainable place? I just got to add one more thing. We are facing across the whole country the biggest single labor shortage of talented cooking skills that we've ever seen. And part of the reason is that if you're a young kid and you want to go to cooking school with big, big bills, how do you tell your parents, 'What I really want to do is go work for eleven dollars an hour, ten dollars an hour, or nine dollars an hour and then live in a big city like New York?' So for the very sustainability of the business, we think this is important.
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Nora4:30
All right, really interesting. Thank you, restaurant legend. You wear that well.
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Charlie4:34
That's right, Queen Gail.
