In this age of AI and automation and bots and everything that changes everything at the same time, the hospitality business is still about the art of people and having the right people in the right place at the right time. If anything, the people in the beauty of the night of sight and night of power are moving more than before as they are building empires that surpass many countries. Consider JP and Ellia Park, who run North America’s highest-grossing restaurant, atomix. In October, they returned to Seoul (where they lived before moving to New York) as de facto hansik ambassadors. Then they returned to Seoul in November for the opening of their first restaurant in Korea, JP unknown at Louis Vuitton.
Mario Carbone had the worst phase of his life this year, as his core group started what they called the Rivatoni World Tour, opening restaurants in London, Dubai and Las Vegas in back-to-back months. Elizabeth Blau, who first made her name in Las Vegas, has her eyes on the Middle East as she continues to work on restaurant development for clients like Wynn. Thanks to the blau construction, Wynn Al Marjan Island in the United Arab Emirates will boast a collection of restaurants and nightlife including Alain Ducasse Steakhouse and Outpost of Delilah.
Las Vegas, of course, has long been driven by this kind of abandonment. The goal brings the most powerful brands from around the world, including New York’s Cape (Vevetian) Gymkhana (Aria), to create a razzle-dazzle experience powered by the luxury of nighttime elements (such as the DJ Booth and VIP Skybox at the Las Vegas Cat).
Las Vegas is back again where a classy working class focused on affordable food can thrive. Scarr’s Pizza, which recently opened in the Venetian food hall, is part of the slide. But Pizzaiolo Scarr Pimentel used to grind his flour in his New York room before he got organic flour to his standard. Din Tai Fung, a Taiwanese soup-dumpling powerhouse that dates back to 1958, now thrives in California, Las Vegas and New York with open kitchens where guests can see hand-made dumplings.
There are obvious exceptions to this list in this list, but one refreshing thing about the high TIER of hospitality is that it is Anti-Trend. The future of dining and nightlife isn’t the ultimate kitchens or superfoods or avatar djs or instagram-friendly presentations. What drives the industry forward is the desire to innovate. And hospitality, as in all, is about the resilience of people.
In Los Angeles, where everything from Hollywood hits devastating fires in Ozempic on the rise of the minimum wage led to the restaurant industry and led to many closures, adept operators continue to grow carefully. To get Jerry Greenberg higher, this means he is working on fixing two locations of the spinoff Restaurant Cheesesteaks by Matū at Uovo while also planning Uovo’s expansion in New York. Uovo, not unfortunately, has become a sensation by serving handmade pasta in Bologna. The human touch is very clear.
Across the industry, leaders are grappling with persistent labor shortages that are reshaping how restaurants and bars operate. As Cherif Mbodji noted, “The biggest challenge is always work – Finding, Developing and Retaining Great People.” This sentiment was captured by Jihan Lee, who finds “team members who understand the pace and punish the industry” as a major obstacle. “Young workers come in with different expectations for balance and dedication, which creates tension in a field built on consistency and resilience,” Lee said. The way forward, many suggest, lies in deeper investment in training, strengthening and treating hospitality as a long-term profession. Roni Mazumdar who stands as a fundamental change in mind: “Hospitality should be treated as a skillful, continuous activity, not a food project tied together.” Part of the problem, according to Davin Kaysen, is that hospitality is an art that can be learned quickly. “It’s something you learn over time and with a lot of practice. We need to deal with the generation coming into this profession with empathy, as they grow up in different times than we do for worse or better.” In order to do that, JP Park is looking for a sector to pressurize structures that prioritize education, social welfare and cooperation between restaurants, manufacturers and cultural institutions. “Many talented people leave the industry because the system does not support long-term balance or growth,” Park told viewers. “The future of hospitality will depend on how we truly invest in people.”
Hospitality at its highest level, of course, is about building many successful businesses. So whether you are hosting (a group with three Michelin Star restaurants in Nashville) or the USTIN HOSPERY Hotel that just came from California or Clark’s Bloomsield Hotel) or a wine pen, the goal is always to keep things moving at all times.
In New Orleans, Emeril’s is the only restaurant with Michelin Stars. EJ Lagasse, the 22-year-old son of the Iconic Lagasse, Emeril Lagasse, works in the kitchen and transforms this place into the next restaurant to taste the tasting menu. Besides being a young chef at the helm of a restaurant with two michelin stones in November (where the michelin stars are in the American South), Ej has had a very good year in terms of brilliance New York Times Review in October and Spot on the list of Arauugural North American American Restaurres Restaurres Fasts in September. Sometimes, having the right person in the right place at the right time is as simple as looking within your family.
Another important trend is from the use of alcohol, which is changing support systems and business models across the industry. Lisa Limb notes that this “opened up a whole new avenue for the beverage world” and brought about an increase in creativity around spirits-free drinks. But it also affects income, as Aaron Bludakar says: “Our income is based on many reasons: Alcohol sales, people spend less in general and eat less.” In an industry that has traditionally relied on alcohol sales, adapting to this new reality is a challenge. “Taxes go up, commodity prices go up, wages go up—and you can’t take the price,” said Eugene Ronm. “You have to do more with less.” However, there are challenges and opportunities for innovation. “We need systems that support fair wages, reasonable hours and access to affordable means of ownership, while encouraging unity in reduction, waste reduction and energy use, said Fidel Caballero.
Despite these operational pressures, a growing number of consumers are looking for a deeper meaning and story behind their dining experience. Sofia Ostos captures this transformation: “People want to understand why something is on the plate, not how it looks.” JP Park was not the only one to throw this idea, almost verbatim, noting that diners “want to understand the ‘why’ behind the plate.” In an era of transparent consumption and transparently driven restaurants and cafes are drawn to communicate and communicate authentically and design experiences that, in the words of Dominique Crenn, “feel placed emotionally and emotionally.” Or, as Vijay Kumar put it: “Real stories, real flavors and places that people feel.”
Humanity is still the most important ingredient in hospitality, and that’s not changing anytime soon.
