FSR May 2022

ANDREW ZIMMERN

eral other businesses, but I personally am pursuing smaller footprints, smaller menus, smaller employees—I’m pursu ing that footprint,” he says. Concessions may not be his focus, but the experience of building smaller, quicker prototypes has informed his newer concepts. Zimmern is currently engaged in two projects with restaurateur Robert Mont waid, best known for converting the his torical Gansevoort Market in New York’s Meatpacking District into a food hall. The pair are now doing the same with the

I think it’s a great thing, but remember they’re 20 seats, $500 a person, and I think that’s very smart,” he says. “[For] ultra-luxury restaurants at the highest tier, I think smaller footprints are the way to go.” He also believes that on the far oppo site side of the dining spectrum, spe cialized, budget-friendly concepts are equally resilient; he adds that these business models are already common in many other countries. But this potential dining future

As for the many restaurants that fall in between the two camps, Zim mern doesn’t see them having much of a future. “I think it’s going to be too expensive for people to open mid-level restaurants the way we currently envision them,” he says. “Ultimately, it could be more sus tainable, but it’s a sad and horrific thing for the hundreds of thousands of Amer ican food businesses that may not sur vive it. Culture shifts aren’t without pain It’s tempting to peg Zimmern as a pes simist, or at the very least, a clear-eyed skeptic. After all, he paints a rather bleak picture of the restaurant landscape. From his perspective, tragedy and pain are often the only effective incentives in altering human behavior. But there’s a frenetic energy under lying those dire predictions that sug gests he’s still ready to fight the good fight. And for as much as his words may imply resignation, his actions tell a very different story. As he has done for much of his career, Zimmern continues to seek opportuni ties where he can connect with individ uals, better understand different people, and share that understanding with the masses. At present, he’s pursuing these goals on a variety of fronts, including two new television series. Striking many familiar notes from past projects, “Family Dinner” is almost like a domestic version of “Bizarre Foods.” The show debuted on Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network last year and has already completed two seasons. In each half-hour episode, Zimmern vis its a different family to share a meal and learn how geography, regional culture, and family background influence their food experience. The other series, “What’s Eating America,” marks a departure of sorts both in tone and subject matter but pro vides the perfect canvas for Zimmern to explore some of the thorniest issues plaguing the F&B sector and beyond. “Our goal was to try to tell stories associated with them.” ‘FOOD TOUCHES EVERYTHING’

ZIMMERN’S CONCESSIONS BUSINESS, AZ CANTEEN, PUTS A GLOBAL SPIN ON GAME-DAY BITES.

MADELEINE HILL

Dayton’s Building in downtown Minne apolis and Chattahoochee Food Works in Atlanta; the latter opened just over a year ago and is already home to more than two dozen vendors. “A food hall is a great example of an amalgamation of smaller businesses, each one with a small footprint and a smaller menu. And the vast majority of them are bringing 20 percent plus to the bottom line. So it’s a more sustainable business and a more sustainable oppor tunity,” he says. Indeed, the future viability of res taurants is a top concern for Zimmern. Unlike some industry analysts who have decried the end of fine dining, he consid ers it one of the more shored-up sectors. “Fine dining, to a certain extent, seems a little bit bulletproof. I’ve never seen so many high-end sushi bars and Japanese restaurants open in America.

exacts a heavy toll. For as much as has shifted over the past few years, Zim mern says those changes are just the tip of the iceberg. “When you say how the last couple of years transformed what restaurants look like in America—we haven’t even begun to see the net effect of what this is going to do to that system,” he says. “I think 20 years from now, our restaurant world is going to look a lot more like a hand ful of high-end restaurants at the top that will still have tablecloths and look kind of like the way fancy restaurants do now. And then everything below it is going to be 15-20-30-40-seat places that specialize in rotisserie chicken and salads and bowls.” The latter, he adds, gives operators greater control over costs, thanks to less labor, smaller spaces, fewer SKUs, and niche menus.

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FSRMAGAZINE.COM

MAY 2022