Hospitality Design - May 2014 - (Page 153) perspectives interview tao group By Stacy Shoemaker Rauen Photography by Eric Laignel (TAO Downtown) and courtesy of the TAO Group 1 2 MAGIC TOUCH One group's knack for raising the bar 3 It seems that everything the four partners of the TAO Group-Richard Wolf, Jason Strauss, Marc Packer, and Noah Tepperberg- open turns to gold. Since starting the PanAsian trend in 2000 with TAO in Midtown Manhattan, they have grown their mini empire to include 17 restaurants, lounges, and nightclubs in New York, Las Vegas, and Sydney-many of which have repeatedly topped the year's highest-grossing venue lists. (It helps that their Las Vegas establishments draw a combined 25,000 to 30,000 people on non-holiday weekends.) Whether inventing new concepts or reimagining old ones-and all with a detailed focus on design by a variety of industry talents-no challenge seems too large, and success continues to beget success. In the wake of the much-anticipated TAO Downtown New York opening and in the midst of redos of the Las Vegas properties, Wolf and Strauss talk breaking new ground, the appeal of ramen, and putting their money where their mouth is. TAO Downtown opened in a massive 22,000-square-foot subterranean space this past October in the Maritime Hotel in New York. Why was it time to bring a second TAO to Manhattan? Richard Wolf: The first TAO is more than 13 years old, and the second one [in Las Vegas] is more than eight years old. We felt it was time to reinvent the brand, to keep it fresh, and have a model to continue to grow with. We don't want to ever keep copying ourselves. Vegas was a departure in many ways from [the first location in] New York. But this one in New York is different in just about every way, and that was a conscious effort. Yes, it's a big, sexy space with a statue from Buddhism, here a Quan Yin, but other than that, everything is different-the uniforms, the menu covers, the menu itself. It's probably 75 percent new items. Was that something you wanted to do, or did the space provide the right opportunity? Jason Strauss: We were always confident that there could be two TAOs in New York, uptown and downtown. Then, we always wanted to evolve the brand, as Rich says, and update the look and feel, and challenge ourselves in that way. When the space presented itself on 16th Street and Ninth Avenue underneath the Maritime Hotel [on the edge of Chelsea and the Meatpacking District], we thought 1+2. TAO Group partners, Richard Wolf and Jason Strauss. 3. At TAO Downtown, a 40-foot-long staircase with three landings holds seating for 100 guests, creating "great perch seating," says Rockwell Group partner Shawn Sullivan. it was a perfect site [next door to the Dream Downtown where they operate multiple venues]. We believe in the neighborhood; we think it's amazing. There's a dramatic amount of nightlife and hospitality there. We thought it was the right space for the new TAO. Why did you enlist Rockwell Group to design the space? RW: We had a great experience with them on Marquee in Vegas, from David [Rockwell] all the way down. David took a tremendous amount of ownership in the project, and it shows. There's a certain culture in their company that is very collaborative, very cooperative, and they don't get flustered when you don't like something. A lot of designers get married to their own ideas and become difficult to work with when you reject their ideas one too many times. Rockwell and his hospitalitydesign.com May 2014 153 http://www.hospitalitydesign.com Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - May 2014 Hospitality Design - May 2014 Contents online TOC from the editor people people perspectives sketchbook business sense state of the industry trends millennials places berlin places hawaii interview the trump organization interview tao group interview david seargeant interview valeriano antonioli 5 questions for robert mckinley products profile cecilia dupire trends rich fabrics flooring technology sustainable cevisama roundup hd expo preview from the show director products roger thomas conference highlights pentahotel an nam night market elements the line renaissance barcelona fi ra hard rock hotel palm springs ace los angeles omni nashville hotel regent phuket cape panwa only you hotel & lounge hyatt atlanta midtown the royal snail row nyc st. cecilia sophie’s at saks fi fth avenue herringbone los angeles old crow smokehouse daikaya ad index ad index back space back space Hospitality Design - 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