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It’s a Sunday afternoon in December, and a number of NFL games are about to appear on television screens. But instead of relaxing at home, I’m standing in line with hundreds of other people in 13-degree weather to attend Rocco’s Sports and Rec in Manhattan’s NoHo neighborhood. The line is around the block, even though the temperature is below freezing and there are plenty of bars with seating nearby.
But this is like trying to get into Thatcher Schulz’s establishment.
Mr. Schultz, a New York-based restaurateur, has owned a number of other businesses, including The Garrett West, a bootlegger he founded 10 years ago hidden above Five Guys, and Make Believe, a rooftop hotspot known for its specialty. , which owns and operates 12 nightlife establishments in New York. Vibrant outdoor scene with pink decorations. He also plans to open two new spots by the end of the year, including “Music for a while” at the Selina Hotel Chelsea, which opens on March 8th.
“I’m really trying to push the boundaries,” Schultz says. entrepreneur. “There are a lot of new concepts that have come out in the last year. You have to keep evolving. I have to stay current and stay on top of my game.”
Schultz has a penchant for finding underutilized or misused spaces and turning them into “experiences” for his customers, but somehow his stores feel overcrowded and overstimulated. It seems like they won’t let you.
Remarkably, all of his establishments survived the pandemic, and the packed football days at Rocco’s are a far cry from 2020, which decimated New York’s restaurant and nightlife scene.
And the aftereffects are still lingering — although we won’t know this football Sunday. (At least I managed to get inside to watch my team lose.)
Here’s how Schultz kept this head and company above water and charted a path to growth during a difficult few years.
New York isn’t the only place where nightlife has changed.
According to a December 2023 NYC Hospitality Alliance report, more than 50% of restaurants and bars will report revenue declines in 2023, and 72% will report “labor costs” as their main concern in 2024 and the coming months. ”.
“Profit margins are extremely tight right now because of labor issues, people are cutting back on spending, people are drinking less, they’re tighter than they’ve ever been,” Schultz said.
In January 2024, Eater reports that more than 40 restaurants and bars have closed in New York City, noting that sales and related operating costs have not returned to pre-pandemic levels and rents are rising.
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“New York City’s restaurants and bars have seen an uneven recovery from the pandemic, nearly four years after COVID-19 hit the city,” said Andrew Riggy, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance. “There are,” the group said in a release. “Some have recovered, but others are still suffering.”
By spring 2021, it is estimated that approximately 90,000 restaurants (including diners, cafes, taverns, and bars) had closed across the country.
Schulz said the pandemic has also changed consumer behavior in terms of how they approach nightlife.
“People’s mindset has changed and it’s almost scary to explore the city at night,” he says. “They want to be on the list for everything, they want to buy tickets, they want to RSVP, but otherwise they just don’t want to go. It’s not the consumer’s fault. It’s just the coronavirus. It’s a byproduct.”
What is important is the location
Schultz says one good thing that has come out of the pandemic is that there have been a lot of deals done on venues that probably wouldn’t have happened without the plunge in rent prices.
“We made some very lucrative deals during COVID-19,” Schultz said, citing Bandits, an eclectic cocktail diner and dive bar in the West Village, as an example. Ta.
“A lot of cool spaces have opened up because of COVID,” he added. “That being said, competition is fierce right now. [but] I welcome competition. ”
When looking for a new location, Schultz says he sometimes searches for the venue, but other times he gets a deal and finds a venue before he starts building something.
“I took a lot of chances, and most of them paid off, but some didn’t,” he says, noting that he’s essentially looking for a unique, small space. did.
look for similar threads
Although none of his spaces are alike, each venue has similar aspects that make each location feel distinctly Schulz.
“I think the smaller the better and the more intimate the better,” he says of the trademark similarities across all spaces.
Schulz prioritizes high-end lighting, design, and acoustics at each facility, regardless of venue size.
Take, for example, Virgo, a 300-capacity upscale nightclub located downstairs on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. However, the space itself is U-shaped and has plenty of areas for guests to dance and mingle, so even when the venue is empty, it never feels cavernous.
Money is not the motive (for everything)
If you’re getting into the nightlife industry just to make money, you’re better off looking elsewhere, he says.
“I didn’t get into this industry for the money. It takes years to make money at any venue. It’s grueling,” he said. “We have to accept that many venues will break even and some will even be in the red, but we can’t do it for the money.”
Schultz said he has several side jobs, including owning rental income real estate and a vintage car import business, which relieves him of the pressure of focusing on pure profit from the venue.
“I’ve never relied on hospitality as my primary source of income,” he said, noting how difficult the restaurant industry has historically been to break even.
Focus on how you want people to feel when they walk in
Schulz’s new spot, Music for a While, offers costumes (which customers can wear) to give customers the listening bar experience without the pressure of having to be music buffs.
“People can be really weird and be whatever they want to be,” he said of his newest venture, which opens Friday.
“We want people to come and experience a sense of escapism, where they can forget their hardships and just have fun, meet new people, hang out with friends, enjoy a nice cocktail or a great meal. You can,” he added. “And hopefully it will turn their day around and it will turn their night around.”
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