What’s Next for New York City Restaurants?

While restaurants and other hospitality venues are now open,
restaurants are still waiting for the dust to settle. With the
Delta Variant spreading and restaurateurs picking up the pieces
from 2020, what will the post-COVID world look like for
restaurants?


Here to give insights on this episode of The Main Course with
Host Barbara Castiglia is Micha Magid, co-CEO of Mighty Quinn’s
BBQ, a NY-based Authentic barbeque experience in a fast-casual
setting. They discuss how his business survived the pandemic,
helped others–including other restaurants–push through the
challenging year, and what’s next for New York restaurants in a
post-pandemic world.


Magid’s career wasn’t always in restaurants. He started on Wall
Street in mergers and acquisitions before moving into the hedge
fund world. Along with his brother-in-law, Chris Gourmos, and
pitmaster Hugh Magnums, Magid launched Mighty Quinn’s in December
of 2012. They opened their first brick-and-mortar Mighty Quinn’s
restaurant in the East Village.


“In March of 2013, we received this glowing review in The New
York Times Dining section, and the whole world changed for us,”
Magid said.


Since the brand’s inception, the three partners have opened nine
corporate-owned locations, a restaurant at Yankee Stadium, two
locations in Madison SquareGarden, and one international
franchised restaurant. Now, with solid operations and a growing
fan base, the brand is excited to push growth forward through
franchising.


But, things weren’t always so easy for them, especially during
the pandemic. At one point, they had to close eight of their 12
restaurants temporarily. This has caused them to be more
strategic and thoughtful with their expansion.