Hello everyone,
Happy Wednesday and welcome to August’s podcast.
One of the best parts of what I do is connecting with industry leaders behind several iconic spots that have shaped my experience of hospitality. Last summer I befriended Eugene Remm on Instagram, a couple quarters before he opened The Corner Store in the former Dos Caminos Soho space. Eugene has opened several iconic New York venues that I had the pleasure of experiencing in different phases of my life. There were Tenjune and SL in New York back in the era of Gossip Girl, Avicii, and Herve Leger. I also remember going to Catch in the Meatpacking district during my analyst days in New York, which was the era of Soulcycle, the early days of Classpass, and Rumble Noho (coincidentally co-founded by Eugene). If you’re a millennial, you’ll probably relate to this. And if you’re a millennial passionate about hospitality and curious about what it takes to create iconic venues, you’ll enjoy this episode.
Huge thank you to Peoplevine for sponsoring this episode (and making the podcast possible this year)! Peoplevine is trusted by the best brands in the members club business. Book a free demo to see why at peoplevine.com.
Today's guest is Eugene Remm, who co-founded Catch Hospitality Group in 2011. Eugene has opened Catch locations in 7 different markets throughout the U.S. and most recently, The Corner Store in New York, which has been a big success. Eugene started his hospitality career in the New York nightlife business in the 2000's, launching hit concepts such as Tenjune and SL, before pivoting to large format restaurants post 2008. Following this defining moment in his career, Eugene doubled down on the Catch concept and took a bold step forward by launching the LA location. In 2017, upon the success of Catch LA, Tilman Fertitta became a partner in Catch Hospitality Group. In this interview, we chatted about Eugene's background as a Russian immigrant and his attitude towards entrepreneurship, and building longevity in hospitality through the humility to learn from mistakes and relentlessly evolving the guest experience.
Interview Highlights:
The American Dream and entrepreneurship
Opening hit nightclubs in NYC in the 2000's
Pivoting to large format restaurants post 2008
How Eugene convinced Tilman Fertitta to join Catch as a partner
Longevity in hospitality
Economics of a small format NYC restaurant
Follow Eugene on Instagram
Learn more about Catch Hospitality Group
Follow The Stanza on Instagram
Really like the interview, just wish there was more mention of team building and rolls, i get so curious in big groups like this how do they hold it all together? What are the founders actual rolls in the evolution? How do they get key players inside their organizations?
Just a thought for next time 😊
SL + TENJUNE 🥹 wow really pulling on alll the millennial heart strings, what a time!