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Hospitality

The dining room of Korean Steakhouse Cote in New York City

The Business of Category Creation, According to Simon Kim

Simon Kim has spent the past decade redefining what Korean cuisine can be on the global stage. As the restaurateur behind COTE, Coqodaq and Gracious Hospitality Management, Kim has transformed Korean dining into a Michelin-starred luxury format that scales across continents without sacrificing identity, discipline or craft. In this Expert Insights Q&A, Kim examines the business of category creation—from maintaining Michelin-level consistency across New York, Miami, Las Vegas and Singapore to knowing when growth is earned rather than forced. Drawing on his experience building multi-concept brands and preparing his most ambitious project yet at 550 Madison Avenue, Kim argues that people, intuition and creative restraint are what ultimately determine whether a hospitality concept endures.
By Sonia Rubeck
Interior of Radio Bakery

What It Really Takes to Build Staying Power in New York’s Frenetic Food Scene

Under chef and co-owner Kelly Mencin’s leadership, Radio Bakery has become one of New York City’s most talked-about neighborhood bakeries, known for its season creativity, savory-sweet laminated doughs and community-first approach to growth. In this Expert Insights Q&A, Mencin draws on her classical training and global bakery influences to unpack the business realities behind Radio’s cult following, from sustaining demand in a trend-saturated food scene to balancing consistency with innovation at scale. She explores why systems matter as much as creativity, how leadership sets the tone in high-pressure environments and what it takes to build a bakery brand that endures beyond the hype cycle.
By Sonia Rubeck
Professional portrait of Jennifer Findley and Kevin Mansour

Art as Infrastructure: How Cultural Programming Is Redefining Luxury Hospitality


Jennifer Findley, an international art advisor and founder of the JFiN Collective, has built a career at the intersection of curatorial rigor, market strategy and cultural stewardship. As Oram Hotels’ newly appointed Director of Arts & Culture, she brings that perspective directly into hospitality development. In this Expert Insights Q&A, Findley joins Oram Hotels co-founder Kevin Mansour—whose real estate and investment expertise has shaped the group’s Southern California portfolio—to examine how embedding artists, institutions and cultural process into hotels from the earliest stages is redefining brand value, guest engagement and long-term asset identity. Together, they explore why art, when treated as infrastructure rather than ornament, can fundamentally reshape what hospitality delivers.
By Sonia Rubeck
Exterior of Bangkok Supper Club in New York City

Inside a Modern Thai Dining Brand: Culture, Creativity and the Business of Nightlife

By Sonia Rubeck

How Luxury, Experience and Education Are Redefining the Global Bar Scene

By Sonia Rubeck

How Padel Became the Reigning Leisure Sport in Luxury Hospitality

By Emily Zemler
An aerial view of a padel court

Where Sport Meets Design: The New Language of Luxury Leisure

By Chris Moore and Nicholas Solarewicz
Baskets of freshly baked bagels

The Business of Bagels: How New York’s Most Iconic Food Fuels a Culinary Economy

By Olga González
Interior of an upscale restaurant

From Tables to Touchpoints: Restaurants Are Taking a Page from Retail’s Tech Playbook

By Britney Ziegler

How Joel Montaniel Helps Restaurants Find and Keep Their Best Customers

By Andy Wang
Joel Montaniel at Observer's Nightlife + Dining Power List party on Jan. 22. 2024 in New York City.

SevenRooms CEO Joel Montaniel Is Solving the Hospitality Industry’s Data Problem

By Sissi Cao
"The title alone made me instantly want to befriend its author."

Set the Right Tone At Your Table with Tips From Marc J. Sievers’ “Table for Two”

By Britten Leigh Wolfe
Jeremy Cowart.

This A-List Celebrity Photographer Wants to Change How You Travel

By Andy Wang

A New Player Aims to Improve NYC’s Restaurant Rating System

By Stephanie Grella
Ellis Island

Airbnb Hosts Continue the Ellis Island Tradition of Hospitality

By Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke
This is what happens when you try to close a hospital in New York. And, apparently, when you try to open one. (Photo by Gideon Resnick.)

New Yorkers Want All the Hospitals to Stay Right Where They Are, Thank You Very Much

By Stephen Jacob Smith
Charming as hell but kinda busy right now. (STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

Sorry, New York, But the South and West Are Whupping Us at Airbnb Hospitality

By Kelly Faircloth
Expansion plans directly across from the Ace Hotel.

Exclusive: NoMad Hotel Project to Expand by More Than 100,000 SF

By Dan Geiger

Despite All Evidence to the Contrary, A Yankees Stadium Hotel and Convention Center Might Not Be A Bad Idea

By Thornton McEnery

New Operators Shimmy Into Scores Buildings

By Chris Shott

Radar Picks Up ‘Below-Radar’ Hotel

By Chris Shott
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