We love talking about our clients and food service trends across the country, but for this blog entry, we are going to talk about the JGL team! Our team has grown over the past two years with offices in New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles and Pennsylvania. We are all connected and have weekly calls to discuss all our projects, but we have never all been in the same city at the same time – until this week!
On Monday, August 29, 2019 David, Colleen and I traveled to Princeton, NJ to meet Tracy for a business planning and strategy session. It was amazing how many incredible ideas were generated when we are all together in person. It was a nice reminder that face to face communication is still truly important.
We took a break for lunch and dinner and tried two different Momo Restaurant Group locations; Eno Terra and Mediterra. Both meals were excellent! Check out the websites below for more information if you are in the Princeton area.
https://enoterra.com/
https://mediterrarestaurant.com/
On Tuesday, we traveled into Manhattan for day two of our summer retreat. Tracy decided to surprise us with a team building experience; she planned this a month ago and would not let us in on the secret until the day before. She arranged for us to try an escape room! The best part of this escape room is that it was a culinary themed experience…the only way to get out of the room was by finding all the ingredients necessary to bake cupcakes! We crushed it!! We escaped the room with 4 minutes and 36 seconds to spare (and some cupcakes)! Additional proof that the JGL team works incredibly well together.
We highly recommend Exit Escapes. I plan on taking my family back for an afternoon adventure!
https://www.exitescaperoomnyc.com/games.html
After our great escape, we walked over to the Morgan Library & Museum to check out their new coffee bar. We recently helped the Morgan with an RFP process and contract negotiation. We were so happy to see that the space looks amazing and both the client and Operator are very happy.
Our final stop on the JGL Summer Re-treat 2019, was a delicious lunch at the Restoration Hardware Rooftop Restaurant. The menu was developed by Brendan Sodikoff; Restoration Hardware self operates the restaurant. Restoration Hardware is interesting as the showroom spaces feel like a gallery space, they have developed a membership program and now offer a food service amenity – the model feels very similar to a Museum (other than the fact that you can purchase everything you see!).
Overall, we were very impressed with the menu, the atmosphere and the service at the Rooftop Restaurant. I did wonder if the food tasted better because the space was so pretty or if the space looked so beautiful because the food was so good! Either way, it was a lovely experience. The restaurant does not take reservations so be prepared to wait. The good news is, there is a full-service bar that serves alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and pastries on the third floor. (You can wander with your coffee and have a seat on any of the furniture in the store while you wait for a text alerting you that your table is ready.)
The JGL team is energized and excited to share all our new ideas with current and future clients. This summer retreat just reaffirmed that not only do we all love what we do, but we really love working with each other – what a ‘treat!’
#JGLMuseumFood #EagleEyesLawler #Lovewhatwedo