This iconic New York restaurant at 21 West 52nd Street became famous during Prohibition as a Manhattan speakeasy (illegal drinking establishment). Since those years, it has evolved as the “go-to” spot for (mostly male) heavy-hitters in New York City’s political, business and sports worlds. Acquired by Orient-Express, management resolved to expand the restaurant’s appeal to a younger crowd of both men and women.

Challenge

• Make the restaurant relevant to a younger generation of diners, both male and female
• Showcase the quality and “New York uniqueness” of the cuisine
• Promote the historic and elegant interior spaces

Strategy

• Identify several socially prominent younger people and appoint them “Brand Ambassadors”
• Given expense accounts to entertain friends at ‘21’
• Initiate a Breakfast at '21' lecture series – a by-invitation-only speaker series to introduce affluent, "fast track" New Yorkers to the restaurant
• Arrange TV interviews and cooking demonstrations for Executive Chef John Greeley
• Stimulate private dining business via an alliance between  '21' and Successful Meetings, the #1 trade magazine for corporate event and party planners

Execution

• The Brand Ambassadors introduced many high-visibility guests to the restaurant
• Vogue Editor-at-Large André Leon Talley and a "Power Women" panel moderated by Harper's Bazaar Editor-in-Chief Glenda Bailey were among those JGA secured for the pleasure of ‘21’’s breakfast guests.
• Publicity appeared in The New York Times, amNew York, Metro New York, Bon Appétit, New York Magazine, LX New York radio (WNBC-AM Radio), Dining Diary (WCBS-AM Radio) and The Cooking Channel, among others

• Brokered a partnership whereby '21' bartered a private luncheon in its storied Wine Cellar, hosted by Successful Meetings' Publisher for the magazine's top advertisers, in exchange for the New York Metro segment of the magazine's subscriber list
• Enabled '21' to reach out to the professionals who book events for major corporations, local businesses and high-profile New Yorkers

Results

• Repeat guests began to skew younger
• Women, especially in groups, became a visible presence in the restaurant
• Private dining business increased measurably