Jeff Zalaznick, co-founder of Major Food Group, built a restaurant empire of 77 venues with 76 still operating profitably, driven by a lifelong obsession with New York dining history and a process that blends deep historical research, obsessive ingredient quality, and a “make the best version of what people already love” philosophy.
The Crown Jewel: Restoring The Pool And The Grill
The Pool and The Grill occupy the landmark Four Seasons space (opened 1959) in the Seagram Building, designed by Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson — the only interior-landmark restaurant in America.
Zalaznick grew up revering the Four Seasons; he first dined there for his grandmother’s 75th birthday and knew its history: birthplace of the power lunch, first American menu written in English, first to champion seasonality and foraging, JFK’s birthday dinner venue (cream of asparagus soup in a hidden upstairs room).
Previous operators had neglected the space for decades — 50 years of cigarette smoke turned the gray Mies-designed tile panels black; the kitchen was untouched since 1959.
AB Rosen (building owner) ran a personal RFP after Page Six reported he would oust the incumbents; Zalaznick texted “Four Seasons?” from a plane, met Rosen the same day, and won by betting on dinner over lunch (“no one drinks at lunch”) and promising to be custodians of the history.
Restoration cost $40M+: rebuilt the kitchen to execute 200-person events at à la carte quality, cleaned every tile, remade original Mies chairs, reopened the upstairs storage room as a lounge, rebranded from “Four Seasons” (hotel confusion) to The Grill and The Pool.
Menu built exclusively from dishes documented on 1959 menus — “Jack’s Pie” (cream of asparagus) honors JFK; every detail (uniforms, music, artwork) serves the narrative of American fine dining through a 1959 lens.
Origin Story: From Investment Banking To Hospitality
Obsessed since childhood: watched The Frugal Gourmet on PBS at 10, memorized the Zagat Guide in high school, attended cooking school.
Took a JP Morgan analyst role at 21 for the paycheck; realized within months he read Travel + Leisure while peers read the Wall Street Journal, and that restaurant reservations were currency with managing directors.
The senior bankers he admired were miserable; he wanted to be like the restaurateurs he met — happy, passionate, surrounded by food and people.
Quit on his birthday (year two), walked into the newly opened Mandarin Oriental in a suit, begged HR for any job; got hired next day as VIP Guest Relations lead, managing every aspect of high-profile stays including F&B outlets.
Built an Excel database of NYC restaurants (what to order, best table, who to know) for his VIP guests; turned it into a content site Always Hungry, then co-founded Dine Private with Joe Bastianich (his hero) solely to apprentice under him.
Sat with Bastianich at Del Posto three times a week for months, drinking wine and absorbing operations; realized “I can do this, and I can do it my way” — belief preceded ability.
Founding Carbone: Marry The Chef, Don’t Hire Him
Studied the classic restaurateur-chef conflict (chef wants art, owner wants profit) and decided to partner with a chef as an equal.
Concept: elevate Italian-American “red-sauce” classics (veal parm, lobster fra diavolo, Caesar salad) using the ingredient sourcing and technique of French fine dining — “the best version of something you already love.”
Discovered Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone’s tiny Mulberry Street spot (sandwiches by day, $35 tasting menu by night); blown away by the food and philosophical alignment.
Cold-called at 10 PM after a meal; Mario (who had seen Zalaznick with Bastianich at Del Posto) invited him in after service; talked until 4 AM at the Jane Hotel — shared vision for a global hospitality company, first step: greatest Italian-American restaurant ever.
Rejected the then-dominant “chef’s tasting menu, no substitutions” model; printed a 70-item menu headed “A Piacere” (“whatever you want”) — if they have the ingredients, they’ll cook it your way.
Hired captains from the old-school Italian-American tradition to create “experiential fine dining”: theatrical tableside service, abundance, fun — a direct counter to austere, robotic fine dining.
The Carbone Sign: A $10K Neon And A Vandal’s Gift
Targeted the historic Rocco space (open since 1929) on Thompson Street for over a year; recognized the neon “Rocco Wines & Liquor” sign instantly — “we’ll take it” before seeing the interior.
Landlord demanded $10K extra to keep the sign; paid it. On New Year’s Eve (final night for prior tenant), the outgoing operator smashed every neon tube in a parting “fuck you.”
Zalaznick realized the shattered sign was a gift: rebuilt it as “CARBONE” in red neon over the original green “WINES & LIQUOR” — now the most iconic sign in fine dining, replicated globally.
Miami: “New Year’s Eve Every Night” And 100-Day Buildouts
Stuck in Miami pre-COVID (March 2020); discovered a city hungry for sophisticated dining, zero bureaucratic friction (“move a tree in New York, your grandchildren finish; in Miami, next day”), and a unified civic will to become “the best city in America.”
Within months, called partners: “biggest opportunity I’ve ever seen” — every night was sold out everywhere, no experiential fine dining existed.
Signed lease on a failed COVID-era restaurant between Joe’s Stone Crab and Prime 112 (two of America’s highest-grossing restaurants); logic: “how bad can the location be?”
Gutted and redesigned in 100 days without moving a single wall, light, outlet, or kitchen element — designer Ken Fulk spent freely on finishes only. Prior tenant did $7M revenue; Carbone Miami does $30M+ on the same floor plan.
Brought NYC staff down (furloughed during COVID) to train locals; service culture transferred instantly. Now 12+ South Florida venues, a private club, and a residential condo tower (Villa) nearing completion.
Private Clubs: “Netflix With A Restaurant”
Zz’s (Miami, then NYC Hudson Yards) applies a subscription model to hospitality: annual/monthly dues create recurring revenue, near-zero churn, weather/probability insulation — “Netflix with a restaurant.”
Differentiator: food comes first. Zz’s NYC has two restaurants (private Carbone with 30-40% exclusive dishes; Japanese concept) plus bars with proprietary snacks.
Culinary concierge: members request anything 48 hours out — Egyptian feast, grandmother’s recipes recreated, 10-course caviar tasting, elevated chicken nuggets and Big Macs — executed by a dedicated chef team.
Philosophy: “if you’re not focused on eating and drinking, there’s no point in being a member” — unlike London clubs where food is an afterthought.
Major Food Group evolving into a fully vertically integrated hospitality company: restaurants → private clubs → branded residential (Villa, Miami: 80 ultra-luxury condos, MFG designs every detail, runs all F&B/amenities) → hotels (Newbury Boston, first hotel partnership) → next: 3-acre Miami Beach oceanfront campus (greatest American beach club, European-style, multiple restaurants, spa, pools, private rooms, Sadelle’s breakfast on sand).
Carbone tomato sauce: $10 jar sold in thousands of doors nationwide — “a little piece of what people aspire to at the restaurant.” Same thesis: not a new product, the best version of a familiar one. Sauce business scales beyond physical covers; harmonious with restaurants, not competitive.
Dyson parallel: “your mediocrity is my opportunity” — find categories people already use (vacuum cleaners, jarred sauce, spicy rigatoni vodka) and relentlessly re-engineer the best version.
Core Operating Principles
Process over inspiration: deep archival research (NYPL menus, articles), narrative coherence (every chair, soundtrack, uniform serves the story), food paramount but “story” and “fun” close behind.
Only metric that matters: “are they coming back?” First visit is easy (hype, Instagram); repeat visits prove the product.
Passion as competitive moat: Zalaznick’s generation entered purely from love (low-status, “you’ll go broke”); social media later glamorized the industry, attracting opportunists chasing virality over quality — but also created a more educated, spend-comfortable consumer base.
“We build places we want to go” — if the founders wouldn’t frequent it, they don’t build it. Applied now to 24/7 hospitality: wake-up to bedtime, same philosophy across all verticals.
Opportunity filter: “find me two or three restaurants doing $20M+ in a city, then it’s interesting.” Global inbound from developers, stadiums, new neighborhoods; sort for alignment, not volume.
