PETER ZWIENER President

WOLFGANG’S STEAKHOUSE

Various steakhouses have opened and purported to offer only the best steak there is. This time, New York’s famous Wolfgang’s Steakhouse is revolutionizing the scenery with its refreshing new brand of steak, prepared and processed the Wolfgang’s way.

Wolfgang’s Steakhouse global president Peter Zwiener does not leave a single stone unturned with his delicate and precise way to offer only the best steak, with consistent quality regardless of location, time and distance.

Wolfgang

In 2004, after working as head waiter at a well-established Brooklyn steakhouse for 40 years, Wolfgang Zwiener and his son Peter joined two other ex-waiters to open the first Wolfgang’s Steakhouse at Park Avenue in Manhattan, New York.

In his four decades of being a head waiter, Wolfgang became a well-known face to the regular clientele, and formed valuable, lasting relationships with them. Peter, an investment banker, contributed his expertise to make the vision a reality.

The father-and-son tandem had the perfect combination of F&B and hospitality skills and business finance to make their new restaurant a success.

At present, there are already 17 Wolfgang’s Steakhouse branches globally, in locations which include New York City (5), Miami, Beverly Hills, Waikiki Beach, New Jersey, Tokyo (2), Osaka, Fukuoka, Seoul, Manila, Beijing, and Hong Kong.

Soon to open are branches in Singapore, a 6th location in New York City, two additional locations in Manila (one in the new Stock Exchange Building at Bonifacio Global City, and one at the newly-renovated Podium in Ortigas), Shanghai, Cyprus, and Jakarta.

Wolfgang’s is also in discussion with various potential local partners in Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Australia. Wolfgang’s Steakhouse Philippines is the first Wolfgang’s in South East Asia.

Wolfgang’s has become a name to reckon globally when it comes to good food, especially in the world of steak.

The banker

Upon graduating from Columbia University in 1987 with Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Electrical Engineering, Peter joined Citigroup as an associate in their corporate finance and capital markets division. While at Citigroup, he pursued higher education at The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, where he received his MBA (Master of Business Administration) major in finance and econometrics.

He returned to Citigroup as a banker in their International Cross Border Mergers and Acquisitions/Privatizations department, and later, moved on to two other banks, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and ING Barings/ABN AMRO, in the same role – focusing on telecommunications, electric utilities and consumer products. He retired from banking in 2003 to establish what is now known as Wolfgang restaurant.

“Yes, my experience and background in banking and finance proved extremely helpful in entering the restaurant business,” says the young Zwiener, who became the global CEO of Wolfgang’s Steakhouse after working for 16 years as an investment banker.

As an M&A banker, Zwiener advised many companies in their strategic and operational direction, learned the art of negotiation, raised capital, formed joint ventures and partnerships, constructed and analyzed financial statements and operating budgets as well as understand the legal and labor issues that commonly arise in managing and operating a business.

“It provided me with the tools and laid the foundation of running a successful, sustainable profitable business,” says Zwiener.

He made full use of his expertise to form a corporation that could operate profitably while expanding rapidly and globally.

“My experience in running a business from my days in banking provided me the tools of negotiation, financial analysis, raising capital, plus personal attributes of persistence, perseverance and optimism plus my passion of the food, wine, restaurant and hospitality business,” he adds.

Customer is king Wolfgang’s quick expansion into the international scene has been attributed to his focus to put customer first in his list of 6 key factors that made Wolfgang’s Steakhouse what it is today.

Of the 17 international locations, Wolfgang’s Steakhouse has opened in Resorts World Manila. It has two upcoming branches in the new Podium building in Ortigas and in Bonifacio Global City.

“Put the customer first because customer is king,” says Zwiener of his priorities in his restaurant business.

“To run a multi-unit, global restaurant group like Wolfgang’s Steakhouse, it is imperative to focus first and foremost on the customer and hospitality – that is, to provide your customers with an incredible dining experience which entails top quality, value driven food and beverage, impeccable service in an enjoyable, fun and comfortable atmosphere.”

Other factors he considered critical in a restaurant business are consistency in product and service and attention to detail; providing the highest quality product at value driven prices while remaining profitable; managing expenses, especially the main drivers such as food and beverage and labor; employee training, recognition and advancement while creating an enjoyable challenging work environment where everyone is respected; and location as rent expense should sustain and not overburden the business.

Wolfgang’s Steakhouse is also strong in training, which is also an equally important element in its strategy. Zwiener demands that key employees undergo cross training between different units globally, especially when they visit the original units in New York.

“Training is all about providing the best service to customers,” says Zwiener.

“We believe our customers want to have a consistent, high-quality product at value driven prices in a fun, warm, exciting environment – and that is exactly what we do best. That being said, however, we also want to keep our customers excited as well as we keep up with some changes in the F&B world as our customer base gets more discerning and demanding. The goal is to keep the brand relevant and cutting edge.”

It constantly offers new items on the menu.

Recently, it introduced Tomahawk and Bone-in filet even as it has special menu items like the Wolfgang Experience or Taste of New York. It has also increased its happy hour offering by introducing new cocktails. To maintain its internationally renowned awardwinning wine cellars, Wolfgang’s has also forged partnership with distributors or vineyards directly.

All these efforts revolve around the idea of customer satisfaction by creating the best experience possible for Wolfgang’s guests.

Thus, he learned that consistency is another utmost importance.

To do this, Wolfgang’s has to maintain high quality and standards is a must.

Zwiener only hires the best employees, who undergo consistent training because having a great reputation in the market is vital.

A finance man, Zwiener manages the company’s purse thoughtfully. Managing expenses is a necessity for survival. He makes sure the terms of a lease or any contract signed is achievable even in a down market. A contract should provide you enough confidence to be able to fulfill these obligations.

“It is a legal and binding document so make sure every nuance in that agreement is understood before it is signed,” he adds.

When raising financing, Zwiener exercises prudence. There must be financial cushion for any cost overruns and unforeseen occurrences.

More times than not, he said, projects do go over budget.

He also learned that in this age of digital technology, proper marketing including social media is extremely helpful to be able to remain relevant in the market and to your customers.

“Never get too comfortable or too complacent, there is always a hungry competitor looking for the opportunity to increase their market share,” he adds.

In expanding overseas, Zwiener prefers to getting a strong, experienced, well respected, financially liquid local partner that complements his abilities.

Behind all these, Zwiener has learned to think big.

No to franchising

While he is into business, Zwiener balances growth with prudence.

He shies away from franchising. Zwiener does not believe that franchising is the best way for its brand to grow. Rather, Wolfgang’s takes in partners for its new locations.

In the Philippines, that partner is Excello Restaurant Management Group, which was established by noted restaurateurs Raymund Magdaluyo (Group Head), Leina Bolinas (Managing Director), and Marvin Agustin (Director for Public Relations).

“We have chosen not to follow a franchise model as we believe that for the brand owner to remain having control of the operations of the concept and not sell its name to another to operate on their own,” says Zwiener.

This is also in line with its mission statement, as well as its global expansion plan to keep consistency throughout all locations.

“We believe that under franchising, consistency among each of the units, will suffer and deteriorate due to the different work standards, ethics and vision of having many various operators. Selecting a business partner starts with a thorough vetting process,” he adds.

According to Zwiener, the ideal partner would be one that has the same enthusiasm for the hospitality business, the brand and the concept as we do.

Ideally, it would be better if the partner were a local group that has some form of F&B experience as well, but more importantly, the partner should be one that knows the local environment from an F&B perspective as well as the culture, the laws, the permitting and licensing processes, the real estate environment (to help in determining where the perfect location would be as well as having a strong relationship with the principal landlords in the area), the HR and recruiting process to help in hiring the best candidates locally, to have an outstanding reputation in the local community, and to be able to provide financing for the project.

In the Philippines, Wolfgang’s was lucky to have found the right partner in the Excello Restaurant Management Group. This triumvirate of Magdaluyo, Bolinas, and Agustin makes Wolfgang’s Manila fully aligned with the values, vision, and ideals of the Wolfgang’s brand, and share the same passion for excellence.

With already 17 branches globally, Zwiener vowed to continue to grow its brand domestically and internationally as long as the market continues to enjoy and accept its concept. They are also in the process of discussing other concepts which would be hybrids of the steakhouse, such as a burger concept, wine bar, as well as some other retail opportunities and e- commerce.

STEAK Wolfgang’s Steakhouse prides itself of their consistency in all aspects with the only goal of serving only the finest quality products available in the market.

According to Zwiener, Wolfgang’s Steakhouse only uses USDA Prime Angus beef in all of its beef menu items (only 2% of all beef in the US market attain that rating) and dry-ages the bone-in sub primal cuts (short loins, strip loins, ribeyes), on premise, in each of its locations.

Even though there are already many locations globally, the company does not consider Wolfgang’s Steakhouse a chain or a franchise, but rather as individual unit functioning as a boutique steakhouse in each respective local market and operating on a stand-alone basis.

Each location has its own identity, too. For instance, some of the locations have specific unique lunch items and side dishes only for that location.

Since the international units are all joint ventures and operated by the original founders/brand owner in conjunction with the local partners, the brand owners travel constantly to each of the locations many times a year for an extended period of time to oversee the operations and maintain consistency and quality.

Standards

What sets Wolfgang’s Steakhouse apart from the number of steakhouse restaurants that have proliferating in the market?

Zwiener said Wolfgang’s uses only the Best Ingredients, which undergoes the Best Process, and is Served in the Best Way.

Best ingredients mean the restaurant only serves certified USDA Prime Grade beef.

Approximately only 2 percent of all beef sold in the United States qualifies as Prime, which is the highest rating accorded by government inspectors.

Further narrowing this down is the fact that Wolfgang’s only selects beef from male cattle. As such, every steak served in Wolfgang’s has been meticulously selected and scrutinized to ensure superior quality.

It also observes Best Process, which means that once flown-in (on a weekly basis, directly from the United States), this USDA Prime Grade beef then undergoes a process called dry-aging. At Wolfgang’s, aging is the central process that creates an unsurpassed steak experience.

The premium cuts of beef sit on ventilated racks where they are dry aged, in-house, for 28 days. Most restaurants outsource their dry-aging, if the meat is aged in any way at all. Because of Wolfgang’s uncompromising quality standards, the dry-aging process must be done on-site, within the restaurant itself. This is done in a highly specialized aging room that is strictly kept between 2.78 to 3..89 degrees Celsius, with humidity control locked in at 78 to 82 percent. An air circulation system with auxiliary fans help to remove moisture from the meat while it is dry-aging.

After approximately three weeks, the meat starts to develop that distinctive, inimitable flavor that can only be achieved through dry-aging: The edges become darker, the surface gets that dried factor, while the meat inside intensifies its flavor and juiciness. Natural enzymes break down fat and connective tissues, resulting in a buttery texture.

At the beginning of each day, steak portions are cut. When an order comes in, the meat is removed from the aging room and placed in a high-intensity broiler at 1600° F. This results in a steak with a perfectly caramelized crust, served sizzling hot and incomparably juicy and tender.

The Best Way means that its serving staff – regardless of location – has undergone extensive training in New York, with a curriculum anchored on four decades’ worth of experience and expertise of Wolfgang Zwiener himself.

These skills are honed and recalibrated every quarter, and a consequence, Wolfgang’s restaurants have a team of highly-qualified and responsive service specialists to attend to customers at all times.

These standards are observed regardless of location, distance and time.

“We assure that the Wolfgang’s experience – and the term here is used to mean the entire gamut of senses: sights, sounds, smells, feels, and especially tastes – is identical whether you are dining in New York, Beverly Hills, Waikiki, Tokyo, or Manila,” says Zwiener.

Realistic

Zwiener is a realistic individual, perhaps a character he developed from his background in the finance world. While there may be setbacks along the way, he said, those were not significant events to be referred as the low points in his career.

Some of those setbacks could have been involvement in various difficult situations such as not winning a certain important deal during his banking career or getting caught in one or two corporate restructurings where his job role or title was changed or challenged.

“We are all products of our own life experiences – the good, the bad and the ugly, but what makes us a stronger in character and as a person is how we cope with these career setbacks but then come back even stronger – but only if you are passionate and remain optimistic and vigilant to persevere,” says Zwiener, who leads by example.

Although this boss can be quite demanding, he never expects his people to do more than what he is capable of doing. He allows employees the latitude to take on challenges without micromanaging, however, when necessary, provide guidance.

He is also a believer of open door policy and provides performance incentives. As a manager, he respects the suggestion and opinion of his people as he encourages free flow of ideas to create innovation and to think out of the box.

To start-up entrepreneurs, Zwiener said it pays to be optimistic but be realistic at the same time, too.

“Don’t listen or be influenced by the naysayers if your heart and mind really believe in a well thought out idea or business plan. Innovation is the spark of progress,” says the athletic Zwiener, who goes for various sports like ski, paddle board, scuba dive, and fly planes. But listening to music relaxes him more.

He described himself as “Someone who is passionate, persistent, reliable, optimistic and loyal to those who have supported him.”

With Wziener’s passion and dedication, nothing could go wrong to Wolfgang’s.