Co-owner of the Ginza Project restaurant holding Vadim Lapin (Photo: Ginza Project)
In several dozen companies associated with the Ginza group, the composition of shareholders has changed. In particular, as the Delovoy Petersburg newspaper learned, the founder of the group, Vadim Lapin, transferred his shares in 38 companies with revenue of at least 1.1 billion rubles to his son.
The change of shareholders in companies began after court decisions on the dispute between Lapin and restaurateur Vladimir Spirin entered into legal force. Lapin, Spirin, and Marina Ivanenko were previously partners in the Sunday and Na Rechke restaurants. In 2013, Spirin sold shares in these restaurants to partners at nominal value. They needed this to obtain a loan from Promsvyazbank secured by shares in the authorized capital.
According to the terms of the agreement between the founders, in the future the shares were to be returned to Vladimir Spirin at the same nominal price. But the reverse deal did not take place, although until 2016 he received the compensation provided for in the agreement. After the termination of payments, Vladimir Spirin tried to challenge transactions for the sale of shares in restaurants in arbitration, but to no avail. Last year, he filed civil suits against his former partners to recover penalties for non-payment of compensation and won the case. Now Vadim Lapin personally must pay 42 million rubles, and Marina Ivanenko - 30 million and 42 million rubles. on various transactions. Another decision to collect another 30 million rubles from the founder of Ginza. has not yet entered into legal force, as it was challenged in the second instance.
However, after the first court decisions came into force, the media learned that Vadim Lapin’s shares in 38 different companies passed to his son Mark Lapin in a few days. Also in July, Vadim Lapin’s partner Marina Ivanenko left the co-ownership of 32 legal entities, including those associated with Ginza. She is associated with Dmitry Sergeev, a long-time partner of Vadim Lapin and the second founder of Ginza. She abandoned her shares in the authorized capital of the companies in favor of 74-year-old Nina Sergeeva.
At the same time, according to SPARK, Vadim Lapin remains a co-owner of 22 companies (both related to the restaurant group and not) with total revenue of at least 925 million rubles. Shares in 14 of them are pledged to OJSC Promsvyazbank, that is, their alienation requires the bank’s consent to change the founders. According to the businessman, the process of registering shares in the business for children began a long time ago, back in 2014, and is not associated with lawsuits.
As for the legal proceedings with Spirin, Lapin noted that they have been going on since 2016. “The courts have repeatedly confirmed that we were right, and we won the cases, we hope it will be the same this time. This decision will be challenged in a higher court. It’s too early to put an end to the process,” says the businessman.
Vladimir Spirin, in turn, connects the change of shareholders with an attempt by his former partners to hide assets. “I believe that Lapin and Ivanenko are trying to evade collection. It is clear from their actions that assets are being siphoned off, that they are trying to evade execution of court decisions,” he told reporters.
Reference
The international restaurant holding Ginza Project was created in St. Petersburg in 2003 by Dmitry Sergeev and Vadim Lapin. Currently, the holding owns and operates more than 150 restaurants in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Baku, as well as New York and London. Among the flagship projects are the restaurants “Mari Vanna”, Butler, Sixty, Uilliam’s, Christian, “Carlson”, Terrassa, “Mansarda”, etc., the holding also owns the Danilovsky market in Moscow. Often Ginza Project participates in projects not as an investor, but as a management company.
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Vadim Valentinovich Lapin (born November 2, 1963, St. Petersburg) is a Russian entrepreneur, restaurateur, co-owner of the Ginza Project holding.
Education [ | ]
Graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Organization of Road Transport in 1986.
Interview: Vadim Lapin
The co-owner of the Ginza Project holding shared his plans for world domination over the phone from St. Petersburg.
In addition to the restaurant business, we would like to talk to you about a special breed of people called “pitmos” - have you heard such a slang word? People who live in two cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, are eternal passengers of the Sapsan.
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I try not to limit myself to these two cities, I visit many places, and our restaurants have opened not only in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but also in London and New York.
So you're just a citizen of the world?
I try to be one. Although I like both St. Petersburg and Moscow, I still try to broaden my horizons.
Which city where you have business interests is more interesting to do business in?
It’s interesting to open restaurants in St. Petersburg because it’s my hometown. We always wanted to do something for this city that was not there before us. It was very nice when Luciano Spalletti said that one of the reasons he agreed to head Zenit was that there is a Francesco restaurant in St. Petersburg. For him, food is very important, as for all Italians. In any city you visit, the first thing you decide is where you will go to eat. For a normal, well-rounded, educated person, this is truly one of the main tasks - which restaurant to spend the evening in. If it is known about a city that there are good restaurants there - like in London, in Western Europe - I go to this city calmly. And in many European capitals, for example in Eastern Europe, the restaurant market is not as developed as ours. Well, it’s good that we overtook them according to these criteria. It’s nice when some stars come, enter our restaurants and say that the level of our restaurant culture has grown very much, that what was ten years ago and what they see now are completely different things. It’s not for nothing that we open restaurants that are successful in both New York and London. Moreover, we expect this success; we know that the level of our chefs and staff is comparable to the level that exists in these cities. We don't just come to try. For example, our project “MariVanna” is no longer a project on a city scale, but on a global scale.
And your focus on the elite, which Novikov used to do in Moscow, and you now do in both cities, is this also in order to spread the word about your restaurants around the world?
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And that too. But in any case, we make restaurants for guests, and what kind of guests are in this restaurant... It’s good, of course, if the elite loves us. It’s good if the business elite loves it. This creates certain flows, people come home and tell their friends: “We were in Ginza, so-and-so was sitting on the right, so-and-so was sitting on the left.” In such an environment, people feel that they have come to the right place, which is visited by good guests.
Namely, Ginza, after all, several years ago came up with the idea of creating personalized restaurants so that the name of some celebrity would be on the sign?
Dima Sergeev came up with the idea that a person whom everyone perceives in one capacity - for example, a famous TV presenter - would be interested in trying himself as a cook or restaurant owner. The idea turned out to be very good: if you offer any guest to open your own restaurant, he will immediately have a bunch of ideas. Everyone has their favorite dishes, favorite restaurants. And from a PR point of view, it’s good - there is an opportunity to prove yourself in a new business. Most light up and simply work wonders.
Everyone is amazed at the speed at which the Ginza Project is expanding. How do you do this?
First there was arithmetic progression, then geometric progression, and yes, of course, we constantly feel the problem of growth. We are trying to overcome it. It’s hard, of course, but we have a good, powerful team – both partners and employees, which makes the task easier.
Some time ago there were reports that you were going to open a chain of fitness clubs. Where did this idea come from?
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Well, we all go to different fitness clubs, but it’s hard to settle on one: everywhere it seems that something can be done better. In any club you are missing something; This is what you would do, but this is different. In the end, you come to the conclusion that it’s easier to open your own. Many restaurants open this way too. People come and say: we lack this and that, that’s not true. Then they open their own restaurants. Some people succeed, some don't. In most cases, of course, it doesn’t work out (laughs).
But based on these considerations, you can take on anything, even start a TV channel.
If it works out, why not. With fitness clubs, we believe that it should work.
How will they differ from all the others?
From the atmosphere to the organization. We think through every project down to the smallest detail. The power lies precisely in them: how the locker room is arranged, whether the intersection of streams is thought out, somewhere the shower stalls are uncomfortable, somewhere the hairdryer is not so well positioned.
Such attention to detail, in theory, should someday lead you to the hotel business, where this is the most important thing.
Our first boutique hotel will open at the end of the year or at the beginning of next. Since we spend half our lives in hotels due to our line of work, we always notice little things. Somewhere you see something interesting, but somewhere something is missing. So it’s best to make a hotel that, according to your own feelings, will have everything you need.
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Will the hotel be in St. Petersburg?
Yes, a pilot project in St. Petersburg, and then we’ll see.
Well, the last question: what were the most difficult periods during these ten years and which were the most intense?
Well, a crisis is always a difficult time...
But just during the crisis you opened in Moscow great amount restaurants.
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Yes, we took a risk. Many projects were closed, but we opened them. What we had was 70 percent ready, we decided to finish and open. After all, even in a crisis, people want something new, fresh sensations. You can put off buying expensive real estate, a car, or luxury goods, but your level of income still doesn’t drop enough to give up going to new restaurant. So the risk turned out to be justified. But the most difficult period was the opening of the first projects, when there was no team yet, we were mastering the technology. Until quantity turned into quality, it was not easy. And even now it’s not easy - there’s simply not enough free time for everything else: something opens up all the time, it needs to be controlled.
And how will you deal with this?
Solve problems at the structural level. But in general, quality is important to us now. Until we achieve the required level - in service, in the atmosphere, in the cuisine and in everything else - we will move forward calmly. If we feel that we cannot provide the quality that we should, maybe we will slow down a little.
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Business secrets: Vadim Lapin
Vadim Lapin, co-owner of the Ginza Project holding. Born November 2, 1963. In 2003, he opened his first Ginza restaurant in St. Petersburg. Now the Ginza Project holding manages about a hundred establishments in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don and New York.
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Vadim Lapin
Vadim Valentinovich Lapin is one of the founders and co-owners of the international restaurant holding Ginza Project. His professional activity began more than 13 years ago with the opening of his first restaurant Japanese cuisine Ginza in St. Petersburg. Before working in the restaurant business, he was engaged in trading European products and clothing. He received his education at the Leningrad Engineering and Economic Institute. In 2015, he took 198th place in the “Rating of Billionaires”. In 2016 – 247th place.
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Vadim Lapin: “To be successful, you need to be aware of what is happening”
Now Ginza Project is preparing to launch a new project under the working title “Olive”. These will be restaurants of Italian cuisine, which will soon open in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The company plans to invest about $2 million in them.
Photo by Yana Romanova and Ginza Project
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Vadim Lapin
He has opened such establishments as Ginza, “Mari Vanna”, Terrassa and Tiffany's cafe in St. Petersburg, Blackberry, Prada cafe and Sorry, babushka in Moscow, and Los Dados, opened by Lapin in New York, was included in the top ten best Mexican restaurants in America . This fall, he is not only introducing new projects - Tsar and the family Italian restaurant Francesco - in his hometown, but is also planning restaurant expansion to London.
I am an economist, graduated from Engineering. The time when I was studying was turbulent - it was difficult to understand what professions would be in demand. I considered economic education to be universal. Among my teachers, by the way, was Anatoly Chubais, he taught our subject “Research and Development,” and explained the algorithm for writing a scientific paper. Even then it was clear that Chubais looked at the economy more broadly than all the others who grew up under socialism. I believe that during perestroika he, Yegor Gaidar and another group of politicians put the country on the right track. Of course, something could have been done less painfully for the population, but you know how things happen with us. I am sure that Chubais will still be appreciated in the future, although now he is not popular among the people. I was very lucky to have studied with such a progressive teacher.
Like everyone else, by accident, on the advice of his friend Dima Sergeev, a businessman from Moscow. A huge number of sushi bars opened there, and he advised me to open the same establishment here. Just at that time, my other friends, owners of a fitness center, wanted to open a restaurant next door healthy eating. But for some reason we associate exclusively sushi with healthy food. This is how Ginza was born.
Certainly. I can make borscht, fish soup, mushroom soup, and according to all the rules. I lived in a very hospitable family; many guests came to us on holidays, and I always helped my mother buy food at the market, cook, and knew how to make any salad. We had our own signature recipes, left over from my grandmother: Napoleon, sour cream. Grandma's pies are generally the most vivid memory of my childhood. They were absolutely amazing, they just melted in your mouth! Now pies according to this recipe are baked in the restaurant “Mari Vanna”.
We all once said: we are not competitors, the more good restaurants, all the better. But now the rivalry is already felt, everyone is trying to become the first. Nevertheless, I have excellent relationships with restaurateurs Edik Muradyan, Aram Mnatsakanov, Lenya Garbar, Vova Lvovsky, Zhenya Prigozhin. We have known each other for a long time, these are my lifelong friends.
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A couple of years ago there was a fire at the Ginza restaurant. That evening the group “VIA Gra” performed there. As the girls performed their final song, the curtain caught fire. It was spectacular - the guests decided that they were seeing the culmination of the program. The next morning, when news of the fire spread throughout the city, many came to look at the ashes, but only the terrace burned down, the restaurant worked as if nothing had happened. Friends then asked for a long time if they had dreamed it all.
To be honest, even in my spare time I am drawn to restaurants. I don’t like going into my establishments with friends: there you really feel like you’re at work, you notice shortcomings, you start to get nervous; your friends are also nervous that you are not paying enough attention to them. Therefore, if we want to communicate and chat, we go to “strange” places where they don’t know us. In addition, I love sports and travel. I recently started boxing for aerobic exercise – I really liked it, it turned out to be such an intellectual sport! The British were not fools. Even technically, getting into another person’s face is very difficult, almost like in fencing. In addition, the load is very intense: forty minutes in boxing is like two hours in fitness.
In Italy. Italians are very similar to Russians both in temperament and mentality. For example, the concept of “friend” is always higher than the concept of “duty”. They are less harmful than other Europeans, less nationalistic than the French and Germans. In Italy I don’t feel like a foreigner; I can breathe easily and freely there.
When you realize that you have achieved everything you could, perhaps you should move in a different direction. But if you see an unplowed field in front of you, it’s too early to do so. The restaurant market in Russia is still in its infancy, so there is still a lot to do and redo. I have very big plans for the next five to ten years.
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Vadim Lapin is the founder and co-owner of the Ginza Proiect holding. Born in 1963. The first restaurant opened in St. Petersburg in 2003. The holding manages hundreds of restaurants in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, and New York.
Born in Ukraine, the family moved to St. Petersburg. He graduated from the Technological Institute, served in the army, worked at an enterprise, then in the cooperative movement. Became an entrepreneur. The cooperative produced consumer goods. Then the first Luxury branded clothing stores were opened.
In 2003, the first sushi bar was organized. Next is Gelsamino, karaoke. The atmosphere of the restaurants brought popularity. The first summer verandas, tents, and beautiful parties appeared. New technologies have allowed us to take a leading position in the restaurant business.
Now Luxury sites are rented out, this is a passive form of income. Active business restaurants. A total of 87 restaurants are open. There are hotels, fitness clubs and other services. There are flower shops, in-flight catering service, dry cleaning, and a travel agency. There are several partners. Everyone is responsible for their own direction. This is a powerful team of friends.
Ginza is a successfully growing group with an income of about 200 million dollars. The company is developing in the following areas: own funds, bank loans, investments. Often they rebrand and create a new concept for non-profit establishments, raising them to a new level. They collaborate with Italian architects.
Abroad, people who live there help. When opening restaurants in New York or London, they gain new work experience.
How did you become a restaurant owner? This is everyday work, everyone on the team is a workaholic.
How does the company develop? The task was to create a high-quality business of our own. What happened is what happened. Ginza is a trend that people are interested in.
How are salaries paid?
There are different situations, but mostly working with credit cards. Payments to artists are non-cash. Just a listing. The biggest problem of the restaurant business is the staff, professional workers. They are opening a staff school for restaurants.
Who impresses in the restaurant business?
Arkady Novikov is a business leader. Anatoly Kom commands respect. I like the restaurant in Moscow “Shinok”.
Are there city level Ginza restaurants? He believes that such restaurants exist and that they are worthy restaurants. Received the "Bay Leaf" award.
The evaluation criterion is reviews and traffic. Motivation: growing old in a restaurant. This business will be successful under any government. There are no political preferences. Vadim believes that the restaurant business is more profitable than the hotel business. But it is more interesting for investors as it is less risky and more stable. The idea to create a boutique hotel.
They are going to work in the regions if there are worthy offers.
Why is it cool to be an entrepreneur? This is freedom and prosperity. The ability to be independent and do what you want. Resting in Italy. Loves this country and visits often. A family and children live in Italy.
Advice to young people: if you want to achieve something, you need to choose your favorite thing and do it from morning to evening. The quantity of work will turn into quality and you will get what you want.
Vadim Lapin needs no introduction. The most famous restaurateur, co-owner of the Ginza Project holding, a spectacular man, always noticeable at all social parties, he does not at all pursue the attributes of a beautiful life, although nothing worldly is alien to him. Another thing is important - by all appearances, a person is interested in living and doing his business, and therefore he knows it thoroughly, delving into all the intricacies and respecting the same professionals. There is an economic downturn, and the Ginza Project holding is opening more and more establishments! What else, if not this, is the main indicator of the correctness of the path?
— The number of restaurants you and your partner Dmitry Sergeev have opened exceeds a dozen. How well do you understand what is happening in each of them?
— There are really a lot of establishments that are part of the Ginza Project holding. To be precise, we have 23 restaurants alone. We are not going to stop there. Four more restaurants will open in the near future: two in St. Petersburg (Bar “Begemot” and “Volga-Volga”) and two in Moscow (“Ded Pihto” and Piccolino). Dmitry Sergeev and I personally control all projects. I regularly visit all St. Petersburg establishments. Sometimes it turns out that I have breakfast at Tsar, lunch at Francesco, and dinner at Ginza. Dmitry oversees Moscow establishments, often comes to the Northern capital and actually flies monthly to New York, where the Los Dados restaurant has been operating for several years and the Marie Vanna project has recently opened its doors. We know everything and even more about the holding's establishments. However, this does not mean that we do not trust our managers. On the contrary, our team consists of talented professionals who you can always rely on.
— In fact, all your establishments are popular. Do you have the secret of the Pied Piper of Hamelin - the pipe you use to lure guests?
— Our secret is many years of experience and a worthy reputation. It would seem that the simplest components of success! But, of course, I won’t tell you how to create a reputation. Let it remain a secret.
“Once I heard a casual phrase from one of the heads of St. Petersburg institutions regarding you. He said: “Lapin? Everything is always fine with him!” You have really skillfully created the image of a very successful person. Are there really no failures and “punctures” in life? Have you sold your soul to the devil? (I hope you take this joke as a joke!!!)
- I didn’t sell my soul to the devil - he has a very busy schedule, I also work a lot. We just couldn’t meet and agree on everything! But seriously, in order to be successful, you have to work tirelessly. I have a favorite saying in Latin: Labor omnia vincit improbus (Hard work conquers all). Of course, all my victories would not have happened if there were no difficulties along the way. It is problems that make us stronger, temper us, give us will and increase our desire for success. For me, difficulties are not an obstacle, but rather an incentive.
— The year before last, almost on the eve of the economic recession, you opened a Mexican restaurant in New York. How popular and profitable is it now? How did the crisis affect him?
— At the moment, the project is commercially profitable. It consistently generates profits. To dine at Los Dados, you now need to make a reservation in advance. Guests of the establishment are Russian people who have lived in New York for a long time, American show business stars, businessmen, entrepreneurs, socialites. As for the crisis, in the United States this economic phenomenon is developing in a special way. The crisis either affects it very acutely or is not felt at all. We were lucky in this regard: the difficult situation did not affect the Los Dados restaurant in any way.
— How difficult (or easy?) is it for you to work here and in the USA? The question concerns the registration of the establishment, product quality control, and, of course, personnel - although quality control and personnel may be related.
— In Russia, the restaurant business has actually been put on stream. This does not mean that we do not have difficulties when opening a new establishment. However, all the problems that may arise here are easily overcome. In New York, working is not more difficult physically, but rather psychologically. An unfamiliar country with diametrically opposed traditions and ways of life frightened me at the very beginning of my journey. I didn't quite know where exactly I should start. Both here and there have their own bureaucracy. The same alcohol licenses, different forms of ownership for their citizens and foreigners. In the US it is difficult to negotiate a contract for premises. There is very little available real estate in New York, especially in Manhattan, and it is not getting any bigger. To conclude a rental agreement, you need to provide the most complete information about the company. If the company's name is not heard, all doors are abruptly closed, and further conversation is not possible. In America, there is a kind of right of first contract that is purchased - that is, in order to obtain the right to rent, you must officially pay for this right. Regarding the staff, I can say that the American style of work differs significantly from the Russian one. Chefs, sous chefs and managers in America know their job very well, they are hardworking and responsible. But, let's say, waiters sometimes lack delicacy and charm. And hostesses cannot always charm guests. These little things have to be fixed. The quality of the products is virtually impeccable, of course, if you choose the right supplier.
— How does the current situation in the American restaurant market differ from the situation in Russia?
— In the West, consumer culture is very developed. In the USA, people have breakfast in cafes, lunch in restaurants, and order food for dinner at home. Business meetings are also often held not in the office, but in a favorite establishment. Their lifestyle sometimes simply does not allow them to eat at home. Quiet family dinner for an American it’s a whole event. Due to this state of affairs, there is a huge demand for restaurants. This leads to large cash flows. The establishment pays for itself in the shortest possible time and begins to make a profit at lightning speed. In Russia everything is different. Most high-end restaurants don't open until 1 p.m. It is not yet customary for us to hold business meetings in the morning, and therefore breakfasts begin after 12.00. In the evenings there are many guests in the establishments, and at lunchtime the restaurants are sometimes empty. Our guests are more discerning and demanding than Americans, which is why sometimes difficulties arise.
— What requirements do you place on your staff? Is it easy for you to break up with someone?
— I am convinced that a person must be absolutely competent in his field of activity. As a rule, we hire professionals with extensive experience. This doesn't mean we don't take on newbies. Often young people come to us who have not yet established themselves. In such cases, we try to help, teach, and give knowledge. The main thing, in my opinion, is to see genuine interest in the eyes of the staff, then everything will work out! I can’t say that I part with people easily. I always give a second chance. If it doesn’t work out in one institution, you can always try yourself in another project. However, if a person is unable to learn from his mistakes, he cannot be part of our team.
— How do you assess the level of Russian chefs and waiters? How, in your opinion, is the situation with service personnel different in Moscow, St. Petersburg and New York? What should our people learn from the Americans and, conversely, what could the Americans learn from us?
— I have already noted that in the USA people are used to working differently. American chefs are true virtuosos of their craft. They are well versed in the culinary arts, constantly invent something new, are interested in the successes of their colleagues, and take part in international competitions. The waiters' work style is not entirely traditional in the classical sense of the Russian people. Americans are accustomed to slight negligence; sometimes they allow themselves some deviations from the rules. In addition, according to American labor law, the working day should not last longer than 8 hours. Therefore, all personnel in America work in 2-3 shifts. Russian cooks and sous-chefs have made a real breakthrough in the restaurant business. It was they who brought our country to a new level of development of the gastronomic business. I am grateful to Russian specialists for their tenacity, patience and the highest class that they have been demonstrating lately. I don’t think that our chefs should learn from their Western colleagues. Alignment with the West is not entirely appropriate in this case. Russia is a country of amazing culinary traditions that need to be saved. As for service personnel, I am convinced that this segment is actively developing in our country. The waiters and hostesses are true professionals. Young people are used to working very hard, they easily and with pleasure absorb knowledge, which they subsequently apply in practice.
- You are constantly in sight, constantly moving somewhere. This is undoubtedly a plus for the development of your business, but constant movement does not give you time to think about “where am I going?” Where and when can you stop and think about the right path?
— In general, activity analysis happens in my head all the time. But when it comes to life values and priorities, my family helps me a lot with this. My beloved wife literally saves me from city rhythms, bustle, and extraneous thoughts. We often make decisions together, she always calms me down if something doesn't go as we would like. Anna is the wisest woman, it is her advice that I listen to. Family gives me harmony and confidence. This constant allows you to stay afloat and, moreover, choose the right direction of movement.
— Your field of activity at first glance allows you to relax at any moment and in any establishment. But you probably cannot perceive going to a restaurant as a vacation. What is rest for you?
— I can’t say that I don’t relax in restaurants. On the contrary, I am friends with many restaurateurs, I like to visit their establishments, thus stepping away from business for a while. Agree, it’s always nice to watch how others work. But if we are talking about a long-term vacation, then I always choose travel. My wife and I have been in love with Italy for a long time. This is a special country that attracts me like a magnet. I am attached to the carefree atmosphere of the Italian Riviera, I really like Italian Cuisine.
— You can’t “promote” so many successful projects without loving this field of activity. It can’t be that you don’t know how to cook! Do you know how? What cuisine do you like the most?
— I love to cook and, it seems to me, I know how to cook. True, I rarely stand behind the stove. We have many friends in Italy, they all know their native cuisine very well. It is thanks to them that I have mastered many original dishes.
— Can you name the formula for success? Surely you managed to create it!
— My formula is simple and concise. Success is love for your work and respect for people.
— A hundred rooms?
— We just continue to develop Yaposha and plan three network projects. And in the near future we will open a dozen more restaurants. Or fifteen. Yes, we will open 15-20 by the fall.
— Have you already overtaken Novikov?
- Does he already have fifty dollars? Well, we're close somewhere. We will open several more in St. Petersburg in the summer. The Double Seven lounge bar will open in New York City in the Meatpacking District this spring. Now we are inspecting one more room, also in Meatpacking. We have good restaurants in New York - both Marie Vanna and Los Dados. A week ago, the Clintons celebrated their daughter’s birthday at Marie Vann, and a week before that, Mick Jagger was with his family. Everyone eats lard, can you imagine? It's fun for them.
Restaurant "Marie Vanna" in New York
-What do they call it? One hundred percent fat?
- Yes, that’s what they call it: lard. Borscht with beef stroganoff, dumplings. But lard is a hit.
— Is it true that you spent 2 million dollars to rename “Yaposhka” to “Yaposha”?
- Well, how much do you think it will take to change all the menu signs?
- And why was this necessary?
— Let’s just say, largely because of plans for the future related to political correctness.
— Where do you find workers for your establishments?
— In fact, it’s hard to open the first restaurant, the second restaurant is also hard, the third is even harder than the first and second, and then it’s easier. A team is formed - and if it is successful, people will find themselves.
- And the waiters? Are you looking for experienced ones or, like Novikov, are you taking them off the street and growing them?
— We raise young people.
- Don’t you take older ones? Like in “Mom’s Pasta”: all the waitresses are women over forty.
— Oh, this is the dream of every restaurateur, but here they are simply not formed yet; the restaurant business is still young.
— What about teaching older people?
- We don't believe in this. It is impossible to retrain anyone. Waiters came to us from cruise ships; they were already over 30, so it was absolutely impossible to teach them anything. But our hostesses are excellent. They are all very beautiful, people fall in love with them and get married. There is a rule: girls work as hostesses for two or three months - and that’s it, they get married very quickly. Recently, even one of my fairly close friends took away the hostess from the Gelsomino karaoke, got married, and already has a child.
Vadim Lapin and Arkady Novikov at the Francesco restaurant
— It was you, with the help of hostesses, who made the dead “Manon” the main social place in Moscow?
— Well, you know yourself, the success of the restaurant business is not about anything specific, especially in Russia. Success is often nuanced. When we came to Manon, we suggested to Andrey (Dellos, the owner of the Manon restaurant). — Approx. ed.) adjust something. For example, we changed the bar counter. The one that was there seemed unattractive to us - it was made of cold metal, it was uncomfortable to be behind it. We adapted the cuisine a little - it was delicious, but we understood that for this audience we needed something simpler. The lights were dimmed a little. The sound has been fixed.
— So there is some very specific recipe for success?
- For each case, everything is individual - here are the waiters, for example, at the same Isaac (Correa, founder of the Correa’s cafe chain. - Note ed.) in the first restaurant on Gruzinskaya they are very friendly, there is no super helpfulness there, but at the same time they ask how you are doing, talk to you about something. This is very good for Correa's, but completely inappropriate for any other place. But there are also 100% recipes - for example, hookah. A club project without a hookah is not possible.
- Where did we get this from? Eastern history suddenly turned into folk entertainment.
— To be honest, I don’t like hookah, but there are those who do. Some people like white truffles, others like hookah. People choose places where the hookah is good, and even if they don’t like the cuisine, they still come there.
- But these are not white truffles! Hookah is a mass obsession, everyone smokes it now.
— This is the trend now, but I think it may pass soon. There was mate a few years ago, do you remember what it is now? This is complete madness, I was running around looking for these special tubes, I couldn’t get calabash anywhere, some people brought them. Everyone constantly asked for mate, if there was no one, no one stayed, they went on looking for it. And the hookahs... Maybe they will last longer.
Paris Hilton at Gelsomino karaoke
- Don’t you think that this needs to be suppressed somehow? Or is it impossible to fight hookahs?
- Somewhere it’s strange - in Pushkin or in Italian restaurant. In oriental, Asian and party clubs, it seems to me that it’s normal. By the way, we are trying to buy a hookah establishment in New York. They have three such places there, I think. We looked at them, realized that it was terrible, and decided to make a Russian hookah bar, it would be wildly popular. New York has a population of 25 million. Every direction has its consumers. Even if there is no mass excitement, you will still find those fans who will come. At least some Russians, they are all looking for where the hookahs are.
- Well, what about karaoke? What's this? It’s also absolutely an Asian tradition.
- Well, it’s not a scream, but the soul sings. We're here for karaoke. Just let them behave well, otherwise Russian people are aggressive when they drink. We're going to do karaoke in London. It will definitely work there, there are a lot of Russians, and all the local karaoke is terrible. In general, due to the demand, we understand what is important to the public, we step in our own shoes and do as asked. Shared tables, for example, you know how I love it! We are trying to implement them everywhere, we have a table in Pikhto, in Ginza. But here in New York’s Marie Vann, everyone sits at this table normally, but here only foreigners sit at them. Nobody wants to sit together, that’s the mentality. At Black Berry we even had to move the table apart. But in general, we are more for the democratic segment.
— What about the Audrey Hepburn dress that you tried to buy for a million to decorate Tiffany’s cafe?
— We have already converted Tiffany’s into “Hippopotamus,” but I still regret that we couldn’t buy it at Christie’s. We were ready to pay 700 thousand, but the dress went for about a million to some crazy Pakistani arms dealer. But we bought everything else that was about Audrey - posters, photographs, invitations to the premiere of Breakfast at Tiffany's. And now I would buy a dress for a million.
— And you wanted to invest a million in the design of the restaurant?!
“We just love everything about Audrey.” Cool woman.
Tiffany's Cafe
—What do you think of Paris Hilton? They say you had her at Gelsomino.
- Well, it's cool. She immediately climbed onto the sofa and even sang something. Well, she's not an actress, this isn't Audrey.
—Has Medvedev been to your restaurants?
— Putin and Medvedev were in St. Petersburg at the Terrace.
- What did you eat?
— They really liked the Chinese duck, they asked for a double portion. We also ate sushi and pasta.
— Was the restaurant closed?
- No, on the contrary, they asked not to close it. Visitors suddenly noticed - bam! - and stopped understanding what was happening. We were warned in advance that we had no right to say anything to anyone. It's the same in America. We knew three days in advance that the Clintons would be there, the security service came to check products, all sorts of certificates, security everywhere, and we were forbidden in America to tell anyone about this. Imagine, Hillary is guarded by two women. And Matvienko loves “Terrace” very much and also Francesco, she comes to us, she came several times with Putin. Spalletti still goes to Francesco all the time (Luciano Spalletti, head coach of Zenit. — Approx. ed.).
— Do politicians come to your karaoke?
- And how.
- And what are they singing?
— Of course, patriotic songs, what else. “Officers, officers, your heart is at gunpoint.” Heartbreaking.
