Member-only story
Coronavirus Diaries From the C-Suite
Tom Colicchio Spent 19 Years Building a Restaurant Empire. Coronavirus Gutted It in a Month.
What it’s like to lay off nearly 300 employees—and rethink unchecked capitalism
Tom Colicchio, award-winning restaurateur, Top Chef head judge, and food activist, founded the beloved Manhattan restaurant Craft in 2001, quickly snagging three stars from the New York Times and helping to popularize farm-to-table dining. After New York was attacked on 9/11, Craft not only survived, but in the ensuing 19 years, it spawned a fine-dining mini-empire, with several outposts in New York, another in Los Angeles, and two in Las Vegas.
Now New York is facing another unthinkable catastrophe — this time, along with the entire world — and the restaurant industry is threatened as never before. Last week, Danny Meyer, Colicchio’s one-time partner, shut down all 19 of his storied establishments, laying off 2,000 people — some 80% of his workforce. Thomas Keller furloughed 1,200. And Colicchio has done the same, laying off all but a few of his 300 employees.
Recognizing an existential crisis for his industry — with many other sectors of the economy sure to follow — Colicchio has turned his attention to defending…
