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[Herald Interview] Wolfgang’s USDA steaks speak for themselves: CEO
By Won Ho-jungPublished : July 18, 2016 - 15:00
Wolfgang‘s Steakhouse in Seoul is an unusually large restaurant, especially for the upscale Cheongdam-dong area of Seoul. Step inside and walk past the mahogany reception desk, and the main dining hall seems to spread out endlessly, countless tables covered in white tablecloths floating above wooden floors. Overhead, private dining rooms line the second floor.
“Our Seoul branch is about twice the size of some of our other restaurants,” said Peter Zwiener, who currently heads up the franchise, on his most recent trip to Seoul. He said that the Seoul restaurant needed more room to accommodate Koreans’ preference for private dining spaces.
The son of Wolfgang Zwiener, who created the restaurant after 40 years of working on the waitstaff of one of New York‘s most famous steakhouses, the former investment banker says his goal is to bring the classic New York-style steakhouse ambience -- and its quality USDA beef -- to Seoul.
“Serving prime beef, that’s what Wolfgang‘s is all about,” he said. “75 percent of our revenue comes from selling beef ... so we’re focused on that.”
All of the steaks at Wolfgang‘s are USDA prime beef cuts, a point that Zwiener emphasized repeatedly, especially when it came to pricing. The signature steak on the menu, the porterhouse steak for two, costs 19,800 won ($17.50) for 100 grams. The steak weighs 1 kilogram, which means it costs a jaw-dropping 198,000 won.
“We have a reputation of trying to be value-driven. We have to charge a certain price because you are getting the best meat that money can buy, at least if you think U.S. beef is the best, which I do,” he said.
Wolfgang’s is currently offering a set menu for diners who want to taste the dry-aged steak but find the price a bit daunting. The set charges 220,000 won for two and includes an appetizer, steak, a side menu and dessert.
As Zwiener notes himself, Wolfgang’s “concept has been taken great by the local population” -- a year after its opening, the restaurant is steadily busy, filled with shoppers and businessmen from the surrounding neighborhood.
“At lunchtime, during the weekdays, we’ll get a business crowd or people shopping around this area. At dinnertime we get business people, families, people celebrating birthdays, anniversaries … you always hear a little ‘Happy Birthday’ song somewhere in the background,” he said.
Zwiener visits all of his global branches once every three months. Now that the Seoul branch has settled, he says that his team is now looking for ways to give some Korean flair to Wolfgang’s Cheongdam branch.
“We‘re also looking into adapting some of the meat dishes, just for lunch, because we don’t want to lose our identity,” he said. “But we’re investigating making some meat dishes with USDA beef in Korean style.”
For more information about Wolfgang’s Steakhouse in Seoul, visit wolfgangssteakhouse.co.kr.
By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)
“Our Seoul branch is about twice the size of some of our other restaurants,” said Peter Zwiener, who currently heads up the franchise, on his most recent trip to Seoul. He said that the Seoul restaurant needed more room to accommodate Koreans’ preference for private dining spaces.
The son of Wolfgang Zwiener, who created the restaurant after 40 years of working on the waitstaff of one of New York‘s most famous steakhouses, the former investment banker says his goal is to bring the classic New York-style steakhouse ambience -- and its quality USDA beef -- to Seoul.
“Serving prime beef, that’s what Wolfgang‘s is all about,” he said. “75 percent of our revenue comes from selling beef ... so we’re focused on that.”
All of the steaks at Wolfgang‘s are USDA prime beef cuts, a point that Zwiener emphasized repeatedly, especially when it came to pricing. The signature steak on the menu, the porterhouse steak for two, costs 19,800 won ($17.50) for 100 grams. The steak weighs 1 kilogram, which means it costs a jaw-dropping 198,000 won.
“We have a reputation of trying to be value-driven. We have to charge a certain price because you are getting the best meat that money can buy, at least if you think U.S. beef is the best, which I do,” he said.
Wolfgang’s is currently offering a set menu for diners who want to taste the dry-aged steak but find the price a bit daunting. The set charges 220,000 won for two and includes an appetizer, steak, a side menu and dessert.
As Zwiener notes himself, Wolfgang’s “concept has been taken great by the local population” -- a year after its opening, the restaurant is steadily busy, filled with shoppers and businessmen from the surrounding neighborhood.
“At lunchtime, during the weekdays, we’ll get a business crowd or people shopping around this area. At dinnertime we get business people, families, people celebrating birthdays, anniversaries … you always hear a little ‘Happy Birthday’ song somewhere in the background,” he said.
Zwiener visits all of his global branches once every three months. Now that the Seoul branch has settled, he says that his team is now looking for ways to give some Korean flair to Wolfgang’s Cheongdam branch.
“We‘re also looking into adapting some of the meat dishes, just for lunch, because we don’t want to lose our identity,” he said. “But we’re investigating making some meat dishes with USDA beef in Korean style.”
For more information about Wolfgang’s Steakhouse in Seoul, visit wolfgangssteakhouse.co.kr.
By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)
