Pan-Asian fusion restaurant and speakeasy Sei Much less achieved in two (largely) post-pandemic months what most eating places aspire to attain inside their first 5 years of opening. Since launching on Jan. 15, Sei Much less has turn into the most well liked venue in New York Metropolis for rappers and athletes alike. Behind each nice concept is an innovator, envisioning and executing the steps mandatory to attain greatness. The key behind Sei Much less’ recognition is 10 years of exhausting work and networking by managing companion/co-owner Dara Mirjahangiry.
Dara got here up with the idea of Sei Much less throughout quarantine, “a members-only, unique restaurant for the tradition” — and with the assistance of his proficient enterprise companions, he was capable of make his dream a actuality. “All of us come from completely different backgrounds in hospitality, however now we have an incredible group of companions,” he says.
Sei Much less is the product of an elite group of hospitality executives, together with Dara Mirjahangiry and Ivi Shano (Jue Lan Membership alumnus), Harbor Rooftop Nightclub house owners Joseph Licul & Dennis Turcinovic, and Dream Hospitality’s George Karavias. Sei Much less has made headlines for the infinite record of A-Checklist artists they’ve hosted, together with Kanye West & ex-girlfriend Julia Fox, 50 Cent, Cardi B, Quavo, Gunna, Lil Child, Meek Mill, Travis Scott, and extra.
A couple of notable moments since their January launch embody Gunna’s album launch dinner for his Billboard 200-topping album DS4Ever, NBA celebrity James Harden’s birthday dinner with Lil Child and Travis Scott, and Fivio Overseas’s joint Grammy nomination and birthday celebration. The very first buyer to attend Sei Much less was Dara’s pal, Milwaukee Bucks basketball participant Bobby Portis. “He was on the town, and we actually completed development that day,” remembers Mirjahangiry. “He got here in and we cooked the primary meal for him.”
Sei Much less is open to the general public; nonetheless, weekends are often booked a month out and weekdays, a couple of weeks out. Mirjahangiry emphasizes that whereas there are methods of getting entry sooner, their group focuses on “letting the best folks in, maintaining a good door, implementing a costume code, and maintaining issues elevated and premium.” No matter what subject somebody’s in, Dara says that “people who find themselves on the high of their sport need to be round different like-minded people” — an idea that’s the driving power behind sustaining exclusivity at Sei Much less. “It’s about surrounding your self with folks that provide the motivation to be higher and do higher.”
Any given house within the restaurant is Instagram-worthy, and the branding lends itself to unending photo-ops for social media. Getting into Sei Much less seems like a mirrored image of Mirjahangiry’s numerous and multicultural upbringing in addition to his enterprise savvy. Whereas eating you’ll discover the Sei Much less brand on their napkins, chopsticks, coasters, wallpaper, murals and dishes, permitting for max model visibility at any given second. Finest recognized for his or her signature rooster satay and lychee martinis, Sei Much less additionally provides visitors a possibility to get their image taken by a photographer, who prints and frames them inside 5 minutes for an inexpensive payment.
After immigrating to the US from Iran, on the age of two, Dara and his household settled in New Jersey. Rising up in an ethnically numerous space, it wasn’t till a lot later that Dara realized that not all of America was as numerous as his neighborhood: “My group of pals are from all completely different nations, and I feel rising up in an atmosphere like that basically enabled me to do what I do now.” Mirjahangiry notes that whereas most individuals are inclined to develop other than their childhood pals as they get older, he has maintained these relationships over time, a trait he developed at a younger age that continues to profit his enterprise ventures immediately. Coming from a “conventional Persian household that values professions like legislation and medication”, his household struggled to simply accept his endeavors in hospitality — that’s, till he launched Sei Much less.
Though Mirjahangiry is not any newcomer to working with upscale purchasers, Sei Much less is his first time reaping the rewards of his exhausting work and success in an possession capability. “It’s one thing that I’ve achieved all the time for different folks, so it’s very gratifying doing it for myself.” Maneuvering and establishing a prolific clientele at Sei Much less got here naturally to Mirjahangiry, as he shaped natural relationships over time, “being real, trustworthy with folks, and never attempting to reap the benefits of anybody — that’s actually what’s helped me switch my community.” Eating places drastically suffered throughout Covid, however Mirjahangiry took that point to plan his subsequent transfer. “Sei Much less was my brainchild throughout the pandemic,” he says.
Mirjahangiry shared his concepts together with his good pal, former NBA MVP and two-time champion Kevin Durant. “We had conversations about creating one thing for the tradition that was members-oriented,” he recollects. “Sei Much less as you see it now’s the primary rendition of that. Down the highway there could possibly be a member’s membership, a boutique resort, extra subtle ideas — however the restaurant is what brings every part collectively.”
Mirjahangiry all the time had entrepreneurial aspirations, which is why he majored in Finance and Advertising and marketing at Syracuse College. He knew someday he would personal his personal enterprise, however by no means predicted that his path would lead him to hospitality and leisure. Publish-graduation, Mirjahangiry labored in finance till the 2008 monetary disaster hit. He then transitioned into the restaurant world to work as a waiter for Philippe Chow. He was rapidly promoted from waiter to supervisor inside a yr, setting the precedent for his future.
Mirjahangiry had the foresight to leverage social media to market the restaurant. “At the moment, EDM was large and hip-hop wasn’t on the forefront of the music scene, and I simply gravitated in the direction of hip-hop artists as a result of I simply felt they’re far more actual,” he says. “I constructed quite a lot of relationships with artists which can be superstars now, that possibly ten years in the past weren’t superstars.”
What made him stand out as a person was his proclivity in the direction of networking. “I did what I did on the restaurant, however then I’d exit each evening with the purchasers and actually community and construct my private model,” he says. “When completely different artists have been on the town, they’d ask me the place to go, what golf equipment, what venues, what accommodations to remain at — and I’d do quite a lot of white-glove service for artists and athletes and labels, exterior of my day-to-day obligations on the restaurant.”
Being concerned in each upcoming and established artists’ journeys by offering them with an atmosphere to rejoice momentous events has been one other spotlight for Mirjahangiry. A serious a part of how he’s constructed manufacturers reminiscent of Sei Much less is by making a hub for hip-hop particularly. “I’ve achieved so many various signing events and album launch dinners, after which quite a lot of instances I’ve a number of artists within the venue on the similar time and I’ll introduce them,” he explains. His two favourite moments to this point have been when “Kanye confirmed up on the restaurant unexpectedly and performed Donda 2 within the non-public room, earlier than it was launched, and the second can be Gunna coming to the restaurant for a personal lunch with Younger Thug when DS4EVER got here out.”
Offering consolation and shut consideration to element are a few of Dara’s greatest strengths the place his purchasers are involved. “I do know their orders personally, so that they don’t have a look at a menu. There are a couple of folks I haven’t seen in years as a result of Covid, and now that they’re returning to New York I nonetheless know precisely what they need — and once they sit down, it’s an elevated consolation degree. Taking note of particulars and what makes folks blissful is a part of what I do.”
Working with manufacturers to host activations is one other modern method through which Mirjahangiry has taken Sei Much less to the following degree. “We work with quite a lot of manufacturers, quite a lot of partnerships and bringing completely different manufacturers of the tradition into the house. These manufacturers that attain out to us, they’re our purchasers, we do quite a lot of completely different collabs – we simply did one thing with Moose Knuckles with our entire safety group,” he explains. “I’ve labored with Crew Jordan up to now and obtained Jordans for my entire employees. We maintain quite a lot of the executives that work for these manufacturers, and so they perceive the cultural affect of the venue and what we do at Sei Much less. I feel we’re simply on the forefront with a few of these relationships – there are quite a lot of issues within the works which can be going to be taking place within the subsequent few months.”
Not solely that — about 4 years in the past and his companion, Jason C. Johnson, Audiomack’s vp of promoting & model technique, launched Tradition Impression Company, an company that organizes activations for manufacturers, artists and athletes, from album launch events to pop-ups in varied cities. In actual fact, they launched throughout the 2017 Tremendous Bowl in Atlanta, the place they organized a branded dinner with Offset and have continued ever since. Mirjahangiry plans to make the most of Tradition Impression Company and Sei Much less to host and curate extra occasions sooner or later.
Whereas Mirjahangiry is likely one of the faces of Sei Much less and is aware of his purchasers personally, he additionally takes delight in his capability to seamlessly transition between entrance of home and again of home. “One factor I delight myself on is the enterprise and the economics behind operating a restaurant, some folks simply fear concerning the picture and the look and fail to concentrate on operating the enterprise,”
he relates. “You may have to have the ability to put collectively a fantastic product, but in addition make it economical. I feel the again of the home is basically what drives the restaurant. My experiences in numerous fields and my research at Syracuse actually assist me put that every one collectively. That’s one thing I feel that basically separates myself within the enterprise.”
Sei Much less has acquired an amazing quantity of help, and whereas Mirjahangiry is pleased with the constructive response, he says that that is solely the start. “It’s positively rewarding, however we don’t get too enthusiastic about what occurs within the first couple months,” he says. “It’s nice, we like it — however we’re going to maintain our heads straight and targeted, and we’re engaged on actually constructing a model and increasing.”
