| Will Guidara | |
| Birth Name: | William Guidara |
| Birth Place: | Sleepy Hollow, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Restaurateur |
| Education: | Cornell University (BA) |
| Children: | 2 |
William Guidara (born 1979) is an American restaurateur based in New York City. Along with chef Daniel Humm, Guidara co-owned the Make It Nice hospitality group, established in 2011, which owns and operates Eleven Madison Park, NoMad New York, NoMad Los Angeles, NoMad Las Vegas, NoMad Bar and Made Nice.
A native of Sleepy Hollow, New York, Guidara graduated from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in 2001. Guidara began his dining room career at Wolfgang Puck's Spago in Beverly Hills. He then went on to various roles in Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, including at Tabla, Café 2, and the restaurants at the Museum of Modern Art.
In 2006 Guidara became the General Manager of Eleven Madison Park, working with Humm. In 2011, Guidara and Humm purchased the restaurant from Union Square Hospitality Group.[1]
In 2012, Guidara and Humm opened NoMad New York and the separate NoMad Bar in 2014.[2] In April 2017, Guidara and Humm opened Made Nice, a fast-casual restaurant in New York's Nomad neighborhood. In 2018, Guidara and Humm opened NoMad Los Angeles, their first restaurant outside of New York City, followed by NoMad Las Vegas. In 2019, Guidara and Humm announced that they were ending their partnership, with Humm buying out Guidara. As of 2019 Guidara was planning to start his own restaurant group.[3]
Guidara is the co-author of four books with Humm: Eleven Madison Park: The Cookbook (Little Brown, 2011),[4] I Love New York: Ingredients and Recipes (Ten Speed, 2013),[5] The NoMad Cookbook[6] and Eleven Madison Park: the Next Chapter.[7]
Guidara's book Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect was published in 2022. According to a Forbes article, it has made a large impact on how customer service is used as a growth model across all industries, not only in restaurants but also in businesses outside of the hospitality industry, by focusing on extreme customer service.[8] [9] The focal point of the book is a quote used in the second chapter that says, "People will forget what you do; they'll forget what you said. But they'll never forget how you made them feel."
The book is featured in the TV series The Bear, when the character Richie reads it in the episode "Forks". Guidara later received story credit for the third episode of the third season alongside series creator Christopher Storer, and appears as himself in the third-season finale alongside his wife Christina Tosi.
James Beard Foundation Awards
Michelin
Additional Awards