Sponsored By

Shake Shack COO Zachary Koff to depart to join Daily Provisions, another concept by Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group in New York City, as president

The executive will oversee the brand as it expands beyond Manhattan

Bret Thorn, Senior Food Editor

August 3, 2023

2 Min Read
Daily-Provisions.jpg
Daily Provisions is a four-unit Union Square Hospitality Group concept.Francesco Sapienza

Zachary Koff is the new president of Daily Provisions, effective Sept. 16, the all-day café concept of Union Square Hospitality Group said Thursday.

Koff joins four-unit Daily Provisions from Shake Shack, which was started by Danny Meyer’s USHG and went public in 2015. Koff had worked in operations at Shake Shack since 2010 and had been its chief operating officer since January of 2017.

Both concepts are based in New York City.

“The appointment of Zach is testimony to the confidence, commitment and excitement we feel for Daily Provisions,” USHG CEO Chip Wade said in the press release announcing the hire. “What started as an annex to Union Square Cafe — meant to be a gift to its neighborhood — has emerged as a beloved business with a devoted following and true sense of community. We know that Zach has the operational know-how to successfully scale Daily Provisions, while maintaining and advancing the commitment we feel towards our employees.” 

Daily Provisions’ fifth location, in Brooklyn, is slated to open “in the coming weeks,” according to the release.

This is something of a return to USHG for Koff, who started working at its Tabla restaurant as a summer intern in 2001, while studying at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, N.Y.

Related:David Burke to take over management of The Bernards Inn in New Jersey

He went on to work for the Bravo/Brio chain for eight years before joining Shake Shack.

As Daily Provisions’ president he will oversee operations and focus on growth, innovation, community investment, and innovation, while also strengthening the concept’s identity, the release said. He will work closely with Wade and Meyer as well as executive culinary director Claudia Fleming.

 “I’ve been enjoying (and craving!) Daily Provisions’ crullers and breakfast sandwiches since its inception,” Koff said in the release. “For me, there’s nothing more professionally thrilling than joining an organization that’s poised for growth. Daily Provisions is a dynamic brand with deep neighborhood roots. I’m looking forward to working alongside the talented team, laying the groundwork for Daily Provisions’ next chapter.” 

In addition to the original Union Square location, Daily Provisions also operates on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, West Village, and Manhattan West. The Brooklyn location will be in Cobble Hill.

Meyer praised Koff for his leadership skills.

“I’ve had the privilege of having a front row seat to Zach’s remarkable evolution as a spirited and beloved leader,” he said in a statement. “I’ve seen the pivotal role he’s played in providing meaningful career paths for so many other leaders across the country.  I can’t wait to watch the Daily Provisions team thrive and benefit from his gifts. Under Zach’s guidance, we look forward to bringing Daily Provisions to more neighborhoods in New York and beyond.”

Related:Dallas hospitality group Imperial Fizz goes all-in on neighborhood restaurant openings

The restaurants serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and also operate a full bar.

Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected] 

About the Author

Bret Thorn

Senior Food Editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Senior Food & Beverage Editor

Bret Thorn is senior food & beverage editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality for Informa’s Restaurants and Food Group, with responsibility for spotting and reporting on food and beverage trends across the country for both publications as well as guiding overall F&B coverage. 

He is the host of a podcast, In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn, which features interviews with chefs, food & beverage authorities and other experts in foodservice operations.

From 2005 to 2008 he also wrote the Kitchen Dish column for The New York Sun, covering restaurant openings and chefs’ career moves in New York City.

He joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999 after spending about five years in Thailand, where he wrote articles about business, banking and finance as well as restaurant reviews and food columns for Manager magazine and Asia Times newspaper. He joined Restaurant Hospitality’s staff in 2016 while retaining his position at NRN. 

A magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University in Medford, Mass., with a bachelor’s degree in history, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Thorn also studied traditional French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. He spent his junior year of college in China, studying Chinese language, history and culture for a semester each at Nanjing University and Beijing University. While in Beijing, he also worked for ABC News during the protests and ultimate crackdown in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Thorn’s monthly column in Nation’s Restaurant News won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for best staff-written editorial or opinion column.

He served as president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council, or IFEC, in 2005.

Thorn wrote the entry on comfort food in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, 2nd edition, published in 2012. He also wrote a history of plated desserts for the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, published in 2015.

He was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.

A Colorado native originally from Denver, Thorn lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Bret Thorn’s areas of expertise include food and beverage trends in restaurants, French cuisine, the cuisines of Asia in general and Thailand in particular, restaurant operations and service trends. 

Bret Thorn’s Experience: 

Nation’s Restaurant News, food & beverage editor, 1999-Present
New York Sun, columnist, 2005-2008 
Asia Times, sub editor, 1995-1997
Manager magazine, senior editor and restaurant critic, 1992-1997
ABC News, runner, May-July, 1989

Education:
Tufts University, BA in history, 1990
Peking University, studied Chinese language, spring, 1989
Nanjing University, studied Chinese language and culture, fall, 1988 
Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine, Cértificat Elémentaire, 1986

Email: [email protected]

Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-thorn-468b663/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bret.thorn.52
Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
Instagram: @foodwriterdiary

Subscribe to Our Newsletters
Get the latest breaking news in the industry, analysis, research, recipes, consumer trends, the latest products and more.

You May Also Like