Who

The founder of The Glazier Group, Peter Glazier is the restaurateur behind Michael Jordan's Steak House and the chain Strip House.

Backstory

A former investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Glazier first dabbled in the restaurant business when he purchased Gianni's, an Italian restaurant, in 1984. While that spot never caught on, he scored a hit the following year when he purchased the 30,000-square-foot event space at the South Street Seaport called Bridgewaters. In 1994, Glazier acquired the decades-old Monkey Bar, refurbishing the faded eatery in the Elysee Hotel and installing a new chef. He followed up in 1998 with a Michael Jordan-branded steakhouse in Grand Central Station, a venue many thought was a odd selection given the restaurant's upscale ambitions. (Lucky for him, Glazier has laughed all the way to the bank.) In 2000, he opened the first Strip House with chef David Walzog behind the stove. It's since blossomed into a mini-empire, with half a dozen outposts scattered across Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and Las Vegas.

Recently

In 2007, Glazier shut down Monkey Bar to freshen up the design and overhaul the food. The iconic restaurant reopened three months later, its new look paired with an Asian-accented menu engineered by chef Patricia Yeo. Critics weren't thrilled by the revamp—one called the food "lackluster," "disappointing" and "lame"—and Yeo was forced out after a few months, with Glazier replacing her with chef Chris Cheung. But in August of 2008, he bid goodbye to the venue altogether, selling it to Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, hotelier Jeff Klein, and restaurateur Jeremy King.  

Legal file

In August 2004, a group of Citigroup employees slapped Glazier with a lawsuit, claiming the intense smell of garlic from adjacent Michael Jordan's Steak House was making them ill. More recently, Glazier filed a cease-and-desist against San Fran celeb chef Michael Mina in November 2006, after Mina decided to name his Vegas steakhouse "Strip Steak."

Personal

Glazier's wife, Penny, has been involved in the business from the beginning. The two live in the 70s on Park Avenue, and purchased a home in Southampton in 2002 for $2.4 million. Their son, Mathew—who's married to Lara Berkelhammer, the sister of social fixture Melissa Berkelhammer—also works in the family biz. Peter and Mathew handle finance and day-to-day operations, while Penny oversees parties and special events.

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