Danny Meyer debuted Maialino at the Gramercy Hotel in November.

From the January issue: Hotel developers are planning to boost business at their Manhattan
restaurants this year with one special ingredient: the glamour of
brand-name chefs. Celebrity chef and hotel pairings have been popular in New York
since the late ’90s, but in the weak economy, the trend is
accelerating.
This month, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurant Mark
Jean-Georges is set to open in the Mark Hotel. That follows Danny
Meyer’s November debut of Maialino at the Gramercy Hotel, and a report
last month confirming rumors that Todd English will run the food court
at the Plaza. Also late last year, foodies salivated over acclaimed chef April
Bloomfield’s opening of the Breslin at the Ace Hotel on 29th Street. In
addition, the East Side Social Club in the Pod Hotel has been
attracting high-profile guests. more

Things are looking up for the New York City hotel industry, which is
celebrating a rebound in occupancy from earlier this year. Manhattan
was the only market in the country, besides New Orleans, to report a
double-digit occupancy, up 10.5 percent this year to 88.1 percent,
according to data from Smith Travel Research for the week ending Dec.
12. While hotel occupancy in Manhattan has risen dramatically from levels
as low as 55 percent, the average daily rate continues to be lower than
record levels achieved in 2007. Nevertheless, the increase in occupancy represents a significant
improvement to a market where more than 30 new hotels have opened
during the year. Many of these new limited-service and boutique hotels,
including Hotel Indigo, Ace Hotel and Crosby Street Hotel, have registered occupancy at nearly 90 percent. From a national perspective, travelers are going to have it good next year. [more]

There is no place like New York City for national and international retailers and a few such food and coffee chains are seizing opportunities to set up shop in the New York metropolitan area.

Texas Buffalo chicken wing franchise Wingstop, which has sold nearly two billion wings, plans to open its first New York restaurant in the spring of 2010, in Astoria or Forest Hills, Queens. The company seeks to open a minimum of 25 locations in the five boroughs as well as restaurants in Fort Lee, Newark, New Brunswick and Trenton, NJ. The 15-year-old company, which has more than 600 restaurants existing or under development in 32 states, has more than 70 restaurants planned for the Northeast. [more]