Chef Marc Vetri, Lebow Alum, Discusses Recent Sale of Restaurant Group
Alison Young, of Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business Institute for Strategic Leadership, moderated a recent discussion with one of Philadelphia’s most famous restaurateurs.
Chef Marc Vetri spoke with Young and the audience about his recent groundbreaking move to sell his family of restaurants to the retail chain, Urban Outfitters.
When the announcement was made in November, 2015, many wondered just what it meant. Vetri explained this before the crowd during the talk. To him, the partnership was a natural one that grew out of years of sharing similar business strategies.
“Urban Outfitters has been awesome at figuring out where the market is going and getting there before others. In seven to 15 years a lot of the large retail organizations are going to understand that the food is what brings people to the stores. This is going to make history… The world now isn’t like it was when I first opened Vetri 17 years ago. It was a lot easier then. With Urban Outfitters, I can grow my restaurants, and I don’t need investors. I don’t need loans. I have no debt.”
Vetri expressed his belief that the partnership is illustrative of a new model that will become more and more prevalent as online shopping grows. Retailers need new and more inventive ways to draw customers into their stores.
He continued, “We love [Urban Outfitters]. They’re a very like-minded organization. It is a large company but still operates like a small family-run operation. They think along the same lines we do.”
Marc Vetri earned his degree in business and marketing from LeBow in 1990.
About the Author
Maggie Boccella
Maggie Boccella, a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, is a freelance writer, artist and photographer. She has consulted on various film and multimedia projects, and she also serves as a juror for the city's annual LGBTQIA Film Festival.
