Gianluca Sardo’s is undoubtedly an exemplary story of professionalism, commitment, and success. For almost 10 years in the States, the current COO of The Glasshouse has put his ideas and skills at the service of events, catering and hospitality in some of New York’s most dynamic realities. His story is definitely an Italian one, because it starts from a background of style and know-how that comes from his native Turin. But it is also a purely American story that speaks of a dizzying and unstoppable professional growth. In a long and in-depth interview, we let him tell us about his “leap” to America, the biggest challenges he has faced, and his experiences and ambitions in a stimulating and ever-evolving work environment.
I’d like to start right from your story, tell us a little bit about your arrival in the States and how your American dream began…
I arrived here in April 2015, through Eataly, which brought me to New York, on a classic work visa. I worked for about eight years as a director of a four-star resort in Emilia Romagna, near Ferrara. Fun, but also a lot of stress, a non-stop with no days off. In the summer of 2014 I meet my future wife, an Italian, through mutual friends, both from Turin. And she immediately starts telling me, during our dating, about her American dream. She had come here before we met, trying to find work, staying for a month. So many attempts but, as we know, it is not really easy to find a regular job in New York. So for December 8 of the same year, we treat ourselves to a long weekend here in the city. And on the way, we go to eat at Eataly at the Flatiron, then the only location in America. She says to me, “but man, we are from Turin, Eataly is from Turin, you want them not to look for someone here?” They are looking for me for sure, they are waiting for me. So we go back to the hotel that night, I go to the Italy US website, there were open positions, right? Ten days later, I get an email from Italy where they said they were available to interview, but I was back by then. So through LinkedIn, which is a key part of my career here in New York, I contacted a peer of mine, also from Turin, and who was on charge here in New York. He was able to set it up for me, and from there, within a few months, I got to interview with the general manager in New York via Skype, which at the time you couldn’t tell if he was taking, not taking, if you could tell. A most interesting conversation (laughs, Ed). The last conversation in Milan, at the Smeraldo, with Nicola Farinetti, who was the CEO of Eataly USA at the time. He told me “look, you have a very interesting resume, however, you have never worked with us. If you want to go for the experience in New York, you have to start again from the bottom,” gavetta. I started again by being a floor manager, at Pizza and Pasta, 1,000 covers a day. It was a great experience, it helped me improve the language, which I thought I knew well, and not really. I also had the good fortune to have an American colleague with whom I got along and, every night, after the shift was over, we would go to the Starbucks across the street there, to have a conversation and loosen up a little bit, also because I had to do these pre-shifts with the team, every now and then Bastianich would come, I had to converse a lot more than I expected.
At this point, as is often the case in New York, a new opportunity comes along, but with a visa issue left outstanding, right?
Yes, after a year and a few months, when by then I felt very prepared, a famous recruiter contacted me, because Giorgio Armani US was looking for the general manager for their restaurant on Fifth Avenue. So after the first move from Eataly, I found myself managing Giorgio Armani’s restaurant in New York: a very interesting, high-level situation, which started in November 2016, a week before Trump was elected, and the restaurant is exactly in front of Trump Tower, in fact from that moment it was a nightmare, because they closed everything, not even if we were at war. But as you say, though, I kept having a visa problem, I could only work for Italian companies. And a little bit it was limiting because I was getting a lot of offers from big, prestigious companies and restaurant chains, but unfortunately at interview, when it came to talk about Green Card, it was no, too bad. And that used to gnaw at me, because New York is an expensive place and you have to reach certain levels. I had at that point the luck or good fortune to meet an Italian who was working in Spring Place, a membership club with event space in Tribeca, where they also organize Fashion Week, the Tribeca Film Festival, and so much more. He proposed a deal: come and help me run this new place we opened, with restaurant, membership club, rooftop, and I’ll help you with the visa. Their lawyers helped me, I was able to get O-1, which is the one for artists, now don’t ask me. I had to put together whatever I had done in my previous and current life, and I was able to get this O-1. I worked with them a little year, partly because I was already on the record with South Seaport and their owners, the Howard Hughes Corporation, because they were launching the concert project at Pier 17. With them I opened all the restaurants that are currently there at the Seaport, and I worked as general manager of restaurants and head of events for three years.
By that time you were convinced to stay….
That’s right, by now I felt like an Italian who wants to be here forever. So I said to myself, let’s do the self-application for the Green Card. In one night I got down there, produced all my nice documentation that I had already gathered for the O-1 and sent it off to USCIS, do or die. Because the O-1 did not extend to my wife who meanwhile was here and working for an Italian company, but she was running out of that grey period granted by the visa. I get a reply from USCIS and they say, one point you pass, I want more information on the other one. So my lawyer, who had told me I would never take it that way, comes back into the game and helps me without putting his name on it, continuing down the self-application road. One morning I get the message from USCIS: gone, Green Card, crazy, I woke up my wife and showed her the message saying “approved.” And just two months ago we both got our citizenship, it’s been five years since then, nine years since our arrival.
And during the pandemic how was your experience living and working in New York?
I was also at the Seaport during the pandemic, and I was fortunate that my company kept me on payroll during that time. And then in July 2021 we came up with this brilliant idea to create The Greens on the rooftop at Pier 17: imagine little islands, created following the rules of maximum 10 people, spacing, masks, with the QR code to make the automatic orders that came to the kitchen. We were doing 1,000 people a day, as of July 2021. The only glimmer of life in New York, so much so that CNBC and so many others would come and do videos for us, and I ran that project there for my company. We flew really high that summer, and we replicated the experience in the winter with mountain chalet-type cottages, again for 10 people maximum.
Like those at the Rockefeller?
They copied us, we were the first. We did it in December of that year, 26 little houses, with television and fireplace inside, just cool AND we then repeated throughout the next summer the same experience.
At that point setback and restart from here….
In April, after I had been working nonstop for three years, we decided to part ways peacefully with the company. I took some time off, partly because my mom in Italy was not very well, and unfortunately she passed away some time later. And so I took some time to do as much back and forth as possible between New York and Turin. It happens then that a mutual friend, another Italian who was working with me in Seaport, who owns a cleaning company, calls me and says, “look they are looking for the director of operations for this new place that is going to open in a month and do events called The Glasshouse. I mentioned your name.” I had made a good arrangement with the previous company and the idea was to stay home for a while until the end of the year, he insists, gives me the number, and eventually I call one of the partners here at The Glasshouse. Also because staying home, nice eh, however it’s not for me. I’m a doer. So they give me the address for an interview the next day. I look at the address and realize that I live exactly across the street, across the water. I look at Google, look out the window, and say to my wife, “but I think that’s it.” Next day I take my little boat and see for the first time this big building here, all new.
Was it already as we see it today?
Ni. Almost, there was no marble at the entrance yet to say. I know these two owners and it sounds like an interesting thing. I had managed restaurants, even important ones, lots of people, events in restaurants, but never something this big. Here I see an extra set of challenges, challenges. The next morning, they sent me the offer, a proposal of my interest, and I said to my wife, “there’s still my mom still so, so, what do we do?” Because we were toward the end, right? I said to myself, whatever, let’s take the opportunity, obviously making it clear that it could happen at any time that I might have to go back to Italy for a few days. My adventure begins, I look at the schedule of events and the first one is two weeks later. “But there is a wall missing,” I say. I ask, “Have you ever tried to turn everything on?” The answer is no. I look at the name of this planner involved in the first event-I was not deep into the wedding world at the time-and find out that she is among the top 3 planners in New York. Perfect: either start well, or close the next day. So we worked night and day, with pipes bursting, sealing of these green rooms coming down every night and flooding. Things to test, something that was missing. Whatever, in the end, we manage me and a team of 5-6 to bring home this first top wedding.
Un evento di Glasshouse
How is The Glasshouse project going now and in what direction are you taking it?
We started like this and in three years we came to do 160 events. In 2024, we have increased by 30 percent turnover, with almost 60 people working here fixed, 300 when there are events. Personally, I had a very fast career in the company: I started from director of operations, then I was promoted a year and a half ago to managing director,, and and three months ago I became COO of the company. That’s because we have a very big investor which is the Carlyle Group, which is in real estate, and they own 90 percent here,. The company has ideas and plans just for further growth: the director of finance became the CFO, I became CEO, and we have added other people to create the structure needed for the next steps: we are looking at Los Angeles, Miami, and also another spot in the city, we are expanding.
So there will be more locations, still with The Glasshouse as the brand?
Yes, because in addition to the two Glasshouses that have been directly owned by one of our partners for 15 years, this one instead is a joint venture with Carlyle, because obviously for such an operation you need to partner with a fund. We realized that this is a winning system, a winning model if it has the specific characteristics of the Glasshouse today: so if it has the green rooms, if it has the VIP lounge, if you give the possibility of modular, if you choose locations with easy access — you don’t have to go and get bottled up in traffic in Times Square in short — if it has nice finishes. Because that makes a difference, too: in three years 300,000 people have come through here and still the location is in good condition.
So yours is a New York history of many professional collaborations and friendships, often with other Italians, right?
Absolutely, I have always been very involved in the Italian community, from the very first moment. I like to network, I used to work with the previous consul Genuardi, when I had the restaurant he would come over, we would eat, I would go to the consulate and do some free catering. The same with the Italian Chamber Commerce, because they had offices in front of Armani, so every day at lunch I would get the director Tozzi. They also asked me to run for the board, and I accepted, but I really have a lot of good contacts also with the School of Italy and of course the Consulate. I can’t tell you why, but in the end you always end up having friendships with other Italians.
And how do you see and experience this Italian community?
Work takes up a lot of my time, so very honestly I experience it more work-wise than personally. Maybe the relationship is more institutional than personal, partly because obviously I try to spend as much time as possible with my wife and children. As I was telling you it’s a little bit almost a matter of combination, in the sense that the friends that we currently have here, we met them maybe at an opening or an event of the Chamber of Commerce, or the New York Italian Women, I don’t know if you know Mrs. Lo Stimolo, who has this women’s association in the city. For example at a little Christmas party, we met this couple with whom we are still friends. I experience the community in this way here, trying to make relationships both professional, which then could also become personal.
What about talking about the American community as you feel and perceive it?
Personally from day 1 I always had some difficulties. I think we just have a different system of living: we like to live in the house, invite people over if the space allows you, or go out to dinner. With Americans often the issue is timing, being such a big New York, you live in Queens, you live in Astoria, I live in New Jersey, you live Downtown, you don’t go home, you shower and come back. So you almost feel like you have to make an appointment. It’s not as spontaneous as that. Then we Italians are also more activist. As I told you, before, there is the New York Italian Women. In New Jersey, we have our group “The Hoboken Dads,” in which there is the CFO of Piaggio, the CFO of Lego, etc. You create this group of 25 dads, just like there is the mom group, and you go for a beer, we go for a game of tennis, we go to play soccer. Obviously not every day, however there is this desire to joke in the WhatsApp group, to talk about motorcycles, soccer. And it also works when you have different hobbies, the ‘Italian is more looking for togetherness and making connections.
Going back to Glasshouse, what is the biggest challenge that has come your way at this stage of your career?
The biggest challenge, still current, is dealing with these big American funds and their expectations. I have always had to deal with owners, sitting there, inside the restaurant, watching, checking, etc. Dealing with these big investors is exponential growth for me. These people speak another language, and having to learn their language, their approach even mentally, right? Here we work millions of hours and you’re never happy, right? Numbers, numbers, numbers, and you have to get into that mindset. That was initially the biggest challenge, to change your mindset a little bit. Because it’s not just what you see: there’s so much going on behind the scenes, where the synergies within the company are moving and changing. Sometimes there are uncomfortable decisions to be made, or there are suggestions or impositions, let’s call them what you will, to handle certain things at certain times, when maybe you are not 100 percent onboarding, but as a representative of the fund you have to accept it and you also have to then present it to your team.
A kind of filter and interface…
My main job, you know what it is? It is to take all the stress that comes from the top, block it out and bring it back in a proactive and positive way to motivate the team. Because at the end of the day, our team is our face, they are the ones in contact with the public. So their motivation, happiness and conviction represent our company. I always tell my team ever since I worked in restaurants I used to say there are two important things in the restaurant, the coffee and the bill. Because those are the last two things people remember. I would always recommend to the waiters: the coffee has to be perfect, delicious, and the bill cannot be wrong, it cannot be the other table’s bill, there cannot be “I forgot this, I added this,” because it’s the experience that pays for it. We don’t sell events, we sell experiences. So from when you walk in, the coatcheck, the reception, or when you leave, if you have to stand two hours in line to take the elevator, that’s the only thing you remember about the experience.
Can you also tell us an anecdote that has remained in your heart?
We hosted a celebrity, without naming names, at one of several events in the early days, when we were a bit younger. I don’t know for what reason, nobody recognized, this famous person came to the door. We did our work, the team made him wait, the doors were not yet open. Fortunately, we didn’t get to the point of “he doesn’t know who I am.” What happens is that then at the end of the night the person who was organizing this event takes me to one of the green rooms, like this one where we are now, and introduces me to the celebrity. This one looks at me and says, “You are the one who at the entrance didn’t let me in right away, however, the event was crazy, I want to have my 50th birthday party at this location, because I liked your hospitality approach.” So despite the tense moment, let’s call it that, this client every year since 2021, next will be the fourth year, continues to do his event with top famous celebrities here. And this is despite the many offers he received to go do it in other places even for free. But the personal relationship that is going to be created with these clients, strictly personal, not even the dollars can affect it. And this is where I insist and keep “stressing” my team: hospitality is the most important thing. Our checks, every Thursday or Friday when we get paid, come not from the owners, from our fund, but from the happiness of our clients. So their happiness is our happiness.
How do you also transfer this mission operationally to your team?
When we have our meetings, talking about the next week’s events, one thing I’ve implemented is to talk about it from the client experience point of view as well: the client arrives, with Uber, on foot, what happens, they have to get on there, they have to go there, so we do step by step. What happens for a new guest for the first time here and what happens for those who have been here before. That’s why we created a structure, which sounds simple, but it’s really focused, step by step. We start with sales, moving to the contract, then to the project manager who becomes, for all the pre-planning, the client’s best friend. Also because here the events we reserve are not for tomorrow, but they are booked now for six, nine months, a year. So throughout this period there is pre-planning in the hands of the project manager. Only when we are close to the event does it go to the operations team, which is the one that does the execution, and this is a 24/7 facility. It’s really become a super broken-in machine.
Tell us a little bit about what it’s like to work at GlassHouse….
It is a job that requires commitment, but we also try to invest in our employees as much as possible. When there’s a quiet moment, we go team building in escape rooms, or we use our beautiful terraces to have a barbeque together, or maybe we take everybody to the summit experience. We try to create that kind of fellowship, partly because we have people who have been with us since day one, we really have very low turnover. Maybe you change the department, but that’s a different story. The bulk, the core stays in with us and has opportunities for growth. The fact that we are expanding is an opportunity really for all the resources here.
Out of curiosity, how do you feel when it is you on the other side and you are the host of a dinner or event?
Very badly, because I watch everything, my wife often says to me “I’m not taking you anywhere anymore” (laughs with gusto, Ed). However, I have to say that this happened to me especially when I worked in the restaurant business. We used to go to restaurants and whoever was at the table with me had to remind me to relax. Now it is a little better, however, I always have that critical eye.
You have been in New York for a long time, and sometimes, especially lately, you hear phrases like “eh but New York is not what it used to be.” What about you, has there been a change for the worse from your point of view?
But look, maybe I’m going against the grain, I don’t complain, and I don’t for two reasons. The first is personal, because first of all you have to distinguish between those who have families and those who don’t have families. It is obvious that having a family and children, after work, you live your life differently. I am already in the midst of chaos every day. I want more of a peace of mind after work, so I find my peace of mind elsewhere. Spending time with friends back home and traveling. I found my paradise in Aruba, where I also bought a house and where we go as soon as we can.
What about the second motivation?
The second is more general and is related to the opportunities that the city offers you. True, Manhattan has changed since I arrived nine years ago, but there was also a pandemic in between that brought everything and everyone to their knees. But the way people start over in New York is impressive. I don’t think there is any other place in the world that offers the same opportunities. Two things, though: you have to go after them, they don’t fall on you and they don’t knock on your door. It takes a lot of effort and a lot of will. Second thing: You cannot stay here and survive. You have to stay here if you want to be well, working and working hard. Our vacations are not comparable to the vacations you have in Italy, for one thing. But the opportunities here, if you are good at taking them and they present themselves to you, can give you an extraordinary personal and professional life.
Would you go back to Italy?
I don’t think so, also because now I look at my children, the opportunities for them here in New York. Even just for the language. I mean having children who already speak two languages, and sometimes my son corrects me, when I speak English. I tell him, “yes, it’s okay, it’s the same, they understand. Don’t worry that if they didn’t understand they will make fiinta to understand me, so…” (laughs, Ed).
Where do you see yourself five years from now, what are your goals?
I would like to start my own company or become a partner in an existing one, maybe just The Glasshouse. Because the current experience is making me learn a lot of things and I feel that I’m going in the right direction to be ready to create something of my own, maybe even in collaboration with some reality that already exists. In short, putting my passion at the disposal of something that is then really mine. Although, again, in all the places I have worked and, even here, I have made the project my own. It makes me laugh that sometimes, even last night it happened, while I’m walking with my hands in my pockets — I have this habit — someone says, “ah, are you the owner?” I would still like to stay in the same industry, continue to grow in Glasshouse which is a really nice and motivating project, and maybe travel more and not just in between events…
What about your personal dream in the drawer?
Maybe regroup all my closest friends and family and go to a remote place, maybe Aruba-which is not remote though-and live with all our children and friends. Because anyway in these nine years one of the things that has been missing a little bit is the closeness of family and close friends. I would like to be able to make up for that, of course time does not make up for that, but let’s see, maybe in the future.
In closing, some insights and advice for those who have an American dream to pursue….
New York gives you the opportunity to take the leap. The jump. You have to know how to make the jump and know how to land on your feet. However, I can say that we Italians have an edge. And this can be confirmed by looking at so many Italians who are leading big organizations, here in New York and in the rest of the US. Our style is unique and it works. There is just finding the right spot and the right time to make the leap.
The article Gianluca Sardo: the Italian touch in top events in New York comes from TheNewyorker.
