City Winery Puts Music on the Menu

Michael Dorf thinks he’s hit on a winning formula. City Winery, his New York-based chain of music venues, offers food, wine, and rock ’n’ roll in an intimate setting. The acts—Sinead O’Connor and former Kinks guitarist Dave Davies are booked in November—cater to music-loving baby boomers who’d rather sip syrah at a reserved table than chug light beer in a crowded arena.

City Winery locations in New York, Chicago, Napa, Calif., and Nashville, where the newest club opened in early October, are on pace to take in $40 million in revenue this year, Dorf says. That’s prompted him to scour real estate listings in Atlanta, Boston, and Toronto. The chain will expand to 20 venues over the next several years, he says. “None of this is all that proprietary or genius. That’s why I feel like I have to run like the wind.”