The Next Generation: Harry Morton by Bonnie Siegler

Magazines » May/June 2009 Issue » The Next Generation: Harry Morton

The Next Generation: Harry Morton

At 27 years old, restaurant legacy Harry Morton has carved a place for himself in the food biz. The mind behind the popular and still-growing Pink Taco restaurant chain has now taken on his next project, revitalizing L.A.’s legendary Viper Room. You could say the business is in his blood: His grandfather, Arnie, was the mastermind behind the famed Morton’s Steakhouse, and his father, Peter, launched the Hard Rock Café. But sweat and tears have also helped this young upstart climb the ladder to success.
Harry was just 13 when he began to work for his dad’s Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas, shuffling his way to the top via jobs as a bellhop, concierge, and blackjack dealer, all the while calling a Sin City suite in the hard-partying Hard Rock Hotel home. Fortunately, Morton doesn’t ask patrons of his successful Pink Taco restaurants to gamble with their palates. The eateries -- with locations in Las Vegas and Los Angeles -- serve simple, authentic Mexican fare with an East L.A. vibe. Now, the young power player is betting on his reincarnation of Los Angeles’ infamous Viper Room.

DRAFT: The Viper Room has a varied beer list -- from Belgian whites to Bud Light to Stella Artois and many more. Who has the final say on the beer menu?
MORTON: I obviously purchased The Viper Room after it had been open for many years. So through time, there’s been testing of what the customer wanted, what was selling and what wasn’t. We took a look at that when I came in and I have a great team in place. Part of our mission, always, is not to settle. We always look at what can be improved... we’re moving things in and out. So what you see in there pretty much reflects what the customer wants now.

The place attracts a young, hip Hollywood crowd. What seems to be the most popular brew of choice with that crowd right now?
At The Viper Room, the top 10 beers are: Bud Light, Corona, Heineken, Bud, Amstel Lite, New Castle, Stella, Miller Lite, Fat Tire draft, and Sierra draft.

Do you think the 20- or 30-somethings that visit The Viper Room have a more sophisticated beer taste than other trendy Hollywood joints?
It depends on the show. A hard rock/metal show, the crowd drinks Pabst Blue Ribbon, but then we might have an upcoming band with a young, sophisticated crowd, and they want to drink European imports. There’s definitely a different beer of choice with varying sounds of music.

The Viper Room has an amazing history. When did you purchase the place and what was the attraction for you to own this piece of Los Angeles history?
I purchased it about a year ago. Basically what I’m doing now is building a portfolio of brands. I own the Pink Taco restaurants, I invested in a new tequila, and The Viper Room is my other holding. So I’m always looking for great brands and ones that I think have big growth potential. I grew up above the Sunset Strip. My father had the Hard Rocks. I grew up with the whole music scene. Rock ‘n’roll has always been interwoven in my life, and The Viper Room is just one of those places I’ve seen for years and years. One day, I was sitting down, and I can’t say I had some master plan or major idea, but I sat there, saw it and thought, gosh, that would be a great brand. There’s only one Viper Room, but it’s a name known around the world for multiple reasons. The point is, for a 2,000-sq.-ft. bar to be known worldwide, says a lot about it. So I wanted to see what I could do with it and capitalize on it.

How have you changed the vibe -- if at all -- from the infamous days of Johnny Depp’s ownership and the untimely death of River Phoenix?
Well, basically after Johnny left, through a whole series of events, the place was kind of abandoned and neglected. It suffered through that point. When I purchased it, I spent the last year bringing it back to life by putting a lot of money into the place to really clean it up and make it great again. I put in a new sound system to make it a great venue where bands want to come and play. We’ve come back in and tried to breathe some life into it, which means taking a personal approach on everything in there whether it’s the bands we book, staffing, the right bartenders... everyone has to fit the part.

You’re a fourth generation restaurateur. Your father, Peter Morton, has the Hard Rocks, your grandfather has Morton’s Steak House. What have you learned from them about the business?
It’s pretty simple: Deliver a great product in a great environment at a great price. So it’s giving customers value and treating them right. It’s really broken down that simple, but it is easier said than done. In any business, if a customer feels they’re getting a good product, being treated well and getting value for what they’re spending, they’re happy.

You started working for your father at 13 at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. Is that where you learned this simplistic motto?
It’s something that’s been ingrained in my head just from growing up around it all. I toured the business with my dad; I was around it so much that it became second nature. My father put me to work when I was old enough and I learned the businesses inside and out. I worked my way up to the top. Now, I’m at the point where I’m going out on my own. It was a natural progression. It’s like if your dad was a lawyer and you’re around that growing up, then it becomes second nature and you become a lawyer. That’s what happened to me; it’s the only thing I know.

You have been around The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas since you were 13. Give us some shock value: Any crazy stories?
That list would be too long to mention. Things went on in that hotel that are legendary. We always protected our customers, and we always made sure what happened stayed there. There were certain celebrities doing things they shouldn’t have been doing, certain arrests, but we never really commented on it. I think that’s why celebrities feel safe hanging out at our venues and respect us because we take care of them. We don’t really comment on behind the scenes, and that goes the same with my businesses today. Certain high-profile people come in for dinner, and we don’t sell them out and take advantage of them. I think that’s one of the reasons they keep coming back -- they feel safe.

Can you remember where you had your first beer?
An INXS concert with David Hutchence still around, in Hawaii, and it was a Heineken. I must have been 14 or 15, and went to the concert with friends. The first real beer I enjoyed when I was of age was Fat Tire. They obviously have a big presence, and it was recommended, so I got into it.

You’ve opened up several Pink Taco restaurants; what’s the count?
We’re getting ready to open three more. We have Las Vegas... and Los Angeles. We’re going to be opening one in Hollywood and have pending deals in Chicago, San Diego, and Miami. So we’re real busy with the Pink Taco right now. In this economy where everyone is suffering a downturn, our business is up 35 percent. I sometimes go and double-check the numbers myself because I don’t believe them, but that boils back down to what I said before about the core values that my family taught me: deliver a great product at a great value. In this economy, people are looking for value. We’ve done a nice job in finding our niche in that marketplace.

So does the beer menu vary from The Viper Room to Pink Taco and from Los Angeles say to Miami?
It will vary. You carry a core group of products, but we are very market-specific and we are very aware of what sells in the marketplace. In Miami, we’ll have some of the Caribbean imports -- you have to cater to what sells in the market. You carry a core 75 percent, and then there’s a 25 percent rotation based on the market. People’s habits in L.A. are highly different than our [other] restaurant.

How so?
L.A. is much healthier. People want more salads; they want more grilled foods. Eating habits depend on the market, and I think drinking habits do, as well. In L.A. there’s a lot more call for organic tequilas. Anything organic is doing well in Los Angeles.

The Viper Room doesn’t serve food, but Pink Taco does.
It’s authentic Mexican but with a modern twist. I’m playing with the idea of selling food at The Viper Room for expansion.

You always seem to be running in fifth gear with your business. What makes up your “me time?”
First of all, I run in sixth gear, and I would run in seventh if I had a seventh gear. Sometimes I actually blow the engine out. I always say I can relax when I’m older, and everyone around me says I shouldn’t be saying things like that. But I have a new baby Rottweiler named Jesús. I just love the name, so that’s my new full-time child at home. I’m also very active -- I’m a work-hard-and-play-hard person. The good thing is I like going out and seeing new places with a great group of friends. We go to new restaurants and places to hang out at night. I think it’s important never to stay stagnant and do the same things. Whether it’s traveling to other cities or going to new places in Los Angeles, never do the same thing. I’m a big mountain biker, too. If I need to get quiet, I go up in the trails and figure things out.

What do you consider a sexy beer choice?
I like some of the Asian beers, but I always like Red Stripe. If I could buy a beer, I’d buy Red Stripe. It’s a great brand and it’s undermarketed. You could make that sexy.

Who’s your dream musical booking at The Viper Room?
The original Van Halen, but that’s not really possible. With the size of the venue and the price of Van Halen, I can’t really make the economics work. You know, I’d love to have Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers come back. He opened the place up, and there’s a history with him. Right when he did “Into The Great Wide Open” and Johnny Depp was in the video, Johnny called him and said he was opening up a club, would you do me a favor and come down and play. And he did. I saw the Tom Petty documentary called “Running Down The Dream,” and there was all this footage of him opening up The Viper Room. It was really cool to see Petty talking like in a home movie about Johnny calling him up to play his new club on Sunset.

You seem to have your pulse on pop culture and know what the next generation is craving.
It is key for me to have my finger on the pulse because you got to know what people want and what the market is looking for. The one person I rely on a lot is my little 17-year-old brother, because you have to know what music they’re listening to, what clothes they’re wearing, where they’re hanging out, and what they’re doing. So I’m always looking around for the next idea. A lot of people in the marketplace suffer when they don’t evolve with the times. Whether that’s the American automotive industry or a restaurant/bar, you’ve got to keep changing. For us, we’re always out looking for the next thing. The mantra for my company is never to settle -- don’t settle no matter what. What are young people looking for? They’re looking for great value, they’re looking for hope as the economy stinks and I ultimately think people are looking for change. The last eight years in America -- without getting into a political thing -- it squashed the young generation and left them in a horrible position. And lastly, people want to have a good time. That’s what we’re going for.

Look into your crystal ball; where are you in 10 years?
I see myself with more dogs. I love dogs. Right now the love in my life is my career, so with the proverbial wife and kids; I don’t know. I’d like to have a few more brands in my holdings and integrate all those brands together. Ultimately, I’d love to be back into the hotel business because I love that. Possibly even Viper Room hotels -- what would a Viper Hotel be like?