Will Guidara


William Guidara is an American restaurateur based in New York City. Along with chef Daniel Humm, Guidara co-owned the Make It Nice hospitality group, established in 2011, which owns and operates Eleven Madison Park, NoMad New York, NoMad Los Angeles, NoMad Las Vegas, NoMad Bar and Made Nice. Guidara exited “Make It Nice” with a US$5 million buyout in 2019.

Background and career

A native of Sleepy Hollow, New York, Guidara graduated from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in 2001. Guidara began his dining room career at Wolfgang Puck's Spago in Beverly Hills. He then went on to various roles in Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, including at Tabla, Café 2 and the restaurants at the Museum of Modern Art.
In 2006 Guidara became the General Manager of Eleven Madison Park, where he and chef Daniel Humm led the transformation of the restaurant from a French brasserie to a fine dining destination. In 2011, Guidara and Humm purchased the restaurant from Union Square Hospitality Group. Under Guidara's leadership, the restaurant has garnered four stars from the New York Times, five stars from the Forbes Travel Guide, three Michelin Stars, and the #1 spot on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List.
In 2012, Guidara and Humm opened NoMad New York and the separate NoMad Bar in 2014. At NoMad New York, they have received numerous accolades including three stars from the New York Times and one Michelin star. The property has also been credited with revitalizing the North of Madison Square Park neighborhood. In April 2017, Guidara and Humm opened Made Nice, a fast casual restaurant in New York's Nomad neighborhood. In 2018, Guidara and Humm opened NoMad Los Angeles, their first restaurant outside of New York City, followed by NoMad Las Vegas. In 2019, Guidara and Humm announced that they were ending their partnership, with Humm buying out Guidara. Guidara is planning to start his own restaurant group.
Guidara, along with Anthony Rudolf, is the co-founder of the Welcome Conference, an annual hospitality-focused symposium launched in 2014. He is also a founding member of the New York City Dining Room Collaborative and has been a guest speaker at the 92nd Street Y, Mistura and Mesamerica culinary festivals, Google, Cornell University, and The Culinary Institute of America.
Guidara is also the co-author of four books with Humm: Eleven Madison Park: The Cookbook, I Love New York: Ingredients and Recipes, The NoMad Cookbook and Eleven Madison Park: the Next Chapter.

Awards

James Beard Foundation Awards
The World's 50 Best Restaurants
The World's 50 Best Bars
Michelin
Additional Awards