Mark Birnbaum - Partner of EMM Group - NYC Night Life

Hospitality moguls Eugene Remm and Mark Birnbaum, good friends and former business competitors both born on the 10^th of June, teamed-up in 2006 to open Tenjune, a nightclub in the Meatpacking District and establish EM Group, which in 2008 became the EMM Group. A lifestyle, events and marketing company, EMM Group specializes in production, management and development of noteworthy celebrations, launch parties and important activities. Building on the success of their first venture Tenjune, in the heart of NYC’s Meatpacking District, Remm and Birnbaum have expanded their business portfolio to include Four Hundred, a members-only, lifestyle management service, as well as The EMM Group Estate, their multi-million dollar, privately-owned mansion in the Hamptons that plays home to the most exclusive events during the summer season. Among a highly competitive nightlife scene, TENJUNE has become New York City’s most celebrated hotspot in the Meatpacking District in just two years. Tenjune, which consists of less than 3,500 usable square-feet, generated $12 million gross in the first year enabling Remm and Birnbaum to pay back their investors at an unheard of time in the nightlife arena.

With the success of their first venue Tenjune, and the recent multi-million dollar sale of a portion of their company to financier Michael Hirtenstein, EMM Group continues the expansion of their empire with two new ventures in the upcoming year. Set to open in February 2009, The EMM Group has teamed-up with the luxury boutique W Hotels in Hoboken, where they will introduce “Chandelier”, a unique nightlife experience for hotel guests and the Hoboken community. In September 2009, the EMM Group introduced Abe & Arthur’s Restaurant and SL (Simyone Lounge) in the Meatpacking District in the old Lotus space on 14th Street.

Along with their partner Michael Hirtenstein, EMM Group has established a reputation as a hospitality hub, a synergistic axel providing access to a top level of service that begins with operations and extends through promotions, providing service for the customer in all aspects of their experience. Each arm of the company complements the other in the seamless execution of full circle hospitality. Striking the perfect balance between restaurant and nightclub operations and promotions, EMM Group successfully guides its target demographic through the dining and entertainment experience.

Traditional spokes on the EMM Group wheel often work to compliment and accelerate larger corporate initiatives as the EMM Group promotions, events and brand marketing departments continue to experience enormous growth and an increasing client base.

EMM Group’s greatest virtue in this industry is their pledge to great service and hospitality. Birnbaum, Remm and Hirtenstein know they are in an experiential business and continue to use TENJUNE as a platform to build upon their nightlife philosophy that relies heavily on luxury, service and attention to detail.

EUGENE REMM
Eugene Remm, one of New York City’s most trusted nightlife impresarios, has years of marketing and event experience under his belt. A New York native, Remm began his career in public relations and promotional events at a top New York City firm. He then moved on to work with Rande Gerber’s Midnight Oil Company overseeing promotions for all 19 Midnight Oil bars. This job offered him the opportunity to cultivate his experiences and master hotel-lounge operations in multiple cities.
After a few years in the hotel-lounge business, Remm became interested in creating the ultimate restaurant-lounge, something he thought was missing and necessary in the nightlife scene. Remm left Midnight Oil and became the Director of Promotions for the BR Guest Restaurant Group. Remm was instrumental in establishing the overnight success of Level V, the celebrity-trodden lounge below Vento Trattoria in New York City’s trendy Meatpacking District, before leaving to open his own vision of nightlife, Tenjune.
Along with his business partners, Remm helped make Tenjune one of the sexiest and most successful venues in New York. With a background firmly rooted in restaurant, hotel and nightlife operations and experience with A-list clientele and the ever-changing service industry environment lends Remm the credibility and connections necessary to build one of the most successful hospitality firms in the New York area.
MARK BIRNBAUM
Mark Birnbaum began his career in nightlife and special events as a promotions director in 1998, where he launched and managed a 22,000 sq. ft. mega-club in the heart of Ithaca, NY.
In 2002, Birnbaum formed the nightlife consulting company Operative Inc., to open Lobby Nightclub, a chic midtown Manhattan nightclub. Lobby's launch in 2003 was considered to be among the most successful in nightlife history. He was later hired to open and oversee the marketing, public relations, promotions and events for AER Lounge, which shortly after reached an unprecedented level of success resulting in Conde Nast Traveler naming it one of the top nightclub venues in the world, and #1 in Manhattan.
Having achieved success by creating the perfect blend between nightlife, operations, hospitality and business, Birnbaum continues to develop the elements that sets EMM Group’s business model apart, striving to refine and heighten the industry on all fronts.

Mark Birnbaum Celebrates Another June Tenth Birthday at His NYC Club TENJUNE

http://guestofaguest.com/nyc-nightlife/eugene-remm-and-mark-birbaum-celebrate-another-tenth-of-june-birthday-together-at-tenjune/
Nightlife impresarios Eugene Remm and Mark Birnbaum celebrated their shared birthdays at their NYC nightclub TENJUNE (which is coincidentally named after their shared birthday on June 10th) with close friends. These two may be another year older, but they are not slowing down...team Hampton spotted the pair arriving with their entourage at Pink Elephant, Southampton this Saturday night.  Last night, guests helped Mark and Eugene ring in their birthday at the stroke of midnight.
More story and photos below....
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YOUNG PROFESSIONAL AWARD: MARK BIRNBAUM & EUGENE REMM

2010 Young Professionals Award
EMM Group
Eugene Remm & Mark Birnbaum, Partners
Hospitality moguls Eugene Remm and Mark Birnbaum, good friends and former business competitors both born on the 10^th of June, teamed-up in 2006 to open Tenjune, a nightclub in the Meatpacking District and establish EM Group, which in 2008 became the EMM Group. A lifestyle, events and marketing company, EMM Group specializes in production, management and development of noteworthy celebrations, launch parties and important activities. Building on the success of their first venture Tenjune, in the heart of NYC’s Meatpacking District, Remm and Birnbaum have expanded their business portfolio to include Four Hundred, a members-only, lifestyle management service, as well as The EMM Group Estate, their multi-million dollar, privately-owned mansion in the Hamptons that plays home to the most exclusive events during the summer season. Among a highly competitive nightlife scene, TENJUNE has become New York City’s most celebrated hotspot in the Meatpacking District in just two years. Tenjune, which consists of less than 3,500 usable square-feet, generated $12 million gross in the first year enabling Remm and Birnbaum to pay back their investors at an unheard of time in the nightlife arena.

With the success of their first venue Tenjune, and the recent multi-million dollar sale of a portion of their company to financier Michael Hirtenstein, EMM Group continues the expansion of their empire with two new ventures in the upcoming year. Set to open in February 2009, The EMM Group has teamed-up with the luxury boutique W Hotels in Hoboken, where they will introduce “Chandelier”, a unique nightlife experience for hotel guests and the Hoboken community. In September 2009, the EMM Group introduced Abe & Arthur’s Restaurant and SL (Simyone Lounge) in the Meatpacking District in the old Lotus space on 14th Street.

Along with their partner Michael Hirtenstein, EMM Group has established a reputation as a hospitality hub, a synergistic axel providing access to a top level of service that begins with operations and extends through promotions, providing service for the customer in all aspects of their experience. Each arm of the company complements the other in the seamless execution of full circle hospitality. Striking the perfect balance between restaurant and nightclub operations and promotions, EMM Group successfully guides its target demographic through the dining and entertainment experience.
Traditional spokes on the EMM Group wheel often work to compliment and accelerate larger corporate initiatives as the EMM Group promotions, events and brand marketing departments continue to experience enormous growth and an increasing client base.
EMM Group’s greatest virtue in this industry is their pledge to great service and hospitality. Birnbaum, Remm and Hirtenstein know they are in an experiential business and continue to use TENJUNE as a platform to build upon their nightlife philosophy that relies heavily on luxury, service and attention to detail.

EUGENE REMM
Eugene Remm, one of New York City’s most trusted nightlife impresarios, has years of marketing and event experience under his belt. A New York native, Remm began his career in public relations and promotional events at a top New York City firm. He then moved on to work with Rande Gerber’s Midnight Oil Company overseeing promotions for all 19 Midnight Oil bars. This job offered him the opportunity to cultivate his experiences and master hotel-lounge operations in multiple cities.
After a few years in the hotel-lounge business, Remm became interested in creating the ultimate restaurant-lounge, something he thought was missing and necessary in the nightlife scene. Remm left Midnight Oil and became the Director of Promotions for the BR Guest Restaurant Group. Remm was instrumental in establishing the overnight success of Level V, the celebrity-trodden lounge below Vento Trattoria in New York City’s trendy Meatpacking District, before leaving to open his own vision of nightlife, Tenjune.
Along with his business partners, Remm helped make Tenjune one of the sexiest and most successful venues in New York. With a background firmly rooted in restaurant, hotel and nightlife operations and experience with A-list clientele and the ever-changing service industry environment lends Remm the credibility and connections necessary to build one of the most successful hospitality firms in the New York area.

MARK BIRNBAUM
Mark Birnbaum began his career in nightlife and special events as a promotions director in 1998, where he launched and managed a 22,000 sq. ft. mega-club in the heart of Ithaca, NY.

In 2002, Birnbaum formed the nightlife consulting company Operative Inc., to open Lobby Nightclub, a chic midtown Manhattan nightclub. Lobby's launch in 2003 was considered to be among the most successful in nightlife history. He was later hired to open and oversee the marketing, public relations, promotions and events for AER Lounge, which shortly after reached an unprecedented level of success resulting in Conde Nast Traveler naming it one of the top nightclub venues in the world, and #1 in Manhattan.
Having achieved success by creating the perfect blend between nightlife, operations, hospitality and business, Birnbaum continues to develop the elements that sets EMM Group’s business model apart, striving to refine and heighten the industry on all fronts.

Mark Birnbaum Opens Abe & Arthur's in NYC

Not Grandpa’s favorite dish

With sophisticated food, Abe & Arthur’s is no delicatessen.

It’s refreshingly sweet that a trio of canny private clubiers—EMM’s Eugene Remm, Mark Birnbaum and Michael Hirtenstein—would name their first restaurant gamble for their grandfathers.

Abe & Arthur’s may sound like a delicatessen, but on this rainy Thursday night it’s a hive of hipsters and heel-totterers. At 11 p.m., most restaurants are winding down these frugal nights, but in this just-hatched chicklet in the meatpacking district, where Lotus once ruled, waiters race to reset tables for a coven of nocturnal pretties and the lotharios that stride in their wake. On the floor below, SL, for Simyone Lounge, celebrates a third grandfather.

A few days ago, our foursome was almost alone in the low-lit dinge, with only an aggressive sound system competing in the just-opened spot. Franklin Becker, a chef I’ve been following for years, was the draw for me. It wasn’t easy to find the pointedly discreet entrance, and once inside, I found the scrims draped on weathered walls, the black-on-black reflected in black mirrors, handsome, moody and mysterious.

Then with my first bite of popover—crusty and lush, salty, buttery and cheesy (Gruyère, pecorino and manchego)—my taste buds click on the alert. The place may look like drinking and mating, but it tastes like a restaurant. We study and debate how to divvy up the menu, a roster of comfort and the familiar, from $9 for lobster bisque to $38 for 14 ounces of dry-aged strip.

Perhaps the garlicky steamed mussels tucked under grilled country bread in the black iron pot could be plumper, and the day-boat cod with “various cabbages” and puffed rice might be a tad less cooked.

But I’m thrilled by a pair of crab cakes—jumbo lumps of crab barely held together with Old Bay-curried mayonnaise, then pan-sautéed and served on summer corn with red pepper sauce—and the nutty, caramelized sea scallops, delicately cooked and (unnecessarily) crowned with a square of foie gras on a purée of cauliflower and almond. Super-rich mac & cheese with a crackle of brown butter crumbs is right on beat, with a crust just like Mom’s. A generous square of brownie oozing chocolate ganache with malted-milk ice cream, plus a big iron pot of “apple Tatin cobbler,” clinches the seduction.

If they turn up the lights and tone down the music, grown-ups who care about eating might want to come, I thought, as we staggered through the inky black to 14th Street. Usually I leave a new restaurant hoping the kitchen will shape up. Here the only direction to go is downhill. By the time I check in 10 days later, the die is cast. Mickey Rourke, Sean Penn and Russell Simmons have already come by, the chef tells me, explaining why he is already cooking for 450 many nights.

It’s party night Thursday, with tables of 14 or so getting drunk and hollering to each other as if they are the world. Even the balcony is stuffed. So we’re shouting across our table, interrupted by the miracle of the popovers, gone, alas, long before appetizers arrive. Finally, through the manic melee come crab cakes, as luscious as before, juicy sliders and lobster bisque poured from a small pitcher over lobster bits and green apple. Of course the mac & cheese is a must: perfect again.

Branzino, the whole fish of the day, comes boned with just the tail left on to hold it together. Tonight, as our chocolate brownie Vesuvius arrives, one noisy rabble has been evicted for another. It’s almost 11 and the tall, skinny women are tottering in as we pack up. Much as I’ll long for those popovers and fine crab cakes, it’s no country for old fuddy-duddies like us.
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/dcce/20091025/9/RESTAURANT_REVIEWS/91/RR_ACTIVE/2320123&Selected=1

Nightlife King Mark Birnbaum Celebrates His Birthday at Tenjune

Whenever the 10th of June rolls around I always think: I know this date so well, but how? Cue David Lynch-esque deja-vu music while I think about past lives until I realize, Oh, it's Tenjune. Right. Eugene Remm & Mark Birnbaum's Svedka Vodka Adult Playground 2033 was last night, at Abe &Arthurs—not at Tenjune, because my head would've exploded as that very date happens to be both of their birthdays. I'm not sure how I managed to get invited to the club impresarios' joint birthday jam, what with the likes of Kim Kardashian and DJ Cassidy on the personal guestlist, but it was enough to remind me that I have a lot more to accomplish in my life to deserve a birthday party the size of one called 'Adult Playground,' and a lot more to accomplish before my name makes it to the party recap list next to attendees like Whitney Port and Tyson Beckford, and even more to accomplish before Mark and Eugene actually invite me to their soiree. Themselves. Anyway, hopefully all of that happens before 2033, like the Svedka sponsors suggest, but for now, I am just happy I got to see (if not be seen) celebrations for such iconic industry as like Remm and Birnbaum.

Kim was one of those guests who the PR mavens didn’t get a chance to announce was coming, because she just casually popped in to say hello to Mark and Eugene, and to see Jason Derulo, Iyaz, and Chris Willis perform. A couple of other industry insiders were present as well: Sam Nazarian of SBE (and ex to Kristin Cavalari) and real estate heir Matt Moinian, along with Scott Sartiano and Richie Akiva were all present to wish the boys well. Guests enjoyed dinner the way only Abe & Arthur’s and Svedka could produce, with fare that included Svedka Mango Tiramisu with Chocolate Lady Fingers dessert. Happy birthday E&M! Thanks for sort of inviting me!

Mark Birnbaum Celebrates His Birthday at Tenjune

http://www.eatstaydrink.com/christina-milian

It was a sexy celebration when VS supermodels Alessandra Ambrosio and Doutzen Kroes helped Nightlife impresarios Eugene Remm and Mark Birnbaum celebrate their shared birthdays at their NYC hotspot Tenjune. In honor of Remm and Birnbaum's birthday, partygoers were treated to surprise performances including Lil' Kim, who performed to beats spun by the world famous DJ Cassidy.
Loose Talk: Natalie Portman spotted having a glass of red wine with a male friend at Bardot. Actress Halle Berry seen drinking an apple martini at Whiskey Blue Los Angeles after shooting her Revlon campaign in the hotel.

Mark Birnbaum And Eugene Remm

Read full article at :  http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrities/mark-birnbaum-and-eugene-remm

Fitness, not financials: The nightclub impresarios -- they own Manhattan's Tenjune and the newly opened lounge SL -- are poised to open and Abe & Arthur's restaurant in the Meatpacking District, which perhaps also means they will spend more time working out. “People focus so much on spending money on clothes,” says Remm. “If they went to the gym instead, their clothes would fit three times better than paying for some random expensive designer.”

Sneaker chic: Birnbaum owns a rare pair of Converse, designed and signed by John Varvatos. “He made four pairs, and I got one of them. They’re like an art piece, so I put them in a glass display case,” he says.

Haute hip-hop: Fashion-wise, Remm admires Kanye West and Jay Z: “They’re able to go from a nightclub outfit to perfect business attire and always make it their own.”

Mark Birnbaum: The New Kings of New York Nightlife

The New Kings Of New York Nightlife
Steven Bertoni, 05.10.10
Eugene Remm, 31, and Mark Birnbaum, 32, don't believe in quitting while they're ahead. As economic disaster swelled in 2007, Tenjune--their swanky, 5,000-square-foot nightclub in Manhattan's Meatpacking District--kept on rocking. On one raucous evening a real estate developer bought $75,000 worth of Perrier-Jouët champagne for the house, then told partygoers to shake up the bottles and coat the room in suds. Tenjune opened in August 2006 and generated $12 million of revenue in 2007, making Remm and Birnbaum's combined 50% stake worth millions of dollars. Says Remm, "Everyone was saying we were one-hit wonders"--meaning they should take their money and run.


Instead, the pair doubled down. Their nightlife empire, EMM Group, now includes restaurants, lounges, a luxury concierge service and a house in Sag Harbor, L.I. used for hosting private parties for VH1 and the cast of Gossip Girl. Headquartered in a sunny loft near Tenjune, EMM, now with 30 head-office employees, had $30 million in sales in the last 12 months. Credit that performance to Birnbaum's aesthetic eye and Remm's attention to detail. A third partner--Michael Hirtenstein, 47, who sold his Westcom Communications, which supplied secure voice and data networks to Wall Street firms, for $270 million in 2005--joined in 2008 and negotiates contracts. "They have their eyes on everything but never look stressed," says MTV Programming President Tony DiSanto, a regular EMM customer. "I see them more as producers than club owners."
Remm, the son of Russian immigrants, had a taste for risk at Long Island's Hofstra University, where he ran a bar and speculated in real estate. During his senior year he bought five houses, putting down a combined $10,000 he had pocketed in tips. ("I was the definition of subprime," he quips.) After graduation Remm joined B.R. Guest Restaurants and ran its lounge, Level V. Birnbaum promoted Manhattan clubs as a high school senior on Long Island; at Ithaca College he ran a 22,000-square-foot nightclub. After hawking insurance and hating it, he started a consultancy aimed at new club owners.


Remm and Birnbaum hooked up after throwing competing birthday parties--both were born on June 10 (hence Tenjune)--and became fast friends. They raised $800,000 from college friends and club clients to open Tenjune just in time for Fashion Week and the MTV Video Music Awards. They threw a book launch party for celebrity stylist June Ambrose, hosted by rapper Sean Combs (a.k.a. P. Diddy). Penelope Cruz, Jay-Z and Beyoncé showed up. Emboldened, Remm and Birnbaum opened a concierge service in 2007 with annual dues of $7,500. That summer they took out a $3.9 million mortgage on an eight-bedroom Sag Harbor mansion, which hosts five blowout events a summer. In the spring of 2009 EMM signed on to run the Chandelier Room in the W Hotel in Hoboken, N.J.


Their biggest bet came on Sept. 15, 2008--the day Lehman Brothers filed Chapter 11--when Remm and Birnbaum plunked down $2 million, their entire savings, to secure a three-floor restaurant and club space a block from Tenjune. It needed renovation, which involved expanding the mezzanine and relocating the furnace room. Expected total cost, including renovations, furniture and permits: $7 million. They raised the other $5 million, mostly from happy Tenjune customers, in eight months. Abe & Arthur's, which serves $88 porterhouse steaks, and its basement club, SL, opened last September. The combo has since done $10 million in sales.
If Tenjune is EMM's blockbuster film, SL is the art house flick--small, intimate and ultracool. The stone walls feature a collage of human X-rays that change color with every fabric-rippling thump of the bass. The markups are adequate to cover the renovation costs. A 1.5-liter bottle of Grey Goose ($57 wholesale) goes for $1,000 at SL. A 6-liter bottle of Ace of Spades champagne is $30,000.


Diversification is crucial. "Robert Downey Jr. won't party at Tenjune, but he'll eat at Abe & Arthur's," says Remm. EMM's special events group opened American Eagle Outfitters' Times Square shop; it handled stage design, music and security, and also produced the video looped on an outdoor Jumbotron. Abe & Arthur's later hosted a dinner for American Eagle execs.


Behind the scenes, this business is a grind. The workday ends at 5 a.m., and Remm and Birnbaum are fielding e-mails by 9 a.m. The two are sticklers about consistency--from the way hosts greet customers and how quickly reservations are confirmed to the scent in each venue. (EMM pumps in a custom perfume through its air ducts.) Employees, who get BlackBerrys, must reply to e-mails within five minutes; they're also encouraged to maintain a healthy diet and slog through daily workouts, involving weights, treadmills and yoga sessions. "There are opportunities to have lots of bad habits," says Remm.


Revenues are broken down, daily, by customer. A 20,000-name spreadsheet--cobbled with help from waitresses, floor managers, publicists and Facebook--tracks minutiae on heavy hitters who drop at least $2,000 a night, including their professions, birthdays, favorite drinks and seating preferences. Each gets a follow-up call to see how the night went and what EMM can improve. "They know what people want and how to look after people," says Karolina Kurkova, the former Victoria's Secret underwear model.

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EMM also analyzes the performance of its promoters--freelance pied pipers who march in lookers to fill the clubs. Many joints pay promoters by the volume of patrons they corral. EMM demands a good-looking crowd with high energy and deep pockets. Promoters get $500 for a stylish table of ten. Duds often get docked half their pay.


Remm, Birnbaum and Hirtenstein aren't done yet. They are in the midst of signing leases for three new venues--two restaurants and club. "You've got to stay fresh and keep your name relevant," says Birnbaum. "If I'm not opening the next place that looks amazing, someone is."