Celeste Fierro and Jonathan Segal

[highlight_text] With more than 30 years of experience under his belt and his feet thoroughly soaked in the industry, it seems Segal can’t be stopped. [/highlight_text]

When the economy was struggling in past years, this hospitality power duo was riding out the weak wave and waiting for a swell. But now it seems that swell has arrived.

“You always do your best work in a recession where you plan for the turn,” said Jonathan Segal, founder and chief executive officer of hospitality mecca The ONE Group, which currently operates 21 venues worldwide, including STK and food and beverage for the Gansevoort hotels in both Miami, New York and Turks and Caicos. “These are times of mergers and acquisitions.”

And he couldn’t be more right. Segal, along with The ONE Group’s Senior Vice President Celeste Fierro have fearlessly led their hospitality mega company into an expansion reaching more than 24 markets across the United States and Turks and Caicos, the opening of huge STK posts in Miami and Las Vegas – two markets hit hard by the economy in their own right – and bringing their business to a worth of roughly $100 million.

Segal is a polished man with a handsome British brogue and a vibrant energy that pours over the telephone line.  He speaks of his trials and triumphs as sinuously as he speaks of his adoration for skiing. “Slap some wood on my feet and I’m a happy man,” he said.

He tells of how his legacy began with a set of well-worn hands and a vision. He began at age 15 with a job in manual labor, what he calls a “do boy” with a broom in hand. At 16, he fled to Bailiwick of Jersey to join The Modern Group, a family-owned business. At The Modern Group, he continued to do menial work, but began climbing the rungs of the proverbial ladder by “pushing boxes around better than the next guy,” or so he puts it, in order to prove himself.

The strategy worked. At age 21, when most are excited for a taste of legal liquor, Segal was getting his taste for entrepreneurialism with his first company. He played a role in a basement-born business founded on the ideal of Internet payments called WorldPay, later purchased by the Royal Bank of Scotland. It was the first of its kind and the predecessor to PayPal.

But Segal’s real passion lies in hospitality. Since the opening of its first venue in January 2004, The ONE Group has opened upwards of 24 hospitality hotspots, has partnered with brands in 10 different venues and boasts five hotel service contacts. It will open its first international venue in 2012.

With more than 30 years of experience under his belt and his feet thoroughly soaked in the industry, it seems Segal can’t be stopped. He is a man who propels his passion to thrill his guests by recognizing and utilizing all aspects of art, fashion, and music in his venues. Passionate as he may be, Segal can’t do it all on his own.

Enter Fierro.

“I was introduced to Jonathan Segal through a mutual friend,” Fierro said. “Timing was perfect for us to both venture into the restaurant business. We had a concept for a restaurant that was a one-stop shop; the ambiance of it would be perfect for pre-dinner drinks, coming to for dinner, or the after-dinner spot. Whenever you came you’d feel great energy and end up wanting to stay.” This innovative idea morphed into the pair’s first joint venture, ONE Little West 12th, in the heart of New York’s Meatpacking District.

Fierro is known for bringing A-listers to each of The ONE Group’s venues – a key factor in the brand’s expansion, which is progressing at a breakneck pace.

“It’s tough and exciting at the same time,” Fierro said. “We have an amazing team at who spend lots of time researching projects during the development phase, which sets us up for success when we open.” This research includes spending three months in the new city, learning the culture, industry and power players in that particular market.

“Every market has a different ‘personality,’ so spending time getting to know what will and wont work is part of the learning curve,” Fierro said.

But it seems the players in The ONE Group are star students. Their long list of successful hospitality hotspots include Coco de Ville, Bagatelle, Tenjune, Gansevoort Park Avenue NYC, Gansevoort Turks and Caicos, Gansevoort Miami Beach and STK and STK[out], an impressive list of openings in the midst of a downtrodden market. The group’s new Italian eatery, Asellina, in New York’s Flatiron District also recently opened its doors.

“Asellina is great – it’s lighter Italian food, with homemade pastas, fresh fish, a great wine selection and fun cocktails,” Fierro said. But opening an Italian restaurant wasn’t easy in a town like New York.

“I’m Italian and I’ve always wanted to open an Italian place,” Fierro said. “If you can do Italian well in New York, then you know you’re headed in the right direction.”

Despite its early success, The ONE Group doesn’t show signs of slowing down. In fact, with the uptick in the economy, The ONE Group plans to continue their rapid expansion. On the horizon for opening are a Bagatelle LA this summer, a Bagatelle NY in the fall and an STK in Atlanta.

Although STK is now considered a wildly successful steakhouse with five national locations, Segal is adamant about not concentrating on the concept of a steakhouse – rather, he chooses to focus simply on the concept of dining. Just five years after arriving to New York and two years after creating The ONE Group, he approached the design team for the very first STK in the Meatpacking District

“Design me a steakhouse that doesn’t look like a steakhouse and a menu that caters to females,” he said. From this outside-of-the-box mentality came the brand’s most prosperous holding to date. STK can now be found in Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York and will launch in Atlanta in November. A second STK in New York is slated to open this summer in Midtown. But STK’s success isn’t just about steak. Making it a female-friendly eatery was a big part of the draw.

“To counter with the usual masculine feel of steakhouses, we designed STK with a sexy palate of black, crème and purple,” Fierro said. The menu also features small, medium and large steaks to cater to any appetite.

In fact, Fierro keeps in mind the female market in relation to all of The ONE Group’s eateries.

“We wanted to create venues that women can enjoy as part of their night out,” she said. “Whether you’re going out for drinks, dinner, dancing or all three, our goal was to make it perfect for all of them. At our new Italian restaurant Asellina, instead of white tablecloths and heavy pastas, we designed it with rustic earth tones, lower lounge tables for seating and fresh, healthy pastas and salads.” Like the furniture arrangements at Tenjune, a lounge in New York, most of the company’s seating choices and structural designs bear the curves of a woman’s body.

Segal is an intellectual no doubt, but also a playboy of sorts, as he caters his every decision to the fluctuating whims of his female audience. But he doesn’t worry about attracting the other half of his audience.

“Dangle a woman in front of them and most men will follow on their knees with dog collars around their necks,” he said. His partner Fierro, has obviously influenced the gentle Brit in his way of thinking.

When it comes down to it, The ONE Group’s secret to success is two-fold.

“It’s all about the image, vibe and experience you create, making sure your guests are comfortable,” Fierro said. “And at the end of the day, it’s really all about relationships with our guests that’s most crucial.”