Tim and Nina Zagat
Nina S. Zagat (née Safronoff) and her husband, Eugene Henry "Tim" Zagat, Jr. (born 1940,
Early life
The Zagats married during law school, graduated in 1966, and moved to New York where they became corporate lawyers.[3]
Law careers
Nina Zagat was an associate with the Wall Street
Both were employed in Paris—he at office of the Hughes Hubbard law firm, and she with Shearman & Sterling. While there, they started compiling their own list of Parisian restaurants, of what they liked and didn't like, and conceived the idea for a new type of restaurant ratings guide.[citation needed]
Zagat Survey
When the Zagats returned to New York, they solicited the opinions of friends about New York restaurants; the resulting compilation eventually became
One reviewer described the methodology: "The philosophy behind the Zagat Survey is that instead of one lengthy critical review of a restaurant, the eating public is better served by a rating based on hundreds of responses. By tabulating the responses to detailed surveys, the Zagat Survey rates restaurants on a 30-point scale in the categories of food, décor, service and cost. It also provides price estimates and a pithy, paragraph-sized description."[1]
The company expanded to include other cities and market segments such as hotels, stores and clubs; in early 2008, the couple tried to sell the company for $200 million, but then withdrew the sale when they could not find prospective buyers at that price.[2] One reviewer wrote: "The Zagat Survey was once the sine qua non of restaurant guidebooks. Aside from a review in the paper, the survey's 30-point scale for food, service, and décor—and its quirky comments submitted by readers—was pretty much all that mattered to restaurateurs. While the book's ratings are still highly influential—and while the company remains highly profitable—the guide is no longer the indispensable possession it once was and it's clear that its influence has waned in recent years."[3] The relative decline was attributed to the company's "online strategy" which made the guide only available to paying subscribers.[3] The survey was eventually sold to Google, and later to The Infatuation.[6]
Personal life
The
Stabbing incident
On November 15, 1990, Tim Zagat was watching
References
- ^ a b c "Tim and Nina Zagat Biography". bio. 2002. Archived from the original on 2009-12-13. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
- ^ a b c Sheryl Julian (April 22, 2009). "Critic of All He Surveys". The Boston Globe. Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
- ^ a b c d e f "Tim Zagat (see section: Close Call)". cityfile new york. 2009-10-20. Archived from the original on 2010-01-02. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
- ^ ["Tim and Nina Zagat: Move Over, Michelin". Business Week. October 28, 1991. Archived from the original on November 5, 2011.
- ^ Paula Span (March 13, 1986). "Nina Zagat and a $500 Million Battle of Wills". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
- ^ "Google to Sell Zagat to the Infatuation, an Upstart Review Site". The New York Times. 5 March 2018.
- ^ Vanita Salisbury (March 10, 2009). "Nina and Tim Zagat's Favorite New Yorkers Are Each Other". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
- ^ "Who Was Jeffrey Epstein Calling?". New York Magazine. July 22, 2019. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
- ^ "Publisher Is Stabbed In a Sudden Attack In a Movie Theater". The New York Times. November 15, 1990. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
External links
- Nina Zagat at IMDb
- Tim Zagat at IMDb
- Tim Zagat collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Photo of Tim and Nina Zagat