Benjamin Prelvukaj and Benjamin Sinanaj on Benjamin Restaurant Group

Benjamin Prelvukaj and Benjamin Sinanaj both came to New York from Europe and began working as waiters at Brooklyn's Peter Luger Steakhouse. It was there that they met and learned the ins and outs of running a successful steakhouse, driving them to join forces and eventually open their own. Today, they co-own several restaurants together, including Benjamin Steakhouse with one location in Midtown and the other in White Plains, along with Benjamin Prime and the Sea Fire Grill in Midtown East.

We sat down with Prelvukaj and Sinanaj to chat about their restaurants, steak, and how they got to where they are today.

What was your earliest interest in dining and restaurants?

Benjamin Sinanaj: My first memories of dining and hospitality starts back home during my childhood. I had a pretty big family and the only time we would all come together was in the evening when my mom would make dinner for everyone and we would all enjoy each other's company. I carried this tradition with me when we opened our first restaurant. I knew that dining out was a real treat to most people and that I wanted our dining room to feel like an extension of our guest's homes. I would say the level of service we provide is our most distinguishing feature. We took the feeling of being back at home eating at our parents' house surrounded by our family and brought it with us when we opened the restaurant.

Benjamin Prelvukaj: I grew up in the highlands of Montenegro, and as such cattle raising was a built-in part of my upbringing, and being an Albanian (ethnically) hospitality is "literally" part of our cultural DNA. Having said that, I had a pretty rough start as a kid, as I had lost my father on the day that I was born, and so my mom had to raise me and the two of my sisters pretty much on her own. The fortunate side of that bitter coin was the fact that I have an incredibly hard-working mom with an indomitable spirit, who is also a spectacular cook, and my grandfather, God rest his soul, was this noble-hearted and kind soul who imprinted on me so profoundly with his big personality and generosity beyond his means. I remember him sharing with me some of the highland wisdom, saying "Remember son, as an Albanian, remember, that the guests are sacred. Once someone is welcomed into your house and through that doorstep, you treat them like family, nay, even better than family, as your name and your honor rest in your hospitality shown." When we had guests at my grandfather's house it was always a spontaneous feast, with lots of food, with my grandma's homemade highland cheese, the freshly baked corn-bread, the potatoes from the farm in a variety of preparations, and the best "kajmak" you could ever have, and his home-made triple distilled raki (our version of "grappa" or "eau de vie") was always there to wash it down with. Most importantly though, there was always meat. Whether it was a roast, or a stew, a steak or the juniper smoked cured beef (cured at home), beef, or lamb, there would always be plenty of meat served. Grandpa would say "It is not a meal if the beef is not there". Even before I had a proper idea of what restaurants were, I had a pretty solid idea of what great hospitality was, and what good food and drink were.

Who were some of your career mentors?

BP: Beyond the respect and gratitude that I will always have for a colleague and mentor in my early days for having taken their time with me, and for having had the patience to show me the ropes early on, I always looked at some of the top entrepreneurs in the restaurant world for inspiration. For one, I always had a special admiration for Danny Myers, as I saw more than one parallel in our stories. This is as I came to understand he came from relatively humble beginnings and who understood early on that successful restaurants offer a 360-degree experience, where sincere hospitality is just as integral as the excellence of the cuisine. He also started as a "front (of the house) man" in the business, and has a very good vision of how instrumental every staff member is to the success of the business.

In 2006 as we had just opened the original Benjamin Steakhouse at 41 Street, Myers published his book "Setting the Table." I bought the book and devoured it over a single weekend. After having read the book, I felt a sense of relief and new-found confidence as a young business owner. I found many of his points to be logically and business-wise intrinsic to me, and that I had come to many of the same conclusions and business mottos, just as Danny had years prior as he was building his Empire.

BS: I looked at my mother for inspiration and would even call her my mentor because I would recall how she made everyone feel when they sat at our table.

What culinary and/or styles have influenced your career?

BS: When I came to NYC, I was drawn to the traditional New York restaurants. I loved going to restaurants that had a classic feel and made me feel like I was in New York City and had that old-world charm. It was because of this that I wanted to keep that same feeling when I opened Benjamin Steakhouse. I wanted our guests to feel like they were transported back in time when they stepped foot into our dining room.

BP: I think that my answer to the first question answers this well. One word, "Steak!" Having said that, I am also a fan of seafood, and we have The Sea Fire Grill. In general, though, I think great food is great food, and that there are incredible cuisines around the globe that offer remarkable experiences and thus business opportunities. We might surprise you with one of our next concepts soon!

What do you consider the most distinguishing features of your work as a restaurant owner?

BP: I could not stress this one enough, "Your company is your people". Understanding your team, and its needs, and building a great culture coupled with a reciprocal sense of loyalty with them is indispensable to your restaurant's success.

What is your favorite meal?

BP: Do you have all day? But you already know this one, I think? I love steak. Somedays it's porterhouse, other's rib-eye, and even filet now and then. However, I am a gourmand after all, and hopefully, it does not show too much. I love my sushi at least once a week. I eat fish quite often and also love my Italian and Mexican. And oh yeah, caviar!

BS: My favorite meal will always be a medium rare porterhouse, with home fries and a good glass of red wine.

Tell me a little bit about your restaurant for our readers.

BS: Since opening in 2006, Benjamin Steakhouse has established itself as one of New York City's premier steakhouses, attracting business professionals and celebrities alike. Benjamin Restaurant Group provides 30 plus years of experience to create Benjamin Steakhouse, located one block from Grand Central Station. Our flagship location features an oversized fireplace, semi-private dining rooms, tall ceilings, and a beautiful main dining room. Our steaks are handpicked and dry-aged in our very own dry-aging box for a minimum of 28 days.

BP: There are four restaurants in New York and three in Japan. The original Benjamin Steakhouse on 41 Street opened in 2006. This is our mothership, where it all started and because of it, it holds a special place in my heart. It is a very "handsome" space, with vaulted 30-foot ceilings, dark wood paneling, a humongous fireplace, amber chandeliers, burgundy red booths, and dark leather chairs, with an arching bridge leading into the 2nd-floor "amphitheater" part of the dining room or the "mezzanine". With its art-deco interior esthetics, It has a very warm and inviting old-school vibe to it. You feel as if you have stepped back in time walking into Benjamin Steakhouse 41 Street. The Classic Steakhouse fare is designed to couple that idea, where the emphasis is on delivering the very top quality steak and food in general in the most unadulterated form.

The Benjamin Steakhouse Westchester (2010) emulates that concept but in a more suburban-country-club-ish setting. The esthetics are very similar to the original venue, with a vast main dining room with warm and rich colors, wrap-around patio seats outside, and jazz music humming in the background to match. The same top-quality amazing steaks and fares are offered there in the same fashion as 41 Street. It's where our guests who work in the city take their families and friends, where our neighbors come to visit and enjoy a great meal, and our escape from the city hum and bustle.

The Sea Fire Grill (2012) is our departure from the classic steakhouse concept. It is our "maritime inspired" jewel, with elegant nautically inspired interior esthetics, and a menu offering a plethora of delectable seafood options, an amazing raw bar, super fresh fish, and scrumptious crustaceans galore.

Benjamin Prime (2016) is our more modern-style steakhouse, with spacious settings coupled with high ceilings, lots of natural light, a multitude of private event spaces, and a bustling bar scene. The menu is also a bit of a yin-yang concept there, so besides our top-notch steaks naturally taking the front burner there, there are also plenty of remarkable seafood offerings loaned from our Sea Fire Grill concept. All in all, an incredible venue to bring your company event, your posse, or your family and have a blast of a time, or just come by yourself and have a great chop and wash it down with a beautiful glass of Cabernet or Bordeaux!

Last but not least, all four of our venues offer award-winning wine lists with a serious depth in domestic and international choices, and vintages going back decades and as far back as 1934. Furthermore, we also offer about a thousand choices in spirits, whereas it's whiskey, tequila, cognac, and more.

For more information on the Benjamin Group, please visit https://benjaminsteakhouse.com/.

(Photo courtesy of Benjamin Restaurant Group)

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