Nick Martin, 26

An upbringing in the restaurant industry preheated Nick Martin for his current role as the real estate director for Friend of Chef, an outfit that offers brokerage services as part of its larger restaurant advisory practice.

The Rhode Island-born Martin was brought up by chefs and eventually ended up studying business at the University of Colorado at Boulder before heading to New York City, where he initially worked for the New York Yankees before going into residential brokerage at Platinum Properties.

“I think what I’ve found over the last two years of working at Friend of Chef is that I love the people I work with,” Martin said. “Not only my co-workers but all the chefs, hospitality group owners, restaurateurs — the people I’ve been around my entire life. It’s just a very easy connection for me to be on the same level as these people. I’ve done almost anything you can at a restaurant, so I think that sets me up for what we do at Friend of Chef.”

One deal Martin has worked on that forced some creativity was arranging a deal for Las Vegas staple the Golden Steer Steakhouse, which was looking to expand away from its well-known spot on Sahara Avenue just north of the Strip. 

The proprietors for the eatery wanted to establish its second location in New York City, eventually settling on 6,000 square feet at 1 Fifth Avenue, also known as One Fifth.

“There are so many ways that things can go wrong in these restaurant deals, whether it’s venting or gas or a specific pipe,” Martin added. “There’s always something that will come up, and it showed me how to actually get a deal done from A to Z.” 

Martin views what he does at Friend of Chef as a departure from traditional brokering in that his colleagues aren’t real estate professionals, but rather people who have run their own restaurants, meaning Martin has the opportunity to get the most out of the food and beverage experience.