Drew Nieporent

Drew Nieporent is a New York City restaurateur. His company Myriad Restaurant Group owns and operates numerous restaurants, many of which are known for their celebrity clientele, and in some cases celebrity co-owners. Many are known for their difficulty in obtaining reservations. In an interview with Cigar Aficionado, Nieporent recalled turning down Henry Kissinger.

Nieporent's Nobu and Nobu London both earned two Michelin stars. The restaurants' partners are celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa and actor Robert De Niro.

As a teenager in 1972, he by chance met Muhammad Ali on the streets of Manhattan. Nieporent puportedly pulled out a xeroxed copy of his birth certificate and asked Ali for an autograph, claiming he was "Howard Cosell's son!" Nieporent stated in a February 2007 NY Times article that Ali's autograph was his "prized possession."

He graduated in 1973 from Stuyvesant High School and in 1977 from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York with a degree from the School of Hotel Management. At Cornell, he was also a member of the Quill and Dagger society. While at Cornell, he worked on the cruise ships Vistafjord and Sagafjord.

He is one of America's restaurateurs, having founded the Myriad Restaurant Group, which operates Tribeca Grill, Nobu New York City, Nobu Fifty Seven, Nobu London, Nobu Next Door, Bâtard (Formerly Corton) and Crush Wine & Spirits. Over the last 26 years, Myriad has opened and operated over 35 restaurants around the world, including Seattle, Louisville, Providence, Boca Raton, London, Moscow, Citi Field, home of the New York Mets in Flushing, New York. Most recently, Myriad helped to open The Daily Burger at Madison Square Garden.

In 1978, he began his management career with Warner Le Roy at New York City's Maxwell's Plum and Tavern on the Green. He then worked at the French restaurants Le Périgord, La Grenouille and Plaza Athenee's Le Regence.

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