View source for Joe Baum

{{short description|American restaurateur}}
{{More footnotes|date=September 2019}}
'''Joseph Harold Baum''' (August 17, 1920 – October 5, 1998) was an American restaurateur and innovator responsible for creating the country's first themed restaurants, including [[The Four Seasons Restaurant]], [[Windows on the World]], and the restored [[Rainbow Room]].  He was the first restaurateur to bring contemporary architects, artists and designers into his restaurant designs.
==Early life and career==
Joseph Harold Baum was born to Leo and Anna Baum in [[Saratoga Springs, New York]], where his parents ran the Gross & Baum hotel.  He graduated from high school in [[Lakewood Township, New Jersey]] in 1938 and went on to earn a degree from [[Cornell University]] in hotel management in 1943.  After college, he served in the [[United States Navy]] aboard a destroyer-minelayer in the South Pacific.<ref name=NYTObit>Grimes, William. [https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/06/us/joseph-baum-american-dining-s-high-stylist-dies-at-78.html "Joseph Baum, American Dining's High Stylist, Dies at 78"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 6, 1998. Accessed February 9, 2011. "After graduating from high school in Lakewood, N.J., in 1937, he worked for two years as a busboy, waiter and cook in hotels in New Jersey and Florida to earn tuition money to attend Cornell University, where he earned a degree in hotel administration in 1943."</ref>
In 1946, he went to work for Harris, Kerr, Foster & Company in Manhattan and took over the management of one of its hotels, the Monte Carlo, in 1947.  In 1949, he was hired by the Schine hotel chain in Florida.  Several years later, he was hired by Rikers Restaurant Associates (later shortened to Restaurant Associates) to open and manage a restaurant at Newark Airport called the Newarker, which became famous for its elegant dining, grandiose portions, and over-the-top flambée.
==Restaurant Associates==
After Baum's success at the Newarker, he took over the specialty restaurant division of Restaurant Associates in 1955, attracting talented individuals such as Stuart Levin, George Lang, Alan Lewis, Tom Margittai, and Paul Kovi to run the company's themed restaurants.  Baum spared no expense, hiring top architects, designers, and consultants such as [[James Beard]] and [[Julia Child]].  He went on to become president of the company.  The portfolio of restaurants grew to over 130 by 1965 and included La Fonda Del Sol, [[Zum Zum (restaurant)|Zum Zum]], the Hawaiian Room, Quo Vadis, the Trattoria, the Brasserie, the Forum of the Twelve Caesars,<ref name="Coe">[http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2006/5/2006_5_9.shtml Andrew Coe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070303083608/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2006/5/2006_5_9.shtml |date=2007-03-03 }} "Roman Mosaic Found in Midtown Manhattan: A Glimpse into the Lost Civilization of A.D. 1957" ''American Heritage'', Oct. 2006.</ref> [[Tavern on the Green]], and [[The Four Seasons Restaurant]].
==Independent work and the Rainbow Room==
Baum left Restaurant Associates to consult on his own, often working with Arthur Emil, and later, Michael Whiteman.  His projects included developing the 22 restaurants in the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]], including [[Windows on the World]] at the top of the North Tower. Windows was equally renowned for its wine program and wine school, known as Cellars in the Sky. His other projects included development of restaurants in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, the Hallmark Cards Crown Center in Kansas City, and [[Place Bonaventure]] in Montréal.  In 1986, he opened his own restaurant in New York City called Aurora.  It remained open for five years.
In 1987, after a two-year $25 million renovation backed by [[David Rockefeller]], Baum reopened the [[Rainbow Room]] in New York's [[Rockefeller Center]]. Baum also redesigned [[Windows on the World]] in 1996, a destination restaurant on the 107th Floor of the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] which he opened in 1976. During Baum's tenure, Windows on the World became the highest grossing restaurant in the world until its destruction on [[September 11, 2001]].
Baum died on October 5, 1998, at the age of 78 due to [[prostate cancer]].<ref name=NYTObit/>
==Honors==
Baum was inducted into the [[Culinary Institute of America]] Hall of Fame in 1995.
==References==
* http://nymag.com/nymetro/food/reviews/insatiable/2230/
* https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/06/classified/paid-notice-deaths-baum-joseph.html
* [https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/18/dining/joe-baum-s-company-will-soldier-on.html Joe Baum’s Company Will Soldier On] New York Times, Florence Fabricant November 18, 1998. Retrieved February 5, 2022
* [https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/13/garden/love-theme-restaurants-here-s-the-man-to-thank.html Love Theme Restaurants? Here’s The Man to Thank] New York Times, Florence Fabricant September 13, 1995. Retrieved February 5, 2022
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[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:American restaurateurs]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:Cornell University School of Hotel Administration alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths from prostate cancer in the United States]]
[[Category:People from Lakewood Township, New Jersey]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:James Beard Foundation Award winners]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]]