This article first appeared in the May/Jun 2014 issue of World Gaming magazine.
When you read the name Morton’s, you might have been expecting The Panda to pen a story about their world famous steak. Never fear, he’ll get there soon, but this time it was The Stallion galloping through the front doors to find out about the Morton’s brand name and their awesome happy hour.
I must say I had never been to Morton’s until I trotted in to see what all the fuss was about earlier this year. Don’t ask me why – I guess it had just never occurred to me what a great place this was to catch up with friends or colleagues for a few drinks.
As luck would have it, I bumped into the General Manager of Morton’s Macau, Simon Graham, on my very first visit and he was more than happy to fill me in on the Morton’s story and how it grew into a world famous brand. Simon grew up in Hong Kong and knows this area of the world well, so I began by asking him to compare Morton’s Hong Kong to Morton’s Macau.
“Hong Kong is a very discerning market when it comes to dining,” he told me. “But Morton’s was one of the first internationally recognized brands to come to Macau and with that came the challenge for us to both learn the market and build our brand here.”
Morton’s was originally born in State Street, Chicago, way back in 1978 and so successful has it been they now boast 69 restaurants worldwide including Hong Kong, Shanghai and of course Macau. Key to their success has been sticking solid to the recipe that worked for them from day one – to this day Morton’s is still doing it exactly the same way they did all those years ago when they first opened their doors and earned a reputation for their big, juicy steaks.
“Morton’s is all about consistency,” Graham continued. “Whether you walk into a Morton’s in San Francisco, Shanghai or here in Macau you know what you’re going to get. Every restaurant is going to have the décor, products and attention to detail that delivers the same great product wherever you may be.”
Steak aside, what struck this party Stallion straight away was the incredible happy hours they have at Morton’s here in Macau every day. It has been described as the “hour of power” or the “power hour” and its popularity among the local business fraternity is well known. From 17:00 to 19:00 and 21:00 to midnight you can take advantage of arguably the happiest hours of all here in Macau. I nearly fell off my stool when I saw the prices. Not only are their drinks more than reasonable, they also serve complimentary steak sandwiches!
Morton’s is a bar that sits nicely with the high rollers – its dark wooden finish and ambient appeal certainly suits the power brokers who frequent this place. Graham is the first to admit that Morton’s thriving trade doesn’t revolve around gamblers. Instead, their clientele is made up of casino executives and expats along with plenty of tourists and international visitors. It might be a serious crowd, but even important people can relax and enjoy themselves when the time is right. The atmosphere at Morton’s is perfect in that regard – jovial and anything but intimidating.
“We have a core value at Morton’s – to understand any new city that we open up in,” Graham said. “Growing up in Asia made me understand that in this part of the world it’s all about facing and respecting people. We understand here at Morton’s that we have to welcome everyone and provide the best service we can.”
New hour of power
Morton’s will soon be launching its brand new Power Hour deals which as well as offering great prices on drinks will also feature a special Bar Bites Menu with discounts during Power Hour.
