John Terzian and Brian Toll Built Delilah for Their Friends. 10 Years Later, They’re Bringing It to New York.
Observer · · g5128581
The h.wood Group co-founders and 2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List honorees talk about Delilah’s 10th anniversary, their first New York venue and keeping famous rooms private.
Ten years after opening the original Delilah in West Hollywood, John Terzian and Brian Toll are taking their supper club national, and finally to New York. In January, they opened Delilah Dallas, the brand’s fourth location after Los Angeles, Wynn Las Vegas and Miami. It’s also the largest: a 15,000-square-foot room in the Design District with a full band and dancers. Lady Delilah, their first New York venue, is due November 3.
Terzian and Toll brought in a strategic growth investment from DIAFA, an Abu Dhabi luxury hospitality company, at a nine-figure valuation, and The h.wood Group became DIAFA’s first hospitality partner. This year they also announced new Southern California venues, led by The Nice Guy’s Orange County debut in Newport Beach. They brought Delilah back to Montauk with Chase Sapphire Reserve for two summer weekends, and the group produces dining and events at Coachella, F1, Cannes and Art Basel. Its portfolio, which also includes Harriet’s and the members-only Bird Streets Club on the Sunset Strip, runs to roughly 15 concepts worldwide.
Terzian and Toll are both 2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List honorees . Terzian talked to Observer about what Delilah got right on the first night, why New York had to wait and the last thing the partners disagreed on.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
The main thing we got right with Delilah is that we built a place most people in the city needed and wanted without them fully knowing. We filled a void. Almost everything else took some time to figure out. Delilah was among the first in a new generation of dining destinations to bring live music, entertainment and culinary excellence together into one nightlife experience.
Making Delilah Dallas our largest was never intentional. We simply fell in love with both the building and its location and saw an opportunity to create something truly special for the city. Looking back, it was the right move.
New York is the epicenter of the restaurant world. We were born and raised in L.A., where The h.wood Group is based, and we always said that when it was the right time to open in New York, it had to be a major move, something that could make a meaningful impact on the city’s dining and nightlife landscape. With Lady Delilah, we believe we’re doing just that.
Having DIAFA as our partner has given us extreme global strategic value. We are part of a family of legendary luxury brands with natural synergies across the portfolio. DIAFA’s leadership also brings invaluable industry expertise and insight, which has helped us plan our aggressive expansion over the next three to five years and beyond.
The main way is by maintaining a strict no-photos policy and providing discreet entrances, exits and seating. Ultimately, it comes down to how we treat every guest and the care we take to protect their privacy.
They each come with their own challenges, but overall, it’s harder to run a permanent supper club. As challenging as pop-ups can be, they operate for a finite period of time. With a permanent establishment, you must constantly think about tomorrow, next week, next year, three years from now. We’re always thinking about the future.
We both wear multiple hats, and our roles naturally overlap. For the most part, Brian is more focused on the business and operations side, while I focus more on the creative and talent side. We have very different approaches to things, but at the core we share the same principles and vision for the company. Most recently, we disagreed heavily on whether people prefer composed dishes with a lot of sauce and different items all on one plate, or simply prepared dishes with just a protein on its own and any sides on separate plates.
Evan Funke’s.
See all of Observer’s 2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List honorees.