Secrets from the highest-grossing restaurant in New York

New York

IF there's a venture with a projected shelf life of five minutes, it's a nightlife restaurant in New York's Meatpacking District. The exception? Tao Downtown. Since it opened in 2013, with heavy wooden doors that look like they were airlifted in from an ancient Chinese fort, the temple to pan-Asian-style food and drinks has been a prime Manhattan destination for athletes, celebrities, and businessmen and women waving corporate cards to out-of-town families.

Each night, some 1,200 people stream through the David Rockwell-designed,…