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business newsThe Top 10 Celebrity-Owned Restaurants
By
Sterling Wong
Nov 14, 2011 3:00 pm
Budding celebrity restauranteurs like Ellen Degeneres would do well do learn from these 10 successful celebrity-owen restaurants.
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Getting into the restaurant business is anything but tough, however. The barrier to entry is low, and so we see just about anybody with some spare dollars to throw around opening ship. The chief culprit? Celebrities. Eager to secure a solid income stream for the day when their star fades, celebrities have frequently turned to the F&B industry to forge their restaurant empires. The history of celebrity-owned restaurants is fraught with failure though. There was a long list of celebrity eateries that have closed prematurely. There were, for example, Britney Spears’s NYLA in New York, which lasted less than a year, opening in June 2002 and closing five months later, Hulk Hogan’s PastaMania! at the Mall of America in Minneapolis (see 14 Lowbrow Ideas That Failed), which opened its doors in 1995 and didn't last the year, and Jennifer Lopez’s Madre’s in Los Angeles, which lasted from 2002 to 2008 before it too shuttered its doors.
The latest to join the long list of celebrity restauranteurs are Ellen Degeneres and her wife Portia De Rossi. The power couple will be opening an animal-friendly vegan restaurant in California’s San Fernando Valley. There's no word yet on the name of the place or its opening date though. On the East Coast, Lady Gaga’s father, Joe Germanotta, will be launching a new restaurant in Manhattan’s Upper West Side come Thanksgiving, with celebrity chef Art Smith on board as executive chef.
As if every celebrity-owned restaurant, turnout will be high initially, as customers are curious to see if the stars will show up at their restaurants and serve up a dish or two. But, if Ellen and Papa Lady Gaga’s new ventures are to survive, they would do well to follow the lead of other celebrity-owned restaurants that have survived the test of time through a combination of great food and smart marketing. Here are 10 of the best celebrity restaurants.
 Nobu was launched in 1993 in Manhattan after Robert De Niro met acclaimed chef Nobuyuki Matsushia at the chef’s first US restaurant in Los Angeles. As Robert De Niro’s second restaurant venture after TriBeCa Grill, Nobu soon became a hit worldwide, with locations from Tokyo to London. Here in the US, Matsushia currently serves as the executive chef of Nobu Las Vegas, which is also the sole US Nobu to earn a Michelin star. De Niro can afford to be picky with his film projects because Nobu is an incredible moneymaker. According to New York magazine, its Tribeca outlet alone takes in annual revenues of about $8.5 million,of which $1.7 million is profit. |
 Co-owned by Jay-Z, Bono and Mario Batali among others, the Spotted Pig rules the roost when it comes to acclamation, having been awarded a prestigious Michelin star. The insanely hip West Village gastropub serves posh nosh in an unpretentious setting. The joint’s celebrated British chef April Bloomfield is known for her incredible chargrilled burgers, which are worth the extremely long waits. Despite its pedigree, the Spotted Pig is a modest operation -- according to Manta.com, annual revenues at the restaurant are less than $500,000. |
 His post-basketball golf career didn’t quite pan out, but basketball legend Michael Jordan has been an incredibly successful restauranteur, owning several steakhouses in New York. He saved his best work for the hometown of the Bulls though. One Sixtyblue’s sophisticated cuisine, attentive service and elegant settings attract a decidedly more mature crowd, but under-40s looking for a more casual experience can turn to the restaurant’s great bar menu. |
 Yes, Chinese NBA star Yao Ming’s restaurant name could use some originality, but there’s not much to fault in the joint’s Chinese-American fusion food and classic staples like Peking duck. Yao’s venture has been so successful that he’s set up shop at a second location, also in Houston. Now that the retired basketball player has enrolled in business school in Shanghai, he's unlikely to make as many appearances as he did before, but his parents still run day-to-day operations. |
 Robert De Niro’s TriBeCa Grill, which serves hearty American fare and boasts of a 1,800-bottle wine list, has become an institution in downtown Manhattan. Locals love the food, and tourists love the chance to spot Bobby or his pals like Harvey Keitel, Meryl Streep and James Gandolfini. Incredibly, there have only been two head chefs in the restaurant’s 21-year history, which explains the menu -- it never surprises but also never disappoints. |
 Skateboarding king and budding mogul Tony Hawk’s Market Restaurant and Bar has been a huge hit in San Diego. Going against the clichéd athlete-owned restaurant menu of calamari and steaks, Hawk has installed top chef Carl Schroeder, who whips up a new menu daily based on whatever ingredients are fresh and available in the market. Did we mention everything is also organic? |
 As its name suggests, this Ryan Gosling co-owned restaurant serves fine dining Moroccan cuisine. Sensing an underserved market, Gosling and co-owner Ben Benameur opened Tagine in 2006, and with its cozy and lush settings, the restaurant has become one of the coolest places to see and be seen in Beverly Hills. While fans do flock there hoping to catch a glimpse of the hunky Gosling, Tagine’s modern take on traditional Moroccan food has also garnered wide acclaim. |
 While not busy planning for the demise of Fox News, CNN founder and media mogul Ted Turner finds time to start restaurant ventures. Turner opened Ted’s Montana Grill, which specializes in bison meat, in Ohio in 2002 and it was an instant success. Today, the chain has 46 locations across 16 states. Who knew there were so many bison lovers in America? Another unique selling point of the restaurant is its commitment to environmentalism: a cause close to Turner’s hearts. Expect all things to be recyclable and biodegradable at the chain. |
 Glady Knight was known as the “Empress of Soul” and she certainly brought it to this soul food venture. The restaurant has become a runaway success in Atlanta, and Knight has opened two more of them in the city. Knight’s famous ‘Midnight Train’ chicken wings and waffles combo was even featured on the Food Network program, ‘Man vs. Food.’ |
 Justin Timberlake didn’t just bring sexy back. In his Memphis roots-tracing barbeque joint, the singer/actor/restarauteur/investor is also bringing back baby back…ribs, that is. Located in the trendy Hell’s Kitchen, the spacious and always packed Southern Hospitality is famous for comfort food like pulled pork sandwiches, mac ‘n’ cheese and collard greens. And don’t worry; you won’t be subjected to 'N Sync music while you dine. |
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Copyright 2011 Minyanville Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2011 Minyanville Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
