Stephen Starr (born 1957) is an American restaurateur and former entertainment promoter based in Philadelphia. He owns the Starr Restaurants group which operates over thirty restaurants. He has restaurants in many different areas both in the United States as well as overseas. These restaurants include Alma De Cuba, Barclay Prime,

Buddakan Buddakan is a restaurant chain serving Pan-Asian fusion cuisine owned by STARR Restaurants with locations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New York City, New York. Stephen Starr opened the first restaurant in 1998 in Philadelphia Phi ...

, Butcher and Singer, The Continental Mid-town, The Dandelion, El Rey, El Vez, Fette Sau, Frankford Hall, Jones, Morimoto, Parc, Pod, Serpico, Stella, Talula's Daily, Talula's Garden, and The Love in Philadelphia. Starr has been recognized for his work, and has received awards from the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

among others.

Early life and education

Starr was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He grew up in

Woodbury Heights, New Jersey Woodbury Heights is a borough in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 3,098, an increase of 43 (+1.4%) from the 2010 census count of 3,055, which in turn reflect ...

, where he attended Gateway Regional High School. He later attended the School of Media and Communication at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

in Philadelphia.

Career

Promoter

Starr's first venue was the diner and comedy club "Grandmom Minnie's" located in

's Old City. On September 16, 1977, Starr opened the cabaret "Stars" featuring emerging acts. In March 1981, Starr opened the concert venue and disco "Ripley Music Hall." In February 1984, Starr founded The Concert Company, which brought large-scale stadium acts to Philadelphia. The company was purchased by Electric Factory Concerts in 1990.

STARR Restaurants

Stephen Starr founded STARR Restaurants in 1995. In September 1995, Starr opened his first restaurant in Philadelphia, "Continental Restaurant & Martini Bar."" As of 2018, there are twenty Starr Restaurants in Philadelphia; six in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

; five in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

; two in Atlantic City,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

; two in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

; and one in Paris, France.

Awards

Starr won the 2017 "Outstanding Restaurateur" James Beard Foundation Award; and his restaurant Le Coucou (restaurant), Le Coucou, with chef Daniel Rose (chef), Daniel Rose, was named 2017 "Best New Restaurant" by the

. His restaurant The Clocktower, with chef Jason Atherton, was awarded a Michelin star in the 2018 Michelin Guide. Starr has been named "Restaurateur of the Year" by both ''Bon Appétit'' and ''Zagat''. ''Travel + Leisure'' noted that "Starr creates complete environments with an artistic, almost cerebral approach." In 2017, the magazine ''Restaurant Hospitality'' placed Stephen Starr on their "RH 25" list of "The 25 most powerful multiconcept operators across the country." ''Restaurant Hospitality'' also awarded Starr the annual Richard Melman Innovator of the Year award in 2013 and cited his restaurants in Philadelphia as "arguably the key reason for the city's revitalized culinary scene." ''The Harvard Observer'' recognized Starr "for making contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of restaurant hospitality over the whole of his career."

Film and television

Starr was guest judge on the "Restaurant Wars" episode of the reality television show ''Top Chef'': Season 5, which aired in 2009. Starr appeared in the 2007 documentary film "This is My Cheesesteak" directed by Benjamin Daniels.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starr, Stephen Living people People from Woodbury Heights, New Jersey American restaurateurs Temple University alumni 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople James Beard Foundation Award winners 1957 births