STARR Restaurants: Stephen Starr. How a Non-Foodie Built Thriving Restaurants on Gut Instinct

Stephen Starr didn’t plan to get into the restaurant business.

He set out to be a radio DJ. Then a nightclub owner. Then a music promoter.

Along the way, he booked a young Jerry Seinfeld for $75, promoted shows for U2 and Madonna, and spent years pretending to be more successful than he really was.

Then, in his late 30s, Stephen walked into a glitzy martini bar in New York.

He was so taken with it, he decided to start his own version in Philadelphia.

Today, Starr Restaurant Group generates nearly half a billion dollars in annual revenue and includes some of the most successful independent restaurants in America: Pastis, Buddakan, Le Diplomate, Parc, Makoto, and dozens more.

The surprising part?

Stephen did not start out as a foodie.

Instead, he became obsessed with the theatre of dining: design, upholstery, lighting, music. A “wow!” feeling when you walk in the door.

In this conversation with Guy, Stephen talks about the hard lessons he learned in the comedy and music business, and the unexpected path he took to redefining dining.

What You'll Learn:

• The unglamorous economics of rock concerts and restaurants
• How rejection, romantic heartbreak, and failure can become powerful motivators
• Why he believes he's spent his career "throwing the party" without attending it
• How building the right team of designers can make a restaurant feel magical
• Why Stephen says today's entrepreneurs have a much harder path than his generation did
• The model Stephen says new restaurateurs should follow today

Timestamps:

• 00:06:03 — A lonely childhood: Making up skits in his room
• 00:09:49 — Losing his mother at age 19
• 00:11:17 — Starting a comedy club: Deli by day. Stand up at night
• 00:20:49 — Going broke and reneging on a bank loan
• 00:28:26 — Music promotion: Feeling like a fraud while promoting U2, Madonna
• 00:36:52 — A New York martini bar inspires Stephen to start his own
• 00:42:20 — The bold design behind a line-out-the-door restaurant
• 01:03:31 — Opening Buddakan in New York: “I can’t do anything better. This is Sgt. Pepper”
• 01:09:08 — Starting a restaurant today: “I would say don’t do it … but if you do, keep it smaller”

This episode was produced by Alex Cheng with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant with research by Sam Paulson. Our audio engineers were Patrick Murray and Robert Rodriguez.

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