Celebrity-owned restaurants: eateries and bars backed by your favorite stars

celebrity owned restaurants

What are they?Where can I find them?

What exactly are celebrity-owned restaurants? 

Celebrity-owned restaurants are restaurants (or any type of food or drink establishment) that are either partially or wholly owned by a famous person.  These celebrities are most often some form of entertainer, athlete or food personality with a special love for food.  Many times they partner up with family members or friends in the restaurant business.

Celebrities who own restaurants sometimes use their fame and public recognition to help bring additional attention to the restaurant.  Other times, celebrities may simply want to invest in the restaurant and not want to get involved with the marketing.

In either case, the celebrity-owned restaurants that perform well do so because of the quality of their food, not just the name(s) behind it.  (Remember Planet Hollywood? Although it was backed by a handful of celebrities, it has gone bankrupt multiple times.)  Usually, having a big name associated with a restaurant helps with the initial marketing of the restaurant to create extra buzz, but in the end, returning patrons expect to be “wowed” by the full experience…especially the food.

Here’s a quick and dirty list of celebrities who currently own or have owned restaurants in the past:

  • entertainers/personalities
    • Mel B – Serafina Sunset
    • Dierks Bentley – Whiskey Row
    • Jessica Biel – Au Fudge
    • Jon Bon Jovi – Soul Kitchen
    • Zach Braff – Mermaid Oyster Bar
    • Jimmy Buffet – Margaritaville
    • Ty Burrell – The Eating Establishment
    • Sandra Bullock – Walton’s Fancy & Staple
    • Francis Ford Coppola – Cafe Zoetrope, Rustic
    • Olivia Culpo – Back 40
    • Robert De Niro – Loncanda Verde, Nobu
    • Gavin DeGraw – The National Underground
    • Drake – Pick 6ix
    • Gloria Estefan – Bongos Cuban Cafe, Estefan Kitchen, Larios on the Beach
    • Joey Fatone – Fat One’s Hot Dogs and Italian Ice
    • Chip and Joanna Gaines – Magnolia Table
    • Florida Georgia Line – FGL House
    • Lady Gaga (technically her parents) – Joanne Trattoria
    • Richard Gere – Bedford Post Inn
    • Ryan Gosling – Tagine
    • Sammy Hagar – Cabo Wabo Cantina
    • Armie Hammer – Bird Bakery
    • Hugh Jackman – Laughing Man Coffee Shop
    • Jonathan Jackson – Jack and Jameson’s Smokehouse
    • Scarlett Johansson – Yummy Pop
    • Toby Keith – I Love This Bar and Grill
    • Drew & Nick Lachey – Lachey’s Bar
    • Ralph Lauren – Polo Bar
    • Eva Longoria – Beso
    • Ludacris – Chicken + Beer
    • Anthony Mackie – Nobar
    • Moby – Little Pine
    • NAS – Sweetchick
    • Chris Noth – The Cutting Room
    • Piper Perabo – Jack’s Wife Frieda, Employees Only
    • Pharrell – Swan, Bar Bevy
    • Robert Redford – Zoom
    • Norman Reedus – Nic and Normans
    • Susan Sarandon – SPiN
    • T.I. – Scales 925
    • Dylan Sprouse – All-wise
    • Quentin Tarantino – Do Hwa
    • Justin Timberlake – Southern Hospitality
    • Channing Tatum – Saints & Sinners
    • Danny Trejo – Trejo’s Cantina, Trejo’s Tacos
    • Lisa Vanderpump – Pump, Sur, Villa Blanca
    • Donnie & Mark Whalberg – Whalburgers
    • Oprah Winfrey – True Food Kitchen
    • Jay-Z – 40/40 Club
  • athletes
    • Drew Brees – Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar
    • Mike Ditka – Ditka’s
    • Kevin Durant – Pieology
    • John Elway – Elway’s
    • Brett Favre – Brett Favre’s Steakhouse
    • Walt Frazier – Clyde Frazier’s Wine & Dine
    • Wayne Gretzky – Wayne Gretzky’s
    • Tony Hawk – The Flower Shop, MARKET Restaurant & Bar
    • Lebron James – Blaze Pizza
    • Michael Jordan – 1000 North, Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse
    • Greg Norman – Greg Norman Australian Grill
    • Shaquille O’Neal – Five Guys, Big Chicken, Shaquille’s
    • Arnold Palmer – Arnold Palmer’s Restaurant
    • Nate Robinson – Nate’s Wings & Waffles
    • Aaron Rodgers – Hom Wood Fired Grill
    • Hines Ward – Table 86
  • cooks/chefs/food personalities
    • Richard Blais – Juniper & Ivy, The Crack Shack
    • Daniel Boulud – Daniel
    • David Chang – Momofuku
    • Roy Choi – Kogi BBQ
    • Tom Collichio – Craftstead, Heritage Steak
    • Ayesha Curry – International Smoke
    • Todd English – Olives
    • Guy Fieri – Guy Fieri’s El Burro Borracho
    • Bobby Flay – Mesa Grill
    • Jean Georges – Jean Georges, Jean Georges Steakhouse
    • Stephanie Izard – Girl & the Goat
    • Thomas Keller – French Laundry, Per Se
    • Giada de Laurentiis – Giada
    • Emeril Legasse – Delmonico Steakhouse, Emeril’s Fish House, NOLA, Lagasse’s Stadium, Rodos
    • Brian Malarkey – Herb & Wood, Herb & Eatery, Green Acre Nautilus, Farmer & the Seahorse
    • Nobu Matsuhisa – Nobu
    • Michael Mina – Bardot Brasserie, International Smoke, Margeaux, Michael Mina
    • Masaharu Morimoto – Morimoto
    • Jamie Oliver – Barbecoa, Jamie’s Italian, Fifteen, Jamie Oliver’s Diner
    • Wolfgang Puck – CUT, Spago
    • Gordon Ramsay – Hell’s Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips
    • Joël Robuchon – Joël Robuchon, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
    • Guy Savoy – Savoy
    • Dale Talde – Talde
    • Brian and Michael Voltaggio – Estuary
    • Sam “The Cooking Guy” Zien – Not Not Tacos

(Disclaimer: This is far from a complete list.  Some of these celebrities may own dozens of restaurants that deserve their own articles…especially the chefs.  Also, restaurants are constantly opening and closing and ownership can change.  If you plan to visit any of these, make sure to look them up first to see if they are still up and running.)

Where can I find them?

You can find celebrity-owned restaurants across the globe and especially in the celebrities’ hometowns.  However, they are most highly concentrated in major cities like Los Angeles and New York.  Here is a short list of some of the best restaurants worth visiting that just happen to be owned by some very well-known people.

Daniel Boulud – New York, NY: Daniel

celebrity owned restaurants daniel boulud new york
photo: Daniel on Facebook

Jean Georges – Las Vegas, NV:
Jean Georges Steakhouse

celebrity owned restaurants jean georges
photo: Jean Georges Steakhouse on Facebook

Chip and Joanna Gaines – Waco, TX: Magnolia Table

celebrity owned restaurants waco texas magnolia table
photo: Magnolia Table on Instagram

Tony Hawk – San Diego, CA (Del Mar):
MARKET Restaurant + Bar

celebrity owned restaurants del mar market restaurant bar
photo: MARKET Restaurant + Bar on Instagram

 Thomas Keller – Yountville, CA:
The French Laundry

celebrity owned restaurants thomas keller the french laundry
photo: The French Laundry on Facebook

Pharrell Williams – Miami, Fl: Swan

celebrity owned restaurants swan miami
photo: Swan on Facebook

 Ty Burrell – Park City, UT: The Eating Establishment

celebrity owned restaurants park city eating establishment
photo: The Eating Establishment on Facebook

Sandra Bullock – Austin, TX:
Walton’s Fancy & Staple

celebrity owned restaurants austin texas walton's fancy and staple
photo: Walton’s Fancy & Staple on Facebook

Robert DeNiro & Nobu Matsuhisa –
New York, NY (global locations): Nobu

celebrity owned restaurants robert deniro nobu
photo: Nobu on Facebook

Francis Ford Coppola – San Francisco, CA: Cafe Zoetrope

celebrity owned restaurants cafe zoetrope
photo: Cafe Zoetrope on Facebook

Moby – Los Angeles, CA: Little Pine

celebrity owned restaurants los angeles little pine
photo: Little Pine on Facebook

Norman Reedus – Atlanta, GA (Senoia):
Nic & Norman’s

celebrity owned restaurants atlanta nic and normans
photo: Nic & Norman’s on Facebook

Hello! I'm Kristina

Kristina Reynolds is the Founder & CEO of Glutto and an alumna of the University of California, San Diego. She writes articles & posts for Glutto Digest with insights from fellow industry experts. Furthermore, she is the author of The Fittest Food Lovers: How EVERY BODY Can be Incredibly Fit and Still Enjoy Food, a collaborative philanthropic book with proceeds going to charities that fight world hunger.