Stephen Starr (born 1957) is an American

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...

and former entertainment promoter based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. 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 Barclay Prime,

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

, 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 with Aimee Olexy. Starr has been recognized for his work, and has received awards from the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is an American non-profit culinary arts organization based in New York City. It was named after James Beard, a food writer, teacher, and cookbook author. Its programs include guest-chef dinners to scholarships for asp ...

among others.

Early life and education

Starr was born in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. 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 university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

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 2025, there are 19 Starr Restaurants in Philadelphia; nine in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

; four in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

; six in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

; and one opening in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Awards

Starr won the 2017 "Outstanding Restaurateur"

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

; and his restaurant Le Coucou, with chef Daniel Rose, was named 2017 "Best New Restaurant" by the

. His restaurant The Clocktower, with chef

Jason Atherton Jason Atherton (born 6 September 1971) is an English chef and restaurateur. His flagship restaurant Pollen Street Social gained a Michelin Star in 2011, its opening year, and retained it until its closure in 2024. He was the Executive Chef at ...

, was awarded a Michelin star in the 2018

Michelin Guide The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few restaurants ...

. Starr has been named "Restaurateur of the Year" by both ''

Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center ...

'' and ''

Zagat The ''Zagat Survey'', commonly referred to as Zagat (stylized in all caps; , ) and established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979, is an organization which collects and correlates the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, coverin ...

''. ''

Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Co. (formerly Wyndham Destinations, Inc., and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation) is an American timeshare company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It develops, sells, and manages timeshare properties under several vacation owners ...

'' 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 ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo in March 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs ...

'': 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 Gateway Regional High School (New Jersey) alumni 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