Hospitality Design - April 2010 - 162

Platinum Circle 2010

This 20-year career as a leading restaurateur began in the music world, where as a 21-year-old wünderkind, Stephen Starr opened his ﬁrst club in an Old City diner in Philadelphia: food in the daytime, comedy at night. A subsequent cabaret/restaurant, Starrs, gave a platform to then-little-known artists such as Jerry Seinfeld and Pat Benatar. A larger venue, Ripley Music Hall, allowed him to showcase other new talent that went on to glory—U2, Eurythmics, Springsteen. Music ultimately gave way to food, beginning with modest but successful venues. Early on, Starr combined dining with urban renewal. His ﬁrst major property, the Continental Restaurant & Martini Bar, followed by the highly inﬂuential Buddakan, changed the landscape of their neighborhoods. Matters accelerated with the opening of Pod. Designed by David Rockwell, Pod was eye-catching and inﬂuential; it was followed shortly after by chef Douglas Rodriguez’s Alma de Cuba, another property that helped elevate Philadelphia’s proﬁle as a world-class culinary destination. Then Morimoto, with chef Masaharu Morimoto, followed by a handful of additional Philly hotspots. In 2005, having handily conquered Philadelphia, Starr set his sights on other cities: New York and its blazing Meatpacking District (a second Buddakan and Morimoto); Fort Lauderdale (Steak 954 in the W Hotel); Atlantic City (Buddakan No. 3, another Continental, Teplitzky’s, Chelsea Prime). And more in Philadelphia, with promised ventures in New York, Miami, and Las Vegas. Throughout his impressive trajectory, Starr’s restaurants have been temples of great design, and he has enlisted the masters to help him fulﬁll his vision: Rockwell, Tadao Ando, Shawn Hausman, Christian Liagre, David Schefer, among them. For Starr, “Design is critical, the most immediate way to convey the experience the owner is striving to create. It sets the tone for everything.” “My ﬁrst aspiration was to be a disc jockey,” he says. “I found that entertaining people was an amazing experience. The greatest reward is creating something from nothing and seeing the process come to fruition.” With hopes for his own hotel and a vegetarian restaurant in the future, Starr has a formula for success: “A lot of luck and a relentless pursuit of perfection.”

Stephen Starr Starr Restaurants
Philadelphia

Signature projects
Buddakan, Philadelphia, New York, Atlantic City Morimoto, Philadelphia, New York The Continental Restaurant & Martini Bar, Philadelphia, Atlantic City Alma de Cuba, Philadelphia Steak 954, Fort Lauderdale Chelsea Prime, Atlantic City Tangerine, Philadelphia Pod, Philadelphia

This and opposite page, clockwise from top left: Dining at Alma de Cuba; the dining room of the Continental Restaurant & Martini Bar in Philadelphia; the long bar at Pod; and Barclay Prime in Philadelphia.

162

hospitalitydesign

www.hospitalitydesign.com

http://www.hospitalitydesign.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - April 2010