22 Celebrity-Owned Restaurants: The Hits and Misses

Publish date: 2024-05-09

Jay-Z
Restaurant Name: 40/40 Club
Opened: June 18, 2003, NYC
Location: New York City, Atlantic City, Las Vegas (Closed)
This chain of sports bars and lounges is named for the baseball term 40-40 and is referenced in Jay’s 2003 single, “Dirt off Your Shoulder.” Venues are known for live music, celebrity patrons and sports memorabilia décor.
Pete Wentz
Restaurant Name: Angels & Kings
Date Opened: April 27th, 2007, NYC
Locations: NYC, Chicago, Barcelona, Los Angeles (1708 N. Las Palmas Ave)
A one-room dive bar-turned-nightclub chain with celebrity mugshots plastered on its walls; Wentz frequently spins tunes and every Sunday is an open mic acoustic night.
Eva Longoria
Restaurant Name: Beso Restaurant
Opened: March, 2008, Hollywood
Location: Hollywood, Las Vegas (CLOSED)
Beso brings Longoria’s Latin flair mixed with classic Steakhouse cuisine to feature an eclectic, bold-flavored menu. Beso, which means “kiss” in Spanish, displays a romantic, candlelit ambiance with the comfort of a lounge. Upstairs is the celebrity hotspot, Kiss Nightclub.
Sam Hagar
Restaurant Name: Cabo Wabo
Date Opened: April, 1990, Cabo San Lucas
Locations: Cabo San Lucas, Lake Tahoe, CA, Las Vegas, NV
This chain, which doubles as a nightclub, is named after a wobbly drunk Sam Hagar spotted on the roads of Cabo San Lucas and a Van Halen song by the same name. Flip-flops and jeans are encouraged in this casual dive decorated with a worn bar and Hagar memorabilia.
Ashton Kutcher
Restaurant Name: Dolce Enoteca e Ristorante
Date Opened: 2003, Los Angeles
Locations: Los Angeles (Closed), Huntsville, AL (Closed), Atlanta, GA
Old world Italy meets Hollywood chic in this modern take on traditional Italian dishes.
Doug E. Fresh
Restaurant: Doug E.’s Fresh Chicken and Waffles
Date Opened: August , 2007, NYC
Location: NYC (Harlem)
A gleaming metal exterior holds within the best soul food within the ‘212’ area code.
Heath Ledger
Restaurant Name: Five Leaves
Date Opened: September 17th, 2008, NYC
Location: NYC (Brooklyn)
A café-bar as earthy in design as its name suggests, designed as a place where friends could visit the late actor, realized posthumously by friend and biz partner Jud Mongell.
Robert De Niro
Restaurant Name: Locanda Verde
Date Opened: May, 2009, NYC
Location: NYC (Greenwich)
Light and airy, casual and welcoming, Locanda Verde is De Niro’s upscale Italian taverna, a welcome replacement to Ago, the ill-reviewed restaurant that preceded it.
Jennifer Lopez
Restaurant Name: Madres
Date Opened: April 12, 2002, Pasadena, CA
Location: Pasadena, CA (Closed)
Just like mom used to make: an elegant, if short-lived, Cuban and Puerto Rican restaurant best summed up by J. Lo herself, as “a family restaurant with a little bit of sexiness to it.”
Gavin DeGraw
Restaurant Name: The National Underground
Date Opened: December, 2007, NYC
Location: NYC, Nashville
A low-key, trendy dive rockin’ with the latest in national and local talent. Expect to hear an eclectic mix of live country or roots musicians , while enjoying a burger on the grill.
Anthony Mackie
Restaurant Name: NoBar
Date Opened: July 18th, 2011, NYC
Location: NYC (Brooklyn)
A neighborhood hangout, a place to catch the game, specialty beers by the bottle, and with no beer on tap, Mackie truly engineered this establishment for maximum comfort.
Robert De Niro
Restaurant Name: Nobu
Opened: 1994, New York
Locations: New York, Bahamas, Beijing, Budapest, Cape Town, Dallas, Dubai, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, London, Berkeley St. (London), Los Angeles, Malibu, Melbourne, Mexico City, Miami, Milan, Moscow, Next Door (NY), Fifty Seven (NY), Perth, San Diego, Tokyo, Waikiki
De Niro teamed up with Chef Nobu Matsuhisa and Drew Nieporent to co-found the flagship Nobu restaurant in New York, where traditional Japanese cuisine with a twist is paired with exquisite architecture featuring birch trees and a wall made of river stones.
Britney Spears
Restaurant Name: Nyla
Date Opened: June, 2002, NYC
Location: NYC (Closed)
Named for Britney’s two favorite places, New York and Louisiana, the restaurant originally intended to feature Cajun specialties, but went bust amid its bad reviews.
Francis Ford Coppola
Restaurant Name: Rustic
Opened: 2010
Location: Geyserville, CA
Coppola went from “taking it to the mattresses” to “taking it to the winery.” The producer of the Godfather owns a beautiful Sonoma County winery featuring his Italian restaurant, Rustic, with Italian family-style authentic dishes made with fresh ingredients from the property’s organic herb and produce garden.
Bon Jovi
Restaurant Name: Soul Kitchen
Opened: October, 2011
Location: Red Bank, New Jersey
If you are waiting for your bill at the Soul Kitchen, you will be waiting a long time. This community-run restaurant by the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation has no prices on their menu! You can choose to donate for your meal ($10 per meal covers the cost, anything extra goes toward someone else’s food) or if money is tight, you can volunteer in exchange for your 3-course American meal. Their slogan, “All are welcome at our table.”
Justin Timberlake
Restaurant Name: Southern Hospitality
Date Opened: July 18th, 2007, NYC
Locations: NYC (two locations – Upper East Side & Hell’s Kitchen)
A taste of Memphis brought to the Big Apple, Timberlake’s hometown flavor is the name of this pub’s game, regularly featuring trivia nights, viewing parties, and guest bartenders.
Susan Sarandon
Restaurant Name: SPiN
Date Opened: May, 2009, NYC
Location: Milwaukee, NYC, Toronto
A self-described “ping-pong social club” where athletic socialites can get exercise while knocking back a few cocktails or people-watch while savoring delights from the kitchen.
Ryan Gosling
Restaurant Name: Tagine
Date Opened: 2006
Location: Beverly Hills, CA
Deep in the heart of Beverly Hills, a diamond in the rough: exquisite and authentic Moroccan cuisine in a romantic, candlelit environment. Fine dining at its very best.
Moby
Restaurant Name: Teany
Date Opened: May, 2002, NYC
Location: NYC
Clever to a “tea,” this NYC café, restaurant, and beverage distributor specializes in vegan cuisine, as well as a wide assortment of teas, from Earl Grey to Oolong, and back again.
Ted Turner
Restaurant Name: Ted’s Montana Grill
Opened: January 2002
Locations: Columbus, Ohio (Now there are 44 restaurants in 16 states)
Turner opened Ted’s Montana Grill to found a classic American Grill with comfort food made fresh and always from scratch. You will leave feeling patriotic.
Lisa Vanderpump
Restaurant Name: Villa Blanca
Date Opened: April, 2009, Beverly Hills
Location: Beverly Hills, CA
This restaurant, located in the heart of Beverly Hills, operates on the clean and welcoming aesthetic of Bravo's Real Housewife of Beverly Hills. The space is bright and nearly all-white with golden accents to compliment its A-list visitors.
Mark Wahlberg
Restaurant Name: Wahlburgers
Date Opened: October 24th, 2011, Hingham, MA
Location: Hingham, MA
Like something out of a dream, Mark and Donnie’s puny Boston burger joint offers the BBQ basics with a Wahlberg twist, specialty burgers custom-crafted by family members.