Hardware Podcasts

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

How I Built This · 22 Jun 2026 · 1h 14m

What this episode covers

Stephen Starr, founder of Starr Restaurant Group, explains how he transitioned from a comedy and music promoter to building a portfolio of nearly 40 high-grossing independent restaurants, including Buddakan and Pastis. He details the 'shock and awe' design philosophy behind venues like the Continental and Buddakan, the critical role of hiring the right creative teams, and the brutal unit economics that have made scaling the business significantly harder in recent years. Starr also discusses surviving the COVID-19 pandemic through gift card sales and PPP loans, and his desire to eventually exit the industry via acquisition by a luxury brand like LVMH.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Starr Restaurant Group, U.S. Bank, Live Nation, Ticketmaster, LVMH
Products
Buddakan, The Continental, Pastis, Le Diplomate, Makoto, Global 33, Shake Burger and Roll, Cafe Republic, China Grill, Shinwa on Maine
Also
Philippe Stark, Owen Kamahira, Miguel Calvo, Christian Liagra, Wolfgang Puck

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