Nowadays,
celebrities don’t make money only from the
Entertainment industry but also from their own businesses. While certain opt for modeling and promoting their favorite products or launching their own brands (like perfumes or fashion lines), others choose to splurge their resources on a restaurant.
The number of celeb-owned restaurants is getting bigger, making it a hot trend among famous people. We know many enter the food and drink sector as they see its giant profitability potential, yet there are also celebrities who do it simply because they have a huge passion for food.
In this post, we’ve put together a list of the 15 hottest foodie stars who own restaurants. All these avenues are worth paying a visit, whether you’re the owner’s fan or not! We believe you will be stunned by their creative and eclectic concepts and amazing offerings. Scroll down and check them out, then give them a spin!
#1 Lady Gaga
Source: ladygaga/Instagram
Joseph and Cynthia Germanotta, Gaga's parents, opened Joanne Trattoria on Manhattan's Upper West Side in 2012 with chef/cookbook author Art Smith, and Gaga is a silent partner in the restaurant. The restaurant, named after the "Bad Romance" singer's late aunt, serves traditional Italian dishes, and the Grammy winner has been known to drop by on occasion, much to the joy of patrons.
#2 Jay-Z
Source: Getty Images
Opening a restaurant or sports bar is such a courageous move as approximately 60% of restaurants fail in their first year, and 80% close within five years. These figures make Jay-40/40 Z's nightclub and sports bar in New York City, which has been open since 2003, even more spectacular.
#3 Danny Trejo
Source: trejostacos/Instagram
Danny Trejo has taken on a new role: restaurant owner! The Machete action star has many taco stands in several cities. Surprisingly, the first store in Los Angeles opened in the spring of 2015 in a former Taco Bell building. The fast-casual restaurant delivers cantina-style snacks, alcohol, and, of course, tacos.
#4 Olivia Culpo
Source: oliviaculpo/Instagram
Olivia Culpo and her family co-own two restaurants in Rhode Island. Their Back40 has been in business for four years, and they recently announced the opening of Union & Main in the summer of 2022.
#5 Ty Burrell
Source: Beer Bar by Ori Media
When we think of a city with lively nightlife and a celebrity-owned bar, Salt Lake City isn't the first place that springs to mind. However, Modern Family star Ty Burrell is attempting to change that with his restaurant - Beer Bar. Head over to the restaurant, and enjoy some good beer and hearty German meals.
#6 Piper Perabo
Source: Melissa Hom
Now is the time for the big reveal! Piper Perabo is an unknown celebrity who runs the aforementioned multicultural fusion restaurant. While she is most known for her part in the 2000 film Coyote Ugly, she has been a co-owner of Jack's Wife, Freda, in New York City for over ten years.
#7 Ryan Gosling
Source: Getty Images
Every girl dreams about a date with the always-hot Ryan Gosling. For more “greedy” girls, they hope he brings them out to lunch at Tagine, the Beverly Hills, California, restaurant he launched in 2004.
#8 Bad Bunny
Source: Alexander Tamargo
Bad Bunny, an actor, and rapper is one of the most recent celebrities to enter the restaurant business. In August 2022, he will open Gekkō, a Japanese-inspired steakhouse in Miami. The restaurant offers plant-based meals in addition to sushi, excellent steaks, and a sensual vibe.
#9 Michael Jordan
Source: Tom Berg/WireImage/Getty
Although Michael Jordan's side hustle of playing baseball did not work out, he has a fruitful food career. His Steak House opened its first location in 1998 and has had a huge following, and he opened three more thereafter.
#10 Pharrell Williams
Source: pharrell/Instagram
Like Bad Bunny, Pharrell Williams is also now conquering the Miami culinary scene. Pharrell Williams is a co-owner of Swan, a European-style restaurant in the Design District that features locally produced ingredients and a pink design scheme reminiscent of old Miami grandeur.
#11 Martha Stewart
Source: Palm + Ocean Digital
It makes perfect sense for Martha Stewart to own a restaurant, right? She's been writing cookbooks and entertaining for decades. The Bedford, which is said to be "a replica of Martha's 1925 [Bedford, New York,] farmhouse with culinary inspiration drawn from her legendary gardens" is a little surprising to find in Las Vegas, because Martha's style does not lean toward Vegas, but the restaurant has a prime spot in the Paris Las Vegas hotel.
#12 Zach Braff
Source: zachbraff/Instagram
Although Zach Braff has a successful career path, especially for his role as a goofy doctor on Scrubs, he's been consistently working as a filmmaker since then, and he now co-owns a high-end cafe called The Mermaid Inn. The restaurant has four locations in New York City. and their atmosphere is so reminiscent of a casual New England fish shack.
#13 Robert De Niro
Source: Photo by Nils Jorgensen/REX/Shutterstock
Since 1990, Robert De Niro has operated the Tribeca Grill in New York City. The restaurant is also backed by Billy Murray, Sean Penn, and Christopher Walken, and it has received positive reviews from critics. We're intrigued by the prospect of sampling the crab cake recommended by one of Hollywood's biggest actors.
#14 Channing Tatum
Source: channingtatum/Instagram
Channing Tatum performs dances and acts, and he appears to occasionally assist at the bar of his New Orleans restaurant, Saints & Sinners. One fascinating feature of this celebrity restaurant is that a portion of all purchases is donated to charities that feed children. That's fantastic!
#15 Chip & Joanna Gaines
Source: Pinterest
Unlike the others on this list opening their restaurant in Miami, New York City, and Los Angeles, Chip & Joanna Gaines picked Waco, Texas for their food business. Their Chip and Joanna Gaines can’t get enough of their breakfast and lunch spot - Magnolia Table thanks to scrumptious foods like pancakes and pumpkin pie donut holes.