Sante
Fame Factor
Working with Celebrity Partners
by Robin Catalano
No matter which corner you turn these days, there's a celebrity-owned restaurant waiting for your business. Everyone from megastar athlete Michael Jordan (New York City's Michael Jordan's Steakhouse) to singer Gloria Estefan (Bongo's in Miami and Orlando) and media mogul Ted Turner (Ted's Montana Grill in Peachtree, Georgia) has his or her own restaurant, and the list of stars-turned-restaurateurs grows by the year.
While a few have been masterful achievements, many more have gone the way of the Cajun-food boom of the 1980s. Some, however, have the unfortunate distinction of becoming cautionary tales--like the Britney Spears-backed Nyla. After opening in the swank Dylan Hotel in Manhattan in June 2002, the restaurant received some of the worst press in recent memory, underwent a major menu overhaul after only six months of operation, and a day later had to weather the very public tie-severing of the pop starlet before finally going belly-button-up in December.
So what does it take to make a celebrity-backed dining venue a success?
STAR CROSSED
It starts with choosing the best possible partner. Celebrities may have lots of disposable income to burn, but not all of them are good business people. Drew Nieporent, president of Myriad Restaurant Group, who has collaborated with Robert De Niro on the Tribeca Grill and Nobu, notes that "somebody who's at the top of their game" is the most desirable. Casey Bulkley, food and beverage director of the Tree Room, Robert Redford's restaurant at the Sundance Resort in Sundance, Utah, agrees, cautioning against anyone whose notoriety has been short-lived or who is famous in a field that won't stand the test of time. He lists these key ingredients in a celebrity partner: "Someone who has lots of stature. Someone who's very committed to restaurants and the food and beverage world. Someone who dines out a lot. Someone who's had a good public perception for a long time and is financially stable."
Despite the potential risk involved in having a celebrity partner--after all, as Bulkley points out, "If they lose their 'celebritydom,' you'll lose some of your clout too"--luminaries can be a huge benefit to a restaurant. Says Bulkley, "When you have a celebrity backer, you can use the 'brand' they've built on their name." Wassim Boustani, general manager of the Jennifer Lopez-owned Madre's in Pasadena, California, adds, "The restaurant business is one of the toughest industries to operate and keep going. Because of the advertisement and media attention they get, the celebrity name and image can really help sales."
The financial support of a wealthy celebrity can also be a driving force, according to Stacey Belkin, co-owner, with Dilbert creator Scott Adams, of the popular Stacey's Cafe (Pleasanton and Dublin, California) and Stacey s at Waterford (Waterford, California). "Scott has been very supportive and great [to work with]," she comments. But Bulkley observes, "A lot of people can be a partner and bring money to it, but the idea is to bring customers in based on the image of the celebrity."
INVESTMENT COMPANY
When asked whether it's better to form a plan for a restaurant and then try to court celebrities or to allow me celebrity to create the idea and come to restaurant experts for the execution, most experts side with Bulkley: "It's definitely preferable for the celebrity to be highly involved. . . . If they come up with the idea, there's a much larger personal investment and desire for it to succeed." In the case of the Tree Room, Redford himself acted as the developer in 1969, brainstorming the concept and basic layout before recruiting a design and management team.
Belkin, who formerly worked as a waitress at a local restaurant frequented by Adams and his girlfriend, fell into her ownership role almost by chance. "Just a conversation inspired us," she explains. Similarly, De Niro, who was impressed by Nieporent's Montrachet, consulted the restaurateur with his ideas. Tribeca Grill, which opened in 1989, has been credited with breaking the mold of the celebrity-owned restaurant. "It used to be about the mood and not the food," says Nieporent. "[Tribeca Grill] is the style and the substance; its the steak and the sizzle." And in the case of Nobu, Nieporent shares, "[De Niro] had great instincts. His initial ideas are what sparked my interests. . . . Robert De Niro is very smart, and I respect our partnership a great deal."
Although Lopez also constructed the idea for her restaurant in order to "celebrate her family and heritage," Boustani advises, "It's always preferable to have a plan. Celebrities are like any other business owners; they want to see the plan, the method, the idea. Just like writing a book, you can create it and then edit it to just the right style."
How much money should a celebrity be expected to invest in a restaurant? Nieporent offers, "It's variable, depending on the scope of the project." Bulkley says, "A celebrity may invest only a specific amount of money and that's it. A restaurant that's 100 percent celebrity owned probably has more of a safety net." Such is the case of the Tree Room, which has benefited from Redford's deep pockets during leaner times. Madre's, the most recent entry of the four (opened in April 2002), cost about $1.5 million to open, and it requires an ongoing investment to maintain its likeness to Lopez. Explains Boustani, "She's detailed, hard-working, and a superstar, and we hope to keep the same image."
GETTING INVOLVED
There may be many advantages for a restaurant in having a celebrity backer, but there can be disadvantages as well. "You have to answer to all the fans, all the questions, all the requests," says Boustani. "Also, people don't check you out as a regular restaurant They try to pick at you, to examine you in a very detailed way." Nieporent adds, "There's a fraction of restaurateurs who think a celebrity-backed restaurant isn't as good or as focused as a noncelebrity restaurant." And Belkin points out that the staff s hard work is sometimes not credited by customers and the media, who prefer to focus on the star of the show.
Celebrities involved in a successful restaurant venture can experience palpable rewards. "There could be some financial advantage," says Bulkley, "[but] a lot of the reason celebrities do it is for the exposure. It's a very positive thing in our market to own a restaurant. . . . It says, 'I'm diversified.'" Nieporent concurs, noting, "It's added sex appeal."
This is precisely why many celebrities have purchased or invested in restaurants, but without hands-on involvement, the restaurant is destined to fail. Does anyone remember the Fashion Cafe? This disastrous collaboration between Italian-born restaurateur Tommaso Buti and supermodels Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Elle Macpherson, and Christy Turlington went down in flames in 1999 with the creator arrested on a variety of criminal charges, including defrauding investors.
And what of that great buyer-beware story known as Planet Hollywood? After opening in 1996 with the combined PR power of investors Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Whoopi Goldberg, and Demi Moore, the restaurant chain suffered from mediocre food and service and an overly aggressive expansion strategy. By October 1999, with the actors' stars fading, Planet Hollywood filed for bankruptcy. After starting with a share price of $28.50 in 1996, by March 2000 the chain's stock fizzled to less than a dime per share, and Schwarzenegger and Stallone ended their contracts with the company. Although Planet Hollywood eventually emerged from the bankruptcy, it was forced to close more than 70 branches and again filed for bankruptcy in 2001. Currently, the chain is undergoing a complete reorganization.
The moral of this story is that a celebrity, no matter how in demand, should never go into the venture knowing nothing about the industry and shouldn't expect the restaurant to run itself. While work schedules often prohibit the star from being involved in day-to-day operations, the best restaurant partners stay abreast of important issues and decisions.
Adams, who dines out almost every night, gives his staff input on the menu and service. And Bulkley shares, "Robert Redford is very involved--if we need a new chef, he'll actually help decide. He makes suggestions on the menu. uniform, service. . . . Few [celebrities] are involved frequently, but they should make sure they're represented properly."
This is rarely a problem for Lopez, the actress-singer-dancer-perfume creator-fashion designer who has built a reputation on controlling her "brand." Says Boustani, "I give her daily reports of our sales, weekly reports of our sales, and other monthly reports. We meet about them, talk about them, and she gives us her input" Lopez, who frequently eats at the restaurant, is also given final approval on menu items. Boustani sums up, "We take her advice on all parts of the operation."
BUILT-IN PUBLICITY
Most restaurants with celebrity owners don't need much publicity. "It's almost built in," says Boustani. "Everyone likes to hear Ms. Lopez's name. Reviews and promotions often use her name. We do advertising only within the community, but we do some marketing worldwide [in the form of] reviews and ads." Their community profile is enhanced by participation in school and business events and fund-raisers. A new Web site, launched in September, received two million hits in its first week.
When it comes to making changes, a lot depends on the celebrity's image, according to Nieporent. Bulkley says, "We have a celebrity who's built a very long career that sums up this person. . . . We know very well what we want to maintain, and we don't need a lot of changes. [Redford has] spent most of his career giving back to people, and we are doing the same."
Boustani, who notes that the staff decided not to make any modifications during the first year to help customers better understand the overall concept, plans to refresh the menu, decor, and logos periodically. He emphasizes, "Ms. Lopez can help us a lot, but she can't save us. The consistency, value, decor, service--we've always got to be better than the rest, whether or not we're owned by Ms. Lopez." Nieporent adds, "Restaurants should be organic. . . . At the end of the day, the customer should dictate to you how it all ends up."