Celebrities Who Own Restaurants: Jay-Z, Ryan Gosling, Armie Hammer and More

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Celebrities Who Own Restaurants: Jay-Z, Ryan Gosling, Armie Hammer and More

There’s a lot more to being a celebrity than walking down a red carpet or selling out a concert venue. In fact, for a select group of stars who own or are part-owners of restaurants, food and drink plays a central role in their lives. For some famous faces, like Mark Wahlberg, food runs in the family. The Massachusetts native runs an empire of more than two dozen Wahlburgers restaurants with his brothers Paul, a chef, and Donnie, who is also an actor. The success of the fast-casual chain, which boasts locations all over the country and in Canada, has even been documented on the Emmy-nominated TV series, aptly titled Wahlburgers. In August 2020, Donnie revealed how the famous family have inspired the food that makes it onto the menu. "​My brother Paul did an amazing job taking the flavors we grew up with and making them into one delicious menu. From the tater tots we ate in school to the burgers my dad used to grill up for us on Sunday nights, you’ll find the Wahlburgers menu is heavily influenced by mealtime with our family," he said during an interview with Fox Valley Magazine about a new location. The musician added: "​The local support here in St. Charles has been outstanding. We had people lined up the first day who waited for hours to get in the doors. We’re lucky to have the greatest guests in the world who are just as excited about this restaurant as I am!" For others, such as Channing Tatum, the shift to the hospitality business came after making it big in Tinseltown. The 21 Jump Street star opened a restaurant and bar called Saints and Sinners in New Orleans, Louisiana, following several childhood visits and numerous on-location film shoots in the southern city. Talk about getting inspired! Ryan Gosling, who is part-owner of the Beverly Hills restaurant Tagine, also has Hollywood to thank for his interest in the food industry. The Crazy, Stupid, Love actor teamed up with Moroccan-born chef Abdessamad Benameur after tasting the cook’s ethnic eats at a Los Angeles party. And while restaurants can be very lucrative for Hollywood heavyweights (just look at Robert De Niro’s Nobu empire), not all celebs are in it for the money. Musician Jon Bon Jovi, for example, opened his first pay-what-you-wish JBJ Soul Kitchen restaurant in 2011. The Garden State eatery serves anyone and everyone, and only asks that customers donate what they can to cover operating costs. Scroll down to find out what other famous people own restaurants: [podcast_block]

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Garth Brooks

“We feel very lucky to have the chance to be part of Lower Broad, which is arguably the hottest spot in the country,” Brooks said in a statement to Billboard about the new venture. “The goal is a classic honky-tonk that welcomes all and encourages love and kindness while playing the greatest music in the world in the home of country music!”

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Tony Shalhoub

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel actor is an investor in New York City Italian restaurant Rezdora, which earned a Michelin star in 2021.

"Other than the fact that I love food, it seemed like a great idea," Shalhoub told Today in February 2022. "We're so grateful we did it because we get to come here, eat here, bring friends and impress people."

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Reba McEntire

The country songstress announced in November 2021 that she is opening a new restaurant, bar, retail store and live music venue.

“I’m very excited to announce Reba’s Place opening in Atoka, OK later in 2022,” McEntire wrote via Instagram at the time. “Reba’s Place is formed in partnership with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the City of Atoka.”

According to descriptions via the eatery’s own Instagram page, the main floor will feature a “restored antique bar” and will offer a “broad range of beer, wine and spirits crafted into signature cocktails.” Additionally, the two-story building will be constructed from a century-old Masonic Temple building and feature an indoor central stage and homemade menu items based on delicacies from the local region.

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Eminem

The "Lose Yourself" rapper's restaurant, Mom's Spaghetti, opened in September 2021 in Eminem's hometown of Detroit. After several successful pop-ups, the 8 Mile star and his team decided to open a permanent location within Union Assembly. The small location will serve customers via a walk-up window and has limited seating space. A store above Mom's Spaghetti has merch for both pasta enthusiasts and Eminem fans.

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Lady Gaga

The Oscar winner’s parents, Joseph and Cynthia Germanotta, opened Joanne Trattoria on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with chef/cookbook author Art Smith in 2012, and Gaga is a silent partner in the restaurant. The eatery, which is named after the “Bad Romance” singer’s deceased aunt, serves traditional Italian fare, and the Grammy winner has been known to pop by on occasion, much to customers’ delight.

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Jay-Z

The hip-hop sensation opened The 40/40 Club in New York City in 2003, and at one point there were five 40/40 Club locations around the country. Though the Las Vegas and Atlantic City clubs have since closed, the Big Apple outpost remains open, as does The 40/40 Club at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the one located in Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The establishment, which derives its name from a term used to describe the exclusive group of Major League Baseball players who have achieved the rare individual feat of 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season, serves upscale bar food and boasts an impressive bottle service menu.

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Ryan Gosling

The Blue Valentine star is part owner of Tagine, a Moroccan restaurant in the heart of Beverly Hills that serves tasty dishes from the North African country such as braised beef couscous and a honey lamb tagine with dates and cinnamon. According to the restaurant’s website, the Oscar-nominated actor made his foray into the food industry after tasting some of Moroccan-born chef Abdessamad Benameur’s food at a Hollywood event and declaring he “would eat everyday for the rest of his life.” The pair teamed up to open the eatery, and “Chef Ben,” as he is now known, runs the kitchen.

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Robert De Niro

Though the legendary actor is probably best-known for his award-winning performances in movies such as The Godfather Part II and Raging Bull, he’s also quite the restaurateur. In 1994, the Oscar winner opened Nobu in New York City’s trendy Tribeca neighborhood with chef Nobu Matsuhisa and producer Meir Teper, and he is now part owner of 39 Nobu restaurants and eight luxury hotels across five continents. The Silver Linings Playbook star also co-owns a bevy of other hot restaurants, including Tribeca Grill and Locanda Verde, both in New York City.

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Armie Hammer

The Call Me by Your Name star and his wife, Elizabeth Chambers, founded BIRD bakery in 2012. The San Antonio establishment sells fresh, nostalgic, offerings inspired by recipes from Chambers’ family, such as Southern pecan pie and coconut candy bar cupcakes.

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Piper Perabo

Though she starred in Coyote Ugly, Perabo’s experience in the restaurant biz is decidedly different from what was depicted in the 2000 cult classic. Instead, the Covert Affairs alum is part-owner of the hip eatery, Jack’s Wife Freda, which now boasts two locations in New York City. She's also an investor in Employees Only, a beloved cocktail bar in Manhattan’s West Village.

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Zach Braff

The Scrubs alum is an investor in Mermaid Oyster Bar, which opened its doors in New York City in 2009. At the time, the kitchen of the seafood-focused restaurant was run by chef Laurence Edelman, whom Braff has known since he was a teenager. Today, the eatery serves up dishes such as a “nearly famous” lobster roll, fish tacos and, of course, a selection of east and west coast oysters.

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Channing Tatum

The Magic Mike star opened a restaurant and bar called Saints and Sinners in New Orleans with his longtime friend and business partner, Keith Kurtz, after countless childhood visits and several on-location film shoots in the Big Easy. The eatery, which is styled after the famous red-light district bordellos and burlesque halls of New Orleans’ Storyville era, features a menu that boasts classic, local dishes such as fried alligator tail and crawfish pie.

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Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz

The Vanderpump Rules costars opened their first bar, Tom Tom, in West Hollywood in 2018, with some help from bosses Ken Todd and Lisa Vanderpump. The establishment has quickly become a celeb-favorite, attracting guests such as Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, as well as Miley Cyrus. “It’s always a constant work in progress, but it’s so enjoyable,” Sandoval told Us Weekly of the bar in 2018. “We’re always an open book, we’re always sponges sucking in new information, new gimmicks, new cutting edge cocktails.”

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Lisa Vanderpump

In addition to Tom Tom, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star and her husband, Ken Todd, also own three other restaurants in Los Angeles: Pump, Villa Blanca and SUR, which serves as the setting for Vanderpump Rules. The reality star is also slated to open Vanderpump Cocktail Garden inside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 2019. “I think that the Vanderpump Cocktail Garden, it’ll be like an oasis in the middle of the craziness that Vegas has to offer,” the Vanderpump Dogs owner told Us. “I’m so excited.”

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Ty Burrell

The Modern Family star looked beyond Hollywood for his foray into the restaurant business. He and a group of extended family members assumed ownership of The Eating Establishment in Park City, Utah, in 2017. The “breakfast all day restaurant” has been a mainstay in Park City for over 40 years, and serves comfort food such as biscuits and gravy and Belgian waffles. “This is a local institution, which will remain under local ownership," Burrell said in an announcement at the time. "We hope to maintain the name and spirit of the original [restaurant.]” The actor’s restaurant group also owns a nearby watering hole aptly titled The Beer Bar.

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Chris Noth

The Sex and the City alum is co-owner of The Cutting Room in New York City – an intimate concert venue (which also serves food) that has played host to John Mayer, Lady Gaga, Sting and more. It has been a fixture in the Big Apple since its opening in 1999, and the Law & Order actor even met his wife, Tara Lynn Wilson, while she was working behind the bar.

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Norman Reedus

Since the Walking Dead star spends several months a year filming the AMC show in Georgia, it’s no surprise he opted to open a restaurant in The Peach State. The establishment, Nic & Norman’s, is a joint venture between the actor and Walking Dead executive producer Greg Nicotero, and it frequently hosts events related to the post-apocalyptic drama. “As artists, we are passionate about creating special moments,” the pair wrote in a statement that appears on the restaurant’s website. “Beyond the screen, we recognize that this often happens while enjoying a great meal in the company of family and friends.”

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Pharrell Williams

The “Happy” singer partnered with hospitality mogul David Grutman and winner of Europe’s Top Chef season 3, Jean Imbert, to open Swan and Bar Bevy in Miami in late 2018. The two-floor establishment is divided into two distinct spaces, (the downstairs bar and the restaurant above) and features a menu inspired by flavors from all over the world. As the Grammy winner told Eater, “He [Imbert] just bends your tastebuds and expectations in a way that you walk away going, ‘OK this is worth a conversation.’”

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Mark Wahlberg

The Patriots Day star is part owner of a chain of 26 Wahlburgers restaurants in North America and Canada. The restaurant empire, which was founded in 2011, is run by the Oscar nominee’s brother, chef Paul Wahlberg. Another brother, fellow actor Donnie, is a partner as well. The success of the restaurant chain even resulted in a reality show aptly titled Wahlburgers, which has been on the air since 2014.

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Jon Bon Jovi

Diners pay a cash-only donation to eat an American meal at JBJ Soul Kitchen, the restaurant owned by the “It’s My Life” singer. Menus at both locations – there is one in Red Bank, New Jersey, and another in Toms River, New Jersey, – don’t feature any prices, and anyone is welcome to eat a meal, which is served by volunteers. According to the restaurant’s website, JBJ Soul Kitchen has served more than 95,000 meals. Roughly 51 percent of diners pay for their food, while about 49 percent of customers are those in need.

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Kandi Burruss

The Real Housewives of Atlanta star got her start in the music business, but made the jump to restaurants in 2016 when she opened Old Lady Gang in Atlanta, Georgia. The name for the southern eatery comes from a term the songwriter uses to describe her mother, Joyce, and aunts Nora and Bertha. The trio’s cooking inspired Burruss to open the restaurant, which now has multiple locations in the Peach State.

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Antoni Porowski

The Queer Eye star is known for being the food expert on the Netflix hit, so it wasn’t exactly a surprise when he opted to open a restaurant in 2018. That New York City eatery, The Village Den, serves fast-casual, healthy eats (think lots of avocado) in a modern, revamped setting. The reality TV star also has plans to release his first cookbook – Antoni in the Kitchen – in 2019.