Stars (restaurant) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Stars |
|
|---|---|
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1984 |
| Closed | 1999 |
| Previous owner(s) | Jeremiah Tower |
| Food type | California cuisine |
| Street address | 150 Redwood Alley |
| City | San Francisco |
| State | California |
| Country | United States |
Stars was a very famous restaurant in San Francisco, California. It was open from 1984 to 1999. It helped create new cooking styles like California cuisine and New American cuisine. Stars also played a big part in making chefs famous, like celebrity chefs!
History of Stars
Opening and Early Success
A famous chef named Jeremiah Tower opened Stars in 1984. It was located at 150 Redwood Alley in San Francisco. He worked with other people who helped pay for the restaurant. Stars had a fancy inside and a busy kitchen you could see. It quickly became super popular, especially with famous people and important guests. It was known for its new way of cooking and dining.
For many years, Stars made a lot of money. It was one of the most successful restaurants in the whole United States.
Expanding and Closing
Chef Tower opened other Stars restaurants in places like Oakville and Palo Alto, California. He even opened them in other countries like Manila and Singapore! He also tried other food businesses in San Francisco, like a relaxed cafe and a fancy bistro. He even had a kitchen shop.
However, most of his other businesses did not do well. By the late 1990s, even the main Stars restaurant started to lose money. It became hard to attract enough wealthy diners to cover the high costs. Stars closed its doors in late 1999. Chef Tower said he was done with California after that.
After Tower left, new owners tried to reopen the restaurant. They kept the same name but offered less expensive food. In 2004, the building became a new location for Trader Vic's, another famous restaurant. The Stars location in Palo Alto became a Wolfgang Puck's Spago Restaurant in 1997.
Famous Chefs from Stars
Many talented chefs worked at Stars before becoming famous on their own. Some of these chefs include:
- Dominique Crenn (who now owns famous restaurants like Atelier Crenn)
- Joey Altman (known from a TV cooking show)
- Brendan Walsh (who teaches cooking at a top school)
- Mario Batali (a well-known TV personality and chef)
- Steve Ells (who started the popular Chipotle Mexican Grill chain)
- Emily Luchetti (a talented pastry chef)
- Jerry Traunfeld
- Mark Franz (another well-known chef)
- Dean Kenney (a research chef)
