TIME: "The Top Musician-Owned Restaurants"

[JamesG]

Lady Gaga's new Italian trattoria, Joanne, may have opened to less than stellar reviews, but surely that won't stop her Little Monsters from dining in.

As Gaga's new venture perfects its menu, TIME takes a look at other music artists in the restaurant industry:





Gladys Knight and Ron Winans' Chicken & Waffles





Though her music is what earned her the title "The Empress of Soul", you'd be forgiven for thinking Gladys Knight's moniker had something to do with her growing empire of soul food restaurants.

In 1996, the legend partnered with a fellow vocalist to open "Gladys Knight and Ron Winan's Chicken & Waffles" in Atlanta. Knight has said she got the inspiration for the poultry-meets-breakfast combination from Wells Supper Club, a Harlem eatery where she and other famous musicians stopped at when they toured through New York City.

Wells Supper Club pioneered the dish, which is now a soul food staple, when they opened in 1938 as a compromise for jazz musicians and other entertainers whose late-night performances meant they missed dinner, but arrived too early for breakfast.

Knight's two Atlanta eateries carry that torch, staying open later on weekends to offer the soul singer's original recipe.











Toby Keith's I ♥ This Bar & Grill





According to Toby Keith's song "I Love This Bar", a good honky-tonk is home to truckers, hustlers and hitchhikers. While clientele at Toby Keith's I ♥ This Bar & Grill can't be guaranteed, the country singer's eponymous restaurant chain does promise Keith-branded memorabilia and free cheeseburgers for soldiers.

The Oklahoma-based location brings Keith's Favorite Fried Bologna Sandwich and live country music to fans nationwide, while the Minneapolis branch is currently in the running for a Nightclub of the Year award from the Academy of Country Music.

A surprise Toby Keith concert is unlikely to come with your side of cheese fries, but there's no better place to get your horses their beer.











Ludacris' Straits Atlanta and Chicken N Beer





It's not every day that a raucous rapper can succeed as a restauranteur, but Ludacris (real name Christopher Bridges) isn't just any rapper.

In 2008, the Grammy winner and sometimes-actor opened a Singaporean restaurant called Straits Atlanta in his beloved hometown. The restaurant was praised for its ambiance as well as its unique dishes, like Kung Pow Lollipops, which were cultivated by chef Chris Yeo, who debuted the Straits franchise in California.



While Straits Atlanta was mildly successful, Ludacris announced in early 2012 that he would shutter the establishment in order to focus on a new restaurant that will based inside Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.

The venture, Chicken N Beer, is named after Luda's popular third studio album, and will focus on comfort food and craft beers culled from locally grown ingredients.

As the airport accommodates up to 89 million passengers per year, it's likely that Chicken N Beer will enjoy its fair share of traffic, but whether it will be as popular as the music that came from the eponymous album is yet to be proven.











Jimmy Buffett's Burgers





Jimmy Buffett just loves to sing about food. There is the fabled shaker of salt, the cheeseburger in paradise, and, of course, the margarita. "Yeah, I'm livin' on things that excite me," he croons in one tune, "be they pastry or lobster or looooove."

It would have been an offense to capitalism if the musician had not opened his chain of Margaritaville restaurants in tourist-heavy locales like Waikiki and Myrtle Beach.



The casual dining spots, backed by Buffett's privately held Margaritaville Holdings LLC (a subsidiary of Cheeseburger Holding Co.) serve up comfort-style seafood dishes and hawk Buffett swag to Parrotheads (the affectionate name for his tropic-loving band of fans).

And people like to taste away there: the Margaritaville on the Las Vegas strip is among the highest grossing restaurants in the nation.



Meanwhile, Buffett is associated with the popular chain of island-themed Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurants, where "Jimmy Buffett's famous song comes to life," according to the corporate website.

Which all just goes to show that the right singer can easily turn melodies about beef into actual cash cows.











Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo





Only rock stars have the gobs of money and heaps of excess to open a mega-bar just so they have a space to play. In the mid-90s, Sammy Hagar and the post-David Lee Roth Van Halen line-up did just that, opening "Cabo Wabo" in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.



The Cabo Wabo way of life is simple: tequila — and more tequila.

Its menu features the self-branded spirit in "Sammy's Tequila Shrimp" dish and offers a smorgasbord of cocktails.



Named for the drunken wobble of a post-party stroll down a beach, in its initial few years, the bar performed like a too-drunk rock star, forcing Hagar to buy out his band-mates after Cabo Wabo hit the financial skids.

But like some musicians, the bar got a second act under new management and ballooned into a full-fledged resort. Did Cabo Wabo transform Cabo San Lucas into the popular Mexico tourist destination we all know today?

Probably not, but the Sammy Hagar owned cantina definitely adds a little bit of rock-and-roll to the beachfront town.











Justin Timberlake's Southern Hospitality





In 2007, singer/actor Justin Timberlake decided to put the sexy back into fried chicken when he partnered with best friend Trace Ayala and businessman Eytan Sugarman to open the BBQ joint, Southern Hospitality, in New York City.

The Southern cuisine, down-home charm and the hope of spotting the former 'N Sync-er inside, has brought tourists in droves to sample the restaurant's pulled pork and fried green tomatoes.



Curiously though, Timberlake began to distance himself from the restaurant in 2009, when he issued a statement declaring that he was no longer involved as a co-owner.

Although the pop star's ownership status remains murky, his ongoing involvement as a co-creator can only be good for business.











Kenny Rogers Roasters





For more than a decade and a half, Kenny Rogers Roasters was an institution drenched in Americana.

In 1991, when Texas native and country music legend Kenny Rogers wanted enter the fast food business, he teamed up with John Y. Young, the former Kentucky governor who had once owned Kentucky Fried Chicken. Their venture expanded to more than 350 restaurants and garnered such a loyal following that the entire 'The Chicken Roaster' episode of "Seinfeld" was based on the franchise.

But alas, after only seven years, the chain closed all but seven of its stores and filed for bankruptcy.



Kenny Rogers Roasters was then bought by another American institution, Nathan's Famous, Inc. — host of the Fourth of July hot dog eating contest — who kept the chain alive for another 10 years.

Though most of the U.S.-based outlets closed around 2008 when Nathan's sold Kenny's Roasters to Asian franchiser Baerjaya Group, the Gambler's chicken continues to thrive today in Malaysia and the Philippines.











House of Blues





With 13 locations across the U.S., the House of Blues has become a mainstay in American culture as a restaurant and concert venue.

The first location was opened in Cambridge, Mass., in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe, with the support of numerous backers, including Dan Aykroyd, Aerosmith, Paul Shaffer, River Phoenix and James Belushi.

While the business was acquired by Live Nation in 2006, Aykroyd and Belushi remain closely associated with the brand — perhaps because of their personal ties to blues music.



In the late 70s, Aykroyd and John Belushi, James' brother, created a band called the Blues Brothers as part of an "SNL" sketch. While the band started off as no more than a comedy sketch, it soon took on a life of its own.

The Blues Brothers Band went on to release a few albums, and had two movies — The Blues Brothers and The Blues Brothers 2000 — created around its characters.



As for the House of Blues, even though the establishment was originally based on soul music and soul food, the venue has since expanded to cater to a larger audience and now showcases musical acts from all genres.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/pa...106429,00.html

[Zoneboy]

Yay, another article that just has to mention Lady Gaga.

[JamesG]

Originally Posted by Zoneboy

Yay, another article that just has to mention Lady Gaga.

It's because her parents opened up a restaurant in NYC recently.

[Sophia's Wrinkles]

Lazy writing. How are any of these the top musician-owned restaurants when half of them go on to say that their celebrity owners are no longer involved?