"From Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville to the Wahlburgers chain, it's easy to assume that a boldface name attached to a restaurant equals instant success. Whether a restaurant boasts its celebrity owner on its sign or it's one of the many bars where VIPs are quieter investors, surely there's a certain momentum celebrities bring to their hospitality ventures, right? Wrong, if the demise of one particular restaurant chain is any clue."
"And it did so with not one, not two, but multiple celebrity investors, including Wayne Gretzky, Shaquille O'Neal, Monica Seles, Joe Montana, Tiger Woods, Ken Griffey Jr., and Andre Agassi. The Official All Star Café was a sports-themed eatery where an athletic hall of fame met accessible fare like burgers and buffalo wings, just like the Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood had done with music and movies, respectively."
The Official All Star Café opened in Manhattan's Times Square in 1995 with a roster of celebrity investors including Wayne Gretzky, Shaquille O'Neal, Monica Seles, Joe Montana, Tiger Woods, Ken Griffey Jr., and Andre Agassi. The concept combined a sports-themed hall of fame atmosphere with accessible menu items like burgers and buffalo wings. The chain expanded to cities such as Orlando, San Diego, Las Vegas, Miami, Atlanta, Cancun, and locations in Australia. Themed restaurants were a 1990s craze inspired by successes like Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood, but many proved to be a passing trend. By 2007 the last All Star Café closed permanently.
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