Starr to buy Bass?

[sara]

This just in from AP...

"Restaurateur Stephen Starr has placed a bid to buy Striped Bass...Starr has submitted a 1-point-3 (m) million dollar bid for the restaurant in U-S Bankruptcy Court. He says he won't change the restaurant's name or motif."

And the empire continues to grow....

[herbacidal]

i believe he'd do it. if i was him, i would do it. it's a great business move.

fills in a gap for him in a part of the market he's not currently serving.

and for less than half of what he spent on opening morimoto.

the key is if he doesn't change anything. if he's smart, he won't. he'll change some of the systems maybe, but if he leaves most of it intact, he'll have more cash generated that he can put towards the rest of his restaurants.

[davidbdesilva]

If he's smart he'll buy it and then promote that Katie Loeb to wine goddess and let her run the whole damn place!!! (that'll get me a discount then right Katie? ). It would be a good move on his part IF he left it alone as Herb has stated.

[KatieLoeb]

If he's smart he'll buy it and then promote that Katie Loeb to wine goddess and let her run the whole damn place!!! (that'll get me a discount then right Katie?  ). It would be a good move on his part IF he left it alone as Herb has stated.

Thanks for the vote of confidence David! Actually my business cards say "Wine & Spirits Muse" just like my sig does here. Merriam-Webster defines "muse" as "Guiding Genius". I figure if I can get the staffs at all the restaurants to view me that way, then I'm doing a good job.

Steven Starr is only the first of what will probably prove to be MANY bidders on the restaurant. Other interested parties include the group that owns Aqua in San Francisco and Las Vegas (my personal choice as their restaurant is most similar in level of service, menu, decor, and beverage program), several restaurateurs from New York, Bobby Chez from the crab cake shops in Jersey, etc. Obviously, I hope that whomever is the eventual buyer will keep things the same, most importantly the staff at the restaurant. What really makes Striped Bass what it is are the servers, the bartenders, the managers, the wonderful chefs and myself and Melissa (my partner in crime in the Beverage department). I presume that anyone that would look into buying Striped Bass would do the appropriate due diligence prior to such a large investment and would see that the "animate assets" of the restaurant are far more valuable than the "inanimate" assets like the decor, equipment, furniture, glassware, dishes, inventories, etc. that they'd be purchasing lock, stock and barrel. If they looked at the books they'd see that revenue is up, payroll is down, inventory has decreased (at least on my watch) significantly, while still functioning under pretty heavy budgetary constraints due to the bankruptcy. That doesn't make myself or the other managers geniuses, but it certainly makes us very valued employees and something I'd hope my new boss would take into account. If they didn't, I don't believe I'd have enough respect for their business acumen to wish to work for them anyway.

Frankly, I think Mr. Starr's initial bid of 1.3 million is rather low for a restaurant of this caliber, with the national reputation and revenue producing potential that it has. Of course it's only an initial bid, and he is also familiar with the Philadelphia market and knows our place well. We'll see who else tosses their hats into the bidding ring and see what happens. I may or may not have a job after the sale is complete , but I know that I and my fellow coworkers will leave Striped Bass if we are asked to, with our heads held high. We all respect each other and ourselves enough for that.

And David - I hope you have a chance to stop by soon to check out the wines by the glass. It's definitely the first portion of the beverage program that Melissa and I have truly been able to put our own stamp on and we're pretty proud of it. A fairly interesting and broad based selection of wines including (in the whites) an Alsace blend of seven different white grapes (Sept Grains), an Oregon Gewurztraminer, an Australian Chardonnay, a St. Veran, an Australian Sauvignon Blanc, a Vouvray and a California Viognier. In the reds there's an Argentinian Cabernet, an Oregon Merlot, a California Pinot Noir, a Cotes-de-Nuits-Villages, a Salice Salentino from Sicily, a Tempranillo and a Cotes du Rouisillon. There's also a Garnacha Rosado rose from Spain. Eclectic perhaps, but there's something there for everyone, we hope. I'd be happy to give you the short tour of the glass wines if you let me know you're coming, OK?

Clearly this is a time of great uncertainty and stress for those of us that work at Striped Bass. Some of the servers have been there for TEN years, since the restaurant opened! Others for less time, but a significant proportion of the service staff has been there for many years. The new Executive Chef has been there for FIVE years. I've been with the company for two years myself. In a business with such high turnover, that's pretty impressive. As I said, we're all doing our jobs to the best of our abilities every single day, regardless of what the press has said, budgetary constraints, or whatever problems the resturant and/or it's owner has had. My own personal dealings with Mr. Stein have always been extremely pleasant and professional, and he has always treated me with the utmost respect and kindness. That may not be true for all of his present or ex-employees, but I can only imagine what effect this sale is having on his psyche. He looks SO sad , and I would imagine that for someone like himself, whose personal vision is embodied in that beautiful room with the soaring ceilings and gorgeous decor, who looks around that room every night and sees hundreds of happy smiling diners having a wonderful experience that was once only in his imagination, this has got to be ripping his heart out. He had the courtesy and class to tell the managers HIMSELF, to our faces, about the sale, and then he did the same thing for the entire assembled staff the next day. It was probably the hardest thing he's ever had to say. It was hard to watch.

I'll keep you all posted as the information becomes available to me. Meanwhile - anyone need a hard working passionate and slightly crazy Beverage Director??

[mrbigjas]

I do!

oh wait, you mean for a restaurant.... nevermind

[Rich Pawlak]

Michael Klein wrote about this in the Friday Inquirer's business section, an article I missed, until he alerted me and I dug it out of the recycling container:

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/7202078.htm

Edited November 9, 2003 by Rich Pawlak (log)

[michaelklein]

To further my story from Friday, which AP picked up: Starr, as the first bidder, becomes what bankruptcy court calls the "stalking horse." That means that he, in effect, has the upper hand. A counteroffer to his $1.3 million bid has to be $1,375,000. Bidding then can increase in $10,000 increments. If Starr loses, he will get $50,000 to cover his legal fees incurred in making the initial offer. While other groups have expressed interest in Striped Bass, as of Friday no one else had come forward. (There's a BIG difference between "expressed interest" and "bidding.") The hearing Wednesday will determine the time table; it's likely that the bid deadline will be in early December.

Michael Klein

Inquirer

mkleinatphillynews.com

[herbacidal]

that's interesting. the bid increments, minimum #2 bid, but especially the $50,000 to cover legal fees.

I did think the Bass did more than $100,000 a week, but even so, $1.3 million is a great offer for him to start with. I think it was a great move on Starr's part, especially with the $50,000 credit for legal fees in the losing case.

Depending on how long the bidding process is, I'm wondering how many bidders there will be, especially from out of town. The Aqua group is a little far. Not sure how much they want to expand operations to Philadelphia.

Bobby Slikowski (spelling??) aka Bobby Chez has been mentioned most often. I suspect he will bid as well.

I'm wondering how many of the NY groups will bid. Moreover, I'm wondering which ones.

[michaelklein]

I reported that Striped Bass is doing about $100,000 a week now, as "high season" approaches. Over the summer it was doing far less. Based on what I've seen in the bankruptcy filings, at most Striped Bass did about $6m a year, so its current revenues seem typical.

I'm curious, Herbacidal, about your point that Robert Slilwowski has been mentioned "most often" as a potential bidder. Did I miss something in the press somewhere?

[herbacidal]

i believe i've seen bobby chez mentioned by someone else as a potential buyer, most likely in print, although i do not recall exactly where.

for my purposes, most often means once more than anyone else, and since i had not heard of anyone else specifically mentioned...