B.R. Guest

B.R. Guest, also styled as BR Guest, is a restaurant group associated with a portfolio of prominent dining venues in New York City. The business was founded in 1987 by restaurateur Steve Hanson and developed around large, destination-oriented restaurants rather than a single standardized concept. Its portfolio included multiple cuisines and formats, ranging from Mexican restaurants and steakhouses to seafood and Asian dining. By 2015, the group owned or operated 15 substantial Manhattan restaurants, including five Dos Caminos locations, two Strip House steakhouses, Blue Water Grill, and Ruby Foo's. The group's approach was based on building recognizable restaurant concepts with strong locations, broad menus, and enough operating scale to attract both local diners and visitors. This portfolio structure allowed B.R. Guest to participate in several segments of the urban hospitality market while retaining a common corporate operating platform. Its venues were especially associated with Manhattan's restaurant scene, where high-volume dining rooms and destination locations could support ambitious menus, extensive beverage programs, and event-oriented business. In 2007, Steve Hanson entered into a partnership with Barry Sternlicht, chief executive of Starwood Capital Group, through Starwood Opportunity Fund 7. The transaction valued B.R. Guest at approximately $150 million to $250 million, according to the cited reference material. The deal represented an important stage in the group's institutional development and connected the restaurant operator with a major investment platform. Alexandre Gaudelet joined B.R. Guest as chief operating officer in August 2010. His appointment reflected the company's need for structured operational leadership as it managed a sizable collection of restaurants and concepts. The business continued operating a substantial Manhattan portfolio through the middle of the 2010s. In November 2016, B.R. Guest was sold to Landry's, Inc., a large privately held hospitality operator whose businesses include restaurants, casinos, and entertainment properties. The acquisition brought B.R. Guest's restaurant concepts into Landry's broader operating group. The available reference material does not establish the extent to which every former B.R. Guest venue continued under the same ownership, branding, or operating structure after the transaction. Accordingly, the brand's present standalone status and current portfolio cannot be determined from the supplied sources.

B.R. Guest was established in 1987 by Steve Hanson as a restaurant operating company focused on prominent, full-service dining venues. Rather than developing one uniform restaurant format, the group assembled a family of distinct concepts covering several cuisines and occasions. This portfolio model enabled B.R. Guest to operate Mexican restaurants, steakhouses, seafood venues, and Asian restaurants under separate consumer-facing names while sharing corporate management and operating resources. The company's growth was closely connected to Manhattan's large-scale restaurant market. By 2015, B.R. Guest was reported to own 15 large Manhattan restaurants. Its portfolio included five branches of Dos Caminos, a Mexican dining concept; two Strip House steakhouses; Blue Water Grill, a seafood-focused restaurant; and Ruby Foo's, an Asian restaurant concept. The venues represented the group's emphasis on recognizable concepts located in major urban dining districts and designed to serve substantial volumes of customers. A significant corporate development occurred in 2007, when Hanson signed a partnership agreement with Barry Sternlicht, the chief executive of Starwood Capital Group. The investment was made through Starwood Opportunity Fund 7 and was reported to value B.R. Guest between $150 million and $250 million. This partnership marked a transition from a founder-led restaurant business toward a structure supported by institutional investment capital. In August 2010, Alexandre Gaudelet joined the organization as chief operating officer. The appointment added senior operational management to a company overseeing a large and varied collection of restaurant properties. Managing different cuisine brands, locations, service models, and dining-room scales required coordination across the portfolio, making operations a central part of the group's business model. B.R. Guest remained a notable Manhattan restaurant operator through the mid-2010s. In November 2016, Landry's, Inc. acquired the company. Landry's operates a broad hospitality portfolio that includes restaurant brands, casino properties, and entertainment-related businesses. The transaction placed B.R. Guest's concepts within a much larger privately held hospitality group. The supplied reference material does not provide enough information to establish the complete post-acquisition history of the B.R. Guest name, the disposition of each restaurant, or whether the group continues to operate as a distinct standalone brand. It therefore remains best described as a restaurant group founded in New York and acquired by Landry's in 2016, with its historical identity centered on a multi-concept Manhattan dining portfolio.

• 2016

  Acquisition by Landry's

  [1]B.R. Guesten.wikipedia.org

  Landry's, Inc. purchases B.R. Guest in November.

• 2015

  Manhattan portfolio reaches 15 restaurants

  [1]B.R. Guesten.wikipedia.org

  The group is reported to own 15 large Manhattan restaurants, including locations under the Dos Caminos, Strip House, Blue Water Grill, and Ruby Foo's names.

• 2010

  New chief operating officer

  [1]B.R. Guesten.wikipedia.org

  Alexandre Gaudelet joins B.R. Guest as chief operating officer in August.

• 2007

  Starwood-linked partnership

  [1]B.R. Guesten.wikipedia.org

  B.R. Guest enters a partnership with Barry Sternlicht through Starwood Opportunity Fund 7 in a transaction reported to value the company at approximately $150 million to $250 million.

• 1987

  B.R. Guest is founded

  [1]B.R. Guesten.wikipedia.org

  Steve Hanson establishes B.R. Guest as a restaurant operating company.

A multi-concept urban restaurant group focused on high-profile, full-service dining venues and recognizable cuisine-specific restaurant brands.

• Mexican restaurant

  Dos Caminos

  Dos Caminos was one of B.R. Guest's principal restaurant concepts. The group operated five locations by 2015, making it one of the most extensive branded components of the portfolio. It represented B.R. Guest's participation in upscale Mexican dining and its strategy of expanding a recognizable concept across multiple Manhattan sites.

• Steakhouse

  Strip House

  Strip House was B.R. Guest's steakhouse concept, with two locations reported in the group's Manhattan portfolio by 2015. The brand contributed a classic premium steakhouse format to the company's multi-concept restaurant model and complemented its Mexican, seafood, and Asian offerings.

• Seafood restaurant

  Blue Water Grill

  Blue Water Grill was a seafood-focused restaurant in B.R. Guest's New York portfolio. It formed part of the group's collection of large destination restaurants and broadened the company's coverage of upscale dining occasions beyond steakhouses and cuisine-specific international concepts.

• Asian restaurant

  Ruby Foo's

  Ruby Foo's was B.R. Guest's Asian restaurant concept. Its inclusion in the Manhattan portfolio illustrated the group's practice of operating distinct branded restaurants across different culinary categories rather than relying on a single corporate dining identity.

• 2016

  Sell the restaurant group to Landry'sM&A

  Background

  B.R. Guest operated a broad portfolio of Manhattan restaurants and was seeking a place within a larger hospitality platform.

  Action taken

  Landry's, Inc. acquired B.R. Guest in November 2016.

  Aftermath

  B.R. Guest's concepts became associated with Landry's broader restaurant and hospitality portfolio. The available sources do not document the full post-acquisition treatment of each venue.

  Source

• 2007

  Accept institutional investment through Starwood Opportunity Fund 7M&A

  Background

  B.R. Guest had developed into a sizable multi-restaurant operator and entered a partnership with Barry Sternlicht through Starwood Capital Group's Starwood Opportunity Fund 7.

  Action taken

  The company accepted a partnership transaction reported to value B.R. Guest between $150 million and $250 million.

  Aftermath

  The transaction connected the restaurant group with institutional investment capital. The supplied sources do not specify the subsequent ownership percentages or operational changes.

  Reported transaction valuation. $150 million-$250 million (2007 transaction)

  Source

1. 1B.R. Guesten.wikipedia.org