Tao Asian Bistro
Tao Asian Bistro is an American Asian-fusion restaurant, nightclub, and dayclub brand known for large-scale venues and a restaurant-nightlife hybrid format.
Last updated August 31, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Tao Asian Bistro is an Asian-fusion dining and nightlife brand founded in New York City in 2000 by Marc Packer and Rich Wolf. It developed around the idea that a restaurant could function simultaneously as a destination dining room, social spectacle, and nightlife venue. The brand's interiors are theatrical and heavily themed, commonly incorporating oversized Buddha imagery, dramatic lighting, water features, and large dining areas designed to accommodate both conventional restaurant guests and nightlife-oriented customers. The original Tao opened in a former Vanderbilt coach house on 58th Street in Manhattan. It gained rapid attention for its atmosphere as much as for its pan-Asian menu. Early coverage characterized the venue as an almost continuous party punctuated by food, reflecting its unusual combination of restaurant service, celebrity culture, and club programming. The business later became closely associated with Jason Strauss and Noah Tepperberg, whose Strategic Group marketing and nightlife operations helped Tao build event, promotional, and club capabilities. The four principal partners ultimately reorganized their ventures as Tao Group Hospitality in 2009. Tao expanded beyond New York with the opening of Tao Las Vegas at The Venetian in 2005. The Las Vegas operation became the brand's most commercially prominent location and helped establish Tao as an early example of the modern restaurant-nightclub, sometimes called a "clubstaurant." Its restaurant and nightclub serve different customer occasions across the week, while the connected Tao Beach dayclub extends the concept into daytime pool and entertainment programming. Tao Beach opened in 2007, became one of the early major examples of the modern Las Vegas dayclub, and was rebuilt and expanded before reopening in 2022. A second Manhattan venue, Tao Downtown, opened in 2013 near Chelsea Market in the former Hiro Ballroom and Matsuri spaces at what is now the Dream Downtown hotel. Designed by David Rockwell, it combines a large restaurant with an adjacent nightclub. Further locations opened in Hollywood, Los Angeles, and Chicago in 2017, with the Chicago site also incorporating a nightclub. A location at the Mohegan Sun resort in Connecticut opened in 2021. The brand's reported operating footprint therefore consists of two Manhattan restaurants, plus venues in Las Vegas, Chicago, Hollywood, and Connecticut; some sites include integrated nightlife facilities while the Hollywood location is restaurant-focused. Tao's commercial identity is built on experiential dining, high-volume service, celebrity visibility, event marketing, and the movement of guests between dining and entertainment. Its Las Vegas venue was reported as one of the highest-grossing independent restaurants in the United States during the late 2000s and early 2010s, while Tao Downtown also ranked among the leading non-chain restaurants by sales in New York in contemporary trade coverage. These figures are historical rather than current performance disclosures. The brand has also attracted criticism. Commentators have questioned its use of Buddhist imagery and the way its branding presents Asian culture and cuisine as an exoticized entertainment aesthetic. A 2014 Los Angeles airport billboard using the phrase "Always a Happy Ending" was criticized as culturally insensitive and as invoking an erotic-massage stereotype. In 2024, Tao Group reported a confrontation involving a former employee at Tao Downtown, including alleged property damage and disruptive conduct; the company said it filed a criminal complaint and sought a protective exclusion from its properties. Tao remains an active hospitality brand within Tao Group Hospitality, whose ownership changed from Madison Square Garden Entertainment to Mohari Hospitality in 2023.
History
Tao Asian Bistro began in 2000 when Marc Packer and Rich Wolf opened a large Asian-fusion restaurant in a former Vanderbilt coach house on 58th Street in Manhattan. The project emphasized theatrical design as a central part of the hospitality proposition. Oversized Buddha statues, including a large central figure at the original location, helped create an immediately recognizable visual identity. The venue's early reputation came from the combination of food, spectacle, music, and a party atmosphere rather than from a conventional fine-dining model. The founders developed a close working relationship with Jason Strauss and Noah Tepperberg, who were associated with Strategic Group, event marketing, and the Marquee nightclub operation. That relationship became particularly important as the partners pursued Las Vegas. Tao Las Vegas opened at The Venetian in 2005, with Lou Abin joining the venture. The site combined a substantial restaurant and nightclub and became the brand's signature operation. In 2007, the group added Tao Beach, a rooftop daytime pool and entertainment venue. Tao Beach was among the early large-scale Las Vegas venues to formalize the modern dayclub model and later became known for celebrity-oriented programming and its appearance in the music video for LMFAO's "Shots." By the late 2000s, the partners' restaurant and nightlife businesses were reorganized under Tao Group Hospitality. Tao's Las Vegas success demonstrated the commercial potential of coordinating restaurant traffic with club traffic: diners could visit during conventional meal periods, while nightlife customers arrived later for entertainment. Historical reporting placed Tao Las Vegas among the highest-grossing independent restaurants in the United States, including approximately $60 million in revenue in 2011 according to cited coverage. These figures describe particular historical periods and should not be treated as current company disclosures. Tao returned to expansion in Manhattan with Tao Downtown, which opened in 2013 in the former Hiro Ballroom and Matsuri spaces near Chelsea Market. The venue was designed by David Rockwell and included an adjacent nightclub. It became one of New York's most prominent high-volume non-chain restaurants. In 2016 sales comparisons cited in contemporary reporting placed Tao Downtown among the leading non-chain restaurants in New York and the wider restaurant market. The brand expanded to Hollywood and Chicago in 2017. The Hollywood restaurant opened beside the Dream Hotel and was positioned as a restaurant rather than a full restaurant-nightclub complex. The Chicago venue opened in River North in a former historical society building and included a nightclub. Tao later entered the Connecticut resort market with a Mohegan Sun location in 2021. Tao Beach's original Las Vegas format operated until 2020. A relocation and extensive redevelopment produced a larger venue that reopened in 2022, with approximately 44,000 square feet, multiple bars, cabanas, and a Bali-inspired design. The venue continued Tao's strategy of combining food, beverage, music, pools, and VIP hospitality. In late 2024, a temporary roller-skating installation operated at Tao Beach during its seasonal offseason. Ownership of the wider Tao Group changed materially over time. Madison Square Garden Entertainment acquired a 62.5 percent interest in Tao Group Hospitality in 2017. In 2023, MSGE sold that interest to Mohari Hospitality, an investment firm associated with PokerStars founder Mark Scheinberg. Tao Asian Bistro continues to operate as a hospitality brand within the group. The brand's cultural presentation has been controversial. Critics have objected to the use of Buddhist symbols as decorative elements in a commercial nightlife setting and have described some of Tao's marketing as exoticizing Asian culture. A 2014 billboard near Los Angeles International Airport, featuring a woman's bare back and the phrase "Always a Happy Ending," drew criticism for its sexualized and culturally insensitive implication. In 2024, a former employee incident at Tao Downtown generated further negative attention after the company alleged vandalism, harassment, threats, and disruptive protest activity. Tao said it pursued criminal and protective legal remedies.
- 2023
Mohari Hospitality acquires MSGE's stake
[1]Mohari Hospitality purchases Madison Square Garden Entertainment's interest in Tao Group Hospitality.
- 2022
Redeveloped Tao Beach reopens
[1]The relocated and expanded Tao Beach dayclub reopens in Las Vegas.
- 2021
Mohegan Sun location opens
[1]Tao opens a venue at the Mohegan Sun resort in Connecticut.
- 2017
Expansion to Los Angeles and Chicago
[1]Tao opens a Hollywood restaurant and a Chicago restaurant-nightclub venue.
- 2017
Madison Square Garden Entertainment acquires a controlling stake
[1]MSGE acquires a reported 62.5 percent interest in Tao Group Hospitality.
- 2013
Tao Downtown opens
[1]A second Manhattan restaurant opens near Chelsea Market, incorporating an adjacent nightclub.
- 2009
Tao Group Hospitality is formed
[1]The partners reorganize their restaurant and nightlife ventures under the Tao Group Hospitality structure.
- 2007
Tao Beach launches
[1]The Tao Beach rooftop dayclub opens above the Las Vegas restaurant and nightclub.
- 2005
Tao Las Vegas opens
[1]A Las Vegas location opens at The Venetian, expanding the concept into a major restaurant and nightclub destination.
- 2000
Original Tao opens in Manhattan
[1]Marc Packer and Rich Wolf open the original Tao Asian-fusion restaurant in a former Vanderbilt coach house on 58th Street in New York City.
Products and positioning
An upscale, theatrical Asian-fusion hospitality brand combining destination dining with nightclub and dayclub entertainment.
Asian-fusion restaurant · 2000
Tao Uptown
The original Manhattan Tao location on 58th Street. It is known for a highly theatrical interior, large-scale dining room, pan-Asian food and beverage service, and the prominent Buddha statue that helped define the brand's visual identity.
Asian-fusion restaurant and nightclub · 2013
Tao Downtown
The Chelsea-area Tao venue opened in 2013 in the former Hiro Ballroom and Matsuri spaces. Designed by David Rockwell, it combines a high-capacity restaurant with an adjacent nightclub and is positioned as both a dining destination and an entertainment venue.
Asian-fusion restaurant and nightclub · 2005
Tao Las Vegas
The Las Vegas flagship at The Venetian pairs Asian-fusion dining with nightclub programming and a connected rooftop dayclub. Its ability to serve restaurant guests and club customers in the same complex is central to Tao's restaurant-nightlife hybrid model.
Dayclub · 2007
Tao Beach
A Las Vegas rooftop pool and dayclub connected to Tao Las Vegas. The rebuilt venue reopened in 2022 with a substantially larger footprint, five bars, cabanas, and a Bali-inspired design, offering daytime music, food, beverages, and VIP hospitality.
Asian-fusion restaurant and nightclub · 2017
Tao Chicago
The River North location combines Tao's Asian-fusion restaurant format with an integrated nightclub in a repurposed historic building.
Asian-fusion restaurant · 2017
Tao Hollywood
A restaurant location beside the Dream Hotel in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Unlike several other Tao sites, it is described as a restaurant-focused venue without an adjacent Tao nightclub.
Asian-fusion restaurant · 2021
Tao at Mohegan Sun
A Tao venue at the Mohegan Sun resort in Connecticut, extending the brand's resort and destination-hospitality presence into the Northeast outside New York.
Controversies
2024
Former employee confrontation at Tao Downtown
Tao Group said a former employee entered Tao Downtown in disguise, deposited fecal matter in a koi pond, and disrupted diners while protesting the company. The company alleged additional harassment and threats following the employee's termination, reported property damage, and said it filed a criminal complaint and sought to bar the person from its properties.
2014
Criticism of Los Angeles airport advertising
A Tao billboard near Los Angeles International Airport used an image of a woman's bare back and the phrase “Always a Happy Ending.” Critics viewed the campaign as sexualized and culturally insensitive because of its association with an erotic-massage stereotype.
Marketing campaigns
- 2009LMFAO “Shots” music-video location
United States
The original Tao Beach venue in Las Vegas was used as a location for LMFAO's “Shots” music video, reinforcing the dayclub's association with celebrity culture and music-driven nightlife.
Outcome. The appearance increased the venue's visibility as a recognizable Las Vegas nightlife setting.
Brand decisions
2023
Change in Tao Group ownershipM&ABackground
Madison Square Garden Entertainment had held a controlling interest in Tao Group Hospitality since 2017.
Action taken
MSGE sold its reported 62.5 percent stake to Mohari Hospitality.
Aftermath
Tao Group Hospitality became a subsidiary of Mohari Hospitality rather than MSGE.
Reported acquisition price. $550 million (2023 transaction)
2022
Rebuild and relaunch Tao BeachGeneration changeBackground
The original Tao Beach format operated through 2020 and was replaced during a relocation and redevelopment process.
Action taken
Tao reopened a substantially expanded dayclub with a new design, larger capacity, multiple bars, and cabanas.
Aftermath
The relaunch strengthened Tao's position in Las Vegas's competitive pool-party and dayclub market.
Reported renovation cost. $50 million (2022 reopening)
2013
Open Tao DowntownOtherBackground
Tao sought another major Manhattan site after the original restaurant established the brand locally.
Action taken
The partners took over the former Hiro Ballroom and Matsuri spaces near Chelsea Market and opened a restaurant with an adjacent nightclub.
Aftermath
Tao Downtown became one of New York's leading high-volume non-chain restaurants according to contemporary sales comparisons.
Reported Tao Downtown sales. $34 million (2016 figures cited in restaurant-industry comparisons)
2007
Launch Tao BeachProduct launchBackground
The Las Vegas restaurant and nightclub created an opportunity to extend the brand into daytime poolside entertainment.
Action taken
Tao opened a rooftop dayclub connected to the Las Vegas venue.
Aftermath
Tao Beach became an early prominent example of the modern Las Vegas dayclub format and was later rebuilt as a larger venue.
2005
Expand the restaurant-nightlife model to Las VegasStrategyBackground
The partners pursued Las Vegas after the New York restaurant and associated nightlife relationships demonstrated demand for an experience combining dining, events, and club culture.
Action taken
They opened Tao Las Vegas at The Venetian and added a major nightclub component to the restaurant concept.
Aftermath
The Las Vegas venue became Tao's best-known operation and one of the highest-grossing independent restaurants in the United States in historical reporting.
Reported Tao Las Vegas revenue. $60 million (2011)
Recent events
- 2023
Mohari Hospitality acquires Tao Group Hospitality stake from Madison Square Garden Entertainment[1]
M&A
Mohari Hospitality acquired Madison Square Garden Entertainment's controlling interest in Tao Group Hospitality, ending MSGE's ownership of the hospitality group.
- 2022
Tao Beach reopens after major renovation[1]
Product generation · Other
The Las Vegas Tao Beach dayclub reopened after relocation and a reported major renovation, expanding the venue and adding new bars, cabanas, and a Bali-inspired design.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/tao-asian-bistro · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled