![]() Tao Group Hospitality has a diverse brand portfolio of over 80 entertainment, dining, and nightlife locations in over 20 markets. In April 2023, Mohari Hospitality acquired a majority stake in Tao Group Hospitality for an impressive $550 million. Ĭontinuing its growth trajectory, Tao Group Hospitality made a strategic move in 2021 by acquiring Hakkasan Group, further expanding its reach and consolidating its position as a leading hospitality company in the market. This partnership brought new opportunities and resources to strengthen Tao Group's presence and influence in the industry. In 2017 Madison Square Garden Entertainment acquired a 62% controlling stake in Tao Group Hospitality. Over the years, Tao Group expanded its portfolio by introducing notable venues such as LAVO Nightclub, Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub in Las Vegas, and Beauty & Essex. In 2009, Strauss, Tepperberg, Packer, and Wolf officially formed the Tao Group, solidifying their collaborative efforts. They followed this up with the establishment of LAVO in 2008. Building on their successes, the four founders joined forces and embarked on a joint venture, opening Tao Asian Bistro & Nightclub at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas. Īround the same time, Marc Packer and Rich Wolf launched Tao Uptown in NYC in 2000. After selling their marketing agency, Strauss and Tepperberg ventured into the hospitality industry and opened the iconic Marquee Nightclub in New York City in 2003. This agency worked with renowned brands such as Coca-Cola and PlayStation. The founding story of Tao Group Hospitality dates back to 1997 when Jason Strauss and Noah Tepperberg established a marketing agency. ![]() The company has a global presence and operates in over 80 locations across 20 international markets. But given the choice between Tao - a place that feels like a dream you’d have after drinking several Four Lokos - and the relative snoozefest known as Cathédrale, we’ll take the former any day.Tao Group Hospitality was founded in 2009 by Jason Strauss, Noah Tepperberg, Marc Packer, and Rich Wolf and is headquartered in New York City. Does that mean you’ll find us at Tao later, drinking $20 vodka sodas while we try to get the DJ to play the 2 Chainz remix of “Bubble Butt”? It’s doubtful. Sure, they call the sea bass by its French name (loup de mer), and there are few items on the menu that are legitimately worth ordering - like the pristine caviar omelette and baguette with rotisserie drippings - but there’s no element of fun to justify the high prices and mostly mediocre food.ĭespite the huge space and constant crowd, Cathédrale is boring. Of course, food isn’t a bad thing for a restaurant (most people expect it), but going to a Tao Group spot purely to eat some gummy steak tartare and a $37 plate of forgettable sea bass is similar to attending jury duty just to hear someone call your name. Unlike Tao, there aren’t any sake bombs or bachelor parties to keep you entertained - there’s just food. It’s an impressive-looking spot, but a few minutes after sitting down, the effect wears off, and you wonder what’s next. And just past this luxurious-looking spread, there’s a dining room with ceilings high enough to inspire awe, rumination, and slight nausea. It has some big booths, a bar that could seat every person you’ve dated up to the present, and a table covered in apples, breadsticks, and champagne on ice (all of which appear to be purely decorative). To get to Cathédrale, find the Moxy Hotel on 11th street, walk down several flights of stairs, and enter a space that looks like a fancy mall bistro inside a dystopian place of worship. Without the ridiculousness the Tao Group has become known for, there isn’t much of a point in coming here. But, with its soups du jour, stiff service, and dad rock soundtrack, it also feels like a club restaurant undergoing a midlife crisis. It’s a pricey, elaborately designed restaurant where Heidi Klum hosted a Halloween party featuring the likes of Ice-T and Dylan Sprouse, and the food here is occasionally pretty good. Unfortunately, this place takes the worst parts of the Tao experience and leaves most of the fun behind.Ĭathédrale is a massive spot in the bottom of an East Village hotel specializing in vaguely French food. And when we went to Cathédrale, the latest spot from the people behind Tao, we anticipated something similar. ![]() Depending on your mindset, you can have a great time there. We understand Tao, and appreciate it for what it is: a cavernous party restaurant for people who want to do sake bombs, shout things, eat handfuls of popcorn shrimp, and temporarily drop any pretense that they’re adult human beings.
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