| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | 1995; 31 years ago (1995) inNew York City |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | New York City,New York ,United States |
Number of locations | 5 |
Areas served | United States,United Kingdom,South Africa,Mexico,Spain |
Key people |
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| Owners |
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Fashion Cafe was an international restaurant chain founded inNew York City in 1995, initially fronted bysupermodelsNaomi Campbell,Elle Macpherson,Claudia Schiffer, andChristy Turlington.[1] Fashion Cafe was founded by Italian-American immigrant brothers Tammasco and Francesco Buti, and it expanded intoUnited Kingdom,South Africa,Mexico, andSpain.Associated Press called it "acouture version ofPlanet Hollywood and theHard Rock Cafe."[2]
Tammasco Buti moved to New York City from Florence, Italy in 1989, at age 22. He joined friends to create a catering business called Focaccia to serve Wall Street customers, and became a successful service used by corporate clients such asDonna Karan andMerrill Lynch.
The chain first opened inRockefeller Center,New York City in 1995.[3] On May 6, 1996, construction began on theLondon branch of the chain, though the London branch went bust in 1999, a year after it opened.[1] At Fashion Cafe openings, many celebrities were seen, includingGianni andDonatella Versace,Tyra Banks,Veronica Webb,Beverly Peele,Eileen Ford,Stephen Baldwin,David Copperfield, theWayans brothers,Jon Stewart,Matt Lauer,RuPaul, andMolly Ringwald.[4]
Tammasco Buti toldNew York magazine, "With something like this, you cannot go too deeply into fashion [...] The public is not that educated and not that interested. They want to see more the glamour and the entertainment of fashion."[5]
Tammasco Buti marriedDaniela Pestova, a Czech model, and lived lavishly in a large penthouse. They divorced later in the 1990s.
In 1998, tax agents issued warrants for months of unpaid taxes, and Fashion Cafe closed later that year. In addition, Tammasco Buti's business partners sued him for about $15 million.[6] That year, Donald Trump hired Buti to lead his upcoming modeling agency,Trump Model Management, and toldNew York magazine "I've made $5 billion because I bank on the right people [...] and I think he's a terrific, unjustly accused guy. Restaurants, with all the unions and hamburgers you got to deal with, are not for him. But Tommaso loves women and women love him back. He's a natural to run a modeling agency."
In December 2000, theUnited States Attorney's Office indicted Tammasco and Francesco Buti on 51 counts, including federal charges of conspiracy, fraud andmoney laundering. The Butis used money from investors to fund their lavish personal lifestyles, and falsely claimed to have themselves invested millions of dollars into Fashion Cafe. They were arrested in Milan.
On January 19, 2021, Tommaso Buti was granted a full pardon byPresident Donald Trump before being tried on any charges.[7]
The Fashion Cafe's facade was shiny and merchandised, resembled more of a souvenir gift shop than an eatery with a large steel nameplate and passerby-friendly glass window panes.[8]
