Draft:TAO Group
Tao Group Hospitality is an American hospitality conglomerate founded in 2009 and headquartered in New York City.[1]
History
Officially incorporated in 2009, the business that would later become Tao was started by Jason Strauss and Noah Tepperberg promoting parties and eventually spring break vacation and party packages between Boston University and the University of Miami. Strauss and Tepperberg first found success by marketing the first Tao restaurant in midtown Manhattan as an upscale Asian restaurant and attracting attention. In 2003, the pair opened their first nightclub, Marquee, in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood at a former parking garage.[2][3]
Strauss and Tepperberg would later pair with Tao's original founders, Marc Packer and Rich Wolf, to open a Las Vegas location inside of the Venetian Hotel, including both a restaurant and a nightclub.
MSG investment
By 2017, former Cablevision CEO James L. Dolan, whose family controlled the Madison Square Garden Entertainment, purchased a 62.5% stake in the Tao Group for $181 million USD in 2017; Wolf, Packer, Strauss and Tepperberg would keep a 37.5% remaining stake as well as run day-to-day operations for the group.[4]
In 2021, Tao announced plans for its first hotel, located in Orlando, Florida near the Walt Disney World resort. The hotel, part of a collaboration between real estate developer Unicorp named O-Town West, will feature a Rockwell-designed Tao restaurant as well as a rooftop experience. Construction on the hotel began in 2024, with expected completion in 2025.[5][6]
Mohari ownership
Venues
Tao presently
Lavo
Lavo in midtown Manhattan, which opened originally in 2010, closed in January 2024 due to the new landlord redeveloping the site. The restaurant, planning to reopen at another location, presently offers delivery service. Tepperberg viewed his club as the last remaining nightlife hotspot in uptown Manhattan, despite the first Tao restaurant located across the street from Lavo's former location.[7]
- ^ "About". Tao Group Hospitality. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ "The History of Tao Group, as Told by Noah Tepperberg and Jason Strauss". Hospitality Design. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ Vora, Shivani (2023-05-24). "Worldwise: Tao Group Hospitality Co-CEO Noah Tepperberg's Favorite Things". Barron's.
- ^ Lieberman, David (2017-02-01). "MSG Pays $181M For Controlling Stake In Nightlife Company Tao Group". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
- ^ Howard, Eleanor (2022-11-16). "Tao Group Hospitality unveils plans for first hotel". Sleeper. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
- ^ "Restaurant and club operator Tao to open first hotel". www.travelweekly.com. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
- ^ Greer, Carlos (2024-01-20). "Lavo will close". Retrieved 2024-12-25.