Atlantic City's Ocean Casino partners with restauranteur Stephen Starr to launch two new eateries

Atlantic City's Ocean Casino Resort is set to open two new eateries this summer with an assist from celebrity restaurateur Stephen Starr. The casino announced Thursday that the as-yet unnamed restaurants will be part of a partnership with STARR Restaurants, which will lend its expertise on the conceptualization and roll out of the eateries.

“It feels like a full-circle moment for me to work on restaurant projects in Atlantic City, a place where I formed some of my finest childhood memories, both at the beach and on America’s most popular Boardwalk, where I worked as a teenager,” Starr said. “I’m excited to work with the team at Ocean Casino Resort to develop two new dining concepts this summer."

“Over the last two decades, Stephen Starr has transformed Philadelphia into one of the most vibrant restaurant cities in America,” STARR noted in a press release. His success, both in his hometown and in New York, Washington DC, and Florida, has earned him multiple honors, including ‘Restaurateur of the Year’ from both bon appétit and Zagat and ‘Outstanding Restaurateur’ from the James Beard Foundation.

The two restaurant concepts are expected to open this summer and will be located on the lobby level across from The Park.

Starr closed two popular restaurants in Atlantic City during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Buddakan and The Continental, which were shuttered in mid-March of 2020, were permanently closed in October of that year, victims of the pandemic and the restrictions surrounding it. Both were located inside the former Playground Pier, which Caesars Entertainment repurchased from developer Bart Blatstein.

The Ocean Casino will own and operate the new restaurants, with Starr as a licensing partner, which will include his dining concepts, menus, and overall influence, a casino spokesman told the Press of Atlantic City.