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San Francisco's Stars Gets a Makeover as Jeremiah Tower Leaves
Jeremiah Tower, once one of the brightest lights in California cuisine, has officially severed his relationship with Stars restaurant in San Francisco, which he founded in 1984. This fall, a new management team will take over the restaurant, which is also getting a new look.
A year ago, Tower sold the rights to the Stars name to businessman Andrew Yap, but he remained as a consultant to the flagship restaurant in San Francisco as well as to Stars in Seattle, which opened in 1998. Now Tower has left the West Coast restaurant scene for his home in the Philippines.
Stars San Francisco closed its doors on Sept. 2 and will reopen on Oct. 1, with a new management team and a fresh Mediterranean look designed by Howard Backen, who designed Stars Seattle, which has become one of the hottest restaurants in town. Stanley Morris, who has spent the past year getting Stars Seattle going, returns to San Francisco as managing partner.
Christopher Fernandez, who had been cooking with Paul Bertolli at Oliveto in Oakland, joins Stars as chef-partner. Fernandez is adding a wood-burning oven, grill and rotisserie to the kitchen, but Yap promises not to change the Stars bar, the longest in San Francisco.
On Sept. 26, the restaurant will be holding a special preview dinner, to be cooked by 16 Northern California chefs, to raise money for a scholarship honoring the late Catherine Brendel, a longtime manager of Chez Panisse, known for her educational and environmental leadership.
To learn more about Stars:
Oct. 15, 1996
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