Stephen Starr and Bankroll sports bar make their break-up official

Starr's name had been attached to the project since its announcement in 2021. Both his company and Bankroll cited "a difference in philosophy" for the split.

The marquee outside of Bankroll, a new sports bar at 1910 Chestnut St., in the space where Boyd Theater was.Read moreMonica Herndon / Staff Photographer

by Michael Klein

Published Mar. 2, 2023, 11:22 a.m. ET

Restaurateur Stephen Starr and the new Bankroll sports bar, opening Friday near Rittenhouse Square, have split up.

Exactly when is not clear. Like many couples keeping their details private, neither side is talking about it.

From Bankroll’s 2021 announcement, Starr was listed as an investor and the restaurant’s operator. Starr — a James Beard Award winner who owns more than 40 restaurants in Philadelphia and along the East Coast, including Parc — brought credibility to the high-profile project that will light up a landmark building that had been dark since 2002. His name was cited at the project’s hearing last October before the Liquor Control Board.

Observers following the $25 million project had noticed that in April 2021, Starr was listed as a director in Bankroll LLC’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission surrounding a $10 million stock offering. Starr also was part of Bankroll’s April 2022 announcement of the project’s groundbreaking. In an SEC filing in July 2022, however, Starr’s name was not included. But on Oct. 13, 2022, Starr was identified as the restaurant operator in the LCB hearing before a state examiner.

The breakup was disclosed publicly Tuesday by Bankroll chief executive Padma Rao during an Inquirer interview. Asked about Starr’s involvement, Rao said Starr and his team “helped us design the menu and got us on our feet.” She did not elaborate.

On Thursday, following reports that still included Starr in the management mix, Bankroll and Starr Restaurants issued a joint statement, acknowledging the split. “Starr Restaurants played a valuable role in the creative ideation and development of the initial food and beverage menus and set the foundation for successful kitchen operations at Bankroll; however, due to a difference in philosophy, STARR Restaurants will no longer be involved with Bankroll’s management and operations, or the creative oversight of its food and beverage program,” it said.

Representatives of Starr and Bankroll said there would be no further comment.

Bankroll’s executive chef, Scott Swiderski, was a longtime Starr employee, having run the kitchen at Buddakan starting in the late 1990s. Michael Jones, the director of operations, is a former general manager for Michael Schulson’s restaurants. He has worked with Bankroll since August 2022, according to his LinkedIn bio.

Bankroll, founded by Paul Martino, a Silicon Valley tech start-up specialist, has been open intermittently for the last several weeks.

Starting Friday, it will be open daily at 5 p.m. and will ramp up operations. It can seat at least 350 people in a variety of spaces. Its raison d’être, Rao said, is to serve today’s sports fan, who wants to socialize yet become immersed in events. Bankroll intends to partner with a sport-gaming operator, though is not a gaming venue.

Bankroll describes the menu as “modern fine dining,” with raw bar offerings, steaks (featuring multiple Wagyu cuts), poultry, and seafood, with nightly specials, and versions of game-day dishes, such as the Bankroll burger with colossal onion rings. Among the bar offerings will be cocktails, including martinis mixed tableside.