Fashion Cafe

History

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 as Donna Karan and Merrill Lynch.

The chain first opened in Rockefeller Center, New York City in 1995. On May 6, 1996, construction began on the London branch of the chain, though the London branch went bust in 1999, a year after it opened. At Fashion Cafe openings, many celebrities were seen, including Gianni and Donatella Versace, Tyra Banks, Veronica Webb, Beverly Peele, Eileen Ford, Stephen Baldwin, David Copperfield, the Wayans brothers, Jon Stewart, Matt Lauer, RuPaul, and Molly Ringwald.

Tammasco Buti told New 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."

Tammasco Buti married Daniela Pestova, a Czech model, and lived lavishly in a large penthouse. They divorced later in the 1990s.

Legal issues

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. That year, Donald Trump hired Buti to lead his upcoming modeling agency, Trump Model Management, and told New 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, the United States Attorney's Office indicted Tammasco and Francesco Buti on 51 counts, including federal charges of conspiracy, fraud and money 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 by President Donald Trump before being tried on any charges.

Specifications

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.

References

References

1. (May 8, 1996). "Fashion Cafe, Planet Hollywood square off". [[Spartanburg Herald-Journal]].
2. (April 10, 1995). "Trendy celebrity crowd packs opening of chic Fashion Cafe". [[Bangor Daily News]].
3. Saulny, Susan. (December 12, 2000). "Businessmen Who Created Fashion Cafe Are Hit With Fraud Charges". [[The New York Times]].
4. (April 30, 2020). "Remembering the Bizarre History of New York's Fashion Café". WM Magazine.
5. (2021-01-20). "Donald Trump Pardons Tommaso Buti, Italian Businessman Charged With Fraud".
6. (2000-12-12). "Businessmen Who Created Fashion Cafe Are Hit With Fraud Charges (Published 2000)".
7. (August 28, 2017). "Pardons Granted by President Donald J. Trump (2017-2021)".
8. (June 20, 2018). "A historical look at the Fashion Cafe". CR Fashion Book.