Celebrity chef's restaurant reopens in downtown — and more S.F. openings
April's new San Francisco restaurants brought in some unexpected flavors.
Diners can now bite into a mix of Dominican and Ethiopian dishes at an NBA star's newest restaurant, or sample a fusion of Japanese and Thai influences from a team of notable Bay Area chefs. Restaurants focusing on classics like red sauce Italian fare and tried-and-true American dishes also opened.
Celebrity chef relocates
Wayfare Tavern, celebrity chef Tyler Florence's marquee San Francisco restaurant, has a new home in the heart of the city. They opened the doors to their new digs on April 28, a two-story space designed by Jon de la Cruz that captures the same old-school feel from the former Sacramento Street location. Expect a tried-and-true menu of hits including burgers and buttermilk fried chicken.
201 Pine St., San Francisco.
There's a new neighborhood stop for no-frills doughnuts on the city's west side. The Ingleside Light reports North Bay Bagels and Donuts opened at the start of April, reactivating the vacant space that was formerly a burger restaurant. Owner Bory Sroy, a Cambodian immigrant who arrived in California 20 years ago, told the outlet she saw an opportunity as there are no other doughnut shops in the area. She and her husband also own All Star Donuts in the Richmond District.
Afro Caribbean cuisine with star power
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green's buzzy new 'Ethiopian fusion' restaurant is now mending together influences from the Horn of Africa and the Caribbean in San Francisco. Named Meski, it offers dishes like sancocho with berbere spices and yucca flour sambusas stuffed with spiced beef or lentils. The project is a collaboration between Green alongside restaurateur Guma Fassil, who operates Meski's Kitchen & Garden in Berkeley, and is acting as general manager. Chef Nelson German of Oakland's Dominican restaurant Alamar is also a partner and executive chef.
A revival in North Beach
A Roman-style trattoria has opened at the former home of popular bistro Cassava. Steps of Rome, a revival of a previous North Beach favorite, offers cacio e pepe, made with tonnarelli tossed in Pecorino Romano and fresh cracked pepper, along with spicy rigatoni and silky carbonara made with bigoli noodles, a thick style of spaghetti. Pizza offerings include classic Margherita and four-cheese pies, along with a fried pizza topped with prosciutto cotto, pepper and basil.
401 Columbus Ave. San Francisco. stepsofromesf.com
A new Japanese and Thai bar downtown
The hotly anticipated Bar Shoji is now shaking Japanese-inspired cocktails in SoMa. The latest from chef Ingi 'Shota' Son offers beverages such as the Myoga, a Moscow Mule-like cocktail made with a Japanese ginger bulb and the Kabosu, a mix of tequila kosho chili pepper and lemongrass brightened with its namesake Japanese citrus. There are, of course, high balls made with Japanese spirits, and a wide-spanning list of sake. The menu, from chef Intu-on Kornnawong, formerly of Jo's Modern Thai, features small bites with a Thai twist like oysters dressed with a beet-chili jam and a ceviche spiked with nam jim sauce. A luxe rice bowl and the sashimi of the day show off the premium seafood flown in from Tokyo's Toyosu fish market.
New slices on Market
Downtown San Francisco's IKEA-adjacent dining venue Saluhall has a new tenant. Cheezy's Artisan Pizza is now tossing dough that's topped with tried-and-true topping combinations like mozzarella and basil to more eclectic mixes like lamb merguez pickled Fresno peppers and a walnut muhammara sauce. Pies are available in neo-Neapolitan and square, Grandma-style variants. Chef-owner David Jacobson brings his experience at Bay Area pizza hotspots like Pizza My Heart, Pizzeria Delfina and Flour + Water Pizzeria to his latest venture.
945 Market St., Suite 102, San Francisco. cheezysartisanpizza.com
Global flavors for the Marina
Incoming cocktail bar and restaurant Indigo is now offering drinks inspired by flavors from around the world in the Marina District. The cocktails use diverse wines and spirits like umeshu, cachaca and tequila infused with Poblano peppers. Dishes have a similar international flair, such as kashmir chicken skewers with a yogurt marinade and pita. The al pastor tacos are made with steelhead trout topping a squid ink tortilla.
Local chicken shop expands
Proposition Chicken, a Bay Area grown chicken restaurant, launched its latest location in West Portal. Ordering is unfussy: Choose between fried chicken, roasted chicken or a vegan protein in a sandwich, salad or plate. Wings tossed in Buffalo sauce, honey mustard and barbecue sauce are also available. Proposition Chicken operates another San Francisco location and an Oakland location. It is also available through ghost kitchen service Local Kitchens in the South Bay, Peninsula and East Bay.
New development lands pizza shop
The newest Flour + Water Pizza Shop location arrived in the Mission Rock development in April. Like its sister location in North Beach, expect pies ranging from classic pepperoni to smoky eggplant or cacio e pepe. The newest location takes over a 1,800-square-foot space at the growing development that also includes the likes of croissant specialists Arsicault and a future project from the team behind popular cocktail bar Trick Dog.
1090 Dr. Maya Angelou Ln., Suite A, San Francisco fwpizzashop.com
Coffee shop takes over theater lobby
The Emerald Lounge is now pouring coffee drinks inside the former movie theater building on Van Ness Avenue. Find a straightforward menu of beverages like lattes and pour over, along with bites like vegetable sandwiches. The brew bar makes drinks using top-tier beans from local roasters like Sightglass Coffee, Grand Coffee and Poorboy Coffee.
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Buzz Feed
7 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
Mansplaining Examples, According To Women
Well, even though it's 2025, women are still being mansplained to (aka the explanation of a particular subject by a man, typically to a woman, that's considered condescending). So we asked the women of the BuzzFeed Community: "What is the dumbest thing that has been mansplained to you?" and their answers will make you red in the face. Here's what they said below. "A man once explained to me what an X-Ray image is. I'm a doctor." —ale8"I learned what an X-ray is from Sesame Street when I was three. I don't think *anybody* needs to have X-rays explained to them, but trying to explain them to a DOCTOR is a whole other level!"—ddaisy "I was in the process of buying a house, and a male coworker, who never bought a house, tried to mansplain income debt ratio to me. It took our male supervisor, who had bought a house a year prior, telling him I was right before he accepted, begrudgingly, that he was 'mistaken.'" "A man once yelled in my face that he was the ultimate authority on how to file for a certain type of construction project, and how I, a lowly woman, couldn't possibly understand the complexities of what I was looking at. So, he never got to build his project, because I, the lady who signed off and permitted them, refused to do so until he fixed his dang paperwork. I was LITERALLY the ultimate authority on it." —renashinoa "Once, a man explained to me why Avatar: The Last Airbender is an anime, and he kept insisting it was not a Nickelodeon cartoon. I am an animation student. For comparison, this is like calling the original Ben 10 or the original Teen Titans an anime. (Just to be clear, the style is very clearly inspired by Japanese animation because that's what was popular at the time. But it is not considered an anime because its original language is English, and it was made by an American animation studio.) "I am a residential counselor for male teenagers and have been working in this field for 10 years. I have lost count of the number of times MALE teenagers start lecturing me about my role as a FEMALE and what I should or should not be doing because I keep doing it wrong in comparison to some of my male counterparts, whom I have helped train." —origamidino44 "When my friend's boyfriend broke up with her, he told her it was because she was bad at sex. My girl lowered the boom on the dicknose by replying, 'Since you were my first, I guess that makes you a bad teacher.' I still miss you to this day, Susan!" "After I finally decided to get a credit card, my husband frowned and told me, 'You do have to pay the money back, you know.' Duh. Then again, his mother actually thought that the credit card limit meant it was free money." —thatvillageidiot "A guy once said, 'I went birdwatching... you know, when you watch birds.' It literally could not be named more literally." "I work in film and saw my brother for the first time the other week, and he tried to explain the writer's strike to me and why it'd be over soon. He knew exactly one reason they were striking and not the laundry list of others. I've been in the industry for 10 years and had jobs shut down because of this strike, he works at a car rental place." —deebee2118 "I had a random guy online try to mansplain hymens, and he kept making the usual false claims about how it 'pops' when you lose your virginity, and that it's the way you can tell a virgin from a non-virgin. I tried to correct him and explain that 1) hymens don't pop, 2) you can wear your hymen down with activities other than sex, and 3) you can lack a hymen and be a virgin, as not everyone even has a hymen (and, again, sex isn't the only thing that wears it down). Alas, he didn't believe me. Typical." "I was selling my old bike, and the guy who bought it spent the whole time he was there explaining all of the features of the bike to me. The features were all included in the listing, since I had bought the bike myself and specifically picked it because of them. He got incredibly offended when I asked if he was there to buy a bike or hold a lecture." —torbielillies "I'm not customer service, but I work as a branch (bank) manager in a money kiosk in a mall with an anchor store. A gentleman came in and asked for a completely different luxury store. Think, oh, I dunno, Nordstrom vs. Neiman Marcus. I told him the exact address of where he wanted to go, and he told me I was WRONG. Nooooo, I'm not... but let's pull up that Google Maps, huh? That was when he told me he didn't need to look it up because he knew where he was going, but maybe *I* should? On the quickness, I pointed at the Nordstrom entrance, 'Ya know what, you're right, Neiman Marcus is right inside, so sorry, I don't know HOW I missed that...'" "When I was a junior in college, I was talking to a friend about some of my classes, and his roommate took our conversation as an excuse to explain to me what linguistics was and what the major program was like. He was a freshman political science major, and I was in my third year of my linguistics program." —skailyr "An ex was firmly against any kind of vibrator because it would 'stretch you out like an old T-shirt.'' "Taking my husband to the ER for a kidney stone, the two male-admitting nurses RUSH outside to greet my husband. They say, 'Oh, this is bad. We can tell by how he is walking that it's kidney stones. No disrespect, ma'am, but this is so much worse than giving birth.' Now, luckily, I am married to a wonderful man, who had my side on this, and chuckled through his pain, and said, 'No, you guys are looking at someone who went through 36 hours of labor with a broken tailbone, I got this.'" —angelaandres "A man thought he had to explain to me what a square was when I was 22." "I have an unusual first name. I was gobsmacked when someone asked how to correctly pronounce my name, and Captain Doorknob interrupted me to mansplain MY OWN NAME. INCORRECTLY." —shazzerz"I once had a man ask me, 'Isn't your name supposed to be spelled with an a?' Giving him the benefit of the doubt, I said, politely, 'You might be thinking of a different name. This is the standard spelling.' He then proceeded to give me a skeptical look and say, 'Are you sure?'(He did run away when I snapped, 'Am I sure about the spelling of my own name? Is that your question?')"—five_star "On my nineteenth birthday, I got into a car accident that basically totaled my car. The next day, my period started, and I was scheduled to work open to close at the coffee shop I worked at for the 'birthday' event marking the anniversary of the company's creation, with different deals." "I was a chemical engineering major in college. I tutored pre-med college students who struggled to pass chemistry and/or organic chemistry. Guys came to my grandmother's house, where I lived, for professional tutoring by recommendation of their professors. I can't tell you how many guys attempted to mansplain chemistry to me. It was so frustrating. I'd taken every chemistry, organic chemistry, and biochemistry course the college offered and was a 4.0 GPA student." "If they kept mansplaining, I'd pick up the phone, call the professor in front of them, and ask the person being tutored to repeat the answer to the question. Then the professor would say: If you're not listening to the person who is tutoring you when you're wrong, you shouldn't be a doctor because you are an idiot without listening skills. It always made me laugh. I probably tutored two dozen pre-med guys in three years. None of them ended up going to medical school."—snarknado "A guy I just started talking to was really good with cars. I asked him a question about my car, and he asked what I drove. I told him and… he told me I couldn't drive the model I was, because he'd never heard of it." "I sent in a maintenance repair request to my landlord for a mole issue in the backyard. I explained the steps my husband and I had already taken to mitigate the problem. He responded with a copy and pasted Wikipedia article on moles and how pervasive they are and how difficult they are to remove. He suggested we 'stamp down the mounds.' I responded with 'I own a 6-acre farm, I'm also a maintenance director for an 18,000 square foot facility; I'm familiar with moles, Mike. But hey man, it's your lawn that's starting to get real effed up here. Do what you want.' Two days later, a mole man was out with traps." —mixedevolutionllc "I typically wear band or Star Wars shirts to work. This younger guy came up to me and said, 'I like your Billy Joel shirt.' I'm like, 'Thanks. It's Billy Idol.' The same guy comes up to me on a different day and notices I have a Star Wars shirt on. Asks me if I have seen any of the shows. I say yes. He says, 'There's this really good one out called The Mandalorian. You probably don't know about it.' This was a couple of months ago. And he's far younger than I am." "A patient once responded to my doctor (who is also a woman), telling him he had cavities with 'Well, but I have those black spots under my fingernails sometimes, so I don't think it's a cavity necessarily.' He initially came to us complaining of pain when he eats sugary things. He was convinced the black/brown spots on his teeth were just stains and dirt that could be cleaned off." —erintrimber "A man once tried to explain to me what a person can and can't eat when they are breastfeeding. He wasn't remotely correct. I am a mother, postpartum nurse, and lactation consultant. The same man also told me that he was frustrated with his wife in labor because 'she was pushing wrong.'" "I had a guy DM me in order to mansplain how to take care of my plants after seeing them on Instagram???" —Pez Fez Women, share with us your experience with being mansplained to in the comments or anonymously in the Google Form below:
Eater
8 hours ago
- Eater
The 7 Most Anticipated Las Vegas Restaurant Openings, Summer 2025
It's been an impressive year for Las Vegas's dining scene. So far, 2025 has introduced restaurants that have immediately soared to must-visit territory, like Jeremy Ford's Michelin-starred Stubborn Seed, a new food hall that not only revitalizes the trend but introduces a slate of big-deal regional fare, the latest in the highly-anticipated James Trees culinary universe, and a lakeside stunner with serious seafood prowess. The back-half of the year is equally exciting, with restaurants on deck attached to famous names, long-awaited restaurants that are finally inching toward openings, and steakhouses with Michelin-recognized talent. Here are seven openings to look forward to this summer in Las Vegas. Projected Opening: July 2025 Major Player: Fabio Viviani Celebrity chef and Top Chef fan favorite Fabio Viviani brings his signature flair to Summerlin this summer with the debut of ai Pazzi, a modern Italian restaurant at JW Marriott Las Vegas. The opening is part of a sweeping culinary revamp at the resort and Rampart Casino in partnership with Fabio Viviani Hospitality. Expect handmade pastas, fresh seafood, indulgent entrees like lobster linguini and bistecca alla Fiorentina, and comforting starters like a crostino topped with roasted woodland mushrooms, gorgonzola fondue, and black truffle prosciutto. On Top Chef , Viviani earned praise for his soulful Italian cooking approach — and meatballs were part of his repertoire. So it's fitting that Fabio's wagyu meatball makes the menu, plated with tomato sauce, whipped ricotta, basil, and grilled bread. Dessert leans decadent — think sticky toffee pudding and roasted white chocolate tiramisu — while the cocktail list leans Italian and lively, with the Montenegro Nights that blends Old Forester 100 bourbon with vanilla and caramel syrups and citrusy Amaro Montenegro, garnished with a toasted marshmallow. Projected Opening: Summer 2025 A dedicated smash burger joint is landing on the Strip this summer. Naughty Patty's will open at the Cosmopolitan just steps from Block 16, serving up crispy-edged burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches fried in mayo, furikake-dusted fries, and over-the-top ice cream concretes. It's the only burger-focused restaurant at the resort, filling the gap left by Holsteins, which closed in 2024 after a 14-year run (thankfully, it later reopened downtown). Expect a tight menu starring thin patties with caramelized edges, yuzu-sesame sauce, and classic toppings — plus chili-style hot dogs and avocado add-ons. Smash burgers are trending across Vegas, from Sorry Not Sorry's packed pop-ups to Yukon Pizza's weekend specials; Naughty Patty's brings that craveable crunch to the heart of the Strip. Cosmopolitan executive chef Mark Crane says they're not just riding a trend: 'The flavor you get — and the speed — is what makes it stick.' Projected Opening: Summer 2025 Major Player: José Andrés José Andrés's acclaimed Bazaar Meat is migrating from the Sahara to a brand-new 10,000-square-foot space at the Venetian's Palazzo tower. Since its 2014 debut, Bazaar Meat has wowed diners with playful small bites — think crispy chicken-bechamel fritters served in a sneaker — and a dining room filled with roaring open-fire grills, jamón ibérico, and dramatic antler chandeliers. Its new home, part of the Venetian's $1.5 billion reinvestment, will sit beneath Lavo in the former restaurant-cum-car museum Dal Toro Ristorante. The new digs decked to impress, meaning it will be a more than suitable home for 15-course tasting menus of Andrés classics like caviar-filled crispy cones, cotton candy-swathed foie gras, and Japanese A5 wagyu beef prepared tableside on an ishiyaki stone. Projected Opening: Summer 2025 Rare Society, the acclaimed live-fire steakhouse from San Diego chef Brad Wise, is bringing its bold take on classic steakhouse fare to southwest Las Vegas. Opening at UnCommons, the 160-seat restaurant will feature signature steak boards loaded with dry-aged, in-house butchered cuts, roasted bone marrow, and homemade sauces — all grilled over American red oak. The menu also branches out with dishes like gochujang-glazed bacon, lamb lollipops, and miso-glazed carrots, plus sustainably sourced seafood and throwback desserts like creamy bananas Foster cheesecake. Designed by GTC Design, the space will blend retro glamour and mid-century modern flair with wood paneling, a marble bar, and plush leather accents. With Michelin recognition for his earlier restaurants Trust and Fort Oak, Wise is sure to the light the scene on fire. The country's only Michelin-starred Korean steakhouse is headed to the Las Vegas Strip. Cote, the acclaimed New York restaurant known for its A5 wagyu, in-table grills, and 1,200-bottle wine list, will open at the Venetian as part of the resort's $1.5 billion renovation. The Vegas location promises all the signature favorites — like steak-and-egg tartare with caviar — served in a striking, Rockwell Group-designed space with a dry-aging room, DJ booth, and skybox-style private dining rooms overlooking the action. The restaurant will take over more than 10,000 square feet in the resort's waterfall atrium with a design that founder Simon Kim describes as 'stadium-style,' with tiered rows of seating expanding upwards and outwards from the ground-level bar. While the in-table grills evoke Korean barbecue, Cote firmly occupies steakhouse territory, with servers taking over the cooking, meticulously arranging and rotating delicate cuts of American wagyu beef, and ferrying lusciously thick-cut pork belly bacon to tables. Major Player: Gabriela Cámara Chef Gabriela Cámara, celebrated for her acclaimed Mexico City seafood restaurant Contramar, is bringing her celebrated coastal cuisine to Las Vegas with Cantina Contramar at the Fontainebleau. Designed by award-winning architect Frida Escobedo, the restaurant will serve the signature dishes that built Cámara's Mexico City seafood destination into must-visit dining — like tangy tuna tostadas and grilled whole fish splashed with vibrant red and green salsas. Partnering with Bertha González Nieves, founder of Tequila Casa Dragones and the first maestra tequilera, Cantina Contramar will also feature an exclusive tequila tasting room highlighting ultra-premium spirits. The Fontainebleau first announced the restaurant back when it opened in December 2023. While the resort has been stingy with updates, Cantina Contramar is still expected to open this year. Major Player: Happy Lamb Hot Pot Copper Sun, the first fine dining concept from the global Happy Lamb Hot Pot chain, is coming to Resorts World Las Vegas with an upscale hot pot experience that features its signature eight-hour bone marrow broth and a curated selection of premium meats exclusive to the Las Vegas location. With sleek black-and-white interiors and private dining rooms, Copper Sun aims to give a luxurious, communal dining experience that blends Inner-Mongolian tradition with a touch of Vegas grandeur — all poised over simmering and oil-dappled pots of fragrant broth that bubble and boil thin strips of marbled beef and toothsome strands of noodle. A cocktail menu will lean botanical, inspired by the herbal ingredients found in its broths. See More:
The Hill
8 hours ago
- The Hill
Yes, more and more celebrities are entering the phone business. Here's why
NEW YORK (AP) — More and more celebrities are looking to attach their names to your phone. Or rather, wireless services that could power it. From cosmetics to snacks and signature spirits, brands launched or co-owned by high-profile figures are just about everywhere you look today. But several big names are also venturing into the market for mobile virtual network operators — or MVNOs, an industry term for businesses that provide cell coverage by leasing infrastructure from bigger, more established carriers. U.S. President Donald Trump's family was the most recent to join the list with the launch of Trump Mobile this week. Here's what to know. On Monday, The Trump Organization (currently run by the president's sons Eric and Donald Jr.) unveiled Trump Mobile. The company says this new business will offer cell service, through an apparent licensing deal with 'all three major cellular carriers' in the U.S., and sell gold phones by August. Trump Mobile marks the latest in a string of new Trump-branded offerings — which already span from golden sneakers to 'God Bless the USA' bibles — despite mounting ethical concerns that the president is profiting off his position and could distort public policy for personal gain. 'This raises a real question about a conflict of interest,' said Ben Bentzin, an associate professor of instruction at The University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business. As the sitting president, Trump appoints leadership for the Federal Communications Commission — and the family's new phone venture exists under this regulatory authority. All of this sets Trump Mobile apart from other big names that have recently ventured into the wireless business. Still, its launch arrives as a growing number of celebrities tap into this space. Just last week, actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett launched SmartLess Mobile, a name that mirrors the trio's 'SmartLess' podcast. Now live across the contiguous U.S. and Puerto Rico, SmartLess Mobile runs on T-Mobile's 5G Network. Another wireless provider with ties to fame is Mint Mobile. While not launched by celebrities, Ryan Reynolds purchased an ownership stake in Mint in 2019. Mint's parent, the Ka'ena Corporation, was later acquired by T-Mobile in a deal worth up to $1.35 billion. Beyond names of famous people, well-known brands that weren't traditionally in the phone business have also got in on the action over the years — particuarly outside of the U.S., Forrester Research senior analyst Octavio Garcia Granados notes. He points to Walmart's 'Bait' mobile plan in Mexico, for example, as well as Italian soccer club AC Milan launching its own mobile SIM cards for fans. 'The MVNO market is not new,' said Garcia Granados. 'What's new is the development on how it's consumed and the (ease) for brands to launch such plans.' MVNOs have also emerged outside of high-profile brands or launch teams. Bentzin points to Straight Talk and Cricket — which are now owned by Verizon and AT&T, respectively. Still, traditional celebrity endorsements are common across the board. And in recent years, 'influencer marketing' has been 'the fastest growing area of advertising and promotion,' he notes. For Trump Mobile, the pitch seems to be all about having an 'all-American service' while also tapping into the fan base of the president. The company noted Monday that it chose to unveil Trump Mobile on the 10th anniversary of Trump launching 'his historic presidential campaign.' The name given to its flagship offer, The 47 Plan, and the $47.45 monthly fee make reference to the president's two terms. And a mock-up of the planned gold phone on the company's website shows Trump's 'Make America Great' slogan on the front screen. According to the company, Trump Mobile's 47 Plan will include unlimited calls, texts and data through partner carriers, as well as free roadside assistance and telehealth services. It also says the new phone, called the 'T1 Phone,' will be available for $499 in August — but notes that this device won't be designed or made by Trump Mobile. Still, the company emphasized that these phones will be built in the U.S. Experts have since shared skepticism about that being possible in two months. And beyond the future T1 Phone, others stress that a monthly cell service fee of just under $50 is pricey compared to other MVNO options today. 'It's not actual lower pricing. It's really trading on the fan base, if you will, of Trump,' said Bentzin. SmartLess Mobile and Mint Mobile, of course, don't carry these same political ties. And the wireless plans offered by both boast less expensive offerings. T-Mobile-owned Mint advertises 'flexible, buy-in-bulk' plans that range from $15 to $30 a month. Each option includes unlimited talk and text nationwide, but vary depending on plan length and data amount. Mint, founded in 2016, says it started 'because we'd had enough of the wireless industry's games' — and promises to help consumers avoid hidden fees. SmartLess Mobile's plans also start at $15 a month. Depending on the data amount purchased, that base fee can rise to $30 — but all of its plans similarly offer unlimited talk and text using T-Mobile's network. When launching last week, SmartLess underlined that its goal is to help people stop paying for the data they don't use, noting that the majority of data used by consumers today happens over Wi-Fi. 'Seriously, if your phone bill knew how often you're on Wi-Fi, it would be embarrassed,' Hayes said in a statement for SmartLess Mobile's June 10 launch. MVNOs have proven to be attractive acquisitions to big wireless carriers over the years. But whether or not the star factor promises significant demand has yet to be seen for the market's most recent entrants. For the more established Mint Mobile, Reynolds' investment is a success story. The 25% stake that the actor reportedly owned in 2023, when the company announced that it would be acquired by T-Mobile, was estimated to give him a personal windfall of over $300 million in cash and stock. And since that deal closed, Reynolds has remained in his creative role for Mint and as the face of many campaigns — helping the brand continue to attract new customers. It's no surprise that the potential of such business returns might attract other celebrities to make similar investments, Bentzin notes. Still, newer ventures are untested. And 'as the market becomes more crowded, it could be harder and harder to pick off individual consumers,' he added. Beyond a high-profile name, quality of service and what consumers can afford is also critical. 'The competition battleground here is brand and price,' Bentzin said. Still, if the marketing is right and product meets consumer needs, experts like Garcia Granados note that MVNOs can be a profitable business, for both the brands that start them and the telecommunications giants — like T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T — offering this 'wholesale' access to their infrastructure. As a result, he said, such high-profile ventures become 'a catalyst for others to follow.' ______ AP Business Writer Bernard Condon contributed to this report from New York.
