Who

Notar is the managing partner of Nobu, Nobu Next Door, Nobu 57, and Nobu London.

Backstory

Richie Notar was a 16-year-old from Jamaica, Queens when he landed a job as a busboy at Studio 54. He spent the next few years partying with the best of them, gobbling down Quaaludes by the fistful, he says, and getting high with the likes of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Following the demise of the club—and after Studio 54 founders Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell were released from prison on tax charges—Notar returned to work with the duo, helping them open the Morgans Hotel, where Notar served as the room service manager. Following stints at the Paramount Hotel and 44 (which was inside Schrager's Royalton Hotel), he took a job working for Drew Nieporent at his restaurant East Hampton Point. In 1994, Notar helped Nieporent open the original Nobu with superstar chef Nobu Matsuhisa.

Of note

Today, Notar is both a partner in the venture as well as responsible for the resto's day-to day operations. (In addition to Nieporent, Notar's partners in the chain include Robert De Niro, film producer Meir Teper, and chef Matsuhisa himself.) He's got a lot on his plate these days: In addition to overseeing three Nobus in the New York area and one in London, Ian Schrager tapped him to handle operations at Wakiya, the haute Chinese restaurant at the Gramercy Park Hotel. Notar also looks after the East Hampton Nobu, which opened its doors during the summer of 2007.

Personal

Notar and his wife, Jane, live in Midtown, not far from Nobu 57.

True story

Notar famously forgot his vest on his first day as a busboy at 54, and inadvertently started what would soon become a Studio 54 tradition—shirtless male staff. Or so the legend goes.