Draft:Chris Barish

Christopher Barish is an American hospitality entrepreneur, co-founder and co-owner of Black Tap Group, LLC, a global restaurant group that includes Black Tap Craft Burgers and Beer. Besides Black Tap, he has launched several nightclubs and restaurant ventures in the United States and abroad. Through his production company, Branding Inc., he produces movies.

Hospitality
Barish began his career in hospitality working a variety of roles at Planet Hollywood, which his father, Keith Barish had co-founded, and as a student at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where he promoted parties at New York nightclubs, eventually becoming an investor in clubs and restaurants, then owner-manager.

Barish's first major establishment was Moomba, a restaurant nightclub launched in December 1997 with four partners. In partnership with Andrew Sasson, Barish launched Light (2001), Light at the Bellagio (2002), and Caramel (2013), also in Las Vegas. Joining with partners Noah Tepperberg and Jason Strauss, the trio launched the Marquee in New York's Chelsea neighborhood in December 2003. In April 2004, Vanity Fair magazine included Barish, Tepperberg and Strauss among New York City’s "Kings and Queens of Clubs" — noteworthy New York “nightlife impresarios.”

As manager and investor, Barish opened Gordon Ramsay Steak (2012) and Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill (2013) in Las Vegas for Gordon Ramsay's restaurant group and Caesars Entertainment. Barish and his partners founded Black Tap Burger and Beer in 2015 in New York as a stand-alone restaurant. Since then they have licensed operations in the US, Europe and Asia.

Movies
On his own or through his production company Branding Inc. Entertainment, Barish has served as producer and executive producer of movies, including Zoey to the Max, Crown Vic and Spin the Bottle.