Page 4 - Stephan's Fortier Bio

Founder & CEO Stephan Fortier is a highly driven and passionate renaissance man who combines his love for film, fashion, design, and food with savvy business acumen and entrepreneurial edge to continuously bring his visions to life. With 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, he launched 30 startups including an app for celebrity wines and spirits (GrapeStars) a magazine (Ocean Drive Canada), a fashion line of custom sandals (Tuccia Di Capri), a modeling and talent agency (Talent), and 21 restaurants/clubs from NYC, Miami, LA, Montreal & NE.
As an innovative entrepreneur, designer, restaurateur, and filmmaker, Fortier - who attended the New York Film Academy at Universal Studios Hollywood - sees the world through a camera lens with every new project as a cinematic production of wonder. To each venture, he brings his well-rounded financial scholastics, boasting a Bachelor’s in Accounting from The University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), and also studied the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Fellowship of the Canadian Security Institute (FCSI) courses. However, some might argue that Fortier was a prodigy in business because at the young age of 19, while still pursuing his Bachelor’s degree, he opened his first restaurant; Ocean Drive. Fortier’s Ocean Drive restaurant offered a unique and sophisticated supper club experience geared toward the city’s upper class. While fulfilling, Fortier always looked for a challenge. So, it was only fitting that the subsequent opening of Altitude 737 created success through the daring concept of a restaurant with 360-degree views of the city and sat atop the 4 top floors of the tallest building in Montreal. A massive club, lounge with outdoor terraces, and restaurant, it attracted more than 3,000 guests daily and became one of Canada’s highest grossing F&B operations.
Also dabbling in the world of beauty and fashion, Fortier founded Talent Corp, an all-in-one entertainment group that comprised modeling and talent agency needs, advertising and promotions, an agency that organized the city’s most spectacular events, as well as a fashion and film institute. Almost prescient to his future in the Magic City, Fortier also published and launched the Canadian edition of Miami’s glossy society magazine Ocean Drive. Exercising his inner artist, he thoroughly enjoyed the creative freedom of the publishing world.
The inspiring energy of New York called to Fortier, and at the start of the new millennium, he opened Pazza Notte, a Midtown institution for the last 20 years. The bustling Italian bistro and lounge is one of the first restaurant concepts to mix entertainment with a dining experience. With success in the big apple, he later launched Loft, a Casbah-inspired bi-level restaurant and lounge hotspot, which attracted a celebrity clientele and organized some of the most memorable soirees for A-list celebrities.
Fortier’s charismatic touch continued in the magic city of Miami with the famed Maison D’Azur, a fine dining Mediterranean concept with entertainment at The Angler’s Hotel and then later with a second location at the Astor hotel in Miami Beach,