Schmooze

We have taken the coffee house, restaurant, and bar to another level. We cater to professionals, entrepreneurs and businesses that want a private, club-like setting for dining, coffee, drinking or schmoozing.

Schmooze is a restaurant and coffee house located in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona. It was founded in 2018 by John Vatistas, the Founder and CEO of Launch Real Estate. The restaurant was initially intended to be a space for his agents to collaborate and “schmooze” clients to seal the deal, hence the name Schmooze. Chef Tony Hamati, who has an extensive background in food and beverage management, was originally brought on as a consultant but later became a partner and eventually took over full ownership at the end of 2021.

Who is Chef Tony Hamati?

Chef Tony Hamati is the owner of Schmooze and a seasoned chef with over 40 years of experience in the food and beverage industry. He was born in Amman, Jordan, and studied food, beverage, and hotel management at the Culinary School of Jordan. He then continued his education at the Culinary of the Sorbonne, Paris. In 1980, he began his career as sous-chef for King Hussein at the Royal Palace of Jordan, where he prepared various styles of cuisine for state dinners attended by dignitaries and leaders from around the world. In 1985, he moved to the United States and became an American citizen. He worked as a banquet chef at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in the mid to late ‘80s and later moved temporarily to Hawaii to open the Westin Maui Resort. He then served as General Manager of Tomaso’s restaurant, opening Tomaso’s concepts in Del Coronado and Phoenix, Arizona. In 1996, he opened Bravo! Bistro and has been a chef-owner since that time.