Epstein Files Name BR Guest Hospitality Founder Stephen Hanson Nearly 3,000 Times
Stephen Hanson, founder of BR Guest Hospitality, appears nearly 3,000 times in the Epstein Files. What the DOJ documents reveal about his role. Read more.
Prajakta Sanjay Warwadkar 
NEW YORK, June 8, 2026 — Stephen Hanson, the New York City hospitality entrepreneur who founded BR Guest Hospitality and built one of Manhattan's most prominent restaurant empires, has emerged as one of the most frequently cited names in the Department of Justice's released Epstein documents appearing nearly 3,000 times across the released records, with his company's name yielding 130 results in a keyword search of the 2026 document tranche.
The DOJ documents do not accuse Hanson of criminal wrongdoing. They do, however, place him consistently within Jeffrey Epstein's social circle over more than a decade, including after Epstein's 2008 conviction on charges related to the solicitation of a minor. The New York Times has described Hanson as a close friend and "wingman" who helped Epstein socialise and entertain women over the course of their long-standing friendship.
Stephen Hanson Built BR Guest Hospitality Into a $300 Million Restaurant Empire
Before his name surfaced in the Epstein files, Hanson was known in New York dining circles as the operator behind some of Manhattan's most commercially successful restaurants. BR Guest Hospitality, the company he founded, reached a peak valuation of $300 million and operated well-known Manhattan venues including Blue Water Grill, Ruby Foo's, Fiamma and Dos Caminos.
The portfolio placed Hanson at the centre of New York's high-end hospitality scene during the late 1990s and 2000s a period that overlapped significantly with the timeline covered by the DOJ's Epstein documents. The company's name appearing 130 times in the 2026 document release indicates that the connection between Hanson's hospitality business and Epstein's social and logistical activities extended beyond personal friendship into operational territory.
DOJ Documents Describe Hanson's Role in Epstein's Social Network
According to the DOJ records, Hanson used his hospitality network to help facilitate access for women in Epstein's circle securing restaurant tables at high-end venues, arranging private cooking classes and assisting in visa and employment matters. He also carried out personal requests for Epstein that extended well beyond restaurant reservations, including recruiting staff and managers for Epstein's private island, Little St. James, in the Caribbean.
Among the more specific details in the documents: Hanson developed a customised beef jerky recipe at Epstein's request and directed his corporate assistant to send samples for nutritional testing. In 2011, Epstein reached out to Hanson following a request from his personal psychologist seeking a guest speaker for the University of Alabama's hospitality management program. Hanson responded by sending his company's Chief Operating Officer at the time to fill the role.
Hanson maintained contact with Epstein for years after the 2008 conviction and made visits to Little St. James Island. The continuity of contact through and beyond the conviction is a pattern noted across multiple names in the Epstein files, and Hanson's case follows the same arc.
Emails Show Hanson Sought Epstein's Advice on Personal and Business Matters
In 2016 and 2017, the nature of the relationship shifted into advisory territory. DOJ emails show Hanson treating Epstein as both a personal confidant and a business ally. He sought Epstein's counsel on personal matters, including a 2016 email in which he complained about a woman using expletives and expressed concern about the effect of the situation on his relationship with his daughters and family.
On the business side, Hanson explored a potential real estate partnership with Epstein involving the Life Hotel project in New York. By July 2017, Epstein described the alliance in a text message as "a marriage" language that characterised the relationship as one of mutual reliance rather than casual acquaintance.
An Anonymous Victim's Account and the Hamptons Connection
The most serious allegation against Hanson in the DOJ documents comes from an anonymous FBI interview. The individual, who stated she was in her early 20s at the time, told investigators that Epstein sent Hanson to her New York apartment, where Hanson allegedly paid her for sexual acts on at least 12 separate occasions. Hanson has not been charged with any crime in connection with these or any other allegations.
The documents also record Epstein organising social gatherings in the Hamptons and arranging overnight stays at properties owned by wealthy associates. One email trail indicates that Hanson hosted women at his Hamptons estate. No public allegation states that Hanson participated in Epstein's criminal conduct at these gatherings. Hanson and his wife Deana have been part of the Hamptons social circuit for years, a setting that appears repeatedly across the Epstein files as a site for elite social activity.
Epstein Files Continue to Reshape the Reputations of Prominent Figures Across Industries
Hanson is among a growing number of prominent business figures whose names have surfaced in the Epstein documents as the DOJ continues releasing records. The files have drawn scrutiny toward individuals across finance, politics, entertainment and hospitality with varying degrees of documented involvement and no uniform standard of culpability implied by inclusion.
For the hospitality industry specifically, Hanson's profile in the documents represents an unusual intersection of professional reach and personal proximity to one of the most consequential criminal cases in recent American history. BR Guest Hospitality's name appearing 130 times in the records suggests that the business infrastructure of New York's restaurant scene played a practical role in Epstein's social operations a dimension of the files that the ongoing document releases continue to illuminate. For background on how the broader Epstein investigation developed, the HCP and other major news organisations have maintained comprehensive coverage of the files since their initial release in early 2026.
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