Landry’s Inc., the massive hospitality group run by Texas mega-billionaire restaurateur (and NBA Houston Rockets owner) Tilman Fertitta, is taking over bankrupt Fireman Hospitality Group’s top three cash cows in Manhattan — Trattoria dell’ Arte, Fiorello’s, and Bond 45 — as part of a newly announced $22 million purchase in conjunction with Ciao Hospitality Group, which will act as the new operator, per the New York Post. However, some of the restaurants in the Fireman portfolio aren’t joining the new family. D.C.’s recently opened Cafe Fiorello and Fiorella Italian Kitchen & Pizzeria are both closing this October as part of the deal, as Eater DC first reported.
Fertitta’s Titanic-sized restaurant portfolio includes steakhouse chains Morton’s, Mastro’s, Del Frisco’s, Strip House; Mexican cafe chain Dos Caminos; and sushi bar Blue Fin. All of those have a NYC presence (and some in D.C.). He’s also a part owner of New York’s Catch Group, which includes sceney spots like Corner Store, the Eighty Six, O’resh, and Keens Steakhouse. He shows no signs of slowing down in the restaurant world — despite juggling his time as President Donald Trump’s appointed ambassador to Italy (and parking his superyacht in D.C.).
Ciao CEO Jeff Crivello tells the Post he co-bid on the Fireman empire together with Landry’s and will also operate Fireman’s other venues: Paris Bar in the Le Meridien Central Park Hotel, hotel rooftop lounge Le Jardin, Brooklyn Delicatessen, and two Manhattan outposts of Brooklyn Diner. Fireman’s group started showing wear and tear after the pandemic, and the death of its cherished founder, Shelly Fireman, last fall at the age of 93 didn’t help, the newspaper notes, leaving the company with nearly $10 million in secured claims. The group’s RedEye Grill, “home of the famous dancing shrimp,” closed this summer across from Carnegie Hall after three decades.