New York — Landry's, Ciao Buy Bankrupt Fireman Restaurants for $22M

Landry's Inc., the restaurant company owned by Texas billionaire Tilman Fertitta, is acquiring three of bankrupt Fireman Hospitality Group's top-performing Manhattan restaurants as part of a $22 million purchase, the New York Post reported.

What is Landry's buying?

Landry's is taking control of Trattoria dell'Arte, Fiorello's and Bond 45, according to the Post. A second company, Ciao Hospitality Group, is a co-bidder in the deal and will operate the rest of Fireman's portfolio. Ciao CEO Jeff Crivello told the Post that Landry's and Ciao bid together for the full Fireman company, then Landry's assigned Ciao the rights to run the remaining venues.

Which restaurants does Fertitta now control?

Trattoria dell'Arte sits across from Carnegie Hall. Fiorello's is across from Lincoln Center. Bond 45 is on a West 46th Street block with three Broadway theaters, the Post reported. All three are described in the report as Fireman's highest-volume locations.

Ciao will operate the other properties: Paris Bar inside the Le Meridien Central Park Hotel at 120 W. 57th St., the hotel's rooftop venue Le Jardin, Brooklyn Delicatessen, and two Manhattan branches of Brooklyn Diner, according to the Post.

Why did Fireman Hospitality Group file for bankruptcy?

Several Fireman venues weakened after the Covid-19 pandemic, the Post reported. The death of company founder Shelly Fireman last October, at age 93, "accelerated the downward spiral," per the Post, which cited nearly $10 million in secured claims against the company. RedEye Grill, a 30-year-old Fireman restaurant known as the "home of the famous dancing shrimp," closed in July after serving its last meal, the Post reported.

How did the $22 million price get set?

A source told the Post that Fertitta initially wanted only Fireman's three top locations and bid $9 million for them. A bankruptcy judge would not approve an offer for only part of the company, the source said. Landry's then partnered with Ciao and raised the combined bid to more than triple the original offer, the Post reported, in part because other bidders had emerged — including former Fireman Hospitality CEO Ben Grossman, according to the source. Grossman did not respond to the Post's requests for comment.

By the numbers

• $22 million — combined purchase price from Landry's and Ciao Hospitality, per the Post.
• $9 million — Fertitta's original standalone bid for Fireman's three top restaurants, according to a source cited by the Post.
• $10 million — approximate secured claims against Fireman Hospitality Group, the Post reported.
• 93 — age of Fireman founder Shelly Fireman at his death last October, per the Post.

What happens to the rest of Fireman's restaurants?

The structure gives "hope that all the Fireman venues will survive," the Post reported, since Ciao is positioned to keep operating the properties Landry's did not want. Fertitta, who also owns the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas, the NBA's Houston Rockets, and 50% of New York's Catch Group, is expanding his restaurant holdings in Manhattan while serving as U.S. Ambassador to Italy, according to the Post. Landry's already operates Morton's, Mastro's, Del Frisco's, Strip House, Dos Caminos and Blue Fin in the city.

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