Appetite for expansion remains robust
Dining and hospitality giant Landry’s again snagged the No. 3 spot on the Chronicle’s latest list of the largest private companies based in the Houston area.
Founded in 1980, the restaurant and entertainment empire has grown to include more than 50 brands and 500plus properties. It posted $3.4 billion in revenue in last year, up $100 million from 2015.
The company owns restaurant brands such as Landry’s, McCormick & Schmick’s, Morton’s The Steakhouse and Saltgrass Steakhouse. It operates venues including the Kemah Boardwalk, Pleasure Pier in Galveston, and the Downtown Aquarium in Houston.
It also owns Golden Nugget Casinos in Atlantic City, Biloxi, Miss., Lake Charles, La., Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nev. At Golden Nugget Lake Charles, the company recently opened the Rush Tower, with more than 350 hotel rooms and suites.
Landry’s has 60,000 employees, including 10,800 in the Houston area. Chairman and CEO Tilman Fertitta said the company performed relatively well during 2016 despite the oil bust, which challenged sales across the sector.
“It was good, but not great,” he said. “Everyone is off a little bit in Houston.”
This year, the company has continued to grow in the Houston area and elsewhere. It began building a Willie G’s Seafood and Steaks location in The Post Oak, a mixed-use development with a 38-story tower and ballroom on 10 acres at 1600 West Loop South. The restaurant will relocate from 1605 Post Oak Blvd. this fall.
Mastro’s Steakhouse, another Landry’s brand, will open its first Texas location within the development.
Landry’s also opened Grotto Downtown earlier this year in the new Avenida Houston district near the George R. Brown Convention Center. Fertitta said the new location, unlike others across the chain, illustrates the company’s efforts to tweak its offerings to reflect changing customer tastes.
“It caters to a younger crowd,” he said. “You have to keep changing with the times.”