Landry's

Landry's, Inc. is a privately held American multi-brand dining, hospitality, entertainment, and gambling corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas. Landry's, Inc. owns and operates more than 600 restaurants, hotels, casinos, and entertainment destinations in 35 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The company also owns and operates numerous international locations. The company is owned by former president & CEO Tilman Fertitta.[1]

The first Landry's Seafood restaurant opened in Texas in 1980. While many patrons assumed it was named for Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry, it was not;[2] Bill and Floyd Landry were the original owners. They had started opening restaurants in the Houston area in the 1970s.[3]

History

Brothers Bill and Floyd Landry and other partners from their hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana, began opening authentic Cajun restaurants in the Houston area in the 1970s. These included Willie G’s (named for their father), near The Galleria, and the first Landry's Seafood on the far west side of the city.[3] By 1986, nearly all of the partners wanted to sell their shares. They found a willing buyer in Tilman Fertitta, who paid US$400,000 on December 31, 1986, for a controlling interest in the company.[3] The remaining partner, Denis Wilson, was bought out for $850,000. He received $250,000 upfront, but had to spend $120,000 in legal fees to eventually collect the remaining $600,000 from Fertitta.[3]

Fertitta became CEO and quickly began standardizing the appearance and menus of his restaurants; he removed the Cajun spicing from most dishes and scrubbed away the unique interior of Willie G's.[3] He took the company public in 1993, with a valuation of $30 million.[4]

Under Fertitta, the company expanded. In 2010, already the majority shareholder, Fertitta acquired all outstanding shares of company stock, gaining sole control and ownership.[5] By 2011, the company's value had risen to more than $1.7 billion.[6]

Properties and subsidiaries

White tiger exhibit

On September19, 2016, a consortium of parties, including the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), sent Landry's a notice of an intended lawsuit against it under the Endangered Species Act.[65] The lawsuit notice concerned the alleged treatment and habitat conditions of four white tigers exhibited at the Downtown Aquarium, Houston. The ALDF complained that the four tigers, which are federally protected by the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), "are kept in deplorable conditions" at the aquarium. According to a press release provided by the ALDF:[65] "For the last 12years, Landry’s has deprived these four tigers... of any access to sunlight, fresh air, or natural surfaces. These species-inappropriate living conditions violate the ESA... At no point do the tigers have the opportunity to run, jump, or engage in the full range of their natural behaviors.... 'The dungeon-like conditions that the tigers are forced to endure at Houston's Downtown Aquarium harm their physical health and psychological wellbeing and deny them much that is natural and important to a tiger,' says renowned big cat veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Conrad. 'It is cruel to confine complex, roaming carnivores such as tigers to a tiny, dark, artificial, unenriched enclosure where they never see any daylight, much less bask in sunshine, and are at risk for serious long term, debilitating injuries from being forced to live on slippery, unyielding concrete their entire lives.'... By forcing these tigers to live in what amounts to a concrete dungeon, Landry's has profited financially, but caused the tigers serious mental and physical harm... Retiring the tigers to a sanctuary will guarantee that the tigers may spend the rest of their lives in the species-appropriate conditions that they need and deserve." Before the expiration of the 60-day notice period, Landry's sued the ALDF and its co-parties to the original lawsuit notice for defamation, business disparagement, tortious interference with prospective business relations, and abuse of process.

See also

• List of seafood restaurants

Explanatory notes

External links

• Landry's Inc. web site