private industry restaurants entertainment & hospitality industry founded houston texas headquarters houston texas key people tilman j. fertitta president & ceo products casual dining fine dining casino games entertainment destinations resorts number of employees 60 000 2013 needs update website www.landrysinc.com landry s hangar hobby airport houston landry s inc. is an american privately owned multi brand dining hospitality entertainment and gaming corporation based in houston texas . landry s inc. owns and operates more than 500 restaurant hotel casino and entertainment destinations in 35 states and the district of columbia . the company also owns and operates numerous international locations . contents 1 history 1.1 acquisitions and growth 1.1.1 1990s 1.1.2 2000s 1.1.3 2010s 2 properties and subsidiaries 2.1 properties 2.2 aquariums 2.3 pier 2.4 boardwalk 2.5 casinos 2.6 cruise 2.7 hospitality 2.8 dining 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit landry s inc. is owned entirely by president & ceo tilman j. fertitta an original partner in the company s first landry s seafood which opened in the houston suburb of katy texas in 1980 . a year later fertitta helped open willie g s a seafood restaurant in houston . in 1986 fertitta gained controlling interests in both restaurants . he became ceo and took the company public in 1993 with a valuation of 30 million . under the leadership of fertitta the company expanded . in 2010 already being the majority shareholder fertitta acquired all outstanding shares of company stock gaining sole control and ownership . 1 by 2011 the company s value had risen to more than 1.7 billion . 2 acquisitions and growth edit 1990s edit throughout the 1990s landry s inc. expanded developing and acquiring restaurant entertainment hospitality and gaming businesses . in 1994 landry s inc. acquired joe s crab shack . 3 in 2006 landry s inc. sold joe s crab shack which had grown to more than 120 locations to j.h. whitney & company . 4 during the decade the company acquired a number of other restaurants including the crab house and cadillac bar . landry s seafood continued to expand . 5 landry s inc. expanded its hospitality and entertainment divisions in 1996 acquiring the san luis resort spa & conference center a 32 acre beachfront resort on galveston island s historic seawall boulevard and built on top of the former fort crockett . 6 in 2004 landry s inc. partnered with the city of galveston to open a 140 000 square foot convention center the galveston island convention center at the san luis resort . in 2003 the company acquired the adjacent holiday inn resort galveston on the beach . in 2004 the adjacent hilton galveston island resort was acquired . in total the san luis resort includes 700 guest rooms 10 restaurants and 200 000 square feet of event space . 7 the company s hospitality division also includes the westin houston downtown in downtown houston 8 and the boardwalk inn on the kemah boardwalk . 9 in 1998 the company developed the 35 acre kemah boardwalk with a hotel marina more than 10 restaurants and dozens of midway games amusement rides and attractions . 2 2000s edit after 2000 landry s inc. continued to grow . in 2000 the company acquired rainforest cafe a collection of jungle inspired restaurants and retail villages . 10 in 2002 the company acquired three national restaurants including saltgrass steak house 11 chart house 12 and muer restaurants 13 a series of seafood restaurants . in 2003 the company opened the downtown aquarium a 20 acre entertainment complex in houston with an aquarium a restaurant built around a 150 000 gallon floor to ceiling centerpiece aquarium a bar banquet facilities amusement rides and midway games . a train carries guests into a tunnel running through a 250 000 gallon shark tank . other aquarium restaurants have since opened in denver nashville and on the kemah boardwalk in texas . 14 in 2005 the company acquired golden nugget hotel & casinos with locations in las vegas and laughlin nevada . 15 landry s inc. has since opened two additional locations in atlantic city new jersey 16 and biloxi mississippi . 17 a fifth location opened in lake charles louisiana in 2014 . 18 2010s edit in 2010 landry s inc. acquired three new restaurants . bubba gump shrimp company a collection of seafood restaurants is themed on the hit movie forrest gump . 19 20 the company also acquired claim jumper a national chain of family restaurants . 21 the oceanaire a national collection of seafood restaurants is renowned for flying in fresh fish daily . 22 in 2011 landry s bought two more restaurants mccormick & schmick s seafood & steaks 23 and morton s the steakhouse . 24 in 2012 the company expanded its entertainment division with the opening of the galveston island historic pleasure pier . 25 in 2013 landry s acquired mastro s restaurants . 26 the company has developed and acquired a collection of restaurants called landry s signature group which include vic & anthony s grotto brenner s steakhouse brenner s on the bayou la griglia and willie g s seafood & steaks . 27 properties and subsidiaries edit properties edit the crawford boxes landry s inc. operates the tower of the americas in san antonio . since the 1990s landry s has expanded to real estate holdings beyond dining and hospitality . the post oak under construction fertitta broke grounds on a mixed use skyscraper in houston that will go alongside the company s headquarters . the building will include hotel rooms residential rooms and office buildings . post oak motor cars the company owns and operates post oak motor cars ltd. the largest factory authorized rolls royce motor cars and bentley motors dealership on the gulf coast . 28 landry s crawford boxes landry s inc. owns the naming rights to the left field bleachers at minute maid park the home of major league baseball s houston astros . the landry s crawford boxes are so named because they run parallel to downtown houston s crawford street . any fan catching a home run receives a gift certificate to landry s inc. restaurants . 29 tower of the americas landry s inc. operates tower of the americas a 750 foot san antonio texas landmark . at the top of the tower guests can dine at chart house restaurant . other attractions include summer concert series a 4d texas ride 30 and an observation level . 31 aquariums edit landry s inc. owns aquariums in houston denver nashville and the houston suburb of kemah texas . all aquariums contain restaurants branded in landry s aquarium subsididary . downtown aquarium houston a public aquarium and restaurant located in houston texas united states that was developed from two houston landmarks fire station no. 1 and the central waterworks building . the aquarium is located on a 6 acre 2.4 ha site at 410 bagby st. in downtown houston . it houses over 200 species of aquatic animals in 500 000 us gallons 1 900 000 l of aquariums . the complex includes two restaurants a bar and banquet facilities . the downtown aquarium in houston is owned and operated by landry s inc. and accredited by the association of zoos and aquariums aza . downtown aquarium denver a public aquarium and restaurant located in denver colorado at the intersection of i 25 and 23rd ave. the 107 000 square feet 9 900 m2 main building sits on a 17 acre 6.9 ha site adjacent to the south platte river . its freshwater and marine aquaria total approximately 1 000 000 us gallons 3 785 000 l and exhibit a variety of fish and other animals . the downtown aquarium in denver is owned and operated by landry s restaurants inc. 32 and is the largest aquarium between chicago and california . 33 it is accredited by the association of zoos and aquariums aza . nashville landry s operates a 200 000 gallon aquarium in nashville that contains a variety of fish sharks and stingrays . the aquarium operated the aquarium branded restaurants . kemah texas inside the kemah boardwalk also owned by landry s inc. the company operates an aquarium and restaurant . pier edit galveston island historic pleasure pier a pleasure pier owned by landry s in the houston suburb of galveston texas united states . opened in summer 2012 it has 1 roller coaster 15 rides carnival games and souvenir shops . 34 35 36 37 38 boardwalk edit kemah boardwalk the company owns a boardwalk in the houston suburb of kemah texas . the kemah boardwalk a 60 acre texas gulf coast theme park in kemah texas 39 approximately 30 miles southeast of downtown houston texas . the boardwalk is built entirely along the shores of galveston bay and clear lake 40 and is considered among the premier boardwalks in the united states . 41 the complex is owned and operated by landry s inc. and is home to more than 10 restaurants a collection of rides midway games attractions a boutique hotel a charter yacht a 400 slip marina and multiple shops . 42 there is no charge to walk around on the boardwalk . tickets for rides can be purchased individually or all day ride passes are available . restaurants on the boardwalk include landry s seafood bubba gump shrimp co. saltgrass steak house cadillac bar and many others . 43 casinos edit golden nugget lake charles in lake charles . golden nugget hotels & casinos in 2005 landry s inc. acquired golden nugget hotels & casinos at the time having locations in las vegas and laughlin nevada . since then landry s expanded the brand to atlantic city new jersey biloxi mississippi and lake charles louisiana . golden nugget atlantic city golden nugget lake charles a 242 acre waterfront casino resort in lake charles louisiana u.s.a. 44 owned and operated by houston based landry s inc. the resort features 740 guest rooms and suites housed in a 25 story tower an 18 hole golf course 30 000 square feet of meeting space more than a dozen dining and bar options a private beach marina spa & salon retail corridor and expansive 24 hour casino floor . 45 golden nugget las vegas a luxury hotel and casino located in las vegas nevada on the fremont street experience . the property is owned and operated by landry s inc. 46 it is the largest casino in the downtown area with a total of 2 419 deluxe guest rooms and suites . 47 golden nugget laughlin an american casino resort located on the banks of the colorado river in laughlin nevada owned and operated by landry s inc. 48 49 the tropical themed resort offers a number of restaurants 300 guest rooms and suites an expansive casino floor and dedicated meeting space . golden nugget offers water taxi service from bullhead city arizona on the opposite side of the river . 50 51 golden nugget biloxi a casino property located in biloxi mississippi . cruise edit boardwalk fantasea a houston area cruise line offering public and private cruise lines that travel through the galveston bay and the gulf of mexico . hospitality edit blue water inn boardwalk inn hilton galveston island resort holiday inn resort galveston on the beach the westin houston downtown the villas at san luis resort san luis resort spa & conference center dining edit in addition to all properties landry s started out operating restaurant and has acquired many restaurant brands since aquarium restaurant babin s seafood house big fish seafood bistro the boathouse brenner s steakhouse brenner s on the bayou bubba gump shrimp company cadillac bar charley s crab chart house claim jumper the crab house fish tales fisherman s wharf seafood grill the flying dutchman restaurant & oyster bar gandy dancer grand concourse grotto