Several of New York’s most recognizable restaurants have received a potential financial rescue, although their long-term survival remains uncertain.
Landry’s Inc. has agreed to spend more than $22 million on assets belonging to the financially troubled Fireman Hospitality Group, the company behind a number of long-running New York dining destinations.
The transaction could give some of the restaurants a new lease on life, but it does not guarantee that every venue will remain open.
The group’s familiar names include Café Fiorello, Trattoria dell’Arte, Bond 45, Brooklyn Diner and USA Brooklyn Delicatessen.
A bankruptcy court approved the sale on October 22. The winning offer came from FHG Acquisition LLC, an affiliate of Landry’s parent company, Fertitta Entertainment.
The deal involves assets tied to nine restaurant locations, including two Brooklyn Diner venues and two Café Fiorello restaurants in New York and Washington, DC.
Still, the acquisition alone does not ensure that all of those locations will continue operating. Lease discussions remain underway, and Landry’s has yet to decide which properties it will keep.
Jeff Crivello, CEO of Ciao Hospitality Group, which took part in the bidding, told Nation’s Restaurant News that there were no plans to replace the restaurants with completely new concepts.
Landry’s Inc. is paying more than $22 million for assets from struggling Fireman Hospitality Group, which operates several established New York dining landmarks.
The shutdowns are another setback for diners who have long linked the Fireman Hospitality name with popular Italian restaurants and busy dining destinations.
The purchase includes more than $22 million in cash, as well as additional expenses and assumed liabilities. The final figure followed a competitive auction in which the initial $9.5 million stalking-horse offer more than doubled.
Although the agreement has sparked optimism about the future of some restaurants, other locations have already closed permanently.
Café Fiorello’s Washington, DC, restaurant shut down on October 28. Fiorella Italian Kitchen at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, followed with its closure the next day.
Those closures represent another loss for customers who have associated Fireman Hospitality with established Italian restaurants and lively dining hubs.
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The company had already closed Redeye Grill and one USA Brooklyn Delicatessen site in July as its financial difficulties deepened.
Landry’s has extensive experience acquiring restaurant brands and attempting to revive struggling hospitality operations.
The Houston-based business owns a wide-ranging portfolio of restaurants and entertainment properties, including Rainforest Cafe, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Mastro’s Steakhouse, Morton’s The Steakhouse and Del Frisco’s.
The company is controlled by billionaire Tilman Fertitta, whose holdings also include the Golden Nugget hotel and casino group and the NBA’s Houston Rockets.
Bond 45 first opened in 2005 as an Italian restaurant and bar serving New York’s Times Square theater district.
Café Fiorello began welcoming diners in 1974 at 1900 Broadway in Lincoln Square, directly opposite New York City’s Lincoln Center.
Fireman Hospitality Group, which operated through SMF Group Inc. and related companies, sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on August 9 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
The company operated nine restaurants at the time and employed more than 800 people across its venues and corporate offices.
Its financial troubles had been mounting for years. The group entered the Covid pandemic already burdened by construction cost overruns and losses connected to a restaurant fire.
The suspension of indoor dining dealt an especially severe blow because many of its restaurants depended on tourists, theater audiences and office workers in some of Manhattan’s busiest areas.
With sales slow to rebound, the company increasingly relied on merchant cash advances to fund its day-to-day operations.
By March 2026, it had taken out more than 30 advances from 11 lenders and faced at least $5.5 million in unpaid obligations.
The situation worsened after lenders instructed payment processors to redirect restaurant income toward outstanding debts. By the time the bankruptcy case began, at least $5.96 million in credit card revenue had reportedly been withheld.
Fireman Hospitality said the move reduced its available cash to less than $100,000, putting its ability to pay employees, landlords, vendors and tax agencies at risk.