STEAK HOLDER: Billionaire Tilman Fertitta Buys Historic NYC Steakhouse

Billionaire Tilman Fertitta just paid the biggest bill for steak in history. The casino and restaurant tycoon recently purchased the iconic Keens Steakhouse in New York City for $30 million.

Billionaire casino owner Tilman Fertitta likes steak. (Image: background courtesy Keens Steakhouse, foreground courtesy NBA.com)

This is a New York jewel, Fertitta told Bloomberg, promising that Keens will “continue to be one of the best experiences in New York City.”

Fertitta already owns Landry’s, a high-end restaurant brand that includes Morton’s the Steakhouse, Del Frisco’s and Mastro’s. He purchased Keens by himself, not through Landry’s.

Keens Interest

Keens is located in Midtown Manhattan by Herald Square, in a museum-like building that once housed a London-based theater group. It’s been a steakhouse since Albert Keen bought the 16K square-foot property in 1885.

Keens is famous for its 26-ounce mutton chops, though they’re now made from lamb instead of mutton. Anthony Bourdain was a regular, and its Pipe Club once boasted Theodore Roosevelt and Babe Ruth as members.

You might have also spotted Keens as the setting for a lavish dinner Leonardo DiCaprio’s character enjoyed with his colleagues in 2013’s “Wolf of Wall Street.”

In 1978, a radiation oncologist named George Schwarz bought and renovated the place. His estate has owned it since he died in 2016.

Fertitta, who is worth more than $10 billion, also owns the NBA’s Houston Rockets and, via Landry’s, the chain of Golden Nugget casinos. He recently and is currently on the Las Vegas Strip.

I believe George would be happy to know that our new owner, Tilman Fertitta, is committed to maintaining the legacy of our historic brand, Keens GM Bonnie Jenkins told Bloomberg.