Landry’s gets OK to operate Beso restaurant

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Mike Nakagawa on Wednesday allowed Landry's Inc. to step in as the operator of the struggling Beso restaurant for the near term.

Landry's, which owns the Golden Nugget and the Rainforest Cafe among other local properties, took over as manager on Aug. 8 and offered to inject as much as $300,000 to cover accelerating losses.

The controlling owners of Beso, one of the signature restaurants in the Crystals shopping center in the CityCenter complex, contended their bank accounts were shrinking rapidly and they would otherwise have to shut down soon.

They put the restaurant and the adjacent Eve nightclub, which closed last month, into a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in January.

"While other options could be explored, including capital calls to its feuding (co-owners), there is no evidence that such an option would come to fruition before Beso runs out of operating funds," Nakagawa wrote. "(The Landry's) approach at least ensures that the (50 to 60) restaurant employees retain their jobs until future management is decided."

This will set up the stage for the next battle among the owners, headed by actress and Beso celebrity face Eva Longoria, who have gone after each other in person and in other courts almost since the restaurant opened early last year.

As a second step to its plan, Landry's proposes to buy Beso with a $1 million bid and retain a role for Longoria "as my partner," according to a statement by Landry's CEO Tilman Fertitta.

But that triggered charges by minority owners at a Tuesday hearing that they were being improperly squeezed out by Longoria and Landry's. Beso has "fabricated an emergency after nine months to permit self-dealing," said attorney Greg Garman, who represents Anthony Vicidomine. Vicidomine holds a 2 percent stake and claims he is owed $651,000.

However, Beso's controlling owners have maintained the critical support of Crystals. The posh mall run by MGM Resorts International is owed $3.4 million in back rent, making it by far the largest creditor in the case. In addition, the lease has expired under bankruptcy law, so Crystals could evict Beso at any time.

"Crystals has a great deal of interest in this case," said attorney Nile Leatham, representing Crystals.

Because of its prime location at the entrance nearest the Aria and Vdara hotels, management does not want to see it go dark.

Landry's did make one small change to its proposal, stretching the notice it needs to serve to pull out from one to three days after Nakagawa zeroed in on that provision.

However, attorney Adam Friedman said, the quick hook was justified with Beso.

"One of the things characteristic about this case, more than any I have seen in many years," he said, "is the amount of acrimony and litigation going on."

Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at
toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.