The VEGAS Inc. reported yesterday that Landry’s Restaurants of Houston, Texas has agreed to buy both the Beso restaurant and nightclub, en toto, but that the former basketball fan /delinquent tenant/sexpot will retain a 30% interest in a newly formed company that “will have the right to use the Beso assets” and that she’ll be contractually obligated to make appearances there.
Landry’s is also agreeing to cover her legal fees (up to $500,000) and indemnify her for any losses she might suffer for her ongoing business dispute with her partners in the enterprise — the payment of which could reduce her stake in her “newly formed/right to use assets” company.
Since ELV gets paid big money to handle disputes just like this one in his other job as a lawyer-at-law, he will now translate this business/legalese for his readers:
Longoria is going to own 30% of nothing (the VEGAS Inc. headline is somewhat misleading on this point) except a company whose sole responsibility it is to market the restaurant on behalf of its new owner. The deal is a way to salvage a prime location in a (one day, they hope) busy mall, by the landlord agreeing to take a haircut on the rent, if the only marketing muscle the business has (Longoria’s Q-rating), sticks around by requiring her to continue to be associated with the business in some capacity. By “associated with the business” we mean she must now appear a set number of times a year, and at a variety of events, much like most celebrity chefs must do at other hotels. In exchange for helping the new owner of the lease (Landry’s) advertise her steakhouse, she gets partially bailed out of her legal disputes with her prior investors,. Whatever lawsuits remain between her and her former partners will probably twist in the wind before they fade away. (Finger pointing over a failed business usually only fattens the coffers of attorneys.*)
Her investors may not be happy, but the agreement will be forced upon them by the Bankruptcy Court, whose only alternative is to shut down the business entirely for non-payment of rent. Interesting fact buried within the body of the article: apparently someone floated the idea of having The Light Group, Mastro’s or another restaurant company buy the operation, but none of them were interested (0r didn’t have the cash).
PS: As you may recall, the original Beso in SoCal had a certain someone as a consulting chef:
But wethinks Big Head Todd took the lettuce and skedaddled whilst the skedaddlin’ wuz good.
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* Any person wishing to point fingers at anyone over a failed business, are urged to call John A. Curtas, Attorney-at-Law, 3275 South Jones Blvd. Suite 105, Las Vegas, NV 89146, 702.307.9500, immediately.
1. One thing is certain: that landlord certainly doesn’t want that space vacant. ANYTHING but that.
2. It really says something that Light Group wouldn’t want to come in and go head-to-head with AMG’s Social House, and in a space that is almost tailor-made for a Light operation. Then again, they’d be cannibalizing their many operations in Aria, which are enough to worry about.
3. At the opening, I remember Todd English basically apologising to me for the food. As it turns out, that was the best meal I’ve had at Beso.
Unless Eva can figure out a way to put her cooze on the menu I’m afraid Beso is buh bye.
Only shows the desperation of the landlord to forego $3.7 million in back rent. If there is a wiiner it is Landry’s..getting a turnkey operation for 25 or less cents on the dollar. If there is a lesson here, Celebs. should never get into a business that they don’t anything about. The business will not thrive by “appearing” few times a year.