![\"Thomas](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4A3LIQVZGCKHZJSKESHNFA3ETY.jpg\")
Thomas Butler, 21, working at the historic Union Oyster House in Boston in July 2025.Jonathan Wiggs\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n\u201cThis is a family acquisition. Tilman is not involved,\u201d Katelyn Roche Gosslee, a family representative, told the Globe on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Milano called the Fertitta family \u201ca highly respected family that shares our deep commitment to preserving the restaurant\u2019s rich heritage, cherished traditions, and historic significance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The incoming management group is registered to the same Texas address as Landry\u2019s, the Houston-based hospitality company that Tilman Fertitta owns. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what you should know about the new owners.<\/p>\n
The Fertittas are one of America\u2019s biggest restaurant families (and already own places in Boston)<\/p>\n
Tilman Fertitta built Landry\u2019s, originally a handful of Houston-area seafood restaurants he acquired from two brothers, into a sprawling hospitality company with more than 600 properties, more than 60 restaurant concepts, and operations across more than 15 countries, according to the company. Their portfolio includes many restaurants that already exist in Boston, including Morton\u2019s, Chart House, Del Frisco\u2019s Double Eagle Steakhouse, and Palm. In 2012, Forbes dubbed Tilman Fertitta \u201cthe world\u2019s richest restaurateur\u201d at a net worth of more than $10.8 billion. <\/p>\n
Thomas Butler, 21, working at the historic Union Oyster House in Boston in July 2025.Jonathan Wiggs\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n
Who is Patrick Fertitta, Tilman Fertitta\u2019s son?<\/p>\n
Patrick Fertitta, who is in his early 30s, is the director of Fertitta Entertainment, the holding company behind the family\u2019s sprawling hospitality interests. In December, the Houston Chronicle reported<\/a> he is a key decision-maker at the Rockets and oversees operations at the companies many properties, including Landry\u2019s and the casinos, while his father serves as the US ambassador to Italy and San Marino. <\/p>\n Texas Governor Greg Abbott appointed<\/a> Patrick Fertitta to the University of Houston System Board of Regents<\/a>, which his father chaired until last year. He also serves as an alternate governor on the NBA board of governors, and was recognized in 2024 on The Athletic\u2019s \u201cNBA 40 Under 40\u201d list as one of the league\u2019s top emerging leaders.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear whether the billionaire\u2019s son has any ties to Union Oyster House or Boston. He earned his bachelor of business administration from the University of Southern California\u2019s Marshall School of Business. He lives in Houston.<\/p>\n Landry\u2019s historic strategy in acquisitions: Buy cheap, reorganize management<\/p>\n Tilman Fertitta is considered to have an eye for gobbling up poorly managed, out-of-date and distressed restaurants, hotels, and casinos that he can acquire cheaply. It\u2019s unclear what the total sale price was for Union Oyster House.<\/p>\n In past transactions of chains, the Fertittas have been known to clean house by firing top executives, closing failing locations, revamping existing ones, and moving the company\u2019s top management teams to Landry\u2019s headquarters. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen we buy somebody, we cut the head off,\u201d Tilman Fertitta told Forbes in 2012<\/a>. <\/p>\n Milano, Union Oyster House\u2019s longtime owner, said in a statement that the Fertittas \u201chave made it clear that their intention is to honor and protect what makes this restaurant so special.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey have assured me that they will not be making changes to our operations or traditions,\u201d said Milano, who has served as the Honorary Consul General to Thailand in Boston<\/a> since 2002. \u201cMost importantly, they have expressed a strong commitment to retaining our current team and keeping everyone in place.\u201d<\/p>\n Fertitta\u2019s spokesperson said after the transaction closes, the Fertitta family will not make changes to staff or operations. <\/p>\n Elizabeth Pisano, an attorney representing the family, said during a city licensing board hearing on Wednesday that Kathleen Street will serve as the restaurant\u2019s manager. She has worked for Union Oyster House for 30 years, said Pisano.<\/p>\n The Fertittas are on a buying spree<\/p>\n The family was already running a major hospitality empire, but it\u2019s been getting a whole lot bigger. In May, Fertitta Entertainment, a conglomerate that holds companies and investments such as Landry\u2019s Inc., the Houston Rockets, and the Golden Nuggets Hotel and Casino brand, agreed to acquire Caesars Entertainment<\/a> for about $17.6 billion. In the deal\u2019s announcement, they also assumed approximately $11.9 billion of Caesars\u2019 outstanding debt.<\/p>\n Also in May, Tilman Fertitta paid $300 million to the Mohegan Sun tribe for the WNBA\u2019s Connecticut Sun. The Sun are now wrapping up their final season in Uncasville before the franchise relocates to Texas where they\u2019ll be renamed the Houston Comets. That ruffled the feathers<\/a> of some basketball fans in New England after Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and Co. declined to take former Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca up on his offer to buy the cash-strapped franchise for $325 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tilman Fertitta is a current ambassador, and has long had business ties to Trump<\/p>\n Tilman Fertitta, who is of Sicilian descent, is currently the US ambassador to Italy and San Marino. In December 2024, when then president-elect Trump announced the nomination of Fertitta, he referred to the businessman as his \u201ctwin.\u201d<\/p>\n The Texan and his wife, Lauren Fertitta, have donated substantially to Trump in the past. During the 2024 election cycle, Tilman Fertitta donated $1.4 million<\/a> to Trump-aligned campaign committees. His wife donated $924,600<\/a> to the Trump 47 Committee. He was also among the wealthy Republican supporters who helped host a reception around Trump\u2019s 2025 inauguration<\/a>, serving as a co-host alongside Mark Zuckerberg, Dallas Mavericks owner Miriam Adelson, and others.<\/p>\n His ties to the current president also go beyond politics. Tilman Fertitta purchased<\/a> the Trump Marina Hotel Casino in Atlantic City in 2011 for $38 million, about a tenth<\/a> of what Trump Entertainment was offering the casino at the time. It was rebranded as the Golden Nugget.<\/p>\n Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her @alexagagosz<\/a> and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Diamond](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7R4VU64IWNB7NLP3WHWN66AGCU.jpg\")
Diamond Miller, No. 1 of the Connecticut Sun, drives to the rim.Joe Buglewicz\/Getty<\/p>\n![\"Tilman](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/J7CI5ZCMCSSQNP7VA5UX6REHLY.jpg\")
Tilman Fertitta, center left, the American ambassador to Italy, is welcomed by Mayor Daniele Tumminello, to Cefal, Sicily on July 4, 2026. Fertitta.GIANNI CIPRIANO\/NYT<\/p>\n