A Billionaire’s Roll — Tilman Fertitta Hangs With Michael Strahan and Michael Jordan at His Buzzy New York Restaurant Opening

New Steakhouse and a Whirlwind Book Tour Make Houston's Mega Mogul a Manhattan Star

BY Shelby Hodge // 09.23.19

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Michael Strahan, Rich Handler, Tilman Fertitta at the opening of Catch Steak in New York's meatpacking district. I(Photo courtesy of Dancie Perugini Ware Public Relations)

The bar area of Tilmaan Fertitta's Catch Steak in Manhattan. (Photo by Carl Timpone)

Tilman Fertitta's new book Shut Up and Listen! includes some powerhouse blurbs.

The signature entry hallway to Tilman Fertitta's Catch Steak restaurant in Manhattan. (Photo by Carl Timpone)

Patrick Fertita, Richard Handler, Tilman Fertitta, Dave Jacquin at the opening of Catch Steak in New York's meatpacking district. (Photo by Carl Timpone)

The main dining area of Tilman Fertittqa's Catch Steak restaurant in Manhattan.

Tilman Fertitta at his Catch Steak restaurant in Manhattan's meatpacking district contributes $1 million to relief of his workers following Hurricane Laura.

Tilman Fertitta, Brian Sullivan at Fertitta's restaurant opening/book launch party at Catch Steak. (Photo by Carl Timpone)

Michael Strahan, Rich Handler, Tilman Fertitta at the opening of Catch Steak in New York's meatpacking district. I(Photo courtesy of Dancie Perugini Ware Public Relations)

Fasten your seatbelts Manhattan foodies, Houston’s billionaire hospitality mogul Tilman Fertitta has opened yet another restaurant, this one Catch Steak in the Meatpacking District. The launch party was indeed worthy of the man who has been tearing up the town with book interviews and who claims to own the most restaurants in New York City.

Celebrities? Check. TV personality and Michael Strahan, MSNBC Live’s Stephanie Ruhle, CNBC’s Brian Sullivan, JefferiesGroup board chair and CEO Rich Handler, Simon Property Group board chair, CEO and president David Simon, NBA legend Michael Jordan, and DJ Irie.

Liquid gold? Check. As one of the party sponsors, Louis XIII Cognac served 100-year-old cognac, which retails at around $3,000 a bottle.

Good food? Check. The menu includes True A5 Kobe beef, Snow Beef wagu, bluefin tuna tartare, Alaskan king crab and more.

Heavy hitters? Check. The new restaurant is the work of Catch Hospitality Group with Fertitta in partnership with hospitality entrepreneurs Mark Birnbaum and Eugene Remm, declared by Forbes magazine in 2010 as “the new kings of New York nightlife.” We might assume they have moved over for Houston’s own.

The multi-tiered event, also hosted by Fertitta and Haute Living, celebrated not only the opening of the restaurant in Mario Batali’s former La Sirena restaurant space in the Maritime Hotel at 88 Ninth Avenue, but also a salute to the Houston Rockets owner’s new book, Shut Up and Listen!

Outdoor Dining with Bering's

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Fertitta was on the tail end of a high-speed media tour across New York in which he hit all the TV biggies — Good Morning America, Fox and Friends, MSNBC, ESPN, Bloomberg, CNBC’s Power Lunch (which he cohosted), and much more. Shut Up And Listen! is currently the No. 1 new release in the business management genre on the Amazon bestseller charts.

Fertitta’s hand in the New York restaurant scene includes Catch Steak sister restaurant Catch Seafood, Mastro’s, Morton’s The Steakhouse, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. in Times Square, and Manhattan favorites Dos Caminos and Bill’s Bar and Burger.