Landry's Inc. Closes Willie G's on the 16th Street Mall

Landry's Inc., owner of an alarming number of steak and seafood restaurants here in Denver (and across the country), announced the closing of Willie G's Seafood & Steaks on the 16th Street Mall yesterday. Willie G's has been a part of the Mall scenery — and a regular stopping point...

By Mark Antonation

May 3, 2016

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Landry's Inc., owner of an alarming number of steak and seafood restaurants here in Denver (and across the country), announced the closing of Willie G's Seafood & Steaks on the 16th Street Mall yesterday. Willie G's has been a part of the Mall scenery — and a regular stopping point on the tourist circuit — for nearly twenty years. But Landry's isn't giving up on the spot; instead, the restaurant giant will swap concepts and bring Saltgrass Steakhouse to the downtown corner sometime this summer.

The metro area is already home to two other Saltgrass locations, one in Thorton and one in Parker. Landry's also operates Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., the restaurant inside the Downtown Aquarium, two locations of McCormick's, Morton's, Oceanaire, Simms Steakhouse, and the Chart House in Genesee Park. And of course, there's the namesake Landry's Seafood with its lighthouse overlooking I-25 in the Denver Tech Center.

Landry's is owned by billionaire Tilman J. Fertitta, who is also the star of CNBC's Billion Dollar Buyer, a reality show similar to Shark Tank.

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Mark Antonation is the former Westword Food & Drink Editor. In 2018, he was named Outstanding Media Professional by the Colorado Restaurant Association; he's now with the Colorado Restaurant Foundation.

Contact: Mark Antonation

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