Landry’s to Buy Beso

Eva Longoria and her Las Vegas steakhouse Beso can kiss bankruptcy good-bye.

A bankruptcy judge on Monday cleared the restaurant’s sale to Landry’s Restaurants Inc. in a $1 million deal that ensures the “Desperate Housewives” actress will continue to be the face of the upscale restaurant, Vegas Inc. reported. The deal saves the jobs of up to 60 employees.

In return for making appearances at Beso and the adjacent Eve nightclub, court papers show Longoria will get a 30% stake in the newly formed company that will operate the restaurant. Landry’s will own 50%, while another Beso investor will get the remaining 20%.

The deal also ensures Beso gets to keep its spot in Crystals retail and entertainment complex of City Center by setting aside $300,000 of the $1 million purchase price for the landlord. Crystals had expressed support for a Beso sale as long as Longoria remained tied to the restaurant.

Bankruptcy Judge Mike K. Nakagawa signed off on the sale over the objections of creditors like the Nachums, a couple whose lawsuits against their fellow Beso investors, including Longoria, prompted the restaurant’s then-owner, Beso LLC, to seek Chapter 11 protection in January. Those investors have battled the company throughout its bankruptcy, during which the company temporarily shut down the money-losing Eve nightclub. And Beso itself found itself running out of the funds it needed to continue operating, opening the door for Landry’s to come in with an offer to save the day.

As Bankruptcy Beat previously reported, the owner of such restaurant chains as Rainforest Café and Chart House struck a deal in August to manage Beso, which said Landry’s was its “only viable alternative to ceasing operation.” It was at that time that Landry’s raised the possibility of acquiring the restaurant outright later on, vowing to keep Longoria as a partner.

Landry’s is no stranger to the world of bankruptcy. It bought the Western-themed steakhouse chain Claim Jumper and the fine-dining seafood chain Oceanaire out of Chapter 11 in recent years.