Irish owners of Smith & Wollensky add restaurants in US to menu

The Irish owners of the well-known Smith & Wollensky chain of American steakhouses have opened a new restaurants in the suburbs of Boston and plan to open again in Las Vegas next year as part of a $14 million (€12 million) expansion of the group.

The chain has been owned since March 2016 by Danu Partners, an Irish investment group established by Leonard Ryan, Mark O'Meara and Mickey O'Rourke, better known in Ireland as the founders of Setanta Sports.

The chain recently opened in Wellesley, a suburb of Boston in Massachusetts, in a space that was formerly occupied by Ming Tsai’s Blue Ginger. The restaurant can cater for 225 guests in its dining room, and cost $4 million (€3.4 million) to develop.

Reopen

The group is also planning to reopen in Las Vegas as part of a $10 million (€8.5 million) investment. It will open a 14,000sq ft, two-storey restaurant overlooking the indoor Grand Canals at The Venetian hotel, which has more than 4,000 suites.

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"We would like to thank all of our loyal guests who have been patient with us the past year while we searched for a new home in Las Vegas," Michael Feighery, chief executive and president of Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group in the US said.

“It was important for us to join a like-minded brand to debut the next generation of Smith & Wollensky and with that we will be able to offer a memorable destination for conventioneers and tourists, and a go-to favourite for locals and industry professionals alike.”

Originally established in New York in 1977 by Alan Stillman, who was also behind the TGI Fridays concept, Smith & Wollensky now covers 10 locations in the US, along with a restaurant in London, its only international property.