The big news yesterday (Monday, April 4) in the restaurant world was an offer by Houston-based Tilman J. Fertitta and his LSRI Holdings Inc. group, which is a subsidiary of Landry’s Restaurants Inc., to buy McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants Inc. The Portland-based seafood chain received a $137.3 million buyout offer that includes an all-cash bid of $9.25 per share, a 30-percent premium to McCormick & Schmick’s per-share closing price of $7.21 on Friday. On Monday morning, McCormick & Schmick’s shares jumped more than 29 percent to top Fertitta’s offer.
Chris Shepherd, executive chef at Catalan these past several years, tweeted on Friday to confirm that Sunday, May 1, is his last day that restaurant. As you may have read here and elsewhere, Shepherd is working on a new restaurant, set for the Westheimer/Montrose area, directly across the street from the new El Real Tex-Mex. Underbelly, as it’s to be called, is expected to open in the fall … Our prayers and best wishes are with Linda Salinas, a locally well-known and passionate foodie (her often-used Twitter handle is Que_Linda), who was in a motorscooter accident Sunday night. Houston foodies are planning a fundraiser to help cover her medical bills. To learn more, follow this Facebook page … April Fools! Last Friday we told you that Soma’s10-course sushi dinner was going to be held Wednesday, April 6. In fact, the Sushi For All Seasons dinner is actually tonight at Soma Sushi (4820 Washington Ave.), so make sure you’ve got your reservations secured.