By Kim Velsey 2/14 10:30am

Billionaires

7 Photos

Tilman Fertitta's Awesome Week.

Houston Billionaire Tilman Fertitta Is Having the Best Week Ever

How has your week been? Ours has been kind of meh. But you know who is having the most excellent mid-February? Houston restaurant honcho Tilman Fertitta.

Mr. Fertitta’s publicist—one of Mr. Fertitta’s publicists?—reached out to The Observer to let us know that Mr. Fertitta has been enjoying an awesome week. Unlike some billionaires, Mr. Fertitta does not just buy a $19.5 million condo and throw in the towel. No way. He also opened a Last Vegas restaurant with his business partner Eva Longoria (quite an improvement over the overweight middle-aged men who usually fill out the business partner category) and hosted a lavish Gulf-coast Mardi Gras party featuring a performance by Kool & the Gang.  And there are pictures! Read More

By Staff 4/05/07 6:13pm

The Afternoon Wrap: Thursday

  • The West Village is really getting old: the chimney of famous Bedford Street speakeasy Chumley’s “separated from the interior wall and collapsed into the bar area.” Thankfully, the Department of Buildings promises that demolition is “not being considered at this time.” [Curbed]
  • The subprime mortgage catastrophe has even hit uber-fancy homes: Palaces from Read More

    • By Staff 3/20/07 5:35pm

    The Afternoon Wrap: Tuesday

  • The car parking at Soho’s 123 Baxter is “hidden from view and lacks human operators.” (Lasers steer the cars into spots, or something like that.) Better yet, it’s now open to the public instead of the owners of the 24 condo units. [Metropolis]
  • The genius firm Architectural Artifacts is selling off (plus Read More

    • By Staff 2/21/07 4:47pm

    The Afternoon Wrap: Wednesday

  • Oh me, oh my, how the Bowery has changed! The place you used to avoid at all costs, even in broad sunshine-y daylight like today, will welcome a Whole Foods in March. The fancy-pants grocer is supposed to open its doors at Bowery and Houston on Mar. 29.

    • [Curbed]

  • Residential marketing in Read More

    • By Staff 1/12/07 11:00am

    Diesel Brings 'Downtown' Look Farther Downtown

    Italian denim dealer Diesel has leased 1,600 square feet on Lafayette Street to give its 55DSL line a boutique space all its own.

    The line was previously relegated to a small section of Diesel’s Union Square location.

    “The retailer’s 55DSL brand is targeting young men and women with a strong sense of Read More

    By Chris Shott 1/08/07 12:00am

    New Café Mixes Many Parts Booze, Some Parts Book

    “Hey, don’t walk out with that!” shouted Brian Butterick, general manager of the recently opened Rapture Cafe & Books. He chased after a person exiting the store around 2 a.m. on Jan. 1.

    The offending patron had made off with an item not removed from Rapture’s floor-to-ceiling bookcase or freestanding news racks—which were stocked with Read More

    By Chris Shott 12/25/06 12:00am

    A Soho Site Sits Pretty in Pink; Why Won't Retailers Bite?

    A seasonal smorgasbord of the latest in high-tech gadgetry, the short-lived Wired Store in Soho, open through Dec. 31, actually showcases more than mere electronics.

    Think of it also as a flashy yet thinly veiled open house. As careful readers of the pop-up store’s handy shopping guide might note: “EVEN THIS SPECTACULAR RETAIL SPACE Read More

    By Chris Shott 12/25/06 12:00am

    A Soho Site Sits Pretty in Pink; Why Won’t Retailers Bite?

    A seasonal smorgasbord of the latest in high-tech gadgetry, the short-lived Wired Store in Soho, open through Dec. 31, actually showcases more than mere electronics.

    Think of it also as a flashy yet thinly veiled open house. As careful readers of the pop-up store’s handy shopping guide might note: “EVEN THIS SPECTACULAR RETAIL SPACE IS Read More