Morton's The Steakhouse is a chain of

steak A steak is a thick cut of meat generally sliced across the muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally grilled or fried. Steak can be diced, cooked in sauce, such as in steak and kidney pie, or minced and formed into patti ...

restaurants with locations in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and franchised abroad, founded in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1978. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Landry's.

History

Morton's was co-founded in 1978 by Arnold J. Morton and Klaus Fritsch. Before they became friends and restaurant entrepreneurs, Morton and Fritsch worked together at the

Playboy Club The Playboy Club was initially a chain of nightclubs and resorts owned and operated by Playboy Enterprises. The first Playboy Club opened in Chicago in 1960. Each club generally featured a Living Room, a Playmate Bar, a Dining Room, and a Club ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Quebec, Canada. While the club was in the process of changing its menu, Fritsch prepared a

hamburger A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, ...

for Morton to sample. Morton said the burger was the best he'd ever tasted. Together, they opened Morton's of Chicago in Newberry Plaza in

Downtown Chicago ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distri ...

. The original location closed in November 2020 as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In 1987, Morton's, then with $15 million in sales and nine restaurants throughout the United States, was sold for $12.4 million to the venture capital firm Quantum Restaurant Group, Inc. in partnership with the Baltimore brokerage house Alex. Brown & Sons. Fritsch stayed on as president. In December 2011,

Tilman Fertitta Tilman Joseph Fertitta (born 1957) is an American billionaire businessman and television personality. He is the chairman, CEO, and owner of Landry's, Inc. He also owns the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Houston Rockets. Fertitta is ch ...

, President, CEO and sole owner of Landry's, Inc., announced his company had acquired all of Morton's stock, assuming complete ownership. In 2012, Landry's completed the acquisition and moved company operations to its own headquarters in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Special events

Some Morton's locations host

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

’s "Lunch with a Legend" series, where guests dine and interact with current and former athletes. These have included Dwyane Wade,

Bobby Hull Robert Marvin Hull OC (born January 3, 1939) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. His blonde hair, skating speed, end-to-end rushes, and ability to shoot the puck at very high veloc ...

, Derrick Rose, Dick Vermeil,

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is ...

Elgin Baylor Elgin Gay Baylor ( ; September 16, 1934 – March 22, 2021) was an American professional basketball player, coach, and executive. He played 14 seasons as a forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lak ...

and others. Morton's also hosts "Celebrity Server" events to raise funds for local foundations and charities. Local celebrities, including

Larry Fitzgerald Larry Darnell Fitzgerald Jr. (born August 31, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver. Fitzgerald played in the National Football League for 17 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at University of Pittsburg ...

Jim Furyk James Michael Furyk (born May 12, 1970) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. In 2010, he was the FedEx Cup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year. He has won one major championship, the 200 ...

, Jack Nicklaus and

Jonathan Vilma Jonathan Polynice Vilma (born April 16, 1982) is a former American football linebacker and current Fox NFL analyst. He played college football at the University of Miami, winning a National Championship in 2001. He went on to be drafted by the N ...

act as waiters at these special events.

Support for Brett Kavanaugh

In July 2022, Supreme Court Justice

Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael Kavanaugh ( ; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since ...

attended a dinner at Morton's location in Washington, DC, but left before his dessert course due to the presence of pro-abortion protesters from the activist group " ShutDownDC" demanding his removal. Kavanaugh reportedly did not see, hear, or encounter the protestors, nor was harassed in any way. Nonetheless, Morton's was "outraged" and sided with Kavanaugh in a press statement, citing what it termed a "right to congregate and eat dinner". Morton's was subsequently targeted by pro-abortion rights activists, receiving a flood of fake reservations. Morton's Chief Operating Officer acknowledged that the company's statement was extremely unpopular, and reportedly told restaurant managers that "Currently we are experiencing a massive wave (trending at #2 on social media now) of negative response to our comments yesterday."

Affiliates

Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Bubba Gump Shrimp Company is an American seafood restaurant chain inspired by the 1994 film ''Forrest Gump''. As of October 2022, thirty-four Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurants operate worldwide. Twenty-two of these locations are in the United ...

* Cadillac Bar *

Landry's, Inc. Landry's, Inc., is an American, privately owned, multi-brand dining, hospitality, entertainment and gaming corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas. Landry's, Inc. owns and operates more than 600 restaurants, hotels, casinos and entertainme ...

* Landry's Seafood * Rainforest Cafe

References

External links

Headquarters for Landry's Inc.

{{Authority control Landry's Inc. Restaurant chains in the United States Steakhouses in the United States Food and drink companies based in Houston Restaurants established in 1978 Restaurants in Chicago 1978 establishments in Illinois 2012 mergers and acquisitions Morton family (restaurants)