CEO casts his net for downtown City, Fertitta bank on Kemah theme By ALLAN TURNER Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Meet the P.T. Barnum of fried shrimp. With the chutzpah of a sideshow barker, Tilman Fertitta, the one-time seller of women's dresses and vitamins, has used Ferris wheels, aquariums, miniature trains, dancing waiters and mechanical gorillas to transform two sleepy Houston-area seafood eateries into an international restaurant empire. A boaster, a benefactor, a friend of Bill Clinton, Fertitta has propelled his Landry's Restaurants Inc., which also owns Joe's Crab Shack, Willie G's and Rainforest Cafe, to revenues topping $756 million. Recent...
