Next year’s Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will replace Benjamin Berg’s pop-up, the Ranch Saloon and Steakhouse, with a new fine dining concept from Fertitta Entertainment.
The Fertitta pop-up, called 1932 Cattleman’s Club, will take over the space at NRG Stadium’s East entrance, offering lunch and dinner service as well as a kid’s menu. Its menu includes an oyster and raw bar with crudos and a seafood tower, entrees like Wagyu carpaccio and maple-glazed quail, plus a selection of steaks, chili and mac and cheese.
The Ranch has been a fixture at the rodeo for the past four years. The rodeo’s first seated restaurant, it sold everything from steaks to corn dogs, with a bar and live music stage packed into a venue that could fit over 200 people.
“As we continue to evolve and enhance the Rodeo experience, we regularly assess our partnerships to ensure we’re providing unmatched hospitality and introducing new, elevated offerings,” a rodeo spokesperson said in a statement about the change.
Berg Hospitality has built up an empire of restaurants around Houston, though the restaurant group has faced recent setbacks. Since fall of last year, Berg has closed three restaurants, and also dealt with a $3 million lawsuit over unpaid debt that’s since been dismissed. He has not yet commented on the change at the Houston Rodeo.
When Berg spoke with the Chronicle about the ups and downs of the restaurant industry last month, he said he didn’t necessarily have a strategy around running the Ranch. It’s a lot of work for just three weeks of operation, he explained.
“If you get asked by the rodeo, why not? It means so much to this community. And my way is to go way too big,” he told the Chronicle at the time. “And the numbers don’t always work.”
He’d also declined to tease anything about the upcoming rodeo, saying, “I like my secrets.”
Fertitta Entertainment, a conglomerate whose holdings include the Houston Rockets and the Golden Nugget casinos, has long been a partner at the Houston Rodeo, according to a news release. It’s run the Saltgrass Steak House pop-up there for more than 15 years.
“It’s an incredible honor to continue being a part of this Texas institution that means so much to our city,” director of Fertitta Entertainment Patrick Fertitta said in a news release. “We look forward to bringing Houstonians and visitors from all around the world an unforgettable experience that blends culinary excellence, energy, and authentic rodeo spirit.”
The 2026 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is scheduled for March 2-22.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.houstonchronicle.com ’
