EXHIBIT 99.2

For Release May 2, 1996

HOUSTON, TX--May 2, 1996--(NYSE: ZAP)--Zapata Corporation ("Zapata") and
Houlihan's Restaurant Group, Inc. ("Houlihan's") announced today that they have
entered into a letter of intent relating to Zapata's proposed acquisition of
Houlihan's for a combination of cash and stock amounting to $8.00 per share. In
view of Malcolm I. Glazer's ownership of 35.2% of Zapata's 29.5 million
outstanding shares of common stock and 73.3% of Houlihan's 10.0 million
outstanding shares of common stock, the letter of intent was negotiated by
representatives of special committees of the directors of both Zapata and
Houlihan's who are not members of the Glazer family. The proposed transaction
represents another step in Zapata's transformation into a food service company.

Zapata and Houlihan's have proposed a merger of Houlihan's into a newly
organized subsidiary of Zapata with each share of Houlihan's stock being
converted into $4.00 in cash, without interest and $4.00 in average market value
of Zapata common stock for a specified number of trading days prior to the
effective date of the merger. It is proposed that shareholders not affiliated
with Malcolm Glazer would be afforded the opportunity to elect, subject to
proration as noted below, to receive 100% cash in the merger for their
Houlihan's shares. In the event that the unaffiliated shareholders as a group
exercise elections to receive such an amount of cash in the merger that the
aggregate ownership of Zapata common stock by Malcolm Glazer and his affiliates
after the merger would exceed 49.9% of Zapata's then outstanding common stock,
the cash elections of the unaffiliated shareholders will be reduced pro rata to
assure that the foregoing 49.9% ownership threshold is not exceeded.

Any transaction would be subject to the negotiation and execution of a
definitive merger agreement and, among other things, approval of the transaction
by the directors and stockholders of both companies, compliance with the
Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, registration of the Zapata shares
issuable in the merger under the Securities Act of 1933 and receipt of consent
from Houlihan's lending bank or the refinancing of Houlihan's outstanding bank
debt. There can be no assurance that a transaction will be consummated or, if
consummated, will be on the terms as proposed.

Zapata also announced that Malcolm Glazer has entered into a standstill
agreement with Zapata. Under the standstill agreement, Mr. Glazer has agreed on
behalf of himself, his family and entities controlled by him not to increase his
or their ownership of voting securities in Zapata above 49.9% on either an
outstanding or fully diluted share basis, unless, among other things, such
increase is approved by a majority of the directors on the Zapata board who are
not members of the Glazer family or is in response to a tender offer or other
proposal by others to acquire more than 14.9% of Zapata's voting securities.

As long as the standstill agreement is in effect, Mr. Glazer will have a right
of first purchase to maintain his proportionate ownership position in Zapata.
Generally, Zapata will have the right to acquire any voting securities sought to
be transferred by Mr. Glazer. Mr. Glazer will be permitted to sell voting
securities free of Zapata's purchase option in a number of circumstances,
including sales or transfers to a purchaser that agrees to be bound by the terms
of the standstill agreement, pursuant to a public distribution, in response to a
tender offer by an unaffiliated third party for at least 14.9% of Zapata's
outstanding voting securities, in connection with certain corporation
reorganizations or upon conversion, exchange or exercise of outstanding
securities. As long as Mr. Glazer owns more than 9.9% of the voting securities
of Zapata, Zapata has agreed generally not to solicit proposals for the
acquisition of Zapata although it has reserved the right to respond to
unsolicited proposals from others.

Under the standstill agreement, any combinations between Zapata and other
entities in which Mr. Glazer owns 15% or more of the voting equity, such as
Houlihan's, must be negotiated and approved by a special committee of Zapata's
directors. In the event of a proposed acquisition of a Glazer controlled entity,
Mr. Glazer has agreed to grant the special committee evaluating such acquisition
an irrevocable proxy to vote all of Mr. Glazer's Zapata shares in such manner as
the committee in its sole discretion determines.

The standstill agreement terminated upon, among other events, the first to occur
of eighteen months after Zapata's acquisition of Houlihan's, Zapata's
announcement that it does not intend to acquire Houlihan's, the acquisition by
another of securities representing 20% of the voting power attributable to
Zapata's outstanding capital stock, a breach of the terms of the standstill
agreement by Zapata or Mr. Glazer's acquisition of more than 50% of Zapata's
outstanding voting securities in accordance with the terms of the agreement. In
the event that Zapata announces its intention to acquire another Glazer
controlled entity prior to the expiration of the standstill agreement, the
termination date of the standstill agreement will be automatically extended
until the first to occur of eighteen months after the acquisition of such entity
or Zapata's announcement that it does not intend to acquire such entity.

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Contact:  Robert A. Gardiner, Zapata Corporation (713) 940-6100
          Richard Stern, Stern & Co. (212) 777-7722