Vegas Test Kitchen, one of the most innovative eateries ever to open in our Valley, recently flew past its first anniversary. Longtime local cuisine-scene queen Jolene Mannina is the force behind the restaurant incubator, which offers short-term kitchen residencies to several chefs. Her unique career in hospitality began in New Orleans at Commander’s Palace before that restaurant’s expansion brought her to Las Vegas, where she graduated to running her own celebrated food truck, launching culinary programming for the Life Is Beautiful festival, creating countless events and TV show BOH Brawl and founding foodie connection platform SecretBurger.

Somehow, while running Vegas Test Kitchen and co-managing the Peyote restaurant next door at Fergusons Downtown, the always-hustling Mannina develops events for SecretBurger and works as a consultant for several other restaurant projects around town. And she found a time to talk to the Weekly about what comes next.

You opened Vegas Test Kitchen during a truly uncertain time for the local restaurant industry. After the first year, has it become what you envisioned?

We put it together really fast, literally in like three months. I [already had] the idea of doing the Test Kitchen, but it wasn’t this model. This one came together because it made sense based on what was going on—all these chefs were out of work, and [they] needed something more sustainable than a commissary kitchen, because they didn’t know if they were going back to work or if they needed to start a business.

I only wanted this spot for a year. I didn’t know what would happen or if this model would work. We just wanted to create something cool that would let these guys have a home, introduce themselves to the public, build a brand and decide if they wanted to take it somewhere or not … and a place without crazy overhead.

What are some of the success stories, or Test Kitchen graduates?

Yukon Pizza is opening up at the Huntridge Plaza, probably in June or July. Josh Bianchi, who’s done pop-ups here, has hooked up with a developer and they are building out a restaurant now. And the Black Pearl [a seafood concept], those guys have been transported over to Peyote, and they’re taking over with a new menu. Even in just a year, a lot has come out of it.

So now that you lasted longer than you initially planned, how long do you see yourself running this thing?

I signed on for five years. I’m already trying to think of what I want to do at the end of this year. Should I flip it totally in a different way? I’m open to doing that, but there are still so many chefs that want to come in. I’m doing tastings now, and I have a few spots to fill, so we’ll have another wave coming in soon.

You also just brought in Brown Bagger Sandwich Co., some truly tasty stuff, which you developed with SoulBelly BBQ chef Bruce Kalman.

Yeah, I figured this is working out, so I’m a partner with Bruce on that. And SecretBurger is still alive, which is mind-blowing because I have no time for it. But I use it when we bring in pop-up events as a ticketing [service].

Why was it important to you to get involved with opening Peyote?

I wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t right there, because I can run back and forth between the two. But this is still an up-and-coming area Downtown, and in my mind, the only way we can survive here is if other places are open. To have [the former] Hatsumi and La Monja spaces closed for so long was challenging. And Ryan [Doherty] is a friend and he has his [Corner Bar Management] office at Fergusons along with all those bars on Fremont. We thought, we’re tired of seeing this spot closed. How can we do this together? Let’s make it happen.

Do you think the local restaurant community is feeling a bit more positive this year after struggling with the pandemic for so long?

I think so. I’m pretty positive. But I do a lot of activations to drive people in, and having our alleyway is a savior, because outdoor seating is such a big deal. I think this year is going to be better, but we’ve struggled the last few months just to have enough employees. One of the hardest things has been finding people who want to work full-time. But I understand it, because they want to have more than one job, because they don’t know which job is going to last. It’s still a struggle.

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