It was the search for comfort food—the kind she grew up eating in Louisiana, not heavily sauced or overly heavy—that led restaurateur Kim Owens on a nearly two-year journey to open her first restaurant in Downtown Las Vegas.

Owens, a restaurant-industry veteran—she served as regional manager and VP of operations for Del Frisco’s—who has lived in Las Vegas for 21 years, was tuned in to the burgeoning culinary scene happening off the Strip, and was looking for just the right chef to realize her vision. That turned out to be Justin Kingsley Hall, whose culinary bona fides include stints at Comme Ça, Sparrow + Wolf, the Kitchen at Atomic and his own pop-up concept, Slo-Boy. 

“I was looking for a chef that could take what was in my head and put it on a plate,” Owens says. “I started watching what Justin was doing, and what he was doing at the time was evoking nostalgic memories for people.”

Owens hired Hall in March 2019, and after being slowed by construction delays and the pandemic, Main St. Provisions opened as 2020 drew to a close. The restaurant puts a modern spin on comfort food with some global flair. It’s a place for supper with good friends (maybe just a couple for now), while taking in the Arts District, a vibrant urban center with a growing food scene.

MSP’s menu selections are driven by sustainable meats and fish and locally grown vegetables. Appetizers invite a slow, lingering entry to the meal: Start with an Idaho Scotch egg ($16)—a soft-boiled egg wrapped with smoked Riverence trout, potato chip crust, trout roe and verbena lemon cream. Keep it going with charcoal roasted quail ($16), stuffed with sausage and served with lemon aioli fried capers and fry bread, and the K.O. BBQ Prawn ($16), a roasted large Skull Island prawn, charred lemon, toast and NOLA beurre blanc.

Owens also recommends the rabbit boudin ($26). “It’s a twist on a boudin sausage from Louisiana,” she explains. “It’s a rabbit and pork blend—mainly rabbit, and it’s got these beautiful, delicate flavors. [Hall] finishes it with a very nice rabbit jus and some crispy potato dumplings. And the potato dumplings are light and airy, but crispy on the outside. It evokes that feeling of comfort, without making you want to take a nap after you’re finished.”

Hall is known for incorporating a kiss of smoke into his cooking, which Owens likens to a backyard barbecue. MSP’s meat selections include steak and fries ($36), a charcoal oven burger ($16) and a Heritage ham steak ($26), with sides like harissa carrots ($13), oat milk grits ($12) and braised greens ($11) to balance them out.

The dessert selection also harks back to an uncomplicated past, when a banana pie ($9) was the perfect ending to a meal. Or try the sundae ($14), which Owens says riffs on a familiar classic. “It evokes that nostalgia of being a kid and having that McDonald’s sundae that came in that great little plastic cup,” she says.

This one is made with plant-based ice creams from Paradise City Creamery, topped with roasted peanuts, molasses fudge and coconut whipped cream. “It’s a healthier version, but it’s still comfort food,” Owens says.

MAIN ST. PROVISIONS 1214 S. Main St., 702-457-0111. Wednesday-Saturday, 4-10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.