It’s hard to ignore the growing food hall trend in Las Vegas, yet there’s only one in the Downtown area. The Food Hall at the Fremont Hotel & Casino is barely six months old, but it’s steadily catching on—and striking the right balance between familiarity and culinary ambition, in a comfortable, convenient package.
The 13,150-square-foot space consists of a communal seating area, floor-to-ceiling windows, an outdoor patio and six individual walk-up service counters. You have Dunkin’ for doughnuts and Steak ‘n Shake for burgers, but some of the most intriguing concepts are appearing in Las Vegas for the first time. Huey Magoo’s of Florida serves an inspired take on chicken tenders, using all-natural tenderloin without antibiotics, hormones or preservatives. Roli Roti began as a food truck in San Francisco and now has a brick-and-mortar counter to serve free-range rotisserie pork and chicken. Tomo Noodles is another California import, originating in coastal San Clemente with popular recipes for ramen, wontons and boba tea.
But it’s the Downtown arrival of Craft Kitchen, a longtime Henderson favorite, that adds a welcome dose of local energy to the Fremont Food Hall. Chef Jaret Blinn and his team give breakfast and lunch classics a modern spin with inventive recipes and quality ingredients.
The fresh-baked pastries are among the best in Las Vegas, with European-style croissants and kouign-amanns front and center in the display case. Some dishes are tailored toward the Hawaiian clientele actively courted by the Fremont and neighboring California casino, both of which operate under the umbrella of Boyd Gaming. They include a loco moco (the food hall’s overall best seller) and bread pudding made with ube, an Asian purple sweet potato.
“Downtown’s gotta be quicker, because people are always moving,” Blinn says, noting the adjustments made for a tourist crowd. “We added TurboChef ovens to fire up Cuban sandwiches and speed up the process. You still give ’em the same quality, but execute it faster.”
The chef had been weighing the idea of adding a second Craft Kitchen location since before the pandemic, but signed on with Fremont due to a strong connection at Boyd Gaming and assurance the company was committed to quality cuisine. (Knowing Roli Roti was on board sealed the deal.)
Now, there’s pride in carrying the flag for the local culinary scene in a new, efficient format.
“A lot of people really want those local eats,” Blinn says. “If I’m going to Vegas, I want to try the best in Vegas. That’s what you hope to get from a food hall, that it brings a local element to a place that usually doesn’t have it.”
The Food Hall, built from the ground up over an old parking lot, is part of an ongoing $100 million renovation at the Fremont Hotel & Casino. Guest rooms and sections of the casino, including the sportsbook and a cashier’s cage, have already been revamped. Next up is a brand new lobby and check in-counter. Even the resort’s garage entrance was given a makeover, although the policy remains the same: valet-only and free of charge.
Save that money for the Food Hall instead.
FREMONT FOOD HALL Fremont, 702-385-3232, fremontcasino.com. Daily, times vary.
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