Restaurateur Richard Femenella first came to Las Vegas from New York in 1997 to build and open celebrity chef Charlie Palmer’s renowned Aureole at Mandalay Bay and Charlie Palmer Steak at the adjacent Four Seasons. Both of those restaurants made their mark on the Strip’s culinary scene, and later, when Femenella had already been a Las Vegas resident for five years, he operated the Stirling Club at Turnberry Place for eight years.
In 2020, he was diagnosed with advanced Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Femenella says another local hospitality legend, philanthropist Larry Ruvo, helped him get access to the Cleveland Clinic and he spent a couple months at its Ohio hospital.
Richard Femenella
“I was lying in a hospital bed and started contemplating this new restaurant, making notes, and I thought, if I live, I want to open my dream restaurant,” he says.
And that’s what happened. After losing more than 100 pounds during his cancer battle and needing to learn to walk again, Femenella has had “a clean bill of health” for the past few years, and he’s been able to develop that dream restaurant, which opened last week on Las Vegas Boulevard across from the Strat.
Mae Daly’s Fine Steaks & Whiskeys is a pure, classic steakhouse, and it’s a double-dream because Femenella says he always wanted a stand-alone spot outside of a casino “because I wanted to build a restaurant for the people who live in Las Vegas. I had been looking for a location for over a year when I found it … I think Mayor [Carolyn] Goodman coined the term that this [area] is the gateway to the City of Las Vegas. Now we’re the first place when you come across Sahara.”
The location seems perfect for an American steakhouse with classic vibes inspired by a Prohibition-era saloon owner. Femenella heard the tales of Mae Daly from a customer at the Stirling Club, and while the new restaurant’s website notes that there’s “no documented proof” of her existence, it’s a legend worth carrying on, one based on “friendly service, great steaks, whiskeys and good times.”
Mae Daly’s has partnered with Northern Nevada’s Frey Ranch Distillery to create a signature steak, the Frey Ranch Filet Mignon Au Poivre , which gets finished tableside with a flambe of Frey Ranch Un-Cut Whiskey.
“It’s great dining-room theater and it’s one of the things that’s different about this steakhouse,” Femenella says. “We don’t have food runners. The chefs finish the dishes in the dining room; [it’s] actually the executive chef and the sous chef that serve your food.”
He explains that industry workers and restaurant owners often get that kind of treatment when they dine at other spots, and he’s noticed other diners wondering, “Why don’t they come to our table?” he says. “We wanted everyone to have that special feeling.”
Plenty of special feelings will be circulated when Mae Daly’s hosts a grand opening celebration on July 12 at 7 p.m. featuring live entertainment, an event that will raise funds for the nonprofit Autism Community Trust, which Femenella co-founded. The organization’s sole purpose is to raise money and fund local service-oriented charities and groups that focus on autism, and Mae Daly’s is also launching a vocational work program for adults with autism. Tickets for the event are available at Eventbrite.
MAE DALY’S FINE STEAKS & WHISKEYS 2211 S. Las Vegas Blvd. #150, 702-982-8003, maedalys.com. Daily, 5-10 p.m.
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