The House of Blues at Mandalay Bay has unveiled the $4.5 million renovation that includes a complete revamp of its box office, Music Hall entrance, retail shop and restaurant and bar spaces with a distillery-style vibe. New design elements include corrugated metal and aged steel, brick walls, riveted panels and a copper still. There are new murals and folk art installations from the HOB collection as well as expanded patio seating and a new stage in the bar. The restaurant is open daily starting at 7 a.m. and is open until 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight Friday and Saturday.
Popular pre-show Mexican restaurant Hecho en Vegas is set to shutter for good by early November at MGM Grand. MGM Resorts announced the closure recently and noted it will transition into a new F&B concept sometime this winter. Hecho opened about eight years ago taking the space of another Mexican concept, Diego.
Just in case you missed the news about Durango, a Station Casinos Resort, which recently approved approvals from the Clark County Commission and is set to be built at the 215 Beltway and Durango Drive starting in early 2022, the company unveiled some renderings and details about the next big neighborhood casino resort including some of the food and beverage plans. Durango will contain four signature restaurant outlets and a food hall concept “featuring fast-casual local favorite restaurants and eateries,” in addition to its 200 guest rooms, race and sports book, event lawn and other features.
Yukon Pizza is set to open its first full-scale brick-and-mortar operations in spring 2022 at the Huntridge Shopping Center in Downtown Las Vegas. Founder Alex White has been crafting pizzas from his family’s heirloom sourdough starter at pop-up events and at Vegas Test Kitchen for years and the Yukon restaurant will offer lunch and dinner as well as vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options.
Downtown Container Park will return its beer walk series with an Oktoberfest celebration on October 16 from 6 until 9 p.m. The event will feature live entertainment from Soul Juice and a bottomless selection of local and regional beers as well as Bavarian-inspired snacks from Downtown Terrace. The 21-and-over event is priced at $40 and tickets are available at Eventbrite.
Ellis Island Casino’s new artisanal sandwich shop Via Focaccia, created by chef Ismaele Romano (Good Pie, Contento, Eataly), is set to open on the casino floor on October 20. The menu will offer plenty of sandwiches stacked on baked-in-house-daily focaccia as well as small bites, salads, cocktails and doughnut collaborations with Carl’s Donuts for dessert. It will be open daily from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m.
Locale Italian Kitchen has hired Leo Barrera as executive chef and rolled out new menus for fall. Barrera has worked in several prestigious kitchens in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, including stints at the Cosmopolitan and the Stirling Club. Among the new menu items at Locale are butternut squash cavatelli with sage brown butter sauce, orecchiette with braised shortrib, a fig and blue cheese pizza and pan-seared salmon with roasted tomato puree and crispy Brussels sprouts.
DW Bistro is now serving breakfast Tuesday through Friday starting at 8 a.m. Diners can enjoy French toast souffle, signature pastries, pork chili verde with poached eggs, quiche of the day and more.
