Smith & Wollensky returning to Vegas
More than a year after closing its stand-alone Las Vegas Boulevard location, Smith & Wollensky has announced plans to return to the Strip. Michael Feighery, the company’s CEO and president, says the steakhouse will move into a two-story space at the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian and Palazzo. Construction is expected to begin this fall with an eye toward a spring 2019 opening.
“We never considered Vegas as being closed,” he says. “We just thought we were taking a break.”
The chain’s original Las Vegas location closed last May after more than 18 years of operation. Feighery, who spent many years working in the restaurant, says it was always a special place to him and the company.
“Even though we’re a national brand and we have an international restaurant in London, I find this to be a very personal story. I lived in Vegas longer than I lived anywhere else. My family grew up here. The restaurant company grew up here. This was the flagship for many years. And coming back here is really a homage to the city.”
A spokeswoman for the Grand Canal Shoppes says the space is “the perfect location to welcome back to the Strip one of the nation’s most classic steakhouses.”
The 14,000-square-foot restaurant will occupy the former Zeffirino space and is expected to seat about 475 people. In keeping with trends in both the company and the industry, it will have a slightly different feel from the old space.
“It’s more approachable,” Feighery says of the décor, which will be similar to recent remodels of the company’s Chicago and Miami restaurants and a new Smith & Wollensky in the Boston suburbs. “It’s a bit more female-friendly. It’s not the old-boys club with the heavy woods and the red leathers and the real clubhouse feel.”
As for the menu, patrons will still find signature items including a 24-ounce ribeye and a bone-in New York cut, which still make up about 60 percent of the company’s sales. New menu options will include American wagyu beef, a “swinging tomahawk” that dangles from a rack and is charred tableside, and rotisserieroasted chicken, veal and prime rib.
The company also hopes to recruit as many former staff members as possible for the new restaurant.
When the doors closed last year, a company representative remained in Las Vegas to keep in touch with long-time employees, and word is spreading about the return. Feighery is optimistic.
“I think you’ll walk in and say ‘I know that bartender. I can’t believe they got the guy back!’ ”
The Review-journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. Las Vegas Sands operates The Venetian and Palazzo.
Contact Al Mancini at amancini @reviewjournal.com. Follow @Almancinivegas on Twitter.