Tent in parking lot offers steakhouse added capacity for pandemic dining

The large white tent is similar to what might be used for an outdoor wedding reception or, perhaps, a graduation party. Ductwork leading from portable propane-powered units interspersed around its exterior send heat into the tent. Inside, plush carpeting covers a temporary floor, festive lighting is strung throughout, wooden chairs with dark-blue leather seats and backs sit at linen-clothed tables.

The special occasion taking place in this tent isn’t to honor a bride and groom or a graduate; it’s for Friday or Saturday night dinner guests at the Fogo de Chao Brazilan Steakhouse, just west of the intersection of Flamingo and Paradise roads near the Las Vegas Strip.

The tent has been set up in the restaurant’s parking lot since the week before Thanksgiving.

Five days before the holiday, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced that COVID-19-RElated restaurant capacity restrictions would drop from 50% to 25%. The news left Nevada restaurant owners and operators in an awkward position. Reservations had been made, sometimes weeks in advance, for Thanksgiving and into the holiday season.

The tent, which can accommodate about 50 diners with social distancing

in place, was Fogo de Chao’s way to help alleviate the lower capacity limits and still adhere to coronavirus precautions. It’s only being used on specials days, like Thanksgiving or Christmas, and on Friday and Saturday nights.

Some Fogo de Chao customers, feeling safer in the quasi-outdoor environment, have requested tent seating, restaurant managers said.

“People can be a little closer together (in the tent) if they’re in a group,” said Valdenir Machado, the restaurant’s general manager. “We’re just trying to be creative and be smart about our business. It was expensive to do this, but it’s worked out so far.”

During normal times, Fogo de Chao

PHOTOS BY STEVE MARCUS A large tent takes up part of the parking lot outside the Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse, 360 E. Flamingo Road. The restaurant set up a dining area inside the tent after the state of Nevada decreased limits for restaurant dining from 50% to 25% of capacity. The tent gave Fogo de Chao another 50 or so seats for customers.

Valdenir Machado, general manager, and Serena Gipson, sales manager, pose in the Fogo de Chao dining tent. “We’re just trying to be creative and be smart about our business,” said Machado.