\nCaesars Palace President Gary Selesner had business in India recently, so he could have flown through any major city to make the connection. But he picked New York for a singular reason: It allowed him to visit his favorite pizzeria, DiFara Pizza, in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI almost missed my flight,\u201d Selesner said.<\/p>\n
\tThe hotel-casino president, a self-professed foodie, won\u2019t have to visit Brooklyn anymore to chew DiFara\u2019s famous cheesy pizza slices with charred edges and bubbles in the crust. DiFara opened late last month in Caesars\u2019 newly renovated Forum Food Court, which has also featured the Strip debut of two other restaurant brands \u2014 Smashburger and Phillips Seafood.<\/p>\n
\tAn impressive variety of brand restaurants have debuted recently on the Strip, including Smashburger and New York City-based Shake Shack, which opened the chain\u2019s first location west of the Mississippi River on Oct. 29 at New York-New York.<\/p>\n
\tNewcomers include high-end comfort food brands such as Denver-based Tom\u2019s Urban, created by Smashburger founder Tom Ryan, which opened Dec. 23 next to the new Shake Shack, and locally based Off the Strip, which debuted at The Linq on the Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n
\tTom\u2019s Urban is near the park under construction that will lead to the 20,000-seat arena MGM Resorts International and Anschutz Entertainment Group are building behind New York-New York.<\/p>\n
\tOff the Strip is at The Linq, home of the High Roller observation wheel in the center of the Strip.<\/p>\n
\tThe new-restaurant wave will also include burger fan favorite White Castle, which is set to open in Casino Royale this month.<\/p>\n
\tA Casino Royale front desk worker said he fields 50 calls a day from people asking when White Castle will open. Added Erica Sanchez, manager of the Ben &Jerry\u2019s ice cream shop in Casino Royale: \u201cA lot of people have been asking for it and people have even called the store here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tEVOLVING PROFILE<\/p>\n
\tThe influx of new brands is part of the Strip\u2019s evolving profile, which features several new festival sites, two arenas under construction, pedestrian-friendly plazas and a strategy of offering more culinary options for more diverse visitors, including the coveted millennial demographic.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe Las Vegas Strip is a place where most brands want some level of involvement. It\u2019s also known as a late-night place. It gets busier after 10 p.m.,\u201d said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Technomic, a Chicago-based market research and consulting company.<\/p>\n
\tHaving a restaurant brand on the Strip is a great marketing and promotional move, said Al Ries, an Atlanta marketing and brand consultant.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cEven if a restaurant loses money on the Strip, exposure to the millions of people visiting Las Vegas every year is worth a lot to an individual chain,\u201d Ries said.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cLook at Times Square in Manhattan. Some of the billboards in Time Square sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars a year because of the millions of tourists who visit New York every year,\u201d Ries said. \u201cA visitor to Las Vegas will see a Smashburger restaurant and think, \u2018Wow, they must be doing extremely well to open a unit on the Strip.\u2019\u2009\u201d<\/p>\n
\tOff the Strip, known for high-end comfort food, is hitting the Strip after its flagship opened in the valley\u2019s Southern Highlands neighborhood in 2007.<\/p>\n
\tTom Goldsbury, an Off the Strip partner, said the High Roller is helping to attract people up and down the Strip to The Linq and his restaurant.<\/p>\n
\tGoldsbury is partnering with N9NE Group partner Andy Belmonti and Jim and Diane Cameron, early Five Guys franchise owners in the valley.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cEverything is evolving and I couldn\u2019t find a better niche that fits my food,\u201d Goldsbury said.<\/p>\n
\tSmashburger, based in Denver, and DiFara Pizza, which debuted in Brooklyn in 1964, are quick-service concepts. They\u2019re joined at the Forum Food Court by the first West Coast location for Baltimore-based restaurant chain Phillips Seafood.<\/p>\n
\tSelesner recently surveyed the 28,000-square-foot food court and said, \u201cThe food is for the masses and that\u2019s where the brands came into play. We wanted the best of the different categories \u2026 It\u2019s exciting to be in Las Vegas to be with all these brands.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe expanded food court, which features 30 percent more seating and took a small bite out of the neighboring casino space, is at the convergence of the Colosseum events center, the Forum Shops at Caesars, a new nightclub called Omnia and the self-parking garage\u2019s entrance.<\/p>\n
\tFoot traffic includes several million visitors, which was a factor behind Smashburger opening on the Strip. The Caesars Smashburger is the chain\u2019s eighth valley restaurant and one of 310 in the United States and five other nations.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cYou can\u2019t beat that,\u201d Smashburger Chief Marketing Officer Josh Kern said of the pedestrian count. He noted the average Smashburger check is about $9.50, but the Caesars bill is probably $12 to $13.<\/p>\n
\tAlbert Scalleat, who owns the DiFara Pizza with Jeff LaPour at Forum Food Court, agreed with Kern.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI don\u2019t think you can get a better location in Las Vegas. You have people coming here in waves,\u201d said Scalleat, who also owns Dom DeMarco\u2019s Pizzeria &Bar in Summerlin. Dominick DeMarco owns the famed DiFara Pizza in Brooklyn\u2019s Midwood section.<\/p>\n
\tRyan opened his new 18,000-square-foot restaurant, Tom\u2019s Urban, next to Shake Shack just six days after Smashburger debuted on the Strip.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe think Las Vegas is one of the critical places to be. We\u2019ve been very selective about getting into the Strip,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cAll of our concepts are for the next generation of consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tURBANE AND FUN<\/p>\n
\tShake Shack is a growing burger stand concept with 63 worldwide locations from Chicago to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The chain, owned by Union Square Hospitality Group, started in New York City\u2019s Madison Square Park in 2004. That\u2019s why Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti loves his Strip location \u2014 it\u2019s right next to a park, too.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt felt so right for us,\u201d Garutti said. \u201cIt\u2019s a community gathering place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe Madison Square Park site was a mere 400 square feet, a small fraction of the space at the Strip Shake Shack, which has 9,000 square feet, triple the size of the average Shake Shack, said Brian Murphy, Shake Shack area manager.<\/p>\n
\tBoth Shake Shack and Tom\u2019s Urban are serving local craft beers, such as Tenaya Creek. Shake Shack is also using baked goods from Henderson bakery Gimme Some Sugar as part of its All Shook Up custard dessert. Five percent of sales of that item go to the First Friday Foundation in Las Vegas to help local artists.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe\u2019re not just a New York brand parachuting our concept into the Las Vegas market,\u201d said Garutti, noting the local partnerships.<\/p>\n
\tTom\u2019s Urban and Shake Shack are part of a strategy to create an urbane and fun feel, said Cynthia Kiser Murphey, New York-New York president and chief operating officer.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe were looking for unique, one-of-a-kind experiences that people could not get any place else that fits into a fun, high-energy environment,\u201d Kiser Murphey said.<\/p>\n
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