Smith Center helps boosts downtown restaurants

Strolling into the World Market Center on a Friday night to dine unannounced at Mundo used to be a breeze.

The Latin fusion restaurant's dinner business was steady but not slammed. Reservations were encouraged but not required.

That was before The Smith Center for the Performing Arts opened March 10.

Now, good luck trying to find an open table.

"We actually have to turn some people away now," said Sara Gottenborg, the restaurant's assistant manager.

The Smith Center averages about 2,000 attendees on performance nights, said Myron Martin, the center's president and CEO. It's difficult to gauge how many patrons dine downtown before or after a show, but restaurants in the Smith Center's immediate vicinity have seen significant increases in dinner business.

Gottenborg said the boost at Mundo, which is within walking distance of the performing arts center, could be as much as 10 times the business on an average, non-show day. Triple George reported a 30 percent to 50 percent increase in dinner business; Lola's said volume has risen 20 percent to 30 percent; and Oscar's nabs an average of 20 to 25 theater-going folks on performance nights.

The Smith Center initially encouraged patrons to dine nearby by giving out coupons to downtown restaurants with the purchase of tickets during a specific time frame. Now, patrons are flocking to the restaurants without discounts.

Establishments are quickly adapting to the influx of diners with prix fixe menus, faster service and, in the case of Oscar's, complimentary shuttle service, which will begin in about a month, from the Plaza to the Smith Center and back.

Oscar's general manager Adam Margolies said requests for transportation have been a constant refrain among steakhouse guests because "the valet and cab lines are ridiculous" at the performing arts center.

Oscar's is also in the process of designing both preshow and postshow menus for theater patrons, who are easily distinguishable from the average customer.

"I can tell walking the floor when people are going to a show," Margolies said. "Everyone's already elegantly dressed."

Triple George, the Third Street steakhouse near the Mob Museum, has also designed special menus for Smith Center patrons. Owner Seth Schorr said the restaurant offered a preshow buffet for the recent performance of "Women Fully Clothed" and plans to offer a jazz brunch each Sunday for the Broadway series ticketholders.

The Smith Center tie-ins have been good for expanding business, which is typically concentrated during midday.

"Triple George was always a fantastic lunch spot, but it's always been a challenge to bring people to the business in the evening," Schorr said.

The crossover between downtown foodies and theatergoers is obvious, but Mundo's Gottenborg said the Smith Center is also driving new clientele her way.

"Some nights we'll have an older crowd, very dressed up and going to see an orchestra. Then some nights we'll have a very young crowd, because an author is doing a show there. It's bringing in a lot of people who didn't even know about us," Gottenborg said.

That's the nature of performing arts centers, said Jeffrey Koep, dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. They become destinations, growing ancillary industries around them and pulling existing businesses into their sphere of influence.

"That's part of the intent when a huge, beautiful performing arts center like the Smith Center opens in any city - it revitalizes culture and the arts, but in addition, becomes sort of an economic driver. When you look around the country, quite often performing arts centers are located in areas that need to be lifted up a little bit," said Koep, who has lived in Las Vegas for 20 years and seen downtown's precipitous decline and fledgling comeback.

But the Smith Center's influence may be larger then its downtown neighborhood.

"I suspect that people are stopping in Henderson or Summerlin or wherever they live to have a bite to eat before the show," said Smith Center head Martin. "I think the impact of the Smith Center is great on the downtown, but it reaches much further than downtown."

Contact reporter Caitlin McGarry at cmcgarry@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5273.