Atomic Liquors dining expansion, Atomic Kitchen, to serve bar-favorite staples

A little bit of Las Vegas irony: A business named in honor of epic explosions, in a city known for blowing up its old buildings, is instead preserving one. A second one, actually.

Lance Johns, owner of Atomic Liquors, is planning to open a restaurant and another bar in the building next to Atomic, a landmark since 1952 on Fremont Street between Ninth and 10th streets.

“We’ve been here three and a half years and food has been really sparse down here,” Johns said Monday. “We decided, ‘Let’s not wait for anybody else, let’s do it ourselves.’ ”

Johns said the restaurant, which will be connected to Atomic Liquors by a patio and share the Atomic name, is in a building that was built in 1946, making it a few years older than the one that houses the original Atomic. It once was Doc’s Automotive.

Originally, he said, a wall of full-length windows separated the waiting room from the repair shop, so customers could watch their cars being worked on. Refurbished and cut down to half-length, they’ll now provide a view of the kitchen.

“If you look at some of the old scenes in ‘Casino,’ all of the old back-room scenes were shot where the kitchen is going,” he said. “We kept those panes in place.”

The chef is Josh Horton, formerly of Cili at the Bali Hai Golf Club. He said the restaurant will have some bar-favorite staples, such as a prime-rib dip, chicken wings and a “really good burger.”

But Johns said the emphasis will be on New American fare — “fine dining meets fun bar food in a casual, fun atmosphere.”

Horton said the menu will be seasonal and ever-changing, and he expects dishes based on fresh seafood and “a nice steak using some fun ingredients.”

“A little bit of everything, pulling influences from all types of food,” Horton added.

Johns said he hopes the restaurant will open by the end of the month.

“Originally, I think a lot of our customers are going to be patrons of the bar,” he said. “As word gets out, our food’s going to stand on its own, and I think we’ll be getting a whole different crowd that aren’t going to the bar.”

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Find more of her stories at www.reviewjournal.com, and follow @HKRinella on Twitter.