Food hall to open at downtown Las Vegas casino

Jaret Blinn, chef-owner of Craft Kitchen, is taking things downtown, into the food hall and across to the islands.

Craft Kitchen of Henderson, known for its locally sourced pastries and plates, is the marquee restaurant at the new food hall taking shape at the Fremont in downtown Las Vegas. The menu, Blinn said, would include Hawaiian dishes, in recognition of customer tastes.

“Definitely, a lot of islanders come into that area, so we knew we would have to have some of the popular flavors that they like,” Blinn said, citing dishes like garlic chicken, loco moco, and Korean fried chicken sandwiched by an ube purple sweet potato bun.

“We’re adding items we might not necessarily do in (Henderson). It’s a lot of opportunity to play and do different things.”

The food hall is opening Monday, property officials exclusively confirmed to the Review-Journal. The hall is part of a $50 million renovation and expansion at the Fremont.

Free bird

Craft Kitchen will be joined at the food hall by five other restaurants, including another local outfit.

Tomo Noodles, once on West Sahara Avenue, returns with dishes like tonkotsu ramen, shoyu chicken ramen, poké nachos, fried saimin (a stir-fry without the broth), and Tomo fries with chashu pork belly.

Roli Roti food truck from the Bay Area — “one of my favorite places out of San Francisco,” Blinn said — is bringing its signature free-range, hormone-free rotisserie chicken, served half or whole, as well as rotisserie chicken sandwiches on ciabatta and roasted Kurobuta porchetta sandwiches swiped with onion marmalade.

“One of their food trucks is in the Ferry Building (in San Francisco). They open about 10 in the morning, and it only takes two hours until they are about out of their products,” said Mark Sherline, corporate executive chef of Boyd Gaming, owner of the Fremont, speaking to Roli Roti’s popularity.

Huey Magoo’s Chicken Tenders, a midsize chain founded in 2004 in Florida, is opening its first location in Vegas (and in the Western U.S.) at the food hall. The menu features tenders with dipping sauces, chicken sandwiches and wraps, and salads and sides.

Dunkin’ and Steak ’n Shake, the national chain restaurants, complete the offerings.

The right mix

The food hall encompasses a bit more than 13,000 square feet at the Fremont. The two national chains are serving from their corporate menus; the four remaining restaurants (overseen by the hotel) are serving smaller menus edited for the hall.

That mix of local, regional and national outfits was deliberate, the goal being to offer options that lie between fast food and fine dining, said David Strow, vice president of corporate communications for Boyd Gaming

“We’re hitting a key need in the market. We have convenience. We have traditional sit-down spots. But we want to hit that sweet spot in the middle for people who want to eat quickly but not compromise on quality.”

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ItsJLW on Twitter.