Eating Up Success

I recently moved to the northwest side of town, which in itself is no big deal other than for the fact that it distanced me from some of my favorite haunts, like the Omelet House, at Charleston and Rancho, where I've eaten at least once a week since they opened the joint in 1979. So you can imagine how surprised and delighted I was to find another Omelet House just minutes from my new digs. Could the menu be the same?

Not only is the menu identical to the original, it now has an Italian dinner menu that features delicious dishes made from family recipes. The family is that of Ignazio Sessa, the quiet-spoken co-owner of the Omelet House, along with his father, Francesco. Mama Domenica and wife Anna Maria also are heavily involved in the operation of the restaurant, and as Ignazio points out, "This is a very tough business and if it wasn't for them, it would be very difficult to be successful."

But successful the diner has been since Ignazio purchased it in September 2006 from the owners of the original Omelet House. Unlike the original, however, Ignazio added a dinner menu and what more fitting than an Italian menu for this Sicilian family? "Our dinners have been a huge success," says Ignazio, "and have really become popular with our Sun City customers who make up the bulk of our business, along with those people from Desert Shores and Summerlin. Our location in the Smith's shopping center at Lake Mead and Rampart Blvd. makes it especially convenient for them."

Not to mention dishes like Eggplant Parmigiana, Chicken Marsala, Rigatoni Bolognese (my favorite), Gnocchi a la Vodka Sauce and Penne Arrabiata Paesano (penne pasta tossed with shrimp, Italian sausage, mushrooms and jalapenos in a spicy marinara sauce), to name a few. Mmmm ... "It took us a while to build up our dinner clientele because it's hard for people to associate Italian food with Omelet House," explains Ignazio.

For omelet lovers, there is no better place, bar none, than the Omelet House, but better have a big appetite or be willing to share, or box up what's left to take home with you. The Omelet House offers 41 different omelets, each made with six (you heard me -- 6) eggs, with names like Green Hornet (avocado, tomato and cheese), Health Nut (zucchini, green peppers, jack cheese, mushrooms and onions), The Loch Ness Monster (Gulf shrimp, avocado and cheddar cheese), The Bugsy Siegel (tender chunks of roast beef in an Italian red sauce, with sour cream and jack cheese) and one named for Ignazio himself, the Sicilian Sessa, featuring meatballs and Italian sausage with Mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce.

You can also get regular diner fare like sandwiches and burgers, soups and salads, but hey, if you want something special, go with their specials. I must add that the prices fit the pocketbook -- no mortgaging your home or taking on a second job to dine at the Omelet House. Most items are under 10 bucks.

But being the intrepid reporter that I am, I wanted to find out a bit more about Ignazio Sessa. A Chicagoan, he used to work in his dad's restaurant growing up, learning not only the trade, but as he says "A really good work ethic from my parents." His dad made him promise that one day they would go into business together. After school he worked for the Hyatt Regency O'Hare before joining Gameworks where he became the corporate wait staff trainer for the company, eventually opening a store for them in Irvine, Calif. From there, a move to Las Vegas as the general manager of the Hooters Las Vegas store on West Sahara.

By this time, Ignazio was married with two kids and putting in 80 hours a week, so he called his dad, who had recently made the move to Las Vegas from Chicago with his family, and said, "Okay, Dad, time to go into business." They checked around, heard the Omelet House was for sale, met with the owners and the deal was done. Being a diehard Cubs fan, he soon adorned the walls with Chicago Cubs memorabilia to go along with the great photos from "The Godfather" movies and "The Sopranos" television series.

Ignazio says he is "ecstatic with the operation. We have a great wait staff and kitchen crew and they have a great rapport with our customers, who really appreciate the attention. To be successful you need great service and great food and good customer relations. It's a tough business, and you have to be here day in day out. My wife, Anna Maria, is a tremendous partner of mine as is my mother, Domenica. Anna Maria is a manager and my Mom is also a manager/server. They really make a difference. If it wasn't for family it would have been much harder."

Ignazio says he relies mostly on word of mouth for new customers, as well as running coupons in the Review-Journal and having a Web site, www.omelethousesummerlin.com. Like any good restaurateur, Ignazio says, "We're now looking to expand in about another year, probably in the 215 and Rainbow area, depending on what the economy looks like at the time. You always have to keep moving forward." The 115-seat diner is open Monday thru Saturday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. with dinner starting at 4 p.m., and Sundays from 7 a.m. thru 2:30 p.m.

Good luck and I'll see you on the Strip. And don't forget to check out www.valleyblogs.com. If you have a question or a Las Vegas experience you would like to share with my readers, please e-mail me at lennylasvegas@gmail.com Please include your full name and the city or town where you live.