Las Vegas chef reopens Henderson restaurant to honor late Bernard’s Bistro founder

When chef Bernard Tordjman died of cancer in November, it seemed his legacy was gone, too.

The restaurant he worked to build, the chefs he trained, the people he employed and the customers he catered to were at a loss.

But local restaurateur and friend Chanthy Walsh didn’t want to see it all go. Two months ago, she reopened Tordjman’s Henderson restaurant, offering the same menu.

CB’s Legacy, 2021 W. Sunset Road, honors the chef.

“We are here to serve his clientele and carry on his passion,” Walsh said. “If he could see this, I think he would be proud.”

Tordjman and Walsh had different paths into the restaurant industry.

Walsh and her husband, who had a passion for coffee, started with a cafe. With their love for food, they decided to open a restaurant in San Diego.

“I’m not a trained chef,” Walsh said. “I’m more self-taught. I really love cooking and have a passion for food.”

In 2002, she was presented with an opportunity to open a restaurant at Lake Las Vegas. After falling in love with the location, she opened Sonrisa Grill. That’s where she met Tordjman six years later.

Born in France, Tordjman moved to the United States to begin a career in the culinary world. He moved to Las Vegas to open Bernard’s Bistro, which featured California-French cuisine, inside Montelago Village at Lake Las Vegas.

Though technically competitors, all the neighboring businesses had a camaraderie.

“We would see each other every day,” Walsh said. “We had a good sense of community. I think we are so busy in life that we bonded over that.”

Walsh remembered how passionate Tordjman was about his cuisine, which inspired her.

Irene Avalos, who performed jazz at his Sunday brunches, remembered how kind he was to customers.

“Customers were thrilled by his occasional visits from the kitchen to their table to greet or sing ‘Happy Birthday’ in his native French language,” she said. “He truly enjoyed making people laugh.”

Tordjman opened his second location in Henderson, but his health began to deteriorate after he was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2014.

Avalos said Tordjman was always committed to “his babies” — the restaurants.

“One week he was in the hospital, and the following week we might enter the restaurant to find him standing near the top rung of the ladder, nailing, adding or rearranging his decor,” she said.

Tordjman died in November.

“It makes my heart sad to think about it,” Walsh said.

In 2015, Walsh had already opened her second restaurant — Essence & Herbs — in addition to catering weddings and other events.

She never had any desire for another restaurant, but at the same time, she couldn’t watch as Tordjman’s dream came to an end.

“His family was in the restaurant business, so they didn’t want to keep it open,” Walsh said.

Working with Tordjman’s chefs, who had worked with him for years, Walsh and the chefs hatched a plan to reopen the restaurant.

They decided to call it CB’s Legacy, and upon entering the establishment, patrons see a life-sized statue of Tordjman. Even though Walsh is running it, everything is Tordjman’s ideas.

“Even if there are dishes I don’t particularly care for, we kept it all the same,” she said. “We want to keep it true to his memory.”

The other staff members who used to work there were invited back. Since the restaurant was closed, many had found other employment in the interim.

Walsh is trying to reach out to old customers who used to frequent Bernard’s Bistro to tell them the restaurant has reopened.

Though it started slowly, Walsh is optimistic business will pick up in time.

CB’s Legacy is

open 4 p.m to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and closed Monday.

Call 702-558-3366.

To reach Henderson View reporter Michael Lyle, email mlyle@viewnews.com or call 702-387-5201. Find him on Twitter: @mjlyle.