Johnny Smalls May Hit the Road at the Hard Rock

Seems Johnny Smalls over at the Hard Rock Hotel will be the next restaurant to hit the chopping block. Word has it that the restaurant will shutter to make way for a Chinese concept instead.

The restaurant only opened in April 2010 with what it dubbed a “no-hassle approach to dining with no reservations, no sequence of service, no entrees, no problems.” Johnny Smalls offers up small plates from around the world, sporting an astounding 50 shareable dishes such as Spanish tapas, Asian dim sum, Italian antipasti, Mediterranean mezze, Mexican antojitos, classic American starters and skewers.

Only two weeks ago, the Hard Rock Hotel announced a dizzying array of new amenities on the older side of the resort. Among the renovations, Culinary Dropout, taking over the Ago space, and The Ainsworth, a high-end sports bar.

So far, Nobu seems safe, with the Nobu Matsuhisa himself saying he has no plans to close his original restaurant at the Hard Rock. This fall, he opens the Nobu Hotel at Caesars Palace, complete with a namesake restaurant and in-room dining from the chef.

The switchover for Johnny Smalls makes sense considering the Hard Rock wants to attract more Asian customers, even planning to renovate the high-limit gaming area on that side of the resort to include baccarat and Pai-Gow as well as Asian dishes that can be delivered to the table. Resort officials say that 10 percent of their clients are Asian and they make up 90 percent of the baccarat players.

Requests for comment from the Hard Rock Hotel went unanswered.
· All Coverage of Johnny Smalls [~ELV~]
· All Coverage of The Ainsworth [~ELV~]
· All Coverage of Culinary Dropout [~ELV~]
· All Coverage of the Hard Rock Hotel [~ELV~]
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