[Photos: Amelinda B Lee]
The Too Hot Tamales Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger are this close to opening their second Border Grill location, this one coming to the front of the Forum Shops at Caesars. If all goes as planned, the restaurant should open by the end of the week.
Border Grill’s regional director Kent Harman gave Eater Vegas an exclusive tour of the space before it opens. The space, taking over the former home of P.J. Clarke’s, plans to have a patio extending into the open space in front of the restaurant and a bar with nearly 150 seats including a massive communal table.
"This is the first new Border Grill we’ve built in 13 years," Harman says. Milliken and Feniger dug back through the artwork from Su Huntley and Donna Muir to include cutouts, murals and more inspired by the festivals, road signs, and advertisements of Mexico.
A video loop running on an 80-inch monitor outside the restaurant takes guests through the 25-year history of Border Grill. "We’ve never done anything like this," Harman says.
To the right of the entrance, another bar serving up fresh guacamole, tortillas and ceviches, including 10 new varieties just for this location.
The space itself is broken up with a portion of the dining room seen in the bar area. Pocket doors with frosted glass and murals break up the festively colored space. Orange and red Mexican tiles, purple lights and murals on the light coverings give this space a distinctly Mexican vibe.
About 70 percent of the menu will feature classic items from the Border Grill menu with the remaining 30 percent new. Three cocktails will find a home on taps behind the bar, and will likely rotate, with mimosas on the weekends even. But don't expect brunch to start for a few weeks.
The restaurant has room for around 300.
