The Linq promenade will see some very noticeable changes over the next few months as the dining and retail hub approaches its second anniversary. Most prominently, New York's Virgil’s Real Barbecue has already begun work on a complete overhaul of shuttered Asian street market-themed F.A.M.E. dining bazaar. Set for a summer debut, the project comes from the Alicart Restaurant Group, which also operate Carmine's at the Forum Shops at Caesars across Las Vegas Boulevard.
Virgil's will fill 14,000 square feet with live music nightly, private dining rooms seating up to 300 guests and three outdoor spaces, including a poolside patio at the Linq Hotel next door. On the menu, low temperature smoked meats, with choices like Memphis pork ribs and chicken, Carolina pulled pork and Texas beef brisket.
Further down the promenade, while there are no noticeable signs of progress, the long-awaited arrival of Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips is now promised by the shouty chef to start frying in June of this year.
Back toward the Strip, construction has begun on converting the recently departed Koto boutique into the third local Amorino Gelato store. Aspen-based Koto blamed raised rents for their decision to close. Amorino joins branches at Town Square and the Las Vegas Premium Outlets North, serving their Italian gelato specialties.
Already shuttered directly opposite Amorino, the large Purple Zebra frozen daiquiri bar, now demoted to a much smaller concept inside the Linq Hotel itself. A few steps away from these empty spaces, the two level Kitson retail store is selling everything off during its final days before closing for good and Polaroid Fotobar has lost their famous name brand moniker and has now been renamed Photo & Go.