Doug Bell, Executive Chef at Pot Liquor, Dies

Sad news. Doug Bell, 37, the chef and co-owner of Pot Liquor at Town Square, died Friday night after collapsing. The chef was in Malibu when he collapsed and could not be resuscitated.

A graduate of the New England Culinary Institute, Bell spent time cooking in Park City, Utah, and later worked at the World's Fair in Hanover, Germany. He made his way to Las Vegas in 2001, serving as sous chef and then executive sous chef at Gallagher's Steakhouse in New York-New York before later helming the kitchen at Sedona restaurant.

Bell worked with Michael Mina and the Mina Group, rising from sous chef to executive chef at StripSteak at Mandalay Bay. He went on to become the executive chef of the short-lived Heraea, the sports bar and restaurant at the Palms.

In 2014, he opened the Southern-style barbecue restaurant Pot Liquor at Town Square with Flip Arbelaez. Bell spent more than six weeks traveling through Memphis, Nashville, North and South Carolina, Kansas City and Texas to put together the eclectic barbecue styles at this restaurant.

RIP.