Beach Buffet and Asian Dining Head to the Tropicana

Penn National Gaming continues its steady upgrades to the Tropicana Las Vegas and has dropped more hints on what to expect over the next few months. Now open to a busy stream of customers, Robert Irvine’s Public House has debuted the celebrity chef’s American pub concept, following a recent revamp of Biscayne Steak, Sea & Wine into the Oakville Steakhouse.

Next on the agenda, a makeover of the now temporarily shuttered Beach Café, with current paperwork labeling it under its original name, the Beach Buffet. To overhaul the 5,384-square-foot space, the Tropicana has allocated an estimated construction budget of $750,000. The former buffet only operated during “brunch” hours, but no details of this new incarnation have been revealed.

Penn National Gaming’s C.O.O. Jay Snowden announced on a recent quarterly earnings call that the resort expects the buffet changes to be finished by the end of the “fourth quarter.” Also arriving by the end of the year, a yet to be revealed “Asian restaurant.” And next door to chef Irvine’s restaurant, a mystery, non-gaming, “smaller agent concept” is also on the horizon.

Once all are open for business, the parent company will wait “a couple of quarters of performance” and gauge “the response from our customers,” before they decide if another round of dining amenities will be to the resort.

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