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A new restaurant and lounge headed to Symphony Park promises Italian fare and live music when it opens in 2022. Vic’s brings together Chris Lowden of Stoney’s Rockin’ Country fame and Mark DiMartino, who had DiMartino’s Family Deli and later operated the upscale Tillerman restaurant.
The venue takes over more than 6,200 square feet of ground-level space in a public parking garage, owned by the city, across from the Discovery Children’s Museum in Symphony Park. Lowden negotiated a 21-year term for $4.2 million, below fair market value, and expects to invest more than $2 million into the property.
Outside, a 20-foot replica of Vegas Vic, the iconic neon cowboy who has tipped his hat since 1951 on the Fremont Street Experience. The Lowden family owns the trademark for Vegas Vic and plans to create a neon replica.
Inside, the restaurant and lounge plan to include a dining room for 200 with velvet booths, a retro chic vibe, and stage, two patios including one for cigar smoking, and a private dining room for 14 with a view of the stage, where jazz music will perform.
Lowden says nearby Las Vegas Academy, an arts high school, will serve as a feeder program for those in the senior jazz program who will receive job opportunities in partnership with the restaurant. Nearby, the Smith Center for the Performing Arts may also work with the restaurant on music programming, but Lowden hopes patrons of the entertainment venue will stop by the restaurant before and after performances. DiMartino says he’ll serve some favorites from the deli and Tillerman, but is still working on the menu.
The 24-hour lounge also plans to have slot machines later in the spring after opening, which will help finance more entertainment. Initially, the restaurant will only serve dinner with future plans for breakfast and lunch.
Lowden aims for a February opening.
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