Days Rumored to Be Numbered for Martorano’s, Buca di Beppo, Tequila Taqueria

Originally published at Vital Vegas

Our sources say there’s a big restaurant shake-up in the works at Paris and Bally’s, and our philosophy is never let perfectly good Las Vegas chatter go unshared.

First up, Martorano’s at Paris, a longtime Las Vegas fixture, originally located at Rio.

We hear Sep. 29, 2021 is the last day for this Italian restaurant, although no official announcement has been made by the colorful owner, Steve Martorano, or Caesars Entertainment, owner of Paris and Bally’s (at least for now).

In related news, we understand there’s already another restaurant lined up for the Martorano’s space: A new restaurant concept from none other than Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg.

Yes, that Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg.

We’ve always enjoyed Martorano’s, and Steve Martorano’s larger-than-life personality will be missed. Someone familiar with the situation says Martorano is a little tired of the commute to Las Vegas to fulfill his contractually-obligated appearances, so he’ll be pursuing other
opportunities closer to home.

The man, the muscles, the meatballs: Steve Martorano.

Over at Bally’s, there’s more inside chatter two more familiar venues are pulling up stakes.

Buca di Beppo and Tequila Taqueria are rumored to be closing at Bally’s, although there’s no timeline available.

Neither restaurant appears on the official Bally’s restaurant Web page.

The potential closure of Buca di Beppo will mark a sad day for forgettable Italian food in Las Vegas.

We trust these moves, should they transpire, are related to the ongoing re-evaluation of partnerships by Caesars Entertainment following its merger with Eldorado Resorts.

The pandemic has intensified the effort, resulting in permanent closures of restaurants like Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill at Harrah’s. That space is rumored to be getting a sports restaurant and bar, presumably Walk-On’s, from former NFL star Drew Brees.

Eldorado (now Caesars) inherited a lot of deals from old Caesars, and the company has been very public about wanting to focus on its core business, gambling.

Tequila Taqueria, also not memorable, but that’s mainly due to the tequila.

Restaurants with less-desirable deals are out, and money-losing restaurants (like buffets) are done.

Caesars Entertainment has only opened one of its buffets since the shut-down, Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace, and is unlikely to reopen any additional buffets in Las Vegas.

Again, none of the restaurant changes here have been officially announced, which makes them a lot more interesting to us.

We’ll keep you in the loop as these announcements happen, along with the requisite gloating, of course.