Vegas chef, once a star on the Strip, returns with new off-Strip gig

Chef Min Kim, who quietly departed his high-profile gig at Mizumi in Wynn Las Vegas last September, has been named a partner in AYYA Hospitality Group of Las Vegas, the company announced Thursday.

Kim will also be head of food and beverage and global operations for AYYA, whose portfolio of brands includes four Vegas restaurants: Pine Bistro, Crust & Roux, Thick & Thin Treat Bar and the forthcoming Siempre, J.B.

Kim has been a professional chef for almost 20 years. He has cooked at Michelin-starred restaurants in Asia and was the executive chef at Wynn Palace in Macau before coming Wynn Vegas in 2020 as executive chef at Mizumi.

In his new role, Kim will oversee and direct the food and beverage aspects of all AYYA brands. In Vegas, Pine Bistro offers hookah and Mediterranean food in the Southern Highlands. Crust & Roux, in Town Square, serves pizza pies, pot pies and dessert pies.

Thick & Thin, also in the Southern Highlands, blends a juice bar with an ice cream parlor. Siempre, J.B., a modern Mexican spot, is set to debut this summer. Look for more soon about Siempre on lvrj.com.

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.