Pioneering downtown Las Vegas restaurant closes after more than a dozen years
Eat, the pioneering downtown Las Vegas restaurant from chef Natalie Young, has closed after more than a dozen years on Carson Avenue.
The beloved breakfast and lunch spot moved the idea of downtown dining eastward when it opened in 2012, helped by a $225,000 loan (repaid the next year) from the late Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh as part of his Downtown Project. The last day of service was March 22.
“I quietly closed like I quietly opened. It’s just another chapter in the book,” Young said in a statement for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“Eat was an amazing experience! My lease is up as well, and there is continuous construction in the area. I’m grateful to everyone who has supported us through the years — now come see me at Echo!”
That would be Echo Taste & Sound, Young’s new craft cocktail, small plates and hi-fi listening restaurant that debuted in late February on South Main Street in downtown.
Last year, Eat was named to the RJ’s inaugural list of top 100 restaurants in the city. City Cast Las Vegas first reported the news of Eat closing.
Beyond Eat
Young moved to Vegas more than two decades ago to work in restaurant kitchens, and her gigs over the years before she opened Eat included the MGM Grand, the old Hard Rock Hotel and Eiffel Tower Restaurant in Paris Las Vegas.
In 2015, three years after launching Eat, the chef affirmed her commitment to the Fremont East area with the debut of Chow, a chicken and Chinese spot at Fremont and South 10th streets, about five blocks from Eat. June 2017 saw Young open a second Eat, this time at Downtown Summerlin on Village Center Drive.
Young later brought together lusty cooking (braised short rib risotto, say) with vintage art and furniture finds at Old Soul, in the World Market Center. The Summerlin Eat, Chow and Old Soul have since closed.
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.
