While the downtowns of many American cities have stagnated since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Las Vegas Arts District is staging an impressive comeback. The area, once known for bail bonds, pawn shops and wedding chapels, boasts artist studios, bars, clubs, tattoo shops, bookstores, coffee roasters, vintage clothing shops, and now a $4 million restaurant from Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, 1288 Main.
“I started my career in San Francisco and some of my best memories came from exploring the diverse, ethnic cuisine and the freshly baked breads,” says David Robins, a partner in 1228 Main. “Downtown Las Vegas has become an urban center for the city and it’s where a restaurant like 1228 Main belongs. It is a neighborhood restaurant, and that’s exactly what you feel when you walk in. We see our neighbors and friends every single day.”
The growth of the Las Vegas Arts District and downtown as a whole is all the more impressive considering how urban downtowns throughout the West are suffering. While Las Vegas has its share of urban problems, the increasing vibrancy of its downtown area stands in sharp contrast to the well-publicized problems of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle and Portland, where while walking to breakfast at 8:40AM I watched two young men shooting up in a doorway.
The arrival of the new restaurant is clearly a vote for the growing popularity of the Las Vegas downtown scene. As befits a new arrival to the Arts District, an area loaded with street murals, the restaurant displays colorful art by celebrated local artist David Ryan. Graffiti art from Recycled Propaganda, [local street artist Izaac Zevalking], decorates the walk-in cooler.
1228 Main is both the restaurant’s address and its name. It was created to be anartisan bakery and café by day, craft restaurant and bar by night. The 6,000 square foot restaurant accommodates up to 130 guests between the dining room, patio and bar.
1228 partner David Robins, also executive vice president of domestic operations for Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, says “1228 Main blends our passion for dining and the joy that is felt when everything harmoniously comes together– the food, the drinks, the music, the atmosphere, and, most importantly, who you share those experiences with.”
Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, 1228 Main features California cuisine with a menu loaded with signature house baked breads. An expansion to the building houses a bakery and catering business that can manage orders throughout the Las Vegas Valley.
Wolfgang Puck has been satisfying American appetites and changing America’s palate for more than 40 years. The restauranteur and his eponymous company Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc. are famous for Spago, Chinois on Main
The website maxtravelz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Labor Day is right around the corner, and what better way is there to kiss summer goodbye than with one last adventure? Right now, a handful of travel companies are coming in clutch with late summer deals, while others are looking ahead to fall, winter, and beyond to make sure you have something to look forward to when the temperatures start dropping.
Low-cost carrier Avelo Airlines will launch flights to Puerto Rico this fall, marking the airline’s first-ever Caribbean destination and its latest expansion plans.
Royal Caribbean already operates the world’s largest cruise ship—Wonder of the Seas—but next January it will break that record with Icon of the Seas, which boasts 2,805 staterooms (including more than 1,800 with balconies) and 179 suites. Nearly 1,200 feet long, Icon of the Seas has 20 decks and features a 55-foot-waterfall, multiple pools and waterparks and a “chill island” and a “thrill island”—depending on a passenger’s vibe.
How much will you be charged for that hotel stay? The answer, of course, should be obvious: You’ll pay the published rate, plus government-imposed taxes and fees. Whatever that total turns out to be is your price.
Enter the Liberty Richter “Kitchens of India” sweepstakes by June 15, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a six-day trip for two to New Delhi, India, including air, transfers, and hotel.
By traditional measures, Alaska Airlines is a carrier of decidedly modest size, even after its acquisition of Virgin America. Its own flight network is small, compared to those of American, Delta, and United. And it’s not a member of one of the three global airline alliances.
The traditional taxi business is far from dead, but the ever-burgeoning popularity of rideshare services like Uber and Lyft is a clear threat to the survival of the yellow cabs that for decades have been a mainstay of big-city transportation. It’s fair to say that the rise of Uber and its ilk have led to the erosion of taxis, and could eventually lead to their outright demise (or, perhaps, their radical transformation).
There’s no shortage of new airlines servicing North America right now: Norwegian, WOW, Primera, XL Airways, Level, Flair, and Joon have recently sprung up or expanded. But none of these new carriers is based in the U.S.
I just returned from a holiday-weekend stay at the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas. Predictably, there was nickel-and-diming aplenty, beginning with the hotel’s nasty, indefensible resort fee of $29 a night, for rooms that featured neither a mini-fridge (better to drive guests to eat at one of the hotel’s 13 restaurants) nor a coffee maker (better to drive guests to caffeinate at one of the hotel’s three Starbucks).
In 2014, when JetBlue launched Mint, its premium lie-flat service, between New York and Los Angeles and San Francisco, it was mostly seen as a limited response to the premium services offered by the full-service carriers on those especially competitive routes.
The “Do Not Disturb” sign is a ubiquitous part of the hotel-stay experience. And many would argue that it’s essential to a restful stay. After all, who wants to come out of the shower to find a housekeeper tidying up your room?