Martha Stewart Restaurant at Paris Las Vegas in Works at Former Martorano’s

Posted on: October 6, 2021, 08:55h. 

Last updated on: October 6, 2021, 09:50h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Martha Stewart is rumored to be setting up a home in Las Vegas, and she’s inviting you to be her guest.

Martha Stewart Las Vegas Paris restaurant
Martha Stewart attends an event in New York City in October of 2019. The lifestyle celebrity is rumored to be embarking on a Las Vegas venture with her first restaurant concept. (Image: Getty)

Although not officially confirmed, the celebrity lifestyle expert is likely on her way to the Strip with her first restaurant.

Eater Las Vegas was first to scope out the details, the online food and beverage media outlet reporting that construction permits recently filed in Clark County lists a new project venture as the “Martha Stewart Restaurant.” Vital Vegas blogger Scott Roeben reported on the Stewart rumors back in July.

The filings reveal that the Martha Stewart Restaurant is going in at 3655 S. Las Vegas Boulevard — aka Paris Las Vegas. Caesars Entertainment did not respond to requests seeking clarification regarding the project.

Stewart, 80, became a household name in the early 1990s with her quarterly magazine and syndicated television program “Martha Stewart Living.” Stewart taught viewers and readers on a variety of home entertaining tasks, including cooking, decorating, and crafts.

Celebrity Theme Continues

Las Vegas is home to an abundance of celebrities. From the stage to the kitchen, the Strip is packed with familiar names visitors know and trust. Stewart embarking on her first restaurant undertaking, local experts say, will fare well.

Unique and first-ever culinary experiences, especially by high-profile, popular personalities, have always elevated our ‘Only Vegas’ brand of offerings,” explained Lori Nelson-Kraft, senior vice president of communications for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). “While we’re unaware if there’s any truth to the rumor … it would be an amazing addition and huge draw for visitors.”

Should Stewart’s debut eatery come to Paris Las Vegas, it would complement other celebrity restaurants at the Strip resort.

Gordon Ramsay Steak opened at Paris in 2013. Vanderpump à Paris from Lisa Vanderpump of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” fame is under construction, and Caesars recently announced a forthcoming Nobu location at Paris from celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa.

$2M Redo

Caesars and the Martha Stewart camp are remaining quiet on the Paris Las Vegas endeavor. But a little can be learned from the Clark County construction documents.

The filings explain that the project is a remodel of the 5,730-square-foot restaurant space that was previously Martorano’s. The Italian restaurant from celebrity cook Steve Martorano closed permanently last month. The budget for the remodel, commercial construction applications reveal, will run approximately $2 million.

“Renovate existing venue, per design of new Martha Stewart Restaurant,” the project description states. No word on a potential menu, nor when the restaurant might open, was detailed.

Fine dining is big business in Las Vegas. In 2019, the LVCVA says the average overnight visitor in Southern Nevada spent $415 on food and drinks while in town. That’s the highest F&B spend in five years of the LVCVA tracking such expenditures.

With the average stay about three nights, that means the typical Las Vegas guest spends over $100 a day keeping their bellies full.