Rosemary's closed

[foodlvrzen]

of all the places in Vegas' stars of dining, this one should not have gone out.

http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2011/jul/13/goodbye-old-friend/
http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2011/jul/13/rosemarys-restaurant-west-sahara-closes-after-12-y/
http://www.eatinglv.com/2011/07/this-...

[LongIslandChef]

Really wish I got a chance to try this place. I just started reading up on Vegas again since I might be planning another trip(I'll start another thread with any questions)and saw this place had closed. It was near the top of my list for this time around, so much for that...

[josephnl]

Is there anything in LV that is remotely similar to what was Rosemary's...excellent food, service and ambiance, away from the strip? Please don't suggest Todd's Unique...it isn't even close.

[honkman]

It's very different style of food, but Raku has outstanding food, great service and good (not outstanding) ambience. Especially if you go after the Kaiseki menu (which we haven't done yet but people we know and trust) you will have a very good night.

http://www.raku-grill.com/menu6.html

[Philber]

Based on LV1964's recent review you may wish to try Elements Kitchen and Martini Bar.

[QAW]

It also depends on your definition of "The Strip". The Barrymore (http://www.barrymorelv.com/ ), at the Royal Hotel, is a good fit from both a food and service standpoint. While close to the Strip, since it is not in a casino-based Hotel, it may bring the right vibe.

[Phoebe]

I just came across the fact that Rosemary's closed...in a very fast manner. No reason was ever really given. Was it all just due to finances....or was there a "bigger" story? Any time I had the pleasure of eating there, it was delicious and always full.

[Philber]

Everything I read indicated it was the economy that got them. They stopped serving lunch first as business was too slow. Apparently they just couldn't make a go of it.

[Phoebe]

Thanks for the reply. What a shame. I had the pleasure of eating there several times. Great food & service.

[kerosundae]

NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[breezey]

OH NO!! We go to Las Vegas every November for business and have been going to Rosemary's for years. This is so sad.

[Pinkwasabi]

Say it ain't so!!!! Truly one of our favorite restaurants...how sad. I just got noticed from Open Table that my reservation got cancelled and when I called them..no answer. We loved this place. Now where do we go? So far we are going to Lotus of Siam and Scarpetto's...any suggestions...along the line of Rosemary's?

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Lotus of Siam
953 E Sahara Ave Ste A5, Las Vegas, NV 89104

[josephnl]

Very sad! Does anyone know what Chef Michael's plans are?

[climberdoc]

Very sad news indeed! Every time I dined there it was no less than packed with a wait. Very surprising.

Vegas has has some serious losses over the past few years. Bar Charlie, Alex and now Rosemary's.

What's next? LOS?

[skaboy]

I blame the economy as well as the influx of celebrity chef restaurants. I feel personal guilt over choosing Jaleo over Rosemary's this past weekend. :(

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Jaleo
3708 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109

[juno]

A 12-year run isn't bad for a resto nowadays, I suppose. I've been going there since it opened whenever I've been in town - about twice a year on average. Enjoyed its imaginative menu, good service and overall ambience every time out. The principals are too damn good at what they do to stay out of action for long. In the meantime, there's always Todd's Unique, another favorite of mine, which I've always regarded as a junior, east-side version of Rosemary's.

[Philber]

A sad day for many Las Vegas Hounds....

Folks, all the more reason to support the great family-run restaurants in town; e.g. Todd's Unique!

[Dave Feldman]

Gee, my first thought was that Groovin' Gourmet is going to be crushed.

My sympathies involved for everyone at Rosemary's and for all the family-run establishments in LV that are struggling.

[GroovinGourmet]

You got that right. Wow...

[janetofreno]

Amen to that, Dave. On Tuesday evening I went to a business dinner at Roy's in Summerlin, very close to where Rosemary's was. Now admittedly it was a Tuesday evening, but the place was empty. Even the bar, with appetizer deals and all those great cocktails and the All-Star game on the TVs.....deserted. And Roy's is an established "brand" restaurant. The family places must really be struggling.. The economy here is not getting better very quickly, and I'm afraid the news out of City Center won't help (Legionaire's Disease at Aria; structural problems in the now-empty Harmon facility). I guess all we can do is get out there and eat out a little more...I have friends and family coming to town this weekend so will try to do my share...oh,.and climberdoc: bite your tongue! (about LOS....)

[foodlvrzen]

very frustrated about Rosemary's; and Roy's et. al. had better get their act together and wake up before it's too late, because their food is much better than the bland chains near it, like Cheesecake Fact. etc.; am SO tired of chain places and losing quality family owned unique dining; these places NEED GOOD MARKETING, at minimum some advertising, at least use social media more for specials, holidays, capitalize on the never ending weekly Vegas goings-on; learn from all the designer couture chef restaurants that market and create buzz, otherwise it just doesn't matter how fantastic a product is.

a few years ago on chowhound I noticed a couple of popular new dining places that were totally on top of their customer base, as the owners and/or chefs were part of CH and openly exchanged feedback/comments/compliments/complaints...and accordingly kept improving and growing their clientele...now how basic is that

[honkman]

Unfortunately it is not that simple - good marketing is nice but goes far beyond just social media and annonucing specials etc. and costs a lot of money. It is by far not only a problem in LV but in many other cities and if you don't find any investors with enough money to finance marketing etc or have already a well established name as a chef there is a high chance even if you use social media, great food and service etc. your restaurant will not survive for a long time. In addition, many people tend to choose restaurant they know (mainly chains) as places to go for eating when money is tight something even marketing won't change.

[hobbess]

I think it'd be more difficult than just than good marketing or advertising.

I'm assuming most of the diners for fine dining in Las Vegas restaurants are from outside the area. So, imagine the difficulty in trying to market or advertise on a national level when you're just a local mom and pop store. Maybe, you could focus on advertising to these non-local diners just when they're in Las Vegas but you'd have to completely saturate these non-locals with ads when they're in town to make sure they'd see your ad at least once and that would get cost prohibitive after awhile.

A small, local place like Lotus of Siam has been able to get that national recogition but they've been able to do that because they somehow garnered the reputation as the 'best thai' restaurant in the country. (Personally, I tried LOS a couple of times and never really got the hype.) But, its a lot easier to win the title of 'best thai' in this country than it would be to win the title of 'best american'.

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Lotus of Siam
953 E Sahara Ave Ste A5, Las Vegas, NV 89104

[Taylor Condra]

Ouch. I had several memorable meals thru the years at Rosemary's. It was never an over the top amazing experience, but I always had a very well executed meal. Food, service, wine all were consistently well done. Hope the owners land on their feet somewhere.