{"id":283621,"date":"2023-08-02T11:40:06","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T16:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=283621"},"modified":"2023-08-02T11:51:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-02T16:51:01","slug":"vegas-restaurant-roundup-rio-buffet-wont-be-back-for-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-restaurant-roundup-rio-buffet-wont-be-back-for-more\/","title":{"rendered":"VEGAS RESTAURANT ROUNDUP: Rio Buffet Won\u2019t Be Back for More"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Carnival World Buffet<\/strong> at Rio Las Vegas<\/strong>, which closed along with the pandemic, won’t be back for more.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Carnival World Buffet at Rio Las Vegas drew consistent critical and popular raves online. (Image: Caesars.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The off-Strip casino resort\u2019s new operator, Dreamscape,\u00a0<\/strong>who bought the Rio from Caesars Entertainment<\/strong> in 2019, has no appetite for buffets. Instead, it announced in a statement that it will debut a \u201cworld-class food hall that we think will deliver an exceptional alternative to the former Carnival World Buffet.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s part of a trend identified by Casino.org<\/em> in March,<\/a> wherein Las Vegas buffets are on the way out and food halls — basically food courts with Michelin-starred restaurants — are on the way in.<\/p>\n

Only eight buffets remain (The Bacchanal<\/strong> at Caesars Palace, The Buffet <\/strong>at Bellagio, Wicked Spoon<\/strong> at Cosmopolitan, The Buffet<\/strong> at Wynn Las Vegas,<\/strong> the MGM Grand Buffet, <\/strong>the Buffet at Excalibur<\/strong>, the Circus Buffet<\/strong> at Circus Circus,<\/strong> and The Buffet<\/strong> at Luxor<\/strong>) where 18 once stood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re replacing buffets because a lot of people just decided they didn\u2019t want to reopen their buffets at exactly the same time, around COVID,\u201d Las Vegas food writer Al Mancini told Casino.org<\/em> in the original article. \u201cBut even before the pandemic, I don\u2019t know that buffets were a profit center. The resorts were trying to come up with ways to sell them to people, like do a tour of all the buffets \u2026 all-day passes to eat at every buffet within the Caesars portfolio in a day.\u201d
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Bojangles will debut in Las Vegas with 20 new locations in the next year or so. (Image: Bojangles)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dining In & Out<\/h2>\n

Bojangles,<\/strong>\u00a0 known as Bojangles\u2019 Famous Chicken \u2018n Biscuits until 2020, is building 20 new restaurants in Las Vegas, according to a news release from the company. Founded in 1977 as a single location in Charlotte, NC, Bojangles specializes in Cajun-seasoned fried food. It now operates more than 800 outlets across 15 states.<\/p>\n

Zippy\u2019s<\/strong> will soon be a Las Vegas thing, too. The beloved restaurant and bakery had planned to open its first location outside Hawaii in 2020, but the pandemic had other plans. The opening date is now set for October 10 at Badura Ave.<\/p>\n

Wolfgang Puck Players Locker,<\/strong> a sports restaurant in the Downtown Summerlin<\/strong> shopping mall, abruptly shuttered on July 30 after brunch. This was a month earlier than expected. When the closure of Lupo<\/strong>\u00a0at Mandalay Bay<\/strong> was announced in June,<\/a> it was also announced that the brand would relocate to Puck\u2019s Summerlin restaurant. A closure to rebrand was slated for \u201clate summer.\u201d According to Eater Las Vegas,<\/em> Players Locker staffers were given zero notice. \u201cThe sooner we close, the sooner we can reopen,\u201d a company spokesperson told the restaurant news site.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Carnival World Buffet at Rio Las Vegas, which closed along with the pandemic, won’t be back for more. The off-Strip casino resort\u2019s new operator, Dreamscape,\u00a0who bought the Rio from Caesars Entertainment in 2019, has no appetite for buffets. Instead, it announced in a statement that it will debut a \u201cworld-class food hall that we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":283623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81886,82353],"tags":[87342,86342,85837,87340,87341,82871,23,83493,86102],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVEGAS RESTAURANT ROUNDUP: Rio Buffet Won\u2019t Be Back for More - Casino.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Carnival World Buffet at Rio Las Vegas, which closed along with the pandemic, won't be back for more. 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