Michael Mina’s Barbecue Restaurant in Las Vegas Will Close Its Doors
One of the country’s most powerful chefs is losing at least one restaurant this year.
The Las Vegas location of Michael Mina’s International Smoke is set to close after dinner service on January 19, Eater reported on Tuesday. The barbecue restaurant, which is housed within the MGM Grand, is a partnership between Mina and the restaurateur and producer Ayesha Curry. The two will still oversee an International Smoke outpost in San Francisco.
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International Smoke debuted in Sin City in December 2019. The robust menu includes signature plates like smoked Korean-style short ribs, peri peri chicken, and bone-in cowboy ribeye. After Mina released his latest cookbook, My Egypt, late last year, the restaurant added a “My Egypt Feast” prix fixe to the offerings. That spread comes with options such as babaganoush and grilled pita, tomato-ginger glazed salmon, and cinnamon-spiced rice pudding.
The shuttering of the restaurant marks the latest closed spot at the MGM Grand, Eater noted. The breakfast spot Avenue Café was shut down to make room for a Netflix Bites pop-up, which will serve diners food inspired by various Netflix productions. Those who want to chow down on Mina’s fare during their trip to Las Vegas still have plenty of options, though: The chef operates five other restaurants in the city, including an outpost of his Bourbon Steak and the eponymous Michael Mina restaurant.
It hasn’t been a strong past few months for barbecue joints run by fine-dining power players. In October, Union Square Hospitality Group announced that its Blue Smoke would shutter at the end of 2024. The restaurant group, which Danny Meyer founded almost 40 years ago, operated Blue Smoke for more than a decade before it decided to shut down the Battery Park City location. (A Flatiron outpost closed during the pandemic, as well.)
While Mina may be mourning the upcoming closure of International Smoke, he likely can’t dwell on it for too long. The chef has more than 30 restaurants under his belt, and at least two more are slated for the coming months. Plus, he’s launching the Mina Network in collaboration with Fireside.
It sounds like Mina will have plenty to keep him busy once International Smoke closes its doors for the last time in a couple of weeks.
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