■ Ai Pono Cafe: Chef-owner Gene Villiatora, who once cooked in Summerlin post-“Top Chef,” brings the aloha from Orange County with Hawaiian street food such as Da Roots Plate (short rib, ahi katsu, ahi poké) and Ahi Katsu (breaded tuna with miso-hot mustard-sweet soy reduction). When Stations unveiled Durango in October 2021, “we outlined the amenities that were set to be part of the project, and a unique food hall was always part of the plan, so it’s exciting to be able to finally share the news about Eat Your Heart Out and the partners we put together,” said David Horn, Durango’s vice president and general manager. The 25,000-square-foot space, designed by Hatch Design Group, features 11 food and drink outlets that mix new-to-market and established local purveyors, with dine-in and counter seating and a roomy terrace. Now, Durango resort, the $750 million project from Station Casinos taking shape in southwest Vegas, has announced that Eat Your Heart Out food hall will debut with the launch of the property in fall 2023. In the past five years, at least five halls have opened at major gaming properties, including two in December: Proper Eats in Aria (which replaced the buffet) and the food hall in the Fremont downtown.

In Las Vegas casinos, food halls are the new buffets, the new occasions for multiculinary and multicultural grazing. The casino and hall are scheduled to debut in fall 2023. A sushi platter from Yu-Or-Mi Sushi, a local Las Vegas purveyor set to go into the Eat Your Heart Out food hall at the Durango resort taking shape in southwest Vegas.

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