Las Vegas restaurants stock up for a big convention week

Conventions are big money for the Las Vegas economy. And with two major shows in town this week, local restaurants are expecting bustling business.

World of Concrete and the Shooting, Hunting & Outdoor Trade Show (better known as the SHOT Show) run from Tuesday through Friday. Each is expected to draw about 60,000 attendees, and word on the Strip is that these are people who like to eat, and eat well.

“They’re big spenders,” says Ralph Scamardella, chef partner in the Tao Group, which operates several Las Vegas restaurants and nightclubs including Tao, Lavo, Beauty & Essex and Marquee.

Matthew Hurley, executive chef of Cut by Wolfgang Puck, agrees.

“They’re great eaters. They eat Japanese beef. They eat great high-end seafood. They do a number on us.”

As a result, Scamardella says his restaurants need to prepare to be at full capacity every night of the week.

“The ordering has to get ramped up. The prep has to get ramped up. And when it’s big conventions like (this) week, with their spenders, we’ll bring in high-end products.”

He explains that business on a typical Monday or Tuesday tends to be about 40 percent of what they’ll do on a sold-out Friday or Saturday. This week, however, they expect to be near 100 percent every night.

At Tao, which Restaurant Business magazine rates as the highest-grossing independent restaurant in America with over $43 million in estimated annual sales, that means ordering about 500 extra steaks, 500 additional pounds of sea bass and 250 extra pounds of chicken per day. On the nightclub side, Scamardella says “we’ll definitely bring in more bottles for bottle service, and it’s mostly champagne, higher-end champagnes.” Veuve Clicquot Rose and Dom Perignon Rose are expected to be big sellers.

Over at Cut by Wolfgang Puck, executive chef Matthew Hurley is stocking up with 20 to 25 percent more steaks this week than he did for CES. He says all of Puck’s local restaurants do big numbers when these two shows are in town. But those, like his, that are closer to the convention center tend to do better.

Both chefs are also stocking up on specialty items they think will appeal to the convention crowds. Scamardella is bringing in three-pound spiny lobsters from California to prepare sashimi style with coconut snow, white ponzu and tomato jelly at prices of $175 to $200 apiece.

Hurley, on the other hand, is targeting the hunters attending SHOT Show with some of his specials.

“I go into it thinking they’re going to be meat eaters. And I’ll bring in some exotic stuff too. I’ll bring in venison and duck and things like that that I think that they can relate to.”

One thing the chef isn’t expecting this week, however, are a lot of late-night diners.

“It ends really early for us,” he says. “Because they go to bed early and they wake up early to start the convention.”

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. Las Vegas Sands operates The Venetian and Palazzo.

Contact Al Mancini at amancini@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlManciniVegas on Twitter.