Carversteak to fill hole in Resorts World’s culinary picture

Carver Road Hospitality co-founder Sean Christie is a Strip veteran whose previous postings included jobs with MGM Resorts and at Wynn Las Vegas. So one might wonder why he chose Resorts World for his new venture.

”They had a space available. They were wanting a steakhouse. I was asking about something else, Christie said.” He had just launched his company, which also has Flanker Kitchen + Sporting Club in Salt Lake City, which opened Dec. 8, and plans to open a restaurant in New York City in mid-February.

“There was a level of trust that we’d be great partners,” Christie said. “When I looked at the mix … steakhouses usually perform really well. It was a big space, which I liked. All those things collided to create this opportunity for both sides.”

For the chef and vice president of beverage and hospitality culture, Christie tapped two more longtime locals, Daniel Ontiveros, late of Scotch 80 Prime, Joel Robuchon and Bouchon Bistro, and Francesco Lafranconi, former corporate director of mixology and spirits education for Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, who had Mr. Coco at the Palms.

“We feel like we hired one of the best chefs,” Christie said. As for Lafranconi, “he’s executed programs that are among the tops in town, and we’re trying to keep that level of excellence.”

While steakhouses do tend to perform well in Las Vegas, there are dozens of them, so the question arises of how Carversteak will be different.

“We have a lot of technology that turns into an atmosphere of classic-into-contemporary,” Christie said. “Earlier in the evening, the lights will be brighter, music will be of a certain genre. As the place comes alive, the lights go down a little bit, music comes up, and there’s a pace and energy that’s still restaurant-forward and culinary-forward but that creates that buzz.”

Another thing that will be a little offbeat is a big, 28-seat bar near the entrance that he says is sufficiently prominent as to take center stage.

“Over the years the Las Vegas consumer has changed the way it relates to steakhouses — especially conventioneers,” Christie said. “There’s a sector of people who like to eat at the bars; I’ve noticed this in the past five or so years. For myself, when I go in with friends, the bar is a place we naturally end up.”

For that reason, the bar, as well as its 10-seat counterpart on the patio, will serve the full menu.

And what will be on that menu? Details still are being worked out, but expect lots of steaks, of course, many of them dry-aged American cuts and Japanese-certified wagyu steaks. One signature will be a 40-ounce wagyu tomahawk rib chop; others include a whole Maine lobster en croute and hamachi crudo.

It’ll be served in an atmosphere that Christie says will be rich in “mid-century modern aesthetics,” inspired in part by Barry’s Downtown Prime at Circa and Maple & Ash in Chicago.

“Those are the ones that kept jumping out at us,” he said. “We didn’t overdo it, but you still see that aesthetic throughout the entire venue.”

One unique feature will be the Knife Shop private dining room, being done in partnership with the Portland Knife House of Portland, Oregon. Guests will be able to order knives and have them shipped directly. The other private dining space will be a whiskey and Scotch room.

“And we have a lot of nooks and crannies for people to have events in,” he said.

Christie said they expect their average customer to be in their 30s to 60s.

“It’s a broad range,” he said. ” ‘Young’ for us is probably 30- to 40-somethings. It typically seems that steakhouses in town are more mature, because the price point is higher.”

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Follow @HKRinella on Twitter.