Iconic Peppermill undergoes ‘much needed face-lift’

The Peppermill Restaurant and Fireside Lounge’s executive chef Nick Orth says the classic Las Vegas diner has undergone “a much needed face-lift” to the tune of $1.8 million over the past year.

The first change you’ll notice: the diner’s colorful, Strip-facing sign that sat on its roof for roughly three decades has been replaced.

After the original rooftop sign was destroyed in a windstorm in April 2023, Orth said the restaurant had no choice but to replace the sign last year.

“We’re in like a little vortex, so when it gets windy, it surrounds our entire building and starts blowing everything around,” he said. “(The sign) was lifted off the roof and then slammed on top, so all the neon and everything was completely destroyed.”

Upkeep on the sign’s fluorescent bulbs was also pricey. Orth said the restaurant had to replace burned-out bulbs four times a year, costing the restaurant roughly $1,800 annually.

Instead, the Peppermill added an LED sign that Orth said will last for the next decade — and be much kinder to the restaurant’s electricity bill.

The sign can also change colors for special events, similar to the newly-installed LED lights on the Rio that were built as part of the property’s ongoing $350 million multiyear redevelopment project.

“If the Raiders ever win the Super Bowl, we can go silver and black; if the Knights win the Stanley Cup again, we can do silver and gold,” he said. “It’s modern, but the style really didn’t change much.”

Bye-bye, red booths

Inside the Fireside Lounge, the once classic red booths and bar stools were replaced this summer after 18 years of wear and tear with gray upholstery — something Orth said was badly needed with the restaurant seating 1.1 million guests every year.

“That’s a lot of butts in those seats, so we had to redo them,” he joked.

New flower arrangements have also been added to improve visibility around the lounge, and fresh carpet — don’t worry, it’s identical to the old — was laid down around the restaurant.

The upgrades also included maintenance on the air conditioning, electrical work and plumbing, the result being that the restaurant had to close for a week in August, Orth said.

The changes have not come without a bit of controversy.

‘Very positive’ reaction

When social media caught word of the maintenance work happening at the restaurant in July, a petition was started to halt renovations by those who feared the changes would “threaten the very character and charm of the Peppermill Fireside Lounge — a cherished institution which is perfect just the way it is,” the petition read.

But once people saw the restaurant after work was completed, Orth says the feedback was “very positive.”

“The initial scare that we were going to rip everything out and change it was quite high, but after we opened up and released the pictures online, everybody’s pretty happy,” he said.

An update added to the petition states: “Please sign the petition showing that we love this update!!!”

But if there’s anything Orth said he and general manager (his mother) Peggy Orth will never change, it’s the cherry blossom trees, the flamingo lamps and the restaurant’s “classic Vegas” feel that has kept tourists, locals and even mobsters coming back for over 50 years.

“We might update a few things and get it modern and more efficient, but as far as the basic feel of the Peppermill, we’re never going to change that.”

Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com.