Chains put three outlets on LV’s restaurant menu

Thursday, July 25, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Two restaurant chains -- one ranked as a national growth leader by Restaurant Business magazine -- are opening three outlets in Southern Nevada.

East Side Mario's, a subsidiary of Dallas-based Pizza Hut Inc., a Pepsico Co., opened a restaurant in Henderson and will add another on Monday on West Sahara Avenue.

ESM and Carvers Steaks & Chops, owned and operated by San Diego-based Paragon Steakhouse Restaurants Inc., opened the doors to their new Green Valley restaurants within a block of each other.

Carvers, at 2061 W. Sunset Road, specializes in beef and seafood dishes, and the contemporary setting employs high ceilings, wood furnishing, modern art, ornamental lighting and a displayed wine cellar.

Paragon opened its first Carvers last year and has since expended to 10 restaurants in six states.

The Green Valley Carvers is open for dinner from 5-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 4-10 p.m. Sunday. Price ranges from $15 to $21. Reservations are available at 433-5801.

East Side Mario's atmosphere is a Little Italy streetscape with tenement exteriors with fire escapes, a Statue of Liberty and other New York City facades.

The Henderson outlet at 2031 W. Sunset Road is open from 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and 11-1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. The second ESM opens Monday at 5750 W. Sahara Ave.

The menu offers a wide range of Italian fare, with parmigianas, pastas, pizzas and beverages. The company will employ 125 full- and part-time staff.

The first ESM opened in North Miami Beach, Fla., in 1987. Since then, 35 outlets have opened through 1995 in 17 states. East Side Mario's Pronto! is the chain's prototype airport restaurant at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

Restaurant Business magazine listed ESM as the top growth chain as ranked by percentage increase in systemwide sales in its July 1 edition. The company experienced a 126.3 percent increase in sales from 1994 ($35 million) to 1995 ($79.2 million). It ranked ninth in percentage increase by units, (59.1 percent) from 22 in 1994 to 35 in 1995.