Restaurant closing at Golden Nugget casino

Friday, April 6, 2001 | 10:25 a.m.

The California Pizza Kitchen restaurant at the Golden Nugget hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas will close within several months to make way for a new restaurant and entertainment venue.

Alan Feldman, spokesman for Golden Nugget owner MGM MIRAGE, said the restaurant will likely close in June. Less than 50 employees work at the restaurant, and the company will attempt to move all employees to other positions at the Golden Nugget while the restaurant is closed. Restaurant employees work for the hotel-casino under a joint venture agreement.

The California Pizza Kitchen had "very strong lunch business, very solid dinner business, but what we're looking to do is add a late-night component," Feldman said. Future plans for the new restaurant haven't been finalized yet, but the company hopes to open it by the end of the summer.

The move comes during a renovation period at the Golden Nugget, downtown's most upscale hotel-casino. The Golden Nugget recently reopened its showroom and added a Starbucks coffee house. All rooms in the hotel's north tower -- about 400 rooms in all -- will be renovated this summer as well.

There are no plans to close the California Pizza Kitchen at the Mirage hotel-casino, Feldman said.

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