Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Heart Attack Grill put to test as patron suffers heart attack

Heart Attack Grill Opening

Sam Morris

The recently opened Heart Attack Grill is seen in the old Jillian’s space at Neonopolis on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011.

The Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas perhaps lived up to its name Saturday night.

Jon Basso, the quirky restaurant’s owner or “chief surgeon,” said employees summoned medical help when they noticed a patron showing signs of a heart attack.

Paramedics arrived within minutes and transported the man, believed to be in his 40s, to a hospital, Basso said. The restaurant, 450 Fremont St., has not learned the man’s identity or his condition, Basso added.

The situation unfolded when Basso said a “nurse” — the restaurant’s lighthearted nickname for servers — noticed the man, who was eating alone, shaking and clutching his chest.

“It’s enough to scare anybody straight,” Basso said.

Despite the coincidence’s comical nature, Basso said he hoped people would respect the man’s privacy and appreciate the seriousness of the medical episode.

“When they happen in a heart attack-themed restaurant, people find it funny,” he said, acknowledging national interest in the incident.

The restaurant, which opened in the fall, sits near the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas and caters to its name by referring to customers as “patients,” servers as “nurses” and food orders as “prescriptions.”

And the menu doesn’t fall short of the theme either: It boasts everything from a “single bypass” (a single hamburger patty with cheese and toppings) to an 8,000-calorie “quadruple bypass” (four hamburger patties with slices of cheese and all toppings).

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