Reel Club, Wow Bao drive Lettuce Entertain You's 2008 growth plans

Nation's Restaurant News,  Nov 19, 2007  by Carolyn Walkup

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Later in 2008, LEYE plans to open a flagship fine-dining restaurant in the former Ambria space. It will be a seafood-focused restaurant, which Melman intends to be to Chicago what the acclaimed Le Bernardin is to New York. LEYE has revealed that Laurent Gras, whose resume includes heralded work at Fifth Floor in San Francisco and with Alain Ducasse in Paris and Monaco, will be executive chef.

Big Bowl, a pan-Asian dinner-house that now has eight units in the Chicago and Minneapolis areas and in Reston, Va., almost certainly will debut in Scottsdale next summer, Brown said. One of LEYE's oldest restaurants, Don & Charlie's, has operated in Scottsdale since the late 1970s.

Brown said the company "is looking to do more" in Las Vegas, following last summer's successful launch of Stripburger, a full-service, 180-seat outdoor eatery featuring hamburgers, fries, milk shakes and miniature cakes that overlooks the Strip. That launch brought LEYE's Las Vegas group to five restaurants, including a clone of Mon Ami Gabi, another Lincoln Park institution.

Another Mon Ami Gabi bistro, headed by chef-partner Gabino Sotelino, is on the drawing boards for Reston next year.

LEYE also is seeking a site for a third Shaw's Crab House, Brown said, adding that the company may also expand its Spanish tapas concept Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! beyond Chicago and Las Vegas, and open more branches of the Magic Pan Crepe Stand, a two-unit creperie.

A consulting project to develop a buffet in the Flamingo hotel-casino in Las Vegas has been on hold since Harrah's Entertainment bought out the former owners, Brown said.

cwalkup@nrn.com

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