Johnny Church
It is a difficult task to open a restaurant. There is the process of finding a location, leases to sign, suppliers to line up, staff to hire, the list goes on and on—it’s daunting for a corporation and even more so for individual chefs. But for former Strip chefs, owning their own restaurant can be incredibly rewarding.
The route to opening and the challenges inherent are different for every chef, including locals darling Johnny Church, who opened his restaurant in the southern reaches of Vegas, Johnny C’s Diner, during the pandemic. “I signed my lease two weeks before all the closures … so I had to go for it. That was an unforeseen challenge for everybody, really, but to try to open up then was even more of a challenge,” said Church. Originally slated to be a different style of restaurant (he was executive chef at Aureole at Mandalay Bay and a winner of the Food Network show Chopped), Church pivoted to a diner, to make the most of what was already there.
When chef Gina Marinelli opened La Strega, also in the southern reaches of the valley, in early 2019, she found one of the most difficult things ahead of her was “building a brand outside of the Strip! Taking that plunge and trying to create your own identity without the hotels is frightening.” Marinelli is known for her work at D.O.C.G., Sage and American Fish.
At Americana in Desert Shores in the northern valley, chef Stephen Blandino (who worked at Charlie Palmer Steak at Mandalay Bay) had a similar issue. “Going from a big restaurant on the Strip to an independent spot very far off the Strip, the biggest challenge is finding your base. When you’re in a big hotel, you have a constant stream of hungry people living on top of you and walking by daily. Here in Desert Shores, we had to connect almost one on one with neighbors to let them know we were here and that what we were doing was on a different level than what they expected out here. It’s definitely worked out well, but it took some time,” he said.
Gina Marinelli
Each of these chefs brought a set of valuable skills with them from their jobs at Strip employers, like Marinelli’s work ethic, something that’s not surprising, considering the sheer number of covers a typical Strip restaurant serves. And, Blandino said, “Working for Charlie Palmer, and in a hotel like the Four Seasons/Mandalay Bay, you gain an incredible amount of knowledge about all aspects of the business. Coordinating all the priorities involved day to day might have been the biggest thing. Learning to stage smooth events, which we do quite regularly here on Lake Jacqueline—even (very carefully) during the restrictions. And lastly, flexibility. In this community, diners can have a lot of special requests. If we can accommodate them, we always will. That’s the true spirit of hospitality, to me.”
Knowledge was key too, for Church. “I just think, basically it sounds easy, but quality, food costs and labor. They’re the three bases of operating your restaurant. I mean, obviously it’s a lot more deep than that, but having done this pretty much my whole life, I kind of know how to navigate those things.”
That hard work pays off with rewards. Church’s restaurant weathered the harshness of 2020. “The best experience is just the response that we’ve had locally has been amazing, and our feedback on social media and Yelp and Google and all those things and just the support that we’re getting—you know Vegas always supports each other, but I don’t know if it’s more now. And then just in the last few weeks, we’ve just noticed that the business is getting better. We struggled for months now, but people are starting to talk about it, there’s buzz, and we’re appreciative. And we have been really focused on just making sure that we have the quality food there and our services are on point—I’m very fortunate that I have great staff around me.”
Blandino has appreciated becoming part of the community, too, and meeting his customers. “Some of the events we have done have attracted some really special people who have since become regulars and friends. We hosted one man’s 100th birthday! We’ve done some very fun cooking classes, which we hope to bring back. When you’re on the Strip, you don’t necessarily have a lot of regular customers; in a neighborhood like this, it’s just the opposite. And I love it.”
For Marinelli, it’s a blessing to showcase her cooking skills, and she says that’s one of the best experiences in opening her own place, “Getting to cook and create with zero obstacles. Having your own operation really lets you take the handcuffs off and cook from your soul!”
What’s hot at these chefs’ restaurants
Marinelli, Church and Blandino all have similar backgrounds of working in fine dining on the Strip, but their restaurants have different focuses. Here are a few things you will want to look for at their eateries. At Johnny C’s Diner, Church says,“On the sweet side of breakfast is a creme brulée French toast; on the savory side is our country-fried steak that has a biscuit on it with one of the oldest recipes in America, with a Bechamel sauce that we make for sausage gravy.”
At La Strega, Marinelli often creates a special pescheria menu, showcasing her ingredients and her skills—everything from scallops to Spanish trout. The branzino from the regular menu has gotten rave reviews.
At Americana, look for the Colorado lamb shank. It’s served with truffled polenta and broccoli rabe, and it makes a huge impression.
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