Local food critic and rainbow aficionado Al Mancini has revealed that Made LV is shutting down in Tivoli after a very brief stay. The innovative restaurant opened by the famous Elizabeth Elizabeth Blau and Kim Canteenwalla, was just launched less than two years ago to much fanfare, leaving many people to wonder if local restaurants can ever make it in Tivoli village.
Made L.V. replaced another doomed restaurant Hops & Harvest which had opened only a few years earlier to pretty good reviews also, but had never gained traction with locals.
As one yelp reviewer (who gave it 4 stars!) put it only 15 days ago:
I can only assume that this place will end up out of business in 6 months time like every single restaurant that has ever occupied this particular space in Tivoli Village. This is probably the 5th restaurant that Ive noticed in the building and they simply never end up successful.
Made L.V. is being replaced by a beer and sports bar, PKWY Tavern, which caters to a much less-affluent level of people than Made L.V. does, with microwaved frozen food and chips and dips. PKWY even has a beer loyalty program which gives points to those who drink the most, and has regular contests pitting expert drunks against other expert drunks. Not a knock against the place, as every single place caters to an audience and knowing that audience is what smart business people do.
However, this is not exactly the audience that Tivoli has been claiming to have?
Tivoli has not been kind to restaurants with places like Social Bistro and Wine bar shutting down for not paying rent less than a year after launch, after losing Pizza Lounge. Poppy Den, which seemed to always be busy was quickly replaced by Stratta a Tapas Restaurant, which only lasted for a bit, to be transformed into southern-like restaurant, Salt & Pepper – which then also closed.
What is the result of all this? Chain restaurants have completely taken over Tivoli including Brio, Cantina Laredo, and Kabuki Japanese Restaurant. The only non-chain restaurant is now Echo and Rig, a modern highly rated Steakhouse.
Personally, I am very curious why restaurants can’t seem to make it in this very beautiful outdoor mall location. Even on this Saturday, during a festival which was fairly well attended despite being rained on, the restaurants were fairly empty. I went to one of my favorite “chains” Brio, and was amazed there was no wait for lunch and the place was sparsely filled – unlike the location at Town Square which is always packed, and usually requires a wait for lunches.
I spoke to a few employees of Tivoli yesterday, trying to get an idea why the restaurants are not succeeding. One of them told me the main issue is parking in front of the restaurants, which are non-existent. That even Made L.V. has parking, but its almost always taken over by people going to other places.
Whatever it is, the locations at Tivoli are becoming well known for being impossible to build a successful restaurant in.
See Elizabeth Blau talk about her new restaurant on CBS This Morning
Blau was a pivotal figure in the transformation of Las Vegas from a whiskey and steakhouse gambling town to the world-class dining city it is today. She now co-owns several restaurants with her husband, Chef Kim Canteenwalla, with the latest being Andiron Steak & Sea, a fine-dining location in suburban Las Vegas. Blau joins “CBS This Morning: Saturday” to discuss her career and share some of her signature dishes.
