Rick Moonen and his wife Roni, along with most of the employees announced that they were forced to shut down RM Seafood and Rx Boiler Room after they were unable to come to new terms on a the lease. Unfortunately, according to Al Mancini of the Las Vegas Review Journal, over 120 employees will be without jobs come Monday.
Chef and cookbook author Rick Moonen has been a leading advocate for the sustainable seafood movement for 25 years and has worked alongside the likes of L’Hostellerie Bressane’s Jean Morel and Le Cirque’s Alain Sailhac.
According to Mancini, “Moonen plans to move forward with restaurant concept consulting; his online lifestyle network “Feast it Forward”; product endorsements; various charity events; and promoting sustainable seafood as a member of the Blue Ribbon Task Force through the Monterey Bay Aquarium. He is adamant about his intention to remain in Las Vegas and continue serving its residents. He says he currently has multiple concepts in development, with an eye toward opening a restaurant off the Strip.”
This is really bad news for Mandalay Bay which has struggled even before shooting a little over a year ago. Cancelations after the shooting doubled, and the restaurants suffered. Spoke people like Debta DeShong tried to claim that this was seasonal, but it soon became very clear that that Mandalay Bay had some serious issues.
As MGM’s fourth-largest property, Mandalay Bay accounts for 8.5 percent of its revenue, with much of its business coming from conventions attracted to its 2 million square feet of exhibition space. According to MGM internal documents, some leisure tourists are electing to stay away from the property and, along with potential Monte Carlo guests, are opting to stay with competitors.
This move is a serious disaster for MGM and shows how restaurants and companies are fleeing Mandalay Bay because they are unable to come to a good lease agreement with the restaurants. What will be left soon will be chain restaurants, and Mandalay Bay will be another mediocre casino too far for most people to visit.
