Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill at MGM Grand, the namesake restaurant of one of the world’s most celebrated chefs, has been closed since a routine inspection by the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) on Jan 2 turned up multiple frightening findings.
The hot line (where hot food is cooked) and prep kitchen (where ingredients are prepared) were the main problems. They received 16 and 15 demerits, respectively, while all other units received 0-3.
Both units received demerits for “effective pest control measures” and “food protected from potential cross-contamination by employees and consumers.”
The hot line received demerits for “food at proper temperatures,” and the prep kitchen received demerits for “food thawed and cooled using proper methods/fruits and vegetables washed prior to preparation,” “chemicals properly identified, stored and used,” and “food contact surfaces of equipment properly cleaned and sanitized.”
Closed in addition to the restaurant, hot line and prep kitchen were four additional related food service operations: the bar, server station, butcher shop and exhibition kitchen.
In all, the SNHD dished out 42 demerits to the Wolfgang Puck’s MGM Grand operation. SNHD closes facilities if an inspection results in 41 demerits or more, or if inspectors observe the facility operating under an imminent health hazard.
What the Puck?
Puck, 75, was the first celebrity chef to open a restaurant in Las Vegas. When he debuted Spago at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in 1992, the Strip was still widely regarded as a haven for cheap buffets.
Puck’s MGM Grand restaurant, which debuted in July 2023, was the fifth in his Vegas empire, following Spago (which he moved to the Bellagio in 2018), the Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill at Crystals at CityCenter in 2010, Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria & Cucina at Crystals at CityCenter in 2011 and Lupo by Wolfgang Puck at Mandalay Bay in 2013.
SNHD’s running list of restaurant closures typically includes unfamiliar names frequented only by locals. But once every in a great while, a major Strip property will show up.
In September, a room service kitchen at Bellagio, also an MGM Resorts property, was closed for violations including “sewage or liquid waste not disposed of in an approved manner.”
To a big casino company like MGM Resorts — which co-owns the Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill with the restaurateur — a health department closure is almost as embarrassing as a Nevada Gaming Commission closure.
Fixing all violations is given top priority, heads quietly roll, and then the SNHD is invited back for an inspection within 1-2 days that inevitably produces an “A” rating and wipes the recognizable name from the SNHD’s website.
The MGM Grand’s website lists reservations available at Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill starting 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 6.
A PR rep for the MGM Grand did not reply to Casino.org’s request for comment.
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