Jordan PobleteSure, Las Vegas is a town of neon lights, “ca-ching” sounds, and eye-catching people, but you don’t have to venture far from the Strip to find that it’s becoming a foodie paradise too.
I recently found my way to The Venetian Resort and Casino for the opening of their new food hall called Via Via. Tucked under a bright white neon sign just off the cash flow of the casino floor was the newest outlet of LA’s own Nashville hot chicken restaurant, Howlin’ Ray’s.
The lore of Howlin’ Ray’s precedes itself, with locals flocking for the delicious chicken that’s worth the long line. So how exactly did LA’s very popular and tasty Nashville hot chicken joint find its way to Las Vegas? A relational “Yes, chef.”
Chef Johnny Ray Zone (Chris Lee)
Chef and founder Johnny Ray Zone started Howlin’ Ray’s as a food truck in LA alongside his business partner and wife Amanda Chapman back in 2015. Finding crowds of hungry fans, they soon traded in the truck for a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Chinatown’s Far East Plaza, and added a second location in Pasadena in 2022. Ten years later, their vision was affirmed by Venetian Las Vegas President and CEO, Patrick Nichols.
”[Patrick] originally came to us when he was running [another Las Vegas hotel] and asked us to bring Howlin’ Ray’s there, but we weren’t ready. Now, we are and we wanted to do it with a guy that we respect, and who respects us equally,” said chef Johnny Ray Zone during an interview at the opening of Via Via Food Hall.
Zone made clear that the Las Vegas outpost is not a franchise, “because we will never franchise,” and is instead a true partnership with shared values and trust.
(Jakob Layman)
That mutual trust that both Nichols and Zone, both 37, have for each other is built upon a shared value of guest service and high quality foods. “We were built on this universal language of hospitality that Patrick and the Venetian gets. I mean, they are a 4-star Forbes hotel. They know this stuff,” Zone said.
And it isn’t the stars so much as it is the product that has already brought many Howlin’ Ray’s fans from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. During my visit, I saw many of those people wearing custom merchandise from the LA stores, ordering their 100% peanut oil-fried Nashville hot chicken in sandwich or whole form.
Las Vegas’s Howlin’ Ray’s will have the same hot menu that includes my personal favorites — the Tennessee Tang dip (their version of ranch) and the pretty damn famous banana pudding. Fun fact: there are slight changes to the cooking times and amount of ingredients to account for environmental factors like Vegas’s dry air and saltier water.
As for the Nashville hot chicken itself, the degree of heat will still be entirely up to you (be warned: medium is definitely not for the faint of heart). However, Zone said that you’ll soon be able to order items from their secret menu, including “Luis Style” — The Sando with toast and cheddar cheese.
(Chris Lee)
“I hope that we are able to influence the Vegas food scene and court the locals like we have in LA,” said Zone, adding that the gauge of success for this Howlin’ Ray’s is the same as the others that have opened before: the community it serves. During the LA wildfires at the start of this year, Howlin’ Ray’s partnered with Uber (another relationship Zone put trust in) to donate $10,000 worth of credits to anyone on their staff who was affected, in addition to donating free hot chicken meals.
That generosity and care that Zone is known for has carried into his fine-dining-brigade-like cooks that staff Howlin’ Ray’s at the Venetian. While touring the kitchen and getting to meet the staff, I realized Zone’s experience and knowledge produces a better product.
”What’s the secret ingredient to the hot chicken being so good?” I asked one of the chefs. “Being on this team — learning and growing together with Chef [Johnny],” she said.
“Like LA, Vegas is really a melting pot of people that all are coming to gamble on everything, including food,” Zone said. “It won’t be long before I start seeing a high roller strolling through after a big win, holding that cash bag that says Howlin’ Ray’s.”
(Jakob Layman)