Kathryn Palmer and Juan Vazquez both remember when it was somewhat of a challenge to find a great meal in Henderson.
“I think there’s been a revolution in independent restaurants,” says Palmer, a Green Valley resident since 2004. “When we moved here, we had Applebee’s, and we had Chili’s, and we had Elephant Bar at The District.’’
Palmer says for years, she and her husband, CJ Foster, felt compelled to go to the Strip, Summerlin, or southwest Las Vegas for dinner out. But no longer.
“You’re seeing more of these independent, multi-unit owners,” she says. “Folks who are serving more interesting food are headed our way, which is such a relief. Not as many breakfast restaurants; now we have legitimate dinner restaurants. That’s a huge change for Henderson.”
When Vazquez and his wife, Darcey, moved to the Horizon Drive-Horizon Ridge Parkway area in 2001, they felt the same lack of interesting dining spots. They love craft beer, and about 10 years ago, friends told them about Lovelady Brewing Company, which opened on Water Street in 2016.
“Lovelady was the first new business that opened; they built from the ground up,” he says. “We would go and have a couple of craft beers, and now we’re hungry. We’d have to get in our car and go to the Stephanie and Marks area.”
They were in the position to actually do something about it. They had opened Juan’s Flaming Fajitas + Cantina on the west side of the valley in 2013, and started thinking that Henderson might be a good place to expand. Likewise building from the ground up, they opened on Water Street — next to Lovelady — in 2018. And they haven’t looked back.
“We just enclosed the patio area,” Vasquez says. “We’re definitely blessed.”
The City of Henderson reports that it issued 107 new restaurant and food–service licenses in the past year, which representatives say is about average.
“In terms of volume, I don’t see more,” says Windom Kimsey, a Water Street developer. “I think there’s a lot of churn. If it’s a decent location, somebody else is going to give it a try.”
Kimsey, who opened Public Works Coffee Bar and Azzurra Cucina Italiana because of a lack of such spots on Water Street, is planning a new building there with an upstairs bar. Kimsey and Tim Brooks, a Henderson casino executive, are hoping to find an upscale Thai restaurant for the downstairs space. He is also enthusiastic about plans for San Diego-based Better Buzz Coffee Roasters opening on Lake Mead Parkway, and the impending completion of the Watermark mixed-use project on Water Street, which is to have a number of restaurants.
“For me, it’s all about the quality and changing the dining landscape downtown,” Kimsey says.
The Stephanie Street corridor has, as Vazquez noted, long offered a collection of restaurants, and there’s been a lot of churn there recently. Just in the section between Russell and Warm Springs roads, a Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar and a First Watch have replaced former restaurants, and a LongHorn Steakhouse opened in a former Applebee’s Grill + Bar, which moved down the street.
It seems that whether you think the Henderson restaurant scene is improving depends in large part on what neighborhood you live in.
“Not really,” says Alyse Corrigan, who lives in Inspirada. “We desperately need restaurants.”
“Cadence still feels like it needs something,” Palmer says.
“People are very neighborhood-centric,” Kimsey says.
Claudine Branchaud West and her husband, Bill, like to occasionally venture to Water Street, but they’ve also been watching changes around their Green Valley neighborhood. There, she says, they find “great happy hours and charcuterie; just fun stuff,” and anticipate what’s to come.
“Last year we had North Italia and Flower Child,” which both opened at The District at Green Valley Ranch. “I know that The Cliff (retail development) will be opening, and that will bring some restaurants within walking distance to my house, which is lovely. I have noticed a lot more mom-and-pop stuff.”
Close to Branchaud West’s house is the Paseo Verde Plaza at Valle Verde Drive and Paseo Verde Parkway, which has become home to a number of independents, such as Boom Bang Fine Foods & Cocktails, from Joël Robuchon-trained chef Elia Aboumrad; Tacotarian, an offshoot of the groundbreaking Arts District spot; and Makers & Finders Urban Coffee Bar, also an offshoot of an Arts District spot.
Makers & Finders owner Josh Molina, who has several locations across the valley, opened in Henderson in 2023.
“I’ve been in Vegas for 25-plus years,” Molina says. “Henderson wasn’t known as a place you could go dine. You’d think about (the recently shuttered) Claim Jumper; you’d think about the basics. Other than The District, there really wasn’t much until they revitalized Water Street.”
But across the city, he’s seeing an evolution.
“I was a little early in Henderson,” Molina says. Now, he sees change echoing what transpired in the Arts District: “first, independents, and then national brands kind of converging in one place. I think it’s exciting. It makes me feel good about my choice.”
Molina echoed the neighborhood-centric element Kimsey noted.
“Henderson people — I think they like to stay where they’re at,” he says. That’s contributed to his Henderson location doing more in takeout and delivery than the Arts District spot he’s had for 12 years.
“We have people ordering multiple times a week,” he says, adding that at times the dining room may be empty, but the kitchen slammed with takeout and delivery orders.
“Henderson has exploded in the St. Rose Parkway area,” Vazquez says. “There’s a lot more going on down there. I keep my eye on West Henderson because one day, Lord willing, we’d like to be down there as well.”
“There’s people opening some more interesting things,” Kimsey says. “Horizon Ridge Parkway has always been a place for people trying things out.”
“It almost feels like people are banding together with these interesting restaurants,” Palmer says. She also noted the opening of a fresh pasta shop, a&m pasta lab, at Lake Las Vegas.
“It’s these kind of tiny moments that seem headed in the right direction,” she says. “We’re getting to it. I’m rooting for us. I am.”
