Wolfgang Puck: Eastern Empire

By JULIETTE ROSSANT The press now confirms what Fine Dining head Tom Kaplan has hinted in recent weeks: according to Cherry Hill Courier-Post, Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group (WPFD) will be opening its first East Coast restaurant at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City this coming May 2006. It's a new concept, Kaplan said by phone regarding the new "Wolfgang Puck" restaurant: "The concept is best described as Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill meets Spago." The Wolfgang Bar & Grill concept was just being formulated for MGM Grand as Super Chef went to press (discussed on pp. 44-45): an earlier incarnation had opened already in Japan. Joining Wolf will be Bobby Flay and Michael Mina, both opening restaurants on the same property, at the same time. Tony Chi, who was responsible for the design of the Bar & Grill in the MGM Grand, will design "Wolfgang Puck" in the same California beach house theme. This one will have more of the typical Spago setup of two dining areas, one for more formal dining, the other for more casual. The design will be a new design, different from Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill and any of the Spago restaurants -- Barbara Lazaroff at the Spago Beverly Hills, Adam Tihany at the Spago Palo Alto, or Jennifer Johanson of Engstrom Design at Spago Las Vegas and Spago Maui. Kaplan said that for this first venture on the East Coast, they were choosing to open in the familiar setting of a casino -– they've partnered with three already in Las Vegas –- and with a proven concept. With the opening of "Wolfgang Puck" in Atlantic City, the American portion of Wolfgang Puck's restaurant empire will stretch from the East some 5,000 miles, past its West Coast base and on to Spago Maui in Hawaii. And that does not include international deals in Japan and Europe -- nor Wolfgang Puck Worldwide nor Wolfgang Puck Catering. Kaplan added the group has "no more Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill's or Wolfgang Puck's planned at this time." Previous articles Wolf Want Meat: Wolfgang Puck Steak House Wolfgang Puck Inaugurates Washington Wolfgang Puck Returns to Indiana Coffee Puck: Heats in Your Hands Fly With Wolfgang Puck Express And Now Puck Paints, Two! Wolf Wines & Dines, or Puck's Party Euro Puck Puck in a Box Wolfgang Puck Examines the Examiner