A popular Waikīkī food hall is expanding to the Ninth Island.
Stix Asia is set to open at UnCommons in southwest Las Vegas this fall. It'll span 18,000 square feet and feature a mix of 12 international and Las Vegas-based concepts, including some opening in Las Vegas for the first time, a recent announcement noted. Construction started last week.
Each restaurant will operate individually and offer a "seated dining experience with traditional ordering," according to the announcement. Diners will find handcrafted sushi, ramen, izakaya fare and desserts, and many of the dishes will be prepared in full view at live cooking stations.
"Las Vegas, with its global reputation for pushing the boundaries of entertainment and dining, is the perfect stage for our next chapter," Frank Clark, CEO, founder and creator of Stix Asia, said in the announcement. "Our mission has always been to craft more than just a dining experience. We aim to transport guests to the heart of Asia's rich culinary traditions, and we are now one powerful step closer to making that vision a reality."
Clark told Aloha State Daily that Stix Asia has always wanted to expand beyond its original Waikīkī flagship location and was looking at opportunities on the Mainland.
"When Las Vegas came about, there was a former food hall that was in there and we reached out to the landlord and pursued it," he says, noting, too, that about 40% of the population in the surrounding area is Asian, "so we thought it was a perfect fit for us."
When asked about the response he hopes to see with the new location, Clark says the goal was to provide, "a real, authentic Asian cuisine" and to offer more variety.
"The key thing is, I always say the three 'As' that we try to deliver [are]: It's got to be Asian for sure, it's got to be authentic and it's got to be affordable," he says. "I think that would be perfect for Vegas."
Stix Asia debuted in February 2023 on the lower level of the Waikīkī Shopping Plaza, but Clark says prior to that, Waikīkī Yokocho was open from 2016 to 2020. It was closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic before it was rebranded and reopened as Stix Asia.
When asked what the biggest differences people will see between the two locations, Clark notes the physical differences in the locations themselves.
Because of its location, the ceiling in the Waikīkī location, for instance, is about 8 feet high. The UnCommons location, meanwhile, will be found in a standalone building within a master-planned community, with ceilings about 35 to 40 feet high, he noted.
The feel will be different, but they'll work to create the same "vibe" for the Las Vegas location, according to Clark.
"We're excited," Clark told ASD about the new venture. "Southwest Las Vegas currently is really one of the growing markets in Las Vegas right now. It's about 10, 15 minutes from the Strip. It's in a great location. What we noticed in Las Vegas is there's certain restaurants you'd have to travel for 10 minutes here to go to a restaurant ... so we're excited to bring 12 restaurant concepts [to] one location. You don't need to be driving around, you just come to one destination and you can have a choice of your foods. ... Stix Asia, it's a passion project of mine. My whole goal, I always believed food was the best way to get to people's hearts and always get them to understand the cultures of each Asian country. So we're thrilled to try to bring that to Las Vegas now."
Here's more you should know about the new Stix Asia location, according to the announcement:
- The new location is designed by Japanese firm Machiseisakushitsu Co., Ltd. and Studio ForestBeach, a Southern California studio specializing in authentic Japanese design. Construction for the fully funded project will be led by Las Vegas-based Harris Associates.
- Among other features, you'll find a sakura tree at the center of the hall, Kyoto-style seating areas and a lantern entry from the parking area that will be lined in red.
- It'll feature an indoor lounge and outdoor bar, each with a "curated menu of handcrafted Asian cocktails, alongside a bar menu drawing from each dining experience." A west-facing patio at the entrance encourages outdoor dining and a DJ booth "will bring nighttime energy to the space."
- Programming will include monthly night markets, Lunar New Yer festivities and live entertainment.
- The hall will seat about 400 people, indoors and outdoors.
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Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
