Tivoli Village is a mall designed in an Italian motif, sitting across Rampart Boulevard from Suncoast Hotel & Casino. During the Great Recession, construction was suspended on Tivoli Village, making it one of the poster children for Las Vegas' economic overreach.
But those days are behind it and today Tivoli Village sports an eclectic array of offerings, ranging from dentistry to waffles. It was announced a few days ago that Tivoli would open its Phase Two in October, anchored by Restoration Hardware and Canter's Deli. In all, it will encompass 370,000 square feet of dining and retail, and 300,000 square feet of office space. H&M clothier is said to be interested, as is pet-friendly hotelier Kimpton, but nothing has yet firmed up on those fronts.
Last summer, construction on Phase Two was proceeding at an almost-indiscernible pace and Tivoli Village, already years behind schedule for completion, was in danger of losing business to Downtown Summerlin (next door to Red Rock Resort), most of whose tenants are more mainstream, less boutique-y in their appeal. While he said both malls could succeed, if managed competently, Cushman & Wakefield Commerce Real Estate Solutions broker Dan Hubbard said Tivoli Village had suffered from a "lack of critical mass due to the limited size of the first phase, and the extended timing on getting the second phase completed."
Marcus & Millichap Associate Vice President of Retail Investments Ray Germain went further. "Personally, I don't understand why they're expanding at all at this point," he told the Las Vegas Sun. After all, Phase Two was supposed to be finished in late 2013 – three years before it will actually be done. The price tag on the second phase is conservatively pegged at $500 million. Although Tivoli Village President Patrick Done was talking back in January 2015 about a third phase – residential developments bordering Angel Park Golf Course and set to open in 2017 – nobody's making any noise about that nowadays.
To accommodate Phase Two, Tivoli Village is constructing a new main entrance on Rampart, more underground parking, valet parking, and a larger recreational area. The latter should provide more elbow room for events like last month's Spring Festival, eight hours of food trucks, fresh produce, crafts, gardening for kids, tastings, and a petting zoo.
One casualty of the protracted development cycle was Village Roadshow Gold Class Cinemas. This Cineplex was projected (pardon the pun) to have "Lear Jet-style seating [and] occupancy for only 42 persons who can enjoy a full menu, wait staff and full beverage service while watching a film." Perhaps the proximity of cinemas at Suncoast and nearby Village Square mall scared Village Roadshow off. Zeffirino's restaurant and Mastro's Steakhouse also fell by the wayside early on. David Barton Gym stayed the course and Tivoli Village's management team recruited Echo & Rig steakhouse (and butcher's store) to take Mastro's place.
Keep your fingers crossed for Rig: Restaurants tend to have a high mortality rate at Tivoli Village. Former Wynn Las Vegas chef Alex Stratta bombed twice there, in quick succession. Tapas by Alex Stratta opened in April of last year and was closed by November. "Although Tapas did well, I found that the concept's appeal didn't quite fit our demographic, both in style and pricing," Stratta told Vegas.Eater.com, rationalizing his switch to Southern comfort food, Salt & Pepper.
That did even less well, gone by February. Hops & Harvest, from another big name in Bradley Ogden, lasted only seven months, although the closure was blamed on a dispute with the parent company. That was food critic John Curtas' explanation, though he also faulted foot traffic, or the lack thereof, writing that "riding something as esoteric as a chef’s national reputation to fun and profit from the locals is a much harder task — especially when it’s pretty obvious to the community that the name on the door has nothing to do with the day-to-day operation of the establishment." Local blogger Robin Leach chimed in with the butt-covering explanation that Ogden wanted to focus on his new restaurants in Houston, instead.
Radio City Pizza … Petra Greek Taverna … Double Helix wine bar … Tivoli Village has been a black hole for restaurants. Top Chef contender Angelo Sosa beat the odds for a while with his Asian fusion restaurant, Poppy Den, which doubled as a nightclub. It lasted over a year and a half before shuttering and Sosa vowed he would be back in Las Vegas with a new restaurant concept, but it's been almost two years without a Sosa sighting (while Stratta failed with two different ventures at the same location).
Canter's Deli, however, seems to be the big new draw. A cult favorite, the Los Angeles deli ran Vegas islets at Treasure Island, until 2012, and Mandalay Bay. But it hasn't had a Sin City home for four years, so landing it is a real coup for Tivoli Village. (A second Canter's will open on The LINQ Promenade, just off the Strip.)
This could be the acid test for Tivoli Village. To pervert a familiar song lyric, Canter's can make it anywhere, but can it make it there? Or is Tivoli Village, as one detractor puts it, "another fake 'community hub' imposed by developers, as only Las Vegas developers (CityCenter, Downtown Summerlin, Town Square, etc.) can do"? The difference is that the three aforementioned developments have all achieved some degree of success; the jury's still out on Tivoli Village.
