Launched by CEO Richard Femenella, Mae Daly’s Fine Steaks & Whiskeys is preparing to open its doors at 2211 S Las Vegas Blvd. Named after a Prohibition-era Las Vegas legend who is said to have opened the speakeasy world to a broader range of women, the restaurant will offer a fine dining experience that highlights, as the name suggests, steaks and whiskeys.
“Our ultimate mission is to position the brand, Mae Daly’s, into a fine dining restaurant that focuses on great steaks and excellent whiskeys,” says the Mae Daly’s website. “Obviously like any great steakhouse brand, there will be incredible wines, seafoods, desserts and other products.”
The brand’s website tells the story of Mae Daly, a Las Vegas figure whose existence is uncertain (truth or legend?). Unlike in most American cities, the site says, Las Vegas’s speakeasies operated more or less openly during Prohibition, accepting fines for violations as the cost of doing business. This atmosphere of illegality weighed particularly heavily on women: “any ‘respectable’ lady would never set foot in such an establishment.”
“Vegas was built on defiance, and in 1928, Mae Daly redefined defiance in Las Vegas, by opening Mae Daly’s Saloon. She proudly boasted that [respectable] women were not only welcome but encouraged to patronize her establishment. It only took a few months for the word to spread that Mae was serving the finest whiskeys and steaks in town.”
In March, a building permit was issued by the city of Las Vegas for work at the 2211 S Las Vegas Blvd location. What Now reached out to Richard Femenella on Tuesday to inquire about Mae Daly’s project opening timeline. Femenella was not immediately available for comment.
