Restaurants are rated in the traditional categories of food, decor and service. Every time I've been there, the food has been phenomenal. But Mike Sheinfield, vice president of corporate communications for Zagat Survey in New York, said the increase is partly because of the fact that historically, Las Vegas' restaurant prices have been low. While more high-end restaurants have opened in Las Vegas, Sheinfield said that's part of the development of the city as a culinary capital. In this boom economy in New York last year, over 300 restaurants opened and only 89 closed.
Restaurants notoriously are one of the most speculative areas for entrepreneurs to go into.
If they go into a market and the idea is they're going to stay in that market, they'll price themselves to be where they consider to be competitive. Sheinfield noted the explosive growth in Las Vegas in various areas. It's clearly Las Vegas. But, especially on big holiday weekends, those rooms continue to be filled. A lot of these big-name chefs are starting to open up their own restaurants.