LAS VEGAS — The Heart Attack Grill has closed its doors on Fremont Street after 15 years, with owner Jon Basso announcing Monday he is shutting down the hospital-themed restaurant.
Basso said the decision comes down to the best interest of himself and the people he serves. The restaurant has been located at Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street inside Neonopolis since 2011.
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Tourists turned up to Fremont Street to find the Heart Attack Grill had closed its doors. Jaylen Larkin, a tourist, said he had seen the restaurant on TikTok and was hoping to eat for free, referencing the restaurant’s promotion for customers weighing 350 pounds or more.
Changing culture after pandemic
Basso said the closure is tied to a changing culture in Las Vegas since the pandemic.
“When we came out of COVID, suddenly the big bosses in the corporate casino culture changed the game,” Basso said. “They needed to make up some money that they had lost and it was, by playing catch-up ball, in my opinion, they decided to go for the whales rather than the regular folks.”
Basso said he feels the average person has been priced out of Las Vegas. The decision to not renew his lease for Heart Attack Grill stems from not wanting to follow suit.
“I did not like overcharging people and every month you had to look at it and say, gosh, we’ve got to raise prices,” Basso said. “You do it a couple of times, it bothers you. When you’re faced with doing that repetitively, I want nothing to do with it.”
Larkin said he thinks it is awesome that Basso respects people’s money and does not want to overcharge customers.
Basso is still in the burger business, working with his family at his other restaurant in town, Snappy’s. While he is grateful for what the Heart Attack Grill was, he said he is happier to serve food at what he feels is a reasonable price.
“We make the best burger we can, and we keep the prices low and I couldn’t do that in the tourist sector,” Basso said. “It’s not possible.”
Basso said the Heart Attack Grill is not necessarily gone for good. He said investors have reached out trying to see if they can bring it back, and that the restaurant may return as long as it is under his terms to best serve customers.
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