John Kunkel’s 50 Eggs to open Golden Gai at the Venetian | Eater Vegas

"A high-end, Tokyo-inspired restaurant and bar from restaurateur John Kunkel and his Miami-based 50 Eggs team is slated as an anchor tenant at the Grand Canal Shoppes, occupying an impressive 12,820-square-foot space—larger than the newly expanded Cut by Wolfgang Puck and considerably bigger than Kunkel’s other Venetian concepts, which occupy under 10,000 square feet. Bids for a remodel recently closed, with an estimated construction budget near $3 million, and the project is not expected to be ready until 2020. The concept appears on the company’s hiring page and the name Niku at Golden Gai has been trademarked (niku means “meat” in Japanese), while public confirmation from the 50 Eggs publicist was not available at press time. The concept draws direct inspiration from Tokyo’s Golden Gai district near Shinjuku—a dense, six-block enclave of more than 200 tiny, eclectic bars known for cramped interiors, dark corridors and a gritty, hard-to-replicate atmosphere—which suggests the new venue will aim to translate that intimate, atmospheric bar culture into a large, upscale Las Vegas setting." - Bradley Martin