VEGAS DINING NEWS: Fire Guts Chinatown Eatery, Secret Amador Opening

An early-morning fire Friday damaged the Halal Guys in Las Vegas’ Chinatown. According to reports, flames and thick black smoke were seen rising from the eatery’s roof at 5:50 a.m. December 26. Approximately 80 firefighters responded within minutes. (A Clark County fire station is half a block away.)

The neighboring Krung Siam Hai restaurant was also reportedly damaged.

No injuries were reported. As of this writing, fire officials have not released the official cause of the blaze, but this article will be updated once they do.

Given the proximity of the blaze to the roof and attic spaces of the single-story strip mall, the Halal Guys is likely to have sustained significant smoke and water damage from the two-alarm event, even if flames did not directly reach the dining area. An investigation, structural assessments and cleanup could take several months.

The franchise restaurant is part of the Halal Guys empire that started from a single street cart in New York City in 1990.

The plaza, which also houses the Golden Tiki, was the site of a separate accidental fire in early November, which heavily damaged the Gold Rush Smoke Shop.

Dining Ins & Outs

Chef Oscar Amador — he of Anima by EDO and multiple James Beard Award nominations — has quiet-opened Amador Cocina Fina, a Spanish-leaning eatery, at 3400 S. Jones Blvd., the same Chinatown space where his EDO Tapas & Wine shuttered in September 2025.

Amador and his business partner, restaurateur Roberto Liendo, are also opening EDO Gastropub next year at The Gramercy, mixed-use development in Southwest Las Vegas, in the space formerly occupied by DW Bistro and adjacent to Anima by EDO.

Finally, since 2026 wasn’t already busy enough Amador and Liendo, they’re opening Braseria, a Spanish-French brasserie in The Collective at 39 Paradise Road, in the second-floor space formerly occupied by Yolie’s Brazilian Steakhouse.

Fatburger will close on February 15 in the food court at Henderson, Nev.’s Green Valley Ranch. Taking its place will be West Hollywood import Irv’s Burgers sometime next spring.