With the transformation of Las Vegas Strip eyesore Imperial Palace into the $550 million The Linq gambling, entertainment and shopping development, Caesars Entertainment intended to leave the past behind and create a new future for the middle of the Strip. Now the company has disclosed its first roster of tenants for Linq to join the new Quad casino where the IP used to stand.
Several of the retailers are new not only to The Linq, but new to Las Vegas: Chilli Beans Sunglasses, Goorin Bros. Hat Shop, Vanity Style Lounge and the Polaroid Fotobar Store and Museum. Those upscale shops will move in alongside a high-end footware store backed by rap performer Nas called 12 A.M. Run.
Caesars intends for The Linq to be a “one-stop” shopping, entertainment and dining destination, and to that end it announced that The Stomping Grape, a casual restaurant where visitors can enjoy healthier and lighter edibles and drinks that will still qualify as comfort food. Other restaurants previously announced include a completely revamped O’Sheas, Brooklyn Bowl and Sprinkles Cupcakes.
The Linq’s vice president and general manager said that Caesars was proud of the development’s eclectic mix of entertainment venues, retailers and restaurants that had been assembled. He added that each tenant had been carefully selected to make sure that the development would hit just the right level of fun and discovery to make for a one-of-a-kind experience right in the middle of the Strip.
The development was slated to open in late 2013. The centerpiece of The Linq would be its 550-foot observation wheel with pods that will accommodate up to 40 people at a time. The wheel, one of two ultimately planned for the Las Vegas Strip skyline, would be the tallest in the world. It was scheduled to open for its first whirl in early 2014.