After a 10-year run at Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino, celebrity chef Guy Fieri’s Chophouse restaurant will close this month to be replaced with a new steakhouse this summer.
The casino, which overlooks the boardwalk along Pacific Avenue, revealed plans to renovate the sixth-floor space and reintroduce the former Park Place Prime. Bally’s is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year and said the contemporary steakhouse will be a “nostalgic nod” to its history.
Chophouse, Fieri’s twist on the classic steakhouse, offered signature dishes that emphasized Jersey Shore themes and the chef’s penchant for cranking up flavor. The restaurant’s last day will be April 25, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported.
Park Place Prime will feature a menu of hand-cut prime steaks and seafood options. The casino has a mix of other casual restaurants, including Jerry Longo’s Meatballs and Martinis and Carluccio’s Pizza. It also has an indoor and outdoor beer garden venue called the Yard, among other options.
Fieri has opened other restaurants in Atlantic City and has a Chicken Guy! at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City. His other restaurant there, Guy’s Sammich Joint, permanently closed. At Caesars Atlantic City Hotel & Casino, Guy’s Bar-B-Que Joint is temporarily closed. The website for Chicken Guy! says another location is planned at Resorts Casino Atlantic City.
Over the years, Fieri has been a big proponent of New Jersey restaurants, paying multiple visits to businesses on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and its successor series “Triple D Nation.”
Other celebrity chefs also have opened restaurants at Atlantic City casinos. Gordon Ramsay has a Hell’s Kitchen restaurant based on the popular TV show at Caesars in addition to his Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill. He also has a Gordon Ramsay Steak at Harrah’s.
“Cake Boss” star Buddy Valastro is bringing a Buddy’s Boardwalk Empire to Harrah’s this summer, and Philadelphia restaurateur Michael Schulson announced a partnership with Ocean Casino Resort that will bring several of his concepts there this summer.
Bally’s is undergoing $100 million renovations to bring new amenities to the casino in the coming year. It’s owned by Bally’s Corp., which purchased the casino from Caesars Entertainment Inc. and Vici Properties Inc. in 2020 for $25 million. Among Atlantic City’s nine casinos, the Associated Press reported Bally’s ranked eighth last year for in-person gambling winnings with $155 million and seventh for combined online and sports gambling with $239 million.