New Piero’s partnership dedicated to preserving restaurant’s legacy
Freddie Glusman looks over his dinner guest and takes note of the fedora. It’s an intentional accessory, a tip of the hat to the restaurant’s deep-rooted Las Vegas history.
He does not appreciate this lid, nor does he appreciate its intent.
“Take it off!” he scowls. “We’re gonna eat.”
When the wearer demurred, Glusman shrugged, his glower unchanged.
A compliment on Glusman’s perfectly manicured fingernails, a delicate touch for a man who is anything but, goes over just as well.
“Where did you get those done, Freddie?”
“A lady,” he shoots back. “You can’t get in.”
Such is the anti-hospitality hospitality disposition of a Las Vegas restaurant icon. Those at other tables, especially those unfamiliar with Glusman’s shtick, might wonder, “This man is the owner?”
Indeed he is, or has been, since 1982.
But the 88-year-old Glusman is ceding his role as proprietor of Piero’s Italian Cuisine restaurant. Last month, a family friend, Steve Siegel, acquired ownership of the restaurant. Glusman still owns the land. Both sides prefer to present this transaction as a partnership, with Siegel now running the restaurant. A formal announcement is forthcoming.
Don’t expect an overhaul in the Piero’s atmosphere, starting with the man who started it all.
“Freddie is still here, and he will be here,” Siegel says, with Glusman seated next to him in the familiar booth near the entrance. “He’s not going anywhere.”
“You’ll see me at the restaurant,” Glusman says. “Absolutely.”
Piero’s is now part of Siegel’s Amazing Brands company. Las Vegans are likely more familiar with the busy entrepreneur’s other pursuits, including Siegel Suites, Siegel’s Bagelmania (just across from Piero’s on Convention Center Drive) and Pinkbox Doughnuts.
Siegel declines to make public the terms of the purchase, only that it was formalized about four weeks ago.
Over the years, Siegel also has bought, redeveloped and sold such Vegas properties as Gold Spike, The Resort on Mount Charleston, Artisan Hotel Boutique (today’s Lexi Las Vegas) and Rumor Boutique Hotel (now Serene Vegas Boutique Hotel).
The bulk of Siegel’s business is commercial real estate, with Siegel Suites properties in 19 states encompassing 14,000 units. His company is planning to develop the 13-acre parcel just north of Peppermill on the Strip.
A personal interest
Siegel says his investment in Piero’s is very much a passion project.
“I met Freddie 21 years ago, when I first moved to town,” Siegel says. “He told me about the restaurant business, and that I knew nothing about it (laughs). But he cares, and he has helped me with a lot of details. When I opened Bagelmania, he helped me with the matzo ball soup — it’s his mother’s recipe.”
Siegel is meticulously putting his own imprint on the Piero’s decor, amenities and menu. He’s bringing kosher chicken back to the menu, once a week (at the insistence of several diners).
Siegel has added lavatory attendants. A dedicated shoeshiner is in the plans. He plans to expand the live-entertainment scene in the lounge “with someone who fits into what Piero’s is, old-Vegas, jazz, is what we’re looking for.” Siegel is on the hunt for talent. It would be a good idea for anyone interested to know “My Way,” for a start.
The main dining room one day will be named for Glusman. Other dining areas will also be renamed in Siegel’s effort to keep the personal touch.
Siegel says rebranding or renaming Piero’s (which took its name from the restaurant’s original chef) is out of the question. He is not messing with the restaurant’s familiarity.
“There’s not a lot of businesses that stay around this long in Vegas and keep this kind of glamour,” Siegel says. “They go, ‘Let’s change the name and make it modern.’ That’s what they do on the Strip. Well, I’m going the other way.”
Look for Piero’s-branded food items and merch in the Siegel era.
The restaurant has hosted myriad celebrities and dignitaries over the years. Glusman says the place was buoyed by the support of “the two Jerrys,” Tarkanian and Lewis. A VIP room is named for Tarkanian.
Glusman was very close to Lewis and Tark, and was so tight with Don Rickles (who might have by osmosis influenced the owner’s personality) that Glusman taught the comedy legend how to water ski. Glusman’s disposition can be described as Rickles, without the punchlines.
The dozens of name-checks who have dined at Piero’s over the years includes former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Frank Sinatra, Kirk Kerkorian, Luciano Pavarotti, Mick Jagger, Michael Jordan, Carrie Underwood and Blake Shelton. One night Sarah Jessica Parker and her shoe company execs were seated at one table and Raiders owner Mark Davis at another.
The timing of the deal
Piero’s next chapter will be written without Glusman’s son Evan, formerly the restaurant’s longtime general manager. The younger Glusman was arrested in April and charged with harassment after police found he borrowed $1.5 million against the business without permission and threatened to carry out a shooting in the restaurant.
The 46-year-old restaurateur pleaded no contest in the case last month. The court ordered him to undergo “in-patient” treatment, stay away from Piero’s and his father, and not use controlled substances.
Glusman won’t entertain questions about the incident or the case, which stunned the Las Vegas hospitality community. Siegel told the employees, “We separate ourselves as a business from, you know, what happened with the family. We are here to have great hospitality, great customer service and great food. We don’t focus on the outside stuff. We focus on the inside stuff.”
Glusman’s Las Vegas attorney Jim Jimmerson says that Glusman turned to Siegel after Evan Glusman left the business. The younger Glusman had served as GM for about five years. Freddie Glusman was long past the day-to-day operations phase of his career. He still owns the dirt, and also a minority share in the restaurant in his partnership with Siegel.
“This is a tragic event for an 88-year-old member of the community, and an icon in the restaurant business,” the attorney says.
A Las Vegas original
Siegel says Piero’s mystique survives for its authenticity.
“You can get a veal chop anywhere, but you can’t get this atmosphere,” the incoming operator says. “This place has history. You come in here, you see the history of Vegas, real history of Vegas,” Siegel says. “Freddy’s left his mark here.”
What is that mark, exactly?
“Good food and a good time,” Glusman says. “It’s simple.”
Under goading from his table mates, Glusman is asked why he wanted Siegel to take over operations. He dodges the question with, “Who says I wanted him? He doesn’t know (expletive).”
But finally, Freddie G. says he has no one else in mind.
“I love him,” Glusman says. “I wouldn’t want to partner with anyone else. He’s the best.” There is a wink, as if to punctuate that thought.
The mystique endures
Glusman moved to Las Vegas in 1957 at age 20. He sold carpeting and drapes to the Dunes, then operated boutique stores at the Tropicana, International, Flamingo and Stardust during the 1960s and ’70s. In 1974, he and Allen Glick, the late casino owner who ran four reputedly mobbed-up Strip casinos in the 1970s, opened The Las Vegas Sporting House fitness center on Industrial Road.
In 1982, Glusman opened Piero’s on Karen Avenue, near Las Vegas Country Club, moving it to Convention Center Drive five years later. The Italian restaurant that occupied the spot, Villa d’Este, was a reputed mob hangout, a theme that would carry Piero’s reputation all the way to “Casino.” Martin Scorsese filmed at the restaurant for his epic 1996 film, cementing its place Las Vegas organized-crime history.
Piero’s lore recalls one night many years ago.
A group of gentlemen in suits, who seemed a little nefarious, were present. At another table were gents also in suits, later known to be undercover agents. Resort execs, entertainment figures, and a couple of elected officials were enjoying a casual night in the main dining room.
It was a mix of vintage Las Vegas so combustible that Metro officers outside were reluctant to enter the place, lest they risk blowing their colleagues’ cover.
It was like a scene out of “Casino” — Osso Buco was the special that night — and pure Piero’s.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
