Peppermill joins other Classics awardees including Burmese restaurant Mandalay in San Francisco, Vietnam Restaurant in Philly, Pheasant Restaurant and Lounge in South Dakota, Sylvia’s in New York, and Wade’s in South Carolina.
The Foundation notes in its release that Peppermill is such a fixture in the Vegas scene that it’s appeared in movies such as cult classic (and absolute mess) Show Girls and Casino.įrom Ball Gowns to Benedicts, a Look Inside Las Vegas’s Favorite Diner Orth’s son Nicholas is now executive chef. And we have locals, some who come in every day,” general manager Peggy Orth, who started out as a waitress at the restaurant when she was 17, told Eater last year.
“We get people from other countries who come back again and again, every year or so. The restaurant is a slice-of-life spot for the casino crowds with a mixture of retro-dressed diner waitstaff and ball gown-clad cocktail servers moving about the room at all hours of the day. On Wednesday, February 28, the James Beard Foundation revealed Peppermill as one of its 2024 America’s Classics Award-winners - an honor recognizing “locally owned restaurants that serve quality food, have timeless appeal, and reflect the character of their communities.”įounded in 1972 by Nat Carasali and Bill Paganetti, the Peppermill remains a rare staple on a Strip where building tear-downs are more the rule than the exception. With its neon, Tiffany lamps, and all-night hours for visitors to the Vegas Strip, the 52-year-old Peppermill Restaurant and Fireside Lounge is finally receiving its due as a certified national icon.