Emmitt Smith’s Las Vegas restaurant and lounge, which finally opened in March 2024 after delays since 2022, has suddenly shut down just months later. The Dallas Cowboys legend had attracted fans with signature dishes, making the closure a shock.

However, before the restaurant had time to make a name for itself, a notice posted at the restaurant confirmed that the landlord had changed the locks due to unpaid rent totaling $407,730.88 amount, forcing the business to shut down.

The notice stated that a new key would only be provided if the full amount was paid, highlighting the seriousness of the financial trouble. The landlord also included a contact for payment coordination and made it clear this was a permanent lockout, not a temporary closure.

The timing couldn’t be worse for Emmitt Smith. His Las Vegas restaurant shut down just weeks before the Dallas Cowboys face the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football, a matchup that could have brought major attention and foot traffic to the spot.

The restaurant had been promoted as a perfect place for Super Bowl-fatigued sports enthusiasts coming to Las Vegas, with specialty items such as the butter cake and yellowtail sashimi receiving rave reviews.

Emmitt’s Vegas faced enormous losses long before its March 2024 opening. The restaurant was set to open before the 2022 NFL Draft but was repeatedly delayed with, the biggest hurdle arising from a 2023 conspiracy lawsuit that resulted in a $67 million loss.

All of those legal issues flushed money down the toilet, delayed the beginning of construction, and left everyone questioning when or if ever the project would be opened. Although Smith did indeed cut the ribbon in 2024, the financial and legal impact of those initial battles had left the company on its heels.

The ultimate consequence was a restaurant that opened into one of the globe’s most competitive dining spaces without the financial cushion it would need to ride out its first few months as an enterprise.

One-Year anniversary and Smith’s legacy

Interestingly, the mandatory closure comes just a few months after Emmitt’s Vegas is marking its ceremonial one-year anniversary bash.

Smith hosted a glamorous night party in the fall with a four-course tasting menu, handmade cocktails such as the Gold Jacket Fashioned, and a cake-shaped wonder on top of a football field-sized platform featuring his iconic jersey number 22 on top.

The event was meant to cement the restaurant as a foodie and cultural destination hot spot, its only Black-owned property on the Strip and only Black Executive Chef, Antwan Ellis. The media and guests were stunned by the enthusiasm, the DJ appearances, and the concept that Smith was actually applying his gridiron dependability to hospitality excellence.

During media interaction, Smith openly talked of fighting to stay alive in Las Vegas’ brutal hospitality industry. He compared building a restaurant to building an NFL career: “We just made it one year. Success to me is not in the year’s performance. It’s year after year after year after year. Consistency and growth. That’s how I define success, just like I’ve done in my football career,” he told Black Enterprise.

Despite the wattage of stars, Vegas restaurant success is predicated on high volume. Regardless of what the future brings for Emmitt’s Vegas, reopens under new ownership, finds new investors, or vaporizes in history books, he tried shows he was taking a big chance to build his brand beyond football.

Even in the brutal economy of the Strip, Smith’s commitment to sustainability and diversity has already begun changing expectations about what a celebrity-backed restaurant is capable of. Even in this difficult time, Emmitt Smith’s legacy remains intact. On the field, he is the NFL’s all-time rushing leader and a three-time Super Bowl champion.