Elizabeth Blau, co-founder and CEO of Elizabeth Blau & Associates, has helped shape Las Vegas’ food scene, developing major restaurants and contributing to the area’s reputation as a culinary hot spot. She recently opened Andiron Steak & Sea at Downtown Summerlin, adding to a portfolio that includes Honey Salt and Made LV.
How do you determine which restaurants will thrive in Las Vegas?
When Steve Wynn first started putting together the restaurant portfolio at Bellagio, our mission was to create a destination, and we put in concepts that spoke to the core of what people were looking for — steak, Italian food, Chinese, great desserts — but just brought it to an entirely different level.
In terms of what thrives, I think it has been an evolution. At the beginning, it was all about just bringing great quality, and quality really drove everything else. Now, I think it’s still definitely about quality but also offering new experiences and unique tastes. We have had so much growth in Asian cuisine, on and off the Strip in the past couple of years — ramen, sushi, yakitori. Having a clear concept, a great experience and high quality are really what drives success.
What is it like being a successful woman entrepreneur?
I don’t think there is much of a difference between being a successful female entrepreneur or a male, but like any successful entrepreneur, I juggle my time between my family, my businesses and my community. In terms of being prepared, I have had phenomenal mentors throughout my career — Steve Wynn, Elaine Wynn and Sirio Maccioni, to name a few — and that has certainly had a major impact.
What charitable organizations are you a part of?
I proudly chair the Culinary Council for Three Square, I sit on the state board for Communities in Schools in Nevada, as well as the board of trustees at the Culinary Institute of America and the Dean’s Advisory Council at UNLV. I also actively support the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and Keep Memory Alive, where we have set up a fund to help fight Multiple System Atrophy (MSA).
To me, education is a bedrock of our society, and it is crucial to ensure that every child has the best access to education they can. Similarly, as a restaurateur, I feel it is a guiding principal, and my responsibility, to make sure everyone is fed and has access to healthy food, especially children.
What are you reading right now?
I just started “I Am Malala” by Malala Yousafzai.
What do you do after work?
Spend time with my son, Cole, and our two golden retrievers, Dodger and Brookie; and I plan vacations.
Describe your management style.
Direct and hands on. Whether sitting with a manager or a hostess in one of the restaurants or addressing a board of directors or a group of executives as a consultant, I think it is extremely important to speak clearly and directly on your expectations and intentions.
Where do you see yourself and your company in 10 years?
Somewhere between Donna Hay and Martha Stewart.
What is your dream job, outside of your current field?
Summer camp counselor.
Whom do you admire and why?
My dear friend Kerry Simon because of his incredible courage and fortitude. Kerry and I have been best friends for 18 years, since we both moved to Las Vegas from New York. I have been his “big sister” for more than a decade and have always admired and respected his kind heart, his positive spirit and his enormous capacity for friendship. His fight with MSA has devastated everyone in his life.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
Yelp! I think it is fair to say people in the restaurant industry work very hard — the cooks, the servers, the bartenders, the managers. Everyone is doing their best to offer a great guest experience, good food and solid service. It’s a hard industry that is built on people and interactions with one another. As an owner and operator, I appreciate the ability to hear guest feedback, but I feel that Yelp gives too strong a voice and too much of a platform to people who a lot of the time do not appreciate, respect or understand the work that goes into running restaurants and empowers a voice that is rarely informed or accurate.
What is something people might not know about you?
I hate foie gras. I do not like liver. As a child, my grandmother used to cook chicken livers with onions, and the smell completely overwhelmed me. I have never recovered.