The Hush Puppy has closed its Neonopolis restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada, ending the Fremont Street expansion roughly eleven months after its announced opening. Vital Vegas reported the closure October 24 and said the property’s management was seeking a new tenant.
The affected restaurant was at 450 East Fremont Street, Suite 135, in the former Banger Brewing space. The company’s official website continues to list the original restaurant at 7185 West Charleston Boulevard, with dine-in, carryout and drive-through service.
For AYCE followers, the Fremont branch’s departure removes a Southern seafood option that had promoted unlimited fish alongside its regular menu. Its social posts advertised AYCE at both locations, including a $29.99 fish offer on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays for dine-in customers. Separate promotional material identified the fish as swai.
The downtown menu also carried the restaurant’s broader Southern comfort-food identity. Launch coverage named seafood gumbo, jambalaya, fried green tomatoes and hand-battered hush puppies among the dishes coming to Fremont. The namesake cornmeal fritters have traditionally been served with honey butter.
A downtown chapter in a much longer story
The Hush Puppy’s Las Vegas history begins in 1975, when the Ghormley family opened the original restaurant after moving from Arkansas. A later North Nellis Boulevard location also operated before closing.
In March 2023, the Ghormleys sold the original restaurant and expansion rights to local businessman Magdy Amer and his wife, Layla Amir, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The Fremont project was announced in November 2024 with an initial target of early 2025.
Its eventual opening announcement named November 18, 2025. News 3 reported that the new location would serve the familiar Southern dishes, add beer, wine and cocktails, and keep later hours than the original neighborhood restaurant.
The space itself had another downtown history. Banger Brewing ended service there March 31, 2023, after nearly a decade on Fremont Street. The Hush Puppy subsequently gave the former brewery a different kind of menu, with fried seafood taking over from the taps.
The October 24 closure report did not give a reason or name a replacement tenant. The original Charleston restaurant currently advertises dine-in service from 4 to 10 p.m., with carryout and drive-through service beginning at 3 p.m.
