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Chef Mina Out, Puck In At MGM Detroit

DETROIT

The MGM Grand Detroit's most striking and ambitious restaurants—SaltWater and Bourbon Steak—will close later this year and be replaced by two new Wolfgang Puck establishments, Wolfgang Puck Steak and Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria & Cucina, the casino announced Tuesday.

The pizzeria will move into SaltWater's space, and the steak house will take over Bourbon Steak's quarters. Both restaurants are operated by nationally known California chef Michael Mina. MGM Grand general manager Steve Zanella said no date has been set for the closings but he hopes the transition can be made by year's end.

Puck's original restaurant at the casino, the Wolfgang Puck Grille, closed last spring; a casual restaurant and sports bar called TAP will open around Sept. 20. In a press release, Zanella said the casino and the Mina Group mutually decided to part ways. The changes involving all three restaurants were the result of customer surveys, he said in an interview.

"We went out and talked to our guests and said what do you want?,” he noted. “They wanted a sports pub. That came through loud and clear. They also wanted other types of food, especially Italian.”

Courtesy of Detroit Free Press