Iconic Las Vegas burger joint closes its doors, blames rising costs for city's decline
The Heart Attack Grill, the over-the-top Las Vegas restaurant known for its calorie-loaded "Bypass Burgers" and hospital-themed servers, announced this week it will close its Sin City doors.
The restaurant was founded by Jon Basso in Chandler, Arizona, in 2005. It relocated to downtown Las Vegas in 2011.
It's most known for its unapologetically indulgent menu — including massive burgers, fries cooked in pure lard, even unfiltered cigarettes.
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Some of the Heart Attack Grill's most provocative gimmicks included public spankings for customers who failed to finish their meals, plus free food for patrons weighing more than 350 pounds.
In a statement on its website, the Heart Attack Grill said it would "not be renewing its long-term lease."
The restaurant blamed major casinos and "corporate greed" for pricing average Americans out of the "quintessential American experience of affordable indulgence" in Las Vegas, it said.
"Our core value, 'Eat big and laugh loud,' no longer fits a city peddling $40 'artisanal avocado toast,'" the restaurant said.
"The honest, heavy-duty calories that built our reputation are now considered gauche by a city that has excluded the middle class and lost its swagger in the process."
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The business also said it was "proud of our 21-year impact on America’s waistline."
"The obesity rate has risen from 30% in 2005 to nearly 45% today, and we pat ourselves on the back for leading the charge!" the statement said.
Speaking to The Daily Campus, Southern Methodist University's newspaper, in 2011, Basso said the restaurant was intended as a commentary on America's obesity epidemic.
"[T]he basic idea is to make money," Basso said. "But I’m doing my part to create a diner theater environment, which forces such philosophical introspection."
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He added, "I provide a valid service — it's that shock value."
The new announcement indicated Heart Attack Grill doesn't intend on closing permanently.
"We are seeking new opportunities to continue our high-calorie mission," the statement concluded.
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"We look forward to finding new communities that still appreciate a Bypass Burger and the freedom to feast without apology."
The announcement quickly drew mixed reactions online.
"I'm sad, I wanted to go to Heart Attack Grill so bad," said one commentator. "I should've [gone] when I had the chance."
"In a world full of fake healthy marketing, at least they never lied about what the burger was doing to you," another X user said.
Another person wrote, "Even for Vegas, we found that place too sleazy, haha."
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Heart Attack Grill for comment.