Saloon emphasizes area's cowboy roots

Planners worked with designers in Texas

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By LAUREN ROMANO

VIEW STAFF WRITER

The owners of the local RoadRunner Saloons pulled out all the stops with their latest location in Centennial Hills.

"We brought it up a level," said Matthew Silverman, corporate executive chef for Corrigan Investments, which operates the RoadRunners and the Agave restaurant in Summerlin.

The newest RoadRunner at 5990 Centennial Center Blvd. held its grand opening on July 12. It continues to have the cowboy feel like the four other saloons.

"When starting out we thought there was some allure about cowboys," said Michael Corrigan, founder and president of Corrigan Investments. "Las Vegas was started by cowboys going back to Helldorado Days."

Corrigan said they worked with designers in Colorado and Texas. Everything was custom made for this specific location.

"Every light fixture, every bar stool was designed here for this building," Silverman said.

Even the building was custom built to be RoadRunner Centennial.

Silverman said planning and building took about two years.

There are pool tables, Golden T Golf and Bowlingo, a bowling game that is half the size of a bowling alley, in the lounge.

Silverman said the games are still part of the room so playing doesn't make you feel excluded from the rest of the bar.

"We wanted to create a space where you could enjoy Matt's cowboy food and we wanted to have a lounge," Corrigan said. "The lounge is a place to sit down have a cocktail and a conversation."

It's not only the decor that makes this RoadRunner different from the others. Silverman said 70 percent of the menu is different.

"This is not your average bar," he said. "We added steaks and some other nicer items."

There are 19 new items on the menu, many of which are cooked in the white oak wood-burning ovens.

Silverman, who opened and managed nine different Wolfgang Puck restaurants around the country before working with RoadRunner, recommends the restaurant's BBQ Cedar Plank Roasted Salmon, which is served with green chile-cheese grits and roasted corn succotash, for $16.50.

Dr. Pepper Marinated Steak Tacos also are cooked in the wood-fired ovens and served with mustard butter, Mexican crema, refried barracho black beans and pasilla rice for $13.50. Steaks, pork chops and lamb chops are all available, starting from $22.

The appetizer menu has wood-fired nachos and skillet-baked spinach dip, $8.50 each. There are kettle creations including oven-baked macaroni and cheese for $4.

Salads, sandwiches and burgers are all on the menu, from $6.50 to $11.

There was a crowd of about 30 people waiting for the saloon to open its doors the night of the grand opening, even though Silverman said RoadRunner hasn't advertised the new location.

The saloon served almost 700 people on the first night.

"There are no restaurants in this area," Silverman said. "It's an ideal location for us."