Headlines about Las Vegas have been pretty dismal lately.
The city is experiencing a worrisome decline in visitors. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, visitor numbers are down overall by as much as 11% this year.
One recent report called what’s happening in Las Vegas, including higher prices and reduced international travel, a “perfect storm.”
“It was a turbulent summer,” Chief Commercial Officer of Caesars Entertainment Sean McBurney told the New York Times.
As part of the fallout, the city is also seeing an uptick in restaurant closures.
Like in many other cities, Las Vegas restaurant owners are facing:
- Increased rent
- Increased labor costs
- Inflation affecting food costs
- Supply chain disruptions
- Post-pandemic changes in consumer spending
Most restaurants already operate on thin margins, and rising costs are making it more difficult for some to survive.
The latest victim of the changing climate is a festive Mexican restaurant on the Strip, known for its lively music, affordable margaritas (at least by Las Vegas Strip standards), and party vibes.
Image source: Getty Images
Popular Mexican restaurant on the Strip closing after more than a decade
Carlos’n Charlie’s, located in The Flamingo resort hotel, is closing its doors after over a decade on the Strip.
The restaurant, part of Mexico-based Grupo Anderson’s, filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice with the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) stating that 79 employees will be laid off when operations cease on November 18, 2025.
In the filing, Carlos’n Charlie’s human resources manager wrote that the closure is due to “our landlord unilaterally forcing an early termination clause in our lease,” according to News3LV.
The restaurant’s landlord is Caesars Entertainment, which owns and operates the Flamingo. Caesars declined to comment on the closure.
Some Carlos’n Charlie’s workers will be absorbed into Caesars
Some of the affected Carlos’n Charlie’s employees are members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 or the Bartenders Union Local 165.
The WARN letter stated that union workers “will be absorbed” into other positions within Caesars’ properties, but that nonunion employees have no “bumping rights” — meaning they will lose their jobs entirely.
Grupo Anderson’s, which operates several popular restaurant concepts — including Senor Frog’s and Carlos’n Charlie’s — across Mexico and the U.S., has not said whether it plans to reopen elsewhere in Las Vegas.
The Flamingo location opened in 2011 and became a go-to spot for affordable margaritas, late-night nachos, and table-dancing birthday celebrations.
A pattern of closures on the Las Vegas Strip
The loss of Carlos’n Charlie’s continues a wave of restaurant and entertainment closures along the Strip, as property owners and resort operators retool their dining lineups for higher-end concepts.
Earlier this year, Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill at Caesars Palace closed to make way for a new celebrity chef restaurant, while other mid-tier venues across the Strip have shuttered amid changing lease economics.
Related: Why are so many Mexican chains filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy?
The Culinary Union said earlier this year that restaurant and bar workers across the Strip are facing “growing pressure” from redevelopment and consolidation.
“Unfortunately, these massive projects get bought and sold all the time. The thing the union contract brings is job security, that no matter who buys the hotel, or the project, no matter what happens to it, workers are going to be able to keep their jobs,” Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said in a statement.
The business side of Las Vegas hospitality transitions
While closures like Carlos’n Charlie’s often make headlines for their local and emotional impact, business analysts say they reflect a broader reshuffling of the Strip’s restaurant market.
Carlos’n Charlies isn’t even the only Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas to close in the last 30 days. Leoncito’s at Red Rock closed at the end of September.
That trend suggests that mid-priced, family-friendly establishments may continue to lose ground to luxury-branded dining and experiential venues targeting convention visitors and high-spending tourists.
Carlos’n Charlie’s is just the latest on the growing list of Las Vegas Strip restaurants closing due to escalating rents and redevelopment plans. While union employees are expected to find new positions within Caesars, dozens of others will soon be out of work.
Fewer visitors make that outcome likely: According to the LVCVA, Las Vegas welcomed 40.9 million visitors in 2024, nearly matching its all-time record. Yet 2025 is unlikely to come close.
