Hawaiian favorite Zippy’s opens its first mainland restaurant

Fans began lining up before sunrise on Tuesday for the opening of the Hawaiian diner chain Zippy’s first mainland outpost in Las Vegas.

Photos on social media showed a long line of dozens of people hours before the new restaurant’s 9:50 a.m. opening ceremony in a Spring Valley shopping center.

Zippy’s, a Hawai’i institution for decades, specializes in regional dishes such as chili and rice, saimin noodles, Korean fried chicken, and the “Zip Pac,” a combination of fried chicken, breaded fish filet, teriyaki beef, and Spam with rice and pickled radish.

It’s been more than five years since the chain announced plans to open a location in Las Vegas, with an opening date set for early 2019. The project experienced delays, some of which were caused by the COVID pandemic.

With construction well underway by the end of last year, the chain announced it was hiring managers for the Vegas location and would train them in Hawaii.

In its first phase, the Las Vegas restaurant will be open from 6 a.m. to midnight and will offer “a majority” of the 150 items on the Hawai’i menu. According to the announcement, it hopes to have a full menu and 24-hour operation by early 2024.

Because of its popularity as a vacation destination among Hawaiians and its growing community of former Hawaii residents, Las Vegas has been dubbed the “ninth island” of Hawaii. The California Hotel & Casino, in particular, has built its success on the island market.

The first Zippy’s opened in Honolulu in 1966. It now has 20 locations on Oahu, as well as one on Maui and one on the island of Hawai’i.

Zippy’s in Las Vegas is located at 7095 Badura Ave., near the 215 Beltway and Rainbow Boulevard.