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    Tuesday, May 14, 2024

    Foxwoods to roll out new restaurants, zip line in fall

    Mashantucket — Foxwoods Resort Casino, intent on evolving into “a full-service resort destination” that offers a lot more than gaming, has confirmed that it plans to unveil four new restaurants this fall as well as a 3,600-foot-long zip line.

    Associated with the likes of Food Network star Guy Fieri, “Iron Chef” Cat Cora and Richard Rawlings of the Discovery Channel’s “Fast N’ Loud," the restaurants should be ready to open in October or November, Felix Rappaport, Foxwoods’ president and chief executive officer, said Monday.

    Rappaport, who revealed in March that the zip line was under consideration, said the attraction is being designed and should debut in October. He said the “Foxwoods High Flyer” will extend from the roof of The Fox Tower to the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center, propeling riders at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.

    “We have an operator, and expect to make a formal announcement in June or July,” Rappaport said.

    Foxwoods first announced plans for the four new restaurants Friday night during a charity event, the Best Buddies Tom Brady Football Challenge at Harvard Stadium in Allston, Mass. Foxwoods officials, who presented the Best Buddies organization with a $75,000 donation, were joined at the event by Fieri, Rawlings and Melanie “Mel B” Brown of the Spice Girls, who appeared on behalf of one of the new restaurants, Sugar Factory American Brasserie.

    The Sugar Factory will be installed in the former COMIX comedy club at Foxwoods, Rappaport said.

    The other new restaurants are Guy Fieri’s Kitchen + Bar at Foxwoods, an 8,200-square-foot, 190-seat eatery to be located in a former keno lounge in the Grand Pequot Tower; Cat Cora’s Wine Bar, which will fill space formerly occupied by Burke in the Box beween the Grand Pequot Tower and The Fox Tower; and Richard Rawlings’ Garage Bar & Grill, which will take over the former Stadium Sports Bar & Grille space near the Rainmaker Casino.

    Rappaport said he has been trying for years to reach a deal with Fieri, who operates dozens of restaurants across the country. Rappaport called him “a rock star.”

    Although Foxwoods would have preferred to have the celebrities gather at the casino for Friday’s announcement, it could not be arranged, Rappaport said.

    Rappaport said Foxwoods already has 38 restaurants, none of which is being displaced by any of the new establishments. All of the new ones, he said, “have star power behind them.”

    “We’re in the entertainment business more than anything,” he said.

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