When Tao started booking reservations three weeks before its scheduled opening, it took 1,300 of them in the first 48 hours, he said. “We’re spacing things out at first, then we’ll slowly ramp up,” McManus said. In recent days, Tao has served Mohegan tribal members and invited guests in dry runs.Īnticipating operating at 50% capacity during its first few weeks, Tao has hired 75 employees and hopes to add about 50 more when fully open. This is a game-changer.”īrendan McManus, director of operations for Tao Group Hospitality, which operates restaurants and nightlife venues under a number of brand names, said the pandemic presented some challenges, including the need to prepare restaurant staff via virtual training sessions. “We’re trying to create reasons to come to the property,” Hamilton said of Tao’s being added to Mohegan Sun’s culinary mix. This is Tao’s sixth incarnation, the others being in downtown and midtown Manhattan locations and in Chicago and Los Angeles and at The Venetian resort casino in Las Vegas. “With the state’s restaurant restrictions lifting, we think this will help speed our recovery.”

“Construction slowed and materials were scarce - at one point, glass was hard to find - but we never stopped, and I think we’re opening at the perfect time,” said Jeff Hamilton, Mohegan Sun’s president and general manager. Mohegan - While COVID-19 caused restaurants at Mohegan Sun and everywhere else to shut down and then gradually reopen over the past year, it did not significantly alter the casino’s plans for Tao, the Asian-themed restaurant set to open Tuesday just off the Sky Tower’s hotel lobby.Īll through the pandemic, work continued on the new bistro/lounge that’s been tucked into space formerly occupied by Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain. TAO Asian Bistro & Lounge, a new Asian-themed restaurant at Mohegan Sun.

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