Is this first-and-goal for Emmitt Smith?

Clark County business license records show a permit is pending for Emmitt’s, the restaurant the NFL legend is creating at Fashion Show mall on the Las Vegas Strip. Smith, the former Dallas Cowboys running back, is a three-time Super Bowl champion and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The opening of the restaurant has been highly anticipated since the project was announced in December 2021.

In April, word came that Rainer Schwarz had been named head chef of the 22,000-square-foot restaurant. At that time, Schwarz was the executive chef for a quartet of Orange County, California, restaurants owned Trilogy Group F&B, parent company of Emmitt’s.

Last summer, Schwarz hosted a menu preview featuring dishes such as A5 wagyu with foie gras, a raw bar with seafood and caviar, and a special butter cake, one of Smith’s favorite dishes.

But since then, little news on the progress of the two-story restaurant, lounge, nightclub and terrace has emerged, until now. The Review-Journal is awaiting a request for comment from a representative for the restaurant.

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at [email protected]. Follow @ItsJLW on Twitter.