Nom Wah’s Intentional Growth and Enduring Appeal
Nom Wah, a beloved institution in New York City’s Chinatown, has achieved remarkable success and is now bringing its famous dim sum and Chinese-American cuisine to the Las Vegas community. The expansion is a testament to the brand’s intentional, well-planned growth strategy, led by owner Wilson Tang.
“Nom Wah is a family restaurant that I took over about 15 years ago,” Tang notes. “We kind of brought the restaurant back into fruition. Through the last 15 years, we’ve grown the restaurant brand to multiple locations.”
Tang emphasizes that the expansion is carefully considered rather than haphazard. “The thing that I’m most proud of is being able to kind of build in a way where it’s intentional, like we’re not kind of like just opening wherever we want,” he explains. “It’s like every project we’re really kind of talking like why, where, how are we going to make that happen? These are all the questions that we ask.”
Streamlining Operations for Expansion
Part of the ability to expand intentionally has come from developing efficient operations. Tang points to recent successes in opening other concepts and working with his culinary team.
“Just working with my culinary team under Chef Dory Wong’s leadership, we were really able to streamline a lot of these processes for us in opening these kind of outlets,” says Tang. This streamlining helps manage the complexities of growing the restaurant brand.
Another key operational strategy has been adapting to costly real estate, particularly in New York. Nom Wah has perfected the art of operating in smaller footprints, a concept that now allows for more flexible growth. “Real estate is so expensive in New York, I’ve always had this idea of trying to replicate the original store but in a much smaller setting,” Tang explains. “The challenge was how do I replicate this in a smaller space so that I can still grow the brand without having this huge liability of rents and so on and so forth?” This has led to concepts as small as a 200 square-foot kiosk in New York. “We continue to try to look for opportunities like that where we are able to produce, serve and provide food to customers in a small setting,” he adds.
Finding a Home in Las Vegas
The recent opening in Las Vegas was a strategic move that Tang feels came at the perfect time.
“The timing was really good for us to open in Las Vegas,” Tang states.
Off-Strip Charm in Summerlin
In selecting a location, Tang was drawn to a specific area away from the Las Vegas Strip, preferring the local community feel.
“I was particularly drawn to Summerlin in terms of the community feel and the fact that it’s been off-strip,” he says. “I think for my age, I’m 47 this year, like this is kind of more my thing, being off-strip.” The partnership with the host hotel was also a key factor. “The hotel has been phenomenal in supporting us with opening this restaurant here. And we continue to look for these kind of opportunities that really fit what we’re trying to do.”
Connecting with a National Audience
The move to Las Vegas also taps into a broader, appreciative customer base. Tang frequently hears from customers who have a strong connection to New York.
“What I’ve also discovered is a lot of people at some point in their lives have a moment in New York,” he shares. “I constantly got those kind of feedback. So being outside of New York is always a very, it makes me happy to be able to touch people and be back in their home city. So a lot of our customers are like, hey we’re from Vegas. Vegas sounded great.”
The Nom Wah cuisine is described as Chinese-American style, focusing on crowd-pleasing classics. “It’s Chinese American style. You’re not going to find chicken feet on our menu,” Tang explains, confident in the menu’s universal appeal. “You’ll see why it has brought us a lot of success in New York. And we want the city of Summerlin to have a taste of that.”
He describes the dining experience as similar to tapas. “It’s like Spanish tapas I just heard earlier,” he says. “Like it’s small plates meant for sharing. Great with a glass of wine. Or a cocktail. And I think it fits really well in a casino or a resort package.” While the recipes are based on the family originals, they have been slightly refined for modern operations. “These are the same family recipes. We had to tweak some of them a little bit to get them to, you know, just so that it works better. But yeah, these are the original white rice teas that were just slightly tweaked to make it work.”
