Aloha Specialties Closing at The Cal in Las Vegas After 41 Years

One of downtown Las Vegas’s longest-running casual restaurants is about to serve its last plate. Aloha Specialties, the Hawaiian spot on the mezzanine of the California Hotel & Casino, will close for good on Sunday, Nov. 22, after 41 years.

Key Takeaways

• Aloha Specialties at The Cal closes permanently on Nov. 22, 2026.
• The restaurant opened in 1985 and has been a go-to for visitors from Hawaii for decades.
• The family behind it announced the closing on social media without giving a reason.
• Boyd Gaming, which owns The Cal, has not announced what will replace it.

What’s Happening

The closing was announced in a social media post signed by the restaurant and the Yamagata family, according to Vital Vegas. The post thanked customers but did not say why the restaurant is shutting down.

Aloha Specialties grew out of a beef jerky business started in 1980, and the restaurant followed in 1985. It got a major makeover in 2016 as part of a wider refresh of The Cal. The menu stuck to island comfort food: saimin noodle soup, Spam musubi, loco moco, teriyaki plates, kalua pork, and curry and rice bowls, all at casual-diner prices.

What It Means for Las Vegas

The Cal has long been known as Hawaii’s unofficial “ninth island” hotel, and Aloha Specialties was a big part of that identity. For locals, it was one of the easiest places downtown to grab an affordable bowl of saimin or a quick musubi before a night on Fremont Street. Its closing leaves a gap in a part of town where cheap sit-down meals keep getting harder to find.

If you’ve been meaning to go back one more time, you have about two weeks. Expect bigger crowds as the final day gets closer, especially on weekends.

What to Watch Next

No replacement has been named for the mezzanine space. Vital Vegas suggested Boyd could open a similar Hawaiian-style concept of its own, but nothing has been confirmed. We’ll update this story if The Cal announces plans for the space. For more cheap eats around town, check our Restaurant Deals board.

Sources

• Vital Vegas (Casino.org): Aloha Specialties Restaurant to Close at The Cal After 41 Years

For informational purposes only; not financial, investment or legal advice.