Hawaiian favorite Zippy’s opens its first mainland restaurant

It's been more than five years since the chain announced it planned to open a Las Vegas location.

Fans began lining up before sunrise for Tuesday’s opening of the first mainland outpost of the Hawaiian diner chain Zippy’s, in Las Vegas.

Photos on social media showed a snaking line of dozens of people hours before the 9:50 a.m. opening ceremony of the new restaurant in a Spring Valley shopping area.

Zippy’s, a favorite for decades in Hawai’i, specializes in regional dishes including chili and rice, saimin noodles, Korean fried chicken and the “Zip Pac,” a combo of chicken, breaded fish filet, teriyaki beef and Spam with rice and pickled radish.

It’s been more than five years since the chain announced it planned to open a Las Vegas location; at that time, the opening date was set for early 2019. The project encountered delays including those caused by the COVID pandemic.

By the end of last year, with construction well underway, the chain announced it was hiring managers for the Vegas site and would be training them in Hawaii.

In its first phase, the Las Vegas restaurant will be open from 6 a.m. to midnight and will offer “a majority” of the 150 items from the Hawai’i menu. By early 2024, its announcement said, it hopes to have the full menu and 24-hour operation.

Las Vegas has been called Hawaii’s “ninth island” because of its popularity as a tourist destination and its growing community of former Hawaiian residents. In particular, the California Hotel & Casino has built its success on the island market.

The first Zippy’s opened in 1966 in Honolulu. It now has 20 locations on Oahu and one each on Maui and the island of Hawai’i.

The Las Vegas Zippy’s is at 7095 Badura Ave., near the 215 Beltway and Rainbow Boulevard.