Just as the heart of every home is its kitchen, the heart of eat is its chef/owner, Natalie Young. St. Louis-born, Denver-bred, and a Las Vegan first by chance then by choice, Young’s culinary career has been driven by three things: a lifelong passion for food, relentless pursuit of excellence and a deep desire to give back to her community.

A professional chef for over 20 years, she has worked in some of the country’s most celebrated—and most demanding—kitchens, including stints alongside such notable chefs as Mark Miller (Coyote Café) and John Joho (Eiffel Tower). As a result, she brings a wealth of experience and technical expertise to her first foray as a culinary entrepreneur… not to mention her own signature style. But don’t let the wild hair, tattoos, or the Dickies-and-Chucks uniform fool you; as friendly, outgoing and disarmingly down-to-earth as she is, Chef Nat is ALL BIZ in the kitchen.

Several years in the making, Natalie’s vision for eat is a humble one: to provide simple, soulful, quality food for her friends and neighbors.“I’ve done really well in Vegas, but I’ve done so cooking for an exclusive, largely tourist clientele,” she explains, “I want to bring that same level of quality—fine, fresh food that tastes as good as it looks—to a more low key, local audience; to my community.”

Designed to fill a particular void in the downtown dining scene, eat‘s menu will feature healthy, hearty breakfast and luncheon favorites—creative American comfort classics prepared with Chef Natalie’s signature French culinary-trained twist, using the freshest, most sustainable, and whenever possible, locally-sourced, organic ingredients.

friends and neighbors

It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes a *city* to raise a breakfast joint–or at least, it took a city to raise this one. There are way too many people who helped in way too many ways, big and small, to list them all individually… but to everyone who dog sat, hand-held, picked up a broom or power tool, or otherwise helped out along the way, a sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU.

And to the people below, all of whom gave so generously of themselves (we’re talkin’ time, money, support and so much more), there aren’t enough words in the dictionary to express my gratitude. Without your help, eat would still be just a dream. The first round of pancakes is on Chef Nat (kidding–you’re on your own there. We have a loan to pay back!)

• Roger Thomas
• Trenlin Hubbert
• Anna Lea Parson
• Sarah Lynch
• Dana Satterwhite
• Krystal Ramirez
• Zak Ostrowski and Zodiabula
• Southwest Gas
• The City of Las Vegas & the entire Downtown Las Vegas Community