The Jonas Family Expands Their Southern Comfort Food Restaurant with Las Vegas Location

Kevin Jonas Sr. wants guests to "find that Southern hospitality and comfort that my grandmother represented" at Nellie’s Southern Kitchen's Las Vegas location, coming in early 2022

Photo: Jonas Group/Nellie’s Southern Kitchen/Cynthia Parkhurst

The Jonas family is inviting Las Vegas residents to pull up a chair for chicken and dumplings and sing-along tunes.

In early 2022, Nellie's Southern Kitchen will make its Las Vegas debut at MGM Grand, it was announced on Monday. Led by Kevin Jonas Sr. and Denise Jonas — parents of Kevin, Joe, Nick and Frankie Jonas — the Jonas family, in partnership with TLI Bedrock LLC, prepares to open the restaurant's second location and continue to share the family's multi-generational Southern comfort food recipes.

"When you walk in, we want you to find that Southern hospitality and comfort that my grandmother represented," Kevin Sr. tells PEOPLE.

The upcoming 11,000 square-foot restaurant will be located in the District by the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Despite the larger size and more extravagant venue, the essence and menu will be reminiscent of the original in Kevin Sr.'s hometown of Belmont, N.C.

"I grew up in my grandparents' home. My family, for generations, worked in Belmont cotton mills. My grandmother would come home, covered in cotton after working in the cotton mill all day, and just start making us the most amazing food," he says.

The menus are full of Southern staples such as shrimp and grits and fried okra, plus brunch options and an extensive cocktail menu. There will also be exclusive dishes and drinks at the Las Vegas location.

Jonas Group/Nellie’s Southern Kitchen

The recipes used have been passed down from several generations of the Jonas family because for Kevin Sr., another important element of Nellie's is authenticity.

"My great-grandmother shared her recipes with my grandmother who shared them with my mother who shared them with our chefs. We have protected the natural recipes and made sure that our professional chefs at Nellie's knew how to make them like my family before figuring out how to serve them to our customers," he says. "It was a lot of work."

Jonas Group/Nellie’s Southern Kitchen

Over the past 5 years, Nellie's Southern Kitchen has become not only a culinary spot for Belmont residents and visitors but also a musical celebration. "In the Jonas family, we all encourage music at the table so we have a small stage in Belmont and will have an even bigger stage in Vegas for live performances. We play everything from the Jonas Brothers to The Beatles, so everyone can enjoy it," says Kevin Sr.

A second location has been in the works for a while. "I am really proud of our Belmont location and how we have survived through some obviously tough times. But the Las Vegas location has been a long time coming," he says. "We started talking about Vegas before we even opened in Belmont."

"There is no desire at Nellie's to be pretentious and there is a requirement to be excellent," he adds. "I hope critics will love it but I know that the people who visit and eat here will love it."