Sioux City's Hard Rock on eve of grand opening

Malsom, an early supporter of the 100,000-square-foot gaming and entertainment mecca, plans to attend a special-invitation VIP event that starts at 6 p.m. Friday. She then will meet up with a group of friends at 8 p.m. when the venue opens to the general public. "I'm just really excited to have a facility like that in our community," Malsom said.

Sioux City, population 82,719, becomes the smallest U.S. city with a Hard Rock-branded casino or hotel. The next closest is in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Sioux City venue is not affiliated with Hard Rock Cafe International, which holds the rights to the famous chain of restaurants around the globe.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City has three restaurants with different themes and menu options — Fuel American Grill, Main + Abbey and World Tour Buffet. The latter two are on the first floor of the historic Battery Building, which was extensively renovated as part of the $128.5 million project.

The 54 hotel rooms in the boutique Hard Rock hotel are on the top two floors of the Battery, a former warehouse built in 1906. It's connected to a new 58,000-square-foot structure that houses the casino floor, as well as Fuel American Grill, a live entertainment venue and bar called Anthem, and another bar known as The Yards. A retail store, called the Rock Shop, will sell a wide assortment of Hard Rock-branded merchandise and other items.

The Hard Rock construction, which began late last summer and deployed more than 800 workers from various trades, was entering the final stages last week. The Hard Rock's roughly 500 employees, most hired over the last few months, are completing their final stages of training, Leuders said. Chefs are testing recipes that will be served at the restaurants, she said.
"Everything is really coming along well," she said.

In lieu of a traditional ribbon-cutting on opening night, Hard Rock developer Bill Warner and General Manager Todd Moyer will take part in a "guitar breaking" ceremony at 8 p.m. in front of the Pearl Street entrance. A free concert is scheduled for 10 p.m., Leuders said. The performer has not yet been announced.

From there, Hard Rock will book 200 nights of entertainers per year, most of them musical, but with some comedians, too.