We’re told to enjoy the journey, but what if that journey is thrust upon you? What if it means leaving your home — all you know and cherish — behind? Would you try to save something meaningful or practical?
The Maroons did both, says Christopher Willoughby, assistant professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies at UNLV. Africans in the Americas who escaped slavery and formed new communities, Maroons used creative methods to maintain their culture, such as hiding ancient rice in their braids during the harrowing transatlantic passage.
“This was an effort to preserve this life-sustaining grain that was so central to West African cuisine,” Willoughby says. “It would become central not only to plantation economies of the Americas, but also in the sustenance of Maroon societies.”
For chef Kwame Onwuachi, this legacy of adaptation and resilience provides the inspiration for his upcoming Caribbean steakhouse, Maroon, at Sahara Las Vegas. Expected to open this winter, it will be his first restaurant beyond the East Coast, where his restaurants Tatiana (New York City)and Dōgon (Washington, D.C.) have attracted serious attention.
Onwuachi hopes Maroon will tell the story of his unique experience. “There are people who come to Las Vegas that are Caribbean, people of color, or people even just seeking that food,” he says. “You’ll be able to celebrate a special experience while celebrating your culture. (Vegas) is a special-experience place. It’s a revolving door of people coming in and out.”
Maroon will be the Strip’s first major restaurant owned and helmed by a Black chef, introducing the boulevard to the breadth of African diasporic cuisine. “I try not to get lost in that sauce,” Onwuachi says. “The most important part about being first is to make sure you’re not the last. Being given this opportunity should be a beacon of light for other operators. That’s what it’s about.”
The restaurant’s mere presence on the Strip sends a wider message, Willoughby says. “It’s a global and national stage for food prominence. The Strip attracts the world’s most famous, most well-regarded restaurateurs. And so, having one Black chef-owner there, although we need more, puts African diaspora food on a prominent global stage and says it deserves to be there.”
And Onwuachi isn’t just breaking new ground in a culinary sense. He’s doing it in a community sense, as well.
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On a September afternoon, Onwuachi tours Three Square Food Bank, a stop on his restaurant research and development tour of Southern Nevada. Walking through warehouses packed with necessities, the James Beard Award-winning chef talks about why this visit is important to him. The tour is research to inform how he and his restaurant may be able to help in the future.
“I think people who care get things done,” he says. “People who care think about the details. If you’re thinking ethically, you’re thinking about the community. You’re thinking about food insecurity. You’re thinking about your staff. These are just the right things to do.”
The latest Map and Meal Gap Study conducted by Feeding America reveals about 16 percent of Clark County residents are food insecure. That’s more than 377,000 people, including more than 113,000 children — or one in five kids in our community.
But community outreach is not something restaurateurs often do. Three Square’s event marketing manager, Will Edwards, says he can’t recall this kind of early interest — ever. “This gesture from chef Kwame, coming up even before his restaurant is opening. … I’ve been with Three Square for seven years. This is the first time. It speaks volumes of chef Kwame and how he wants to plant some roots in Las Vegas. It gives us another individual with another audience, a big audience who can hear this message.”
Because of deep federal cuts, Southern Nevada’s biggest food bank is expecting a gap of up to 5 million pounds of food. Edwards says they’re doing all they can to address the shortfall.
“One thing we’ve learned from the pandemic is to be ready all the time. There are several plans in place. I think we’re ready no matter what happens, but we always need food to give out. We do need assistance.”
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Onwuachi’s desire to learn and take action is a major reason executives of Sahara Las Vegas say they’re proud to partner with him, one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2025. Derek Morishita, vice president of food and beverage for Sahara Las Vegas, says, “It’s a true testament to who chef Kwame is as a person and the importance of genuinely engaging with the local community here in Southern Nevada was something he emphasized to us from the beginning.”
Although Onwuachi’s New York and Washington, D.C., restaurants continue to receive prestigious accolades (Dōgon was just named number 37 on North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list), both the chef and the hotel hope this local tour will spark new ideas.
“Even though both Tatiana and Dōgon are incredibly successful, he doesn’t want to copy and paste,” Morishita says. “The Maroon menu will be a true reflection of his extensive research and commitment to this community.”
Maroon will occupy the former space of Bazaar Meat, another unconventional steakhouse by another trailblazing chef, José Andrés. After more than a decade at Sahara, the Spanish meat emporium has moved to Palazzo. “I feel good to be able to follow in those footsteps,” Onwuachi says.
At Maroon, expect diverse flavors, food inspired by Onwuachi’s family background — Jamaican, Nigerian, Trinidadian, and Creole cuisine from Louisiana. He says he’s been cooking since he was 5 years old; he helped his mother with her catering company growing up, then cooked professionally at spots across the country, and began opening restaurants in his twenties. Maroon will reflect those experiences and highlight his ancestors, the descendants of enslaved Africans who found freedom in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica.
Because jerk seasoning originated in Jamaica and was developed by the Maroons, diners can look forward to spicy jerk rubs and warm Caribbean scotch bonnet pepper sauces. Food historians believe “jerk” comes from the Spanish word “charqui” meaning “dried meat.” Maroon will feature dry-aged meats and grilled seafood cooked over a live fire, not unlike early Africans in the Caribbean — who smoked proteins to preserve and flavor their meats.
“Caribbean food is incredibly nuanced,” Onwuachi says. “It’s a story of what happened in that region. That’s the beauty of iconic dishes. It’s a snapshot in time, a snapshot in history. If you pull back the layers in each flavor and ingredient, you can see who was there.”
Coincidentally, UNLV is offering a course about the history of food in the African diaspora. Professor Willoughby says Maroon culture is one of his favorite subjects to talk about in class. “When I teach my students about the history of slavery, they often know very little about Africans who went to other parts of the Americas, the foods they made, the cultures they formed,” he says. “I think in situating an Afro-Caribbean restaurant rooted in the kind of tradition of resistance of Marooning, we will really see the diversity of the African diaspora captured.”
Willoughby believes Onwuachi’s restaurant is a critical first step in centering a Black voice, a chance to tell a different kind of story of the African diaspora that will be unfamiliar to most American and international diners. “There are many different Black experiences in the Americas, many different Black food cultures,” he says.
He adds that it’s paramount in our community because of the city’s history. “Las Vegas was for the western United States notoriously slow to embrace integration, to respond to the challenges of the Civil Rights Movement. From that perspective, it being 2025, it being so late, it’s important Las Vegas makes this hurdle.”
Onwuachi says he’s excited to honor his heritage and give the Strip not just what it wants, but what he thinks it needs “by making it a safe space for everybody, a place of exploration, a place of celebration, a place of familiarity, a place of newfound favorites. I want it to be something like Las Vegas has never seen.”
Like the Maroons, he’s challenging the system and providing a platform for a vital part of Caribbean culture. “There’s a lot to unpack there,” Onwuachi says, “but at the end of the day, we’re just going to serve delicious food.”
