Andy Masi is a partner in The Light Group, a Las Vegas-based multiconcept operator. The group’s concepts include Fix Restaurant & Bar (ranked this year among the Top 100 Independent Restaurants) at Bellagio; Stack Restaurant & Bar, Jet and Bare Pool Lounge at Mirage Hotel & Casino; and Mist Bar & Lounge at Treasure Island Hotel & Casino. This summer, The Light Group will open Yellowtail Sushi Restaurant & Bar in Bellagio.

Q. The Light Group’s Fix Restaurant & Bar had F&B sales last year of $12.7 million. A lot of restaurateurs elsewhere who are doing well—but not that well—must wonder if there isn’t an entirely different operating reality in Las Vegas. Is there?

A. Well, it’s not just about revenues; it’s about who you’re marketing your restaurant to and who your demographic is. I think the classic restaurants, the traditional steakhouses, really cater to the baby-boom generation. These diners want the first course, the second course, the third course, a big bottle of wine and they’re done.

Generation X, the generation coming up now, is who we market our restaurants to. They don’t want that [baby boomer] style anymore. So our restaurants focus on what they want instead, because it’s different.

Q. How is it different?

A. They want to sit and share food at the table. We do a lot of shared plates, shareable appetizers. So a party of four will sit down and order four, five, six appetizers to start and then later they’ll go on to order an entrée. It’s a much more casual dining process. It’s not as formal.

And that ties in to atmosphere, too. Traditionally designed restaurants, with thick velvet or whatever, create an atmosphere that is a little more conservative and low-tone. They’re not playing contemporary music in the background; they’re playing mellow dining music. In our restaurants, the music is a little louder and there’s more energy, and that matches with the food that we serve.

Q. In your restaurants, it seems that the line that traditionally defines dining room from bar area is blurred, if not gone—is this an accurate assessment?

A. Definitely. The lounge in Fix or Stack is directly connected to and open to the restaurant, so it’s not carved out or separated by a wall. It’s part of the atmosphere because it gives off energy.

Q. And beverages are a bigger part of the overall dining experience?

A. Oh, absolutely. Beverages are definitely a bigger part. This generation wants to be more casual. They want to go to the bar and have cocktails and loosen up a bit as opposed to immediately sitting down and ordering dinner and having a bottle or two of wine.

Q. You’re about to open Yellowtail Sushi Restaurant & Bar. How does it fit in The Light Group’s portfolio?

A. Yellowtail is also going after that same market: Generation X, young, affluent, contemporary. They’re coming to the Bellagio and they want an exciting overall dining experience, but they don’t want a traditional Japanese experience. We’re replacing a restaurant, Shintaro, that was an excellent restaurant and that did very well but that was definitely in the vein of the Japanese restaurant that catered to baby boomers.

Yellowtail is going to be much more open and exciting. Very contemporary. The menu again will focus on shared plates for the table and have some unique dishes [from Chef Akira Back]. We’ll offer a lot of sakes, and there’s going to be a lot of energy to the room.

Q. What are the décor elements?

A. It was designed by David Rockwell, and it’s going to be quite cool. There’s a (25-by-13-foot) installation on the wall with bronze scales, so the wall resembles a fish. It’s very contemporary and not the traditional Japanese look whatsoever. At Shintaro, a big portion of the menu was teppanyaki. We’re not doing teppanyaki at Yellowtail. It’s much lighter fare.

Q. Is the design of restaurants changing with the shift in emphasis from boomers to Gen X?

A. One-hundred percent. Now you have a generation that’s more concerned with design, how a restaurant looks and if it’s hip. Never before would you have a customer ask who the designer of the restaurant was. It’s really moving that way. People want to be in an atmosphere that’s unique, where there’s no other restaurant around that looks like it. You need to give something unique to diners. They’ve become far more design-conscious.

Contact writer at shume@reedbusiness.com