When Chef Dan Krohmer opened Durango Social Club last year, on Durango Drive near Desert Breeze Park, he envisioned a place where chefs could experiment, collaborate and create unique culinary experiences. It’s a vision that produced groundbreaking residencies, craveable pop-ups and lavish prix fixe feasts. Now, he says, it’s finally brought the restaurant to where it was always meant to be.
Chef Crystina “Mama” Nguyen has officially joined Durango Social Club as executive chef, and it’s not another “limited time” engagement. She and Krohmer have announced a permanent culinary collaboration that has evolved the culinary incubator into a neighborhood restaurant spotlighting her distinctive take on Vietnamese comfort food.
A Culinary Incubator With Vision
“The restaurant has continued to evolve, but the vision has always been the same,” Krohmer says. “Now that Mama’s home, it feels like we’ve found exactly what Durango Social Club was meant to become.”
That evolution wasn’t always linear.
After abandoning an earlier breakfast-and-lunch concept, Krohmer reopened this space (a few doors down from his popular seafood restaurant Other Mama) as Durango Social Club. It began with a tasting-menu-only experience cooked by Krohmer himself, and evolved into a revolving cast of guest chefs. The approach introduced Las Vegas diners to rising culinary talents while giving established chefs a place to experiment. But it also created uncertainty among guests.
“People didn’t know if this was reservation only, if they could walk in or not, what time dinner started, if it was a set menu, if it was à la carte,” Krohmer recently told the Food and Loathing podcast. “We really just wanted to have something that was more streamlined. … Now I feel like we have something that’s really planting roots.”
A Permanent Home For Mama
For Nguyen, the opportunity arrived at exactly the right moment.
The chef is known to many Las Vegas diners for her years in the front of the house at District One Kitchen & Bar, and later through a series of pop-ups. Under her own brand, Nguyen introduced Las Vegas dining enthusiasts to her warm and personal style of hospitality. Nguyen (“Mama” to friends and fans) says timing has become one of the guiding principles of both her life and career.
“I’ve learned in the last couple years not to sacrifice my well-being to make anyone happier,” she says. “It really has to do all with myself.”
That shared philosophy became the foundation of her partnership with Krohmer.
“We had a personal contract,” Nguyen says with a laugh, explaining that protecting each other’s mental health and maintaining a healthy work-life balance were priorities from the beginning. Six weeks into the collaboration, she says the restaurant is already finding its rhythm and building something she believes the community will embrace for years to come.
Nguyen explained that the menu features food she would proudly serve her own family. While rooted firmly in Vietnamese traditions, it also carries subtle influences from her Chinese and French heritage. Diners will find everything from handmade tapioca dumplings and sizzling bò né to vermicelli bowls, five-spice chicken and Nguyen’s popular gluten-free egg rolls. The core menu remains almost entirely gluten-free, with fresh vegetables and herbs taking center stage while rotating specials give the kitchen room to explore new ideas.
“When someone walks through this door, it’s like they’re walking into my own home,” Nguyen says. “That is what’s most important to me—to make sure they are well fed and everyone’s just happy.”
Krohmer believes that spirit of hospitality completes his original vision for the restaurant.
“I feel really blessed that I have this room that I can offer her,” he says. “I just want to grow with her with this concept.”
Today, Durango Social Club serves Nguyen’s Vietnamese-inspired menu Wednesday through Saturday evening, with both reservations and walk-in guests welcome. While daily specials continue to provide opportunities for creativity, the days of wondering exactly what’s cooking at Durango Social Club appear to be over. The restaurant finally has a permanent culinary identity and a clear direction.
