When The Factory Kitchen opens at The Venetian in December, it’ll be with a Las Vegas veteran at the helm. The executive chef will be Eduardo Perez, formerly of several local Wolfgang Puck restaurants including Mandalay Bay’s Trattoria del Lupo, where he was executive chef from 2007-2014 before decamping for Smith & Wollensky in Miami Beach.

“We’re always excited, consistently,” Perez said when asked about the new project. “We have to keep high energy.” Despite his years of cooking in an Italian kitchen, Perez said the venture poses challenges. “The new concept that we’re doing is really down-to-earth Italian,” he said. “People misunderstand the Italian cuisine a lot.”