‘Mindfreak’ Magician Criss Angel Dives Into the Restaurant Business in Overton

Criss Angel, the Mindfreak magician with a show at Planet Hollywood Resort, is going into the restaurant business. Angel bought Sugar’s Home Plate for $280,000 some 65 miles northeast from Las Vegas in Overton, Nevada, with fast-casual fare.

Angel discovered the restaurant while dirt biking with his family in the Moapa Valley near Valley of Fire State Park. He teams up with his brother Costa Sarantakos and pizza maker Mike Baram to convert the restaurant into the fast-casual Cablp (pronounced Ca-blip), short for Criss Angel’s breakfast, lunch, and pizza. Sarantakos ran his father’s New York restaurants for years while Baram owns Baldwin Pizzeria & Restaurant in Parsippany, New Jersey.

Angel’s 7-year-old son Johnny Crisstopher was diagnosed with leukemia five years ago and Moapa Valley became a place to take him to ride the trails. “My family and I fell in love with the area when we took our son, Johnny Crisstopher, dirt biking nearby,” Angel says in a press statement. “The more time we spent there, the more we got to know the town and the amazing people. When the opportunity came to invest in the community with this restaurant, we jumped at it.”

Angel and his team plan to reopen the restaurant in July with dine-in service, a walk-up window, and takeout. Breakfast items include Belgian waffles, French toast, pancakes, omelets, and breakfast sandwiches, while lunch features burgers, sandwiches, calzone, wraps, salads, and pizzas. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that entrees such as Moapa chicken-fried steak, chicken Parmesan, and Long Island fish and chips also make the menu, along with beer, wine, and cocktails such as the Mindfreeze, concocted with vodka and one of more than 100 flavors of Italian ice.

Aside from fast-casual food, the restaurant will periodically convert into the Magic Room with entertainment from Angel and his friends. A free meal outreach program will help underprivileged and pediatric cancer families. Cablp will also be part of a youth job program.

Down the road, Angel plans to build Criss Angel’s Escape Camp Adventures on 14 acres at the start of the Logandale trails. As he describes it, it will serve “families going through the most challenging times a beautiful escape to camp, ride, and eat for free.”

Sugar’s Home Plate opened for business on April 10, 1991, with nearby Lake Mead Resorts, Overton Beach, and Echo Bay bringing in the customers. Owners Ray and Judy Metz showcased a collection of sports memorabilia, particularly from the Los Angeles Dodgers, along with burgers, chicken fried steak, and Saturday night prime rib feasts.

Angel’s Mindfreak show reopens on July 7.

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