Les and Diane Corieri are the owners of Evening Entertainment Group, a restaurant and nightclub hospitality group based in Arizona that has expanded to other markets including Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, Miami and coming soon to Nashville and Las Vegas. Bottled Blonde opens in late 2024 on the Las Vegas Strip. Learn about Les and Diane Corieri…
Hometown: We are both are from Iowa.
First job: We both started out in the hospitality business. Les: Everything back of house for my dad’s restaurant. Diane: Restaurant waitress.
Favorite ways to spend your free time in NV: We love to check out all the new restaurants and catch a few shows. For tacos, we hit Tacos El Gordo, Herbs & Rye is where we belly up and, for a big night out, Delilah always delivers.
Your biggest accomplishment and why: Besides raising our children, we feel like the biggest accomplishment is creating and managing our businesses. Being able to open new venues in different parts of the country has truly been a great experience. EEG is proud to operate in Arizona, Texas and Florida.
The biggest obstacle you overcame: Again, besides raising our children, scaling our business model into managing 14 venues in multiple states has come with a lot of challenges and obstacles but the end results have been worth it.
Someone who inspires you and why: Les: My dad. He was my mentor, and I followed in his footsteps when I opened our restaurants and bars.
Advice to someone pursuing a career path in what you do: Just like starting any business, it’s going to take a lot of money, time and patience so build it with people you trust and make sure to have the same end goal in mind. Also, make sure you know your market.
Favorite quote: “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
Something someone would be surprised to learn about you: Les: When I was a kid, I won the Iowa State Fair Foosball Tournament, which back then was a big deal. I competed in a number of other tournaments, saved all my money, and took it back to Ames, Iowa to start my first bar, the Copper Dollar. I have a foosball table at my house now as a reminder of where it all started. Diane: I love to ride horses.
What makes someone fabulous: Really just living a life that is authentic to you.