When Graton Resort & Casino opened in 2013, its ambitious roster of chefs — Cyrus’ Douglas Keane, Martin Yan and pizza champion Tony Gemignani — suggested that dining would be as much of a draw as slot machines and poker tables.
That promise quickly faded. Keane and Yan departed, and Gemignani shifted his attention to other pizza ventures, leaving behind a restaurant lineup better suited to a quick bite between games than a destination meal.
Chef Roy Ellamar is betting AYA can restore some of that ambition.
In early May, Ellamar and his wife, Jennifer, opened the 28,000-square-foot restaurant in the casino’s new nonsmoking wing.
