Loved by locals, Vegas’ Arts District is at a crossroads. Can it stay indie and thrive?
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Even as recently as a decade ago, Las Vegas hotel concierges and plenty of locals would have described the gap between the Strip and Fremont Street as something of a dead zone. This was a ragged corridor of old warehouses and auto shops, with more boarded-up storefronts than open doors.
“You couldn’t park your car and not worry,” remembers artist Gem Jaxx, who moved to Vegas in 2006 from Monterey County, Calif. “You couldn’t even walk the streets.”
Yet the idea of an arts district had been taking shape since the early ’90s, when the city identified an 18-block area south of downtown as ripe for creative development. Loosely framed by Hoover Avenue to the north and Colorado Avenue to the south, with Commerce Street and Fourth Street marking its west and east edges, this region became known as the 18b Arts District. First Friday, launched by a small group of artists and gallery owners in 2002, started pulling crowds into the neighborhood. Sometimes tens of thousands at a time, if only once a month.
The regular influx of visitors (combined with cheap rents and plenty of retail space) drew a wave of interesting tenants: antique dealers, secondhand clothing boutiques, microbreweries, cocktail bars. As the mix of businesses grew, 18b began to matter less as a set of boundaries and more as an identity.
“Very quickly it changed,” says Josh Kellman, president of the Arts District board. “Businesses here were saying, ‘Hey, I want to be in 18b.’ No one wants to feel like they’re outside the neighborhood.”
Today, the Las Vegas Arts District is a low-key alternative to the Strip for dining, drinks, art, shopping and beyond. Centered on Main Street, but with plenty to explore on neighboring Commerce Street and Casino Center Boulevard, it’s easy to spend an afternoon browsing vintage shops and gallery spaces, catch live music or a stage show, grab dinner, coffee and craft beer — and still have money left for tomorrow.
But the neighborhood is at a crossroads. After a tragic shooting happened earlier this month during First Friday, the monthly arts festival is now on hold as organizers and city officials consider how to move forward. Meanwhile, a proposed Business Improvement District intended to fund additional safety measures and neighborhood services has stirred debate over how to improve the area while preserving the independent spirit that made it a destination in the first place.
As questions swirl, fans of the Arts District hope it holds on to what makes it such a distinctive place. At a time when Las Vegas can feel increasingly engineered around sky-high bottle service, celebrity-chef tasting menus and cocktails edging toward $30, the neighborhood remains one of the places locals actually hang out and where tourists can experience Sin City beyond the slot machines. Here are 11 worthwhile stops on a visit to the creative hub.
The Arts Factory
Gallery
(Hannah Rushton / For The Times)
Consider the giant Technicolor “Love Las Vegas” mural splashed across the front of the Arts Factory on Charleston Boulevard as your welcome to the neighborhood. Inside this former industrial warehouse is a labyrinth of 30-plus pop-up galleries and color-drenched corridors where artists paint, sculpt and sell their work in real time.
Opened by commercial photographer Wes Myles in 1997 as an affordable studio hub, the Arts Factory became the nucleus around which the area grew. In 2002, it was one of the original homes of First Friday, the now-massive monthly art walk that draws thousands. For artist Gem Jaxx, the Arts Factory has been home base for nearly two decades. “I’d never seen anything like that before,” Jaxx says. “It was just a big open house … I was hooked.”
Now a studio holder and co-founder of Vivid Gallery with fellow artist Bex Nikols, Jaxx is known for pop-saturated collages that remix abstract imagery and Old Vegas icons like Frank Sinatra into vibrant visual mashups. Upstairs, newcomer Gary LaFemina fills his studio at High Street Station with pattern-heavy paintings. His recent “Love Madly” campaign raised funds for Las Vegas’ unhoused community. “What do you think of these colors?” LaFemina asks, welcoming feedback as he paints.
Around the corner, Art Wavy pairs skater-turned-painter David Soto’s gestural Southwest landscapes with Janel Raihl’s sculptural collages that explore florals, fashion and the cosmos. At Fraiche Arts, Julie Notaro turns encaustic wax and watercolor into abstract paintings as well as luminous silk scarves. “We have a little bit of everything,” Jaxx says.
Opened by commercial photographer Wes Myles in 1997 as an affordable studio hub, the Arts Factory became the nucleus around which the area grew. In 2002, it was one of the original homes of First Friday, the now-massive monthly art walk that draws thousands. For artist Gem Jaxx, the Arts Factory has been home base for nearly two decades. “I’d never seen anything like that before,” Jaxx says. “It was just a big open house … I was hooked.”
Now a studio holder and co-founder of Vivid Gallery with fellow artist Bex Nikols, Jaxx is known for pop-saturated collages that remix abstract imagery and Old Vegas icons like Frank Sinatra into vibrant visual mashups. Upstairs, newcomer Gary LaFemina fills his studio at High Street Station with pattern-heavy paintings. His recent “Love Madly” campaign raised funds for Las Vegas’ unhoused community. “What do you think of these colors?” LaFemina asks, welcoming feedback as he paints.
Around the corner, Art Wavy pairs skater-turned-painter David Soto’s gestural Southwest landscapes with Janel Raihl’s sculptural collages that explore florals, fashion and the cosmos. At Fraiche Arts, Julie Notaro turns encaustic wax and watercolor into abstract paintings as well as luminous silk scarves. “We have a little bit of everything,” Jaxx says.
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Makers & Finders
Cafe
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(Eric Thompson)
Equal parts coffee shop, Latin American kitchen and community hub, Makers & Finders was born out of a family story that stretches from South America to the American Southwest. Owner Josh Molina opened the cafe in 2014 as a way to honor his parents’ journey as immigrants (Omar and Martha Molina settled in Las Vegas after leaving Colombia in 1984) as well as Molina’s own passion for specialty coffee and the Latin food he grew up on.
Come for the coffee — nitro cold brew, Cuban cortados, café con leche, coconut turmeric lattes — and stay for an all-day brunch menu with standouts such as churro waffles, loaded bandeja paisa, short rib Benedict arepas, chicken tinga omelets and flaky empanadas filled with shrimp, spicy mushroom and other combinations.
First opened when Main Street was little more than a patchwork of antique shops and empty buildings, Makers & Finders has remained one of the Arts District’s steadier constants. Bright murals and plenty of tables invite visitors to settle in a while, whether for laptop work, brunch meetings or late-afternoon espressos.
Come for the coffee — nitro cold brew, Cuban cortados, café con leche, coconut turmeric lattes — and stay for an all-day brunch menu with standouts such as churro waffles, loaded bandeja paisa, short rib Benedict arepas, chicken tinga omelets and flaky empanadas filled with shrimp, spicy mushroom and other combinations.
First opened when Main Street was little more than a patchwork of antique shops and empty buildings, Makers & Finders has remained one of the Arts District’s steadier constants. Bright murals and plenty of tables invite visitors to settle in a while, whether for laptop work, brunch meetings or late-afternoon espressos.
Main Street Peddlers Antique Mall
Shopping
(Hannah Rushton / For The Times)
Comic books and casino relics, Rat Pack-era keepsakes and velvet Elvis portraits, plus tiki mugs, vinyl records, novelty saltshakers — even glittering stage-worn burlesque costumes — fill the aisles of Main Street Peddlers Antique Mall.
The biggest seller? Probably the $5 mystery bags, with 15,000 sold and counting.
“It’s Las Vegas in a $5 bag,” says owner Sarah Collins. “It’s a gamble and a surprise. But always an experience.”
Collins didn’t set out to build an antique empire. She arrived in Vegas in 1994 to help care for her aging parents. A former showgirl, Collins hosted trunk shows selling costumes for more than two decades. When the market shifted, she pivoted to yard sales, then a booth. “In less than two years,” Collins says, “it was my antique mall.”
Her two-thirds of the building now houses 35 vendors and a philosophy that feels almost radical in Vegas: warmth. “I’m Puerto Rican … we talk to you like we’ve known you our whole life,” Collins says, greeting customers with compliments like a favorite aunt who also happens to sell plastic-wrapped Playboys and “Star Wars” figurines. “We bill ourselves as the friendliest antique mall in Las Vegas.”
The remaining third is Mintless, which began as a booth inside Main Street Peddlers before expanding under the guidance of ER doctor and vintage dealer Suzanne Roozendaal. Her lane is a treasure trove of Atomic Age lamps, kitschy cocktail sets and midcentury appliances all arranged in showroom tableaux.
“A lot of high school students come into Mintless and go, ‘Oh, my parents would like this,’” Roozendaal laughs.
The biggest seller? Probably the $5 mystery bags, with 15,000 sold and counting.
“It’s Las Vegas in a $5 bag,” says owner Sarah Collins. “It’s a gamble and a surprise. But always an experience.”
Collins didn’t set out to build an antique empire. She arrived in Vegas in 1994 to help care for her aging parents. A former showgirl, Collins hosted trunk shows selling costumes for more than two decades. When the market shifted, she pivoted to yard sales, then a booth. “In less than two years,” Collins says, “it was my antique mall.”
Her two-thirds of the building now houses 35 vendors and a philosophy that feels almost radical in Vegas: warmth. “I’m Puerto Rican … we talk to you like we’ve known you our whole life,” Collins says, greeting customers with compliments like a favorite aunt who also happens to sell plastic-wrapped Playboys and “Star Wars” figurines. “We bill ourselves as the friendliest antique mall in Las Vegas.”
The remaining third is Mintless, which began as a booth inside Main Street Peddlers before expanding under the guidance of ER doctor and vintage dealer Suzanne Roozendaal. Her lane is a treasure trove of Atomic Age lamps, kitschy cocktail sets and midcentury appliances all arranged in showroom tableaux.
“A lot of high school students come into Mintless and go, ‘Oh, my parents would like this,’” Roozendaal laughs.
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Able Baker Brewing Company
Brewery
(Eric Thompson)
It’s hard to miss the bright yellow beer silo with the duck face painted on the side. Beaming down on passersby, this “atomic duck” is inspired by desert lore: Legend has it that a duck survived the first Nevada atomic tests unscathed, a playful symbol of the nuclear age.
Able Baker Brewing Company takes its name from that same history; “Able” and “Baker” were the codenames for the two detonations at Bikini Atoll in 1946. Inside, the theme continues with a large banner that traces atomic history and a pinup girl painted on a grain hopper wishing visitors a cheerful “Safe flight.”
Of course, beer is the real draw. Able Baker’s flagship Atomic Duck IPA is crisp and citrusy, with notes of tropical fruit and pine. Another winner is the Honey Dip Stout, blending dark malts with honey and Madagascar vanilla for a sweet smoothness. For a bigger hit, the Coconut Kiloton dark ale is aged in Woodford Reserve barrels and packs a 12% ABV punch. A diverse menu keeps crowds at the communal tables, with shareable plates featuring spicy shrimp tacos, BBQ pork banh mì sandwiches, chicken tikka masala rice bowls and other inventive bites.
Located on the southern edge of the Arts District, Able Baker isn’t the neighborhood’s oldest brewery; that distinction belongs to the (also good) Hop Nuts Brewing, next to Makers & Finders. But in a Brewery Row of more than half a dozen microbreweries, brewpubs and beer-focused spots, Able Baker has earned its reputation as a standout.
Able Baker Brewing Company takes its name from that same history; “Able” and “Baker” were the codenames for the two detonations at Bikini Atoll in 1946. Inside, the theme continues with a large banner that traces atomic history and a pinup girl painted on a grain hopper wishing visitors a cheerful “Safe flight.”
Of course, beer is the real draw. Able Baker’s flagship Atomic Duck IPA is crisp and citrusy, with notes of tropical fruit and pine. Another winner is the Honey Dip Stout, blending dark malts with honey and Madagascar vanilla for a sweet smoothness. For a bigger hit, the Coconut Kiloton dark ale is aged in Woodford Reserve barrels and packs a 12% ABV punch. A diverse menu keeps crowds at the communal tables, with shareable plates featuring spicy shrimp tacos, BBQ pork banh mì sandwiches, chicken tikka masala rice bowls and other inventive bites.
Located on the southern edge of the Arts District, Able Baker isn’t the neighborhood’s oldest brewery; that distinction belongs to the (also good) Hop Nuts Brewing, next to Makers & Finders. But in a Brewery Row of more than half a dozen microbreweries, brewpubs and beer-focused spots, Able Baker has earned its reputation as a standout.
MAD Gallery
Gallery
(Hannah Rushton / For The Times)
Even before you step inside, the graffitied cement courtyard in front of Main Arts District Gallery greets visitors like an open-air living room for Main Street. Painted dragonflies, flowers, faces and other squiggles spill across the walls and pavement. Colorful concrete orbs and a stone sofa invite kids (or adults with a functioning inner child) to climb, lounge or pose for photos between gallery hops.
Inside, MAD Gallery focuses nearly exclusively on Nevada artists, with rotating work from more than two dozen locals. There’s plenty of street art, pop surrealism, mixed media and contemporary mural pieces curated by chief operating officer Bryana Anderson. The roster balances established names — cartoony muralist Adam Rellah, better known as Pretty Done, has created work for Formula 1 Las Vegas and the Backstreet Boys at Sphere — with rising talent, like Erik “Anti” Caudillo, whose vivid graffiti-on-canvas pieces celebrate street scenes and Chicano heritage.
MAD Gallery also spotlights featured artists throughout the year. The latest is self-taught painter and sculptor Gail Gilbert, whose moody, theatrical figures draw from her parallel career as a dancer and choreographer. (Gilbert currently appears as the Nursemaid in Cirque du Soleil’s KÀ at MGM Grand.) This year, MAD showcased a Mediterranean-inspired exhibition by Niki J Sands, who uses bold colors and expressive figures to create Cubist scenes inspired by food, gatherings and shared cultural rituals.
Inside, MAD Gallery focuses nearly exclusively on Nevada artists, with rotating work from more than two dozen locals. There’s plenty of street art, pop surrealism, mixed media and contemporary mural pieces curated by chief operating officer Bryana Anderson. The roster balances established names — cartoony muralist Adam Rellah, better known as Pretty Done, has created work for Formula 1 Las Vegas and the Backstreet Boys at Sphere — with rising talent, like Erik “Anti” Caudillo, whose vivid graffiti-on-canvas pieces celebrate street scenes and Chicano heritage.
MAD Gallery also spotlights featured artists throughout the year. The latest is self-taught painter and sculptor Gail Gilbert, whose moody, theatrical figures draw from her parallel career as a dancer and choreographer. (Gilbert currently appears as the Nursemaid in Cirque du Soleil’s KÀ at MGM Grand.) This year, MAD showcased a Mediterranean-inspired exhibition by Niki J Sands, who uses bold colors and expressive figures to create Cubist scenes inspired by food, gatherings and shared cultural rituals.
Stray Pirate
Bar
(Eric Thompson)
Don’t you hate it when you’re sailing the Caribbean and a siren song lures you to a mysterious enchanted grotto where you discover buried treasure — but an ancient curse transforms you and your pirate crew into barking dogs doomed to forever haunt a shipwreck at the bottom of the sea?
That’s the premise behind Stray Pirate, which drops visitors inside the wreckage of the Howling Shadow, its walls lined with velvet portraits painted by artist Gwen Rosewater. “They’re all our dogs,” says owner Chris Gutierrez. “I like Sarge, with the smirk and smoking gun. Maybe he escaped with the treasure.”
The aim is tropical, not tiki, sidestepping the genre’s baggage while keeping the pull of escapism. It shows in the details, from portholes “looking” out onto an ocean floor digitally rendered in Unreal Engine to tabletops fashioned from antique headboards.
Anyway, the real magic is in the glass. Juices are pressed in-house, robust ginger beer brewed using “more ginger than your average Japanese restaurant,” and cocktails that are inventive, not intimidating. Swig & Berries blends Hera the Dog vodka and Svöl aquavit with strawberry, rhubarb, lemon and rosewater. Stray Dog Grog is a mix of Kuleana Huihui, Nanea and Rum Fire Overproof rums with grapefruit, blackberries and Demerara sugar.
“I’m not trying to get one over on you and slip Chartreuse into a cocktail that you’re not ready for,” Gutierrez says. “Maybe you read through the menu and you’re like, ‘Can I just have a strawberry daiquiri?’ Absolutely, we just pressed the strawberries this morning.”
That’s the premise behind Stray Pirate, which drops visitors inside the wreckage of the Howling Shadow, its walls lined with velvet portraits painted by artist Gwen Rosewater. “They’re all our dogs,” says owner Chris Gutierrez. “I like Sarge, with the smirk and smoking gun. Maybe he escaped with the treasure.”
The aim is tropical, not tiki, sidestepping the genre’s baggage while keeping the pull of escapism. It shows in the details, from portholes “looking” out onto an ocean floor digitally rendered in Unreal Engine to tabletops fashioned from antique headboards.
Anyway, the real magic is in the glass. Juices are pressed in-house, robust ginger beer brewed using “more ginger than your average Japanese restaurant,” and cocktails that are inventive, not intimidating. Swig & Berries blends Hera the Dog vodka and Svöl aquavit with strawberry, rhubarb, lemon and rosewater. Stray Dog Grog is a mix of Kuleana Huihui, Nanea and Rum Fire Overproof rums with grapefruit, blackberries and Demerara sugar.
“I’m not trying to get one over on you and slip Chartreuse into a cocktail that you’re not ready for,” Gutierrez says. “Maybe you read through the menu and you’re like, ‘Can I just have a strawberry daiquiri?’ Absolutely, we just pressed the strawberries this morning.”
Majestic Repertory Theatre
Theater
(John Locher / Associated Press)
Between the bars and boutiques on Main Street, Majestic Repertory Theatre has spent the last decade building a home for immersive, anything-goes theater. Longtime Vegas creative Troy Heard, whose résumé includes the John Wick Experience at Area15 and Usher’s “Backstory Pass” at Caesars Palace, founded the theater company in 2016.
His mission? Bring audiences closer than ever to the action.
“I grew up wanting to do haunted houses,” Heard says. “There’s nothing more moving and powerful than a one-on-one interaction. What does it mean to pull someone into a room and tell them a story?”
At Majestic, it means gleefully irreverent productions that blur the line between theater, party and fever dream. Shows have included “Golden Mean Girls,” a drag mashup of “The Golden Girls” and “Mean Girls” (“Thank you for being a friend … but you still can’t sit with us”) and unauthorized musical parodies of “The Craft” and “Showgirls.” Now playing: “Scream’d,” an acclaimed show that’s part parody, part pop concert.
Named after one of Las Vegas’ earliest vaudeville houses and movie theaters from the 1900s (where the Golden Nugget now stands), today’s Majestic still promises a wild night on the town.
“If you see a show here, you’re planning an entire evening around it,” Heard says. “You’re getting a slice at Good Pie, maybe doing some shopping. You’re going to go to Davy’s or ReBAR to talk about what you saw. It’s part of a whole ecosystem.”
His mission? Bring audiences closer than ever to the action.
“I grew up wanting to do haunted houses,” Heard says. “There’s nothing more moving and powerful than a one-on-one interaction. What does it mean to pull someone into a room and tell them a story?”
At Majestic, it means gleefully irreverent productions that blur the line between theater, party and fever dream. Shows have included “Golden Mean Girls,” a drag mashup of “The Golden Girls” and “Mean Girls” (“Thank you for being a friend … but you still can’t sit with us”) and unauthorized musical parodies of “The Craft” and “Showgirls.” Now playing: “Scream’d,” an acclaimed show that’s part parody, part pop concert.
Named after one of Las Vegas’ earliest vaudeville houses and movie theaters from the 1900s (where the Golden Nugget now stands), today’s Majestic still promises a wild night on the town.
“If you see a show here, you’re planning an entire evening around it,” Heard says. “You’re getting a slice at Good Pie, maybe doing some shopping. You’re going to go to Davy’s or ReBAR to talk about what you saw. It’s part of a whole ecosystem.”
Esther’s Kitchen
Restaurant
(Eric Thompson)
When Esther’s Kitchen first opened in the Arts District eight years ago, it was a compact dining room on Casino Center Boulevard where diners often sat elbow to elbow. A lot has changed since then. For one, owner and chef James Trees — a Vegas native who trained under Eric Ripert, Michael Mina and Gordon Ramsay — earned national recognition as a finalist for the James Beard Award for best chef: Southwest in 2020 (and he’s nominated again this year).
Esther’s grew too, relocating in 2024 to a dramatically expanded address, transforming a former vintage store on Main Street into a two-story, 10,000-square-foot restaurant. Today the place is elegant and inviting, with interiors by Trees’ sister Amanda that layer reclaimed wood and floral wallpaper against sage and gunmetal tones. All orbiting an open kitchen anchored by a showpiece bread and pizza oven, and a live-fire grill.
The space gets put to good use. Weekend brunch means proper English breakfasts, truffle polenta and mushroom quiche, while lunch leans into wide-ranging salads such as pear and pecan, black kale, deli meat and poached tuna. Plus hearty sandos, from chicken Parm to porchetta with broccoli rabe.
For dinner, the focus shifts to house-made pastas and the wood-fired oven: malloreddus with Australian lamb and Sri Lankan curry, duck cacciatore tagliatelle, and seasonal plates like chili crisp pork chops, butter mussels and Calabrian sausage with sweet peppers. Call it farm-to-table Italian, now with space to roam.
Esther’s grew too, relocating in 2024 to a dramatically expanded address, transforming a former vintage store on Main Street into a two-story, 10,000-square-foot restaurant. Today the place is elegant and inviting, with interiors by Trees’ sister Amanda that layer reclaimed wood and floral wallpaper against sage and gunmetal tones. All orbiting an open kitchen anchored by a showpiece bread and pizza oven, and a live-fire grill.
The space gets put to good use. Weekend brunch means proper English breakfasts, truffle polenta and mushroom quiche, while lunch leans into wide-ranging salads such as pear and pecan, black kale, deli meat and poached tuna. Plus hearty sandos, from chicken Parm to porchetta with broccoli rabe.
For dinner, the focus shifts to house-made pastas and the wood-fired oven: malloreddus with Australian lamb and Sri Lankan curry, duck cacciatore tagliatelle, and seasonal plates like chili crisp pork chops, butter mussels and Calabrian sausage with sweet peppers. Call it farm-to-table Italian, now with space to roam.
ReBAR
Bar
(Eric Thompson)
Steins dangle from the ceiling at ReBAR, each one claimed by a regular — or waiting to be. Most everything here is for sale, including the framed artwork, neon signage, taxidermy mounts, even the barstool you’re sitting on. This is the ReBAR way: “Get drunk and buy junk,” explains owner Derek Stonebarger, who opened the bar a decade ago as a kind of personal exit plan. “I was going through cancer when I signed the lease. This was always my dream. I wanted a bar that sold antiques.”
Ten years later, ReBAR has grown into a punky dive that feels like the neighborhood’s unofficial backyard hangout. If literally rolling the dice on $3 mystery shots isn’t your bag, try colorful charitable cocktails (sweet ’n’ spicy slushies! strawberry gin rickeys!) that benefit local nonprofits such as Nevada Public Radio and Noah’s Animal House.
Hungry? Order at the bar, then follow the red ceiling lights — underneath the bicycle-sized Starship Enterprise, past the sticker-covered phone booth — through the back patio to neighboring sibling spot Davy’s for bacon cheeseburgers, chili dogs, “beeria” tacos and other comfort food staples (vegan options too) from chef Pedro Estela.
“We cut a deal with Koolsville Tattoo to take over the whole patio,” Stonebarger says. “We sell $3 beers and they sell $10 tattoos. Turns out those go hand in hand.”
Ten years later, ReBAR has grown into a punky dive that feels like the neighborhood’s unofficial backyard hangout. If literally rolling the dice on $3 mystery shots isn’t your bag, try colorful charitable cocktails (sweet ’n’ spicy slushies! strawberry gin rickeys!) that benefit local nonprofits such as Nevada Public Radio and Noah’s Animal House.
Hungry? Order at the bar, then follow the red ceiling lights — underneath the bicycle-sized Starship Enterprise, past the sticker-covered phone booth — through the back patio to neighboring sibling spot Davy’s for bacon cheeseburgers, chili dogs, “beeria” tacos and other comfort food staples (vegan options too) from chef Pedro Estela.
“We cut a deal with Koolsville Tattoo to take over the whole patio,” Stonebarger says. “We sell $3 beers and they sell $10 tattoos. Turns out those go hand in hand.”
Recycled Propaganda
Gallery
(Hannah Rushton / For The Times)
When British-born artist Izaac Zevalking moved to Las Vegas in 2012, he was working as a graphic designer but looking for something less corporate. A year later he began making his own work under the moniker Recycled Propaganda, turning out subversive street art that remixes corporate imagery into pointed political commentary. Take the Morton Salt girl: In Zevalking’s version, her umbrella becomes a fist raised in protest. Or the Statue of Liberty, handcuffed atop an ICE vehicle, in a mural that made headlines amid debates over U.S. immigration policy.
In 2018, Zevalking opened a gallery intending to showcase his work but soon realized “crap, we have 1,500 square feet.” The size, he says, made it natural to bring in other artists, gradually turning the shop into a gathering space. Every two months, a different artist mounts an immersive exhibition in the back, transforming the space in the process.
This past February and March, the show was “Structured,” an installation by Vegas born-and-raised artist Ethan E. Salmon that explored the city’s layered history through miniature motel signs, maquettes and landmarks like Vegas Vic and Vickie. In June, it was “Fun Guys,” featuring surreal animals and aliens by Omega Mart muralist Mila May alongside mushroom sculptures and other psychedelic pieces by ceramicist Rocio Ruiz.
“This is a connective space for different creatives to feel like they’re not alone and you have a voice,” Zevalking. “And, you know, have a place to sell your stuff.”
In 2018, Zevalking opened a gallery intending to showcase his work but soon realized “crap, we have 1,500 square feet.” The size, he says, made it natural to bring in other artists, gradually turning the shop into a gathering space. Every two months, a different artist mounts an immersive exhibition in the back, transforming the space in the process.
This past February and March, the show was “Structured,” an installation by Vegas born-and-raised artist Ethan E. Salmon that explored the city’s layered history through miniature motel signs, maquettes and landmarks like Vegas Vic and Vickie. In June, it was “Fun Guys,” featuring surreal animals and aliens by Omega Mart muralist Mila May alongside mushroom sculptures and other psychedelic pieces by ceramicist Rocio Ruiz.
“This is a connective space for different creatives to feel like they’re not alone and you have a voice,” Zevalking. “And, you know, have a place to sell your stuff.”
Viking Mike’s Alpine Yurt Bar
Bar
(Eric Thompson)
“How absurd would it be to build a yurt in Vegas?”
For years, that was the running joke between pals Jerad Howard and Dan Coughlin, who spent their January birthdays snowboarding with their families in Park City, Utah. Halfway up the mountain sat the Viking Yurt, a Mongolian-style hut with a piano and fireplace, where a quick lunch often turned into an afternoon of drinking instead of hitting the slopes.
One winter, Howard and Coughlin promised a departing friend, Mike, they’d open a Vegas yurt and name it after him. He left anyway — but Viking Mike’s Alpine Yurt Bar opened last December, complete with a fictional Viking mascot inspired by Mike himself: “a nomad at heart … always carrying a faint aroma of liquor.”
So how absurd is a yurt in Vegas? Somehow, not at all. Viking Mike’s blends Scandinavian escapism with alpine coziness; stained tongue-and-groove pine, lodgepole from southern Wyoming, and mounted fur pelts create an inviting atmosphere. Guests are greeted with a nonalcoholic Kompot aperitif of apple, ginger, cinnamon and spices made fresh daily before perusing a wide selection of European beers, meads and wines. Plus meaty bites that include homemade bratwurst and chicken schnitzel sandwiches.
An Odin’s spread of cocktails too, from the epic Yggdrasil (named for the world-binding tree from Norse mythology), made with scotch, house krupnikas honey liqueur, herbal Gilka Kümmel and cranberry, to a whimsical Lunch Box Nog: a Yoo-hoo chocolate drink box with a shot of peppermint-cinnamon Ullr schnapps.
“Not everything needs to be overengineered,” Howard says. (Well, except for the yurt.)
For years, that was the running joke between pals Jerad Howard and Dan Coughlin, who spent their January birthdays snowboarding with their families in Park City, Utah. Halfway up the mountain sat the Viking Yurt, a Mongolian-style hut with a piano and fireplace, where a quick lunch often turned into an afternoon of drinking instead of hitting the slopes.
One winter, Howard and Coughlin promised a departing friend, Mike, they’d open a Vegas yurt and name it after him. He left anyway — but Viking Mike’s Alpine Yurt Bar opened last December, complete with a fictional Viking mascot inspired by Mike himself: “a nomad at heart … always carrying a faint aroma of liquor.”
So how absurd is a yurt in Vegas? Somehow, not at all. Viking Mike’s blends Scandinavian escapism with alpine coziness; stained tongue-and-groove pine, lodgepole from southern Wyoming, and mounted fur pelts create an inviting atmosphere. Guests are greeted with a nonalcoholic Kompot aperitif of apple, ginger, cinnamon and spices made fresh daily before perusing a wide selection of European beers, meads and wines. Plus meaty bites that include homemade bratwurst and chicken schnitzel sandwiches.
An Odin’s spread of cocktails too, from the epic Yggdrasil (named for the world-binding tree from Norse mythology), made with scotch, house krupnikas honey liqueur, herbal Gilka Kümmel and cranberry, to a whimsical Lunch Box Nog: a Yoo-hoo chocolate drink box with a shot of peppermint-cinnamon Ullr schnapps.
“Not everything needs to be overengineered,” Howard says. (Well, except for the yurt.)
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