Beloved Hangout Downtown Cocktail Room to Close
A downtown Las Vegas fixture, Downtown Cocktail Room, has announced it will close.
We’re the only news outlet where you’ll find the inside scoop on this surprising (but not surprising) turn of events, distressing to many downtown denizens.
Downtown Cocktail Room is expected to shutter in November 2024.
Downtown Cocktail Room opened in 2007 near the gateway to the Fremont Street entertainment district before it was a district or entertaining.
The bar we rarely visited because it was too freaking loud was the brainchild of Michael Cornthwaite, who many credit with being the spark that ignited what the Fremont East entertainment district (it’s mostly bars and restaurants) is today.
Cornthwaite (who once operated Emergency Arts and The Beat coffeehouse) informed the Tony Hsieh’s vision for downtown, and in time, Hsieh’s Downtown Project acquired the building wherein Downtown Cocktail Room sits. Also in the building are Inspire Nightclub (now closed), Corduroy, the Griffin, Smashed Pig (now closed) and Flippin’ Good Chicken, Burgers, Beer.
The building was acquired by Boston Omaha Asset Management and its co-managing partner, Brendan Keating. The company also owns the nearby Tony @ Carson (formerly the John E. Carson Building).
This is where things get awkward.
A lot of downtown businesses owed their existence to a sugar daddy by the name of Tony Hsieh, he of Zappos fame. Hsieh’s Downtown Project was all about building a community, and not every venue would’ve made it without sweetheart deals for rent and other assistance, often done quietly behind the scenes, sometimes scribbled on Post-it Notes.
What hasn’t been reported is Downtown Cocktail Room’s rent was ridiculously low, based upon sales, a holdover arrangement from the previous ownership.
The deal has been described as “an endless piggy bank,” an arrangement that lasted years because the estate of Tony Hsieh hasn’t been very hands-on with tracking sales volume versus revenue.
Multiple sources have told us the jig is up, hence the decision to close Downtown Cocktail Room. At a higher rent, margins dry up and reality sinks in.
Here’s the Instagram post announcing the closure of Downtown Cocktail Room: “The Downtown sign. It’s been a beacon for those seeking great cocktails and groovy city vibes for almost 18 years, but like all other things in life, eventually it must come to an end. Join us on our short farewell tour. We’d like an opportunity to say our goodbyes! Thanks for the enormous love and support over the years. “Here’s to downtown. We raise our glasses to the early FEW who were the pioneers, and who took risks and believed when no one else did. May you know who you are, and be proud of what we accomplished. Cheers!”
One of the distraught responses to the announcement included a note from the Plaza’s CEO, Jonathan Jossel, who said, “If it wasn’t for Downtown Cocktail Room, good chance I wouldn’t have spent the last 17 years in Las Vegas in downtown. Wow. Thanks for the memories.”
Our fondest memory of Downtown Cocktail Room was finding our way in. No, really. It was a whole thing.
There’s no chatter yet about what might move into the space.
The awkward truth is a number of downtown businesses previously subsidized by Downtown Project have faltered following the death of Tony Hsieh in 2020. His legacy is slowly being dismantled, and his assets are being slowly sold off. The “slowly” part is a story all its own. The lawyers for Hsieh’s estate are making it as difficult as possible for interested parties to get deals done, we’re told.
Downtown Cocktail Room filled a niche in the downtown scene, and there’s still time to check it out before it closes. Just bring earplugs.
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