Bed bugs to breweries: Best stories of 2023 from Sean Hemmersmeier

The past year has been full of interesting tales, trends and projects that have impacted Southern Nevada’s business community and everyday residents. Here is a sampling of some of the stories that captured them on the business beat.

1. Bed bugs are a pest to deal with for Las Vegas hotels

Bed bugs have been a big news story in 2023 with reports of the pesty critters popping up from New York City to Paris. Las Vegas isn’t immune as tens of millions of visitors fly into the city yearly. By requesting public records over a 19-month period starting in 2022 and going into 2023, the Las Vegas Review-Journal found there were more than 50 reports of bed bugs being present in hotels throughout the city. It’s hard to know whether or not there is a big spike in bed bugs in Las Vegas but what is known is that hotels need to be on the constant lookout for them.

2. Tapping in: Las Vegas turns to breweries to boost Arts District

There are many unique neighborhoods throughout the Las Vegas Valley, including the Arts District, which has a collection of murals, retail and antique shops. The city of Las Vegas is looking to add another feather in the Arts District’s cap through its Brewery Row concept where certain fees and costs for alcohol-related businesses to open in the area are waived. This strategy is another draw for the area in an effort to create a unique tourism experience for beer lovers visiting Las Vegas.

3. Strip casino proposed at Fashion Show mall

In a shakeup to one of the major real estate developers in Las Vegas, Howard Hughes Holdings announced it would be restructuring to focus on its real estate portfolio and forming spinoff company called Seaport Entertainment to handle its non-real estate ventures such as the operation of the Las Vegas Aviators. One of the most interesting parts of this shake-up was the announcement that Seaport Entertainment has plans to develop a casino above Fashion Show mall. While no other details about the project have been released, it’s one worth watching.

4. You won’t need a car in this future downtown Las Vegas neighborhood

A new neighborhood could spring up in the Arts District of Las Vegas in the next few years as Z Life Co., the developer behind the English Hotel is looking to build a pedestrian-focused mixed-use development. The plans for Midtown call for 3,000 residential units to be added around the English Hotel and more than 100,000 square feet of commercial space. The developer is using the 15-minute city model for the development, with the goal of providing residents an urban lifestyle with enough amenities in walking distance that they won’t need to use a car every day.

5. Brewery closing after nearly 27 years: ‘This place was like ‘Cheers’ for us’

Although a plethora of new restaurants and bars have opened in Las Vegas in 2023 one familiar favorite closed its doors. The Gordon Biersch Brewery near the Howard Hughes Center closed its doors in April after 27 years of operation. The operator of Gordon Biersch, SPB Hospitality, said the closure was a strategic decision based on business demands.

SPB Hospitality isn’t the only company to decide to pull operations away from the Hughes Center, which is located just behind the Sphere. The New York investment firm Blackstone stopped making payments on its $325 million loan on the Hughes Center earlier this year and companies such as Colliers International and Newmark announced they were relocating their office operations away from the office park.

Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at shemmersmeier@reviewjournal.com. Follow @seanhemmers34 on Twitter.