Beauty Bar hunkers down in downtown Las Vegas eviction fight

The future of Beauty Bar, a lively tavern and live-entertainment on Fremont East, is in doubt after the club was served an eviction notice on Friday because of what the document described as “multiple indecent and disorderly incidents.” Nonetheless, the club was in operation over the weekend and through Monday.

The club has most recently been under the ownership of Roxie Amoroso, who formally took over the establishment in August. She said she plans to go to court to fight the notice, a three-day order to vacate issued by landlord T-Breo II LLC, is a subsidiary of Tamares Real Estate, which also owns the Plaza property.

Amoroso says business “will remain open as usual.” She added that despite reports of lax payments to vendors and performers, widespread mismanagement and visits from Metro Police, the club is on solid footing. She says, “The truth is that the Beauty Bar is financially strong, compliant with all of its legal obligations, and provides amazing experiences for its diverse customers.”

A longtime Las Vegas promoter and musician, Amoroso and her Las Vegas attorney Stephen Stubbs issued a news release Sunday to counter reports that the business was closing. Specifically, Amoroso is accusing the Plaza of illegally trying to force her out of business while attempting to combine the Beauty Bar parcel and neighboring former Don’t Tell Mama’s property (which Tamares also owns) for a new venture.

Plaza officials respond that Amoroso’s claim is, simply, factually flawed.

“The Plaza Hotel & Casino is not the property owner of the building where the Beauty Bar is located,” a company spokeswoman said in an e-mail response to Amoroso’s allegations. “Tamares Real Estate is the property owner. The only connection between the Beauty Bar and the Plaza Hotel & Casino is that they both have the same landlord.”

Don’t Tell Mama’s 10-year lease expired in December. The piano bar re-opens March 19 at Neonopolis.

This week, workers inside the club have been cleaning the business and Jon Simon of Simon Event Group has been on hand overseeing that process. Amoroso says that Simon has directed the club’s security since November.

Amoroso said that she enlisted Simon, a former Metro officer, after Metro responded to reports of such incidents as drug dealing within the club in October.

Amoroso said Beauty Bar has not canceled any shows, has re-stocked its bar, and intends to run its regular hours. The club is to be open during its regular hours, typically from 6 p.m. up to 2 a.m. on weeknights, closer to 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, depending on business.

“We’re just trying to button everything up,” Amoroso said Tuesday.

Amoroso had originally been in partnership in the business with Corey Harrison of “Pawn Stars” fame. But Harrison checked in Sunday to emphasize he had nothing to to with today’s Beauty Bar, having sold off his shares in the business in December. Last April, Las Vegas businessman Darin Feinstein also pulled off the business.

Harrison and Feinstein announced in June 2014 they had purchased the club from original owner and company founder Paul Devitt. Beauty Bar opened in June 2005, one of the early outcroppings of the Fremont East entertainment district.

Amoroso and her husband, Jesse, also operated Cowtown Guitars, which has closed, in the Arts District (she says the market has cratered for vintage guitars being sold a brick-and-mortar business). The Amorosos have split up and are headed for divorce, and Jesse Amoroso is not formally involved with Beauty Bar’s business operations.

Roxie Amoroso has recently bought a second home in Ashland, Oregon; but says she still maintains her primary residence in Las Vegas. She returned to town Saturday to oversee the concerns at the club after the eviction notice was posted a night earlier.

Amoroso showed that her frustration with issues dogging the club had spilled over in a post on her Facebook page on Thursday, posting, “Anyone want a bar in Vegas cheap? No, free… Wait! I’ll pay you!! Not much though cause I’m poor now. Seriously.” To paraphrase her sendoff, she said, “Forget. This. Stuff.”

But Sunday said that was not a formal, binding offer to sell the club.

“Basically, this is just wrong,” she said. “I’m not going to back down.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.