Downtown looking up for restaurateurs

One of the newest is The Verdict’s Inn, at 801 Las Vegas Blvd. South, which opened for business in February and had its official grand opening in April. Maggie Cupp, owner ("one of them …"), said it was the idea of being downtown that drove the concept for the restaurant, which has a whimsical courts-and-legal theme.

"We definitely wanted to be downtown," Cupp said. "We just wanted to be part of the new stuff happening. We wanted to be part of the excitement of the revitalization."

One of the oldest is Dona Maria, at 910 Las Vegas Blvd. South, which opened in 1991.

"We love it," said Neriza Johnson, general manager. "Downtown’s been great to us. I think it’s just the vibe, the different kinds of customers we get — attorneys, judges and office people during the day, and at night we get the tourists."

But from the Dona Maria vantage point of 20 years, Johnson has seen good times and bad.

"It’s really up and down," she said. "I think (former mayor Oscar) Goodman, when he was in office, he really tried to revitalize downtown, and I think he did a good job. But it goes through phases. Sometimes it can be a little scary. There’s a lot of movement."

Right now, Johnson is optimistic.

"I would say it’s on the up, for sure," she said, adding that Dona Maria’s is looking forward to Zappos’ move to the current Las Vegas City Hall after the new city hall opens.

Ali Imtiaz, owner of the Kabob Korner at 507 Fremont St., is optimistic as well. Kabob Korner opened six years ago, and in October Imtiaz took a flier and opened the Maharaja Hookah Cafe across the street at 506 Fremont.

Imtiaz said when Kabob Korner opened, downtown didn’t have much in the way of restaurants that weren’t in casinos or didn’t serve fast food. That has changed in the ensuing years, and he sees more change coming. The Zappos move is expected to bring more than 1,000 employees downtown, and "we’ll need more restaurants to serve those people," he said.

"There’s a lot of big changes coming to downtown," he said. "Other businesses are coming as well."

"It’s very good change," he said, mentioning newcomers including the Don’t Tell Mama piano bar at 517 Fremont St. and Insert Coins, an arcade lounge at 512 Fremont St. "There are a lot of people standing outside and going in there on Fridays and Saturdays."

The Beat Coffeehouse in the Emergency Arts Building at 512 Fremont St. has been open only about a year and a half, but managing partner Jennifer Cornthwaite said she has seen immense change in that time.

"When I think about what everything looked like in January 2010, which is when this project started, we’re talking about having no Ogden (residential project) open, no Insert Coins open," she said. The Plaza would close later that year for renovations, and Cornthwaite said that despite being friends with the Plaza’s operators, "I wasn’t convinced that things were really going to move forward."

That’s clear now, with the Plaza’s official opening scheduled for Thursday and more projects having become reality or under way. Among other landmarks Cornthwaite cited were Resnicks Grocery, an "urban bodega" at 900 Las Vegas Blvd. South, and Artifice Urban Lounge, 1025 First St., both of which opened earlier this year and helped drive traffic for local restaurants, and Bar + Bistro, which opened in the Arts Factory at 101 E. Charleston Blvd. in March 2010. La Thai, from the former owner of Mix Zone Cafe, is due to open soon directly across from Emergency Arts, she said. In all, she added, there are 10 to 15 places in various stages of development.

An enterprising soul has even opened a hot-dog-and-sandwich stand in the parking lot of Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, 713 Las Vegas Blvd. South, site of the History channel’s "Pawn Stars" and itself responsible for an increase in downtown tourism.

Cornthwaite’s husband, Michael, is the owner of the Downtown Cocktail Room, which opened five years ago, and is a consultant on the Plaza, which is opening with several new restaurants.

"We had a few years where we weren’t quite sure; I don’t think anybody was quite sure in the country, and I think downtown was the exact same way," she said. "I think they thought, ‘This will come around in three or four years.’ The crazy economy just put everything on hold; 2008 and 2009 were super-tough and we didn’t know what to do."

Now, she said, "our position is OK. Fingers crossed and knock on wood, we’re slowly growing."

Cupp said she sees business growing as well.

"There’s such opportunity down here for so much," she said. "We’ve touched it so little."

It seems that Goodman’s brand of evangelism was a point of faith for many business owners.

"Of course, he has been the driving point for downtown for so long," she said. "We believed in him; we believed in his theory. We believe downtown is where it’s going to happen. This is very much city, very much urban. There’s a heartbeat down here that’s different than the Strip.

"And now — thank God — with Carolyn Goodman, it can’t not be great. I think Oscar left a little bit too early because he set the plan in action. Carolyn has the benefit of seeing those seeds grow. It’s exciting down here. It really is."

Cornthwaite said that while much of what’s driving growth downtown is big business — Zappos, the Ogden, the Plaza — most of the restaurant owners don’t fit that description.

"This isn’t side money," she said. "We’re not rich people. We’re just every day saying, ‘OK, this month we can pay our mortgage.’ There are so many people, including us, who are all in.

"We’re of course really excited about Zappos coming in and the Plaza opening. We’re all just kind of in a state where we’re trying to work as hard as we can and support each other and keep it moving."

Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@review journal.com or 702-383-0474.