Just when I think I have seen it all. Vegas shocks me again. This time, Vegas has managed to screw up a local institution that for all intent and purposes was the granddaddy of the drive bar scene. I am talking about The Bunkhouse. A bar for the local music scene that was as wonderful as it was hazardous.
In 2013 The Downtown Project purchase the bar from the previous owners for 1.4 million dollars. For that price they purchased a building and parking lot that was around since 1953. The new ownership decided to close it for about 60 days to work on updating the place and getting it all spiffied up.
http://lasvegassun.com/news/2013/jun/11/joe-downtown-bunkhouse-saloon-close-interior-facel/
A great and noble task that needed to be done. However, that old building had some really bad bones. So fast forward about a year later and wow, the new place from all reports was amazing.
http://dtlv.com/2014/08/26/the-new-bunkhouse-is-kind-of-awesome/
Now we are almost a year later, and sadly the place has closed again. Why? No one really knows.
http://dtlv.com/2015/07/20/breaking-bunkhouse-saloon-closed/
So, how did a place that lasted, even in the most rickety way, for 50 years fail to last one year after a massive referb? What is going in with The Downtown Project that they have these great plans, lots of good effort, and yet they cannot keep places like The Bunkhouse running? This appears to be a systemic issue with the group.
http://recode.net/2014/09/30/tony-hsieh-steps-down-from-lead-role-at-las-vegas-downtown-project/
During the time that I lived in Vegas, I was guilty of assuming that The Downtown Project was going to save the city from the strangle hold of resort mentality. That is, if it’s not a major strip attraction it’s not worth it. I hope someone can come in and save this institution. Vegas has been losing too many major places in the past couple of years. When I do go back my home of 14 years will have been completely re-imaged in less then three. That is not how you build a community.