15-05-2025
Downtown Las Vegas bar owner hunts for new venue before closure
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – After nearly 20 years, the owner of a well-known downtown Las Vegas bar is searching for a new location.
Hogs & Heifers Saloon Owner Michelle Dell said the bar's lease will not be renewed, and it may need to close on July 6 while it searches for its next location.
The bar, popular among bikers and first responders, came to Las Vegas from New York City nearly 20 years ago. Dell told 8 News Now their arrival was part of former City of Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's efforts to revive downtown.
Dell said she was not surprised by the lack of renewal.
'We knew our lease was coming up due, but, for a number of reasons, it took years to recover from COVID, it took years to regain this type of stability that gives you the opportunity to pull the loan that you need to buy the property to, be in charge of our own destiny,' she said.
Dell said she has identified a site nearby to relocate and build a temporary bar. Currently, they either need time or money to acquire it.
'Both would be ideal because then we could build a proper structure and not a temporary structure that we then have to rebuild in order to get up and running in three months,' Dell said. 'It would certainly be a temporary structure. We're not buying a building, we would be buying a piece of property.'
Dell claimed that the owners of the Downtown Grand, where they are located, are selling the property to Penkse Media Corporation, who are the owners of Rolling Stone and the Life is Beautiful music festival. Both Penske and the Downtown Grand's ownership told 8 News Now they have no comment. Dell added that the alleged new owners have no interest in keeping her bar on the property.
'We really just want an opportunity to talk to Penske,' she said. 'We have had no contact with them, and we're not even sure they know who we are really. Hogs & Heifers brings 175 to 200,000 people through our doors every single year. We know this because we wristband people as they come through our doors.'
Dell has 45 employees and plans to support them during the transition. The team is considering ways to raise money for the new location, including possibly selling some of the bar's memorabilia.
'I rolled the dice on Las Vegas 20 years ago when nobody would, and I would like Las Vegas to roll the dice on me for one more year while I find a new home,' she said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
