Container Park welcomes five widely varying new businesses

Container Park, Downtown Project’s flagship development, on Thursday welcomed five new businesses to its entrepreneurial retail incubator setting in downtown Las Vegas.

All the businesses are self-financed and aren’t receiving any investment money from Downtown Project, Tony Hsieh’s $350 million redevelopment initiative. The five are:

▶ Max Luxx, opened by Max Pawn shop owner and former Las Vegas Councilman Michael Mack, sells preowned designer handbags, wallets, belts and sunglasses.

▶  San Miguel Trading Co. moved from Lake Las Vegas and is selling home decor, jewelry, clothing and cultural artifacts made by artisans in Mexico. Owner Clay Freeman wants to showcase items such as “Day of the Dead” Catrinas.

▶ Teazled is the first retail greeting card store in Las Vegas for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. It’s owned by Dina Proto, founder and president of the Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce Nevada, and her wife, Dina “Dom” Posit-Proto.

▶ Monocle Optical, an eyeglass boutique, was opened by optician Eric Healey.

▶ Beasley Media Group, in partnership with Cox Communications, is opening a radio broadcast site next to the Container Park stage.

Businesses come and go at Container Park because they are entrepreneurial and can sign leases for as short as three months, Downtown Project Retail Director Doug McPhail said. The outdoor shopping area has space for 38 tenants, who sell their goods in repurposed shipping containers at 707 Fremont St.

“They came to us and they fit our business model,” McPhail said before a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the five businesses that was attended by Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and Councilman Bob Coffin.

There was no strategy to seek businesses that didn’t need Downtown Project financing, McPhail said. Downtown Project has invested in a few Container Project businesses such as Big Ern’s BBQ and Bin 702, a wine bar.

Downtown Project also owns The Perch restaurant in Container Park.

Owners of the five new businesses all wanted downtown retail spots and believed Container Park was a good fit for their concepts.

“We liked the crowd of both tourists and locals,” Proto said.

Proto and Posit-Proto have invested $450,000 in the past five years to create its LGBT greeting card company and first retail shop. Their greeting cards are sold in some Albertsons stores in Las Vegas, but Proto said she has been rebuffed by other major retailers in the area.

Mack, brother of Las Vegas 51s minor league baseball team co-owner Steve Mack, said he liked the foot traffic. His store is near the Container Park entrance, where 1.4 million visitors strolled through the first year, Mack said. He added that 2 million visitors are projected for the second year.

The spaces ranged from Teazled’s 170-square-foot container and Max Luxx’s 257 square feet to the comparatively spacious San Miguel Trading Co. store, which Freeman said has 800 square feet.

Freeman said he was hoping for more locals. He estimated the visitor-to-local ratio at 60-40.

On the other end of Container Park, Beasley plans to hold radio promotions and concerts at the nearby stage, said Mike O’Brian, program director for KKLZ-FM (96.3) and KVGS-FM (107.9).

Contact reporter Alan Snel at asnel@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5273. Find him on Twitter: @BicycleManSnel