Christopher Lani mixes a drink at the martini bar he and his brother, Brad, opened last year in downtown Ely. The recent mining boom has meant a resurgence for many businesses in the community, 250 miles north of Las Vegas. Photo by John Locher.

ELY

Many local business owners are bullish on the future of White Pine County's largest community, but Brad and Christopher Lani's confidence comes with six zeros at the end of it.

In December 2005, the brothers from the Bay Area bought a block of old buildings in the city's downtown and renovated it to the tune of about $2 million and counting.

Last May, the Lani brothers opened Maggie's Lounge, an upscale martini bar that seems aimed more at the Rat Pack than Joe Six-pack.

Then in October, they transformed the space next door to Maggie's into a 100-seat, smoke-free Italian restaurant with an espresso bar and a wine list.

The Lanis goal is to bring back the glory days.

In the 1950s, '60s and '70s, "this place was hopping, always," Christopher Lani says.

But while that boom was based around mining, the Lanis are banking on a different sort of transformation this time around -- something more like Park City than Virginia City.

"I think we're emblematic of what's happening in Ely in a way. It's going to be a more diverse boom town than it was," says Christopher Lani, who sees Ely as Eastern Nevada's answer to the Utah mountain town, which hosts the Sundance Film Festival.

Already, Brad Lani says, Southern Nevada residents are fueling the change, as they flee the worsening quality of life Las Vegas has to offer.

"People see us as an oasis now," he says.

Both men are chefs and musicians. When they aren't working in the kitchen of their restaurant or earning extra money with off-site catering jobs, they perform with their band on Maggie's small stage.

"Right now we're calling ourselves Big In Ely," Christopher Lani says with a grin.

They named Maggie's Lounge for their grandmother, Margaret Yelland, who lives on a 1,500-acre ranch not far from Ely. The brothers used to spend their summers at the ranch, where they would catch fish, ride motorcycles, shoot guns and camp out under the stars.

The lounge still sports an old brass-lined terrazzo floor and its original Art Deco ceiling, trimmed in pink neon.

There are no slot machines. While college football's national championship game in January flickered from the televisions at other bars in Ely, a DVD recording of Neil Young singing "Heart of Gold" played on Maggie's big screen.

In the coming months, the Lanis plan to renovate and reopen the old Ely Theatre, next door to Maggie's Lounge. They want to turn it into a music venue, events center and first-run movie house with the latest sound and projection equipment.

The 90-year-old brick building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. Right now, there is a photo shop where its box office should be, and many newcomers to Ely don't even realize the back part of the building contains a theater.

Brad Lani says he and his brother were turned down by three banks before they secured a loan to buy their block of buildings and fix it up.

They were told their business plan -- like Ely itself -- was too much of a risk.

Obviously, the Lanis disagree, though even their optimism has limits.

"If we heard the mine was closing, we'd sell," Brad Lani says. "The mine is still a big part of it."