Some mom-and-pop operations help downtown Las Vegas grow

While much of the credit for the redevelopment of downtown Las Vegas has been lavished on the planned re­location of Zappos, building purchases for other enterprises by its CEO Tony Hsieh, and renovations and refurbishing of several hotel-casinos, there are some other lesser-known contributors to the improving economy there.

Small businesses, some of them mom-and-pop operations with two to 10 workers, are also helping to revitalize downtown.

From the more established Resnicks grocery store and Globe Salon on Hoover Avenue to the recently opened Sweet Spot Candy Shop and Swag Antiques on Las Vegas Boulevard, these merchants are replacing pawn shops, adult video stores and bars.

“The change has something to do with the recession,” said Terry Murphy, president and chairwoman of the Downtown Las Vegas Alliance board of directors. “But it has more to do with customers wanting to buy vintage clothing or antiques.”

Murphy credited the Clark County Government Center, which opened in 1995 at 500 S. Grand Central Parkway, with launching the redevelopment of downtown Las Vegas.

“A real cluster of businesses in a pedestrian friendly center is something that is very attractive for downtown,” Murphy said.

And over the last six months, a number of new merchants have opened their doors in downtown Las Vegas.

Swag Antiques is a two-person business, according to owner Shawn Zahnow.

“We moved here because of the location,” Zahnow said. “It’s an older building that took us three months to renovate.”

She said her neighborhood, which includes the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop featured on the History Channel’s “Pawn Stars,” continues to evolve as little shops — Retro Vegas and the Sweet Spot Candy Shop — are moving in and attracting a new clientele, which can result in more jobs.

“It’s a work in progress,” Zahnow said. “I also moved here for the atmosphere along Las Vegas Boulevard and now more little shops are moving into the neighborhood.”

The Shoppes at Lewis Avenue are also gaining tenants after sitting vacant for several years. In February, Moxie Java and Anthony’s New York Pizza and Deli opened in the development across the street from the Las Vegas Justice Court.

Kevin Plencner, vice president of Oak Brook Realty and Investment, which bought The Shoppes in 2008, said his company is creating an “urban mall,” and is trying to attract smaller businesses.

“We have 5,000 to 6,000 people a day at the courthouse and 5,000 people work in the immediate area,” he said. “We want to drag those people into our building. We want it to be a destination.”

It’s also a destination that commands lease rates of $7 to $10 per square foot, a noticeable increase from $2 per square foot in 2008.

Plencner said the recession caused the delay in leasing the retail and office outlets, as a number of national franchise brands backed out of leases.

He said plans include two bail bond and law offices, as well as a food court and possibly a speak-easy style bar.

Tenant Anthony Milo, co-owner of Anthony’s New York Pizza and Deli, said he is pleased with his location at The Shoppes at Lewis: “I was at Boulder Highway and Flamingo Road for 18 years. Now I have my nights and weekends off. What pizza shop owner do you know that can say that?”

He said the restaurant, which has five employees, sold 500 slices on its first day. Even without nights and weekends, Milo said his business is profitable in just eight weeks of operation.

Next door, Moxie Java employs seven people, a number the owners of the independent coffee house would like to increase in the near future.

“It’s easy to find employees; the difficult part is keeping the good ones,” said Chris Denzel, a co-owner. “Our business has been pretty good so far.”

Down the street, Globe Salon held a “casting call” Monday and hopes to hire eight new hair stylists this year.

“We are a small business that turned away (clients) because we were short staffed,” said Staci Linklater, co-owner of the high-end salon in the Soho Lofts. “We have reached the end of the recession and it’s time for us to thrive.”

Linklater has owned the business since 2008 with her partner James Reza, and said it’s exciting to see all the changes from upgrading the street scape to the vintage stores along Main Street.

Changes, she said, have already benefitted her business by bringing residents from Summerlin and Green Valley to downtown Las Vegas.

Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at csieroty@reviewjournal .com or 702-477-3893. Follow @sierotyfeatures on Twitter.