Strip show aerialist makes owning coffeehouse her second act

Holley Steeley wishes she had the artistic talent displayed by some of her friends.

She says this pointing out the paintings that hang in her coffee shop, Holley's Cuppa. The artwork shows off the talents of her friends, many of whom earn their living performing in a Strip show, like Steeley.

"I know so many performers who have these extra skills," she says. "I'm not one of them."

Only later does someone mention that Steeley's own artwork is on display, too; she made the countertop for her shop. And the dark brown bookshelves that hold the kind of books you might get lost in while drinking a cup of coffee.

This impresses Ted Carrasco, a retiree who has become a regular customer in the seven months Holley's Cuppa has been open. He likes supporting local businesses, especially one where the owner makes things with her own hands. This is the kind of place that Las Vegas needs more of, where you feel like you can hang out in good company and enjoy good coffee, he says.

"She's filling a niche," Carrasco says. "You get really comfortable here."

The coffee shop at 9265 S. Cimarron Road in Mountain's Edge is Steeley's second career. She's been a dancer and aerialist in "Le Reve" for the past four years, but she won't be renewing her contract after September. A performer's career is only so long and Steeley, 35, has been at this for 15 years. It's hard on the body. Last year, she had two shoulder injuries, one of which required surgery. It's time to retire, she says.

Steeley's been thinking for a long time about what to do after retirement. The second career had to be fun, no matter what. When you've been a professional dancer in shows such as "Le Reve," "Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular" and others, it's hard to be a slave to a desk.

"I love my job. I get paid to dive into a pool. Who can complain about that?" she says. "For my next career, I wanted a simple life, something less stressful than being a doctor or lawyer. Something where, if I ran out of blueberry muffins, it would be OK."

Running a cafe isn't known to be a stress-free endeavor. And the 17-hour days Steeley's putting in right now seem far from relaxing. But she knew what she was getting into. Before finalizing her business plans, Steeley worked at a local coffee chain for 18 months. She made $8 an hour but learned some business lessons that were nearly invaluable. She learned how to open and close a store, how to balance the books, make a schedule and brew coffee.

"The worst thing is to open a coffee shop and realize you hate it," she says.

Steeley wanted to be different from other coffee shops so she researched, traveled and visited a lot of coffee shops.

First, a coffee shop had to have good coffee. She found that the best coffee was made the old-fashioned way, with just hot water poured over a filter full of coffee grounds. In only two minutes, a fresh cup is ready to go.

All of her favorite cafes along the coast of California use this method, called a brew bar. In addition to good coffee, Steeley realized a cafe has to have a warm and inviting atmosphere.

So for Holley's Cuppa, she set about creating a fun vibe. Cafe tables, chairs and leather couches provide abundant seating. A stack of well-used board games sits on a coffee table while books and art fill the empty spaces. Thursdays are open mic night and once a month, a book club holds meetings in the coffee shop. Steeley plans to start hosting a game night, although impromptu Twister competitions already take place.

"You've got to be here when they have one of their Twister contests," Carrasco says. "It's kind of like sumo Twister."

The shop is also kid-friendly, says friend Deana Villei, a performer in "Phantom." She brings her son in to hang out occasionally. Villei met Steeley in Orlando, Fla., when the two worked on a production at Disney World in the mid-'90s. Steeley was born in Tennessee and grew up in Florida. She moved to Las Vegas with her then-husband, a fellow performer, in 1999.

"She's been wanting to do this for a long time," Villei says. "I admire her so much, she just puts her mind to something and does it."

So far, business is going well, Steeley says. She could use a few more customers in the shop every day but she is working on that. Right now, word of mouth is fueling business.

Steeley knows it's hard to run a business in today's economy. But she has planned well and intends to be in this for the long haul. Failure is not really an option.

"I used to worry about that," Steeley says. "But now I don't. I believe you create your own happiness and I think it's going to make it. I was smart in my youth and there are options in place. I will do everything I can before I close my doors."

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@ reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4564. Follow @StripSonya on Twitter.