Some blocks missing downtown Las Vegas revival

It's a hot summer afternoon, and the tourists are swarming around downtown. The Fremont Street Experience garage is packed, and visitors are lined up 20 deep to soar high above the crowds on a zip line.

Across Fourth Street, the curious mosey between souvenir shops competing for customers. Five 20-somethings take pictures on a motorcycle inside the Harley-Davidson store; 50-somethings try on moccasins at a store nearby.

North of the Experience though, it's a whole different story.

While a resurgence is happening for many downtown, the changes aren't helping everyone.

Look closely, just past the Harley store, and you can see a handful of marijuana roaches stashed on the ground against the building, presumably to be smoked later. Here, a tourist on foot is likely to meet someone asking for money, or more to the point, a beer.

By the time walkers reach Casino Jewelers, 107 N. Fourth St., just a few paces down, they may already have been approached a few times. At least that's what the store's employees say is behind the great disappearing act of their customer base.

"We used to have women come by themselves here and now they're scared to come down this way," employee Grace Birchall said.

In the past, she's affixed balloons outside the shop and set up a sidewalk sale, which helped boost revenue and make people feel welcome on her stretch of the street. Unfortunately, she said, when some of the men hanging outside get intoxicated and throw knives at nearby palm trees, it doesn't help business much.

Crime can be an issue downtown. From July 7 to Thursday , Las Vegas police recorded four "other disturbances" and one assault and battery on the corner of North Fourth and Fremont streets. For the same time period, 165 incident reports were filed for the quarter-mile radius around Casino Jewelers for disturbances ranging from robbery to narcotics.

But crime statistics aren't much help in determining whether crime affects on business downtown. A panhandler might make tourists uncomfortable, but seldom would that discomfort turn into a 911 call, much less a formal complaint.

Most business owners say the street scene is actually not bad, and getting better.

"As far as homelessness and crime, I've been involved in the area for over 12 years. The amount of homelessness has only gotten better. And the amount of crime and sense of danger has only gotten better," said Michael Cornthwaite, owner of the Downtown Cocktail Room and co-owner of Emergency Arts and The Beat Coffeehouse & Records, a fixture in downtown Las Vegas.

Cornthwaite also argued that it might seem strange if there weren't homeless people in the area, because they tend to congregate in any city center near services and commerce activities.

"Ten years ago, when I would walk down the street, it would be me and five homeless people. Now, it's me, those five homeless people and 200 other people," Cornthwaite said. "It's just part of life."

Unfortunately for area businesses, that part of life can eat into profits.

FADING BUSINESS

Casino Jewelers, and Birchall herself, represent the last bastions of Old Vegas. As she sits behind the counter, Gracie, as she's known by regular customers, talks about how her neighborhood has changed. To her left, John, no last name given, fixes gold chains and changes watch batteries while chatting with longtime clients.

The company has been a Vegas fixture for 34 years, and Birchall has been around for 25 of those. The Fourth Street location, though, only has been around for eight years.

Birchall and John disagree on how much business is down - Birchall says it's down 80 percent and John says it's down 50 percent - but they do agree in the past two months it's fallen by a huge margin.

"I think we have a great little store, but in the last year it's just dropped down to nothing," Birchall said.

Birchall, who is just back from heart surgery, is disappointed to see business declining.

She described the scene of Cititzens Area Transit buses dropping off potential customers yards away at the Fremont Street stop. When they get off and look both ways to determine where to walk, they usually go the other way because it looks as if nothing is open near Casino Jewelers.

Next door, Castro's Cigars is very much open, but the Thai Vegas restaurant closed July 20, and Birchall says that's hurt. City workers used to stop in her store before or after going there for lunch.

"I hated to see them go," she lamented. "There's nothing down there now to make people walk by here."

Thai Vegas was on a month-to-month lease when Resort Gaming Group bought the building in mid-2012. Soon after, the Tranpun family, Thai Vegas' owners, were told their time in that space was up.

"We were told they wanted to do something else with the building and we just couldn't do anything about it," said Mintra Tranpun. "We had plans to renovate the place, but that didn't happen."

Tranpun said she believes the building's owners want to bring in a business that's more of a nightlife draw.

While he doesn't know the specific details of why Thai Vegas was asked to close, Cornthwaite said there's always room for businesses downtown that provide good service and value.

"In most cases, it's more about the market dictating that they're competitive in whatever they do," he explained. "There's room for anyone who wants to do a great job ... A really smart business owner will adapt and evolve."

While Thai Vegas has been downtown for decades, Tranpun's parents, June and Tom Tranpun, had operated it for only the past eight years. Lunch was arguably the eatery's busiest time, with lawyers and casino employees patronizing it on weekdays and tourists taking over on weekends.

"We were doing pretty well," Tranpun said. "We didn't make a lot of profit, but we were doing pretty well."

HOPING FOR BOOST FROM DENNY'S

Back at Casino Jewelers, Birchall looks across the street and sees a possible business boost: In late October, Denny's will open in Neonopolis. Birchall said she's hoping customers will look out of the diner's windows and be compelled to peak inside her store.

Although Casino Jewelers may need an eatery or other new business to pull tourists and newcomers into the store, the shop has survived thus far because it has a loyal local clientele, including many casino employees. Birchall said she sees a lot come in from the D Las Vegas and Golden Nugget, many of whom have patronized the store for years.

As if on cue, John Fiato, the director of security for the D walked in with his wife, Sharon, to pick up a chain. The Fiatos are seven-year customers, apparent by the familiarity with "Gracie and John."

The two men talk security, and Birchall asks Sharon how her back is faring after a car accident.

"I could go some place else, sure, but I feel good about spending my money here," John Fiato said. "It's kind of an Old Vegas feel. Further east, it's more yuppies now."

Sharon said she feels at home in Casino Jewelers and likes doing business with Birchall and John whom she described as honest and laid back.

"It feels like family," Sharon said. "They really go out of their way to make things right."

For Birchall, she just hopes people will start going out of their way to come inside the store.

"We just pray every day," Birchall said.

Contact reporter Laura Carroll at lcarroll@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588.