Boarded-up building near Las Vegas Strip finds new life

A boarded-up former credit union building near the Las Vegas Strip is poised to be turned into a tiki bar and restaurant.

The Clark County Planning Commission on Tuesday approved designs for the Polynesian-themed Grand Tiki Las Vegas, which is taking over a shuttered WestStar Credit Union branch at 110 E. Harmon Ave., just east of Las Vegas Boulevard.

County records show plans for a 7,000-square-foot space with a bar, kitchen and dining areas inside, and brown plastic bamboo on the outside walls and yellow plastic thatch along the roofline.

Remodel plans filed with the county show a contract valuation of $1.9 million.

Grand Tiki partner Howard Starr said Thursday that construction is underway and that he expects to open in late September.

Starr noted that other tiki bars in Las Vegas are in strip malls, whereas this is a stand-alone building within walking distance of hotel-casinos and other properties in the tourist-choked resort corridor.

He said Grand Tiki will have a full restaurant menu with Polynesian-style food and other offerings, as well as live entertainment.

“How many fine-dining steakhouses can one town have?” he said.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.