He hopes that it promotes itself in that way, too - even by putting a pride flag in the window. Stonewall refers to the riots that started after a June 1969 police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City and sparked several days of demonstrations that led to the modern LGBT rights movement.Ĭollins said it’s good that Johns is acknowledging that whatever comes next will be an LGBT-friendly place. “This is the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, and obviously this is Pride Month, so it’s kind of ironic that this is happening,” said Vince Collins, director of operations at The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada. Mingo Kitchen &Lounge, an LGBT-owned Mexican restaurant, also announced its closure this week. The loss makes downtown Las Vegas and the Arts District a desert for LGBT bars. But would it be exclusively that use? No.” I wouldn’t see anything over there that wouldn’t be approachable, friendly, welcoming to the LGBT community. “But just like Atomic, we’re very LGBT-friendly. “The economics of it doesn’t work right now,” he said. The first of four likely will be open by the end of the year.Īsked whether any of the new businesses will be an LGBT bar like Bastille, Johns said no. It’ll be nothing like Atomic, he said, without offering more details. He plans to host four new food-and-beverage businesses, one of which will be a personal project. “That kind of is the reason for this change in tenant mix over there.” “Their rents are severely under market rate,” Johns said of the current businesses. The sale swallowed three other properties next to where Bastille now sits: a ballet studio that already moved, a nondescript business that appears closed and a printing shop that offers notary and tax services. Johns is excited about his new $1.35 million acquisition, which went through in February. The dive-bar-turned-hot-spot celebrated its sixth anniversary Thursday under Johns’ direction, though it is often referred to as the longest continually running bar in Las Vegas history - a spot where lore says people once gathered on the rooftop to watch mushroom clouds climb into the sky as atomic tests took place in the far-off desert.
Lance Johns, the new owner, heads another Las Vegas institution: Atomic Liquors, located at 917 Fremont St. The bar is closing because he was unable to come to terms on a lease with the new owners, Largo said, adding that he harbors no hard feelings toward them and hopes they “do something good with the property and for downtown.” When reached Friday, Largo said it was a difficult time for him and his staff, and he declined an interview request. Largo also owns The Garage, an LGBT bar in the southeast valley. Robert Largo took over next, and the bar became Bastille. He owned Snick’s until he died.Ī man named Dominick Vitale took over afterward, operating Snick’s until about 2014. The old owner liked to hang out and chat and laugh, Meoli said. Meoli didn’t know Vandersnick personally, but he can still picture him sitting at the table where the two men are now talking about work. When he returned to Atkinson, he opened the first version of Snick’s Place, which he ran for four years before moving to Las Vegas and opening the institution that still stands today, for one more day. Army in Germany during World War II, according to his obituary. Originally from the small town of Atkinson, Illinois, he served with the U.S. “Ralph Vandersnick has purchased the tavern from Paul and Geraldine Fellabaum and has renamed it Snick’s Place,” the story reads, referring to the bar, once called Mug N’ Jug, that still sits at 1402 S. The only indication that Snick’s opened is a mention in an otherwise routine story about various Las Vegas businesses in 1976 either receiving liquor licenses or undergoing changes of name and ownership. The archives aren’t too detailed about LGBT bars, though. It is believed to be the longest continually running LGBT bar in Las Vegas, and newspaper archives seem to indicate that’s true.
On Saturday, three weeks into Pride Month, it will close for good - four months after it was sold. He’s been coming to this dark, LGBT-owned and LGBT-friendly dive bar named Bastille on 3rd at least two nights a week since 1977, a year after it opened under its original name, Snick’s Place. Meoli is quiet, though, content with his cold beer. To his right, two men drink wells and talk about work. To his left, people illuminated in a royal blue glow poke at gaming-machine screens. (Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal) a pale blue plaid shirt and wide-brimmed cowboy hat, Skip Meoli only breaks his stillness to sip a cool bottle of Dos Equis.īy himself, the 78-year-old sits in a high-top booth, surveying the crowd. Bastille on 3rd, the longest running LGBT bar in Las Vegas, is set to close Saturday, June 22, 2019.