Monday, Oct. 28, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Crowds on the reggae side of the Fremont Street Reggae & Blues Club were sparse Saturday as regulars and staff began saying their goodbyes to the 3-year-old night spot.
The club, widely credited for ushering ethnically flavored music into the valley, has been sold to make way for a drugstore, owner Terry O'Halloran said.
Although it brought in music that touched your soul, "the club wasn't profitable," O'Halloran said. "It's dramatically more valuable as real estate than as a club."
He had brought in profits from three clubs he owns in Omaha, Neb., just to keep the operation at 400 Fremont St. afloat over the years, he said. O'Halloran even changed formats in January, turning the reggae lounge into a sports bar for several months, but that didn't work either.
The bottom line is that the club just didn't have the support it needed, and that's why he won't attempt to open another one in Las Vegas, O'Halloran said.
Patrons and employees of the club reminisced Saturday, one day before its scheduled closure.
Las Vegas has "lost reggae music and a club," said 31-year-old Eric Garnett, a former event promoter who described the night spot as friendly.
"I know everybody here," Garnett said. "You come here and feel safe.
"It's (also) a big loss for black people. It's where black people and white people mix up. It's a place to communicate."
Nevada Career Institute medical assistant student Yolanda Datcher just started coming to the club last month, but she will miss "that I can't come here, that I have to go someplace where I don't know everybody. It's a relaxing club."
Bartender Hashim Najja said losing the club will "be like losing a family member, 'cause this is like my house."
Najja moved to the city a little more than a year ago specifically to work at the club and play with his band, Najja Dredd Posse.
He believes that pressure from city officials to create a more family-friendly environment downtown contributed to O'Halloran's decision to vacate the location, but "Terry will never admit it."
No one is sure what will happen to the future of reggae music locally now that the club is closing its doors. Musicians who played Saturday said the Beach had tried to host Caribbean music one night a week, but lost money.
But "we're going to look for a venue 'cause we like coming here," said Zebbie, the drummer for Detour Posse.
The Huntridge Theatre, slated to reopen Halloween night, is expected to again host alternative bands, which occasionally played in the blues lounge. But no other venue now hosts reggae on a regular basis.
"When I used to visit here as a tourist and ask the cab driver to take me to a club, they would say there was none," O'Halloran said. "Once again, there won't be one."
But club regular Mike Hiscocks predicts another night spot will eventually take its place.
"I know sooner or later they'll be another reggae club because too many people come down here and have a good time," the heavy equipment mechanic said.
Ironically, a drugstore used to occupy the land where the club now sits. Its closure, along with that of several downtown businesses, helped pave the way for the Fremont Street Experience redevelopment project.
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