Race Rock Cafe put on blocks

Diana Sahagun

Tuesday, April 10, 2001 | 11:07 a.m.

The Race Rock Cafe, facing declining revenues and nearby construction, is temporarily closing its doors, cafe officials say. With the closure, the Orlando, Fla.-based restaurant becomes the first victim of the delayed Neonopolis project.

Andy Newton, chief executive officer for Race Rock International, said the auto racing-theme restaurant is losing money, in part because it is having trouble attracting tourists as a result of construction at the Neonopolis. Newton said the restaurant will reopen when Neonopolis, a $99 million retail entertainment center, opens next year.

When Race Rock opened in spring 1999, developers were hoping it would spur interest in retail and restaurant space at the Neonopolis across the street at Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street.

The 30,000-square-foot Neonopolis project, originally slated to open Thanksgiving 2000, has been without an anchor tenant since Mann Theatres dropped plans to build an 11-screen theater complex when its parent company, WestStar Cinemas, went bankrupt.

Construction began on the massive complex earlier this year, but no announcement has been made regarding an anchor tenant or other retail occupants.

Neonopolis is expected to open in February 2002; Newton said the cafe will reopen then, as well.

Newton said the restaurant can't effectively operate due to significant losses sustained during the construction of Neonopolis. Barricades and the constant rumbling of cranes have been a problem for the cafe.

"We believe in the future of downtown, and we hope we can be a part of that future," Newton said. "Once the area immediately around our site becomes more fully developed, we will reopen."

Chardell Steves, a leasing agent for Neonopolis, said construction has been tough on the restaurant, though she believes the cafe will benefit when construction at Neonopolis is complete.

"It's been tough for them being there across from a barricaded spot, and consumers having no compelling reason why anyone should cross Fourth Street when all a consumer sees is a barricade," she said.

Steves said an announcement will me made later this month regarding an anchor tenant and other tenants at Neonopolis.

Deputy City Manager Steven Houchens said the city, through a development agreement with Fremont Street Experience -- which acts as the landlord for the restaurant -- has received about $10,000 in revenue from the restaurant since it opened in 1999.

Houchens said that he knows of no other nearby properties that have been affected by the closure.

"We're excited they are calling it a temporary closure," he said. "That's a whole lot better than saying we're closing and going away."

The announcement was a disappointment to the city, which is pushing redevelopment efforts in the downtown area. Still, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said all is not lost.

"I'm not happy about it, but I understand it," Goodman said Monday.