NASCAR Cafe, Sahara to negotiate

Friday, June 20, 2003 | 10:54 a.m.

The NASCAR Cafe is not going anywhere, at least not for a few weeks.

In a Clark Country District Court hearing on Thursday, the owners of the Sahara hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip backed off plans to evict Dyer Ventures Inc., the operator of the race-themed restaurant and Speed-The Ride, the restaurant's associated roller coaster.

Judge Sally Loehrer rescheduled a hearing on the matter for July 8, and Dyer is apparently safe until then.

"They have agreed to try to work out their differences," Loehrer said after the hearing.

Efrem Rosenfeld, an attorney representing Dyer Ventures, said he was encouraged by the cordial nature of the court appearance.

"It was a real good sign," he said. "Hopefully the Sahara feels like we want to be good neighbors, and we want them to be good neighbors, too."

Matt McCaughey, general counsel for the Sahara's parent company, Gordon Gaming Corp., said the company would not comment on the dispute.

Dyer requested Thursday's hearing in an effort to seek a restraining order against the Sahara, which had told the company it would be evicted from the Strip property on Monday.

Rosenfeld said the eviction was related to alleged "non-monetary" breaches of a 25-year lease. He said the claims revolved mostly around maintenance issues. There are 22 years remaining on the lease.