An experiment in pop culture fun on the Strip: Anime-attired waitresses

In lounge at Monte Carlo, Japanese characters do the serving

Leila Navidi

Cocktail servers, from left, Heidi Haldman, dressed as “Rukia Kuckiki,” Fatima “Phoebe” Barkoff as “Sailor Jupiter,” Janae Tigrett as “Ichigo Momomiya” and Carmen Yau as “Airgear Simca” joke around in the new cosplay-themed lounge in the Monte Carlo. Cosplay is the hobby of dressing like Japanese anime characters.

By Brendan Buhler (contact)

Monday, Sept. 21, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Too old for Halloween, but just right for anime (9-5-2008)
Attention Vegas people-watchers! (8-26-2008)

More stories about business and the economy

It sounded like an odd fit for Vegas.

The fact is the waitresses in the new lounge at the Dragon Noodle Co. inside the Monte Carlo aren’t wearing uniforms. They’re wearing costumes.

It’s true that melding entertainment and service isn’t new to town. There are the singing waiters at Paris Las Vegas and celebrity impersonators dealing cards at the Imperial Palace. But these waitresses are dressed as characters from Japanese anime cartoons, a hobby known as cosplay.

Two things stand out about the American cosplay community: it skews very young, to teens and even pre-teens, and it is, well, geeky, neither of which is an audience that gets catered to often in Las Vegas. Yes, there was Star Trek: The Experience, but that’s closed and besides, those were old geeks. They could buy drinks. This sounds like having a Miley Cyrus-themed lounge.

We asked the co-owner of Dragon Noodle Co., Charles “Chipper” Pastron, the man who came up with the idea for a cosplay lounge in Las Vegas, for an interview and an explanation. He responded by bringing along his new bartender and cosplayer, Heidi Haldman. She was already working in town as a bartender, one who happened to have a side hobby dressing up in homemade Japanese cartoon costumes. (“It’s the only thing that keeps me sane in this crazy town,” she says.)

Haldman said that when she saw an ad on Craigslist for a cosplay bartender, she knew she had found the perfect job. Pastron says she’s his anime expert and an ambassador to Las Vegas’ fledgling cosplay community. She says that while most fans might be too young to drink (though they could still order food and soda), the organizers of cosplay conventions are old enough. Plus, there’s an anime club at UNLV. So that’s a few people right there, plus word should get out online for tourists.

It is only a 40-seat lounge, after all.

For Pastron, cosplay was an aesthetic reference point when he remodeled the 13-year-old restaurant, with its Pacific Rim fusion cuisine and tiki drinks. He was looking to update it, add a little bit of pop culture fun to it. He kept talking about cosplay-like things, maybe occasional cosplay events until one day, he just figured he’d go all the way and dress the waitresses up in cosplay costumes.

So far, the experiment is a month old. Mostly the costumes are schoolgirl outfits from the well-known “Sailor Moon” series. And how do they go over with tourists?

“They look at us like we’re kind of crazy and then they take pictures with us,” says Janae Tigrett, one of the waitress, who is dressed in a shiny red maid outfit of a mutated cat girl from “Tokyo Mew Mew.”

(Don’t ask.)

Someday soon, Pastron and Haldman say, they will redecorate the lounge to make it more cosplay and anime themed. So far the restaurant has invested only about $800 in four costumes, which Pastron says is “not a tremendous amount of money, provided they last,” which is an open question. These are, after all, costumes designed to be worn once a month, not nightly for a six-hour shift of work. Some reinforcements and repairs may be needed.

Oh, one other thing about the costumes: the skirts, in keeping with animie norms, are about as long as Nebraska’s coastline.

“I can’t bend over in this dress at all, it’s so short,” Haldman says.

“But that’s how it is in anime,” says Pastron.

And in Vegas.

Discussion: 5 comments so far…

By Bethany Acree

9/21/09 at 4:30 p.m.

Suggest removal

While it may be a new concept over here, cafes with cosplay servers are pretty norm in urban areas of Japan.
By Debbie_Lynn

9/21/09 at 8:32 p.m.

Suggest removal

Big weekend conference of Japanese anime characters where I live. It was very cool. I never knew this existed. I could pick out a few characters eg. Sailor Moon, Pikachu(sp?), etc...
By Elle

9/22/09 at 11:08 a.m.

Suggest removal

Anime Vegas is a yearly convention that is usually held during the Labor Day weekend and has been going on here for at least the past 5 years and it is a fairly big convention. My children who are part Japanese/Hawaiian & half white had gone there (for 3 years) and dressed up along with groups of friends from high school. Just wanted to mention that there were just as many "Adults" in attendance that were dressed up in costumes as there were teens and children. The Anime culture has an shockingly huge adult following that can verge on the pornographic (hentai/yaoi/etc) so the cosplay theme at this adult location makes sense to me and to others familiar with it. For those who aren't it is an opportunity for people to ask and get an insight into that culture. There are Anime conventions all across the US. The reporter needs to do a little more research on this, there is a huge market out there even in this city. He should look into ComicCon in San Diego,then just maybe he might just get it. As far as geeky goes, maybe to some people it is at first impression, but it has been lots of fun. The people who go to these things are lots of fun. Vegas needs that fun theme going & Anime wouldn't hurt. This is one place I would like to go see & I hate visiting the Strip and as a local I really do try to avoid it but I am going to go check it out.
By stevem

9/22/09 at 11:37 a.m.

Suggest removal

i'm not into anime, but this is what vegas SHOULD be.

it should be fun and different and learn to "micro-market" itself.

find a niche, and then get as many people in that niche to come to town.

vegas has too many bebe stores, and starbucks. people can get that in ohio. come up with something NEW and something they CAN'T get in ohio and people will come here again.
By Takadimi

9/23/09 at 5:08 p.m.

Suggest removal

I go to Las Vegas at least once a year. Lately I've been getting slightly bored with it. (We never seem to go during Anime Vegas, unfortunately.) But now I am extremely excited for our next trip after hearing about this. I am a huge anime fan, and I've been waiting for something like this to come to the U.S.