In The Zone No Longer
February 20, 2010
Let the changes at Planet Hollywood begin.
The Hawaiian Tropic Zone is closing.
Hawaiian Tropic Zone at Planet Hollywood
According to an article in the Las Vegas Sun:
A spokeswoman for the Miracle Mile Shops said a new concept will be moving into the space, but she wouldn’t elaborate on Wednesday.
A representative from the Hawaiian Tropic Zone said the restaurant-nightclub will be open all day Saturday before closing early Sunday morning. A manger or owner wasn’t available to comment on the reason for the closure.
The Hawaiian Tropic Zone opened in January 2008. The restaurant, bar and nightclub has direct access to Las Vegas Boulevard.
This is rather disappointing news.
Hawaiian Tropic Zone at Planet Hollywood
Businesses in this city are in serious trouble. I know it sounds like naysayer hyperbole, but yesterday was another one of those days where reality unavoidably smacked me in the face.
You see, my kid’s birthday is this weekend, and I decided to buy her the Nintendo Wii that she had been asking for.
While mulling over where to purchase it, I remembered that a “Game Crazy” store had opened about a mile away at Sahara and Maryland Parkway last April. I gave them a call and asked if they had a Wii in stock.
The gentleman who answered the phone informed me that the company had gone bankrupt, and that they were cleaning out the store. The location lasted 10 months in Las Vegas. I asked him if they were moving employees to a new location, and he simply said “no, we are just losing our jobs”.
This was just the latest in a long string of such reality checks.
Two weeks ago, I made the drive to my local Office Depot at Maryland Pkwy and Desert Inn to buy some spare batteries, only to find that it too had closed its doors.
Many of my local shopping venues are disappearing, and as much as I hate to say it, there are absolutely no signs of any kind of recovery in the residential areas of this town. Sure, there are spikes in gaming revenue on The Strip, but evidence of retail problems keep mounting.
Last month, the popular FAO Schwartz let its lease expire in the Caesars Forum Shops. We used to go there quite often, and the kids used to enjoy looking at the iconic Trojan Horse. Now it is gone.
Caesars Forum Shops - FAO Schwartz Trojan Horse
Restaurants and stores are being boarded up throughout the valley as “For Sale/For Rent” signs take the place of what used to be marquees and menu boards.
The Hawaiian Tropic Zone represents the closure of what was, in my opinion, another fun and unique venue. By all accounts, it should have succeeded.
It was in a choice “people watching” location, they had hot women serving food, and the employees were typically very friendly — 10 years ago, this place would have played. They certainly made an effort. Whether the girls threw beach balls to onlookers, turned up the terrace music to attract passersby, or just gave a friendly wave to those pedestrians, they seemed to have a good vibe that complimented Planet Hollywood as a whole.
Hawaiian Tropic Zone Beach Ball Girls
Hawaiian Tropic Zone Beach Ball Girls
Hawaiian Tropic Zone Beach Ball Girls
While conducting an armchair post-mortem, the only Achilles’ heel that I can really see with the HTZ was that the prices were a bit on the high side (primarily because renting in the Miracle Mile is not cheap), and the concept was not terribly unique. It was kind of a Hooters knockoff, but this was not necessarily a bad thing.
Like so many businesses that have fallen before it, and those that will fall after it, the Hawaiian Tropic Zone will also be missed. It added a small bit of fun character after traversing the depressing vacant lot between Harmon and the entrance to Planet Hollywood. It was the first thing one came to after passing the eyesore that was City Center construction for 2 years. It was almost a “welcome back to Vegas” greeting for pedestrians walking north on the Boulevard.
Speaking of the Miracle Mile — frankly, I worry about the prospects of all shops and restaurants in and around the Strip “novelty malls”, Miracle Mile, Forum Shops, Grand Canal Shoppes, and of course … Crystals. Due to birthdays and some other family events, I have had to avail myself of several shopping venues lately. Being the territorial piece of crap that I am (most people see this as a bad thing for some reason), my pattern throughout life has always been to shop as close to home as possible. In my mind, this makes me an economic asset to my own neighborhood. It also means that I shop in “non-traditional” places such as Fashion Show Mall, Forum Shops, and Miracle Mile on a somewhat regular basis.
During my visits of late, there just have not been very many people making purchases. Everywhere I look, I see lonely cashiers and short lines. I see tourists who do little more than window shop on their way back to their discounted rooms. This is not the tourists’ fault … they are staying within their budgets. I don’t know how the stores are making rent, however. If I had to take a stab in the dark, I might opine that the novelty malls in Vegas are now on borrowed time … but as usual … I hope that I am wrong.
Lest this be another bummer piece, I would be remiss if I did not note the positive news coming out of our town this week.
Yesterday, President Obama visited Las Vegas, and he had some words of encouragement for all of us.
“Let me set the record straight, I love Vegas – always have,” he said.
Well, that’s a relief.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am going to sleep much better tonight.
Someone throw Oscar in the shower and wake his ass up. He should be thrilled to hear the news.
Anyway, if you’ve been putting off a trip to Las Vegas due to the economic conditions of the city, I think it’s high time to reconsider that decision. The all-clear has been sounded, and our problems are now over. Crisis averted. Obama likes us and always has.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but goddammit, that’s good enough for me.
Written by ColinFromLasVegas on February 20, 2010 at 8:30 pm
Like I said before, Rex. Welcome to the next wave. First it was home foreclosures. Because of that, people are skimping on money, saving it, using it to just live and get by and pay bills. They aren’t spending much. So, now, because of this thrift, the next wave is hitting: Business foreclosures. And it will continue for quite awhile. Because the economy is tanking and it will take a few more years to get better. People just aren’t free with that money anymore.
In my neighborhood, we were hit first and the hardest. On just the corner of Sahara and Nellis Blvd, a pharmacy closed and went out of business, a Von’s grocery closed up, and because of that, the other businesses in that shopping center did a domino effect and closed due to lack of business, including a Blockbuster video rental joint. In my neighborhood, there are three brand new strip malls that are almost complete. BAM! No more construction work is being done on them now. Nor will there be for quite awhile. No one knows if they will actually open up and have small businesses in them.
This has even trickled down to repaving streets. On East Sahara (east of Nellis Boulevard), that stretch has not been re-paved since the Korean War (or something like that). It’s so bad that Metro Police don’t even set up speed traps there. Because they know if you were to travel the posted speed limit (45 MPH), your tires would be ripped to shreds. It’s so bad that the Air Force fighter jets from Nellis Air Force Base don’t fly over it, because it ain’t safe.
So, even the city can’t afford to pave streets. It’s that bad.
And I’m sure there are other neighborhoods that are hit just as hard here in Las Vegas.
As far as President Obama’s visit goes, I’d like to point out something that someone said in another blog somewhere. If Mayor Goodman had gotten off of his high horse and put all that brou ha ha shit behind him and arranged to meet with President Obama, and perhaps even gotten a picture side-by-side with him at the famous Las Vegas sign on South Las Vegas Boulevard, that would have done WONDERS for promoting Las Vegas tourism in an advertisement.
But nooooo, Mayor Goodman has this incredible fucked up ego where he PERSONALLY felt slighted and started slinging out there his typical mob tough goombah talk (which don’t make sense when it comes from a politician, because they are usually only full of shit with no action behind their words). And this incredibly blown up ego he possesses is FAR MORE important than trying to help Las Vegas. Serious fucked up priorities, if you ask me.
I say boot that asshole out of office now and put someone else in there that actually does something. He sure ain’t doing any work, nor is he helping Las Vegas with his self-serving attitude. He’s just coasting along and thinks everyone thinks he’s doing a good job. I’m sure he can land a lucrative job as the ticket seller for his Mob Museum or something to keep occupied. He’s a washed up cantankerous old fart Mayor now that is not helping Las Vegas.
Written by Mauinui on February 22, 2010 at 1:21 am
Hey Rex, How long does it take’s to receive your blog. I subscribe about 3 weeks ago and I still haven’t received it.
Written by J. Louise on February 24, 2010 at 12:09 am
Excellent reporting, Rex, as usual.
As a former resident of Las Vegas who had to move away to take care of family, I rely heavily on your blog because I’d like to move back when I can–if there’s still a city to move back to!
I remember the Office Depot at Desert Inn well. I used to go there for supplies and print shop services. I used to work the conventions and remember how many booth exibitors used to go there for supplies and printing. I also used to work part-time at a store near FAO, and just can’t imagine the mall without it.
It will be interesting to see how many of these mall stores close up this year and next.
Rex, keep up the good work.
Written by Ted Newkirk on February 25, 2010 at 9:33 am
Office Depot simply moved to Maryland and Katie. if memory serves me correct from driving by.
Look… what part of “the boom was abnormal” does everyone who moved here the past 5-6 years not understand? Las Vegas has always had blighted areas. A drive down Boulder Highway in the 90’s confirms that.
As someone who used to live at Vegas Valley and Nellis (condos behind Albertsons) in the late 90’s, I’m bummed to hear about the Vons closing. But… the Post Office, Fatburger, PT’s, Albertsons, tons of other food and shopping in walking distance of Vegas Valley/Nellis. If you count Nellis and Charleston, even more stuff. Rexville before Rex arrived.
Look… Too many people moved here, too much was built, the area was never set up to handle it. This is not a great place to open a mom-and-pop game store. It IS a great place to be in the tourism business. We don’t have an unemployment problem. We have a “too many people are living here” problem. As the area bleeds population, unemployment will settle down. Empty homes and storefronts will continue to drive down the cost of living and doing business, and will return Las Vegas to being an incredibly affordable place. People don’t have to charge and arm and a leg when their business rent is cheap and their mortgage is low.
Those who stick it out might be amazed how how great living here can be. As long as they don’t expect Las Vegas to turn into New York City. Never going to happen. Thank God.