Breweries, restaurants bring vibrance to downtown Arts District

As grand openings go, the first day of service at the new Good Pie location was a sign of the times.

On-site food service was limited to pizza slices served through a window to customers who had the option of enjoying them at a trio of tables on the Main Street sidewalk. Inside, the pristine leather booths sat empty, as owner Vincent Rotolo allocated his precious 15 allowable seats (25 percent of the restaurant’s 60-person occupancy) to the beautiful new bar area. There, a handful of customers enjoyed one of bartender Sonia Stelia’s signature cocktails as they awaited takeout orders from the kitchen. When the food was ready, it was time to go.

It wasn’t the opening anyone had planned. Yet, as foodies and downtown business owners placed orders at the window and popped their heads in the door to admire the space, Rotolo couldn’t have been more excited.

“It was time to let the people in the space,” he explained of his decision to open his doors, despite the recently tightened restrictions on restaurant dining. “It’s a year overdue.”

He’s not alone in that thinking. On Thursday, his next-door neighbors Kim Owens and chef Justin Kingsley Hall finally will open their long-delayed restaurant, Main St. Provisions. The adjacent eateries are just the latest examples of how the Arts District in general, and Main Street in particular, have managed to flourish during one of the most challenging years in Las Vegas’ history.

“I think because we appeal to the locals, and because this area is so walkable, we’ve become very exciting,” Owens said of the neighborhood.

Hall began noticing the energy shortly after restaurants were allowed to reopen post-shutdown, and the nearby block of California Avenue between Main Street and Casino Center Boulevard emerged as a focal point for sidewalk drinking and dining.

“Right after they reopened businesses back in May, I saw carloads of people with their bicycles, who I know were from other parts of the city, who came down here to ride their bikes as groups, up and down the street,” Hall said. “They’d hit Able Baker (Brewery) and Garagiste (Wine Room) and Esther’s (Kitchen). And I think people figured out that we’re a neighborhood, and we’re a safe neighborhood. You can spend half a day down here and hit local businesses that are a lot of fun.”

Dining and drinking are just a small part of what the Arts District has to offer. But they’re among the segments that have seen the most growth in 2020.

Just a few hundred yards from Good Pie and Main St. Provisions, near Main Street and Imperial Avenue, a pair of new breweries have seen respectable crowds on their patios for the past several months. HUDL Brewing Company owner Ken Cooper credits the sizeable outdoor spaces of his business and the neighboring Nevada Brew Works with helping them succeed in difficult times.

“We’ve never been able to open at 100 percent capacity, so the outdoor patio has actually helped,” he explains. “I think it’s brought more people in, who are willing just to hang out in the outdoors without having to go indoors and worry about a lot of that mess.”

Those crowds have been so good that chef Bruce Kalman has been offering barbecue pop-ups every Sunday on HUDL’s side of the patio, as construction continues on the SoulBelly BBQ restaurant he’ll be opening between the two breweries. Beginning this weekend, he’ll expand that service to Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and add a Postmates delivery option.

“Crisis or no crisis, people gotta eat, and people want great food,” Kalman explains. “So, we’re going to take advantage of the time right now that we have, and get food in front of the people.”

Along with Owens and Hall, Kalman was among the first customers to purchase a slice from Good Pie on its opening day. Rotolo is grateful for the support, and thinks it’s indicative of what makes the area unique in Las Vegas.

“We’re in a huge city, but this has a small-town yet urban feel,” the pizziaolo said. “It reminds me of a neighborhood in Brooklyn where you went down the street and you knew the guy at the coffee shop, and there was the bar that you went to, and the pizzeria was in the neighborhood, and the restaurant that you went to. So we’re the pizzeria in this neighborhood.”

Owens expressed a similar sense of camaraderie with her neighbors. Even as she prepares to greet her first customers at 25 percent capacity, she’s hopeful some will visit other local businesses while they’re downtown.

“I want somebody to come in, have a cocktail, maybe an appetizer, maybe two, (then) go to the next place,” she said. “Maybe run over to Garagiste and have a glass of wine, Esther’s for dessert, CraftHaus for a nightcap beer. That’s a great night for me.”

Contact Al Mancini at amancini@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlManciniVegas on Twitter and Instagram.