87°F
weather icon Partly Cloudy

New eatery to have historic feel

A local couple is looking to give an old building in Boulder City’s historic district new life as a place to eat, drink and hang out.

Residents James and Rebecca Hughes recently purchased the former flower shop at 502 Nevada Way and plan to turn it into Hangar 502, a deli, restaurant and bar.

Their plans were presented to the Historic Preservation Committee at its March meeting for a preliminary review.

“It’s nice to see something is happening at that building down there,” said Glenn Feyen, historic preservation committee member, at the March 22 meeting. “I know that it’s not a contributing building, but it looks like with the plans … it’s kind of trying to give back a little reflection to match the rest of the old architecture in town. That’s a good thing.”

Despite being an older building, the Hughes’ property is not one that contributes to the historic district’s sense of time, place and historic development. They are still planning, however, to install historic design elements on the building, including a portico and awning.

Additionally, the city’s historic preservation consultant, Courtney Mooney of Northwind Resource Consulting, said that the Hughes’ plans are generally compliant with the State Historic Preservation Office’s standards and the city’s commercial development guidelines.

“The city and committee have been amazing from the start. … Getting a “soft” approval last night (March 22) felt great,” said James Hughes. “We now have a direction and plans to submit for final review and get started.”

James Hughes said his wife had always wanted to open a deli and the idea for their new business began there.

“We love Boulder City,” he said. “We’ve been (Las) Vegas residents for over 20 years. … We stopped in town one day after going to the lake and saw the shop and thought that a deli could be there.”

He said they contacted their business partner, Martin Toumaian, who is a commercial real estate agent and bought the property soon after.

“Our goal was a deli first,” said James Hughes. “That was our first intention. Once we got everything cleared out. … We realized it was larger than we thought and wondered what else we could do in the space.”

They came up with the idea for Hanger 502, a United States Air Force themed bar and restaurant on one side and a deli on the other.

Everything will be under one roof, but there will be two entrances people can use. The deli entrance will be the door on Nevada Way and the bar will be on the northeast-facing wall. There will also be a deck on that wall.

“The whole building will be Hanger 502. … We just want to have a safe place for people to come hang out and enjoy good food and drinks,” said James Hughes.

Hangar 502 will also highlight his 20-year career in the United States Air Force. He retired in 2015 as a master sergeant.

“It will replicate an Air Force hanger and will have combat and search and rescue memorabilia on the walls,” he said.

The Hughes hope to open the business on Veterans Day.

“It’s going to be extremely difficult based on where we are right now, but we are going to work for that goal,” said James Hughes.

Currently, they are waiting for final approval from the city as well as finalizing contractor bids and securing funding.

The Hughes have lived in Boulder City since November.

Contact reporter Celia Shortt Goodyear at cgoodyear@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow her on Twitter @csgoodyear.

MOST READ
THE LATEST
Toll Brothers gets split decision

The development of the area near Boulder Creek Golf Course known as Tract 350 (the sale of which is slated to pay for the majority of the planned replacement for the aging municipal pool) may have hit a snag last week as the planning commission voted 5-1 to deny the developers’ request to build houses closer to the street than is allowed under current law.

Council gives nod to 185 new hangars

There is at least one part of Boulder City that is set to see growth in the coming years. A lot of growth.

Boulder City ready to celebrate America

Boulder City resident James Cracolici may have put it best when he called the annual July 4 Damboree, “The crown jewel of all events held in Boulder City.”

BC can ban backyard breeders

Although there is nothing on any city agenda yet, the resolution of the issue of whether pet breeding will be allowed in Boulder City took a huge step forward last week as Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford released an official opinion on the intent and limitations of state law that had been requested by city staff last year.

Completion dates for two road projects pushed back

Mayor Joe Hardy tacitly acknowledged that Boulder City gets, perhaps, more than its fair share of funding from the Regional Transportation Commission, given the city’s size.

Businesses recognized at Chamber awards night

The Boulder City Chamber of Commerce’s annual installation and awards night featured many business owners in town and even had an appearance, albeit an A.I.-generated one, by Audrey Hepburn.

Parallel parking approved

Like so many other things in the world of Boulder City government, the issue of reconfiguring parking in the historic downtown area along Nevada Way, which generated enough heat to cause council members to delay a decision up until the last possible moment, ended with more of a whimper than a bang.

Ways to reduce summer power bills

Now that the thermometer is on the rise outdoors, the cost to cool homes and businesses on the inside is doing the same.