Lounges offer acoustic music, atmosphere close to home

It can be difficult to find a lounge close to home to enjoy a glass of wine while shying away from the smoke and slots.

But lounge and wine bar owners in suburban Las Vegas say locals don't have to drive out to the Strip for live music. It is in your backyard.

"This lounge doesn't have gambling in every room," said Kim Tryce, who was sipping a house cabernet at the Vox Wine Lounge in Henderson with her friend Clay James of Los Angeles.

"I wish we had places like this in L.A.," he said. "It's chill and there's not a line waiting to get in."

And the price is right, compared to the City of Angels or the Strip. "Drinks are half off," said James, who drank a pinot noir.

But you still can't take all the Vegas out of this Henderson lounge. The waitresses are poured into their black dresses like a full-bodied chianti in a champagne flute. As a country-western band crooned the popular reefer song "Boys from Oklahoma," Valerie Gibbons, a Las Vegas hairstylist, line danced a path around the linen-draped tables.

The goal is to keep 9 p.m. to midnight Thursday sets acoustic. But on that particular night, with a drummer and guitar player out touring with Las Vegas band The Killers, Carl Goldner, lead singer of the band New West Revival, brought in substitutes last minute - and a sound system.

Goldner, who is also co-owner of Vox, wants his lounge to attract couples and small groups looking to wind down. Vox has plush cushioned lounges in colors matching an Italian wine cellar. After living in San Francisco for 10 years, Goldner wanted to attract diverse people to his restaurant and bar.

The suburban location is a strategy for Vox.

"What I like is there are a lot of people who work downtown and this is closer to their home environment," Goldner said. "And it's nice to be able to do things in your backyard."

Some see the drive out to Sunset & Vines as a disadvantage to the business, said Max Saleme general manager of the Lake Las Vegas restaurant and lounge. But with those miles you get a remote atmosphere and a lakeside view. And some music, though that isn't what brings patrons in, he said. In fact, it can get tough to justify live music in this economy.

"When you do the same revenue stream with or without the music, it's tough to rationalize the expense," Saleme said.

They restaurant succeeds — he's only seen a drop off of 8-10 percent recently — because of its customer loyalties, he said.

Martinis, in the Summerlin area, has 24-hour gambling, dining and discounts. Saturday night jam sessions — acoustic or plugged, depending on the band — will continue despite the expense, said Jennifer Ramieh, marketing director.

The restaurant started an extended happy hour — from 11 p.m. to 11 a.m. Sunday to Thursday. And this month it started half-off wine bottles from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesdays.

The city known for pleasure and partying will not be sitting out the economic crisis.

Becky Bosshart can be reached at 990-7748 or [email protected].