Downtown's King Hippo to Feature Two Vegas Bar Names

When the King Hippo lounge debuts on Main Street later this year, guests can be assured the drinks menu will have been carefully curated by two fixtures on the local cocktail scene. Lyle Cervenka and Bryant Jane are now both listed as managers on the project, alongside Thomas Phillips and Addison Thom.

Cervenka is noted as a bartender at the Velveteen Rabbit and Retroscena, following a career in Southern California that included time at Ford's Filling Station in Los Angeles and Elements Kitchen in Pasadena.

Jane was last seen as the managing partner at Radio City Pizzeria and in charge of the beverage program at the pizza joint's Retroscena bar alongside Cervenka. His resume also includes stints at Vesper at Cosmopolitan, Rose.Rabbit.Lie., Lavo, Tao and Atomic Liquors.

Describing itself as an urban lounge, bar and "liquor store" the King Hippo name appears to have been inspired by a character in the Nintendo video game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

As first revealed, the lounge will slot into long-shuttered vintage clothing store The Attic. One floor will be filled by another newcomer, The Huntsman, occupying 2,649 square feet, plus 934 square feet of outdoor seating. King Hippo is a little smaller at 2,562 square feet, plus 1,040 square feet of outdoor patio. The building will create one of the patios on the second-floor roof, offering "great views of the city and Strip."

A timetable for the arrival of both taverns has not been announced, but King Hippo promises it is "coming soon."