Manager Shakeup Could Preserve Historic Hard Hat Lounge

Unwilling to let downtown's Hard Hat Lounge continue to struggle, Derek Stonebarger of Main Street’s ReBar and his soon-to-debut Nevada Taste Site has taken over management of the historic dive bar, with immediate plans to revive the interior and announced hopes to eventually buy the space.

Built in 1958, and a full bar since 1962, the 24-hour location at the corner of Industrial Road and New York Avenue has brought in Sin City Soul Deli Caribbean BBQ to serve a Caribbean and vegan-inspired menu. Chef Daniel Schenider’s Dish Function All Chefs departed a year ago.

Stonebarger’s vision for the lounge is to “return it to a classic gaming bar,” including “minor remodeling” and a combination of “Smoking, Drinking, Gambling and Amazing Kitchen.”

Once a home for blue collar workers, making it in Stonebarger’s words “The Bar that Built Las Vegas,” the Hard Hat has been best known in recent years for its diverse schedule of musical performers, popular outdoor patio, and a 1962 mural by Frank Bowers, said to have been painted to pay off his considerable bar tab.

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