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Ryan Doherty, founder of Corner Bar Management, built a nightlife empire on East Fremont Street without fully knowing what it would become. But he did know one thing: Night culture matters in Las Vegas.
“I’ve always understood that one restaurant can change an entire neighborhood. We’ve seen that happen so many times in the East Village and even North Park in San Diego,” says Doherty. “And I always thought the second thing that mattered most was night culture, whether it was a cocktail bar, a nightclub or a lounge, something that people were celebrating around. Night culture was always central to the identity of a city, and we wanted to be part of that.”
Over the last decade, Doherty has been behind many projects driving that culture forward. Corner Bar’s portfolio blankets the Fremont East Entertainment District with options: dance sanctuaries like Discopussy and We All Scream; cocktail bars like Commonwealth and Lucky Day; dining hot spots like La Mona Rosa and Park on Fremont; showrooms like Cheapshot. Ten years ago, Fremont East felt like a brief barhop with the same music and scene; it’s now a choose-your-own adventure. And that growth has led to new nightlife neighbors moving in.
Electric Mushroom brought significant buzz to the block this summer with its neon frontage and playground aesthetic. Neonopolis’ dance club Substance has established itself with EDC-level bookings and jam-packed reggaeton parties.
Corner Bar has evolved the standard with Lucky Day’s Latin nights and club calendar, featuring everyone from Anderson .Paak’s DJ Pee.Wee to Noizu. Fremont East has amassed such a curation of experiences; it’s impossible not to find your scene.
That momentum has even caught the attention of the Strip. Earlier this year, Corner Bar and Wynn Nightlife presented the first Feed the Block party, featuring Gryffin. Thousands of fans—many locals—packed the streets of Fremont East, dancing well into midnight.
“What was so special about Life Is Beautiful was walking around the streets of vintage Las Vegas and having these buildings with art on them and infrastructure that you can walk in and out of. We missed that,” Doherty says. “So when Vegas started getting a [bad] rap for being overpriced, and going after just a luxury traveler … we said we should do a block party that’s a free party.”
Major Lazer anchored September’s Feed the Block. And Diplo has already signed on to perform on October 27. “After he did the Major Lazer show, he was really impressed with Downtown in general, and loved the overall setting,” Doherty says.
It’s still hard sometimes to convince people to come Downtown, but it’s getting easier. Part of the challenge is staying relevant in a world so chronically online.
“You see it all through your phone now. So when we go to design a venue, it takes a lot,” Doherty says. “You can’t tap people on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer to get their attention.”
Art is never just art in a Corner Bar establishment. Each pop surrealist piece is curated from Doherty’s personal collection. Venues like Lucky Day feature programmable LED light shows; Discopussy’s tentacled octopus chandelier is a statement piece.
“It’s really hard for a nightclub to feel warm and cozy without [great decor],” Doherty says. “I felt like I would walk into a lot of nightclubs and it was a dark room with good sound. It was always the boxes that you needed to check. I wanted to be different.”
This approach didn’t just distinguish his venues, it helped mature Fremont East and contributed to Downtown’s diverse identity.
“I think there’s just been some incredible growth in the last five years. People have opened up some really impeccable spaces on the food and beverage side, especially,” he says. “We are slowly moving towards connecting, and that’s the future I’m excited for.”
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