The Great Greek is giving Las Vegas Academy of the Arts students a caller muse.
The Muse Cafe, that is.
Nick Della Penna, co-founder and co-owner of The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill — which has 11 locations successful Southern Nevada and 85 franchisees astir the state and the satellite — is adding a java store to his portfolio.
But The Muse Cafe, astatine 601 E. Bridger Ave., crossed the thoroughfare from LVA, is strictly a passionateness project. Della Penna, president of the Friends of LVA Foundation, volition donate 100 percent of the profits to the school, wherever his daughter, Soaren, is simply a inferior majoring successful ocular arts.
“I don’t privation to marque a dime retired of this. I’m doing good with The Great Greek. This is for the school,” helium said. “I privation them to consciousness similar this is their java shop. I privation them to travel earlier school, aft school, earlier performances, aft performances. Just for it to beryllium a comfortableness portion for them. The determination makes it perfectly perfect. It’s the LVA java shop.
“We’re going to person immoderate ace chill comfy furnishings and a clump of charging jacks wherever they tin plug successful their Chromebooks oregon their laptops and get immoderate enactment done oregon study.”
Della Penna came up with the thought to springiness backmost portion driving his girl to schoolhouse past the abstraction antecedently occupied by the Brew It Coffee House, which closed successful July 2025.
“I would crook this country each time and I would look astatine it and go, ‘Maybe I could bash thing there.’ And the wheels started to turn,” said Della Penna, 61. “The older I get, the much philanthropic I become. You number your blessings.
“I thought this was a large mode to give, to impact the assemblage and physique thing sustainable.”
LVA production
He besides plans connected making The Muse Cafe an LVA production. Film students from the schoolhouse were connected manus for the lease signing Wednesday and are making a documentary connected the project.
Music, theatre and creation students volition execute unrecorded connected signifier astatine the shop. Art students volition make the logo and overgarment murals connected the walls, and theatre tech students volition plan the barista uniforms.
DECA students volition negociate selling and societal media campaigns.
“This is the nonstop crushed wherefore the Muse is present for these students. To springiness them the accidental to bash thing successful existent clip for a existent concern and not conscionable a schoolhouse project,” Della Penna said. “This was the full vision, to spot these students travel crossed the thoroughfare and enactment astatine their trade successful a mounting that’s harmless and comfy and close.”
Clark County Commissioners William McCurdy II and Michael Naft, an LVA graduate, praised the task astatine the lease signing.
“To spot a subordinate of our assemblage measurement up successful a mode that is going to not lone springiness financially to the instauration that supports LVA, but successful a mode that creates accidental for each azygous large and subject astatine the academy to enactment successful this java shop’s success, I deliberation it’s truly cool,” Naft said. “The accidental is endless to truly prosecute the students to marque this portion of that pupil assemblage and pupil life.”
Said McCurdy, who represents the district: “We oftentimes talk astir public-private partnerships and what they bash for the community. But nary arsenic important arsenic what we’re seeing (at the Muse), with each the proceeds going backmost to LVA for the students to unleash their untapped potential.”
The downtown Las Vegas cafe, which Della Penna plans to unfastened successful 60 days, volition diagnostic an espresso bar, pour-over acold brew, seasonal drinks, breakfast, luncheon and catering. It volition beryllium unfastened 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“There’s a immense assemblage here,” Della Penna said. “We’ve got the lawyers upstairs and the national gathering crossed the street. I privation it to beryllium welcoming for everyone. But we’ve got 1,750 students crossed the street, and it’s going to beryllium focused connected the students.”
Projected profits
Della Penna projects yearly profits of $100,000.
“If it’s tally close and I get the concern I judge I’m going to get, I deliberation I tin donate $100,000 a twelvemonth to the Friends of LVA,” helium said. “I already person immoderate vendor relationships and I’m going to beryllium calling successful favors … due to the fact that each dollar I marque is going backmost to the school.”
LVA Principal Lezlie Koepp said she was “blown away” erstwhile Della Penna pitched the thought to her and that wealth is ever needed astatine the academy, which was built successful 1930 arsenic Las Vegas High School earlier transitioning successful 1993 to the renowned magnet schoolhouse for music, dance, theatre and creation education.
“I’m ever excited whenever our kids person an accidental to execute determination oregon beryllium progressive successful a project,” she said. “It ever makes maine blessed to spot our kids not lone spell retired successful the community, but to beryllium capable to heighten their skills.
“What peculiarly excites maine astir this is I bash consciousness similar it’s historic. We person a concern wherever each small constituent of the concern is involving students and supporting the students and supporting the school.”
While LVA is successful the midst of a decade-long, $350 cardinal field upgrade, Koepp envisions utilizing the funds raised by The Muse Cafe to assistance wage for theatrical and movie instrumentality and technology, instruments and more.
“You person nary thought however costly a theatre is. A tally of the mill microphone is $2,500. We perpetually request instruments. I needed a harp and the harp was $10,000,” she said. “It’s conscionable perpetually investing into the school. So if we tin find the funds to bash that part, past I tin prosecute much unit and that gives america smaller people sizes and maestro creator opportunities and backstage lessons.
“So conscionable being capable to grow opportunities for kids is simply a precise breathtaking thought and to beryllium connected it connected a changeless basis.”
Della Penna said helium signed a three-year lease with 2 three-year options and plans to enactment progressive successful the concern aft his girl graduates from LVA adjacent year.
“I’ll tally it for 9 years and past some. I program connected moving this arsenic agelong arsenic it’s donating wealth to the Friends of LVA,” helium said. “I emotion this school. I conscionable truly recovered retired astir it 2 oregon 3 years agone and I’ve conscionable fallen successful emotion with it. Everything astir it.
“You locomotion connected that campus, it is an perfectly peculiar place. When my girl walked connected that field for her archetypal circuit of it, she said, ‘These are my people.’ She recovered home.”
Contact newsman Todd Dewey astatine tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 connected X.
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