Famed Las Vegas saloon breaks ground on new home

Hogs & Heifers Saloon owner Michelle Dell is a big fan of dirt, as long as its hers. The Las Vegas nightlife entrepreneur is done renting land. On Thursday morning, the Vegas club icon broke ground on the saloon’s long-awaited permanent home.

The soil Dell scooped belongs to her and her team.

“For me, it is a lifetime achievement to actually own dirt,” the Hogs & Heifers owner said while standing on the property at 307 and 319 Main St. “And not just own dirt — own dirt on Main Street, in the hotel corridor, in downtown Las Vegas. Where it all started, practically.”

Mayor Shelley Berkely and Ward 3 City Councilwoman and Mayor Pro Tem Olivia Diaz were among the dignitaries on hand to applaud the “The Michelles,” Dell and H&H Chief Operation Officer Michelle Sandler.

The opening date for the next era of Hogs & Heifers is March 1, after the business vacates its pop-up Hogs & Heifers Outpost at the Plaza. Prior to partnering at the hotel-casino at 1 Main St., H&H operated for some 20 years on Third Street until the club’s lease timed out in July 2025.

Hogs & Heifers found a partner not just for the pop-up, but it seems long term, in Plaza CEO Jonathan Jossel. H&H has been living as a guest at the Plaza since January, originally a stopgap partnership that Dell says will continue with another club in the same space after Hogs opens in March.

“We’re really looking at overhauling the space completely,” Dell said. “We want to bring it outdoors so that there’s an indoor-outdoor element. Bringing Main Street to life as we come down this way is sort of a really important part of the progress and the growth of this area.”

The Michelles convinced Jossel to partner with the saloon during an introductory meeting in a Plaza conference room. Dell mentioned “clogging” was performed at the club’s bar tops. Jossel said, “What’s that?” So Dell climbed atop the conference table and clogged away.

“I didn’t know what I was getting into,” Jossel said in July, after H&H’s Outpost had been running for more than six months. “If you go in on a Tuesday at 5, or a Saturday at 10, it’s energy, it’s fun, it’s great. They have been great partners.”

The respective management teams have worked well together ever since.

“Jonathan has been incredible and has graciously extended our lease without hesitation,” Dell said. “We continue to discuss a future project in our present Plaza space, and we remain dedicated to continuing a great relationship with the Plaza well into the future.”

The new saloon is a metal building from Semper Fi Steel, a woman-owned and operated company in Centre, Alabama, about two hours southeast of Huntsville. The owners of the family business are female military veterans.

“They’re tigers,” Dell said.

The structure will land on Main Street in November and take a few weeks to put up. Then it’s on to tenant improvements inside.

The tavern space itself will feel familiar. “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” Dell said.

But for the first time, the club will control its full event space and parking lot. The bikers, especially, are grateful for this territory.

“We’ll be able to do all of our annual events,” Dell said. “But we’re also looking to bring in a lot more community events, food truck nights, you know, market vendor nights in general, some different types of activities.”

The March reopening is crucial because of time-sensitive, annual events H&H plans. Dell lists the annual Pre-Mint 400 “Illuminate the Night” block party and ATV show, along with the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Firefighter Challenge Games.

And watch for Dell to try to lure back “The Strongest Man in History” reality competition, a hit 15 years ago before the Downtown Grand took over the Third Street property and wouldn’t allow the show. “We hope they reach back out again now that we have our own space outdoors to host whatever they want to do.”

Dell has expansion plans beyond the saloon space. They are not as dynamic as the block parties. But they are just as important.

“As a small business, you can’t maximize your profit margins because you can’t buy in bulk,” Dell said. “So the new place has the back-of-house space to change that. We’ll have room to order product in bulk, keep all the event equipment on-site instead of in rented storage and hold staff training in proper meeting rooms. The administrative offices move up to a mezzanine level.”

The business’ total footprint, over two levels, is 9,999 square feet.

“We had to get it under 10,000,” Dell said. “I can’t remember why. Had something to do with filing for something.”

This sounds like the seed of a 9,999-themed party. Whatever the event, Dell is ready to lead her crowd to what will become a familiar neighborhood.

“People have come to know where we are now,” she said, “so it won’t be such a stretch when we’re sending them over here.”

But her journey has been longer than just a couple of city blocks.

“There have been, you know, moments where it just felt like it was absolutely an impossibility,” Dell said. “How are we going to pull this off? We’re a small business in a world of a giant, corporate culture and huge hedge fund, real estate companies. But this little bar now has control of its own destiny.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.