The opening of a bar hardly qualifies as breaking news in a city where taverns pop up as often as corner drugstores and residential subdivisions. So even the most dedicated barflies may be unaware that a new place called OWL hatched recently.
Once word spreads of OWL’s unique features, however, the place somewhat hidden in an industrial complex on West Russell Road has the potential to become one of the more popular neighborhood nightspots in town.
And by unique features we don’t mean the interior, which is appealing if unspectacular, with a main room offering a U-shaped bar, seven wooden high-top tables and walls holding flat screens and a chalkboard displaying available tap beers, as well as a side dining room with more than a dozen linen-draped round tables.
We don’t even mean the exterior, where a killer mural of an owl eyeballs patrons, and a door with no handles lends an air of mystery of what beckons on the other side. (In fact, the large “OWL” sign that glows bright white at night doesn’t so much as hint that the place is a bar.)
Rather, the true uniqueness of OWL lies in what it offers — and doesn’t offer — its guests. We’re talking no smoking, no gaming, no DJ, no jukebox, 24 craft beers on tap (13 of which come from nine Nevada breweries), another 30 bottled and canned brews, and an array of classic and original cocktails. Then there’s the kitchen, which dishes out the kind of fare not usually found in neighborhood taverns — you know, like gumbo, jerk-spiced shrimp, Korean sliders, a seafood boil and five vegan options (seared polenta, anyone?). There’s even a five-item daily brunch menu and three dessert options, including peach bourbon bread pudding.
And how’s this for a rarity: Everything served up by Executive Chef Daniel Schneider is 100 percent farm-to-table.
The entire concept — from the cocktail program to the food menu — comes from the mind of Stephan Galdau, a lifelong New Yorker until he moved to Las Vegas in January 2012. Galdau managed several bars in New York and worked locally for Ferraro’s Italian Restaurant & Bar and Tao Group (among other stops) before turning a dream he says he’s had for eight years into reality.
Inspired by Herbs & Rye, an award-winning bar/restaurant on West Sahara Avenue that he calls “the greatest bar in the country despite being in the shittiest area,” Galdau took over the space formerly known as Hammer & Ales, which itself was a redo of a previous incarnation. Hammer & Ales — which offered more of what we’re used to in our taverns (you know, lots of smoke, video poker, jukebox, traditional bar food, etc.) — was a dive bar conceived by Jon Taffer of Bar Rescue fame.
As was the case with another local Bar Rescue makeover — the Sand Dollar Lounge turned Bar 702 and converted back to Sand Dollar Lounge on Spring Mountain Road — Hammer & Ales never really caught on, shuttering March 31 after six years.
Soon after, Galdau moved in and spent two months overseeing a complete remodel before opening on Memorial Day. And while he expects some early growing pains, Galdau says he’s confident that OWL will eventually become a hit with locals who have long been craving something completely different that doesn’t require a trip to the Strip or Downtown.
“I have faith in the area, which I think is very underserved,” says Galdau, who in addition to owning the place also works behind the bar nightly. “I’ve encountered a lot of elitism in a lot of bars in this city. You won’t find that here.”
OWL, 3990 West Russell Road, Suite 100, 702-597-1550, open 11 am-4 am Mon-Thu, 24 hours Fri-Sat, closed Sunday.