“Atomic Liquor”, by Tom Hilton, is licensed under CC BY 2.
Las Vegas, Nevada was a small city in 1950s. There were only 24,624 people living in the surrounding area.
The older downtown hotels and early gaming establishments gave way to a new breed big flashy casino/resorts, introduced by Bugsy Siegel on Las Vegas Boulevard just a few decades earlier.
In a rapid succession, famous names like the Desert Inn (1950), Sahara (522) and Sands (1952), were built. By 1954, over eight million people were spending more than $200 million per year for 24/7 gambling, entertainment, and adult fun at the mega-resorts lined the new neon-drenched “Strip.”
This was a classic example Mister Webster calls a “boom”, which is “a period of great prosperity, rapid economic growth and great wealth.”
Another Boom in Las Vegas
Although there was much excitement and fun in the city, there was serious business happening nearby. It was also eligible for Mister Webster’s primary definition of boom.
Residents were awakened by an early morning explosion on January 27, 1951. Atomic Bomb testing began at the 680-square-mile U.S. Government Nevada Test Site, located 65 miles north of Las Vegas.
The testing began with the detonation a one-kiloton bomb dropped by air above an area known as Frenchman Flat. This was the first of 100 atmospheric above-ground tests, followed by 928 underground tests in the following four decades.
“While I was initially fascinated by the unannounced testing in the beginning, concerned residents of Las Vegas began to demand greater transparency in 1953,” says Darwin Morgan, President, Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation. (that oversees Las Vegas’ National Atomic Testing Museum).
The Atomic Energy Commission was under pressure to announce testing dates, which it did. He states that it also inadvertently ushered into an era called ‘Atomic Tourism,’ which lasted through 1957.
Dawn-Time to Party
“Most of the above ground tests were detonated early in the morning hours,” Morgan says.
The atmospheric tests were visible in the distance as you can see the towering mushroom clouds and bursts light. The Nevada tests were shown on national television in 1952 and 1953, and featured prominently in magazines.
One’s plans to have fun in Las Vegas included seeing one more time. There were many calendars that listed the detonation times as well as the best vantage points from which to view the tests.
The nation was seized by Atomic Fever. Las Vegas was bomb-centric. Casinos hosted “Dawn Bomb Parties” that lasted all night. Trendy bars served Atomic-themed cocktails. Atomic-themed parades were held, and Atomic hairstyles were worn by showgirls competing in Miss Atomic Blast beauty contests.
From the mid-1950s to mid-1962, Atomic Tourism in Vegas was still going strong with only one short moratorium. A multi-nation Limited Test Ban Treaty in August 1963 officially ended atmospheric surface testing and all future testing would have to be underground.
Dean Howard, a bartender, tells us the story behind the “Hunter S. Mash” special cocktail made with Old Crow Bourbon Whiskey. Barbra Streisand’s favourite corner bar stool (right) is still there, adorned with a large white star. Photos courtesy Don Logay.
Off The Beaten Path
In the golden age of Atomic Tourism and vintage Las Vegas, a modest restaurant located on East Fremont Street did not know it would be a lasting memory of the legendary Atomic days.
In the late 1940s, Stella and Joe Sobchik, Las Vegas residents, took over a small restaurant Joe’s Mother Virginia had built on a property she had inherited.
Virginia’s Cafe is located at 917 East Fremont Street. It was blocks from downtown activity and miles from the Strip’s glitz and glamour.
Stella and Joe manned the grill for a few years and cooked for the residents. The Atomic tests were also started during this period… and creative customers, often with secret alcoholic drinks in their hands, climbed on the roof to get a clear view of the mushroom clouds rising high in the sky.
They eventually became tired of running the restaurant business and decided to close it. Instead, they purchased a license to operate a liquor store that was easier to manage. They named the store Atomic Liquors after the “theme of the day” in their town.
A difficult-to-get liquor “pouring” license was also made available in June 1952. It was acquired when Lido Lounge, which was located near El Cortez Hotel & Casino, closed. Atomic Liquors was able to increase its takeout sales by selling in-house wine, beer and mixed drinks. Atomic Liquors received the first license #00001 to be issued a dual category called “Tavern License”.
A Las Vegas “Business License”, issued on April 20, 1954, was also issued to Atomic Liquors. It also listed the early telephone number 7371.
Photo Courtesy National Atomic Testing Museum
Who is Who of Famous Customers
Word quickly spread about the friendly atmosphere in this small neighborhood bar. Atomic Liquor began to attract well-known celebrities to the bar. They wanted to avoid being seen on Downtown or the strip.
On any given night, you might see the Rat Pack sipping martinis after Sinatra’s performance in the Desert Inn or Sammy’s show The New Frontier.
Regular visitors such as Clint Eastwood, Roy Rogers, and the Smothers Brothers might be found at the bar trying to blend in.
Barbra Streisand wrote in her memoir that she enjoyed coming home late at night to play pool and chat with friends after shows at the International Hotel. Her favorite stool at the bar was always the same one, and it proudly displays a large white star.
Hunter S. Thompson was another frequent visitor who enjoyed a good time while he was in town for writing assignments for national newspapers and magazines. He was a regular at Vegas events, such as the famous Mint 400 Off-Road Races. But his most well-known work is “Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas”.
He enjoyed drinking, and his preferred beverage was Old Crow Bourbon Whiskey. Atomic’s most famous house drink today is the “Hunter S. Mash”, a special cocktail made with Old Crow Bourbon Whiskey in tribute to the legend.
Film Credits
Atomic Liquors was also featured in many movies such as Roy Rogers 1946 movie “Helldorado”, Clint Eastwood 1977 movie “The Gauntlet”, Joe Pesci’s scene with a pen in the neck in Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film “Casino”, and most recently, in “The Hangover” (2009). Television credits include “The Twilight Zone” as well as A&E’s “The First 48” realty crime series.
Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown”, a TV episode that was televised live from Atomic Liquors, is one of the most well-known. It aired on Sunday, November 10, 2013, and was viewed over 1.2 million times. The finale of season three, “Last Bite”, featured famous chefs and celebrities as well as patrons from the downtown bar.
Atomic Liquors launched the first “Anthony Bourdain Day”, an annual tribute to the late Atomic Liquors. It featured a special “Atomic Bourdini”, a cocktail named after Bourdain’s favorite cocktail, the Italian Negroni.
Anthony Bourdain did a one-hour live broadcast from Atomic Liquors for his “Parts Unknown” TV series. Photo courtesy Atomic Liquors
70 Years of Vintage Vegas
Atomic Liquors was briefly closed in 2011. It had been nearly 60 years since the company’s inception. In 2011, Joe and Stella Sobchik died at 91. They were just three months apart.
“Atomic” was bought shortly thereafter from Ron Sobchik, the son of Sobchik, Manager Chris Gutierrez notes. “It reopened on Thursday, June 20, 2013, under new ownership.”
“While there was a few minor changes here and there,” Gutierrez states, “The new owners were one-hundred per cent dedicated to keeping it just the way it was back in Atomic’s heyday of the 1950s.”
It is so. You will be immersed in Vegas-style Vegas just by taking a few steps inside the bar. It is darkly lit, and you will notice that there aren’t any gaming machines in the bar. People are talking to one another as a result.
Big booths and tables have replaced the old pool tables. Double-doors lead to an outdoor patio with seating for up to 200 people on busy weekends, just past Streisand’s favorite bar stool and must have jukebox.
The town’s oldest, freestanding bar is a great place to get a little bit of the “Cheers…where everybody knows your name” vibe. You can order a house specialty cocktail by sitting down at one of the original barstools.
“Atomic” is a nod towards the past with our faces toward the future,” Gutierrez adds, “Seventy years and counting.”
Atomic Liquors today are a “blast of the past.”
Don Logay, a journalist who has won numerous awards and was the Editor-in-Chief for three national magazines, is now an award-winning journalist. He writes lifestyle articles about luxury for a variety of publications. You can reach him at (949) 244-4444, or [email protected]
The post Atomic Liquors – Blast from the Past was first published on Vegas Legal Magazine.