BTS has worked its magic around the world, and also for the owners of Pioneer Saloon in tiny Goodsprings.
The guys are good karma, and good for business.
Members of the K-Pop juggernaut visited Pioneer Saloon last month. This was a casual hang as they sold out four shows at Allegiant Stadium. Four of the band’s seven members — J-Hope, Jimin, Suga and Jungkook — stopped by on the afternoon and evening of May 21.
A burst of attention followed. The resulting coverage only helped co-owners Stephen “Old Man Liver” Staats and his wife, Stephanie “Mama Tess” Richter, as they grow their family business.
Goodsprings meets Vegas
The couple are developing a new restaurant, Mama Tess’s Artisan Kitchen, at 11350 Southern Highlands Parkway, near their primary residence in Las Vegas. Look for the soft opening in about two weeks, the grand opening at the end of August.
The menu leans into organic, local-farm selections, gourmet sandwiches, soups and salads. There will be malts, shakes and desserts. Pioneer Saloon is famous for such items. The couple drops in some alcohol to spice up the malts and shakes at the bar. No plans for such at the new place.
“We do some things at Pioneer Saloon that would do well in Southern Highlands, with the local moms and kids, so that’s what made us think of this,” Staats said. “We wanted something new. You know,, the Pioneer Saloon is a 113-year-old, fixer-upper, so you’ve gotta be passionate about this type of work, otherwise you’ll just lose your freaking mind.”
An old haunt
Pioneer Saloon is the oldest bar operating in Southern Nevada. It hosts annual “Fallout” fan celebrations, drawing about 6,000 to the most recent event in November.
Word of the Saloon’s authentic history and cowboy decor drew interest from BTS. A rep for the band contacted the owners in an e-mail message, explaining that the crew from Seoul, South Korea was seeking Old West trappings while in Vegas.
“Most people contact us through publicity channels, inside channels, but they just went on the website and e-mailed us from there,” Staats said. “We didn’t know if it was a scam or not, up until just a couple of days before. We finally did a video call with the person managing, and we’re like, ‘Oh, wait. This is actually real.’”
A Saloon hat trick
The owners kept the visit under their hat. That is an appropriate reference. BTS member Jungook actually asked for, and received, Richter’s cowboy hat.
“They got a kick out of that hat, and what’s funny is, ironically, one of the bands played earlier in the day, High Blue Cactus, had given us that hat,” Staats said. “Chris Heers, the singer, gave it to Stephanie years ago when we took over the Saloon.”
That was five years ago.
Richter cut in, “I told him, ‘It looks like you need this hat. It looks better on you than me.’”
Jungkook wore the hat onstage at Allegiant Stadium. It looks like he’s keeping it, too.
Heers himself is part of Vegas history. He is from the famous Vegas hospitality family that founded Tuscany Casino. His brother, Brett Heers, currently operates resort just east of the Strip on Flamingo Road.
Chris Heers worked up a couple of versions of the BTS staple “Aliens” specifically for BTS’s visit. Sadly, the guys missed their set. But a song originating from this event at Pioneer Saloon could fire up BTS’s worldwide following, should Heers and the band ever record the tune.
“The way they interpreted a BTS song in a country style is really clever,” Staats said. “I love it.”
A culinary hit
The guys dropped a compliment before leaving, which was just about 9 p.m., when the saloon shut down. They had ordered freely from the menu, such Pioneer Saloon-themed items as the Ghost Burger, Old Man Liver Bacon Burger, Cowboy Burger (with fries) and the Haunt Dog (the spicy hot dog).
As they ate, BTS’s Korean-language convo was caught by photographer Michele Sylvester, who speaks the language.
“They were hanging out in the back, after being in the dining room, and Michele went out there,” Staats said. “Then she came running up to me, and she’s like, ‘Just so you know, they just told each other that the food is really great!’ This was obviously without them knowing that they would be heard or understood, which was really sweet.”
The guys checked out the Saloon’s “Fallout” shrine in the dining room. They took a shine to Gordy Siddons, a Pioneer Saloon staple and inspiration for the “Fallout” character Easy Pete.
“They got a kick out of Gordy,” Staats said. “I think they got a kick out of the Saloon, and we sure loved having them here.”
Cool Hang Alert
Pete “Big Elvis” Vallee pays tribute to the King on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays at 2, 3:30 and 5 p.m. at Harrah’s Piano Bar. Vallee’s legacy is big, indeed, more than 7,000 shows at Harrah’s. No cover. Feel free to sing along.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykatson X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.