Downtown’s Glitter Gulch Tiki Gets Opening Date

By Scott Roeben, on July 08 2024
3 min read 3 comments
Downtown Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Bars

Imagine all the time we could’ve saved you by just putting the opening date of downtown’s new Glitter Gulch Tiki bar in the headline of this story.

We aren’t here to save you time. In fact, not everything is about you. Sometimes, it’s about the journey, not the destination.

Glitter Gulch Tiki opens July 12, 2024. We love building suspense, but we aren’t a monster.

Tiki statues originated in the Marquesas Islands of ancient Polynesia. They need to chill.

So, what is Glitter Gulch Tiki?

You would not be asking this if you’d been following us on Twitter. We shared the name of the place, and a peek inside, back in March.

Glitter Gulch Tiki comes from the folks behind the wildly popular Nacho Daddy. In fact, Glitter Gulch Tiki is where the old Nacho Daddy used to be, half a block off Fremont Street. Nacho Daddy moved next door. Long story.

Glitter Gulch Tiki was designed by a well-known tiki master, Ben Bassham, nicknamed “Bamboo Ben.” We bumped into Bassham and his son, Blake Bassham, as they were working on the bar, and they know their tikis. Unless the plural of tiki is tiki, then nevermind.

A news release about the new tiki bar says, “The Basshams have infused the space with an authentic tiki magic, honoring their deep-rooted Vegas ties. Elevated tiki elements including a social media-worthy straw-hut covered bar, handcrafted blowfish pendant lights, and an interior furnished with custom leather and glitter seating and exotic wooden archways emulating the South Pacific islands. Local artist You Killed Me First also designed custom tiki art window wraps that incorporate Vegas’ neon-lit history. The 90-seat indoor space will be a destination in and of itself, with its beachy lounge seating, center bar, intimate dance floor with a stage for live music.”

We will decide what is social media-worthy, thank you.

In tikiland, weird is good.

Not surprisingly, due to its affiliation with Nacho Daddy, Glitter Gulch will serve The Scorpion, “an impressive shareable drink and an ode to Nacho Daddy’s signature Scorpion Shot.” Yes, that’s actually a thing. With an actual scorpion. Top tip: Swallow, don’t chew.

The venue will have not only exotic drinks, but also food, of course. We suspect they’ll share the kitchen with Nacho Daddy.

Small plates will include Coconut Shrimp, Lumpia, Grilled Wings with pineapple BBQ sauce, desserts and “variations of the ever-popular Dole Whip like the Lili of the Valley Dole Whip (Telson Blanco Tequila, Coconut Cream, Lime Juice and Passion Fruit Puree).”

We don’t really get the connection between tiki culture and Dole Whip, but it’s very popular at another Vegas tiki bar, Golden Tiki.

Dole Whip is a tiki thing due to it being served in Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, a practice that started in the 1970s. We just act dumb on the Internet so people aren’t intimidated.

Despite the fact live music (at the wrong volume) can ruin everything, we’re actually excited to check this place out.

The Glitter Gulch Tiki Web site is live.

Great pedigree, great location, great concept and what appears to be a great execution, Glitter Gulch Tiki is bound to become a popular downtown hangout.

Update (7/10/24): The opening has been postponed. No new opening date has been provided.

Update (7/11/24): Despite the crushing disappointment of a delayed opening, we did get our hands on the Glitter Gulch Tiki cocktail and food menu. It will have to do for now.

Pace yourself. And by that we mean ignore people who say to pace yourself. They are not the boss of you.

Here’s the sweet backside. Of the menu.

Sort of want a Glitter Gulch Tiki shirt.

Update (9/6/24): According to a rep, Glitter Gulch Tiki had to push back its opening because of safety regulations related to their flaming drinks. The venue has passed inspections, and Glitter Gulch Tiki opens Oct. 4, 2024. Here’s more.