Roberta's Las Vegas Real Estate Blog: January 2012

In this season of History Channel's American Restoration, you'll be seeing Rick Dale's new Las Vegas home for Rick's Restorations. The new shop is at 1112 S. Commerce St. , just off Charleston Blvd and between the Las Vegas Strip and downtown, in what is known as part of the 'Arts District' of Las Vegas. It's a perfect fit, as this areas has become a hub for artists and craftsmen, as well as eclectic shops and dining. It's also become part of the new urban core evolving in Las Vegas, with Zappos founder Tony Hsieh not only spearheading the movement by expanding into the former Las Vegas City Hall, but multiple investments he's made in the area, including the First Fridays events held in the district each month.

I had wanted to post about this some time ago, but ironically so much of my 'free time' has been taken for my own restoration project of sorts. My project was also the reason I happened to be in the arts district when Rick's new shop opened. I had purchased another home, a brand new custom home that was built just as the financial markets collapsed, and hadn't sold. So a stop at Rick's would also help to give me a few ideas for the new gameroom and theater room I have to furnish. After all, my Tim Arnold Pinball Hall of Fame machine would be pretty lonely in the big new gameroom!

The shop is open for tours, Monday - Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM. You'll be able to see some of the projects that have been shown on TV, or will be. Above is the golf cart restored for 'The Old Man' of Pawn Stars, and below it is the 1965 Chevy pickup restoration for Kelly's son Brettly.

You'll find a variety of historic items that have been beautifully restored, and some of them that weren't seen on air. It really is amazing to see the detail put into these pieces of Americana, and the tour offers an even more in depth look at what it takes to bring these back to life.

Yes, you'll even get to watch Rick's guys as they work their magic. You can sneak a peek at them hard at work tearing things apart to rebuild them as new.

You can even get a chance to meet the newest Las Vegas 'Stars' of the show. We had a great chat with Rick's brother Ron, discussing a variety of common topics including their trips to Lonnie Hammargren's unusual collection that has been on the show twice. We also saw Rick and Kelly come in as they tried to break away from the fans for a moment so they could eat their lunch. While they were very accommodating to everyone, I didn't want to interrupt their brief down-time. Besides, I was able to get the ever grumpy 'Kowboy' to stop for a moment to take a picture...and of course he complained, but he did it anyway!

If you're a fan of the show, or know someone who is, there's also a gift shop at the new location. Everything from logo T-shirts, glasses and mugs, to Rick's cutoff sleeveless shirts and more can be found here.

As you head out the door, you might also want to take a peek at the new boneyard. As you look at some of those rusty hulks you have to wonder which ones may end up on TV, and you can say you saw them when they weren't quite so pretty.

In addition to the Wednesday night shows on History, if you want to catch some more of Rick's Restorations from behind the scenes, and you can tune into their Friday Webcasts, at 5:30 PM PST, 8:30 PM EST. Of course you can also get more of the inside scoop from their Facebook Fan Page.

While we were originally headed to some other stops in the Arts District, including Artistic Iron Works next door that custom built my new courtyard railings and gate, I'm really glad we made a stop at Rick's Restoration's new home. It was interesting to see the history and artistry, and have a friendly chat with some of our latest celebrity neighbors. With the latest reality show twist added to 'The Entertainment Capital of the World', it's unique experiences like this that make Las Vegas such a great place to call home.

If you are interested in relocating to Las Vegas or would like more information on Las Vegas Real Estate, please email me, at Roberta@RobertaLaRocca.com, or call 702-354-8988. I look forward to hearing from you!