The ownership group behind both Commonwealth and the burgeoning locals scene in the Fremont District of Las Vegas has delivered its second vision of Sin City nightlife beyond The Strip with Park on Fremont, a quirky, laid-back bar to bounce around while visiting this home-away-from-home for service industry folk.
Kenna Warner, a nightlife industry veteran and partner in the ownership group that created the newly opened Park on Fremont, can’t help but overtax the adjective “special” when describing the venue. From the décor to the food, to the beer selection and cocktails, it’s clear she feels quite proud of what she and her team have created here, and more so, the fact that they created it for the enjoyment of their own brethren—the throngs of industry employees who yearned for a hangout spot beyond the Las Vegas Boulevard Strip. She and the rest of the ownership collective feel strongly that a locals’ scene is something this city has long needed.
“I could be off-base and totally crazy,” says Warner, “but we’re about to find out.”
Indeed they are. Park on Fremont, in some ways an experiment in its kitschy, deeply personal design approach, opened to the public the first weekend in March. Located at 500 E. Fremont Street (diagonally across from its ‘sister’ venue Commonwealth—more on that later), the 5,000-square-foot gastropub offers innovative bar fare and a truly eclectic art collection, with a laid-back area for dining indoors and antique tables in a lush garden outdoors. And of course, a teeter-totter.
“We have a vintage jukebox upfront that guests can play music on,” says Warner. “But other than that, our only other distractions are the teeter-totter out back and hopscotch on the terrace.”
Not that patrons need more distractions than those already embedded within the spirit and physical culmination of Park’s overall design. The aforementioned 1940s-era jukebox contains 45 rpm records that immediately set the mood, with guest musicians and aficionados continually curating the music selection. An aberrant art collection featuring works by Mark Ryden, Peter Gronquist and Mark Mothersbaughs adorn the walls as well and promote conversation in the rustic 2,500-square-foot interior. The booths and chairs are covered with an array of rich textured leathers, complemented by dark woods and a reclaimed herringbone floor. As Warner describes it, some of the select taxidermy pieces along the bar show animals mating, which she thought would certainly “get people talking.”
