A large fire that broke out in the Arts District has crippled the businesses of a few Las Vegas entrepreneurs, prompting them to seek community support to help get back on their feet.
Tuesday’s blaze, which remains under investigation according to Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, destroyed or significantly damaged several structures on the 200 block of East Colorado Avenue, affecting the Raw Remedies hair salon and the Analog Dope bookstore.
Bobbie Mullins, owner of Raw Remedies, has set up a GoFundMe. She hopes to raise $100,000 to cover the immediate and long-term costs of rebuilding, including “property repairs, cleanup, equipment, inventory, and the infrastructure needed to get Raw Remedies and Analog Dope back on their feet.”
“This property has been a part of my life and the Arts District community for 16 years,” Mullins wrote. “It has been a place for business, creativity, gathering and connection. Seeing so much of it damaged in a matter of minutes is heartbreaking.”
The Arts District has seen its share of fires in recent years. In 2010, an explosion at an NV Energy substation badly damaged Attic Vintage Clothing Co., prompting the business to relocate and then close. In 2016, a large fire gutted a vacant three-story apartment building on the corner of Charleston Boulevard and Third Street, prompting more than 60 firefighters to respond. A commercial building near the same intersection also caught fire in 2023.
Fire’s cause undetermined
Authorities have released little information about Tuesday’s blaze, with the fire department telling the Las Vegas Review-Journal that “the cause of the fire is undetermined pending further information.”
Mullins said she smelled smoke and heard a loud pop at about 12:30 p.m., then watched as the blaze quickly spread from a light pole at the back of the property.
Before the fire, other businesses in the district had documented fires starting after light poles near their businesses had been replaced, Arts District board member and ReBAR owner Derek Stonebarger said.
Stonebarger shared a video taken on May 14 by one of his employees with the Review-Journal of a fire behind his business, about one block away from Raw Remedies and Analog Dope. Stonebarger said the fire started the same day power was connected to the new pole.
NV Energy spokesperson Justin Hopkins said the utility company is cooperating with investigators and would review the findings once they are available.
“Because that investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate for NV Energy to speculate about how the fire started or make any conclusions regarding potential contributing factors before investigators have completed their work,” Hopkins said.
Mullins said Tuesday’s fire impacted all four structures on the property. No one was injured. Mullins was also relieved that Samson, a 10-year-old calico cat, also survived after initially going missing.
‘We wanted to build a community hub’
Analog Dope co-owners Rachelle and Charlie Luster said they have operated on the property for a little more than four years, basing the concept on the need for a space that provides connection and “having objects that ground, center and slow us down.”
Rachelle Luster said she grew up in a neighborhood in Oakland that had a Black-owned bookstore and longed for that feeling, prompting the married couple to create a business that also combined their love of music.
“We wanted to build a community hub where people could come and be themselves, meet other people and just build with each other,” Rachelle Luster said.
The couple said the fire may have caused the worst damage to their building, leaving no way to operate out of the site.
“If we were to get back up and operate, we would need to move into and set up a new space, new fixtures and furnishings,” Rachelle Luster said. “It would be basically like starting over.”
Analog Dope has set up a donation link on its website, which the Lusters said would help pay staff and vendors and offset lost revenue until the business’s insurance situation is sorted out.
Stonebarger, who was one of the first people to donate to Raw Remedies’ GoFundMe, said there was a true camaraderie “not just with members of the board but businesses and artists trying to fight and keep art in the district.”
He said Mullins was a staple in the community, adding that Raw Remedies was not only one of the oldest businesses in the district but likely the oldest Black-owned business there.
“The truth is it is kind of devastating,” Stonebarger said. “I just kind of foresee that she might never open again and has a lot of hurdles ahead of her.”
Contact Devan Patel at dpatel@reviewjournal.com.
