LAS VEGAS (KTNV) – A staple and favorite restaurant in Las Vegas closes its current location after 50 years.
Vickie’s Diner, one of the oldest restaurants in Las Vegas, will serve its final meal on August 16th.
Vickie’s Diner is located in the same building as the former White Cross Drugs on Las Vegas Boulevard, just south of The STRAT hotel casino. The pharmacy originally opened in the 1950s, where the Four Queens now sits in downtown Las Vegas, but moved to its current location in the early 1960s.
It soon became a favorite of casino staff and legendary entertainers including Elvis Presley, Liberace, and members of the Rat Pack.
The dinner was originally owned by Teddy Pappas and he named it Tiffany’s Diner. The current owner is his niece Vickie Kelesis. She changed the name from Tiffany’s Diner to Vickie’s Diner when she took it over in 2014. Vickie worked as a waitress for 8 years at dinner before becoming an owner.
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Friday, the Giachetto family said goodbye to a tradition they have been following for the past 10 years. A tradition of eating at Vickie’s that began even before they moved to Las Vegas.
‘It’s a place we visit once a week to have lunch or dinner. The people who work here are very friendly. You can watch them cook and it’s an old-fashioned dinner. That’s what’s fun about it, “said Barbara Giachetto.
Barbara and Richard Giachetto brought their grandchildren for their last meal in the popular restaurant. They say they will follow Vickie Kelesis wherever she goes.
According to a family member of the diner, the building was sold by the owners of the properties and they were given a 30-day notice to leave. But said they also hope to reopen the dinner at a new location in the next 2-3 months.
The White Cross Drugs, which eventually became White Market, closed its doors back in 2015, with dinner remaining open until this year.
In addition to being known for her selections of breakfast and comfort food, Vickie’s dinner is also home to an unusual painting simply known as “That Painting.”
The painting is of a forest with a hard looking man with long hair, beard, and 2 long guns (some people believe the man is Clint Eastwood) in the upper left corner. There is even a Facebook page dedicated to the painting and locals and tourists will take selfies with the painting when they visit.
The dinner was also featured in an episode of ‘American Diner Revival’, hosted by Ty Pennington and Amanda Friday, in 2015.
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