By: Catherine Daleo
Reading time: 3-4 minutes

Opening only a couple of weeks prior to the statewide shutdown, the Art Cafe has had much success during the pandemic thanks to the support of the East Las Vegas community. 

Located on Nellis Boulevard between Bonanza and Harris, the Art Cafe is a local breakfast and brunch restaurant with a “homey vibe” that’s new to the neighborhood, having opened in February of this year. 

Having opened right before everything started shutting down, it was hard enough being a new business under normal circumstances – let alone having to keep up the momentum with the challenge of a global pandemic and the restaurants having to be to-go only.  

Owner of the Art Cafe, Ana Louise Igisaiar, shared how the pandemic was having a huge impact on the restaurant industry, and especially the Cafe. “It was financially rough in the beginning,” Igisaiar said, adding that with most people staying at home, many were looking for delivery options.

Having only just opened, Art Cafe didn’t have a delivery option set up at first, and focused primarily on to-go orders as they began doing deliveries on their own. 

Igisaiar spoke about how the Art Cafe responded to the pandemic and adapted to the situation by saying, “My partners and I had agreed that for us to be able to survive and make it through this challenge of the pandemic, we have to innovate, compromise and adjust.”

She went on to say that they put a lot of effort into finding ways to earn the community’s trust that their safety was ensured while patronising the restaurant, whether for dine-in or to-go. “We made sure we followed the sanitation guidelines set by CDC to ensure our guests’ and employees’ safety,” Igisaiar said. 

To do this, Art Cafe has set up a designated sanitation station by the entrance for guests to sanitize themselves as they enter the building. The Cafe also disinfects their tables and chairs after every use, in which the seating areas are set far apart to adhere to social distancing guidelines. And, they use disposable menus, as well as having the menu available through a QR code they’ve set up for guests to scan on their phone. 

Getting up to this point was a challenge for the Art Cafe, but thanks to the community they’ve been able to flourish. Igisaiar spoke of how the past few months have been slow, with some days where they had no sales. 

With the help of a local Facebook group and the power of social media though, the Cafe started receiving good reviews and recommendations on Facebook and Yelp. 

“After being posted on that group, we have been getting a lot of attention,” Igisaiar said. “People have been trying us out because they have heard so many good things about our cafe.” 

She went on to share how people quickly became regular customers, and how they would come back and bring their friends to have brunch together, or would have a meeting there and share a meal with a colleague.  

“[The] Art Cafe family is just thankful to the Eastsider community for supporting their local cafe,” Igisaiar said. “Through that we are managing to get back on track, [and] having these supportive people in the community means a lot to us here.”

Currently, the Art Cafe is running some promotional specials, including a deal with their regular all-day lunch plates where you can buy one plate and get a second one half-price, and another deal for $5 crepe meal, including a crepe, a fruit and syrup of choice, and a scoop of ice cream. 

There is also an all-day breakfast special for $4.99 that comes with two eggs in any style, a choice of toast, and a choice of either hash browns or the Art Cafe’s “famous breakfast potatoes” – which, with how well-received the restaurant is, it’s no wonder that they’re famous.

For those who want to support this local business, ordering to-go or for pick-up helps a lot, as it minimizes the overall capacity in the restaurant, and helps reduce the spread of COVID-19. 

Besides being a patron to the business, Igisaiar shared a few additional ways for the community to help the Art Cafe continue to grow and thrive. “Promoting us through social media, posting about us, and giving us reviews [helps]; good or bad – it helps us to improve on things that need attention,” Igisair said. 

She added that they are grateful to hear peoples’ suggestions and feedback in order to consider when they make changes in the future as the restaurant grows. 

Lastly, Igisaiar said that “Having us mentioned to your friends, families, co-workers or neighbors would help small businesses like Art Cafe to strive during these times.” 

The Art Cafe is also looking for a way to give back to the community by inviting local artists to put their work up at the restaurant. “I have been asking my guests if they know any local artist or anyone who does artwork in any form,” Igisaiar said. “Feel free to contact Art Cafe to have your artwork displayed on our #ARTWALL.” 

To follow and support the Art Cafe, you can follow them on Instagram and Facebook. You can also email them at artcafelv702@gmail.com for any other inquiries, or call them at (702) 202-1774. 

The Art Cafe is located at 719 North Nellis Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89110. They are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm.