LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas staple and beloved restaurant is closing its current location after 50 years.
Vickie’s Diner, one of the oldest restaurants in Las Vegas, will serve its last meal on Aug. 16.
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 drugstore originally opened in the 1950s where the Four Queens now sits in downtown Las Vegas but moved to its current location in the early '60s.
It quickly became a favorite of casino employees and legendary entertainers including Elvis Presley, Liberace, and members of the Rat Pack. The White Cross Drugs, which eventually became White Cross Market, closed its doors back in 2015, with the diner remaining open until this year.
The current owner is Vickie Kelesis. She changed the name from Tiffany’s Diner to Vickie’s Diner when she took it over in 2014. Vickie worked in the diner as a waitress for 8 years before becoming the owner.
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Friday, the Giachetto family said goodbye to a tradition they’ve been doing for the last 10 years. A tradition of dining at Vickie's that started 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 see them cooking and it's an old fashion diner. That’s what’s fun about it," said Barbara Giachetto.
Barbara and Richard Giachetto brought their grandchildren for their last meat inside 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 property owners and they were given a 30-day notice to vacate. But said they also hope to open the diner again in the next 2-3 months in a new location.
In addition to being known for its breakfast selections and comfort food, Vickie's diner 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’s even a Facebook page devoted to the painting and locals and tourists will post selfies with the painting whenever they visit.
The diner was also featured on an episode of “American Diner Revival,” hosted by Ty Pennington and Amanda Freitag, in 2015.
