It was the most popular hangout spot for mobsters and wealthy men.Įveryone came to see the amazing spectacle of America’s own “ Destroyer of worlds. If you weren’t enjoying the “clouds,” you were bumping elbows with the likes of them.Ītomic Liquors was, especially then, the heart of Las Vegas and not just for the frequent celebrity appearances and atomic explosions (a strictly Vegas quality). ” The birth of the Atomic Cocktail brought fame and famous people, notably everyone’s favorite Rat Pack crew Joey Bishop, Frank Sinatra, and Sammy Davis Jr.

It was 1952 when Virginia’s Cafe officially became “ Atomic Liquors. It would seem the Sobchik’s fates were sealed, and they now had the hottest spot in Downtown Las Vegas.

The bar patrons found that the roof of Virginia’s Cafe was an ideal spot to check out the flashes of light with glowing mushroom clouds following shortly after. The massive blasts could be seen from far away. Department of Energy had scheduled nuclear tests every three weeks or so. It was a time when people decided they’d rather have a drink and forget about their worries, so Joe Sobchik had much bigger plans for Virginia’s Cafe. The history of Downtown Las Vegas as we know it started around this time. World War II was a time of rationing food and resources, so owning a cafe wasn’t the promise it once was. Joe and Stella Sobchik opened up a neat little diner in Downtown Las Vegas called Virginia’s Cafe in 1945. It was time to up the ante.Ītomic bomb testing became a part of life for the American Southwest, and Las Vegas did the best thing a city caught in the middle of the fallout could do. Russia had an arsenal to make our collective hearts race. It turns out we weren’t the only ones developing atom bombs. Paradise America didn’t last, or at least it was dulled by the oncoming Cold War.

Not that I was there, but from what I’ve read about people toasting radioactive dust clouds while listening to the Smothers Brothers, it seems people were just happy to be alive. In fact, most places in America “ ducked and covered ” at the thought of an A-bomb going off-that is, save for this little slice of the Mojave we call “Sin City.” The atomic age in Las Vegas was handled in a way that only Las Vegas knew how…with an atomic cocktail and a front row seat. When you think of a terrifying 20km-wide nuclear fireball raining deadly radioactive particles across the Nevada desert, having an atomic bomb party probably isn’t the first thing that crosses your mind.

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