Las Vegas Weekly

Eva Longoria’s Eve nightclub on the Strip closes indefinitely

Eva Longoria Parker hosts the grand opening of her Beso restaurant and Eve nightclub at CityCenter on Dec. 3, 2009.

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabikphoto.com

Eva Longoria’s Eve nightclub on the Las Vegas Strip has been shut down for an indefinite and likely extended period – but her attached Beso restaurant remains open.

Beso LLC, the company owned by Longoria and other investors, has been operating in bankruptcy since Jan. 6 as it tries to restructure $5.68 million in debt and perhaps attract additional capital.

Beso LLC management closed the nightclub this week, Beso bankruptcy attorney Lenard Schwartzer said Wednesday.

"The restaurant is open. It makes money,'' Schwartzer said.

The decision came as the nightclub has been losing money during the slow summer period in Las Vegas, when there are few conventions in town, and in recognition the 18-month-old nightclub needs to be remodeled, Schwartzer said.

"There’s a feeling it was a little too passé," Schwartzer said of Eve. "We’re working to solve that problem."

The businesses together employed 128 full and part-time employees and Schwartzer said he didn’t know how many of those people were affected by the closure of the nightclub.

It may cost up to $2 million to remodel the nightclub, and the Las Vegas bankruptcy court would have to approve plans to spend that money.

Schwartzer said funding for the remodeling likely would be included in a reorganization plan for the entire business that has yet to be filed and that may include investments by third parties.

In a case marked by fighting among current and former investors, it appears Beso investors have had trouble coming up with a financial plan going forward as their exclusive period to propose a reorganization plan expired on June 24 without the filing of a plan.

Now, creditors and former investors can propose a reorganization plan for the company – though through Tuesday no such plan had been filed.

The closure of Eve could complicate efforts to reorganize Eve and Beso since their landlord, the Crystals mall at MGM Resorts International’s CityCenter casino resort complex, will see reduced nighttime traffic at the mall and at last report it was owed $2.276 million in past-due rent by Beso.

But Crystals has been supportive of the reorganization efforts of the high-profile tenant and Schwartzer said Crystals recognizes it doesn’t make sense to maintain a money-losing operation.

In its latest financial report, for March, Beso LLC reported revenue of about $857,000 and a profit on a cash basis of about $7,000.

This story originally appeared in our sister publication, VEGAS INC.