As We See It

The fish is lit at Davy’s Locker!

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Davy the fish is glowing above Davy’s Locker again, thanks to contributions from individual community members and local lighting company Patrick’s.

That's not a pun, even though Davy's Locker is a beloved dive bar. It’s the payoff the staff and regulars have been working toward for months—the classic neon sign is saved.

Owner Cindy Slight told Weekly about the saga of the sign a few weeks back, explaining how it was fixed in 2011 but started burning out soon after, leaving the landlords of the block inclined to replace the historic neon with something generic. Unable to cover the major repair, Slight and her staff turned to the community for help. The original goal was $6,100 to fix the sign and ensure maintainance for a year (Slight hoped the added traffic from “looking open” at night would cover repair costs from there). A total of more than $2,930 was raised between a GoFundMe campaign, special merchandise, a benefit car wash, offline donations and Jell-O shots, which alone accounted for $1,265. Then local company Patrick’s Signs offered to donate the labor and sell the materials to Slight at cost in order to see “Davy” glow once more.

The estimate was approved May 15, and the crew is set to finish the repair May 30.

“I could just kiss Patrick’s Signs for this. They really stepped forward, and I’m just thrilled,” Slight says.

She’s planning a party to celebrate everyone who contributed, probably either the week before the July 4 holiday or the week after (stay tuned for details). While there won’t be a fancy flipping of the switch, all in attendance will gather under the sign for a photo that will hang on the wall—perhaps next to the commemoration of the bar’s founder and local sports legend, Davey Pearl, that Slight is putting together. She’s sure some people don’t understand why anyone worried about saving this small piece of old Vegas, but she says it’s important that the landscape keeps some of that patina. She also thinks the bright spot will add to the comeback of the neighborhood, in conjunction with other developments like the long-dormant Boulevard Mall coming back to life.

“I’m more hopeful of the future than I’ve ever been. And I’m so proud of my bartenders. They did this, they really did. All my little workers, ’cause I am not a computer-savvy person. They did the GoFundMe site; they created the video; they designed the merchandise; they made the Jell-O shots; they kept sharing everything on their own sites; they came up with the idea of the car wash and came up with volunteers for it—all of it,” she says. “I love my team. I mean, we are a little family.”

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