LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Power has been out at three Las Vegas businesses for weeks, and owners are shocked they still don’t have an answer from their landlord about when the problem will be fixed.
Frank DiMaggio, co-owner of West Coast Tattoo Parlor, said the electricity went out for the entire business complex around 2 p.m. on May 4, but his tattoo artists found creative ways to keep working.
“Our guys used headlights,” he said. “They pulled out their motorcycles and turned them on to light up the building so they could finish their tattoos for our customers.”
Days later, Nevada Energy inspectors discovered that the top half of the main breaker, which powers three businesses in the commercial complex, Vegas Pointe Plaza, had blown and that it needed more than a reset to fix it: it had to will be replaced.
Next to the combination meter on the Siemens power unit, a temporary operating permit sticker listed the last maintenance date for the now defunct unit, November 10, 1993.
DiMaggio said he was in disbelief when he discovered their landlord had not serviced their equipment in 31 years and requested that the power be restored.
“We were told it would be a few days before we got a new one,” he said.
So far, 16 days have passed without any power at West Coast Tattoo Parlor, 6789 Beauty Bar and Ocean City Massage Spa and business owners want to know why nothing has changed.
“We’re bleeding,” DiMaggio said. “People lose 100% of their income [the property owner] trying to save a few thousand euros, well, we lose every day.”
8 News We have now reached out to the owner and manager of Vegas Pointe Plaza via email and phone, but they have not responded to our request for comment.
No electricity, no rent
Two days after the initial outage, the property manager told Valerie DiMaggio, co-owner of West Coast Tattoo Parlor, that it would cost $30,000 to repair the unit.
DiMaggio told the property manager that under her tenant’s rights, their company could not be expected to pay rent due to alleged “negligence.”
“We have thousands of dollars in damages every day,” she said. “We still have to pay all the bills, we still have to pay everything, and we’re going to our landlord who won’t do anything to help us.”
The property manager allegedly told DiMaggio that they had no right to withhold rent and that management would file an eviction notice, but days later a new property manager reached out.
“She told us, ‘Oh, you can go back to work tomorrow,’” DiMaggio said. “And like an idiot, I believed her.”
On May 14, owners and employees of West Coast Tattoo Parlor returned all supplies and heavy equipment to the business on the condition of the new property manager that power be restored, but the unit was still not repaired.
“We put everything back and the sweat was dripping from us,” DiMaggio said. “Then we’re told: ‘Oh yeah, probably wait another month.'”
DiMaggio said the closure during the Electric Daisy Carnival had a major impact on their profits for the quarter, but reminded customers they can still go to their second location near South Rainbow and Russell.
“We will continue to do our utmost to accommodate all of our customers,” Frank said. “If they want to get their piercings or tattoos, we will take care of that, even if we have to bring in extra people.”
Justin Nolan, a tattoo artist at West Coast Tattoo Parlor, told 8 News Now that the lack of business at the Las Vegas Boulevard location has had a lasting effect on Valerie and Frank DiMaggio.
“I can’t wait for this to open again,” he said. “But we don’t know if that will happen.”
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