Chuck E. Cheese Meets ’80s Metal at a Sprawling New Development Downtown

Rendering of the Evel Knievel Museum.

The Evel Knievel legacy is alive and well in Las Vegas — and the massive warehouse-like building at 1001 South 1st Street downtown is about to dedicate all 32,000 square feet of space to the death-defying daredevil’s motorcycles and memorabilia. An old-school pizza parlor with an animatronic band and a Dungeons and Dragons aesthetic is moving in, too.

The Evel Knievel Museum is relocating from Topeka, Kansas to Las Vegas with a collection that includes Knievel’s bikes, helmets, and Mack truck — and interactive exhibits like a virtual reality jump experience, an interactive challenge for jumping, and something called a “broken bones interactive” that uses the stunt performer’s actual x-rays.

Branden Powers, the guy behind the Knievel-themed Evel Pie pizza shop on Fremont Street is working on plans for a pizza restaurant within the property. Powers describes the forthcoming parlor as “Chuck E. Cheese meets ’80s metal” with a “Dungeon and Dragons-themed environment.” Pizzas will come served on cracker crusts and beer and cocktails will be poured in Viking horn glasses, goblin goblets, and medieval steins. Plus, the restaurant will have a 1970s carnival dark ride, pinball machines, Skee-ball, and retro arcade games. An animatronic heavy metal band of characters will perform from their Castle Lair.

Rendering of the Evel Knievel Museum.

Lastly, the Mission Linen building will become home to a fifth location and primary roasting facility for Mothership Coffee Roasters.

Dapper Companies bought the Mission Linen building for $7.5 million in 2022. The property, located near the Garden and the Burlesque Hall of Fame has sat dormant — its parking lot used as overflow parking for nearby businesses and as festival grounds for the monthly First Friday event. Dapper Companies has announced the start of construction on the project but has not yet released a target opening for the museum and two restaurants — having learned through previous downtown developments that construction in the neighborhood can often run longer than expected. Dapper is also behind the renovations on the old Huntridge Theater and, across the street, the Huntridge Center — home to Dapper’s coffee shop giveaway winner, Winnie and Ethel’s.

“With guts, charisma, and showmanship, he built himself a legacy that’s still going strong 50 years after that crash at Caesars Palace,” Kelly Knievel says of his dad’s storied jump in a statement to Eater Vegas. As for the pizza parlor, we’ll have to hear what the heavy metal robots have to say.

Evel Knievel.